Except Rap And Country

By Lisa Anderson

Johnny Cash

“Oh, I like all kinds of music, except rap and country.”

How many times have you heard someone say this? If your life is like mine, you’ve heard it a lot. This will usually be said during small talk, by someone you’ve just met at a party or other gathering, or on a first date. I’ve heard it so often that I’m sure I’ve said it myself. In the last few years though, I’ve realized that it’s not true for me. Now I no longer say it, and I get annoyed when I hear it.

One big reason that the old “rap and country” saw irritates me is that both those genres encompass so many different kinds of music. If your musical tastes are really so expansive that you “like a little bit of everything,” you should be able to pick out songs you like in every genre, as well as songs you don’t like. If people who say this haven’t examined this claim, then they should.

So, you don’t like country? What about classic country? Hank Williams, Sr. and Johnny Cash? Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline? I can understand why people might not care for newer, slicker crossover country, but I find it hard to believe that those same people would fail to go in for the “high, lonesome sound.” There are contemporary artists who still carry the torch for that sound. Emmylou Harris is a good example, and others are more obscure, but in these days of Internet streaming, iTunes, and satellite radio, good country can still be found.

So, you don’t like rap? What about crossover artists, like Will Smith or Missy Elliot? What about urbane, thoughtful acts like De La Soul or Danger Mouse? What about more political, subversive artists like Public Enemy or K’naan? Another friend of mine recently suggested that people are thinking of gangster rap when they say they don’t like rap. I think that’s a safe bet, but the picture is so much bigger. As for how women are depicted, even in crossover videos—well, I’m the last person to give anyone a pass on that. But does the same critical eye get turned toward rock, metal, and other genres?

I think there’s a lot of unexamined baggage that goes into someone saying that they like everything except rap and country. In the case of rap, it’s racial and class baggage, and in the case of country, it’s regional and class baggage. Even if someone manages to say it without conscious bigotry—maybe they just haven’t given it enough thought, or found the right artists yet—such unexamined baggage factors into it.

Every genre of music involves a certain level of artifice. As a result, in every genre you can find songs that are corny or maudlin or offensive. At the same time, in every genre, you can find songs that are heartwarming or insightful or sincere, and above all, relatable. People shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater just because a certain type of music is usually made by people whose skin is a different color, or who sing with a regional accent.

The existence of white rappers and Australian country musicians does not excuse anyone from examining his or her own baggage, either. The roots of the music in question are the point. It’s all too easy to dismiss art that’s normally associated with people with marginalized identities (people of color, the poor, rural residents, etc.) especially when so many people do it. Unfortunately, while musical preferences seem like a small issue, such casual dismissals have a toxic effect on the wider culture.

Let me be clear: I am not saying that there aren’t people who just sincerely don’t like rap or country, without bigotry. The thing is, if that’s the case and they have really mulled over their preferences, they probably won’t put it that way. I can respect someone who says “I mostly like pop” or “I mostly like classical” or “I prefer speed-metal” way more than someone who claims to embrace everything but country and rap. They’re defining their musical tastes by what they like, rather than what they don’t like.

Now it’s time for full disclosure, regarding me and music. I grew up in the South, and remember watching Hee Haw as a kid. I heard a lot of new-school country on the radio in middle and high school, and when I moved to Nashville after college, I discovered I still had a soft spot for it. I don’t really own much of that music or listen to it on the radio, although I believe that much of it has merit. Recently, a new friend has taken me to hear old-school country musicians here in town. That’s been wonderful, and I look forward to hearing more. I’m the type of Nashvillian who will take her out-of-town guests to the Grand Ole Opry, and who wept to see the stage of the Ryman underwater during the flood of 2010. I encourage all my local friends to see the Country Music Hall of Fame at least once.

And one of my favorite moments of Freshman orientation in college was waking up to hear my RA blasting Salt-N-Pepa’s “None of your Business” from down the hall.

If you’re a one-genre person, musically, it’s not my place to ask you to change, even though I think you’re missing out. If you define yourself as an “everything but” eclectic, though, I encourage you to examine that. Ask yourself if it’s really true, or if it’s just something you say. If it’s true, ask yourself why. Start listening more widely to make sure it is true. You don’t have to become an expert on rap or country. They probably won’t become your favorite kinds of music. But you may find that there’s enough you like in them that you can no longer justify singling them out.

But then, what do I know? I listen to a little bit of everything.