Regular Cemmentator “Correcting” offers the following reflections, recommendations on rap:
Well, Cal, it’s not like you asked, but I’ll give my assessment on this rapper…
I am somewhat of a culture critic.
And I do listen to rap unlike most of your viewers.
I think Macdonald does rap that’s considered a little bit more in the juggalo-backpack-corny-lyrical tradition.
Back in the day, people used to appreciate rap cuz of the lyrics.
It’s different now…
Seeing in his Wiki entry that he did some pro wrestling and collabed with Madchild definitely cemented my view on this guy’s subgenre.
Yes, he enunciates his words a little more.
So called mumble rap is more popular these days than Macdonald’s style.
(Think Migos, Future, Lil Yachty.)
It’s harder to know what they’re saying, and the “beat” is more important to most fans anyway.
Whereas before, it was the lyrics that hooked you, now it’s “the beat.”
I can’t picture Macdonald getting played on the radio (though he is getting a lot of YT views).
I suppose THIS guy wouldn’t get played on the radio either, but I maintain that.. style-wise, THIS GUY is a little bit closer to the mainstream modern rap than Macdonald is, Cal.
(I think you should be able to understand most of his lyrics though.)
His name is Bryson Gray. The song is “Gun Totin Patriot”
I hear a dirty south influence.
There is no way this man did not listen to Three Six Mafia’s old stuff.
I’d bet money on it…
I think most “conservative” rap like Macdonalds stuff is too on the nose and therefore cringe.
Like most rap is not inherently “left wing”, you could maybe say it is liberal and materialistic but not necessarily left wing and woke.
So when you hear Macdonald rapping about “woke culture” or whatever it’s kinda like the “sir this a a Wendy’s” meme.
Nobody asked. lol
Most rap I’d say is more on the line of misogynistic, materialist, patriarchal.
But it doesn’t go out of its way to be like that.
That’s just the culture of the streets.
I wouldn’t say it’s inherently left wing like college woke style, so Macdonald’s “conservative” rap as a “reaction” to mainstream rap (which he thinks is left wing but really isn’t) can be cringe…
(Most rappers are not rapping about “we gotta elect joe biden”, so why a reaction to a mostly non-existent and non-political thing?)
But anyway this Bryson Gray song man I think it’s a bop haha I don’t know if people think it’s too on the nose or not but damn man I think it’s a bop haha Check it out, Cal.
I especially liked the part where he disses Bill Gates and vaccines.
And the part where he accuses Democrats of “commitin’ treason.”
He’s not wrong.
Just so people are aware, this commentary was posted under another article about another rapper named Tom Macdonald.
http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2021/02/05/fake-woke/
The first part of my commentary is about Macdonald, and then I start talking about Gray. To reiterate my main point (which I probably didn’t make well), to me, Macdonald sounds like more of an alternative rapper while Gray’s sound is probably more accessible to people who listen to rap regularly. Tom Macdonald messes with rock a bit and mixes genres. Gray is more conventional rap. Hopefully that makes sense.
And my last line was tongue in cheek! I know plenty of great Democratic people including some friends and family. No, they are not all bad or treasonous. There are fine people on both sides. (Though some of these Democratic politicians, like Eric Swalwell, I do wonder about. I don’t understand how he has a security clearance.)
——-
I found out since posting this that Gray is from North Carolina, so my guess about him listening to southern rap music was probably correct. Different parts of the country have distinct hip hop sounds. There were things I heard in this song that tipped me off. For example, a lot of times, throughout two measures, there will be a kind of “ting” noise or a ting… ting. It falls on the upbeat of the third and/or fourth note in one of the measures and usually not in the other measure. Then it will repeat.
The time is 4/4 (obviously). This is what it sounds like counting along.
one and two and three and four and
one and two and three TING four TING
one and two and three and four and
one and two and three TING four TING
That little syncopated ting .. ting throughout this song “Gun Totin Patriot” is something I hear a lot with southern rap (although I’ve noticed it’s becoming more mainstream and universal now).
Anyway, I have always loved when they do that!
Honestly, most of Gray’s music is just as on the nose and Dem-bashing as Macdonald’s, but the styles are different.
What is rap?
https://www.debate.org/opinions/is-rap-music-real-music
How would rap NOT be music, bred winner, and tell us in your own words?
Music, generally, is rhymes over a beat and melody.
How is that any different than most other music?
No, playing an instrument yourself is not needed for it to be music.
There have always been studio musicians.
There have always been singing groups that played no instruments but had instruments in their music.
Sampling and electronically produced music are also still music.
You would get laughed out of any music department for suggesting rap is not music.
That’s just ignorant.
I don’t particularly care for grindcore deathmetal, but it’s still music.
https://thefederalist.com/2019/09/18/yes-rap-is-music/
Rap is crap.
The way I see it, most rap, rock, country, and pop follows formulaic structures.
It’s usually 4/4 on time signature.
There’s usually a lyrical structure like verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, chorus.
Maybe they switch it up a little by making it start with a chorus, or maybe they add a bridge or solo.
Even with most rock music, throughout the song there is a verse where the lead singer is rhyming and repetitive beats, repetitive guitar tabs.
Repeating bass line…
The notes are going to be based off of some scale or key.
Only certain notes can be played, otherwise it sounds bad.
Chords and chord progressions are constructed off of those scales too.
Those same rules apply to the notes in hip hop.
Why?
Because it’s all music.
Music is an arrangement of sound over time, and there are certain things our ears like.
There are even chords referred to as augmented and diminished.
There are major and minor which can indicate certain emotions (like happy and sad).
Music theory people have figured out a lot of this stuff.
I’m sure people used to say electric guitars were not real music or that black doo wop bands were not real music. They said jazz wasn’t real music.
Jazz is music, but often it is more improvised and they use weird time signatures more than pop musicians would.
But most jazz musicians are still going to be following rules (at least some of the time, and sometimes when you think they aren’t they actually are but it is very complicated, tricky stuff).
You don’t have to like rap, but rap IS music!!!
Hey correcting, go work for NPR or WVON.
Is ska music, too?
Ska is music.
If you disagree, explain how ska and rap are not music, other than you don’t like those genres.
Correcting, you do not know jack s about music.
Explain why you disagree, bred winner, and the reason has to be something other than you personally don’t enjoy those genres.