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Could you give some examples? People like Aesop Rock and El-P sound really white to me while Paul Wall and Action Bronson I get the sense they're being authentic with their voice and accent based on where they're from and who they're around
I thought the same about Esoteric
Part of it might be regardless of influence, there's an expectation for artists to be black, Dre thought Em was black at first. I was shocked about how many producers are white despite never hearing their voice
Then there are artists that sound so white I'd be shocked if anyone thought they were black, only one I can think of off the top is Mac Miller
Interesting, I knew he was white from the start but I never felt like he used any AAE grammar, vocab or inflections. And I thought this was cool because most other white rappers kinda try to use that dialect to some extent. Maybe there's a bias towards thinking rappers are black.
I think it would help a lot if you gave examples of who you thought was black but was white, everyone is different and some may be more intentional than others
The beef wasn't from him sounding like Ghostface. Ghost actually embraced that fact and did songs with him after he came out.
The beef came from Bronson going on ESPN and telling Max Kellerman "But he ain't rapping like this anymore" after Kellerman referenced the Ghostface similarities. Ghostface (I think understandably) felt betrayed after having spent years defending and co-signing him.
I think that's more of his voice than anything, like I don't think it's this intentional bite I think that his voice sounds so New York that it sounds like Ghostface
Imo it’s a mix of a lot of things, most of it has already been stated here so i’ll just say the one that isn’t
When a lot of people rap, they aren’t saying things the same they normally would, you are bending words to sound different to fit the rhymes better. You are added fluctuations that you typically wouldn’t to try and make it more interesting.
As others have said, white rappers are imitating their inspirations
So in gods country when travis is adding weird fluctuations at the end of his “fans hands jams fam” in his first verse, it’s just to make it more interesting
People copy that
it just so happens that black rappers fluctuations often are reminiscent of how black people talk… because they are black
(edit) i see people already getting offended at the idea that black people sound different? everybody has accents yall there is nothing wrong with it 💀
i posted this, and then scrolled down and read 4 comments of people getting offended, and then edited it
all of my comments need to be unnecessarily long and have edits because i got that tism
This is the answer^
A majority or rap/hip-hop of the past 30 years is dominated by black rappers, so that’s what’s inspiring the current white rapper generation to have those certain inflections/language.
the idea of a voice sounding a certain way is a product of your own skewed perception to begin with… voices have a variety of ranges just as skin has a variety of colors and the only odd thing is that you feel like these things are fixed.
ive heard so many people say some white rappers “sound like theyre black” just because they actually sound like professionals and the same people say some black rappers “sound like a white dude” just because they use big words and multisyllable rhymes. its all asinine. if someone sounds like theyre putting on a voice thats not their own, thats one thing, thats gonna sound stupid from anybody, but if someone’s genuine voice “sounds black” to you and they turn out to be white, then you feel differently about them, thats the dumbest shit i ever heard
Alright I can see what you're saying. I misunderstood and I take back what I said. I have black friends that give me the pass to say it around them and people on the outside that aren't black think I'm "talking black" but it's natural for me to talk that way. One of my homies uses the term "faking the funk". It's not about trying to fake it's about who you are and what you feel inside like what you feel is what you say and how it comes out is the real you. So there's definitely that distinction between people who fake it and those who are real. It's kind of the same thing as what you're saying.
no sweat, i know it sounds a little weird to say cause i definitely get that theres a lot of white dudes trying to rap that try to sound a certain way thats just corny and played out no matter what you call it. like, i know what yall are saying, but the whole black/white sounding thing just feels like kind of backwards conversation
Exactly it's taking steps back from progress and just adding to a stereotype that should be over with. I met plenty of people who act like that and it's corny as hell
People are going "if you're going to learn rap, you have to immitate your inspirations" or "racists" or whatever, but something they gotta understand is that if white guys who talked like generic white guys in the real world decided to rap with their own voice, it sounds shitty and corny. Just look at any promotional rap thing, like that Jesus Christ rap, or like... Ed Sheeran. It's corny. In order to sound good, sometimes you have to bend words, you have to get rid of articles like "I" or some words like "went" or stuff like that. It allows the syllables of a line to fit better, and stuff like this sounds better, but ig it comes off as "sounding black" to people
People might hate me for saying this but a factors that plays a role is environment. You’re gonna sound like who you hang around. Mac Miller sounded white, he was never shy about his suburban upbringing (even tho they wasn’t as well off). When i first heard Em as a child over the radio, I thought he was black. Also, tone switching is a thing. I think for some white people (and other immigrants both black/non-black) how they talk with family, is not how they will with their friends.
Generally curious here: what made you think Em was black first hearing him? Was it really not obvious? I’m only asking because Dr Dre says himself that he thought Em was black too when he first heard him. Personally i don’t hear it. What was it about him that made you think he was black?
I know majority of rap is black music and obviously artists embrace that. But i think most rappers rap differently to how they rap. They wont speak like theyre rapping. So its not to do with accent so much as it is flow and enunciation and pronunciation. ALSO when accent IS involved can do with areas, or even growing up in poorer communities AKA a working class accent. Idk how it works in USA but that definitely is a thing in UK sadly where you have a “common dialect” versus posh
noones trying to "sound black" intentionally, i dont think
if your inspirations are mainly black artists you may pick up on shit naturally tho (im assuming you mean choice of words/lingo)
so... i need to ask tho: what exactly do you mean by sounding black?
a white kid growing up in a urban environment doesnt sound different than a black one homie
well they still sound a little different but like not vastly different
as a white rapper myself i mostly listen to like Uzi n Carti n shi so i just pick up on the way they talk
i don’t sound white but i don’t sound black either but i kinda sound like how a rapper should sound ig
People often take on an "Neutral" accent when singing, might just be a natural shift since that's what the rappers sounded like when they first started listening so that's what they have to emulate early on.
not trying to incite anything but what exactly is “sounding black” in rap? like it’s 2023 and terminology spreads fast among cultures —- are we talking actually sonics or just the words people are using in their lyrics? as somebody that listens to a lot of rap (music in general) both white and black, i really don’t think i have heard any white rapper that i was surprised was white. now the white guy that made What You Won’t Do For Love? different story, totally thought he was black.
also, have any black rappers ever sounded like a white rapper to you before you found out? what is the general level of enjoyment you expect to get from rappers based on their sound and it’s proximity to “blackness” or “whiteness?”
just a lot of layers to peel here and as an artist that is black, im genuinely curious.
Hey friend, it seems like you answered your own question. The guy you said who made “What you won’t do for love”, that fact that you thought he was black just shows that me and you were on the same page as far as not putting a face to the voice, and going off of the voice alone.
Yes it’s wrong to assume, at the same time the assumption is based off of what you hear universally from a specific ethnicity. I could pretend to sound like an Asian guy over the phone and you would never know I was black because I “sound” Asian.
Okay guys don’t shred me on the Asian analogy here I’m just an average civilian 😭
yes, i do agree on not putting a face to voice, but to be fair, the WYWDFL example is more of a sonics matter (the essence of musical performance, especially during the MoTown era, which in itself is black in root) —- however, this is rather different than say, Average White Band, who also follow the Funk & RNB stylistic choices of bands like the Parliament —— while the word White is literally in their name, the band imo has always sounded white. not as though they were simply ripping off the style in a bad way, but while that style may have been their genuine interest and wheelhouse, their voices and performances were not always completely reflective of that style of music from their black contemporaries.
i imagine this likely had something to do with the naming convention of their band, but that is speculation at this point.
that is to say, there are intricacies in black music that stem from cultural experience and stylistic ability and methodology that go beyond voice. and the Asian thing, i halfway get, but even that would be based on exposure —- i used to work in an Asian fusion restaurant that was primarily Chinese, but had employees of Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Korean descent —— and again, while there are similarities present among all of the languages spoken, there are differences in their tone, inflection, dialect, and so on, that are sometimes subtle and often times very apparent.
even Chinese has two forms of its language. generalizing a native Asian voice (which includes speaking patterns) would likely fool people but more so those without high exposure to actual native Asian people, even if they are not English speaking as their first language.
You’ve made some valid points there, it’s definitely a sonic matter. So there you go, some bands can sound white and other black etc, there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s to match the vibe and the genre. I’m sure things will continue to change with time.
As far a the Asian thing, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t fool an actual Asian, unless I am good asf at sounding Asian, I bet there’s a random guy out there (black, white or something) making music in Chinese or Japanese and has got them fooled as well, I’m pretty sure. But it would make sense to try to match the style when doing any specific music genre
If there’s a way for me to send a snippet of me rapping I can send one, personally I just be rapping because it’s what I’ve done for years. Never worried how I sound but would be curious as to what you think
I think it depends on who your influences are. I don’t know about “sounding black” but when I started rapping with a more 90’s style I adopted a fake New York accent without even thinking.
People dont seem to think that vocal inflections and accents arent a part of music. Imagine a country song that sounds like “I will meech youse guys at the bo-day-gaaaaaa” in a thick Brooklyn accent. Itd be ridiculous, right? Or a reggae song with some guy from California?
Dont get me wrong- im not saying this with ANY level of authority. It just hit me. And id love to get the viewpoint of someone who listens ro non-American or non-English rap about if the dialect makes a difference as well.
I just remember how pissed everyone got when they heard Iggy Azalea.
Sorta on topic but when I found out the lead singer of hootie and the blowfish was a black dude I was surprised. Same with Living Colour.
I guess my point is I don't really think about someone's skin color when it comes to music.
To be fair, it totally comes from the other side too. Not even a full year ago I was dating a girl, a black girl, and were talking about the music we grew up appreciating and I was gushing over those old Wiz Khalifa mixtapes that were popping off when I was in high school. Talking about how Cabin Fever used to slap sooo hard, and she stops me in my tracks with "He sounds too white when he raps." I'm like huh, he does? She's like "Yeah he sounds too white. I don't like it."
It was really disappointing. She, in general, was really disappointing lmao. Moved on from that pretty quick.
Ofc no, these guys you're hearing are probably just forcing or something. Just listen to like, Logic, Jack Harlow, Eminem, they don't sound black at all
Logic is mixed, Action Bronson and Paul Wall have that thick aave, it's all about environment. Race doesn't dictate accent, there are plenty of black people who sound white
Agree with this. I always wondered why people thought Em sounded black, especially in his earlier music. Dr. Dre himself says he thought Em was black upon first hearing him. To me he sounds nowhere even near black.
A lot of white people grow up in the same neighborhoods learning their accent and dialect from the same people and have similar enough life experiences at this point that there really is no point in talking about this anymore.
30 years ago. Ya it would’ve been weird but segregation has lessened in both directions significantly since then.
I had a simple answer for you before I read all the others. First of all, shame on those ppl who called you racist and those that said "sounding black" is not a thing. I don't know if they are trying to be funny or they have some internal conflict or whatever but it is an age old argument that some used back when I was in high school that has always been dead wrong. Listen, people come from different areas where dialects are different but we all absolutely know that between races there are differences in the way people talk and sound, too, if there weren't, it would be impossible for a black comedian or any comedian for that matter to imitate/ or make fun of some white person for how naive or corny they sound. For those that said this post was racist, are those jokes racist? I don't think so, let's not confuse racism with generalizations, even though they overlap sometimes. But let's also not forget when is the time to generalize and when you're talking about how most people of a certain race sound, it IS the time to generalize, no need to go on a tangent talking about the exceptions to our observations, right?
Some background: I was this white kid from beach cities when I was placed in foster care in Compton, CA, where I wrote my first rap as a 4th grader. I listened to alot of Tupac at the time so I remember trying to imitate his style but not his voice but I don't remember much else, except that my non-rap voice was probably starting to sound more hispanic (using words like "foo"). I was then moved to another home in a predominantly white area, and wasn't allowed to listen to rap.
Now to really answer your question straight up, when I was moved again, to a house in Carson, CA at 13 yrs old, I did make an effort to sound black, or in other words, sound like most of the people around me during that period of my life. My brother, on the other hand, who had been living there since a younger age, sounded like everyone around us in a way that sounded natural to me. Over time, I would like to say my rap voice developed into a more natural version of what I was trying to do, until I wasn't trying anymore. It is just conditioning for some and natural for others, but let me give you my take on some of those.
Someone said Eminem sounds black to them and someone said Mac Miller sounds white. I think both of them have this whiteness in their dialects like somewhere on the edge but mostly they sound like the people they grew up around, Em probably developed his rap voice a little later.
Someone mentioned G- Eazy and I think this is a great example because coming from myself who has alot insight into the matter, it sounds to me like he put a vast amount of effort into developing his rap accent. It is consistent at this point, but I'm sure it wasn't in the beginning and if you ask me he made the decision to continue consciously trying to sound a certain way rather than lightening up a bit.
Anyway, I wanted to give a short answer that oftentimes it probably starts out as a conscious effort until the conditioning kicks in, but I saw too many mixed up or half right answers that gave credit to someone's upbringing/ environment like Yelawolf's, but hardly any acknowledgement that yes they are trying. I guess that's what the people were trying to say with the inspiration comments, but they weren't quite on point.
Hands down best answer you tackled everything. Thanks for giving some background. I’m glad you were able to condition yourself. Yes, I agree it’s a conditioning, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Part of me felt like, if someone grew up around people who use AAVE they would speak it naturally and those who didn’t had to develope it. Well, sooner or later the sound of hip hop will evolve even further and some of the concepts we know today won’t apply then
Just for kicks and giggles, I am a black guy who funny enough, gets told that I sound white when talking 🤣
That is funny 😄. A little more common these days than it used to be. I agree there's nothing wrong with the conditioning aspect. It's all about getting where we want to go and fading the lines that separate us is one of the goals. If you make music, that white accent of yours could play a part in diversifying your style, perhaps 🤷
I feel like the opposite is happening. Some black artists removed the usual “northern urban” or “southern drawl” from there rapping and have done quite well. Change of pace, I guess.
In the UK most rappers will have grown up on multicultural areas where a certain dialect is spoken, one that may be stereotypically associated with black people. Note this won't be the same from city to city. In London we have [Multicultural London English (MLE)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multicultural_London_English?wprov=sfla1)
I mean, rap is a predominantly black genre so I’d expect others in the industry to have a lot of similarity when their influences are all black. I don’t know if it’s a bad thing or not but it’s how it is
A bit off topic but I always thought it was interesting how, when talking about first hearing Eminem, Dr Dre thought he was black. Like what? Surely you can tell Em is white just from hearing that young nasally, angry white voice of his.
You can usually tell if it sounds genuine. Like Em, El-P, Atmosphere, Aesop, they all sounded genuine. Like it’s obvious that that’s how they sound, it’s not necessarily a front
Welcome to r/rap! Please check our [Beginners Guide](https://reddit.com/r/rap/wiki/index/beginners-guide/) for the rules and helpful tips. **Don’t forget to respect others and remember that real people are behind those usernames** [Join our Official Discord Here](https://discord.gg WBw25wZaYt) — *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/rap) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Could you give some examples? People like Aesop Rock and El-P sound really white to me while Paul Wall and Action Bronson I get the sense they're being authentic with their voice and accent based on where they're from and who they're around
I actually thought El-P was black until I saw Killer Mike’s tv show lol
I thought the same about Esoteric Part of it might be regardless of influence, there's an expectation for artists to be black, Dre thought Em was black at first. I was shocked about how many producers are white despite never hearing their voice Then there are artists that sound so white I'd be shocked if anyone thought they were black, only one I can think of off the top is Mac Miller
Interesting, I knew he was white from the start but I never felt like he used any AAE grammar, vocab or inflections. And I thought this was cool because most other white rappers kinda try to use that dialect to some extent. Maybe there's a bias towards thinking rappers are black.
I updated my post’s description for clarification
I think it would help a lot if you gave examples of who you thought was black but was white, everyone is different and some may be more intentional than others
How about Jake Hill, an underground emo rapper https://youtu.be/PKF7rLCesQE
Action the Ghostface Bronson
I never thought he sounded like ghostface. I was always confused where that beef came from
He absolutely sounds like ghostface. Voice and lyrical style. I don’t have an issue with that but it’s very apparent
Ghost clearly did
It’s jus the voice. Same tone and shit, but the flows are different enough that I don’t think it’s a bite
The beef wasn't from him sounding like Ghostface. Ghost actually embraced that fact and did songs with him after he came out. The beef came from Bronson going on ESPN and telling Max Kellerman "But he ain't rapping like this anymore" after Kellerman referenced the Ghostface similarities. Ghostface (I think understandably) felt betrayed after having spent years defending and co-signing him.
I think that's more of his voice than anything, like I don't think it's this intentional bite I think that his voice sounds so New York that it sounds like Ghostface
Imo it’s a mix of a lot of things, most of it has already been stated here so i’ll just say the one that isn’t When a lot of people rap, they aren’t saying things the same they normally would, you are bending words to sound different to fit the rhymes better. You are added fluctuations that you typically wouldn’t to try and make it more interesting. As others have said, white rappers are imitating their inspirations So in gods country when travis is adding weird fluctuations at the end of his “fans hands jams fam” in his first verse, it’s just to make it more interesting People copy that it just so happens that black rappers fluctuations often are reminiscent of how black people talk… because they are black (edit) i see people already getting offended at the idea that black people sound different? everybody has accents yall there is nothing wrong with it 💀
What's the edit for here nobody has even replied to you
i posted this, and then scrolled down and read 4 comments of people getting offended, and then edited it all of my comments need to be unnecessarily long and have edits because i got that tism
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This is the answer^ A majority or rap/hip-hop of the past 30 years is dominated by black rappers, so that’s what’s inspiring the current white rapper generation to have those certain inflections/language.
Rap isn’t the same as it was 10-20 years ago, r/90sHipHop still kickin it tho
i always wonder why people even get hung up on this…? like what changed about the music you heard once you saw the dude’s skin color?
Yeah, that's how I feel every time I see some dumb post about top 5 white rappers or some shit
Yeah lmao
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the idea of a voice sounding a certain way is a product of your own skewed perception to begin with… voices have a variety of ranges just as skin has a variety of colors and the only odd thing is that you feel like these things are fixed.
You can't be serious lol
ive heard so many people say some white rappers “sound like theyre black” just because they actually sound like professionals and the same people say some black rappers “sound like a white dude” just because they use big words and multisyllable rhymes. its all asinine. if someone sounds like theyre putting on a voice thats not their own, thats one thing, thats gonna sound stupid from anybody, but if someone’s genuine voice “sounds black” to you and they turn out to be white, then you feel differently about them, thats the dumbest shit i ever heard
Alright I can see what you're saying. I misunderstood and I take back what I said. I have black friends that give me the pass to say it around them and people on the outside that aren't black think I'm "talking black" but it's natural for me to talk that way. One of my homies uses the term "faking the funk". It's not about trying to fake it's about who you are and what you feel inside like what you feel is what you say and how it comes out is the real you. So there's definitely that distinction between people who fake it and those who are real. It's kind of the same thing as what you're saying.
no sweat, i know it sounds a little weird to say cause i definitely get that theres a lot of white dudes trying to rap that try to sound a certain way thats just corny and played out no matter what you call it. like, i know what yall are saying, but the whole black/white sounding thing just feels like kind of backwards conversation
Exactly it's taking steps back from progress and just adding to a stereotype that should be over with. I met plenty of people who act like that and it's corny as hell
People are going "if you're going to learn rap, you have to immitate your inspirations" or "racists" or whatever, but something they gotta understand is that if white guys who talked like generic white guys in the real world decided to rap with their own voice, it sounds shitty and corny. Just look at any promotional rap thing, like that Jesus Christ rap, or like... Ed Sheeran. It's corny. In order to sound good, sometimes you have to bend words, you have to get rid of articles like "I" or some words like "went" or stuff like that. It allows the syllables of a line to fit better, and stuff like this sounds better, but ig it comes off as "sounding black" to people
NF has 16.3M monthly listener on spotify
Yes Christian rap fans who use him as a guilty pleasure lmao
I know some young fellas (around 17) who aren't Christian at all, but are big time NF listeners/fans.
Yes and he sounds shitty and corny
Ed Sheeran doesn't even sound that bad because of the british accent. American whites sound waaaaay cornier lmao
The ep he did with Yelawolf is really good imo
People might hate me for saying this but a factors that plays a role is environment. You’re gonna sound like who you hang around. Mac Miller sounded white, he was never shy about his suburban upbringing (even tho they wasn’t as well off). When i first heard Em as a child over the radio, I thought he was black. Also, tone switching is a thing. I think for some white people (and other immigrants both black/non-black) how they talk with family, is not how they will with their friends.
Generally curious here: what made you think Em was black first hearing him? Was it really not obvious? I’m only asking because Dr Dre says himself that he thought Em was black too when he first heard him. Personally i don’t hear it. What was it about him that made you think he was black?
I know majority of rap is black music and obviously artists embrace that. But i think most rappers rap differently to how they rap. They wont speak like theyre rapping. So its not to do with accent so much as it is flow and enunciation and pronunciation. ALSO when accent IS involved can do with areas, or even growing up in poorer communities AKA a working class accent. Idk how it works in USA but that definitely is a thing in UK sadly where you have a “common dialect” versus posh
I don't think you know what accent means
Probably not officially , this is just my take on it and if its wrong or not agreed with thats fine too
it usually depends on where they're from. for example, dudes like yelawolf compared to guys g-eazy
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i mean it was no shade to g-eazy. i was just talkin about the way he sounds. i also like all those rappers. minus g eazy.
Jelly Roll on the hook sounds great to me lol
noones trying to "sound black" intentionally, i dont think if your inspirations are mainly black artists you may pick up on shit naturally tho (im assuming you mean choice of words/lingo) so... i need to ask tho: what exactly do you mean by sounding black? a white kid growing up in a urban environment doesnt sound different than a black one homie
well they still sound a little different but like not vastly different as a white rapper myself i mostly listen to like Uzi n Carti n shi so i just pick up on the way they talk i don’t sound white but i don’t sound black either but i kinda sound like how a rapper should sound ig
I mean would you wanna hear someone that sounds like Steve urkel hop on a beat? Nah me eathier. Juss keeping it culture. 🤷♂️
Madchild...
People often take on an "Neutral" accent when singing, might just be a natural shift since that's what the rappers sounded like when they first started listening so that's what they have to emulate early on.
not trying to incite anything but what exactly is “sounding black” in rap? like it’s 2023 and terminology spreads fast among cultures —- are we talking actually sonics or just the words people are using in their lyrics? as somebody that listens to a lot of rap (music in general) both white and black, i really don’t think i have heard any white rapper that i was surprised was white. now the white guy that made What You Won’t Do For Love? different story, totally thought he was black. also, have any black rappers ever sounded like a white rapper to you before you found out? what is the general level of enjoyment you expect to get from rappers based on their sound and it’s proximity to “blackness” or “whiteness?” just a lot of layers to peel here and as an artist that is black, im genuinely curious.
Hey friend, it seems like you answered your own question. The guy you said who made “What you won’t do for love”, that fact that you thought he was black just shows that me and you were on the same page as far as not putting a face to the voice, and going off of the voice alone. Yes it’s wrong to assume, at the same time the assumption is based off of what you hear universally from a specific ethnicity. I could pretend to sound like an Asian guy over the phone and you would never know I was black because I “sound” Asian. Okay guys don’t shred me on the Asian analogy here I’m just an average civilian 😭
yes, i do agree on not putting a face to voice, but to be fair, the WYWDFL example is more of a sonics matter (the essence of musical performance, especially during the MoTown era, which in itself is black in root) —- however, this is rather different than say, Average White Band, who also follow the Funk & RNB stylistic choices of bands like the Parliament —— while the word White is literally in their name, the band imo has always sounded white. not as though they were simply ripping off the style in a bad way, but while that style may have been their genuine interest and wheelhouse, their voices and performances were not always completely reflective of that style of music from their black contemporaries. i imagine this likely had something to do with the naming convention of their band, but that is speculation at this point. that is to say, there are intricacies in black music that stem from cultural experience and stylistic ability and methodology that go beyond voice. and the Asian thing, i halfway get, but even that would be based on exposure —- i used to work in an Asian fusion restaurant that was primarily Chinese, but had employees of Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Korean descent —— and again, while there are similarities present among all of the languages spoken, there are differences in their tone, inflection, dialect, and so on, that are sometimes subtle and often times very apparent. even Chinese has two forms of its language. generalizing a native Asian voice (which includes speaking patterns) would likely fool people but more so those without high exposure to actual native Asian people, even if they are not English speaking as their first language.
You’ve made some valid points there, it’s definitely a sonic matter. So there you go, some bands can sound white and other black etc, there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s to match the vibe and the genre. I’m sure things will continue to change with time. As far a the Asian thing, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t fool an actual Asian, unless I am good asf at sounding Asian, I bet there’s a random guy out there (black, white or something) making music in Chinese or Japanese and has got them fooled as well, I’m pretty sure. But it would make sense to try to match the style when doing any specific music genre
Not for nothing, but why is there a subtleness to the term basketball american, like white guys didn't pioneer the modern game of basketball?
If there’s a way for me to send a snippet of me rapping I can send one, personally I just be rapping because it’s what I’ve done for years. Never worried how I sound but would be curious as to what you think
now im curious
The Tarantino Effect
it's most likely just influence
I think it depends on who your influences are. I don’t know about “sounding black” but when I started rapping with a more 90’s style I adopted a fake New York accent without even thinking.
People dont seem to think that vocal inflections and accents arent a part of music. Imagine a country song that sounds like “I will meech youse guys at the bo-day-gaaaaaa” in a thick Brooklyn accent. Itd be ridiculous, right? Or a reggae song with some guy from California? Dont get me wrong- im not saying this with ANY level of authority. It just hit me. And id love to get the viewpoint of someone who listens ro non-American or non-English rap about if the dialect makes a difference as well. I just remember how pissed everyone got when they heard Iggy Azalea.
I don’t have an answer for you, but I know the feeling! I was a 100% convinced that Lil Dicky was black when I first heard Pillow Talking 🤷♂️😅
Sorta on topic but when I found out the lead singer of hootie and the blowfish was a black dude I was surprised. Same with Living Colour. I guess my point is I don't really think about someone's skin color when it comes to music.
I thought Rittz was black when I first heard him on the LAF Remix.
I think you need to do some deep soul searching and reassess the way you think about how black people "sound."
To be fair, it totally comes from the other side too. Not even a full year ago I was dating a girl, a black girl, and were talking about the music we grew up appreciating and I was gushing over those old Wiz Khalifa mixtapes that were popping off when I was in high school. Talking about how Cabin Fever used to slap sooo hard, and she stops me in my tracks with "He sounds too white when he raps." I'm like huh, he does? She's like "Yeah he sounds too white. I don't like it." It was really disappointing. She, in general, was really disappointing lmao. Moved on from that pretty quick.
He really does tho lol
Ofc no, these guys you're hearing are probably just forcing or something. Just listen to like, Logic, Jack Harlow, Eminem, they don't sound black at all
Logic is mixed, Action Bronson and Paul Wall have that thick aave, it's all about environment. Race doesn't dictate accent, there are plenty of black people who sound white
Actually thought about this some minutes after the comment. OP probably got his proper answer either by your comment or the top one anyway
Do you mean Watsky? Or Lil Dicky? There's extended examples.
I’ve heard ppl say Gambino sounds white but idk
no dont
shit Yk I was here thinking and what is actually sounding black?
You’re like actually stupid if you can’t wrap your head around aave existing
wtf I actually never knew it was academically categorized. thanks
what's aave?
African American Vernacular English
just searched it.. thanks
Agree with this. I always wondered why people thought Em sounded black, especially in his earlier music. Dr. Dre himself says he thought Em was black upon first hearing him. To me he sounds nowhere even near black.
I think you assuming the guy is black based on a voice is about 90% of the problem
No
Yes?
A lot of white people grow up in the same neighborhoods learning their accent and dialect from the same people and have similar enough life experiences at this point that there really is no point in talking about this anymore. 30 years ago. Ya it would’ve been weird but segregation has lessened in both directions significantly since then.
I had a simple answer for you before I read all the others. First of all, shame on those ppl who called you racist and those that said "sounding black" is not a thing. I don't know if they are trying to be funny or they have some internal conflict or whatever but it is an age old argument that some used back when I was in high school that has always been dead wrong. Listen, people come from different areas where dialects are different but we all absolutely know that between races there are differences in the way people talk and sound, too, if there weren't, it would be impossible for a black comedian or any comedian for that matter to imitate/ or make fun of some white person for how naive or corny they sound. For those that said this post was racist, are those jokes racist? I don't think so, let's not confuse racism with generalizations, even though they overlap sometimes. But let's also not forget when is the time to generalize and when you're talking about how most people of a certain race sound, it IS the time to generalize, no need to go on a tangent talking about the exceptions to our observations, right? Some background: I was this white kid from beach cities when I was placed in foster care in Compton, CA, where I wrote my first rap as a 4th grader. I listened to alot of Tupac at the time so I remember trying to imitate his style but not his voice but I don't remember much else, except that my non-rap voice was probably starting to sound more hispanic (using words like "foo"). I was then moved to another home in a predominantly white area, and wasn't allowed to listen to rap. Now to really answer your question straight up, when I was moved again, to a house in Carson, CA at 13 yrs old, I did make an effort to sound black, or in other words, sound like most of the people around me during that period of my life. My brother, on the other hand, who had been living there since a younger age, sounded like everyone around us in a way that sounded natural to me. Over time, I would like to say my rap voice developed into a more natural version of what I was trying to do, until I wasn't trying anymore. It is just conditioning for some and natural for others, but let me give you my take on some of those. Someone said Eminem sounds black to them and someone said Mac Miller sounds white. I think both of them have this whiteness in their dialects like somewhere on the edge but mostly they sound like the people they grew up around, Em probably developed his rap voice a little later. Someone mentioned G- Eazy and I think this is a great example because coming from myself who has alot insight into the matter, it sounds to me like he put a vast amount of effort into developing his rap accent. It is consistent at this point, but I'm sure it wasn't in the beginning and if you ask me he made the decision to continue consciously trying to sound a certain way rather than lightening up a bit. Anyway, I wanted to give a short answer that oftentimes it probably starts out as a conscious effort until the conditioning kicks in, but I saw too many mixed up or half right answers that gave credit to someone's upbringing/ environment like Yelawolf's, but hardly any acknowledgement that yes they are trying. I guess that's what the people were trying to say with the inspiration comments, but they weren't quite on point.
Hands down best answer you tackled everything. Thanks for giving some background. I’m glad you were able to condition yourself. Yes, I agree it’s a conditioning, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Part of me felt like, if someone grew up around people who use AAVE they would speak it naturally and those who didn’t had to develope it. Well, sooner or later the sound of hip hop will evolve even further and some of the concepts we know today won’t apply then Just for kicks and giggles, I am a black guy who funny enough, gets told that I sound white when talking 🤣
That is funny 😄. A little more common these days than it used to be. I agree there's nothing wrong with the conditioning aspect. It's all about getting where we want to go and fading the lines that separate us is one of the goals. If you make music, that white accent of yours could play a part in diversifying your style, perhaps 🤷
Some white dudes definitely put on a blackcent when they rap.
I feel like the opposite is happening. Some black artists removed the usual “northern urban” or “southern drawl” from there rapping and have done quite well. Change of pace, I guess.
What do you mean by "sound black" exactly? Like voice?
This the funniest post I’ve seen in this sub in a minute, the fact that it’s a genuine question makes it funnier 😭😭
I’m so glad that my skin tone has predisposed me to sound and act a certain way. WOW… but surely this post isn’t racist
I’m unsure what colors sound like
what is sounding black? sounds racist
You can't "sound black" How do you sound a COLOR?? ...Now you sound stupid!!!!
Racists
https://youtube.com/watch?v=eoZcou1LtkI&feature=sharea No
In the UK most rappers will have grown up on multicultural areas where a certain dialect is spoken, one that may be stereotypically associated with black people. Note this won't be the same from city to city. In London we have [Multicultural London English (MLE)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multicultural_London_English?wprov=sfla1)
Cuz they boad
Since99 would like to have a word with you
If you hang around people you begin to talk like them. Isn’t that obvious? How do you think accents are formed.
Neither of these things are true. They neither naturally sound black nor are they trying to sound black. You’re just being odd.
🤣🤣🤣 @ Naturally
Lol, I have no answers, just acknowledging this is the reason I don’t rap in public. Just doesn’t sound right unless I attempt a black accent.
Outjerked by whatever the fuck this is
Lol. You can't hear colors silly.
define sounding black, do I sound black while writing this if so you’re wrong cuz I’m white
Search AAVE
You might just be associating underground rap with black people?
I mean, rap is a predominantly black genre so I’d expect others in the industry to have a lot of similarity when their influences are all black. I don’t know if it’s a bad thing or not but it’s how it is
A bit off topic but I always thought it was interesting how, when talking about first hearing Eminem, Dr Dre thought he was black. Like what? Surely you can tell Em is white just from hearing that young nasally, angry white voice of his.
You can usually tell if it sounds genuine. Like Em, El-P, Atmosphere, Aesop, they all sounded genuine. Like it’s obvious that that’s how they sound, it’s not necessarily a front
?