We talked about this in class but I wanted to talk about how revolutionary Westcoast rap really was. Westcoast rap was unique in itself because of the introduction of gangster rap by NWA. Prior to NWA, rap was centered around groups like the Sugar Hill Gang and Grandmaster Flash. They have the same rhythm and sound as gangster rap artists, but not nearly the same message and attitude. Gangster rap from NWA introduced what life was actually like around black areas. The slang and language used was a reflection of the reality, and people ran with it. Most rappers after NWA were gangster rappers; Tupac, Biggie, Mack 10, Snoop Dogg, The Game, and countless rappers afterwards. Even the rappers today who don’t even consider themselves to be gangster rappers still use language and slang which was started from NWA. Westcoast rap followed suit from NWA. Even the style in 90s rap changed because of the Westcoast. Prior to NWA, rappers, DJs, and MCs resembled a style that looked like Rick James or Prince. Once gangster rap took center stage, everyone dressed like Eazy-E. It is interesting to me how the influence of one group could spread to the entire Westcoast, and then take over an entire genre.

One thing that we have not discussed in class is the life span of certain music. I was made aware of this over the weekend. At my fraternity we were hosting a parent’s day party in our parking lot. I was playing music and making the playlist. I made sure to include songs that didn’t have any profanity, so most rap was out of the question. I played 70s and 80s rock most of the day. Of course, most of the parents were really enjoying the music, but it was fascinating to me to see that everyone my age also was enjoying the music and knew the words. It dawned on me that this music stood the test of time. People who weren’t even alive in that era could recite ever song perfectly. This is much like most popular music…prior to the year 2010. I believe that popular music now has evolved. Instead of having bands and artists that make music with a long life span, the goal of modern artists is to become popular enough to be played on the radio, but that popularity rarely exceeds two months. I am curious to see if this music will even be played years from now if most popular songs fade away from the spot light after a few months. I doubt that when I am in my 40s that my kids will turn on Megan Trainor, Cardi B, or Drake and be able to recite the words considering the fact that I have trouble remembering the words to their popular songs that I have been bombarded with on the radio in years past. The same cannot be said about music from earlier generations. There is a certain survival instinct in old rock, early rap, 80s pop, or doo-wop have that pop music today does not have.

Disco and EDM are almost the same thing: Electronic music, remixes of popular songs, easy to dance to, heavy base, and a culture of openness regarding style and sexuality. It just surprises, and intrigues me, that one genre died and the other thrived when they are basically the same thing. The only thing that separates the death of disco from the life of EDM is the existence of new and mainstream rock in the 70s. Today, the mainstream genre is rap, which doesn’t compete with EDM. No one in the rap community has a desire to kill EDM, or any genre for that matter. In the 1970s, disco was white-hot. It’s popularity was huge and it became extremely hegemonic in a short amount of time. Rock music felt threatened by this popularity and they didn’t find this music to be authentic. A massive “disco sucks” movement erupted from rock fans and it even led a DJ to blow up thousands of disco records which were given to him by patrons of a baseball game. EDM doesn’t have the same amount of hatred towards it as disco did because there is no mainstream popular rock to oppose it.