The Digital, Lyrical Menace

Truth

2011-12-28T17:17:00.000-08:00

You know how when someone is a witness in court, the bailiff asks them to put a hand on the Bible and swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help them God?

No one can really do that.

The kind of pure truth the court is asking for can't exist if its coming from one POV. Pure truth requires a kind of objectivity most people don't have. Personal beliefs shape how we see the world. Heck, journalists have a hard time separating themselves from a story completely. Some just said "F^%k it," and let their beliefs flat-out manipulate facts (see MSNBC and FOX NEWS).

Truth is often the hardest thing to hear. That's why we lie. That's why we delude ourselves. We're not God, or Allah, or Jesus, or anyone in their league. We look at someone who is completely honest with a mix of respect, and a feeling that somethings wrong with them. That's the truth.

Then again, I'm not a reliable source, am I?

Supporting Artists

2011-08-17T12:35:00.000-07:00

Today I just spent $14 on Little Dragon's Ritual Union and Median's The Sender... and I legitimately fell good about doing that.

You see, I'm the kind of person who's unfortunately hypocritical about how I spend my money. I'll whine and moan about having to spend a few dollar's on something I actually need (like socks or laundry detergent), but will see no problem in using my last six bucks for a large value meal and wonder why I'm almost 300lbs.

This was different, though. When I decided to spend my money on these albums, I felt good. I didn't feel like my money was going to two guys whose best work happened when they were beefing with Nas and were still that goofy kid who made beats but could rap. I still come back to Median's Relief on occasion, and Little Dragon's music just sounds cool. That's what I want from my albums: less buyer's remorse and more satisfaction. I want more of that.

Cash Rules Everything Around Me.

Big Sean's Finally Famous...But What Does It Mean?

2011-07-01T11:50:00.001-07:00

Congratulations, Sean Don! After three mix-tapes under the same title, Finally Famous: The Album is finally in stores. Have a glass of cold Spades on us!

But what have you really accomplished, Mr. Westside (Detroit)? If we're being honest with ourselves, this isn't the perfect album every artist wants their debut to be.

It's great, don't get me wrong. The overall feel of the project is that of a man finally getting his due after grinding for so long, and I commend you for that. Songs like "Wait For Me" and "Memories (Part 2)" make me appreciate "My Last" and "High" that much more. Much to my own surprise, my favorite track features Roscoe Dash, an artist who's sing-song rapping style I personally can't stand by itself. Then again, that's where Roscoe shines: great, lightweight hooks tailor-made for the clubs.

Then you follow the incredible "Marvin and Chardonnay" with the fucking "Ass" song. MC Hammer can't help you, boi, that track sucks. Other than that, though, the album's good.

Good, not great. It's a perfect hip-pop album: accessible enough for the Top 40 crowd, but hard enough for cats who hate everything on the radio to still dig it. It's a strong 3.5 or a weak 4 out of 5 stars. It's not Illmatic, but for real, nobody's made anything close since Nas did it the first time, and you're not trying to. This is a album for the summer: fun, happy, a little melancholy, and the kind of thing that'll put a smile on your face.

Plus it's better than Thank Me Later, so there's that.

#FinallyFamousInThisBitch

Song 10: To All Those Gone

2011-05-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try something a little different. Whenever I have my Zune or Windows Media Player on random, I'll do a write-up on the tenth song that plays. Its kind of like The Smoking Section's iPod Shuffle except, you know...Zune

Song Title: "One Mo' Time"

Artist: Freddie Gibbs

Album: midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik

TSS described Freddie Gibbs' style for their Freshmen 10 of '10 as a mix of Tupac Shakur and Bone Thugs n' Harmony because he can blend gansta with intelligence while rhyming like he was from Cleveland circa 1995. I'd describe "One Mo' Time" as his "Crossroads" (at least for now) since its dealing with the death of loved ones. The first verse has him lamenting the death of a close friend who he personally saw go from dealer to one of Freddie's customers. (Basically what happened to Pookie, but the he fell farther.) The second verse is about his inability to really cope with lose, even though he knows those he lost are in a better place. It's a heartfelt ode to those that are gone, but not forgotten by Gibbs.

I'm not that emotional of a person, but I feel where he's coming from when it comes to loss, as I'm sure everyone else has experience loss themselves.

To me, death never really seems...real, if that makes any sense. I know I won't be seeing friends and family that have gone on anymore in this world, but I can never seem to really let go. I'll see a car like the one a friend used to drive and expect to see them in the driver's seat; I'll sometimes see someone that looks a little like them, and I'll be reminded that they're gone and, even though I don't think it's right, my day will be a little ruined because they died. I can't help wanting those who went on to still be here, even the ones who were sick. I hoped that they would get better when they were here, and I still hold out for Hollywood endings when I hear someone's in a bad way.

I made a pact with myself that I wouldn't go to anymore funerals after a friend of mine past in 2008. Its the open caskets, the body of someone who only days before I was talking to about band or relationships or whatever, lying there made up while their mothers, fathers, sibilings and friends cry out for them, that I can't stand. Not everyone's strong enough to remember that their loved ones have gone to someplace better. They just want them back here, now.

I don't know what it says about me as a person or my mental health, but I've never cried at the funeral or the grave. When I cry its days or weeks later, in the middle of the night. Tears running down my face as all the emotions I don't show rush out, and I try to push them back in without waking anyone up.

When I die, I want a New Orleans style funeral.

Don't "Like" The Song, "Like" The Album

2011-05-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

Right now I'm listening to Pl3dge, by Killer Mike. I'm on Track 5 ("Burn"), and I can say that the album's certified Tony Montana dope.

And I haven't "liked" one song.

I did this as an experiment to see if I was able to just enjoy an album as a complete work without any obligation to rate each track. I read an article in Esquire that said that this is the Era of the Good Song because we are forced to make instant criticisms on songs as we hear them. Albums don't really sell like back in the day because we've become conditioned to only really respond to instant gradification. We don't have time to take in an artist's or group's whole body of work so we buy the dollar single over the ten-dollar album.

Maybe we need to change this. Maybe if we had the option to rate the album like we do the single LPs would be of better quality. Sure you can "like" an album on Facebook like you "like" a single, but on your iTunes and Zune only ask if you like the song, not the whole work. To Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, the sum of the parts outweigh the whole. Maybe someone needs to fix that.

"Like" Pl3dge.

The New Business of Music

2011-02-17T19:26:00.000-08:00

I don't like to pay for music.

Scratch that.

I don't like to pay for something I could get for free.

Now we can sit here a argue about whether or not downloading without paying is really a crime for hours, but that's not my aim today. I'm here to talk about how the business of Hip-Hop has changed since I was a kid.

Think about this for a second: Shaq is a platinum artist. Multi-platinum, I believe. It used to be that any Joe Spitkicker could at least get a gold album. Skills mattered, of course, but back in the 90's you could get away with being wack and still do numbers because of marketing.

O.K., that hasn't changed, but the ones who got the most shine usually had the most skill.

At least that how I remember it.

Now, former multi-platinum artist struggle to go platinum once in a month's span. Lil' Wayne doing a million in a week off of The Carter 3 (Carter 2 was better, IMHO), it was considered a grand achievement. Meanwhile, arguably better albums sometimes can't even go gold.

But there's hope.

Mixtapes are starting to sound like albums now. (Kush & Orange Juice) They sound so much like studio LPs now that some artists are re-releasing them on iTunes about a month after their online release, either in their "untagged" form (a plus if DJ Scream's on the tape), or as stripped-down EPs (Str8 Killa > Thank Me Later EP IMHO). You can actually build a decent catalog around a artist consisting of free material they put out.

Dang...it's kind of cool being a Hip-Hop fan today.

Politics As Usual

2010-07-15T21:35:00.000-07:00

Right now in Georgia (and across the U.S.), politicians are paying for television time to get your votes. They do the usual things: talk a little about themselves, say what their going to do for your state...

...and sling mud at their opponents.

I know this kind of thing has been going on for decades, but lately, it's been getting on my nerves. Particularly the way Republicans have been using Obama as an easy target to get the conservative vote. This may have to do with the fact that the only other President I've voted for lost to a man who doesn't care about Black people.

I wish I could just let this roll down my back like everyone else, but I have to get out my fustration somehow, or else I'll go crazy.

If you want me to vote for you, do something different: simply tell me in plain language what your plans are for Georgia, and let your work speak for itself, instead of attacking the guy on the other end of political spectrum as you. I'd vote for someone like that.

I'm an anarchist, by the way.

Girls on the Mic

2010-05-29T18:17:00.000-07:00

I miss Lauren Hill. I'm not the first person to lament about L Boogie, and I won't be the last. But like it or not, she one of the three female emcees mentioned most often when bloggers and writers talk about the lack of Y chromosomes in Hip Hop.

Scratch that; the lack of Y chromosomes in MAINSTREAM Hip Hop.

There are female emcees out there who are making great music. Unfortunately, Lil Wayne is backing Nicki Minaj.

Yeah, Invincible and Jean Grae aren't gonna get airplay outside college radio as long as every chick in the club wants to be a Barbie.

I guess I could say something possitive about Rocky Rivera or something, but it's been said. I'm just tired of hearing the same deep voices on the radio, I guess.

Come back, Ms. Hill.

Recluse

2010-02-24T10:12:00.000-08:00

I don't think it's crazy to talk to yourself. I'm pretty sure I'm doing it right now. Which means I can speak with complete freedom in a crowded room as big as the planet. With that said, let me make the following statements.

I think social networking is one of the most retarded, ass-backwards concepts of our time.

True, I have a MySpace and Facebook account, as well as Twitter, but they often collect dust. I just can't get into the whole idea of having conversations over an internet connection. I don't even like talking on the phone. Worst yet, it spreads the idea that writing is passe, at least with pens and pencil. And I can't stand L33T speak, and technicially I'd be classified as a geek. (A comic geek, but still...)

I don't really have a point to this story, I'm just talking to myself again.

Semi-Legal

2009-06-24T17:03:00.000-07:00

The thing about being broke and an addict is that you have to be creative with the ways you get your vice. For my particular substance of choice, music, that means walking a very thin and controversial line between rabid fan-dom and outright crime.

If you think in dial-up, I'm referring to file sharing.

Now to me, file sharing falls into a legal gray area I like to refer to as "semi-legal" activities. (Weed's the only other real member of this group in my opinion.) This means that while under the letter of the law these actions are illegal, the reasons behind their legal status have as much to do with business as they do with public safety.
Family Guy aired an episode recently dealing with the issue of marijuana legalization. Sure, it dealt with the subject like Family Guy, but still...
Basically what Seth McFarlane was saying was that while weed ain't exactly the best substance to be on when, say, reporting the news, the reasons for it being illegal might have as much to do with the business as much as the social issues of the drug.

The same thing can be said for file sharing. In the late 90's, recording artists attacked Napster for allowing people to share songs freely without any consideration towards the artists. They claimed that this would cause the downfall of CD sales and bankrupt the music industry. Well of course, we now know that the industry didn't die; the times just changed. Some had a hard time reconciling with the way things were and how things are. So the industry is still attacking the can when the worms are already loose.

Just as recently as last week the RIAA was still in court trying to crack down on file sharing. Meanwhile SoundScan first week numbers for albums are in the six figures, and Weezy was the last dude to do a mil in the first week. ITunes is the new king of music distribution, and artist can get rich off one song rather than a whole record. So was the advent of file sharing really that bad?

Money aside, file sharing opened up the doors for Zune and iPod to be invented. Soulja Boy owes the dude who came up with Napster some residuals. Still, one could see how a dude with a record contract would be pissed off at the fact that they could be making money off of 1,000 downloads that no ones paying for.

Free Music.

Condition Critical

2009-05-16T22:26:00.000-07:00

Something's been bugging me for a while now: how exactly do critics rate albums? Do they take into account all that goes into making a record, or do they base their reviews purely on the completed product? And if they use the former as a basis for review, where do mixtapes fall?

I personally enjoy the way XXL has set up their reviews because they break down how they review material. For me, it takes too much time to read an entire review only to be told that that critic doesn't like the album, but doesn't give any real reason. Mixtapes are an entirely different animal; they simply can't be reviewed like proper albums.

Here's how I personally rate albums:

Production (The beats and music have to be top - notch, but not necessarily complicated. They have to go with that artist and with the albums whole flow.)
Lyrics (The punchlines have to hit hard, and everthing has to engaging to the listener. Weezy's proved that not everything has to make sence if it sounds good, though. Telling a story, and telling it well, earns bonus points.)
Flow (Albums have to have a flow to them. Songs can't come from out of the blue when you're listening to a record. If the artist is going for a theme, they need to stick to that, and not deviate because they want to go platinum.)
Can I Sit Through It All The Way (Sometimes albums get tiring. This judges replay value.)
Hype*(This has more to do with major label releases. Can the project match or exceed its hype?)

It's a different story for mixtapes:

Mix (It doesn't matter if it's a mixtape; songs have to go together and not be just put someplace.)
Hosting (DJ Drama needs to be a feature, but he can't take over the tape.)
Editing (If you're trying to get put on using a mixtape, EQing doesn't hurt at all.)
Inventiveness* (A cool concept gets me everytime.)

Okay, I put up my two cents. Now all I need is a dollar and I can get an Arizona.

Peace.

Off Inspiration and Finance

2009-04-27T08:14:00.000-07:00

Last week I got $50 from my aunt. Today, I have $18 and change. I'm reluctant to ask for more money, because it's my own fault for spending it so quick. On the upside, I've laid down the lyrics for a good song.

I'm sure there's something to be said about personal strife inspiring an artist's best work, but I'm not sure "emotional" work and "superior" work are as synonymous as people think they are. A mediocore saxophonist can write a piece and dedicate it to his ill uncle, but if the piece doesn't sound good, then it really doesn't matter how emotional it is. (Oh, and I hear those shouts of Tupac and Kanye out there; I hear everything. So you think Tupac and Kanye are mediocore now?)
On the other hand, a exceptional artist can basically sleepwalk through a track and that track will be concidered a classic. (*cough, cough, A Milli, cough cough*).

Good is good; bad is bad; but when feelings get involved, we tend to let some stuff slide.

Music makes us empaths.

Lyricism over Popularity

2009-02-09T22:21:00.000-08:00

There's a very sad truth concerning modern-day hip-hop that I feel compelled to reveal: The popularity of a rapper is often inversely related to that rapper's lyrical ability.

I know that statement might be debatable, but think about it for a bit. I mean really marinate on that statement. Think of every hip-hop song you've heard on the radio, in the club, on the Internet. Now think of the ones where the artists was really spitting acid on the track. Who comes to mind? Nas? Mos Def? Common? Slaughterhouse (Joell Ortiz, Joe Budden, Crooked I, Royce the 5'9")?
Now think of the song where the lyrics were terrible. Soulja Boy probably comes quickest to mind. (I personally don't think Lil Jon counts as bad lyricism because Lil Jon is more of an American toaster than an American rapper.) Later Lil Wayne might pop up in others' heads depending on what on considers good lyricism. Most of the dance tracks in the club might as well go in to the "bad lyrics" category.

Now, think of the Top 20 songs. Think of the albums that go gold or platinum. Think of the albums that are highly rated. Think of the ones that don't sell.

Lyrics used to mean so much more.

Think.

Lyrics in Hip - Hop

2008-08-02T20:12:00.000-07:00

I love hip hop. I love everything about it. I love the production; I love the swagger. But the thing that most interests me is the lyricism. I love the idea that words can not only be used to voice a concept, but that that voice can be so engaging and compelling.

I don't mean to geek out over fancy vocabulary, but I really do enjoy hearing clever lyrics. Which is why I find it a little annoying when all the Top 40 Rap songs can only do as good as being catchy. Now while catchy is fine for selling records and even for battle raps and freestyles, I just don't want to be stuck with a one - trick pony when I turn on the radio. Maybe that's just me; maybe I think too hard and just can't enjoy a nice song. But that's how I feel.

I like stuff I have to rewind to really get. My brain needs to work. Nas and Lupe are good for that. Underground's great for finding real mind-frackers.

I still like Weezy though.

Black Hendrix

2008-07-01T22:11:00.000-07:00

I've been listening to the three Jimi Hendrix Experience albums lately and am currently reading Midnight Lightning, a book about Hendrix and his place in Black American music, and I've noticed something that seems messed up to me: Jimi Hendrix played a lot of music that could be considered early funk, and even has straight - up blues songs on record. Yet I've never heard his music on any Black radio stations. Obviously, I don't expect to hear "Purple Haze" on V103, but if he's not on straight rock stations, then he isn't heard on the air. Yet "Red House" would fit perfectly on a blues playlist.

I hope it's just me. I hope that I'm just not listening to the radio at the right time. But it's not just radio. Hendrix isn't usually seen as a great Black icon within the community. Then again, in Febuary you only hear King, Shabazz, Parks, so I shouldn't be to surprise that Hendrix is left out if Huey P. Newton's or Stokely Carmicheal aren't top tier Black folk. I'd just like to think that we could see Jimi Hendrix as being one of us rather than an outside playing "white" music.

But maybe that was the point. If I had never checked out that book, I would have only thought of him as a great guitar player. Maybe it's not so much that we don't see him as Black, it's that we see him as a musician first. I'd like to think that. That sounds right.

Peace.

Hunger

2008-04-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

I'm getting too fucking fat.

I was never very skinny, but lately I've been packing on the pounds like food's going out of style.

And I'm spending more, too.

I've got too much damn money in my account and I'm being reckless with it. I buy on impulse too often for the money to not really be mine. As far as finances, I'm failing miserably.

Perhaps worst of all, I'm missing classes. For the three years I've been in college, I've prided myself on having an overall good attendance record. Maybe I'm asking too much of myself in a college setting, but I feel I need to be at every class, and I need to be there as early as possible. I set very high goals for myself, and I can't afford to become complacent.

I guess it's an old problem I'm facing. Everyone who gets into a comfort zone loses what got them there in the first place. George St. Pierre lost his title because he was comfortable being the champ. The same thing happened to Tyson. Apolo on Battlestar Galactica got fat and lazy when they found New Caprica. When you're used to the top, you settle there, and you make it that much easier for someone with fire in their eyes to knock you off.

But keeping that killer instict is hard when no one can touch you. Anderson Silva's dominated the best Dana White has thrown at him. How can he still be as dangerous when he's beaten Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin, and a bunch of other top - tier fighters? Trying to keep the fact that you've got a target on you when you're on top in the front of your mind is hard when everyone keeps telling you you can't be stopped. You have to motivate yourself. You have to be dedicated to getting up early, working hard, and being on time for even the smallest engagement.

I need to motivate myself better. I hear the alarm go off at 6, but I wait 'til 8 or even 10 to get out of bed. Am I sleeping on gold clouds? Can I afford to not be the best and/or the most dedicated? Am I really that great I can't lose my money, or develope diabetes, or get kicked out of school? How dare I be comfortable! I need to be in the library, in the practice room on my horn, and running 'til I can't feel my MOTHAFUCKIN' LEGS!!!! I can motivate myself out of bed by remembering the words I'm writing now.

The worst place you can be is in a comfort zone, because men are willing to kill you to be in you place.

All That Jazz

2008-04-19T13:15:00.001-07:00

I like jazz.

Yes, I realize that that statement really doesn't tell you anything.

I like jazz, but not the Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, swingin' standards stuff. I'm not saying it's not good, but I prefer an odder sound when it comes to jazz. I have Birth of the Cool, but I listen to Bitches Brew more often.
I guess I'm more anti - establishment when it comes to music. I like having to seek out hidden treasures, digging in crates for that snatch of gold. I try to avoid a lot of the mainstream music out there unless it's actually good.

But as I look for great music not heard on the Top 40 stations, I end up going to stuff that other people claim to be great. So does that make me lazy, or do I value others' opinion over my own? Then again, I like certain records that some critics don't like. I guess there was a point to this, but I've lost it.

I need to learn focus.

Life Is But A Dream

2008-04-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

I've been staying up 'til 5 in the morning lately. It's caused me to miss classes. I'm not complaining or looking for sympathy; that's just what's been happenin'.

Dreams are funny. When we're sleep, weird abstract ideas pop in our heads. When we're awake, dreams are goals we set that are either marginally feasible or highly improbable. The American Dream comes 2 mind.
I can't stand this fucking fairytale. I mean, the concept seems so innocent; a country allows anyone to be rich if they're creative and determine enough. You can have a big house, a beautiful spouce, well - behaved kids, a white picket fence, the works. The perfect life. Paradise on Earth.

Sounds good, doesn't it. And it's mostly true, too. You can get it if you really want. But there are strings. That white fence has to be planted in deep dirt. Your hands have to get dirty. But not too dirty. You have to keep up appearences, make yourself look completely clean. But don't be honest. No one rich likes an honest John coming in to their den of theives. If your good, keep a low profile so the rest of the elite can feel better about themselves.
It helps if you're the right type, too. Not too dark; not to feminate. They don't call it "The Boys Club" for nothing. And the boys are all old and pale. But if you manage to get in even with those disadvantages against you, congratulations; your kids won't have a problem getting in at all if you keep the green growing, and I don't mean grass. Or do I? No one said anything about the cash being squeaky clean.

Now that I think about it, I'm glad I'm not that wealthy. True, I have some change in my pocket, but I can't really buy anything; it's not even really my money.

If you're poor, you're hungry; if you're rich, you're fat. You're lazy when you're rich; you work when you got jack. But being a bum's not cool. If you think that, you're a fool. Y you think everyone tells u 2 stay in school?

Refund checks.

Hip Hop Classic

2008-03-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

I've been listening to a lot of old-school hip-hop lately. I love the fact that back in the '80s and early '90s, a hip-hop artists was judged on lyrical content and not by how many units they sold.

That isn't to say that gangsta rap killed lyricism or anything. Gangsta rap had its start with Boogie Down Production's Criminal Minded - and that was during the Queensbridge/South Bronx beef in, like, '86! Lyricism is proven to exist alongside hardcore lyrics. A well-crafted description of a homicide is cool to listen too - and I don't care if you flippin' hate gangsta rap, you're going to be hypnotized by the way someone like Rakim or Nas or Pastor Troy details murder.

Lyricism died down with hip-hop going mainstream. Simple sells. Well. "Crank Dat": DUMBEST FUCKING LYRICS EEEEEVVVVVVVVVVVAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRR! But it sold. Soulja Boy knows his audience. Catchy hooks, dancing, and pseudo-gangsta lyrics will get play in the clubs, school dances, and radio. Sappy/Sensual rap + females = big sales. Hip-hop is just the latest in a line of music genres who have seemingly lost their edge with commercialization. That's just the way the music business works; the song will sell more if its simple, danceable, and a little controversial.

Now that I've got my rant out the way, I want to show my appreciation to old-school hip-hop. Old-school to me means anything before 2005, my senior year in high school. I know that's not a very big timespan, but that's also a defining point in time. Anyway, stuff like The Slim Shady LP, Get Rich Or Die Trying, Stillmatic, The Blueprint, and Through Yo' Hood Up define my early life. And keep in mind that I haven't touched on Paid In Full, Straight Outta Compton, The Chronic, Face Off (Pastor Troy's Album), We Can't Be Stopped, or even Raising Hell. Whether talking production - wise or lyrically - speaking, these albums shaped every cafeteria emcee and wanna-be thug in middle and high school. Yelling "YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!" was still acceptable. I'm Serious bumped caddys and fords. And we still were a little unknown down south besides Outkast. I don't know; I just miss how back when I was a high school freshman no one was talking about how the south killed hip-hop.

I started this blog early in the morning. It's now almost 8PM. I've gotten distracted. Time to listen to Radio and MM...Food.

Peace.