Annotated Bibliography

Drew, Kenny. "What the F**K Happened to Black Music." All About Jazz. 6 Apr. 2006. Web. <http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=21243&pg=2>.

Modern rap has basically come to ho’s and nig**rs, and still makes the most money in the music world.  Now modern rap stars have no talent whereas someone who has graduated with a Ph.D. in music is never seen as talented in today’s society.  The author explains how modern rappers make millions of dollars for useless crap and how playing an instrument at a high level is not well respected in society.  He also makes it clear how artists that are famous usually have some kind of problem whether they got shot or suffer from eating disorders.  Drew points out how the average person can not tell the difference between great musicians and famous artists.

Mccall, Delton. "Questioning If Hip Hop Has Lost Its Roots." Helium. Helium, 16 Nov. 2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. <http://www.helium.com/items/2014826-questioning-if-hip-hop-has-lost-its-roots>.

States that rap in the modern world has lost its soulful roots.  The music is about how much money you make and how materialistic you are, and it is accepted by society.  McCall explains how older hip hop consists of hardships of young black people, however today's rap is about ho's, money and sex.  She claims that hip hop has not lost its roots, but supplies her readers with many reasons on how it has changed since the beginning of rap.

Newton, Abby H. "Mainstream Music: Where Did All the Good Artists Go." Huff Post Teen. 11 Nov. 2011. Web. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/01/mainstream-music-is-about_n_1069230.htm>.

Where has the good artist gone?  This article explains that it’s not about the music anymore, it’s more on commercials and useless products.  You have to be pretty or good looking, drifting away from what really matters, the music.  Explains how producers had to change and not take chances on a group that is out of the norm.  Newton explains specifically on how mainstream music has to fit a slim mold that is made by society, and how producers have to make music that sells.

White Washed. Perf. August Burns Red. YouTube, 2010. Music Video.

Music Video of August Burns Red’s White Washed, and is a clear indicator of how there is more going on in the music rather than just the singer/screamer.  Shows clear examples of break downs, temp changes, and difficulty of the music being played.  This also show the style of dress fits the music being played.

X Factor. Dir. X Factor. Perf. Drew Ryniewicz. X Factor, 2011. TV Show.

This video is about a T.V show about a young girl who messes around with the arrangements’ of a pop song to make it her own, without changing the meaning or quality of the song.  Ryniewicz also shows how to change around elements of the song in order to let her own flare shine through as well as her creativity.  The judges in the video show and point out what makes her stand out over every other competitor, therefor they know what good music is and can point it out.

Yahoo. "How Much Skill Does Rap Take Compared to Metal, or Rock in General?" Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo!, 2008. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. <http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071018185211AADBWYP>.

This post compares rock/metal to rap, and the author puts down rap saying it takes no talent whereas in rock they at least have to learn an instrument.  This really explains and compares rap to metal/rock and brings up the issues of singing versus screaming versus rapping.  This post argues how it is hard to compare two genres of music because they are so different and take different sets of skill to master.