Rap embodies the spirit of rock n’ roll in 2017 & that’s cool
Rock’s played out dawg. In 2017 the narrative of the straight white dude with a guitar isn’t exactly the most compelling. In a decade in which women, religious minorities, people of color, and the LGBT community are at the forefront of national debates, this should hardly be surprising. Though it would be unfair to pidgeonhole rock as an out of touch genre for white people — plenty of thoughtful, compelling, guitar-driven music has been released over the past years — sonically it can’t possibly keep up with hip hop, a genre that essentially has zero rules.
2016 saw a remarkable amount of compelling, unique, experimental, groundbreaking music coming from hip hop. Kanye West released conceptually ambitious, artful music via an innovative social PR campaign. Chance The Rapper continued to release gospel-influenced positivity anthems for free via the internet. Death Grips’ unhinged fusion of hip hop with punk and industrial music pushed the boundaries of the genre. Young Thug continued with his excentric vocal acrobatics while Travis Scott brought an artful orchestral approach to trap. Skepta is the first UK rapper in years to see popularity in the U.S. and Lil Yachty & D.R.A.M. concocted extaticaly happy trappy go lucky summer hits. That’s only scratching the surface of the remarkably diverse array of great hip hop that was released in this past year. People who claim hip hop is just talking over a beat made by a computer clearly fail to see the cultural relevance of a genre that has maintained mainstream popularity for well over 20 years.
When asked to define rock, Ice Cube called it more of a ‘spirit’ than a genre. In a historical context, the lines between rock music and pop music are being blurred the further we get from baby boomer’s favorite musical decades. This is evident in the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame’s recent inductions including artists from R&B, country, soul, funk, blues, and more recently, hip hop. Rock as a guitar-driven genre only has so far it can go before becoming either inaccessibly experimental or simply a fusion with other genres to the point where its something beyond rock. Hip hop has a sonic legacy of change and evolution, and not only do hip hop fans expect that, they demand it.
