Similarities Between Blues And Hip Hop

Blues and Hip Hop are two styles that have vastly different cultures and are not always mentioned in the same breath. Blues songs are famous for their 12 bar format with sorrowful lyrical content, while hip hop songs have a free flowing form lyrical subject matter can range from street life to political issues. Although many consider these genres to be completely different, there are commonalities between the two genres that can bring them together. From the heavy, powerful drums to the sometimes painful and reminiscent lyrical content: the similarities are often surprising, but nevertheless evident. The similarities between blues and hip hop music are something that is not discussed nearly enough. An accurate example of the similarities from …show more content…
Some of the guitar parts in “The Thrill is Gone” sound similar to the guitar parts used throughout “Style Wars”. B.B. King’s starts off “The Thrill is Gone” with slower guitar playing where you are essentially able to hear each chord that he plays one at a time. This guitar style continues consistently until King begins to sing and the guitar sounds begin to mellow out and become more subdued over time. This guitar style is mimicked throughout “Style Wars”, however it is altered slightly. The same two chords are repeated over and over again, followed by a horn sound that has a slightly lower pitch. This drum and horn pattern becomes a staple throughout the song and is a key part of the song maintaining its sound. The guitar is used in slightly different ways throughout both songs, but is important to both songs. For B.B. King, the guitar adds a more soulful and sorrowful dimension to the song while for Masta Ace, a similar guitar sound creates a unique and funky sound that captivates the listener immediately and draws attention to the lyrical content of the piece. The different use of the guitar sounds is symbolic of how hip hop and blues use the guitar to perform different tasks. For Blues the guitar is almost a necessity to the sound and is a key indicator for the style and direction of the song. In hip hop the guitar …show more content…
This trying to cope with his new, boring life and using his masculinity as a reason for why he must move on is an issue that men often deal with. Because of societal pressures men often feel forced to cope with issues internally, even if they are not sure how, simply because of the fact that they are men and that is what men do. In his article published in the New York Times, author Jack Meyers discusses this notion of masculinity by saying: “The challenge is that there is no foundation on which to build a movement of support, guidance and respect for men who are confronting outdated notions of masculinity” (Meyers, Jack). Men continue to abide by this old, out of touch notion that they must act “manly” when dealing with issues to fit in with societal expectations. This can be problematic when males attempt to get over their problems, but do not know how and attempt to use their male identity and sense of masculinity to move past issues, rather than finding healthy ways to cope. King only mentions this briefly at the end of the stanza and does not go into great detail, but succeeds (possibly unintentionally) in highlighting an important issue that affects many men, and is an extremely large problem in the black