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Jazz rap bounced onto the
hip hop scene as a positive substitute for hardcore gangsta rap. Jazz
rap, unlike other niche styles of hip hop never really sought out mainstream
success, although, that’s not to say that some jazz rap artists
didn’t achieve it. Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest was the MC for
numerous jazz rap songs that became genre classics. Jazz rap songs like
“Description of a Fool” and “Can I Kick It?” by
A Tribe Called Quest are stilled played today thanks to the help of jazz
rap downloads.
Before jazz rap songs eked
their way out of the niche market, much promotion was in order. The primary
audience for free jazz rap music was on college campuses. College students
looking for a brand of music to compliment their educations found free
jazz rap music to be the perfect fit. As jazz rap songs incorporate not
only complex instrumentals, but thinking lyrics, too, it was natural that
free jazz rap music would catch on in the collegiate atmosphere.
Today, with jazz rap downloads available on the internet,
college students have even easier access to free jazz rap music. Another
thing about this genre is that jazz rap downloads have been quite instrumental
for opening the door to foreign artists. MC Solaar, a French rapper, is
a great example of a foreign artist achieving international stardom for
this very reason.
MC Solaar also helps illustrate the fact that jazz rap
songs really are “all about the music.” Although MC Solaar
raps primarily in French, international fans are undeterred by the language
barrier, because in jazz rap it’s the music that does the talking.
MC Solaar’s voice sounds like just another instrument when you listen
to his jazz rap symphonies. Another European group to hit it big in the
USA was Us3 (founded in London). Us3’s 1994 hit “Cantaloop”
is a must have for anyone’s library of jazz rap downloads.
Before you head for the jazz rap downloads,
no discussion on jazz rap is complete without mentioning Guru and his
classic album Jazzmatazz. Guru, like A Tribe Called Quest, was one of
the first rap artists that helped elevate jazz rap from a genre to an
art form; not only did he help elevate jazz rap as an art form, but he
helped champion jazz rap to unplanned levels of mainstream success.
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