I listen to a lot of rap, hip hop, r & b, and then some. I've been listening to rap since I was in the fifth grade. A little white girl in Oklahoma who ran home every day after school to catch Yo! Mtv Raps. I feel pretty qualified to talk about these genres of music.
I listen to these genres in all their glory. I'm not just into the less flashy artists, or the more intelligent ones, or the less violent ones. I love Snoop and 50 Cent as much as I love Boogie Down Productions and De La Soul. All of their music affects me in some way on a positive level. I find a lot of the booty, bling, and krunk music fun. It's not going to raise my IQ, but it will get my blood running and my eyes open while I'm driving to work in the morning. Snoop can talk all he wants about bitches and hoes--I know he's married to his high school sweetheart and has three kids. The guy coaches his kid's peewee football team. I know better than to take his music literally. It's entertainment.
But when it comes to how these genres touch my soul, there are many ways, especially when it comes to some rap and r & b artists. With rap, I may not relate to growing up amidst drugs, violence, and horrific poverty in an inner city or in the deep South, but I want to hear their stories. I want to know what it's like and see their victory in overcoming the odds. Life is a struggle for everyone, and I want to hear about theirs. And hearing about it can sometimes break my heart, enrage me to the depths of my soul, and lift me up to think that one day, things may not have to be that way.
And with r & b, their are some fantastic songs about all types of subjects. Beautiful, soulful ballads, angry songs of heartbreak, and still more songs of struggle. Mary J. Blige's 'No More Drama' especially comes to mind. Aaliyah, Erykah Badu, Jodeci (back in the day), even BoyzIIMen, can really make you feel what they're singing about, no matter what they're saying.
The feelings and emotions conveyed in the songs of all these genres are as diverse as they are in any other genre. Anger, love, romance, violence, revenge, sex, joy, depression, fear, confidence, the preciousness of life...it's all there if you're willing to hear it.
If you're feeling really open minded, here are some rap songs that especially get to me. The stuff in parentheses is just a quick note as to what the song is about.
DMX - Who We Be (about the struggle of blacks)
Bubba Sparxxx - Nowhere (poor whites and blacks in the South)
Arrested Development - Tennessee, Revolution (black history)
Public Enemy - Fight the Power (black empowerment)
DMX - Slippin' (growing up surrounded by violence)
De La Soul - Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa (sexual abuse)
Boogie Down Productions - My Philosophy (about stereotypes and the music industry)
Talib Kweli - Get By (optimism for the future)
Faithless - Mass Destruction (the current war in Iraq)