@JERK:
You don't HAVE to care about lyrics, what Holy's getting at is that the vocal section is the focus of most hip-hop (instrumental hip-hop is a thriving world all its own but that's a little advanced for this convo).
With hip-hop the primary musical interest is about poly-rhythm. The beats may be repetitive. But the music is a lot more complex when you cross the beat with the rhythm of the vocal melody which is generally not repetitive.
I'm not much of a lyrical hip-hop listener myself, unless it's stuff with something interesting, funny, or cool to say I usually don't hang off every word of most of what I listen to.
But I do listen to the vocals.
For the longest time my hardship with getting into rap was learning to not listen just for hooks and beats I liked. But learning how the genre worked musically.
This is why 80's hip hop can be especially hard for rap noobs to get into.
Typical 80's rap is verrry musically sparce once you get into 1984 on.
Listen to this.
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Things changed in the 90's quickly. But 90% of non-instrumental hip-hop is still based around rhythm even with super melodic beats like you get with the Cunninlynguists.
You have to learn to hear this, mostly because hey, as largely white suburban anime fans you didn't grow up with it.
I didn't really grow up with a rock pedigree, but I didn't grow up with hip-hop at all either. And look at me now.
fucking tag teaming up in this bitch
it's all part of the foreplay SGRaaize
when you get hiphop into your life it will treat so you fine baby
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speaking of fine, I didn't really wanna get into these guys but I finally did and I don't regret it
Das Racist are a relatively recent dada-esque, freeform, humorous, satirical, dead serious, self-referential, genre-referential, encyclopedic knowledge wielding outfit that popped out recently
They will either seem impenetrable, or you'll find them really interesting. they've got layers that hip-hop fans may really dig and they've got a sharp wit to them, more so than what they're goofy ass nature may give off, but even someone new to hip-hop may be able to appreciate them as the deconstructionists they would want to be.