Comparing Medieval Chants and 20th Century Rap
Medieval chants and Twentieth Century rap are both musical forms that have
many similarities and differences. There are many aspects to these two musical forms.
These aspects include creation, development and history. In both their purpose and
audience, chants and rap can be both similar, but at the same time, completely different.
The way that they are performed and set up, or structured, is where the most evident
differences occur.
The Medieval chant, also known as the Gregorian chant, has been credited to
Pope Gregory I. Medieval chants originated around the year 600 A.D. The purpose
behind the creation of chant was to fight the political, and somewhat social, stress and
tension among the Bishops and in turn, converting the congregation back to worshipping
God. The chant was considered a very strict and functional type of music that was
sacred, or used only for religious worshiping purposes. In contrast, rap, whose roots
originated out of the Africa American oral traditions and slave field songs were wrote
mainly from the views, thoughts and concerns of the singer/writer. The creation of rap
was never, and has yet to be, attributed to any one certain individual. Rap, also known as
hip-hop, evolved from out of the urban slang on the streets. It was also found to be the
main attraction at many DJ mixing competitions in teen clubs and hangouts. Somewhere
along the way, of the road of rap that was being traveled and explored by so many, came
two men by the name of DJ Hollywood and DJ Herc. These two men would eventually
become known as the Founding Fathers of Rap. Yet, in 1979, The Sugar Hill Gang
released the first rap song to let rap do for t...
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...rity between the two in performance seemed to be that
the voice was used as the main source of an instrument for both rap and chant.
In my own opinion, the styles seemed to clash more, or have more differences
than similarities. Chants were, and are, directed toward the purpose of worshiping God,
while rap's purpose was to expand on the singer's situation. Chants seem to appeal to
one's spiritual life and even though we now have Christian rapper's, rap still seems to
deal with issues of everyday life. Everyone has the right to their own opinion. I'm just
glad that not everyone was a follower in music. I'm glad that someone stepped up and
decided that there could be and would be many different types of music. If, back in
Medieval times, someone hadn't have broaden their horizons and started secular music,
where would be today, musically speaking?
When listening to rap music we get to experience the environments that the MC lived through. Most MC’s use music as a way of coping with reality, their violent and hard life. In this way they find a kind of shelter in their songs even though these songs describe their life and how hard it is.
Hip hop was spurred in the late 70’s. The man credited as being the first rapper ever, DJ Afrika Bambataa, was the first to “talk” to his music. His unorthodox style quickly became very popular in the disco and funk clubs. For the lack of a better word,
Greek Philosopher Plato once said, “Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.” Plato was right; not only is music an essential element to the world, but it also gave birth to one of the most prominent genres in all of music history. That significant genre happens to be HipHop. Generally, Hiphop music is considered to have been pioneered in New York 's South Bronx in 1973 by Jamaicanborn DJ Herc. Hiphop music originated from a combination of traditionally AfricanAmerican forms of musicincluding jazz, soul, gospel, and reggae.
Rap is about giving voice to a black community otherwise underrepresented, if not silent, in the mass media. It has always been and remains … directly connected to the streets from which it came. (144)
Rap artist tell their life story through rap. Not only do they tell their story, but they also have a moral to their story. Tupac was one of the greatest rappers of all time. He was murdered at the age of 25. He is still, even in death, one of the most influential artists in the lives of urban people. Tupac told his life, from the beginning to the end, in his music. He was in a gang, he did drugs, and he was also known as a “thug.” If peop...
Rap started in the mid-1970s in the South Bronx area of New York City. The birth of rap is, in many ways, like the birth of rock and roll. Both originated in the African American community and both were first recorded by small, independent record labels and marketed towards, mostly to a black audience. And in both cases, the new style soon attracted white musicians that began performing it. For rock and roll it was a white American from Mississippi, Elvis Presley. For rap it was a young white group from New York, the Beastie Boys. Their release “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)” (1986) was one of the first two rap records to reach the Billboard top-ten. Another early rap song to reach the top ten, “Walk This Way” (1986), was a collaboration of Run-DMC and Aerosmith. Soon after 1986, the use of samples was influenced in the music of both black and white performers, changing past thoughts of what make up a “valid” song.
Rhodes, Henry A. “The Evolution of Rap Music in the United States.” Yale. Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
Gregorian Chants have been around for the longest time, the music is a form of monks getting together and singing and they sang like church like choirs with a magnificent sound. Monks had skills behind this because of rhythm and their accents were soft. Being that the monks had two or three notes or beats to go along with the better the process of singing these chants it became.
Throughout American history there has always been some form of verbal acrobatics or jousting involving rhymes within the Afro-American community. Signifying, testifying, shining of the Titanic, the Dozens, school yard rhymes, prison ?jail house? rhymes and double Dutch jump rope rhymes, are some of the names and ways that various forms of raps have manifested. Modern day rap music finds its immediate roots in the toasting and dub talk over elements of reggae music (George, 1998)....
Spirituals were used as a political tool for slaves to voice their contempt, or stand up to an irate master by mumbling his feelings through song.
Through each era, we obtain a new legendary rapper. Some, known for their influential lyrics
The most popular new music to emerge from the ‘80’s was rap music. It first developed in the mid ‘70’s in New York City, and soon in other urban areas, primarily amongst African-American teen-agers. It became very popular with the urban public that it soon began to spread throughout the United States and much of the world. It replaced rock music as the creative force in music of the ‘80’s and ‘90’s. However, as popular as it was then and it is now, the lyrics of many rap songs have caused controversy. Many believe and have charged that these lyrics promote racism and violence and show contempt for women.
Contemporary, as well as older, Gospel music originated from the “Spirituals.” The spirituals, also known as the “Negro Spirituals or African-American folk songs,” were religious songs sung by the African Americans slaves in Southern America. The spirituals spawned from teachings of Christianity from slave owners, the church and even hymns. The songs were usually about love, hope, peace, oppression, freedom and even used as a secret code. The African American slaves would sing while working so much so that slave o...
Have you ever wondered what was making that horrible racket coming from a teen’s car. The odds are that it would be some type of rap song, yet the beat was too loud for you to hear the lyrics. Based off what the mass knows about rap music, you were lucky to not hear the lyrics right, wrong. Rap lyrics have many senses of great poetry and life lessons that should be heard. At least some of rap songs relate to struggles, deaths they have suffered, or even respect of women that many do not believe that rappers would ever do. Rap music is becoming increasingly meaningful for not only adults but for older youth as well to comprehend about respect and an improved understanding of life with struggles and oppressions.
released their first controversial album, Straight Outta Compton. It’s edgy, violent, anti-establishment lyrics would define the genre in many’s eyes for years to come. The second song on the record, “Fuck Tha Police”, was controversial enough to make the FBI write a disapproving letter to the groups record label. Although Gangsta Rap would come to be the dominant force in Hip-Hop during these years, it was not the only type of sound being made. Many groups from the 80s continued making socially conscious rap during this era, as did newcomers like Mos Def and Common.