50 years of Hip Hop- How Come?

Some of us don't accept the notion of "genre." Useful for some purposes, yet so much of the best lies between or beyond. Experts say Purcell is pre-Baroque. OK, but he sounds Baroque enough for me. The War On Drugs. Rock? I would say yes. Purists might say techno-pop or some such. "Genre" definitions grow tiresome.

Not ALL definitions, though. Whether hip-hop qualifies as "music" is a seriously legitimate question. What are the elements of music? What distinguishes music from the spoken word? If the word is spoken to a rhythmic cadence, is it now music? Or must the voice be sung to recognizable notes? Do we need a melodic element? A harmonic element? At what point does Homeric recitation become music? And before you answer, why did Bob Dylan win the Nobel in Literature?

So, is it futile not only to attempt defining genres of music, but to attempt defining music itself? The Socrates of Alcibiades, Symposium, Meno, etc., would love to hear your answers.

There are plenty of new genres & subgenres of music that have emerged in the last 40 years that you're probably not aware of or maybe never listened to before. Much in the vein of electronic, industria and hip hop. Hip hop has entire subgenres unto itself. And people making comments that hip hop requires no skill other than a laptop and a mic probably haven't spent much time listening or exploring the genre.

In fact, Rapper's Delight was cut with a backup band replicating the DJ spun breakbeats. Early DJ & rap crews were rhyming over disco and funk records which kept those from fading away into obscurity. If you like Nirvana, you can thank the disco and funk beats of the 70s for inspiring Dave Grohls drumming. Dave Grohl Inspired By Disco Drum Beats - YouTube

And plenty of hip hop/rap artists use live musicians as a way to break out creatively. The days of two turntables and microphone have long passed. 

What has been terrible for pop music in general is that many of the same top artists use the same song writers and producers which leads to repetition. The overuse of autotune and you have a sameness to it. But again, like with any "genre" of music you have to be willing to dive in and find the unique stuff. 

I find the excuse of being over the age of 50 for the reason for not liking certain kinds of music a bit lazy. I'm 51 and listen to just about everything and I discover new types of music and new bands almost every day w/ Spotify. It's a great time to discover new new music and new old music. 

@hilde45 , well put.

This thread is a repeat of several before.

I'm 67, I am drawn to rock, grunge, blues, jazz and classical mostly, along with other genres.

At 67, I'm not a big fan of rap and hip hop, but I don't discount the musicians' talent or the judgement of tens of millions of fans. I do enjoy a number of rap / hiphop tracks, but auto-tune crap (any genre) can just go away. 

 Checkout Gigi Delana's cover of "Unholy". If you can't appreciate it... go yell at the neighborhood kids and tell them to get off your lawn, Mr Wilson!

OK I'll put my 2 cents in. "  50 years of rap" would make it 1972-73, right?

Sorry, but I don't remember that being around back then. I remember R&B, Soul, Funk, and Rock. You know, where you had to actually be able to play an instrument? Carry a tune? Harmonize? I remember THAT being referred to as music. Not rhymes in mono tone, scratching on a turntable, and spitting into a microphone. 

But, like I said, "I'm an old guy".........

I like Elton John.

I like John Coltrane.

I like Tool.

I like Bryn Terfel.

I like The Mills Bros.

I like most music, but.....

I don't particularly like hip hop.

I do not like rap.

I am getting old too, but it is more about not being able to relate to it at all.