The aesthetics of rap.

After reading many articles supposedly concerning rap music - about the social aspects of rap music, the criminal elements in rap music, the lawsuits caused by rap music, sampling in rap music, gossip concerning rap musicians, how other musicians feel about rap music, etc. - I realized that I had yet to read about the music itself. In other words, I had not read about the "aesthetics" of rap, about the qualifies which made particular examples of rap music good music - not necessarily good rap music, but simply good music.

Good art is distinguished because it possesses at least one - and usually more than one - attribute such as sincerity, originality, honesty, or creativity. Good art is usually emotionally involving and/or thought-provoking. These, I believe, are attributes that almost all "good" art shares. While many rap records possess these attributes, far more do not. This is true with most art forms, however. In general, unsuccessful artistic productions far outnumber successful ones.

To discuss and critique any subject intelligently requires both adequate knowledge of that subject and the ability to illustrate that knowledge. The ability to distinguish, qualitatively, between good and bad rap music requires sufficient knowledge about a variety of rap music, past and present, popular and less well-known. The majority of articles regarding rap music are written by music critics, or - far too often - social or political personalities who are not knowledgeable enough to be involved in a serious discussion about rap music. Rap music, it seems, is not considered worthy of serious, learned discussion. To those who actually understand the music, though, rap is a true art form - as much so as jazz, classical, rhythm and blues, or rock 'n' roll.

I bought my first album, Run-D.M.C.'s self-titled debut, in 1983, when I was 13 years old. I grew up in a household dominated by the arts - most prominently, the art of recorded music. My father was a jazz and pop music critic by trade. I didn't know it at the time, but my father's job gave me the predilection for listening to music both casually and critically. Even though I can now appreciate the breadth of my father's mostly non-rap and seemingly endless LP collection, until approximately 1989 I listened to rap music almost exclusively. I saw jazz, R&B, reggae, and the other musical forms that my father enjoyed as his music; and until 1989 or so, I saw rap music as mine.

Around 1989, there was a significant and negative change in the artistic direction of rap music. The major record labels began to see the commercial potential for rap music and began signing rapper after rapper without regard to artistic integrity or originality. The music, of course, suffered from this lack of selectivity.

Rap music was first recorded on independent labels, and the independents did not, in general, sign unoriginal or otherwise inferior artists because they had a much smaller margin for error than did the major labels. The indies needed virtually every record they released, if not to become a huge hit, at least to sell well enough not to cost them money. One way the independents could ensure this, in the early days of rap, was simply to sign and record the best rappers they could find. At the time, the audience for rap music was such that quality, hard-core (i.e., non-commercial) material was generally more successful than less artistically inclined material.

The second reason the indies avoided signing inferior rappers was that they depended on the quality of their artists' recordings to establish their overall reputation. Initially, a rap fan could buy any release from such independent rap labels as Sleeping Bag/Fresh, Def Jam, Cold Chillin', Tuff City, Tommy Boy, Next Plateau, or Profile and be assured of hearing a decent, if not always indispensable record. As a generalization, signing too many commercial or just plain bad rappers, by association, would slow the sales of all of that independent's releases, and so the general quality of recorded rap music in the early and mid-'80s remained high.

When the profit-oriented major labels entered the rap scene, however, this fertile breeding ground for good tappers disappeared. Not only did the majors sign many rappers whose skills weren't up to par, the big labels also lured many of the best rappers from the indies with contracts that the indies couldn't match. At the same time, many independents were bought out, either in whole or in part, by the majors. Unlike the smaller companies, the big record companies could afford to release record after record of commercially inclined music without regard to artistic integrity. This practice drastically slowed the artistic development of rap music.

Adhering to the business ethic of most major labels often stunts a musician's artistic - while encouraging his commercial - growth. Big labels see artists who take chances musically as risks, since chance-taking necessarily produces at least as many commercial failures as successes. No major label will knowingly encourage the possibility of commercial failure. Therefore, the majors want little to do with the experimentation necessary to create quality art. Why sign a potential, if not yet accomplished artist, the corporate way of thinking goes, when one can sign an entertainer - a person whose primary goal is monetary rather than artistic success?

This "business first" attitude has contributed to (some would say created) what has become the single biggest threat to the continued development of rap music as an art form - the preoccupation by many rappers with sex and violence. The explosion of sexually and violently explicit lyrics, and the sub-genre such lyrics create (i.e., "gangsta" rap), occurred soon after the major labels got into the rap business. The major labels created an environment in which a rapper's main focus became money, not music, and what is the best way for a rapper to make money in a society in which sex and violence sell? To rap about sex and violence.

Not long ago, a rapper's skills and creativity dictated the direction of the music. The music didn't change, the environment changed. As the music grew more popular, it became open to mainstream influences. Other forms of American entertainment exemplify these influences. The number one movie in America is usually either a violent "shoot-em up" or a sex-filled "love" story or thriller. The best-seller list is usually dominated by the same type of material. The majority of rap artists today are simply doing the same thing that mainstream movie stars, popular music stars, and novelists have been doing for years - giving the people what they have been conditioned to "want."

Most rap artists who flourished in the early and mid-'80s (all of whom recorded for independent labels - for example, Run-D.M.C., Mantronix, Ultramagnetic M.C.'s, and, a little later, Eric B. & Rakim) rarely, if ever, depended on sexually explicit or violent lyrics to succeed commercially, although such lyrics sometimes appeared in rap before the advent of the major labels' influence. Artists such as Schoolly-D, Too Short, Ice-T, and N.W.A. all started out on independent labels, and all included sexually or violently explicit lyrics on their recordings. The difference between the above rappers and today's scores of "gangsta" rappers, however, is that the earlier rappers were also original and inventive. There was a level of creativity in the earlier rap music that is lacking in. almost all of today's "gangsta" rap recordings. The vast majority of today's "gangsta" rappers are, at the systemic urging of record companies big and small, simply copying copies - repeating and rerepeating the same tired words and themes heard countless times before.

I do not mean to imply that there is anything necessarily bad about art that is sexually or violently explicit. What is bad is commerce masquerading as art. It is unfortunate that in our profit-driven society, entertainers are almost always more visible and influential than artists. Nevertheless, if one is to judge an art form accurately, one must judge the form as created by the artist, not by the all-too-prevalent entertainer.

For rap music to develop any further, the artists themselves must accept the responsibility to create and record with artistic quality as their primary motivation. No amount of outside coercion or legislation can or will "cure" rap music.

That said, I will use the rest of this article to attempt to introduce rap music as an art form. I will not discuss any further, except incidentally, rap music's politics, culture, or preoccupation with violence and misogyny. I think that these issues have been discussed more than enough in the rap forum. I see them as serious and pervasive social problems, not as problems unique to, or predicated by, this particular form of music. I hope that this article provides a level of understanding usually not available through television programs or mainstream magazine articles. I also hope to dispel some myths and clarify some misunderstandings.

Lyrics/Style/Flow/Sound

Because rap music tends to be so unapologetically direct and personal, the great rappers almost without exception write their own lyrics. (This is also the reason very few rappers cover each other's songs.) The word lyrics, when used by rap fans, refers both to the subject matter and the written construction of the song. Critics of rap must consider the same elements commonly found in good poetry - simile, metaphor, and alliteration as well as creative expression, originality, and conveyance of emotion.

Style refers both to the tonal quality in a rapper's vocals and to the level of originality in presentation and delivery. Rakim raps in a near seamless monotone that serves to emphasize his lyrics. Run's style is very dynamic and emotional - his lyrics depend on the intensity of his delivery for their full effect. L.L. Cool J's style is a balance between the two extremes - at times aggressive and unrelenting, emphasizing delivery, and, at other times, measured and deliberate, emphasizing his lyrics. Although styles vary widely among great tappers, all share the common element of originality.

Flow describes a rapper's sense of rhythm and timing. The concept of flow differentiates rap music from other music with spoken lyrics (like, for example, the music of Gil Scott-Heron, The Last Poets, or even Cab Callaway). Rap lyrics are delivered in a rhythmic cadence, not simply recited or melodically half-sung. The quality of the rhythmic delivery is what defines flow. A rapper with good lyrics and style who can't flow is like a singer with a good voice and a well-written song who ignores the melody. When a rapper flows, the lyrics blend into a continuous melodic line like the flow of notes from a jazz soloist's horn. Not surprisingly, this element of rap music is what most inspires frequent comparisons to jazz.

All of the great rappers, like all of the great singers/instrumentalists in other genres, have an intangible sound that distinguishes them from other rappers. Like a fingerprint, this individual sound helps any knowledgeable rap fan identify the better rappers the instant they hear a rapper's vocals. What makes this possible is the concept of "sound" - an artist's non-quantifiable, identifying characteristics.

The Beginning

Rap music, unlike disco or funk, is a new genre unto itself. Disco and funk were variations of an already existing, and therefore familiar, form - rhythm & blues. Rap music, in its purest form, presents an entirely new sound. This is one of the reasons rap music tends to be so misunderstood not only by the general public, but also by "accomplished" music critics - it is completely unfamiliar.

It is important to keep in mind that this phenomenon is by no means unique. Jazz met with an uncannily similar reaction in its infancy. In the early 1900s, jazz was often described as base, vulgar, and devoid of artistic or intellectual relevance. John Coltrane, a man now regarded by many as the preeminent jazz artist of his time, was routinely criticized as being "anti-music." Similarly, early R&B was described as "jungle music" - non-intellectual, discordant noise capable of "corrupting" the masses of unsuspecting American youth. Blues, jazz, and rock 'n' roll were all at one time considered unfit for "polite" or "decent" people.

Rap music is part of a continuum - the latest in a line of new musics created primarily by Black Americans. It has been subject to the same attacks that blues, jazz, and rock 'n' roll have been subject to. Following the same route, rap music has already developed from a regional, underground occurrence to a genre that, while mainstream, is as yet unaccepted by most except for the young and the "hip." By the end of this decade, though, rap will simply be another part of popular American music, neither reviled nor revered. Whether or not this is a good thing for the music, in an artistic sense, remains to be seen.

Rap music, in its essential form, is composed of programmed rhythm and syncopated chant - i.e., drum and voice - beats and rhymes. There is a de-emphasis, often to the point of exclusion, of harmony and melody. To the uninitiated ear, especially one accustomed to the catchy pop songs of mainstream entertainers, this emphasis of rhythm and de-emphasis of melody and harmony can be disconcerting, to say the least. Since most rap music also uses some form of often-difficult-to-decipher vernacular or slang, it is easy to see why the appeal of rap music eludes most listeners who haven't either grown up listening to it or haven't investigated, in a non-prejudicial and informed manner, exactly what this music form has to offer.

In the early and mid-'70s, in New York and most other major American cities, the predominant popular Black musics were funk and disco. However, the younger generation was, consistent with historical precedent, looking for something which reflected their reality more accurately than the pop records of the time.

In many popular records, short, bridge-like segments brought the rhythm of the song to the forefront, using the bass and drums while the melodic instruments and the singer(s) sat out. At parties, this "break" was the most affective part of the record - the part of the record the dancers waited and saved their best moves for. Early New York hip-hop D.J.s began to search funk, soul, disco, and any other records they could get their hands on for the best "breaks." Then, using two turntables and a stereo mixer, the D.J.s would extend and combine the few bars customary on the recordings into new creations that would last as long as the D.J. wanted.

Though none of the existing written accounts of the early years of rap is considered definitive, the men most commonly credited for the earliest developments in rap were Clive "Kool Herc" Campbell, Joseph "Grandmaster Flash" Saddler, and Afrika Bambaataa.

The vocal element was gradually added to these "break beat" creations. Kool Herc, for example, began to use a friend of his, who went by the name of Coke La Rock, as a vocal sideman. Coke would act as the "master of ceremonies," introducing Herc and providing vocals to improve the show and entertain the dancers. Hence, the title M.C. that many rappers still use as part of their stage names.

According to rap legend, Grandmaster Flash was responsible for pushing the vocal aspect further by enlisting a few of his friends to do more complicated vocal rhymes over the break music. He and his rappers - Melle Mel, Cowboy, Kid Creole, Scorpio, and Rahiem - eventually became Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, one of the most important of the old-school rap groups.

Soon many others began to concentrate on the vocal, M.C. side of this new form rather than on the instrumental, D.J. side. As the music developed, the M.C.s became more and more influential. The raps became increasingly complex as these artists worked at and developed their craft. What began as simply an extra device to add excitement to the show eventually became the essence of the form.

This artistic exploration and growth went relatively unnoticed by mainstream America, outside of the hipper circles of the New York City club scene, until the release of "Rapper's Delight" (Sugar Hill Records, 1979) by The Sugar Hill Gang - a quickly assembled New Jersey trio of rappers named after their record label. The record was essentially a series of catchy sing-song rhymes delivered over a break from a popular disco song of the period, "Good Times." "Rapper's Delight" was a huge hit but, perhaps not incidentally, considering its huge popularity, did not accurately portray the music that was being created in the Bronx and the other boroughs of New York City at the time.

Most of the underground rappers in New York, while no doubt impressed with the unprecedented commercial success of the New Jersey trio, were unimpressed with the lightweight disco vibe of the record. Though "Rapper's Delight" may not have been a towering success artistically, the record eventually sold over an estimated 2 million copies worldwide and is considered a very important release because it introduced most of the world to rap music.

A second early rap record that achieved great commercial success was "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (Sugar Hill Records, 1982). Though this record is generally considered to be better, from an artistic point of view, than "Rapper's Delight," it still didn't quite capture the intensity of the existing, non-recorded form of the music. The instrumentation was provided by the Sugar Hill house band and sounded fairly similar to the pop/R&B of the day. Lyrically, the record was a moving narrative which chronicled various tales of urban despair. The record's general tone and phrasing, though, did not differ much from contemporary R&B songs which illustrated the same situations.

Rap music, for myself and many others, started in 1983. Until that point a localized underground of artistic expression and growth - a separate culture called hip-hop - went unrecognized outside of New York. "Hip-hop" culture in the late '70s and early '80s included not only rap music, but graffiti art and break-dancing in equal parts of the whole.(1)

In the early '80s most of hip-hop's lyrics were similar to previous non-hip-hop, spoken/"talk-sung" novelty pop hits. Musically, many of the hip-hop records used breaks from other records rather than unique compositions. (A situation that in recent years has ironically come full circle with sampling.) Some records, like the aforementioned "Rapper's Delight," were simply rapped lyrics over an instrumental version of a popular song of the time. Though there was a strong emphasis on rhythm, recorded hip-hop had not yet evolved into its post-'83 "beats and rhymes" structure. This was the context into which two young men from Hollis, Queens, New York released their debut album; the young men called themselves Run-D.M.C. and their debut changed the face of hip-hop.

Run-D.M.C.

The rhythm track begins - nothing but drum-programmed bass kicks and snare drum claps:

boom-boom bap, boom-bap, boom-bap, boom-bap, boom-boom bap, boom-bap, boom-bap, boom-bap . . .

Then the M.C. comes in -

Two years ago, a friend of mine Asked me to say some M.C. rhymes So I said the rhyme I'm about to say The rhyme was def and it went this way . . . .

The song is "Sucker M.C.'s (Krush Groove 1)," and it marks the first defining moment in the history of recorded rap music. Throughout its three minutes and some odd seconds, the record is rap music in its purest form - beats and rhymes. There are no melodic hooks or catchy instrumental samples. There isn't even a chorus. The record is a four-verse narrative over a minimalist rhythm track - a rhythm track that existed solely as a basis for the artist to rap over.

It is impossible for me to imagine rap music existing as it currently does without the contributions of Run-D.M.C. While funk and disco, the immediate predecessors of rap, were certainly different from the more traditional R&B/soul songs from which they were born, they were still essentially familiar - artists singing over traditional forms of instrumentation. Similarly, the two earlier mentioned old-school hits - "Rapper's Delight" and "The Message" - were familiar in nature if not in execution to funk or disco.

But Run-D.M.C.'s "Sucker M.C.'s" is glaringly unfamiliar, with its absolute lack of melody and harmony. The other element which differentiated this record from other recorded rap music was the rappers' attitude. Joseph "Run" Simmons had a confident, "in-your-face" vocal style that made no attempt to sound catchy or commercial. To his fans, Run epitomized "cool" circa 1983. Consider, for example, this excerpt from "30 Days":

Now the name that I use is D.J. Run And I'm a fast-talking, slow-walking #1 And if you don't believe all the words I say Then you're a natural born fool who's got to be that way . . . .

One of the crucial elements of rap lyrics throughout the era of Run-D.M.C. - the early and mid-'80s - was a celebration of self through inventive wordplay. They included poetic devices such as alliteration, simile, metaphor, and hyperbole. This wordplay is often passed off as mindless bragging; but to those who understand the music, it is actually a fascinating exercise in the usage of language and sound - an art form in and of itself.

Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels possessed a hard-core yet calm quality in his vocals which still influences today's rap. D.M.C. was Run's foil, the anchor for Run's emotional even sometimes hyper - style. Consider more lyrics from "Sucker M.C.'s" that demonstrate the inclination of many early rappers for down-to-earth humor and self-celebration:

I'm D.M.C., in the place to be I go to St. John's University Since kindergarten I acquired the knowledge And after twelfth grade I went straight to college I'm light skinned / I live in Queens And I love eating chicken and collard greens I dress to kill / I love to style I'm the M.C. you know, who's versatile . . . .

Listen to Run-D.M.C. now, and a lot of their songs sound relatively tame in structure and content. It can not be overstated, however, how revolutionary their direct, raw style was in 1983 and '84. They were at the forefront of the creators of a genre. When Run-D.M.C. released their debut album, they gave rap music the voice it needed to break away from disco and funk. This was the beginning of the art form that has become, in terms of both artistic quality and popularity, one of the predominant forms of American music.

L.L. Cool J

In 1985, Def Jam Records released the single "I Need A Beat." This single marked the debut of the then-16-year-old "Ladies Love Cool J" a.k.a. James Todd Smith. L.L. Cool J soon became known as one of rap music's preeminent vocalists and, incidentally, its first sex symbol. Even more than Run-D.M.C., L.L. Cool J exuded bold self-confidence and artistic fearlessness. On "I Need A Beat," he wasted no time erasing any doubts that a 16-year-old could hold his own:

There's no category / for this story It will rock in any territory I syncopated and designed it well The beat elevates / the scratch excels All techniques are a combination Of skills that I have for narration . . . .

Although "I Need a Beat" was released soon after Run-D.M.C.'s debut album, L.L. Cool J's lyrics already contained a higher level of complexity.

Later in 1985, L.L. Cool J followed his impressive first single with an equally impressive debut album that he named simply, Radio. The title did not refer to seeking airplay - something basically unheard of for underground rap music of the time - but rather referred to the big boom-box pictured on the album cover, the one that L.L. said in song that he could not live without.

On this album, L.L. Cool J further demonstrates his remarkable lyrical talent by executing various styles. His lyrics are at times macho and unbending, then funny and charming. In his signature song, "Rock the Bells," L.L. challenges any M.C. to out-rap him. The song begins:

L.L. Cool J is hard as hell! [I'll] battle anybody I don't care who you tell I excel, they all fell . . . .

The backing tracks on this album are, almost without exception, minimalist and tightly arranged. Just as L.L. Cool J's lyrics advanced rap's standard, Rick Rubin - L.L.'s producer and primary sound architect - created streamlined, bass-heavy rhythm tracks which set a new standard in rap instrumentation. In fact, in a reference to this musical minimalism, the album jacket reads "Reduced [as opposed to produced] by Rick Rubin."

On one of Radio's two unprecedented rap ballads, "I Want You," L.L. begins - with tough-guy bravado - "Look, girl, I'm not gonna sing 'cause I just don't do that . . . ." But, a few verses later, the young rapper changes his tune, painting the following picturesque image of an almost cool teenager trying, probably unsuccessfully, to impress an older woman:

You sip gin and tonic with a double-hole straw Finally, I get the nerve to buy you one more The bartender smirks /I whisper, "he's a jerk" I'm wearing leather pants and a thirty-dollar shirt . . . .

L.L. Cool J, like Run-D.M.C. before him, established a new model in rap music. The combination of his youthfulness and directness demystified the creative process. His image was that of an everyday guy, even if his skills were extraordinary. Before Radio, rappers celebrated their success and fame by wearing the most outlandish clothing possible. They routinely performed in leather outfits decorated with feathers and sequins, set off with brightly colored high-heeled boots. The younger rappers - L.L., Run-D.M.C., and others - intentionally moved away from these gaudy stage outfits. L.L. recorded a number of bitingly funny references to the earlier rappers' sense of style, like this one, again from "Rock the Bells":

. . . All you jheri curl suckers wearin' high- heeled boots Like ballerinas / What I mean is, you're a fruit-loop troop . . . .

L.L. Cool J's album jacket pictures him in a pair of black jeans, a black shirt, and basketball sneakers.

When I first came across Cool J's album, I remember thinking that it probably wouldn't be very good. He looked like a regular guy, dressed like a regular guy, and his song titles were equally unprepossessing - "I Can't Live Without My Radio," "I Need A Beat," and "I Want You." And, he looked so young. (I later found out that he was so young.) In 1985, however, mediocre rappers seldom made full-length LPs, so I bought the album despite my doubts. From the first song, it was apparent I was listening to something exceptional. With the possible exception of Run of Run-D.M.C., I'd never heard a rapper that had such obvious assurance in his own abilities.

L.L. Cool J pronounced every syllable as though his career depended on it. His vocals had a tonal quality of such intensity and passion that he unwittingly inspired the first wave of "copy-cat" signings by the record companies.

Many A & R men equated L.L.'s intensity with simple yelling and screaming. Soon, any rapper able to yell his way through a verse or two was considered for a record contract.

Perhaps the most affective qualities of L.L. Cool J's debut album, however, were those essential to all good art - sincerity and honesty. The songs on his album portrayed the full range of character and emotion - from machismo to vulnerability, from humor to anger, from swaggering bravado to uncommon sensitivity. Most of all, L.L. Cool J's youthfulness and average-guy image demystified the world of rap music and encouraged many other young artists to create. The songs from Radio, and many of the songs from his subsequent albums, have lost little of their appeal over time, artistically or commercially.

Eric B. & Rakim

In 1986, a small N.Y. label, Zakia Records, released a two-song, 12[inches] single by Eric B. featuring Rakim. The rapper, who went by the Muslim name Rakim, became the M.C. considered by many rap fans and critics to be the best "pure" rap per ever. The first words spoken on record by Rakim were the introduction to the aforementioned "Eric B. Is President," and they were appropriately prophetic:

I came in the door / I said it before I never let the mic magnetize me no more But it's biting me, fighting me, inviting me to rhyme I can't hold it back / I'm looking for the line Taking off my coat, clearing my throat The rhyme will be kickin' until I hit my last note My mind arranged to find all kinds of ideas Self-esteem makes it seem that the thought took years to build But still say a rhyme after the next one Prepared, never scared / I'll just bless one . . . .

Notice Rakim's obsessive tendency for internal rhyme - in the third line, "biting"/"fighting"/"inviting," and in the seventh line, "mind"/"find"/"kind." It was this tendency, coupled with his unusually abstract but thoughtful lyrics that earned Rakim his reputation. Observe the structural complexity typical of Rakim's lyrics, in an excerpt from the last stanza of "Move the Crowd" - from Eric B. & Rakim's debut album, Paid In Full:

With knowledge of self, there's nothing I can't solve At three hundred and sixty degrees I revolve It's not an act, it's an actual fact / It's been proven In deed / And I proceed to make the crowd keep moving

Stylistically, there is a sense of certainty present in these lyrics. Appreciate again the abundance of internal rhyme that Rakim is known for - "act"/"actual"/"fact" and "In deed"/"proceed." Further structural complexity is displayed in the line breaks: The phrase "proven / In deed" is together, as part of the same thought, although separated between two different lines. A perceptible pause between "In deed" and the phrase "And I proceed" marks the beginning of the next thought, and establishes "In deed" as the close of the first thought. The final rhyme of the couplet appears to be "proceed," a couple of beats later, until one reaches the actual final word, "moving" - which, of course, rhymes with "proven," the final word of the first line, and which completes the rhyme in a traditional pattern.

Rakim also pioneered the use of abstract ideas and metaphors:

My unusual style will confuse you a while If I was water, I'd flow in the Nile . . . When the mic and the R-A-K-I-M Is attached, like a match, I will strike again . . . .

Notice in both of these couplets that there is once again an abundance of internal rhyme and multi-syllabic rhyme. In fact, in the first line, every syllable of "un-us-u-al style" rhymes with every syllable of "con-fuse you a while." And in the second couplet, notice both syllables of the internal rhyme "at-tached" and "a match"; this is uncommon, not only because of its multi-syllabic internal rhyme, but also because it appears in the second, instead of the more common first, line of the couplet.

Rakim is so skilled in employing complex internal and multi-syllabic rhymes that often every line in every one of his songs seems to include at least one of these devices. Yet, despite the complexity of his lyrics, they never sound forced or contrived.(2)

The Periods of Rap's Development

There have been at least four distinct periods in the development of rap music so far. The first period - when the early hip-hop D.J.s perfected their craft in parks and house parties - is the hardest to pinpoint, in terms of both exact time period and primary influential forces. The earliest innovators, by definition, were not consciously creating a genre, and a lack of documentation and reference is therefore to be expected. This period lasted from the early '70s to 1979, when The Sugar Hill Gang released "Rapper's Delight."

During the second period, often referred to by rap fans as "The Old School," hip-hop/rap recordings began to be released through independent record labels in and around the New York area. Though the different elements of hip-hop culture - graffiti art, break-dancing, and rap music - would begin to surface in various areas around America, and overseas in various European countries and Japan, the creative forces of hip-hop culture were still coming primarily from its birthplace, New York. This period lasted from 1979 until 1983, when Run-D.M.C. released their debut album Run-D.M.C.

The third period, the period that has proved to be the most creative and progressive in rap music so far, lasted from 1983 to approximately 1989. Almost all of the albums that are now considered classics were released during this period. Also during this period, rappers from outside of New York began to gain in popularity and influence, including Schoolly D in Philadelphia, N.W.A. in Los Angeles, and Too Short in Oakland. This was also a time when the music industry and pop music fans in general began to realize not only that rap music was not a fad, but that rap had begun to command considerable influence outside of the genre itself. Run-D.M.C., Eric B. & Rakim, and L.L. Cool J were all at the height of their artistic powers during this era.

The fourth and current period began after 1989, when the major labels' overt commercial concerns and the taste and "morals" (or lack thereof) of the general public began to shape the creative climate of the rap music world. Sales have become the overriding consideration, not an artist's recording solely, or at least primarily, for the sake of creative expression and/or communication. Even those artists, many of whom I recommend below, who have attempted to remain true to their creative impulses have been routinely faced with artistic compromise in order to succeed commercially.

In 1993 and since then, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of quality rap albums, a few of which are recommended below. I hope that this recent increase in quality is not a fluke but a sign that at least some rap artists are becoming more aware of the negative effects commercialization has had on the music. Perhaps we are entering a new and more artistically challenging period for rap music in which the artists will take more responsibility for moving away from exploitative, explicit lyrics and toward more creative and true expression and communication.

Recommended Listening

The list of albums that follows is not intended to be comprehensive. The recommended albums were picked not only for artistic quality and influence, but also for availability. Because many of the best rap recordings were issued on now-unavailable, independent-label 12[inches] singles or vinyl LPs, the list does not include important and influential artists like Spoonie G, T La Rock, Ultramagnetic M.C.'s, Mantronix, Just Ice, and Schoolly D, to name a few. The best material of these rappers is, unfortunately, not currently available. In addition, there are many quality artists like EPMD, Big Daddy Kane, Brand Nubian, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, etc., whom I could not include due to space limitations. An asterisk (*) denotes an album that contains lyrics and/or subject matter that may be judged offensive by some listeners.

Run-D.M.C. Run-D.M.C. 1984. Run-D.M.C. is the single most influential album in rap music. Before this album, rap music was one part of a regional cultural happening, seen by most of the world outside of New York as a sub-genre of disco or funk. This album engendered a new musical form. In 1994, a full decade later, Run-D.M.C.'s album is no longer state-of-the-art. When compared to the contrived and overly commercial rap records of recent years, however, its overall artistic quality still triumphs.

L.L. Cool J. Radio. 1985. Radio marked the debut of one of rap music's most dynamic and enduring stars. The aggressive, vital style L.L. Cool J pioneered on this album inspired imitators to scream and yell their lyrics in futile attempts to copy his delivery. L.L. remains a force in rap music, both artistically and commercially. Songs from this album like "Rock the Bells," "Dear Yvette," and "You'll Rock" can still be heard nightly on hip-hop mix shows around the country.

Eric B. & Rakim. Paid In Full. 1987. This album marked the debut of the man many consider the best rapper ever. Each of the seven vocal tracks of Paid In Full (three of the album's ten tracks are primarily instrumental) are now considered classics. This is one of just a handful of albums that no rap collection should lack.

* Boogie Down Productions. Criminal Minded. 1987. In the first song, "Poetry," K.R.S. One became the first rapper overtly to identify what he did as art. Not coincidentally, he later became known as the "teacher of rap." This album, B.D.P.'s debut, contains the seed of his humanist philosophy while showcasing K.R.S.'s lyrical skills. K.R.S. One's literate, precise vocals and his superior timing and sense of rhythm made him an instant master of style. B.D.P.'s second album, By All Means Necessary, contains more mature concepts, and was, perhaps, even more influential, but nowhere there or on subsequent releases can I find as consistent a sense of creativity as in Criminal Minded. Although Criminal Minded contains its fair share of violent and explicit lyrics, as K.R.S. puts it on the album's title track, "We're not promoting violence, we're just having some fun . . . ."

Public Enemy. It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back. 1988. At one time, Public Enemy was far and away the most popular and influential group in rap music. It Takes A Nation Of Millions, their second album, was for a long time considered the rap album by both critics and fans. Public Enemy pioneered a completely different sound by combining polyrhythmic drum samples and multi-layered horn squeals and whistles - a soundscape that was as distinctive and unmistakable as it was new. Lead rapper Chuck D's lyrics, delivered in a charismatic, booming baritone, are almost exclusively pro-Black history lessons. Public Enemy was the first rap group to focus the music's potential on social change. Chuck D and his group members vowed to create 5,000 new black leaders by the year 2,000. Though the ultra-violent, often nihilistic social climate we now live in makes it seem implausible, Public Enemy's progressive social agenda along with the Bomb Squad's frenetically seductive beats made Public Enemy, for a time, the most popular rap group in the country. Now though, in 1995, having already weathered ex-member Prof. Griff's infamous anti-Semitic remarks, and comic foil Flavor Flav's numerous ironically drug-induced brushes with the law, Public Enemy's latest release Muse Sick In Our Mess Age appears to be falling on deaf ears. Nevertheless, It Takes A Nation Of Millions remains an important and undeniable testament to the positive power that music can possess for social change.

De La Soul. 3 Feet High And Rising. 1989.3 Feet High And Rising is probably the most well-received rap album ever by mainstream music critics. Despite this somewhat dubious distinction, it is also a very good album. While most rappers obsessed over being as "hard" as possible, De La Soul was whimsical, uncontrived, and funny. They drew humorous cartoons on their jacket sleeves; they bragged about their favorite foods - Yogurt and Twizzlers; and their album is full of in-jokes about people named Derwin and Jenifa. Soon after its release, 3 Feet High became very popular with pop music critics, the public at large, and the majority of underground rap fans as well. Unfortunately, in the face of such mainstream acclaim, there was an almost inevitable backlash against the group by underground rap fans. The backlash was so severe, in fact, that the group named their next album De La Soul Is Dead in an attempt to remake their image. Nevertheless, 3 Feet High And Rising remains an influence for many later rappers(3) who have a desire to stray from the beaten path in the often constricting world of rap music.

A Tribe Called Quest. The Low End Theory. 1990. This group's second album is a throwback to the mid-'80s. Q-Tip and Phife (the rappers) and Ali Muhammed (the D.J./producer) show how rap was done before commercial success guided most rappers' creativity. This album combines a modern sound with a classic method. On the album's first single, "Check the Rhime," Q-Tip echoes many a rapper's and fan's feelings about the major label influence on the music: "Industry rule number four thousand and eighty / Record company people are shady / So kids watch your back, 'cause I think they smoke crack / I don't doubt it, look at how they act."

* Ice Cube. Death Certificate. 1991. Ice Cube's records remind me of the best of the "gangster" movies (The Godfather series, Scarface, Goodfellas, etc.). They feature harrowing, well-written, and well-told tales of power and violence that, though often humorous, thoughtful, and enlightening, are also at times nihilistic, prejudiced, and obtuse. Death Certificate, Ice Cube's third solo release (following his less than friendly split from the pioneering "gangsta" rap group N.W.A.), was his first "concept" album. Through the characters on Death Certificate, Ice Cube first depicts on "The Death Side," then attacks on "The Life Side," the social circumstances and situations he considers responsible for the distressing condition of Black America circa 1991. The album's defining moment can be found in the second-to-last song, titled simply "Us." "Us . . . will always sing the blues," says Ice Cube," 'Cause all we care about is hairstyles and tennis shoes / And if you step on mine, then you pushed the button / I'll shoot you down like it ain't nothin'." Honest self-examination is rare in any genre of music. Ice Cube's work is always passionate and honest.

* Ice Cube. The Predator. 1992. Ice Cube is, aesthetically, the best rapper working today. His style, flow, and lyrics are all virtually peerless, and The Predator proves it. Though neither so visionary nor so well-planned as Death Certificate, this album clearly shows Ice Cube's desire and ability to continue to grow as a lyricist. On tracks like "Wicked," "The Predator," and "We Had To Tear This - Up," Ice Cube sets new standards for internal, complex rhyme schemes mixed with seamless flow. The Predator contains Ice Cube's usual combination of violent social commentary and ironic humor, with absolutely no concession to political correctness. Without a doubt, The Predator contains some of the most intense rap music ever recorded.

* Gang Starr. Daily Operation. 1992. Gang Starr is a Brooklyn, New York-based duo that specializes in what is referred to by rap fans as "real hip-hop." In other words, their music contains little, if any concession to commercial concerns. This fact, coupled with rapper Guru's monotone but complex style, has made them an extremely popular street-level group. Despite that appeal, they have never had a gold-selling (500,000 plus) record. Their third release, Daily Operation, is a model of consistency; there are fifteen full-length songs on the album, and not one could be called filler. D.J./producer Premier comes up with track after varied track, and Guru matches him lyric for lyric. The Gang Starr sound is an acquired taste well worth pursuing.

* Dr. Dre. The Chronic. 1992. Ask a knowledgeable rap fan or critic to name the single best produced rap album, and that person will probably name The Chronic. Dr. Dre, an ex-member of N.W.A. (the same West Coast group Ice Cube was a member of), has a unique talent for creating very funky, laid-back instrumental tracks that are, ironically, usually accompanied by some of the most explicit lyrics in mainstream rap. If you want to hear the current state of the art in rap production (i.e., the most crisp highs, tightest bass, and dead-on edits) and the songs that made Snoop Doggy Dogg the most popular rapper on the planet since M.C. Hammer, buy this album - you'll be one in close to 4 million people to do so.

Digable Planets. Reachin' (A New Refutation Of Time And Space). 1993. This Grammy Award-winning album was widely heralded by critics as the paradigm of a new subgenre - "jazz/hip-hop." The critics were right. Though "jazz/hip-hop" never really did take off as a separate entity, Reachin' is quite an achievement in the mixing of the two genres. Like De La Soul, Digable Planets enjoyed both street-level and mainstream popularity; and, also like De La Soul, they subsequently suffered a backlash among "real" rap fans. Digable Planets is one of the few rap groups to include a female rapper as a fully equal member.

* Wu-Tang Clan. Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). 1993. Enter The Wu-Tang was the result of a union of a seemingly endless number of rappers who decided to pool their talents in order to get signed. The result is a sprawling but highly entertaining release. Led by the charismatic Method Man (who has since released an excellent solo album), the members of Wu-Tang show off their unique skills while yelling and screaming their way through twelve pieces of what at times resembles the rap equivalent of improvisational theater. If you're looking for flowing, cryptic expressionism, completely free from convention or restraint, this is it.(4)

* Nas. Illmatic. 1994. Nas is a young rapper from New York who was hyped as "the second coming" of Rakim. Since Rakim is considered by many to be the premier rap lyricist of all time, Nas's debut release seemed destined to be a disappointment. As it fumed out, it was not. To put it simply, Nas has the best flow I've ever heard. Nowhere else will one find the concept of implied melody more clearly illustrated. Nas's words, then lines, then stanzas flow together so perfectly they create graceful streams of words. Listen to the first stanza of "It Ain't Hard To Tell," the album's first single: What is hard to tell is when Nas stops to take a breath. Though I think he will eventually have to develop more lyrical versatility (in the way of subject matter) to be considered one of the all-time best, Illmatic has already given Nas near-legendary status in the world of rap. Like L.L. Cool J almost a decade earlier, Nas has that rare combination of skill and passion that signals the arrival of a major artist.

Notes

1. It should be noted that, although rap music is now firmly entrenched in the mainstream, many hard-core rappers and rap fans, especially in the New York City area, insist that rap music is still but one part of the three-part hip-hop culture. These rappers and fans still refer to their music as "hip-hop." Ironically, the term rap itself is used by these rappers and fans to refer to commercial rap music. Substantively, however, there is no difference between 1990s "hip-hop" music and non-commercial rap music.

2. At the time of this writing, Rakim the rapper and Eric B. the D.J. have dissolved their partnership. It is rumored that the breakup was at least partially due to the widespread perception in the rap world (whether or not true) that Eric B.'s beats were no longer doing justice to Rakim's lyrics.

3. For example, the 1994 Grammy Award-winning group Digable Planets.

4. Since this writing, other members of the group, including Ol' Dirty Bastard and Raekwon, have embarked on solo projects.

Mtume ya Salaam is a native of New Orleans and enjoys writing about music. He works in the music industry for a major record company.