Rap music on high-end speakers

If the question is real and not just bait (haven't had time to read the responces) try a pair of EV s-15 three way. there is a high end model and the basic. Use them for mids and highs along with subs for pa mains and they stomp. don't need the subs for home use....or do you.

Sean and Raguirre. Well said.

Seek out good music, there is some in every genre even if its not coming at you loudly as a car rolls down the street.. It's that same insane "ghetto" music that created Louis Armstrong and Kraftwerk.

Audiogon is a fringe group of people. Audiophile= Fringe. Try explaining a 500$ interconect to a non-audiophile. Further subspecializing... Audiophiles with web access and interest = Audiogoner. All with a wide diversity of opinions about music. Amazing.

Try Vandersteen's.

Once again I want to thank you for all of the responses. I really have enjoyed reading them, and they really helped. Now it is off to audition some speakers

Raguirre, you are absolutely right. "Audiophiles" are not "normal" or "average" in any category of music involvement. We are a diverse group like any other group. That means good, bad and indifferent, fringe and mainstream.

None the less, when someone is "pigeon-holed" as being an audiophile, a certain idea is struck in the observer's mind about that person and what they are like. Over-spending, over-critical, gear-obsessed, etc... are generalizations that come to mind. This does not fit ALL "audiophiles", but it may not be far off ON THE AVERAGE.

So it is for ANY "generalization". That is why "generalizations" are commonly accepted. There is more than just a grain of truth to be found in the statement, so it becomes socially accepted as being "true". It is commonly accepted by those that don't know better or lack exposure / first hand knowledge about the subject. Anyone that is intimately familiar with the subject can PROBABLY shed light on it, typically dispelling most of the assumptions. This does NOT level out how the AVERAGE person perceives the situation though. They simply lack the intimate knowledge to know any better or fully understand the situation and diversity involved.

Just as there are talented rappers / hip-hopper's, musicians that play "metal", etc..., they are often overlooked due to being "categorized". That does NOT mean that they are NOT part of that specific sub-culture or genre of music AND bring the associated "baggage" along with them. While it may be "dangerous" or not "politically correct" to label people / groups as a whole, we all have to prove ourselves as individuals before anyone is going to take notice of us. As such, many hardcore rappers / hip-hoppers that have stood out from the crowd have done so by promoting less than "socially acceptable" points of view or mannerisms. This has only further reinforced the "thug mentality" of rappers / hip-hoppers as a whole.

As an example, take a look at Public Enemy for their stance on racism, NWA's ( Niggers With Attitudes ) racial and "thug" commentaries, Ice T's "cop killer" anthem, etc.. All famous groups that became famous over "negativity" and "thug mentality". Due to this fame and exposure, the AVERAGE media educated person, who lacks exposure to other talented artists with differing points of view, tends to view ALL rappers and hip-hoppers as being "thugs". These groups WERE recognized as "stand-outs" from the crowd i.e. "individuals" but not for "positive" reasons. The "hollywood rappers" ( Will Smith, etc..) are a slightly different story, as they have used their skills to further their careers and NOT remain part of the sub-culture that they started off with.

Keep in mind that the Beatles and Stones were also percieved as "thugs". That's why "rock" music and its' performers received the "labels" that they did back then. That is why i made the comments pertaining to this being a situation that will change from generation to generation. It is the same shoe, just a different foot. Sean
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Sean, you have posted several times at length on this topic. While I am in total agreement with your observations about the generational aspects of what is music, I disagree with your characterization of the people who produce and listen to rap music. You call them "ghetto gangsters". It is well known that the majority of buyers for rap are white, non-urban teenagers. Wal-Mart is the biggest seller of rap. The thug-life image of rappers is in some cases absolutely correct, but for the majority, or the average rapper, are we so unsophisticated as not be able to distinguish between the marketing image and the real person? For instance, do you really think Sly Stallone is "Rambo"? The buying public demands that their recording artist "keep it real" and ambitious, smart young black males are only too willing to oblige. Is this a modern form of the black-faced minstrel? Maybe, but a more interesting question is why does American society want to see young black men as thugs? Sean, you claim to see urban reality as you drive through low income areas on your way to work. What you see is real, but it's only a limited view of a very complex picture. You see the boyz on the corner, but do you also see the men taking public transportation to their factory jobs?

I was living in NYC when rap music first started to gain national exposure. At the time, it was a joyous music filled with the positive vitality of the city. It was young people (primarily men) talking loud and being bold as only young men can. The Sugar Hill Gang would go up against the Furious Five to see who had the best rhymes. There was a simplicity and earnestness about the music that reminded me off Chuck Berry/Buddy Holly and other early rockers. But around '81/'82 along came crack cocaine and everything changed.

Rap music is the dominate music genre of the past 20 years. It's rhythms and rhymes have diffused throughout American culture. As with any trend, it has positive and negative aspects. If you're seriously interested in reading a comprehensive overview of rap/hip-hop, I would suggest Nelson George's "HipHop America" (Penguin Books).

BTW, rap has an intimate connection for vinyl audiophiles. During the darkest days of analog (late 80s, early 90s) when it appeared that the whole world was going CD, it was 12" rap/hip-hop/dance music that was the major force in keeping vinyl alive in America.