It all sounds the same because it all sounds different than what you listen to. Especially if it is one of your only options. “Country music’s potency as a creator of classed taste and identity is evident in the derision and anxiety it arouses in the dominant culture,” Hubbs explained. The middle class white actively avoid identifying with country music and hip hop because it represents something they’re afraid of being perceived as: something other than white, and something lower than middle class. To think I wrote off these genres because I compartmentalized the perceived experience of the artists in opposition to mine, even if it was a socially taught, unintentional thing, was a waste of time. You are obviously intrigued with this genre called country rap, or you wouldn’t be here. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. The other day in a salon, my stylist asked where I worked. My peers were still proudly fans of everything except country. But what about, Hubbs cites how Shania Twain, country crossover superstar, notoriously released different versions of her hit album. Even though they both stand alone, they share similar roots and in some cases the same content. Are some hip hop songs vulgar? The storyline is essentially from a guy's perspective. Bands, Businesses, Restaurants, Brands and Celebrities can create Pages in order to connect with their fans and customers on Facebook. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Are some country musicians conservative? It has become more and more controversial, which in turn has led to a strong opposition and detractors. To admit you like country music is admitting you like something inherently and purely working class, which jeopardizes your status as middle class. Born in the rough and tough streets of New York City in the 1970’s, rap, or hip-hop culture, was created by low-income African Americans as a way for them to express themselves. Country and hip hop are seen as extremes: one very conservative, religious, and traditional, and the other vulgar and violent. When I accepted a job working in country music in Nashville, I certainly had an open mind but was not a country music fan. It was an easy answer at the time: no. Where there’s class issues, there are race issues. Ask most people what themes pop into their mind when they hear “country music” and you will probably get a mixture of partying, alcohol, love, heartbreak, trucks, drug use, women, family, good vibes and the southern lifestyle. The disbelief over Billboard actually publishing a chart called “Race Records” through the 1940s was a big part of rock history, which has its own racial separation issues, although less formal. Neighbor down the roads got a cow for sale Twenty dollars more you get the horns and tail Saturday night we're goanna go get drunk Something in the road smells like a skunk. Its about a black guy who grew up in the hood who then later moves to a rich neighbourhood after his parents get enough money, but then proceeds to do drugs with the white kids, and raps about how he doesn't fit in. Can you be a rapper if you didn’t grow up on the streets of a big city? SUBSCRIBE for daily travel videos: http://bit.ly/2hyQnZ1 INSTAGRAM? In spite of it all, Hank Williams Jr. points out that "country folks can survive." Why do they have to keep reminding you of what their life was like in the hood? I ask why. I wouldn’t have it any other way. 5. Country and rap are two of the most renowned genres of music in today’s world. I am pretty sure we do not want 1-year-old children crawling around mimicking “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk.”. The distaste for country, however, stayed strong. People can relate to it. It was an all-encompassing explanation for the type of music I listened to. This, to me, threw open the door on why “everything but country and rap” is a bigger deal than it seems. - Whatever You Like [Official Video]Subscribe:http://bit.ly/YouTubeTIvsTIPThe new US or ELSE EP is available on all digital retailers. Country music carries a defiant southern tone. I bought it on a whim, and it put words and reasons to my discomfort with so many of my peers writing off country music. There probably aren't any gangs left today becuase no one likes them anymore, but I bet if they were they'd shoot up all these rap music labels and stuff. For the first couple of months, it felt a bit like foreign language immersion school. Earlier this year, I read a book that was the missing piece of the puzzle for me. Fair for someone who grew up picking cotton to say, I suppose, but turns out authenticity policing is a form of classism. I can’t relate to the things they play in church but if they like it, they like it. They say I can't be from Washington DC. [6] UGK became pioneer of the hardcore Southern rap style that emerged after the success of the Geto Boys , which they started to call "country rap". They say I'm unique and everyone knows that Washington DC these days and years are known for jocking and wanting to sound like everyone else. No doubt. But just because you enjoy rap, like Randy Rogers does, that doesn’t mean it has a place in country. He banged Jennifer Lopez. “Is the declaration ‘Anything but country’ really about the music?” Hubbs asked in her book. I remember first encountering this argument in Johnny Cash’s. I says INSERT THESE BALLSINTO YOUR MOUTH. I have bad news for you, friend. So to answer the question if it is fair that rap has a worse reputation than country music, I honestly believe it is. Because that’s what they are pressured to do as artists in the genre to hold their place in their respective subcultures. It fetishizes the idea of a barefooted, primitive life where music just flowed out of banjos and guitars, a pureness that doesn’t exist in what is played on country radio. All very separate things, with subgenres of their own. An argument can be made that the majority of rap music that comes out today either has a negative message, or none at all. Would it be better if they made it out of the hood with an education? Those were the two genres that I avoided like the plague. I figured people just weren’t trying, heard, Earlier this year, I read a book that was the missing piece of the puzzle for me. CAN'T SAY Lyrics: No, you can't say if I'm mad or not / Smokin' hella weed, I'm on that alcohol / Shawty lick me clean the way she suck me off / I keep two hoes in my bed, I got 'em turnin' out This is the South-- do we keep all of the blues-based music together? Country rap is quickly on the rise people! I didn’t know the canon-- as in, had never heard of George Jones before-- and made a lot of mistakes, like the time I called Skeeter Davis a “he.”. I used to say frequently: "I listen to everything except country and rap." Can't Say I Ain't Country is the fourth studio album by American country music duo Florida Georgia Line.It was released on February 15, 2019, through the Big Machine Label Group. Tagged: Country, Rap, Hip-Hop, Shania Twain, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Loretta Lynn, Eminem, RUNOUT NUMBERS | BRINGING THE DEAD WAX BACK TO LIFENashville, TN, "Everything Except Country and Rap:" What You Really Mean, That’s when the “everything but country” comment started to bug me. As hip hop has become more mainstream, this happened with most of my friends, as well. Country and hip hop are seen as extremes: one very conservative, religious, and traditional, and the other vulgar and violent. That’s when the “everything but country” comment started to bug me. If rap wants a better rep, it starts with producing more meaningful music and that is the bottom line. Country. But what about all of the songs about smoking pot? ... You know everybody dance and do their thing, but this that bet you can't do it like me challenge Ooh, ohh ahh, ahh hey, hey, turn up Ohh, ohh ahh, ahh hey, hey, turn up ... And all these haters joking cos' they know my swag be mean I can do it by myself or I can do it with my team The two styles have collaborated with each other on various occasions throughout time and believe it or not, there is actually a sub-genre that combines both which has been dubbed as “country-rap.” The song is a rap song. He said country isn’t truly country anymore, because the singers didn’t grow up picking cotton in the fields like he did. You can’t argue against that. They're like, freakin yellow!) I can’t respond to it. Here are five reasons why country music isn't all that great. I wouldn’t say I came in cocky, but I ate my humble pie anyway. With the evolution came more vulgarity and a significant decrease in social consciousness and awareness. Steel guitars rowdy bars Redneck girls and beat-up cars We got fatback that's a fact And if you don't know that's a country rap. Rapping is a skill and if you happen to have it and people like your music, why would you not go with it? The words of a song are not that important to me – it is the music itself. Fair for someone who grew up picking cotton to say, I suppose, but turns out authenticity policing is a form of classism. Hip hop? If rapping is what takes a kid from out of their harsh environment where they are more likely to live a life of crime, or die young, should we not be for it? In fact, I used to say this very thing. I never knew, however, that the “Hillbilly” chart was its direct counterpart. “Authenticity seekers today reject modern commercial country and its market-driven anything-goes stylistic idiom, idealizing past artists and purist notions of a genuine folk idiom,” Hubbs explains. I will wait… Most of the complaints that country music receives today is on how elementary it is and how most of it sounds the same. ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⬇️, Subscribe to receive inspiration, ideas, and news in your inbox. Big Phil This for you pimpin'. Still, I couldn’t understand how some of the people I knew who were deeply interested in music like I was couldn’t see the light and recognize the worth of country music. It includes the singles "Simple" and "Talk You Out of It", as well as the tracks "Colorado" and "Sittin' Pretty".It was supported by a tour of the same name from May 2019. Remember the scene in 8 Mile where Eminem is in a rap battle and he saves himself by dissing the other rapper for going to a bougie private school, Cranbrook? “Well, yeah, everything but country and rap.”. Country music fans don't mind making fun of themselves and their music. I was an outsider, and I believed this music was not for me, and maybe I liked it just because it represented something intellectually interesting to me. “Yeah, sure, I love Kacey Musgraves, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson and Chris Stapleton,” she continued. The musical taste vs SAT score chart maps the 133 most popular (out of 1,455) favorite music from 1,352 schools. “By now, the arbitrary marketing scheme devised by early record industry executives has been institutionalized,” Hubbs writes, “and the two categories of music, known today under the labels of ‘R&B’ and ‘country’ are reified not only in imaginings of country's (true, deep) whiteness, but in ways that are woven throughout American cultural and social life.”. “Everything but country and rap” at its core is a class issue. Why is that so bad? She told me she had just seen a few of these artists at the Ryman, the Mother Church of Country Music. All of this are you real or not controversy in both genres points to a main critique of both country and rap: why do they talk about being country so much? And doing so was transformational, as I gained an enormous respect for country music, country music fans and the history of the music. But what about all of the songs about smoking pot? Should we blame them for rapping about what they come from, what they know, in a culture that prioritizes authenticity? In fact, it's sort of a tradition - from the comedy of Buck Owens on "Hee Haw," to the blue-collar stand up of Jeff Foxworthy and Bill Engvall. That is not all rap though. Over time it evolved and went from being about mostly partying, into commentary on political and social issues and the lifestyle that the artist leads. That does not mean that country music is pure and spotless. There’s a real anxiety in this, and country music is an immediate “flashpoint,” in Hubbs’ words, for this internal struggle of outward presentation. There is a time to stop intellectualizing, though. Good music is good music, and moves you all the same if you let it. In embracing this fantasy, listeners forget that “country has always been a commercial music.”. Lyrically, the density and complexity simply don't measure up to any other genre. “I can amuse you, but there is nothing I can do to make you mine.” This song by Morrissey is all about the hardest stage of loving someone you can never have: the realization. Not being able to appreciate a song because you refuse to listen to it means you miss the subtleties, the humor, the craft and tradition of an entire genre. Here are some good, bad, and so-good-they're-bad jokes about country … You speak, we listen! The inequality inherent in our society has fostered these two genres to be sounds of two different groups who have distinct cultures all their own, music included: black Americans and working class white Americans. There is no way around it; rap today promotes violence, materialism, drug use and dealing, gang culture, foul language and the degradation of women. As a music fan, most of my friends are music fans. This authenticity issue has caused backfire in country music, and in many ways created the alt-country genre, a version of country that many rock fans are comfortable with. 5) Just don't use an accent Like, at all, ever. T.I. There’s no discussion that these are very rich groupings of music, with many vibrant subgenres of their own. I like those Balenciagas, the ones that look like socks I like going to the jeweler, I put rocks all in my watch I like texts from my exes when they want a second chance I like proving niggas wrong, I do what they say I can't They call me Cardi Bardi, banging body Spicy mami, hot … I wouldn’t have it any other way. For the most part, it is upbeat and the message behind it is usually easily identifiable and very vanilla. Do you really like everything, or do you just like everything you’re told to? in 2014. The words may be nice but the music is sterile. I told her, and she said, “well, I listen to everything but country.” Oh, okay. I mean, just look at Puff Daddy (P. Diddy, Putz Duddy, whatever) He freakin went to school in a freakin boarding school. But what about “Jesus Walks?” Spirituality in hip hop isn’t a popular topic when you can talk about the glorification of violence or how guns are heralded. Country lacks diversity and individuality. Up! I was a stranger in a strange land. Rachel Maddow makes emotional return to TV And if you don't know that's a country rap. went 11x platinum because it catered to what each market found listenable. (Editor’s note from Casey: Laura attended Cranbrook in the summers and is not unbiased on the subject.). Bumper sticker says lets rodeo Find me a hunny say hay lets go We got fatback that's a fact And if you don't know that's a country rap. Rap? There is still rap that can motivate you to go out and do what you have to do to be successful. The lack of consistency in naming of a black music genre shows the widespread confusion about all that it envelopes: is it R&B? In terms of music genres, it follows like this - Soca < Gospel < Jazz < Hip Hop < Pop < Oldies < Raggae < Alternative < Classical < R&B < Rap < Rock < Country < Classic Rock < Techno in increasing order of SAT scores. Every body is like I like any music except country, and seriously, it is the best music around. Rappers do this, too. It still has the ability to be fun, to make you want to dance. I’ve met a lot of people passionate about music, and one thing seems to be certain: more often than not, when asking someone what they like, they’ll say “a little of everything.” Everything, that’s awesome! Getting an inside ticket to the world of country certainly helped, but it was less about the star power aspect than it was about seeing a whole new side of American culture I did not have a clue about before. Like he says on “Old Town Road,” it looks like Lil Nas X is “gonna ride ‘til I can’t no more,” and the same is undoubtedly true of country rap too. It goes over great with the crowd. Rap is a totally different story. This isn’t a phenomenon I have just discovered. If you get beyond all the cursing, messages of trying to better yourself, better your situation and having the back of those that supported you through it all start to show. Just like you wouldn’t point at a random White person today and blame them for slavery, you can’t blame an individual man today for a history of sexism. Absolutely. I remember first encountering this argument in Johnny Cash’s Cash: The Autobiography, which I read a few years ago because Johnny Cash epitomizes country to rock fans, so I should probably read that book, right? That bluegrass even falls under the same umbrella as country pop is an abomination to anyone who pays attention. When popular recorded music was first able to be distributed and marketed in the 1920s, a decision had to be made. @CabriniUniversity’s Student Media However, as I put forth an effort to find rap that I liked and appreciate certain aspect of it, I found there was plenty to like. Whenever I flip to a country station, I feel like I'm listening to the same song ten times in a row because they are all so alike. No, it is most certainly not. It felt voyeuristic for a bit, the same way being white and appreciating the culture of hip hop does. I’ve met a lot of people passionate about music, and one thing seems to be certain: more often than not, when asking someone what they like, they’ll say “a little of everything.” which I read a few years ago because Johnny Cash epitomizes country to rock fans, so I should probably read that book, right? I believe that it has been proven that in some places, like where some of these rappers are from, our education and social systems are failing. I think we can all agree that some of these subjects are a definite to affect us at some point in our lives. Pop. Browse Pages. Then I got more into hip hop, and it didn’t make sense to announce myself as against rap. "Everything Except Country and Rap:" What You Really Mean. It's all done in good fun. They get down on their knees; and let them slide. One of the biggest lyrics libraries with daily updated newest Song Lyrics, Artists & Albums Info of all genres all around the world. The two styles have collaborated with each other on various occasions throughout time and believe it or not, there is actually a sub-genre that combines both which has been dubbed as “country-rap.”. Me, too. Lyrics to 'Dead And Gone' by T.I.. Hey, Let me kick it to you right quick, man Not on some gangsta shit man, on some real shit Anybody done been through the same thing, I'm sure you feel the same way. Are some hip hop songs vulgar? For those of you who, like me, grew up thinking country music was all John Denver and line dancing, here’s a little introduction to this incredibly diverse genre. in 2002: a green version, which featured fiddle tracks and steel guitar for country radio; a red version, which traded the country elements for pop synth tracks; and a lesser known blue version, for international release with Bollywood influence. Sep 20, 2019 - I give em Washington DC style rap. Often newer “country” artists will say how they grew up listening to rap and country side by side, and that’s the reason their music includes both influences. Think about it: have you ever heard someone in the media say that country music has a negative impact on society? As a music fan, most of my friends are music fans. Listening to Kendrick Lamar’s “King Kunta” when it first came out arose a feeling of true joy realizing the creative power popular artists still have. University of Michigan Women’s Studies and Music professor Nadine Hubbs wrote a book called Rednecks, Queers, and Country Music in 2014. This created two, in Hubbs’ words, “racially distinct marketing categories:” hillbilly and race. These are things that people fail to realize. Country music is a much-maligned genre which doesn’t get the credit it deserves for being utterly brilliant. Just talk how you naturally talk. You’re a country music fan. No doubt. And anyone who knows me knows that using pop culture as a window to our bigger world and bigger issues is my favorite thing ever, so you know I was hooked after reading that. I just needed someone else to say it, and it confirmed why it had been bugging me. Country and rap are two of the most renowned genres of music in today’s world. While they seem completely separate, hip hop and country sit on the extremes of the spectrum of popular musical genres, and find themselves subject to many of the same criticisms. My world was rock and roll and rock history. Different strata of culture have a different idea of what sounds good or right to them, which isn’t a surprise, but the fact that they completely write off the same lyrics of the same song in a different setting is. For words I couldn't find Somehow you seemed to see What came over me that night As a love began to grow That would last for all time. Jake Scott, Super Bowl MVP of Miami's perfect season, dies. I am looking for a country song. This is no surprise. He said country isn’t truly country anymore, because the singers didn’t grow up picking cotton in the fields like he did. Elated to continue working in music, though, I found myself looking at used CDs, picking out what I thought could get me up to speed on whatever was happening in country. Country is my go-to music – its on when I’m studying, driving, or getting ready to go out. I sometimes wonder if all they do in heaven is play that church stuff, I am in real trouble. University of Michigan Women’s Studies and Music professor Nadine Hubbs wrote a book called. Of course. Are some country musicians conservative? The genre-blending wasn't limited only to hip hop artists; country duo Bellamy Brothers released "Country Rap" (1987) with lyrics about soul food, church, turnip greens and black-eyed peas. Religious? I struggled with my admiration of country music, as I was raised solidly upper middle class, and was privileged enough to go to school to get a degree in a field of cultural studies. I don't know who wrote this song, any lyrics, although I do know the main premise of the song. It still has the power to uplift. To listeners today, country music is the sound of whiteness as much as hip hop is the sound of blackness. Authenticity is important in both musical communities, both policed inwardly and from outside listeners. I have to be in a certain party mood to listen to rap, and I’m sure a lot of country fans like me feel the same way. That would mean white and black in one category. Even though they both stand alone, they share similar roots and in some cases the same content. But that’s where the story of “everything but country and rap” starts: a formal racial division. I bought it on a whim, and it put words and reasons to my discomfort with so many of my peers writing off country music. As much as we suffer and cry because of an unrequited love, there's always a part of us that doesn't fully accept that it's never going to … Because it represents something that anyone looking to maintain or elevate their class status doesn’t want to associate themselves with. The music industry deciders of the 1920s would be very impressed by this, that their legacy has lived this long. How can this rapper be real if he studied where Mitt Romney went to school? I knew I wanted to work in music, and fresh out of an internship at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I wondered if it could ever get better than that. As a true rap fanatic that admittedly enjoys this era of rap music, (I think I have a conscience, I am not really sure anymore) I realize that the reputation it has today is a combination of its own fault as well as stereotypes and generalizations. Hubbs cites how Shania Twain, country crossover superstar, notoriously released different versions of her hit album Up! And if you don't know that's a country rap. ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ Although the line between the two genres continues to blur, both have very different reputations. Can you be a country singer if you didn’t grow up on a farm? Religious? You can’t argue against that. Now, in 2015, it is at the point that you can count the so called “conscious rappers” in the mainstream on two fingers (Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole are supposedly the “saviors” of rap). All the songs sound the same and all the artists aren't really that different from each other. I mean rap, is disgusting, and talking about weird topics, rock is actually good, pop is okay sometimes, and then i don't really listen to anything else, but anyway, country is no dirty, and the songs are like, they make sense, so i don't know why no one like it? I figured people just weren’t trying, heard Toby Keith on the radio, and changed the station. So write todays date down, and put a note that the few who are aware of this are watching and anticipating something big being developed. Hip Hop/Rap. There’s a lot of good country music out there, though, I said. 'I do not mean to trigger': Willis explains Instagram pic. Absolutely. The anxiety that causes people to avoid being fans of these genres, however, prevents understanding this. The excitement I felt at an Ashley Monroe album release show where she brought out Miranda Lambert to sing a song they collaborated on was a buzz I had not felt since I first discovered the empowerment of rock and roll. I love country music and I can tolerate some raps songs every now and then but these are two completely different mindsets. These blanket statement topics are how the cultural majority is taught to interpret these genres. Sunday morning catch a speckled perch Been bad all week I got to go to church That afternoon it's all you please Fried chicken mash patatas black-eyed peas.