Compare and Contrast Essay on Two Musical Styles of Blues and Rap

Introduction

Music plays a vital part in our lives. In most cases, music is used to express our emotions and hence aids in reducing depression. Given that people are different, music preference differs from one person to the other. There exist many genres of music such as jazz, rock, rap, and blues. All these genres vary in some features. Additionally, these genres share some common characteristics, and they are different in a way. In respect to this, the essay seeks to compare and contrast two music styles that are blues and rap.

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Contrast

Starting with the origin of the genre. The source of Blues music can be traced back to the African Americans. As slaves, the African Americans sang songs as they labored in the Southern plantations during the nineteenth century ("Blues Music: History & Origins"). From there, Blues spread from the South to other regions forming local blues such as Delta and Chicago Blues. Over time, Blues were accepted over the world and are still a significant part of most people's lives. Blues were used to express the slaves' hardships and console them during their toil in the Whites plantations. Hence, blues is mainly a genre that is used to describe individual life experiences.

On the other hand, rap music was initially from a griot tradition in Africa. People in the griot tradition told stories while playing music using handmade instruments. After being captured as slaves, these people carried this tradition to America. Rap music helped the Africans to cope with the heartbreak and pain they experienced after being captured as slaves. In America, rap music was first heard from a Jamaican immigrant, KoolHerc (Mize). The Jamaican immigrant performed simple rap pieces in his parties to entertain is guest. From there, this music genre spread among African Americans. In the 1960s, African Americans started using the term rap to refer to a conversation. Also, the African Americans were adapting to a dance move known as breakdancing, and this music genre went hand in hand with the dance move. As a result of the mix in traditions and culture among African Americans, rap music was regarded as poetry. With time, people started appreciating rap music and hence it's spread in the 1970s till today.

Comparison

Both Blues and Rap music were referred to as the Devil's Music by whites and some Christians. In as much as they both expressed the truth in people's experiences in life, they were known to encourage disrespect to God and other social norms. As a result, not all whites were willing to embrace these genres. Without Blues, Rap music would not have existed. Blues paved the way for other music styles. Consequently, some features found in Blues can be seen in Rap music. For instance, both Blues and Rap music contained lyrics that passed a particular message to the listeners (Robert &Perrott, 97). They were based on people's life experiences, and the message was usually based on these events. Therefore, Blues and Rap music contained truth in their lyrics. Consequently, people could relate the words to their personal lives. Also, the two genres were used by people to express different emotions such as love, hate, and fear. Therefore, the agenda of Blues and Rap music are similar. However, the genres differ in rhythm and beats.

Conclusion

The main difference between blues and rap is a place of origin. Blues originated from the slaves in South America as they toiled in the plantations. On the other hand, rap originated from the Africans, the griot tradition. The blues influenced the African American culture while Blues influenced rap music. Both music styles are similar in their lyrics in that they each contained a message expressed people's emotions. Finally, the two music styles were regarded as the Devil's Music because they encouraged disrespect.

Works Cited

"Blues Music: History & Origins." SchoolWorkHelper. Retrieved from https://schoolworkhelper.net/blues-music-history-origins/

Gjerdingen, Robert O., and David Perrott. "Scanning the dial: The rapid recognition of music genres." Journal of New Music Research 37.2 (2018): 93-100.

Mize, Cole. "History Of Rap - The True Origins Of Rap Music." ColeMizeStudios. N.p., 2016. Retrieved from https://rampages.us/emilyymads21/2016/10/11/blog-post-1-origins-of-rap-music