Donkey God

According to Wikipedia Dictionary, “”Rapping, the rhythmic delivery of rhymes, is one of the four central elements of hip-hop culture. Rap can be delivered over a beat or over human beatboxing. A rapper may also perform a capella without any accompaniment. Due to its increasing popularity, rapping has also been assimilated into other musical forms.”"

Rap serves as the voice of a community; it is a vehicle for expressing resentment and hardship, as individuals often don’t have access to mainstream media. Its history is allied with the defiant stance of its creators, who portray themselves within a subjugated context. Since sex and violence sell, there are artists who employ rap for monetary gains. However, critics who dismiss rap as offensive deny the voice of a community that may be offensive, in that they themselves feel slighted.

The early practitioners of rap were first- or second-generation Americans of Caribbean descent. Herc and Hollywood are accredited with introducing the Jamaican style of cutting and mixing into the musical culture of the Bronx. While he was cutting with two turntables, Herc would perform with the mic; his parties gained popularity and were often recorded; duplicate tapes flooded the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, spawning similar acts. Among the new breed of DJs was Afrika Bambaataa, the first Black Muslim rapper. By using rock records, he took rap beyond black youth culture.

In 1979, the first rap records appeared: “King Tim III” and “Rapper’s Delight”. During the mid-1980s, rap moved from the fringes of hip-hop culture to the mainstream music industry, as white musicians embraced the new genre. In 1986, rap reached the Top 10 on the Billboard pop charts with “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)” and “Walk This Way”. In the late 1980s, a segment of rap became politicized. Alongside political rap came gangsta rap, which glamorized the outlaw lifestyle. Today, however, rap has become eclectic and exhibits a capacity to draw from any musical form.

Hip Hop provides detailed information on Hip Hop, Hip Hop And Rap, Hip Hop Music, R&B Hip Hop and more. Hip Hop is affiliated with Karaoke Music.

For those of you used to the rock/pop flavor of Rilo Kiley’s typical fare, you might be a little surprised by the more folky direction Lewis has taken with her personal songwriting. Her new songs are somewhat reminiscient of “More Adventurous” and “The Absence of God,” but the addition of the Watson Twins’ throaty harmonies take the transition one step further until you’re looking at what may as well be a gospel/country album.

Not that this is a bad thing. In fact, maybe Jenny Lewis is born to play this role. After all, her songs tell great stories; she can sing about the blues like few others I’ve heard. For example, in the album’s title track, the repetition of a simple 3 or 4 chords is all you need to provide the background for the true star of the song: the story it sings.

In the end, the album’s a hit. And are you ready for the best part? You can download all the tracks for free except for one (a rolicking cover of the Traveling Wilburys’ “Handle with Care” performed with the aid of M. Ward, Connor Oberst, and Ben Gibbard), and I’d highly recommend doing so. And once you’ve done that, buy “Handle with Care” off iTunes for $.99. It’s certainly a steal for an album that (in my opinion) is worth much more than the price of a Junior Bacon Cheeseburger.

Favorite Tracks: “Happy,” “Melt Your Heart,” “Rabbit Fur Coat,” “Handle With Care”

Pop on the Rocks is a blog/e-zine hybrid exploring all areas of Pop Culture.