
Why entrepreneurs should love rap music - randall
http://areallybadidea.com/why-entrepreneurs-should-love-rap-music
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mindcrime
I have to say, I'm more a metal-head than anything... about 90% of the time, I
want Metallica, Iron Maiden, In Flames, Children of Bodom, Testament, Slayer,
Mötley Crüe, Queensryche, Dimmu Borgir, Cinderella, Exodus, Incantation,
Nuclear Assault, Overkill, Megadeth, Finntroll, Gamma Ray, Kamelot,
Stratovarius, etc. playing...

But the other part of the time, I freely admit to having a soft-spot for
gangsta rap, especially Dr. Dre, Eminem, 50 Cent, Tupac, Obie Trice, Snoop
Dogg, N.W.A., etc. There is definitely an attitude present in that music that
is very motivational in it's way. Like the article says... there's a lot of
focus on hard-work, on success, on achievement, etc. Something like "Till I
Collapse"[1] by Eminem gets me as fired up as anything.

Then again, that's not to take anything away from a song like "Keep Your Eye
on the Money" [2] by Mötley Crüe, either. \m/

[1]: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUwXJODauxs>

[2]: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kGOCcjPqnY>

~~~
michaelchisari
Not to mention that even the most gangsta of gangsta rappers still have songs
on their albums that are focused on telling stories in a poetic way. Even 50
Cent, who's one of the most anti-intellectual of mainstream rappers, writes
lyrics like "God's the seamstress that tailor fitted my pain."

People write off hip hop, and it's really unfair. Sure, there's a lot of crap
out there, but if I wrote off rock music because of Fallout Boy and Creed, I'd
be seriously missing out.

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thomasb
Wow, these "why entrepreneurs should..." articles weren't very to good to
begin with. Now, they are just outright silly.

~~~
eitland
Agree. Post is mostly just authors personal opinions, marketed as the truth.

Example:

>> or redneck issues (country).

Country music has a lot of texts about hard work too.

~~~
Tycho
I think the author has a good point though that rap is the only genre that
really embraces commercialism/capitalism/enrichment in the lyrics themselves
(albeit usually mixed in with a criminal fantasy element).

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michaelchisari
I'm just gonna drop this here, because I think it will appeal to the geeks
here.

Last Emporor's "Secret Wars", which is a fantastical tale about a battle
between his favorite emcees and his favorite Marvel comic book characters.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SPjPGeYlMU>

 _What if I had the power to gather all of my favorite emcees With the illest
comic book characters and they became arch enemies? Inconcievable?
Unbelievable? Yet as wild as it seems The Emperor and Stan Lee would coach the
two opposing teams_

~~~
Tycho
You might like this, storytelling rap EP about apocalyptic human-AI war (from
the robot perspective...)

<http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=240817>

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Tycho
Somewhat ironically, the best rapper ever (IMO) is a staunch Marxist. Although
I guess he's also an entrepreneur. I'm taking about Boots Riley - completely
disagree with his politics but can't deny the unparalleled quality of his two
masterpieces:

 _Me and Jesus The Pimp in a 79 Grenada Last Night

Fat Cats, Bigga Fish_

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_delirium
I don't get quite the same sense from most hip-hop, though I agree it does
have some of the elements he lists. But there's a vague anticapitalist current
buried in even the bling-rapping, where capitalism is seen as a rigged game
that you have to figure out how to beat, whether by legal means or otherwise.

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guptaneil
It all makes sense now! "Move bitch, get out the way" must be about surpassing
your competition!

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ronnier
I listen to so many podcasts that it's hard for me to fit music in. I've
started listening to "This Developers Life" which mixes in some nice music
though.

<http://thisdeveloperslife.com/>

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protez
He's making a good point. However, he's overlooking the crystal clear fact
that psytrance, a subgenre of electronic, is about transcendence almost above
and beyond everything imaginable in this particular universe.

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twism
This is on heavy rotation over here

[http://listen.grooveshark.com/s/Hustle+Hard+remix+noshout+/3...](http://listen.grooveshark.com/s/Hustle+Hard+remix+noshout+/3xvuWw?src=5)

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omarchowdhury
Here's a rap song I'm sure everyone of us here will like:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdS3WVYr834>

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onfye
No one should "love" the kind of rap music that the author is talking about.
The love and worship of "gangsta rap" has the black community in shambles.

~~~
Anechoic
> _The love and worship of "gangsta rap" has the black community in shambles._

Do you seriously think "gangsta rap" is the cause of ills among blacks? Do you
similarly blame violent video games for teen/young adult violence?

~~~
gnok
I'm not entirely sure the comparison is valid. Music tends to have a greater
cultural influence than video games. Not to mention having real-life idols
that proscribe to the 'gangsta' way of life. In fact, I think its people
rather than the music that causes the deeper cultural influence.

Admittedly, gangsta rap that describes the ways of inner-city life is an
artistic statement. I suspect the parent was talking about the certain sub-
genre of gangsta rap that eulogizes and encourages a violent life.

To answer your first question (even thought you asked the parent), I can't
believe that music of any form can possibly be the cause of ills among the
black community.

~~~
onfye
"I can't believe that music of any form can possibly be the cause of ills
among the black community."

That's because you aren't black, and you wouldn't know. It's not just music,
it's the mainstream media as a whole, and how they depict a successful black.

The black youth don't get to see the successful black businessman, lawyer,
doctor or politician. The ghetto drug dealer who became a rapper and now has
millions, athlete, etc. are the only success stories we are fed with, on a
daily basis.

