Compare and Contrast Essay Example
Author’s Name
Date
Format: MLA
Rock Vs Rap
When it comes to music, it is the main soundtrack which is running behind in our lives; the background score of our lives. Music is a universal language which appeals to all the sexes, races, and ages. Everywhere you go, music will follow you. From watching your favorite TV show with its own intro music to watching commercials on the news channels, everything comprises music.
From bringing awareness to social issues to speaking to you in terms of emotions while narrating the experiences of life, music is all about attracting the audience with things they can relate to; giving them certain feelings no other thing in the world can give. The world of music is filled with various genres belonging to different cultures, but all merged together to unite people for their love for music. Let’s say that every genre of music unites the listeners, no matter what their background is (Charlton).
While one may wonder that rock and rap are two different genres of music, they come with a lot of similarities which many are not aware of. In their historical views, rock became a mainstream form of music in the 1950s. On the other hand, music fanatics accepted the rap music in the late 1980s. What took people a lot of time to accept rap music is the fact it has mostly been associated with African-American music, whereas rock music has always been associated without any racial barriers.
As two popular genres of music, rap and rock are different when it comes to the way they are produced and presented. While both these genres have explicit, tasteful lyrics that are related to lives, they have amplified and loud music. The rock genre focuses more on the instruments such as drums and guitars. On the other hand, rap music usually revolves around a bass beat over which slang is sang in a fast manner. What makes both these genres majorly different is the way the singers sing in them (French).
The general view of rock music is how it revolves around various topics such as self-loathing, not being able to fit in, and being misunderstood in life. It is loud music which challenges deeply rooted emotional issues in the listeners. Rap music, on the other hand, is catchy and rarely covers anything serious, apart from a few famous rappers who made songs on the issues revolving around life. Generally, rap music contains drugs, sex, gang-life, and alcohol. Most of the time, given how rap music is covered mostly by African-Americans, slurs are added as well. Furthermore, a rap song usually hooks the audience in terms of the beat it offers. On the other hand, the rock genre has more to do with the lyrics and how they touch the listeners.
While the differences lie in the two forms of music, the major similarity between the two is how it has managed to attract the youth of today. The youth indulged in the activities regarding sex and drugs admire listening to rap music whereas on the other hand, the same youth facing issues regarding millennialism focuses on rock music as well. Music, indeed, connects people from all over the world.
Work Cited
- Charlton, Katherine. Rock Music Styles. Mcgraw-Hill, 2003.
- French, Kenneth. “Geography Of American Rap: Rap Diffusion And Rap Centers”. Geojournal, vol 82, no. 2, 2015, pp. 259-272. Springer Nature, doi:10.1007/s10708-015-9681-z.
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