RSSA Labyrinth, A Maze (2)
It’s that time of year when I usually tell you that everything is gonna be alright, when i massage your swollen fingers so you little Dillites can tap your pads again. But this year I am struggling. I want to tell you that it’s all good but it ain’t. Rap is hurting. Not creatively, of course. In the opinion of this attic dwelling cracker, 2008 may have been the best year for rap since Boots knocked down the towers. But only the inner circle is paying attention to all that great rap. Commercially and in the eyes of a very confused media we are lost like Zoe said it. Last year our biggest concern was who was snapping their fingers before they disappeared. Now the best rappers are not rapping, going to jail, and just sucking. Now that Wayne has officially evolved into the hip hop personality sphere occupied by such irrelevant recording artists as 50 and Snoop Dogg we have no true rap stars. Kanye is leading the pack, but off the cliff.
The hipster hop crossover (not to be confused with the blogo thundercat rappers, an embarrassment in their own right, but honestly not even worth acknowledging at this point – I am talking 808s, “Swagger Like Us”, “Brooklyn Go Hard”, Jim Jones rhyming over MGMT, etc.) of 2009 will be looked back on as one of the lowest points in hip hop. Lower than snap hop and hip house and all that. Sure some comparison can be made to the all the new wave/punk/hip hop intersections that were going down in the late 80s, all that Fab Five Freddie shit. But here’s the difference: those hipsters went uptown for coolness. Those rappers went downtown for money and exposure. [1] [2] Now the roles are reversed. The biggest rap stars are just chasing the cool, while the Santogolds cash the checks and bask in their (relative) mainstream fame. Jay-Z should not be taking cues from art school drop outs in funny pants. [3]
But whatever. I’ll leave the psychic hotline aspect of rap blogging to the professionals. Not because the crystal ball is looking cloudy, but because I don’t blog to say I told you so. We’ll just talk about the good shit when it does drop. Happy belated new year.
[1] Oversimplifying, of course, go watch Wild Style or whatever.
[2] And lets be real “Punk Rock Rap” is nobodys favorite Cold Crush record anyway.
[3] He should be taking cues from, say, Young Chris. Or perhaps an even younger Chris. Pause?
65 Comments, Comment or Ping
Tray
Who’s the even younger Chris? I don’t know how I feel about any of this. I feel like Jay and Jim both suck so much at this point that they can rap over whatever they like and it doesn’t matter. And at least for Jim it’s an interesting new look, like better that than more and more cheap Koch-bop. And Jay – I mean, when did he take cues from Santagirl? He sampled a hook from her, and it kills anything he has to say on that record, so I can’t complain. Same with S.L.U., the problem with the song isn’t M.I.A., it’s that three of the four verses really suck. And Kanye’s been a lost cause to me since his second album. That said, yeah, I would be pretty disappointed if any rapper I still cared about was doing this sort of thing. Although… isn’t some of the PRGz stuff kinda hipster hop?
Jan 6th, 2009
wax
have you seen this new mic terror joint? this dude is nice on the mic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kFjRV-TCDc
Jan 6th, 2009
homey
why hip hop sucks in 96.
Jan 6th, 2009
david
DO LIKE ME.BLAME NEW YORK AND ALL ITS SUPPORTERS. BRING BACK HARDCORE SOUTHERN,WESTCOAST, AND FUCK IT, HARDCORE EASTCOAST RAP AS WELL. TIL THEN FUCK YALL
Jan 6th, 2009
subeditor dq
early 80s, you must have meant. rapture – 1981, wildstyle and downtown shows 82 etc. And blogo thundercat rappers (ha!) … of 2008, surely.
wb
Jan 6th, 2009
TSF
Remember back in ‘05 when H-Town popped off in the mainstream, people who had never heard of UGK, 4 Deep, Geto Boys, etc. thought that Houston rap started with “Sittin’ Sidewayz,” Mike Jones was taken seriously, and everybody and their mother was putting out chopped and screwed shit? That’s my fear for ‘Bama in ‘09. Diplo associations notwithstanding, I like most of what I hear PRGz and AHU doing, and IMHO Yelawolf and Rich Boy are dope. But no one remembers Alius Mafia or Dirty Boyz, and I’ve never heard Jungle Baby or Queazy outside of the Gump. Will this be the year that we start hearing Da Pimp and Da Gangsta with T-Pain on the hook? Yelawolf with Rihanna? I sure as hell hope not, because ‘Bama’s actually got some dope shit going on.
Jan 6th, 2009
padraig
Noz – that comparison to the whole uptown/downtown NY scene is interesting even it doesn’t hold together at all (I know, you included qualifiers, plus who cares if it holds together? this is the internet). a couple of major differences, also interesting, that I see right off; 1) at that time both early hip hop and the artsier side of the New/No Wave scene were on the cutting edge of popular music. whereas all the stuff you mentioned is on the cutting edge of nothing – maybe M.I.A. on some like global south pop music agitprop tip I guess but it’s got like fuckall to do w/hip hop. 2) more importantly neither was operating from a position of commercial success. Sure, both had produced some hits but hip hop was still largely a novelty and aside from Blondie and kinda the Talking Heads all the downtown art kids were way too weird to sell records. Hip hop now is like classic rock back then, going on 30 yrs old, bloated, past its prime, unsure of its place in the music world or where to go (aplogogies for all these meaningless sweeping generalizations). Yuh. So…
also in the spirit of all the good things you’ve put me on to I highly recommend checking out Trim – Soulfood Vol. 3 mixtape (actually all 3 of the Soulfood tapes), easily in my top 10 for 2008. I know you’re not big on grime – though grime isn’t really “grime” anymore anyway – but Trim was always one of the few grime MCs who could really rhyme, on some abstract yet very much street kinda ghetto Dada tip. Ghostface isn’t really an accurate comparison but there it is. the West Indian/London accent is pretty thick & you might miss some of his references but it’s accessible enough & the quality is so high throughout that I think you’d still enjoy it.
Jan 6th, 2009
padraig
tray – re: PRGz & hipster rap – I mean, not really though. the Diplo linkup badly muddies the waters to be sure but prior to that the stuff they sample just isn’t cool. novel, sure, and the production is tight as hell, but not cool. not even anti-cool cool. Underworld & Orbital are about as unhip as you can get in techno this side of sampling some godawful Fatboy Slim record. this is all a good thing of course, cos they’re sampling stuff cause they think it sounds good (which of course it does) rather than on some kind of Girl Talkesque “remember this?” tip.
Jan 6th, 2009
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Young Jeezy is still a great rap star.
Even if you don’t like his last album, you have to admit that it was a RAP album (all caps). He did not care whether the girls, clubs or people in funny pants picked it up for their token ironic rap joint between playing Smiths and Depeche Mode in loft parties in Brooklyn. The Recession was straight either-love-me-or-leave-me-alone street music.
Jan 6th, 2009
Tray
“Underworld & Orbital are about as unhip as you can get in techno”
Man, like I’ve said before, start a corny techno blog. Seriously. I don’t know where to go to get educated on this shit and I have a great deal of interest in it. Oh, and the classic rock, bloated, past its prime, unsure of its place in the music world or where to go comparison is really on-point. Like I said though, I agree that it’s a stupid trend but so far the only artists doing it are people I don’t care about at all. Even T.I. can do whatever he wants as far as I care, he’s competent but really not that interesting, never really was, certainly isn’t anymore.
Jan 6th, 2009
dave quam
great post
Jan 6th, 2009
noz
I actually mentioned Jeezy in my first draft. I don’t think I intended to delete him. I loved The Recession but it didn’t seem quite as resonant as his previous records.
Jan 6th, 2009
jon jon
word. great piece, niggas got stop with the bullshit.
Jan 7th, 2009
frank_be
fam this is the first time ive posted on your blog, shit i hardly post on any of the blogs i jack music from and read half-assed analysis from. i cant front on you, i think you make some great points regarding where rap music and culture (sometimes hip hop-yes im making a distinction) is at in relation to society and its own history. yet when i found out you were white and consistantly look and listen to your horrid music taste i cant help but gasp and laugh. you claim that current rap music will be looked at it beign at one of its lowest points and i cal bullshit, especially in relation to your zeal for ignant ass, regressive i hardly got knowledge of rhythm and melody rappers, while you try to say of its on that ghetto griot shit. the past two years (and coming year) i view music in general and rap finally gettin some damn life back. you post nuthin on jay electronica, blu, black spade, waajeed, u-n-i, uncut raw or the like, or will dimiss it as effeminite, blogger rap, hipster rap thats boring or redundant. fuck that shit people are making ill ass rap music. and electric circus is possible common’s best album, YUP I SAID IT, AND YES UMC IS ASS!
Jan 7th, 2009
TSF
^^ Actually, Noz has been bigging up Jay Electronica for a while now…
http://www.cocaineblunts.com/blunts/?p=839
Jan 7th, 2009
MZA
I usually agree with you Noz, and I know you hate hipster-hop.. but I gotta admit, I got love for some of the blog’s champions (Mickey, B.o.B, CH, Asher, Jay Elec, Wale, Cool Kids), and I think most of them (well, maybe not Ash and Charles) have a potentially great year ahead of them, and for hip-hop.
But, then again, I liked 808s and the new Tudda-produced Jay joints(Jockin’, Brooklyn, SLU).. so, maybe my Kanye fanboyisms just make me more optimistic towards his followers. At least we don’t hear about Lupe as much as we used to.
Jan 7th, 2009
D.D.
Frank Be has now convinced me – UMC wasn’t really that bad.
Jan 7th, 2009
slizzard
We’ll spend all of the 2030s trying to relocate the best raps of the young new century all harder than hell to find or even use after the 2nd great depression, the last world war and the subsequent collapse of just about everything. We’ll be killing in the streets for new walkman batteries and a half intact disc of any old bullshit.
Jan 7th, 2009
Tray
You know, I actually like something about my namesake’s flow (I’m an Asher too), but he really does have nothing to say. Like he sounds like a smart guy, but buried amid all that seemingly clever verbiage is this retarded plea for world peace or higher literacy levels.
Jan 7th, 2009
anon
WHAT ABOUT PEEDI CRAKK.
Jan 7th, 2009
justin
“Those rappers went downtown for money and exposure.”
Yeah? I get what you mean, with the hipster audience and all, but I’m still pretty sure Kingdom Come sold a hell of a lot more copies than Kala. If Jay is rapping over M.I.A. samples to make more money, I think he’s maybe looking in not the best place. And the 80’s uptown dudes spent just as much time downtown as vice versa. But that’s not really your point, I know. Not having been around then, I wonder if there was a similar purist backlash then (not making any quality judgments one way or the other; that’s your job).
Jan 7th, 2009
justin
And Kingdome Come DEFINITELY sold more copies than the Santogold album.
Jan 7th, 2009
cyn
thanks for posting some organized, that shit is gold right there. all i hope for 2009 is that it will be the fucking death of autotune/vocoder garbage.
Jan 7th, 2009
mr. pilly wonk
“WHAT ABOUT PEEDI CRAKK.”
real talk!
Jan 8th, 2009
ndrwmtsn
uptown and downtown, huh
why not judge all that crosstalk based on true collaborating vs. doing what you think is a good business move
Jan 8th, 2009
chris
Hi,
I hate to say it, but I get like all my rap info from this blog. We seem to like the same stuff. I heard about UGK first from this blog. What a great band. I’ve enjoyed a lot of the music whether I ran out and got it or not. I agree about 50 cent and the incredible egoist, Kanye. I can do without that guy. My fave albums recently: Geto Boys-Foundation (heard about it here), Fishscale, David Banner’s latest, …
Jan 8th, 2009
brandonsoderberg
Excellent post. I actually think most of the music coming out of this trend is kinda good but the idea’s real problematic. Just noticed that link…is that site trying to say Boots knew about 9-11??
Jan 8th, 2009
MAYNHOLUP!
mayn how you gon delete my post noz i thot we wuz tight mayn!
DEY TRYNNA QUIET MAYNHOLUP BUT DEY CANT DO IT I WONT DIE MAYN RO 4 LIFE
Jan 8th, 2009
noz
I think your post ended up in the spam bin somehow? I remember reading it and agreeing with it. But now I can’t find it. Sorry.
Jan 8th, 2009
no
I mean the hipster hop shit is lame just because it’s all style no substance, but even the styles are all reheated- I’m always amazed to hear that these dudes are still biting Jay and trying to be that 5th generation native tongues shit, add a little Kanye street wear and it’s over..
I’m optimistic though. I want Jay Elec and 3 stacks solo albums in the 09 and I’ll be straight.
Jan 8th, 2009
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Hey how about an Outkast (hip-hop) album?
Jan 8th, 2009
beez
I dunno. I’ll keep looking towards the Bay and keep looking towards ATlL and Houston and now a little Alabama. I’m sure it’ll work out ok. I mean the RAP STARS might not resonate with me but then I don’t feel like the biggest RAP STARS have been my favourites ever. BIG for a minute, Jay for a minute, NWA for a minute, Kast for minute… The rest of my favourite rappers have always been stars in a more select sky. Being a big fan of Kanye today is just like being a really big Fugees fan in 96 or LL since 87 to me. I might like a line or a beat here or there but I’m busy listening to something else for the most part. If someone I like gets big, then good but the world always wanted Snoop more than Ren or LL more than Ricky D.
Jan 8th, 2009
MAYNHOLUP!
aight mayn we straight mayn
MAYNHOLUP.MAYN launchin soon mayn under day name de new do-mayn mayn!
Jan 9th, 2009
Tray
Watch MAYNHOLUP.MAYN quickly become the most successful rap blog on the Internets.
Jan 9th, 2009
ross
mayn im pumpd. mayn.
Jan 9th, 2009
Keenon!
>Underworld & Orbital are about as unhip as you can get in techno<
What does this even mean?
I think rap is in a weird place, but I’m not hating it. Can’t say I dig the new Kanye album. Everyone’s got awkward teenager issues and some folks don’t resolve them until they’re 30.
Jan 9th, 2009
boi-dan
i didn’t know you was of the cracker persuasion, good post though, you make sense just like that Common Finding Forever slam
Jan 9th, 2009
Tray
Yes, everyone’s got awkward teenager issues, but why did he have to return to them on his fourth album? I was just listening to College Dropout and it’s actually really good. Shockingly little bitch-assness of the sort that’s a staple on even Late Registration. Why did he have to regress emotionally and artistically so much?
Jan 9th, 2009
MAYNHOLUP!
mayn i know yall hate on Ye mayn but i mean like Ro and Trae (de real Trae!) said mayn, it is what it is.
wit dat said, ‘Still Gets No Love’ off ABN much betta den any of dat hearbreak shit mayn.
Jan 9th, 2009
beez
Can we have a competition to see what is the most non-Z-Ro related post that MAYNHOLUP! can turn around to Ro? Mayn.
Jan 10th, 2009
padraig
“>Underworld & Orbital are about as unhip as you can get in techno<
What does this even mean?”
It means that sampling either one is the equivalent of doing a duet with Nickelback, or Jay working with Coldplay. They’re not nearly as bad – both have a number of killer tunes under their belt, mostly early stuff – but Underworld & Orbital epitomize techno for the Euro equivalent of fratboys the same Coldplay epitomizes latte rock. My point was that sampling that stuff (esp. “Born Slippy”) is the antithesis of “hip”, b/c it’s not nearly cool or obscure enough for actual hipsters, and thus I think that the Block Beataz sampling is pretty much irony free and not nearly as self-conscious as say, The Knux’s guitars or the The Cool Kids’ ‘88 schtick. Or, for that matter, Kanye sampling Can (which, btw, never been a Ye fan but I have to respect him for that even if the resulting song sucks).
“Hip” techno (or minimal) would be Ricardo Villalobos or maybe something on Kompakt.
Jan 10th, 2009
ANU
french house hipster’s favorite surkin did sample inner city (and axwell, in the same song)
Jan 10th, 2009
MAYNHOLUP!
mayn hol up Beez i fucks wit u mayn but why you be analyzin Cube’s eyebrows mayn. big pause needed on dat mayn.
AYO TO DE HOMIE NOZ:
mayn hol up i wuz smokin on sum killum bumpin dat G Maab den i wuz like mayn, wut happened to Dougie D?!?! I mean, dat boy wuz wreckin dem verses mayn, mo so den Trae. Any info mayn i wud appreciate it reall talk
Jan 10th, 2009
beez
Aw, mayn, you could’ve commented on the ice cube post and then I could pretty much retire from the internets game a happy man.
@ Padraig, sampling Robert Miles is clearly a new high point in sampling history. The only possible trump is someone flipping the Vengaboyz or Eiffel65 into a Hiphop classic. Cross fingers.
Jan 10th, 2009
TSF
“Wearin’ day-glo, lookin’ like an a-hole”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcNQgjAPGjI
Seemed appropriate to the post.
Jan 11th, 2009
E AKA THE REAL NORIEAGA
SUGA FREE just released his new single,,,, all is right in the world
Jan 11th, 2009
King Blair
TIP = best rapper alive
Jan 11th, 2009
Tray
Best rapper alive at putting my ass to sleep, yes.
Jan 12th, 2009
Tray
Oh shit, no homo.
Jan 12th, 2009
mike
i enjoy Kast, Goodie, Ball and G, 3 six, killer mike, UGK, tip, jeezy, etc… but i also enjoyed 808’s and swagga like us, etc.. music has to evolve or it justs gets boring… im not saying this new “hipster hop crossever” is the evolution, but it may be the means to take it there.
Jan 12th, 2009
padraig
@ Beez – no arguments there. I mean that the’s golden rule of sampling innit? as long as it sounds good (or, as some music based around sampling isn’t meant to sound “good”, achieves whatever your goal is). Hip hop has a long & honorable history of flipping crap into gold; Prince Paul on all those De La records, Ball & JG w/Simply Red, MF Doom w/easy listening garbage.
Jan 12th, 2009
kidbristol
Nobody’s ever been able to tell me what a hipster is–it’s shorthand for something that I don’t think there’s much consensus over. It’s nearly always derogatory, but I think some people use the term to refer to someone whose self-definition changes to suit what they perceive as a new trend, while other people use it to refer to anyone who is aware of and likes music that either isn’t rap or isn’t concerned with “real talk.” Noz seems to have a problem with who rappers are emulating, but if the music is weak, that isn’t the problem. Miles Davis made some incredible music when the only records in his house were made by people like the Fifth Dimension, and Murs (who “hates white people”) loves Vampire Weekend. It’s not who you listen to, and it’s not who you hang with, it’s whether or not what you make sounds like you. Anything is going to suck if you’re aping someone else instead of using the inspiration you get from something else to make your own shit.
Jan 12th, 2009
James Stewart
alright, grandpa, are you done complaining about this crazy new music! it’s just sad to see all you people hold on to hip hop as its own genre. now is the time fellas. let it go. the music world is moving on without you. but a few things first. have any of you ever been to a diplo or low budget or girl talk show. shit is crazy! dance all night, soaked in sweat, anything goes like afrika bambatta incredible mixing. oh wait, you’re all the white boys who don’t dance. who like to sit with your headsets on and listen to what is essentially party music alone in your room. here’s a little secret. you’re the ones who ruined this. you’re the ones who stripped all the fun out of this. this was supposed to be a good time. god bless kanye west for trying to save you from yourselves. show the man some respect. hip hop, in 2009?! please, fellas. i’m all for putting on done by forces of nature or cuban linx and remembering the good ol days. i’ve been with it since 84. but now i’ll take my MIA and tough alliance records and you old men can put all your false hope in mediocre bores like jay electronica and wale. anyway, i’ll tell you like george bush told me, fuck ya’ll niggas i’m out of here!
Jan 13th, 2009
James Stewart
p.s. grandpa is directed at noz and most of these people. i agree with kidbristol above…
Jan 13th, 2009
deej
man i dont know how accepting bullshit & lacking discernment bcame the only way to rep for fun in rap music
Jan 14th, 2009
deej
fyi girl talk blows, as someone who v. genuinely enjoys dancing can i just say that shit does not encourage anything but going “oh remember this” in time to the music like some college freshman standing around the youtube watching old sat morning cartoon themes
Jan 14th, 2009
James Stewart
but have you been to a girl talk show? most of the people are so young that the first time they’re hearing these song parts is in the actual girl talk mix. meaning the girl talk mix is becoming something completely new and fresh in the live experience..remember a college freshman was born in 1991!
Overall, i’m saying it’s time to give up the ghost and start exploring new music. In any record store i used to walk straight to the hip hop section and used to venture no further, but over the last five or six years so few quality releases come out that it’s not even worthy of its own section at the store anymore..and to worry about and as the blog seemingly cries about the genre losing its standing as cultural gate keeper of ‘cool’. well, all things come to pass. a new generation never arose. no one ever came to replace the big boys who came up between 92-95..and now all the puffys and jay zs and outkasts and pharrells and timbalands and rzas are pushing or at 40 years old! i guess inner city kids just aren’t making music anymore..a topic someone should probably study..
but the big question is: why isn’t MIA hip hop? seeing her live is simply two turntables and a microphone…i dare you to put on Kala with an open mind and listen to those first four songs and not think those beats and noise don’t simply clear the floor of all comers.
and p.s. santogold isn’t an art school drop out. she was an big label a&r was in a signed punk band and wrote all the songs on the great Res’ ‘how i do’ record…its not like she came from nowhere..
Jan 14th, 2009
noz
“Overall, i’m saying it’s time to give up the ghost and start exploring new music. In any record store i used to walk straight to the hip hop section and used to venture no further”
Well that certainly explains a lot.
“i guess inner city kids just aren’t making music anymore..a topic someone should probably study..”
ROFL.
Jan 14th, 2009
Laird
“and p.s. santogold isn’t an art school drop out. she was an big label a&r was in a signed punk band and wrote all the songs on the great Res’ ‘how i do’ record…its not like she came from nowhere..”
well, actually she IS an art school drop out (she left Wesleyan [mgmt,boycrisis,etc] after 2 years) but she really disliked the school.
i think this “crisis” is totally overblown. so 808s is bullshit and swagger like us is wack.
wale, prgz, coolkids, clipse – so what if artschool white kids like me (i go to wesleyan) listen to them and they get great reviews on whiteboy sites like gorillavbear or pitchfork , its fuckin great hiphop. so what if white people with internets found out that mixtapes exist.
Jan 14th, 2009
ANU
I dicsoverd MIA around ‘04. I bought arular, i bought kala, i really like both. I don’t think she’s hiphop, cause she sings much more than she raps. I don’t like santogold, i think it has nothing to do with MIA musically.
“over the last five or six years so few quality releases come out that it’s not even worthy of its own section at the store anymore..”
you’re a retard. Rap is the freshest music out, and certainly when you compare it to midget-house.
“i guess inner city kids just aren’t making music anymore..”
you’re a retard, no explaination needed.
Jan 14th, 2009
padraig
@james stewart:
so b/c the kids are into LCD bullshit like Girl Talk we all have to endorse it? no thanks. can’t we just, you know, point them in more interesting directions? that’s what older heads did for me when I was growing up. there’s nothing wrong with, you know, having taste.
I don’t buy your argument about it getting bodies on the dancefloor either. plenty of intelligent, creative music has smashed dancefloors. btw, Girl Talk’s pandering, middlebrow schtick isn’t new or fresh. 2 Many DJs, DJ/Rupture, even Shadow or Akufen or RJD2 or Negativland or any of the many people who’ve done something truly creative with sampling.
and of course “inner city kids” are still making gritty, bass-heavy music, the world over. you’re just not listening.
Jan 14th, 2009
deej
the funniest shit to me is that ppl get mad about folks not being open minded because we like talking about rap music that isnt giving every fashion magazines music editor a boner.
its not ‘open minded’ to only be into rap music that gets filtered thru nahright & the f*der.
Jan 15th, 2009
Jigga
lol at all these white nerdy kids beefing about rap like its the biggest ish in ya life.
Apr 10th, 2009
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