Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Finding Similarities in Country and Hip Hop
Country and Hip Hop genres should be considered polar opposites on the music genre spectrum but there are a couple ideas that say otherwise. In class we discussed how there are stereotypical listeners. Whether someone listens to Country or Hip Hop they are being stereotyped. On a macro level however there is the idea of idolization and worship in both genres. For instance, in the article Editorial Observer: How Hip Hop Lost Its Way and Betrayed Its Fans, Brent Staples discusses how Hip Hop is idolized to the point where people will murder because the music promotes it or because someone insulted their favorite artist. There were even gangs created in support of certain artists. In Chuck Klosterman's article Toby VS Moby the Dixie Chick fans are described as teenage girls idolizing and listening like a teenage boy might do at a concert. Obviously country music artists and hip hop artists are idolized in different ways but they both have affects on the listeners.
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I can remember back when I was in high school, a small school out in the middle of nowhere, and I was the group of people that liked rap/hip hop music. But hated country music and would not allow for country music to be even played in my presence. Now I see music in such a different way! I like it all, I think as we get older are choice in music does change and we change as well.
ReplyDeleteWhat sort of impact do you think authenticity has on both country and hip-hop music? Which genre is more authentic and why?
ReplyDeleteThe worlds of violence connect to both worlds, as well. The Dixie Chicks were threatened and berated when they criticized the president. They were in a great deal of danger, which makes them a lot more similar to the danger of some hip-hop artists than might be obvious on the surface.
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