In response to some of the comments on my last entry I’d like to clarify that I did not want to imply that Hip-Hop was dead. In fact, I believe that it is far from dead, but it is in a bit of a slump, and what’s interesting to me about that is the question: why? One thing I can point to - a problem I’ve noticed in the Hip-Hop that has been released lately - is honesty. Sorry, not just honesty, because I won’t accuse anyone of lying, but perhaps the issue is sincerity. Who can we point to in hip-hop and say: this guy/girl is sincere. I can’t think of anyone. There was a time when I could have pointed at many, but most of them have fallen off, become too popular, or simply exploited to the fullest the only subjects that they were comfortable writing about with sincerity. How sad. When I say sincerity, I’m really talking about the lyrics, not the beats, but they come hand in hand.
Hip-hop has too much gusto. There is a wall between a rapper’s lyrics and his true feelings. It’s obvious. The macho identity of the “MC” has now become a problem: there’s only so many ways to tell your listeners how dope you are, rough you are, smart you are, tough your childhood was growing up in the ghetto, high you are, etc. And then there are the independent rappers a la DefJux, Anticon, Rhymesayers, and their musical environs who used to sound different, but haven’t changed their tune over the last ten years and now sound just as diluted as the latest Mobb Deep album surely is. El-P, Mr. Lif, and the rest just don’t cut it anymore.
So what’s the problem? What is it that makes all this music suck so fucking badly? I think I have it - at least what bothers me about it: people need to grow to grow as artists. They cannot keep talking about the same stupid shit. But to be slightly more psychological about it: they can’t use the same voice. Something has to change. The reason, in my opinion, rappers lose their edge is not because at some point around their 35th birthday they stop being talented. They don’t necessarily lose their passion by reaching a certain anniversary. The problem is that they don’t adapt their artistic drive to where they are in life! New subjects, new vocabulary, new problems, new successes, and stop trying to sound dope like a 25 years old can, grow the fuck up, and sound dope like your age.
When one becomes a rapper, one must invent a persona: a pseudonym, a voice, a style, and a subject matter. But what’s sad about many rappers, and a large reason why the first album is so terrific and the second isn’t quite as good, and the third one has a few good tracks, and the fourth one is no good at all, is that the rapper feels trapped in their original invention and doesn’t grow as an artist to incorporate new elements. Thus, they lose sincerity.
It can’t all be about this macho bullshit whether it’s about ghettos, bitches, drugs (medicinal or recreational), alienation, parties, or whatever. Everyone has moments of vulnerability and of weakness, and these particular emotions are avoided like the plague. Listeners can be insecure, in love, heartbroken, and have emotions of this type, and if I ever heard a rapper really express these ideas with confidence and without cynicism, I think I’d listen to his/her music more. A wider range of expression enhances every subject under the horizon.
Let me know what you think. Leave a comment.
Next week I’m going to tie this discussion in with Indie Rock.
I think it should be interesting.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
What Has Happened To Hip-Hop?
Am I the only head around that’s noticed the strange and drastic drop-off in quality music being released in the hip-hop genre over the last few years? I’m sure I’m not. In fact, this very issue is the only one worth discussing when talking of contemporary hip-hop nowadays - and, to be clear from the start, I’m not talking about that pop puffy riding dirty shit they call hip-hop on the radio, Much Music, MTV, or even BET. I’m talking about quality independent hip-hop. Where has it gone? I remember when I discovered that hip-hop wasn’t only Tupac, Biggie, and DMX. It changed my life.
When I heard Blackalicious for the first time I was eighteen. I was an avid music listener who had previously written hip-hop off as something for thugs and the dumbass rich kids who wanted to be like them. I remember Blackalicious’ Nia as the album that instantly convinced me that I had been wrong, and that I had been neglecting an incredible resource for music listening: one that included fascinating rhythm, melody, and poetry like nothing I’d ever heard before. I soon found others: KRS-ONE, The Roots, Atmosphere, Aesop Rock, Mr. Lif, Dose-One, Cannibal Ox, Busdriver, Organized Konfusion, Anti-Pop Consortium and so on and so on. I became a hip-hop junkie for a good four years straight, maybe even five. And now? There are plenty of albums coming out - there’s no shortage of volume. And every so often an album comes out that I really like, but it’s usually by a rapper, or a rap group that’s been around for years.
When I say there’s a shortage of good contemporary hip-hop, I’m not talking about stuff like a new album from The Roots. The Roots have been around for more than a decade. What I’m talking about is new talent. A new star. A new innovation that inspires. A new sound, and perhaps even more importantly: a new use of words. It has literally been years since I’ve listened to an album by a new personality and was enthralled by it. It happened all the time a few years ago: Aesop Rock Labor Days, Cannibal Ox The Cold Vein, Themselves The No Music, Busdriver Temporary Forever, Edan Primitive Plus, and the list can go on for many more. Each of these artists mentioned above are still around releasing new stuff every so often, but where are the newbies? Where are the new artists with the power to impact like these artists mentioned above?
Perhaps, I’ve painted too dark a scenario. Perhaps I’m wrong and haven’t been listening to the right stuff. It’s possible. I don’t think Nas is right. Hip-hop isn’t dead. In my opinion, that’s a really stupid thing to say, but on the other hand, at the moment, I have no new music to offer up as my rebuttal to Nas’ inane statement - kinda sad.
Let me know what you think, and if there’s some shit you think I might not have heard that would change my tune, please for the love of god, tell me about it.
When I heard Blackalicious for the first time I was eighteen. I was an avid music listener who had previously written hip-hop off as something for thugs and the dumbass rich kids who wanted to be like them. I remember Blackalicious’ Nia as the album that instantly convinced me that I had been wrong, and that I had been neglecting an incredible resource for music listening: one that included fascinating rhythm, melody, and poetry like nothing I’d ever heard before. I soon found others: KRS-ONE, The Roots, Atmosphere, Aesop Rock, Mr. Lif, Dose-One, Cannibal Ox, Busdriver, Organized Konfusion, Anti-Pop Consortium and so on and so on. I became a hip-hop junkie for a good four years straight, maybe even five. And now? There are plenty of albums coming out - there’s no shortage of volume. And every so often an album comes out that I really like, but it’s usually by a rapper, or a rap group that’s been around for years.
When I say there’s a shortage of good contemporary hip-hop, I’m not talking about stuff like a new album from The Roots. The Roots have been around for more than a decade. What I’m talking about is new talent. A new star. A new innovation that inspires. A new sound, and perhaps even more importantly: a new use of words. It has literally been years since I’ve listened to an album by a new personality and was enthralled by it. It happened all the time a few years ago: Aesop Rock Labor Days, Cannibal Ox The Cold Vein, Themselves The No Music, Busdriver Temporary Forever, Edan Primitive Plus, and the list can go on for many more. Each of these artists mentioned above are still around releasing new stuff every so often, but where are the newbies? Where are the new artists with the power to impact like these artists mentioned above?
Perhaps, I’ve painted too dark a scenario. Perhaps I’m wrong and haven’t been listening to the right stuff. It’s possible. I don’t think Nas is right. Hip-hop isn’t dead. In my opinion, that’s a really stupid thing to say, but on the other hand, at the moment, I have no new music to offer up as my rebuttal to Nas’ inane statement - kinda sad.
Let me know what you think, and if there’s some shit you think I might not have heard that would change my tune, please for the love of god, tell me about it.
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