RealTalkAJ

I’ll be answering why all rap beats sound the same.

Let me take things back a little bit.

This blog was and still is designed to host music related topics.

You might’ve found things a little all over the place because I’ve also been trying to add a way that I can also make money for the time I’m on here.

I personally make music myself but lately been having it take a back seat to other obligations for financial reasons.

That’s why I’ve been talking about affiliate marketing a lot and personal hobbies with an expectation that I’ll make a profit in doing so.

However, music is my main goal and I’ll be posting more on the topic to establish an identity in the industry better.

I just wanted to get that out the way, but let’s get into the question.

There’s critics that believe these type of beats are the best that we’ll get in terms of sound in rap.

The argument’s in if every beat sounds this way when you listen to the rap that’s being played in the streets.

Let’s move on.

Why Do All Rap Beats Sound The Same

There’s a few reasons as to why all rap beats sound the same:

• Rap is a business
• Beat producers have some responsibility
• Midwest influence
• Help artists stay on beat

Ultimately I think that rap beats have but it’s funny to find what complaints people can have about rap music.

is rap a business

According to Quora, they say that rap became corporate.

do new sounds in rap depend on the beat producer

Genius had an interview with Russ in which the topic of why beats sound the same.

The conversation steered towards the quality of producers available makes a difference.

does midwest run the sound in rap

The Fader says that a large majority of the sound in rap sounds oddly close to Michigan’s.

Are rap beats getting easier to rap on?

Prince makes the claim that the only major difference you can use to tell the difference between rappers are their actual voices.

That told me a story behind the first, that being most average consumers of rap music hear the same thing as far as lyrics and beat patterns.

The second’s that our voice alone is an instrument in itself that has to be molded in order to create separation amongst competition.

Final Thoughts

Even Reddit has a user that agrees with my optimistic view.

It properly romanticizes the attraction of lessons learned while being active in the streets.

From a sound standpoint it’s some of the most creative music you can find in today’s rap.

It has a wide range of audience because it appeals to anyone with anger issues to anybody that lived in the ghettos somewhere.

The appeal comes from a glorification of a dated macho mindset.

It’s influence comes from having a pull that extends well past music.

For some it’s on a political scale, others it can be a consumer level; it depends.

The politics that’s most commonly affected by this genre of rap is gun control and fair trial in terms of equality.

There’s been famous cases that included the use of rappers lyrics which sparks debates about if lyrics should be used against them in court.

Most cases centered around gun violence in some way or led to violence that included one.

That gives you an idea about the type of politics that this type of rap influences in terms of the legal system.

But one of the most famous is it’s influence of consumer culture.

Rappers from the street play a role in the sales of various products that anyone who supports the brand purchases.

These can any of the following:

• Sneakers
• Technology
• Automobile Sales
• Restaurant/Food Industry
• Garments/Travel Accessories

When Did Lyrics Matter Less In Rap?

Let’s look at the evolution that rap went through in a mini timeline:

• Early days messages were of unity and peace
• Rollout promotion and delivery/flow grew to play more of a role with the lyrics for the sound to be successful
• Evolved to where word combinations in simple rhyme schemes to portray an image was all that mattered
• The revival of lyricism was being claimed as artists among the caliber of Chance The Rapper and Kendrick Lamar were stepping up on the global scene

Some would say that rap lyrics quality and emphasis started declining at the start of the 2000s and stayed on a steady decline.

Most of the popularity and credit for the quality of good beats was going to the producers of the sound.

This time period actually set some of the reign for most prominent producers that we would consider some to be in 2023.

It was that and the flow of the artist that started to gather the attention of the fans, but most importantly the respect.

For some reason current rap’s lyrics are recognized for everything except hard hitting sound bites of impactful messages.

I would say that there’s been moments of brilliant showings of lyrical and impactful rap songs that were important for the growth of the craft.

However, some of those same moments at the same time could be shared with the team that engineered the song and a big part of it is the beat selection.

If the topics are the same then it’ll only make sense that the sound (which is made up of the beats themselves) would sound the same too, right?

Sounds valid.

Each beat ends up having its own identity and when you get an artist that expresses a thought really well you can almost have the expectation for that type of message.

I would actually add it to one of my ways of describing myself to someone who can’t see me, beats that I think capture my vibe.

It can be one of love, gangster/drill music, lyrical/socially conscious music, and any other sub genre you can think of.

So yeah, I would agree that there’s a large pool of beats that sound the same but that’s simple supply and demand.

If the market demands that type of sound then it’s only gonna make sense to make more of it, and with that comes music with the same topics still.

But let’s talk a little bit about the lyrics themselves.

Does Rap Have Random Words?

It’s one thing to have beats that sound the same, even the same topics, but what about random words being stuffed into songs?

Again, I’d probably chalk up this occurrence with the new/modern rap past the 2010’s in where words will be stuffed in a song just to make it rhyme.

Is it right to do?

Is it wrong?

What does it mean?

Those are all questions you may have about it and honestly I’m with the side of art and creation so if it works go for it, however, it does attach a stigma to the rap genre when compared to others.

I have a theory as to why there’s more of this randomness in rap music, it’s gotten glamorized to be able to freestyle.

Now there’s plenty of artists that can freestyle complete thoughts that include focused messages, but there’s also amateurs that’ll use whatever comes to mind when rapping.

And I mean it when I say WHATEVER.

It gets even deeper than just saying anything that comes to mind though, it’s even drawn criticism about rappers making songs in which the lyrics don’t match their lifestyle and it’s for the same reasons, the words just fit.

It’s a slippery slope because of how influential music is and it’s audience can be very impressionable so when they hear someone rapping about something they’ll think that’s really their life.

It can be dangerous because when you get those type of people as fans they do whatever you say and at that point there’s an unwritten social responsibility placed on the rapper to put messages out to better their supporters.

Let me shift topics again and touch on the subject of regions that influence the genre of hip-hop.

What Is The Midwest Influence On Rap Music

Through research and even personal experiences of my own I’ve noticed that Michigan has had a powerful influence on rap music as a whole.

When you apply this discovery to the sound and wonder why beats sound the same at times we can look at this claim.

If a particular sound is popular in one area and sees massive national or global success everybody else is gonna fall in line and follow the leader so to speak.

I’ve listened to numerous songs on the radio and other premium streaming services to think that it was from the west coast (for example) to find out the artist was from Detroit or somewhere else in Michigan.

It’s interesting to witness because when that moment happens it’s almost the same as being tricked with a “made ya look” experience.

You think one thing but find out it’s another.

Of course the discovery about the Midwest area is only relevant for the moment (with this being made in 2023) it could very well and probably should change at some point.

However it’s something that I challenge you to pay a better attention to because there’s a lot of casual fans that only listen to the song or project without much thought about the behind-the-scenes which includes more about the artist and their team that made the project happen.

That’s my 2 cents though.

Conclusion

Let’s revisit the main points again.

The main reasons why rap beats sound the same are:

• Combination of the same topics
• Same drum loop
• Random words put together
• The Michigan Influence

Is this the clear cut reason as to why the beats sound exactly the same?

Hell no!

But these are some valid points that could be addressed in order to make the quality of the sound better.

I personally like the point about the Michigan influence because there will be times where I’ll hear an artist that I think is from another region just to find out they’re actually from another place, and Michigan does actually come up a lot.

Is that a bad thing?

No but it does send a message about what region can dictate the sound of an entire culture.

It’s interesting when you look at it and witness the impact first hand.

But that’s just an observation.

What do you think?

Share your thoughts below.