“Modern Rap, in my opinion, seems to be in a trend of anti-intellectualism, which is the direction popular music has been heading for a long time. Many genres have been watered down to be palatable to an increasingly musically uneducated audience. The same trends are noticed in modern country and rock music. However, I feel rap gets put under the spotlight because it started out as anti-establishment music and exploded with the gangster rap era. This left a bad taste in the mouth of many people that had trouble relating to this music. My personal opinion is that rap, or hip-hop artistry, peaked in the late 90s-early 00s when jazz harmony was incorporated into hip-hop beats and topics were more intellectual. Now, I feel rap is in a period of ‘sales over art.’ I think most people know modern rap is bad, but they keep making it because it sells. Casual listeners buy it because they want to feel part of the loop. People like Anderson. Paak, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar and Eminem are still releasing quality material. Rap as an art form is timeless because it is poetry over music. There will be periods of greatness and periods that don’t measure up.” -Rob Moreno Music Instructor

“I like Rap music only when it inspires someone else. Lin-Manuel Miranda is a great poet with great genius. Many of the poems he wrote are inspired by the rap, and hip-hop music he listens to.” –Lindsay Woodard Social Science Instructor

“I like it a lot, but there are some new sound cloud rappers that don’t want to put in effort. Older rap isn’t the only good rap music, there are some great new rap songs too.” –Emily Donelan ’21

“I like it. There are some really good rappers. The way a lot of stereotypical modern rap is perceived is as something that objectifies women and glorifies drug use, but it can be used as a really a beautiful art form. It’s poetry when used correctly.” –Beau Glazier ‘20

“Personally I don’t listen to rap music. There are some original artists, but most are kind of cliché. But it’s a kind of music culture and it’s pretty popular right now.” – Elizabeth Bisno ’21