Only the Sane are mad!*

Remember the good old days when music was played by real musicians? When it was full of heart and soul? When there were meaningful lyrics? When music was MUSIC?

The truth is some of the music today, particularly those in the name of our nation, may find unlikely inspiration from the real culture, revered mystical poets and philosophers of Iran's golden age. Well, we have this flimflam known as Rap now! I fell someone needs to just come out and say something like, "RAP SUCKS" and really mean it.

Furthermore, a charity establishment which aims to preserve the history, languages and cultures of Iran, the Iran Heritage Foundation, supported despairingly an event in London, not so while ago, to promote these dull rhythms, along with its hideous lyrics that a bunch of "muthas" try to sing over synthesizers, perhaps, as a part of organisers' mission to increase awareness on affluent culture of Iran! How sad!

Behind this is a stark reality however - unofficially more than 60 percent of our population in Iran is 25 years old or younger, and there is a youth culture eager to break free regardless of territories. Whatever happened to the renowned Iranian culture? I mean, I've heard of that at least 2500 years history, but is that it really? Rappers gradually emerged in our culture and began shouting and ranting words that featured intimidation, hatred of authority, defiance, insolence, animosity, conflict and perhaps racial divisiveness latter!

I believe that describing the chanting of "Rap Music" as singing or as music is indeed a misnomer. I am not musician, however I certainly do believe real Music is the careful arrangement of organized sounds in the form of notes that then result in a smooth blend of rhythm, tone, and pitch that when orchestrated, is quite pleasing to the ear. Rap is not music; and certainly not elegant consonance as well. Rap is real noise pollution that is tastelessly amplified from a boom box! Unlike black soul music and traditional blues rhythm, Rap is both heartless and soulless. In the 60s and 70s blues rhythm creatively captured the hopes, the dreams, the ideals and the aspirations of younger generation and teens. Is the Rap doing the same today?

Rap music is essentially non-creative no matter how creative its performers think they are in writing it or in presenting it; and the rappers have the ridiculous audacity to describe themselves as an artist! Well, Michelangelo, Picassos and Rembrandts most of those arrogant buffoons are not, but bunch of rapper muthas could!

Real genuine music possesses two authentic characteristics: it has grace and beauty, two marvellous components that Rap sadly lacks. Common Love songs show respect and consideration for a member of the opposite gender, however, most contemporary "Rap Babbles" (I wish I could have called it "Lyrics") promote a hedonistic "me first" ghetto survival theme! Rap was born on the streets where life is hard and a gun could mean the difference between life and death. In this scenario, hate has replaced tolerance, arrogance has replaced humility, hostility has replaced compassion, defiance has replaced respect, sex has replaced courtship, using others for personal gain has replaced basic courtesy and wanton rape has replaced teen romance! It is definitely a harmful and dangerous factor to any country's civilization as well as our precious pure culture.

Yes - Rap is not music, because, the blight is without grace, without beauty and without love, the fundamental qualities that are vitally necessary in order to make life both satisfying and worthwhile in any given civilization.

* "In an insane world, only the mad are sane." - Akira Kurosawa

Related:
Amir Hossein Sam's and
Daryoush Mohammad Poor's viewpoints. [in Persian]

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