I tried John's rap tracks. Didn't care for the first at all - too repetitive (for me, the main detriment to the genre). The second was better, sounding like some smooth 70s soul, but like all rap songs, no melody to hang on the rhythm.
I suspect this is a common problem a lot of folks generally have with Rap music, which is fine. Just as I had to learn the spirit and intent of Psychedelia to appreciate it, let me try to explain the Rap genre along the same lines.
Rap music is basically poetry set to music, particularly percussion. The "music" is there to keep the heads bobbing but the real intent is to tell a story and, for a long time it was the only way these stories could be told to a mass audience. That's why I had a hard time at first accepting music where the lyrics were said to be secondary. For a better understanding of the origins and importance of this genre, I would suggest viewing films like Krush Groove, Beat Street and most recently Straight Outta Compton.
Now I will close out this week with a couple of other favorites of mine from an entirely different genre.
I don't like all of the Deads content but their In The Dark album has been a longtime favorite.
I love this song for it's simple and straightforward message. The Dead had a wonderful ability to connect simple disjointed snips of wisdom into cohesive songs that made the same point in different ways.
This one has such a smooth and mellow rhythm track that it just draws you right in. Like the song above, it isn't really trying to say very much as far as I can tell, just tiny quips accompanied by some awesome guitar licks.