When I first heard Criminal Minded...
No, this is not a posting about BDP, or even De La Soul, but rather an introduction to my own musings on the state of hip-hop today.
I'm far from an expert and certainly no encyclopaedia, but as I have stated on A Story To Tell before, I am a true fan and hip-hop is where it all begins and ends for my musical meanderings. And I am just a little sad, wondering where the source of my true affections goes from here. It started as I was listening to Ready To Die again the other day, and reminiscing about the first time I heard Biggie rap. You remember that feeling, right? The one which shakes you upside your head and slaps you with a diamond gloved palm, forcing a wedge into your frontal lobes which you know will remain for eternity and which heralds the beginning of something new and shockingly good. Something which you hope, and perhaps secretly know, means that the game will never be the same again, because it has just been upped a notch. You recall the excitement of waiting for Ready To Die to drop and smile, but then a melancholy takes over and you wonder if you will ever get that feeling again. That feeling of needing to tear off the record sleeve and let the beats hit the speakers. And the point of all this rambling is just that very question. Have we seen the last truly great artists and classic albums from our beloved genre?
I've been thinking about emerging artists over the past couple of years and while many have got serious highpoints in their catalogues already, none have really created that special piece of work, or generated that true excitement. And in some cases hype has become the end and not the means. I mean, is Lil' Wayne or Young Jeezy really the future? Are "Get Rich Or Die Tryin" or "The Documentary"really classics? Very good records in their own way, but, well you know what I mean. Even less thuggish rappers like Lupe or Rhymefest, or even Kanye still have the jury out. The best stuff I have heard lately has generally come from established artists, and even then a record like "Hip-Hop Is Dead" is very good but not great. The best stable out there seems to be Okayplayer, and the biggest buzz I have got from a record in recent times has been Little Brother's Minstrel Show, which I thought was truly great. There are others, too may to mention here, but the main point remains the same.
Sometimes I think it is just a generational thing, and I really don't want to come across like a rap dinosaur lamenting solely how things were better in my day. Things were also sometimes very bad. Times and scenes move on, and with evolution sometimes comes revolution, whether muted and understated or forcing a seismic shift. But whether or not that excitement and buzz over an artist or anticipated album in hip-hop has gone forever remains to be seen. I know for me it has been a while, but if there is one type of music that retains the element of surprise it is tis one. Watch this space, and int he meantime, why not dig out Ready To Die again. You know that excitement is still there, no matter how many times you play it.
I'm far from an expert and certainly no encyclopaedia, but as I have stated on A Story To Tell before, I am a true fan and hip-hop is where it all begins and ends for my musical meanderings. And I am just a little sad, wondering where the source of my true affections goes from here. It started as I was listening to Ready To Die again the other day, and reminiscing about the first time I heard Biggie rap. You remember that feeling, right? The one which shakes you upside your head and slaps you with a diamond gloved palm, forcing a wedge into your frontal lobes which you know will remain for eternity and which heralds the beginning of something new and shockingly good. Something which you hope, and perhaps secretly know, means that the game will never be the same again, because it has just been upped a notch. You recall the excitement of waiting for Ready To Die to drop and smile, but then a melancholy takes over and you wonder if you will ever get that feeling again. That feeling of needing to tear off the record sleeve and let the beats hit the speakers. And the point of all this rambling is just that very question. Have we seen the last truly great artists and classic albums from our beloved genre?
I've been thinking about emerging artists over the past couple of years and while many have got serious highpoints in their catalogues already, none have really created that special piece of work, or generated that true excitement. And in some cases hype has become the end and not the means. I mean, is Lil' Wayne or Young Jeezy really the future? Are "Get Rich Or Die Tryin" or "The Documentary"really classics? Very good records in their own way, but, well you know what I mean. Even less thuggish rappers like Lupe or Rhymefest, or even Kanye still have the jury out. The best stuff I have heard lately has generally come from established artists, and even then a record like "Hip-Hop Is Dead" is very good but not great. The best stable out there seems to be Okayplayer, and the biggest buzz I have got from a record in recent times has been Little Brother's Minstrel Show, which I thought was truly great. There are others, too may to mention here, but the main point remains the same.
Sometimes I think it is just a generational thing, and I really don't want to come across like a rap dinosaur lamenting solely how things were better in my day. Things were also sometimes very bad. Times and scenes move on, and with evolution sometimes comes revolution, whether muted and understated or forcing a seismic shift. But whether or not that excitement and buzz over an artist or anticipated album in hip-hop has gone forever remains to be seen. I know for me it has been a while, but if there is one type of music that retains the element of surprise it is tis one. Watch this space, and int he meantime, why not dig out Ready To Die again. You know that excitement is still there, no matter how many times you play it.
posted by Twelve Bar at 4:24 PM
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