Is there a difference between Hip-Hop & Rap??

Yes there is-----I think KRS-1 put it best saying “Rappers spit rhymes that are mostly illegal, MCs spit rhymes to uplift they people.” I understand why most people confuse the two because, yes, I’ll admit they are similar but that’s only because they come from the same roots. And there has been a lot of blending through the years and there are a lot of blurry lines as far as artist go.

Hip-Hop and Rap are like Ying and Yang. Hip-Hop usually being the lighter of the two deals with problems in life or something big going on in the world. Sometimes just rhyming about ordinary things it usually has a more poetic feel to it with the music. Rap the darker side is more commercialized than Hip-hop and usually has to do with the whole gangster lifestyle. Most real rappers do live that lifestyle but the problem is there are more in the media now that never have lived the “hard life.”

Now here where things get blurry In Common’s “I use to love H.E.R.” he rhymes about how hip-hop has changed to the more gangster type rap style. In it he says “she’s [Hip-Hop] just not the same letting all these groupies do her.” This song sort of in a way shows how Rap branched from Hip-Hop and is a must hear. But through the years rap and hip-hop have came together a little bit blurring the lines I’d love to hear your questions and options so please start talking!

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Permalink Reply by SKiAt on August 8, 2007 at 1:01pm: I agree totally your idea; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Lukewh on August 18, 2007 at 8:28am: For me, Hip-Hop is about the music. Something to dance to. Rap is about the words and a story. Something to take in and listen to. Obviously sometimes these two things cross over, but then all you get is better music to listen to :). When I listen to Hip-Hop I'm usually listening to the music, the interesting things that are being done. When I listen to rap, I don't really notice the music (if it's good rap anyway).
Dizzee Rascal for me ;).; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by vid santoro on August 20, 2007 at 9:32pm: wow...no one got textbook on this...

i gotta work, so i will keep it short

rap is a subdivision of hip hop

hip hop is a culture

a culture that consists of various elements (graff, breaking, rapping, dj-ing, etc) when you really think about the history...rap was always the most corruptable element...
-no company can exploit graff, because for any graff artist to get great at his (or her) craft...they gotta break the law. any company involved in that shit will face some serious problems. i mean andy warhol did his share of giving some legends they're 15 minutes back in the 80s but as far as having a coffe table graffiti book in the brady bunch living room......nope.
-breakdancing was always misunderstood as a form of gang communication. at the start alot of graff writers could break and vice versa...add a copule of cops who dont see past skin color and a kid uprocking on a piece of cardboard suddenly becomes a criminal. not to add that in the 90s there was a wierd occurance of kids breaking they're necks trying to do the windmill...we could used that dance at you're desk shit back then, lol. you may see breakdancing in Mcdonalds commercials every now and again...but it takes ALOT of hard work to master and seemingly the most you can get out of it financially is a 10 second clip in some sorta you got served movie
-dj-ing is (to me) almost incorruptable...the dj picks the songs to play...and the people dance. i mean theyre are ALOT of dudes now a days that get paid by certain artists or labels to play a predictated set...but save for this new action BMI is taking (which is forcing dj's to pay for playing certain artists...another post on another day, i promise) its pretty clean
-rapping....probably one of the most difficult to master, but now a days you barely have to have any skills at all to make a hit. add that to the fact that millions upon millions of people download, so the real money is in ringtone sales, plus you got the whole image factor. and in design...rap is the only element you can do when you get older. its not like you have to stay on pitch, or maintain a record collection, or be able and limber enough to dance, or none of that. stuff aint the same as it used to be, but from a buisness aspect...rap is easy money, thats why i think its the way it is.
but you can do like homeboy said and turn off the shit you dont wanna hear. as you can tell from the avy...i like the roots.

i could have REALLY gotten on my soapbox, but this was too much as it is. i could keep complaining, but then i would feel the need to do something about it, but until then i represent the real and the raw and keep the mainstream stuff for guilty pleasures that i dont tell people about (zadi was right about good beats)

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Permalink Reply by Bennie Simmons on August 20, 2007 at 11:08pm: i agree on the most part but i think all are just as corruptable besides maybe djing a little less because it's the person doing the rapping or break dances and etc.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Steven oubre on August 21, 2007 at 10:34pm: I've always valued lyrics and substance over popularity and i guess "street credibility" for lack of a better term. I view hip hop as a form of spoken poetry that flows with the beat it's spit on. Obscurity seems to flourish more in the hip hop community than the rap community. Its seems like rappers are there to make money whereas Lyricists are there to make music.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by mike mccann on September 9, 2007 at 12:00pm: theres a huge difference and the sad thing is that most rappers well i guess not any more use to be dope MC's ludacris use to actually have good rhyms and now he just has shit, But hip hop is totally different and its still easy in Chicago to find good hip hop shows and not just underground rappers, The one thing i noticed though also is there is more hip hop white dudes than there is blacks at concerts it seems, I go to a roots show and its mostly white and Asian people, Role past a luda show at HOB and its nothing but blacks out side why i don't know

But real hip hop is making a come back as long as common doesn't get sucked into the machines games of making music with no feeling or meaning; ▶ Reply to This