“I like hip hop, but hate rap”

By Diane Miller
Music Editor

Is there a difference between rap and hip hop? I was at a friend’s Christmas party this year and I turned on Jay-Z and Kanye West’s latest hit “Nigg*s in Paris” and this guy looked at me, booed and then proceeded to say, “I like Tribe Called Quest.” While I could have felt bad for his ill-mannered remarks towards my taste in music, my ego was fine. I knew he wasn’t trying to offend me, he was just anxious to make it known to everyone that he hates Kanye West because he listens to “good hip hop,” you know, A Tribe Called Quest and Atmosphere and stuff.

So what does this have anything to do with rap versus hip hop?
For starters, I have found that people will find reasons to hate an artist because of who they are without regards to their music. This is the perspective that some people have towards rap and hip hop. Especially in Midwestern “hip hop fans” I see those that think hip hop is good while rap is bad because hip hop is poetic and deep, contrasting with rap that is mostly foul with shallow outlooks on life. While I would not deny that there are plenty of examples of rappers that are lyrical masterminds and those that are offensive or boring, I would never say that lyrical geniuses are categorized as hip hop and so called gangsters and hoodlums are categorized as rap.

Actions speak louder than words and in this case music speaks louder than lyrics. People love rap and hip hop, first and foremost, because of what they hear. I’ve performed hip hop somewhere in the hundreds of times and have had people tell me,  “I had no idea what you were saying, but I loved it.” Back in the day I used to play college open mics where I would sing and play guitar and people would regularly tell me, “I hope you play your rap song!” That to me proves rap and hip hop get its appeal, not so much from the poetry or lack thereof, but the delivery of the lyrics. The delivery is the sound of a human voice rhyming in intense rhythm. The better the word play, the greater the appeal.

The only reason why there is a debate over what is rap and what is hip hop is because there is a culture clash. The majority of people listen to mainstream rappers because that is what is constantly put in front of them by the media. But the main reason hip hop/rap is one of the most popular genres in the world is people simply enjoy listening to it. Those who are not interested in supporting mass media only listen to underground rappers because they think they are more talented, but also find them more relatable. Not everyone falls straight into these two sides. There’s a third group – those who don’t care if artists are underground or popular if they are musically and creatively engaging. They’ll give anything a chance without judging it first. That way they don’t limit themselves.I invite anyone who listens strictly to what plays on the radio to give an underground rapper a chance.

There is a strong chance they would be delighted. Prof, for example, is a brilliant entertainer and a hilariously creative writer. Same goes for those who shun mainstream rap/hip hop. If people would look past Kanye West’s douche bagginess, they would see a creative mastermind that can take any aspect of his music and spin it on its head—discovering ideas no rapper before him has ever thought of.Hip hop and rap coexist. It is not relevant to categorize rappers into one or the other. I strongly believe hip hop and rap are essentially one entity. Throughout the years, hip hop has become the more glorified and versatile term for rap, that’s all. For example, we can say things such as hip hop dance or hip hop band. Now contrast that with rap dance and rap band… Strange, yes? The word hip hop exists not to separate itself from rap, but instead to give it more life.

No doubts about it, there are some truly different styles of rappers out there. Yet every single rapper out there follows the same formula, because without it there would neither be rap nor hip hop. From Slug to Grandmaster Flash to Lil’ Wayne to Nas to Q-Tip, the one thing these talented artists have in common is their ability to rap, not their ability to hip hop. It’s their stunning ability to accentuate their voice with hard rhythms and rhymes over a repeating, percussive musical phrase.
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