Rap Music's Place In Prog

How about Graeme Edge 'rapping' on some of those early Moodies albums ('Red is grey and yellow white / But we decide which is right')?

lucas wrote: Green Shield Stamp wrote: Someone said earlier in this thread that 'we' (assuming he is speaking for all prog fans) don't like country music.  I obviously don't belong in the 'we', because I think that 'Red Headed Stranger' by Willie Nelson is a definite 5 star album.   I don't belong to this category as well. there are some really interesting artists in this genre : johnny cash, townes van zandt, willis alan ramsey, new riders of the purple sage and many others...

To say nothing of Gene Clark, Gram Parsons and (more recently) Lambchop.

Textbook wrote: But is this just a prog ROCK place? I thought there was quite a bit of stuff around here that doesn't particularly rock.

While rap may not have a place in prog, prog apparently has a place in rap. [Disclaimer: the language in that song would not fly here on the forums.]


Edited by TheCaptain - October 10 2009 at 17:32

I preface this by saying I know little about rap, don't like rap and would be extremely put off if a prog rap subgenre got added to this site.

Rap, from what I know, is spoken word put to a beat that is easy to bob your head to. The label of prog does not get applied based on popularity or lyrical content. Atypical lyrics in prog are an effect of prog, not a cause. The main argument I can see pro-prograp posts is that the lyrics are about fanciful subjects and don't deal with the standard rap content. You need more and better arguments dealing with the music rather than the words.

Also, PA is a prog site, not a progressive ROCK site. There are genres here that could not be labeled as ROCK so that's not the problem. The problem is that, from my experience. prog and rap are mutually exclusive due to musicality. If someone could get me a definition of rap/hip hop I could dispel this nonsense quickly.

On Gong's Shapeshifter Daveid Allen does some rap. It works out quite nicely. It fit in to the concept of the Gong mythology and it's worthwhile stuff. I am not a fan of rap, but I can appreaciate the talent that goes into being a poet. Especially rap that is improvised. The ability to improvise and make words rhyme. That is an amazing talent that just comes right out of a rapper's head. It takes a lot of practice to pull it off. Sort of like a night out at a poet gathering. About 10 poets perform for you while you sip coffee and eat donuts During the course of the show, at least 4 of the poets will do rapping and it's very creative.

i can't belive this, 3 pages discussion about rap music in Prog..there is no such thing..what is rap anyway, few beats and reciting something. so where can you find rap influence in prog,maybe Gildenlow's fast singing on some tracks? well, it is singing ,not reciting.. 

Angel: Yeah, what CAN we be thinking, bringing traditionally unmixed musical forms together, that's not what prog is about at all.

Delineation and exclusion.

I greatly applaud all who mentioned Dalek. I just love the band! Actually, they're the only hip-hop group I've ever really enjoyed.



That's one of the best album openers I've ever heard I think... The way the noise comes in after the vocals only, amazing.