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Article: Parallel worlds: the surprising similarities (and differences) of country-and-western and rap.
- Article from:
- The Humanist
- Article date:
- July 1, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 American Humanist Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In all of popular music today, there are probably no two genres that are more apparently dissimilar than country-and-western and rap: the one rural, white, and southern; the other urban, black, and identified with the two coasts ("New York style" versus "L.A. style"). Yet C&W and rap are surprisingly similar in many ways. In both C&W and rap, for example, lyrics are important. Both types of music tell stories, as do folk songs, and the story is much more than frosting for the rhythm and beat.
The ideologies espoused by these types of music are remarkably similar as well. We frequently stereotype country fans as simple-minded conservatives - "redneck," moralistic ...