Submitted by Lol32112300 t3_118c6tl in Music
It’s crazy how Hip-Hop has by far become the most versatile genre in the world. In the 90s most of the hip-hop songs sounded the same and you could easily put them all in the same category. But if you listen to Playboi Carti and then listen to Nas, you wouldnt think they’re the same genre of music at all
zimmerdaon t1_j9g9o6m wrote
Gotta firmly disagree here. I love hip hop, but structurally & instrumentally hip hop is easily one of the LEAST versatile genres in the world. If you wanna talk about "umbrella" genres, rock has had more diversification of its forms in the past 30-40 years by a landslide. i.e. prog rock, fusion, hardcore, thrash, grind, and so on. Jazz is arguably even more diverse. Flamenco too.
Hip hop traditionally follows a pop song structure (always in 4/4 time, always 8-16 bar verses sometimes without even a hook to mix things up. You may think it SOUNDS versatile because it can use samples from virtually anything, but they're all being used in the same way. The rhythms of the songs barely change in the grand scheme of music's potential.
Historically, the lack of versatility has been one of the biggest criticisms of rap from traditionalists & theorists.
Hip-hop is still for the children, don't get me wrong.