Similarities and Differences of Country & W and Rap Music

Similarities and Differences of Country & W and Rap Music

Author: Denise Noe

Have you ever wondered why some people like both C&W and Rap music? It could be because while many people see this as two very different genres of music, they are really very similar. While yes they are very different styles and are many listened to by two different types of people, the bases of the music is very similar.

In C&W it is mainly, rural, white, and southern; while Rap is urban, black and identified with the two coasts ("New York style" versus "L.A. style"). They both tell a story about what the singer or song writer is wanting the listener to hear and understand.

In C&W music is stereotyped as simple-minded conservatives "redneck", moralistic super-patriots a la Archie Bunker. It speaks mostly in charged areas as sexual morality, crime, and the Protestant work ethic. In C&W songs the sexual ethos of a song are similar, with the man genres as champion chauvinists. They speak of working hard for a day-to-day labor, then partying hard to drink away their blues. They sing about crime and the rush of adrenaline for a quick getaway from the police.

In Rap music, it is sung differently but similar, instead of calling woman "she-cats", woman are referred to as "bitches" and "hos". There is talk of women being raped and murdered and how they beat up their woman. When they refer to the police, they say that they are going to kill the police.

One of the main differences in the C&W music and Rap music is the use of language. While it seems to be acceptable to use swear words in almost every Rap song, C&W songs have very few if any swear words in them. Also when a C&W song speaks of woman, crime, or poverty, they speak about in about as pragmatic coping strategies of their heroines.

But it seems that in Rap music, they speak of killing women, police, and each other. They talk about the thrill of easy money that a life of crime can offer to someone. How they don't need to work there fingers to the bone to get a head in this world. Just stand out on a corner and make a million dollars. They speak of the thrill of their first kill and adrenaline rush they get from shooting a gun.

In summary while yes C&W music and Rap music are very much different in the way they express themselves musically they are basically saying the same thing but with different words and in different ways.