Music: Rap vs. Country

     This past week we discussed popular music in class. The two forms we discussed, rap and country, are vastly different. They seek different audiences and represent disparate cultures and ways of living. Despite all their diffences though, there are a couple of ways that rap and country music are very similar.
     The first way these two genres are similar is that lyrics are very important to both forms of music. The subject matter of the two genres are very different, but the lyrics are important to each genre's success. With rap, the lyrics tend to revolve around sex, violence, wealth, and misogyny. These lyrics play a large role in the genre's attraction to it's fan base. It's been said that one of the reasons the artist Eminem is so popular is that his lyrics are so clear and easily understood. With country music, the lyrics are also very important. It's been said that the lyrics in country music are "highly specific but secretly universal." That means the lyrics refer to a certain thing or even,t but those listening identify the lyrics with their own personal experiences or easily understand the experience being portrayed.
     The second way these genres are similar is the need for authenticity in their artists. Fans of country and rap each want artists who have "been there, done that" and epitomize the fans view of what a star in that genre should be. In rap music, artists try to portray themselves as bad boys; thugs, gang members, criminals, etc. There is a need to "keep it real" and "represent" in order to build and maintain their fanbase. With country music, artists need to represent the country ideals. Country music fans don't want slick artists who grew up in the big city. They want country boys, cowboys. Almost all the popular country musicians you see reflect this, wearing blue jeans and cowboy hats.
     As you can see, country and rap are different. They both are very popular though for some of the same reasons. The only difference is the content and messages that each form of music try to deliver to their fans.