RIP: Hip Hop
ABOVE: The late Tupac Shakur
I'm feeling a little nostalgic right now, because I recently saw Flavor Flav on a reality show performing his modern-day mistrel show, and I'm disgusted.
It took me a while, but I have reached the point at which I no longer want to be called a fan of rap music. Nobody knows what that is anymore.
It wasn't always this bad, kids. I promise. Rap music was great once upon a time. It was the new punk rock -- the anti-establishment, in-your-face voice of a generation. And rappers had talent. Real talent. They could write. And they cared.
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"There's gonna be a lotta slow singin' and flower bringin' if my burgular alarm starts ringin'" -- Notorious B.I.G. (Ready to Die, 1993)
"I wanted an album so rugged nobody could touch it
Spent a million a track and went over my budget
How the f--k am I supposed to get outta debt
I can't rap anymore
I just murdered the alphabet" -- Eminem (The Slim Shady LP, 1997)
"I could see you comin home after work late
You're in the kitchen tryin to fix us a hot plate
Ya just workin with the scraps you was given
And mama made miracles every Thanksgivin'" -- Tupac Shakur (Me Against the World, 1995)
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But nobody writes like this anymore. Biggie and Tupac are dead. Jay-Z and Eminem retired (sort of). The Wu Tang Clan has always been fantastic, but nobody listens. Ludacris is funny but has no substance. Ice Cube is acting in Christmas movies and Dr. Dre hasn't released an album since 1999. It's like the NBA in that weird, post-MJ, Bird, Magic period.
People actually think Chamillionaire, a guy whose best song is called "Ridin' Dirty" and includes the line "When they realize I ain't even ridin dirty bet you'll be leavin' with an even madder mood/You can't arrest me plus you can't sue/This a message to the law tellin' 'em we hate you," is a good rapper. Lil John is a member in good standing of the hip hop community.
Eminem sparked the genre with his first album and appeared to be saving it with his second one (The Marshall Mathers LP, which has an argument for greatest rap album ever). From 1997-2003, nobody could touch Eminem. Nobody. It was a crazy period in the world -- the best rapper on earth was white, the best golfer was black. But Eminem (and Tiger Woods, for that matter) was such a singular figure -- a pissed off white kid who could really rap hooks up with Dr. Dre and starts writing about killing his wife -- that nobody could even catch his coattails. By 2004, he had lost whatever it was that made him great.
Now we have Kevin Federline.
I now know what Led Zeppelin and Kiss fans must have felt when Def Leppard started selling platinum records. To quote the immortal Dane Cook, "What in holy hell is happening here?"
Saying you're a rap fan in 2006 means you like "crunk" music, which is more or less rhythmic yelling. Imagine Will Ferrell in the "I drive a Dodge Stratus!" sketch, dropped over a drum beat and staccato clapping sounds. It means you think 50 Cent is the best rapper of his generation, and the awful thing is that it might be true.
So I'm done with rap. I'm holding on to my Biggie and Tupac albums and I'm still keeping Dre and Eminem in the rotation, but I need a new style of music to like, something that has some substance, some grit, some soul, some creativity and something that hasn't devolved into self parody.
Suggestions are welcome. In fact, if anybody has a suggestion, I promise to listen to it and write a blog about it.
3 comments:
In music history, people always wanted to go back to the Greeks, they thought that the Greeks must have the right idea, although, the people were generally completely unaware of what the Greeks did. However, it ushsered in some of the greatest music, Bach, Mozart, Chopin, which lead to the amazing early 20th century composers like Kabelsky and Ives. So in essence, don't worry, something new will come along, but you might have search farther than the mainstream.
Also, as an aside, Mozart with recitative had precursor to rap in his operas.
i know this has nothing to do with your actual entry...but how can you hate flavor flav??? that's the funniest show i've seen in a while. haha! i t-vo'd every episode!
Kanye West is a good rapper. He collaborates with other "non-rap" people. He also does his own beats and there not just 4 bar synth crap you could record using a keyboard at Toys R Us. His are real music and use real instruments. His first album is incredible and his third album coming out soon has a song with John Mayer on it. Now tell me that's not creative? But then again he was the last of the golden few from the Biggie Eminem, Jay-Z, Tupac, era. I think he did beats for all of those guys except Tupac. His first CD was the first and last rap record I own.
Me personally I stick with rock n' roll. Trista's right though, all the good music is out of the mainstream. If you like rock bands check out:
Hit the Lights, Houston Calls, Thursday, Head Automatica.
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