So, I'm going to give it to you. My thoughts on music...at least the music I've been listening to.
Lately I've been listening to a lot of rap. I mean with the release of the extravagant, gold plated, too expensive for me to even understand half the references album that is Watch The Throne by Kanye West and Jay-Z (or is it Jay-Z and Kanye West?) and the expectations of other Hip Hop albums, I can't help but to listen to the stuff.
But specifically, I've been listening to a lot of Southern Hip Hop. I love it. There's nothing else like it. It's like what Phonte Coleman (formerly of Little Brother and now The Foreign Exchange) said a few years ago:
A lot of people blame the South for dumbing down music. The South has some of the most open-minded, and some of the most versatile emcees because in the South we grew up listening to everything...The South has some of the most intelligent, thoughtful, and well respected n***as in Hip Hop and the music reflects that.
The thing is, the more and more I listen to the South, the more I agree with that statement. It is true that I say this as a Southerner that lives in New York, the birthplace of it all. A lot of the stuff I hear that is New York Hip Hop, I don't feel it the way I feel the South. I'm not talking about skill and lyrical prowess because God knows that I can't rap. But I'm referring more to content and subject matter. It's been a while since I heard a New York album that seemed relevant to the people, and not just a certain niche of people (because there are more poor people than the disgustingly rich and wealthy).
To me, Hip Hop is about what seemingly poor, disenfranchised people did with what they had. Making a dollar out of a dime and a nickel, turning water into wine (blasphemous perhaps?), creating a culture out of turntables, a microphone, spray paint, and mere thoughts is what Hip Hop is about to me. It is the quintessential American dream, the story of the come up.
We've seen this story over and over again in our fellow rappers. I understand that Jay-Z has been the one that we identify and place on a pedestal. He grew up in Marcy and is now worth half a billion dollars. We never thought that rap could do that. Probably the most amazing part of all of that is that he is the farthest thing from what we currently are, but yet identify and try to relate with him because of what his life was 20+ years ago. He has proven his power to stay in our minds for such a long time, but think about it, most of his potent rhymes talk about his opulence. He's literally living what broke rappers rhyme and dream about.
Dream about. That's why we identify so much with him. He is what we aspire to be in some way shape or form.
But what about what we are right now? The people that are still on the come up, not the ones that already came up over ten years ago. That is where the South comes in. You have a lot of guys down there that talk about what is now. It's more than money talk, it's about not being another naive individual glorifying greed and encouraging racism. It's about standing up for a cause. It's about being a G. Southern emcees come from a long line of Gs. By G we don't necessarily mean a gangster, I mean a guy that stands for a cause and will defend that cause.
Gs might talk about money, but they really shine when they talk about what's really on their heart and mind. We still have some Gs in the South, and they are rap descendants of UGK Scarface and others. Guys who may have never gone mainstream, but always got love from the mainstream because they never bowed down for a label to restrict what they had to say in order to make money.
Lately, I've been listening to Killer Mike's Pl3dge and what I love about this album is that it's so real. It speaks to people. He speaks about real subjects and asks questions that people were afraid to ask. Questions like "Why didn't we hear anything from Oprah, Bill Cosby, and President Obama when Oscar Grant was murdered?" and "Why did Eddie Long plea out in his case?"
Killer Mike does challenge us and motivate us to be better people in his own way. I was angry after hearing some songs, but it was that good anger that makes us want to go out and do something about it.
That is what Gs do. They make us angry enough to do something about what's wrong with the world.
Killer Mike isn't the only rapper that motivates. Any of y'all ever heard of Big K.R.I.T.? This guy pretty much has a whole state on his back right now, still trying to come up. His lyrical content is bananas from what I've heard so far. K.R.I.T.'s music thus far has stirred my soul. It has been refreshing.
I like K.R.I.T.'s flare and homage for the old school (8ball and MJG, UGK, others) and the fact that his lyrics are relevant to the people. Not only are they relevant, but they are good. The problem with making things that are relevant is that some people try way too hard and end up producing a product that is relevant, but not any good or simply below par.
We have a lot of people all over the place making good music, but I'm simply saying that I have an affinity for the South right now. I grew up listening to everything, I was the guy in Jasper, Alabama that listened to a lot of New York Hip Hop as well as West Coast, Midwest, and of course the South. Before the South blew up, it was a melting pot, or a pot of gumbo that needed to simmer for a while.
A lot of stuff that has been heard in the past, the mainstream stuff was only a small sample of what the South has to offer and some New York emcees came down and embraced it. Kweli did a song with Gucci...but we don't speak too much about that. Jay-Z not only brought UGK onto Big Pimpin, but he also used one of Bun B's lines in 99 Problems.
I like New York Hip Hop, a lot, but I just don't relate to the "King of New York" Jay-Z, or "Mayor" Diddy. I just don't have that much money to relate to them. Maybe one day I will, but not now. I still identify with the King of the South, the Underground King, and King Kong and all of those other guys down in the South (if you've ever listened to Re-Akshon, you know what I'm talking about).
The culture of the South is beautiful. Sometimes there's nothing more relaxing that driving your car listening to music, whether you drive slow or fast, there's nothing like it. The music of the South is geared for that. I am not a big fan of wearing earbuds all the time or in the subway, sometimes you just got to blast it while riding. If you don't identify with that, you should think about coming to the South. I know some guys that will change your mind and you will love it.
by the way, this is only part 1.
1 comment:
I think a small part that hurts southern rap in terms of people saying it sounds dumb is really the same thing that hurts southern people in general in terms of being perceived dumb - the drawl. While some southern rappers can phase it out, that slang filled drawl let's other regions just point and say "it sounds dumb"; it's an easy out to not have to pay attention to the content.
That being said, I think the South, while slowly getting more love over the last decade, really hasn't gotten enough credit for how far it pushed hip-hop between the late 1990's all the way through this past decade.
When you look at pure commercial volume, some of the biggest, most consistent sellers of the last 15 years have been southern artists. Cash Money, Outkast, T.I., T-Pain, Lil'Wayne - all southern artists.
Now focusing back on what your posts was focusing on, the actual content, I agree, it's a difference in where you come from and what your goals are, that is going to determine the aim of your rap. So for the most part, NY gets credit for Swagger, Chicago/Philly get credit for Soul and Political Advocacy, LA has West Coast Chill, and the South tends to all get lumped into Hood rap.
Peel through any of those over-generalizations, though, and you can easily find multiple examples that go against the type. So with that in mind, I'm pulling up Spotify right now to give you recommendations a go-round.
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