Smooth, Sweet, and Smitten Saturdays

So the idea of having a day where I deviate a bit from the general theme of this blog has actually sat well with me recently. As somewhat of a romantic, I'd like to share with you all the long, long list of beautiful romance songs that I listen to occasionally. This day is certainly not limited to the Hip Hop genre, because the goal is to share music that touches on some of the powerful elements that Hip Hop itself portrays.  

Smooth lyrics and a Sweet message from a Smitten artist.

So in the spirit of Hip Hop! To start us off here's the song with my favorite romantic lyrical content.

Lady Brown by Nujabes ft. Cise Starr of CYNE

Not only is this song one of my favorite romantic Hip Hop song, it's surprisingly rather recent. Also, the producer - Nujabes - (who unfortunately passed away last February 2010) created some of the most soulful beats I have heard from a recent producer. His music has a lot of jazz influence, and his genius is all over one of my favorite anime series called Samurai Champloo (learn about anime/manga at a fellow classmate's blog here!: Otaku Novice)

Nujabes beats, smooth and powerful lyrics by Cise Starr, and a lovely young lady to keep in mind.
I don't know anyone who wouldn't like this song.

Rest in Beats, Jun Seba (Nujabes).
Peace

Rap Duos: Past and notable Present Ones

Every now and then, I zone out to some Eric B. and Rakim, Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth, Gang Starr, Mobb Deep, Outkast, Black Star, Nice and Smooth, Black Sheep - let me end it here, you guys get my drift given the title of this post, and the names I just mentioned.

Back in the day, the rapper/DJ duo was nothing out of the ordinary, and they would work together to create some true masterpieces. Not too long ago one of the best DJ's to ever do it, DJ Premier, lost his MC counterpart from when they used to work together as Gang Starr. I think I still have the "Mass Appeal" beat on my list of ringtones, and who could lay down dope rhymes in a monotone voice like Guru did?

Damn.

Still, today there are some Hip Hop duos doing positive things out there, although there are few. For the most part, the rapper/DJ thing isn't too prominent anymore. There is one, however, that I've become a fan of (among others) and recently released an EP

Blu and Exile - Amnesia
(click to purchase from Amazon, SUPPORT HIP HOP!)
It has a nice jazzy feel to it.

 

J. Cole ft. Drake - In The Morning

In light of today's holiday, I wanted to share this new video release of a song many love by an artist I truly respect as a part of today's Hip Hop artists with TRUE potential. J. Cole.
Check it out:

The Cypher

Taking it to where it all started. For the little I actually enjoy watching BET or MTV, I'm happy that BET does this in their Hip Hop Awards. A lot of them are really worthwhile and portray the raw talent of some of these older and younger artists as well. The below video is by far my favorite. Mostly because Eminem is one of my favorite rappers, Black Thought has my favorite flow as a rapper, and Mos Def is one the best rapper/poet/actors there is.

Below are some other freestyles I came across as I clicked through related videos on YouTube. In light of my post on Rap Groups, The Roots is a group that still currently exists and commands some serious respect all around. Check it out, The Roots and A Tribe Called Quest:

Freestyling has always been a trademark of Rap. Whether it may be battling or just representing yourself as a force in the Hip Hop world. A lot of a rapper's style comes out when they go at it off the top of the head, and lay down some of their best material.

One of New York's greatest doing it BIG at a young age:

And some other BET Cyphers I personally liked:

What are some other ones you all know and loved?

Hip Hop Lives

For those of you who may have been wondering where I got the quote for my blog above, and learn from KRS-One something about the true essence of Hip-Hop. A very much optimistic take on it. This is one of those songs that, personally, I enjoy more for just the lyrics. The music itself doesn't sound too great. What do you all think?
 

Hip means to know
It's a form of intelligence
To be hip is to be up-date and relevant
Hop is a form of movement
You can't just observe a hop
You got to hop up and do it
Hip and Hop is more than music
Hip is the knowledge
Hop is the movement
Hip and Hop is intelligent movement
Or relevant movement
We selling the music
So write this down on your black books and journals
Hip Hop culture is eternal

Hip Hop Fans

In a recent comment, someone asked about what good is there in Hip Hop now, considering a lot of the attention from people like myself goes towards talking badly about the music that exists within today's Hip Hop culture. There's a lot of good and I'm going to talk about that in this post.

As I was listening to Wale's Mixtape About Nothing, which is in fact about a whole lot of something's, I felt the urge to talk about his message in "The Perfect Plan," where he boldly says:

Respect has grown inferior to f* Soundscans.

Not that he's the first to broach this topic in his raps, but it's a relatively true statement. A well marketed artist, this day, is far more successful than one creating music with deep meaning and genuine skill. In its lyricism, Hip Hop music should be ripe in metaphors, and potent, relatable topics. Not always, but since it has become so commercialized the rapper's respect for his skill and style is largely undervalued. We reward the ones that make music glorifying a materialistic, superficial lifestyle, by buying their records.

So I better pitch'm this for a better outcome
You say the art's dying, nah brother, buy an album - it's the Plan.

It may seem off-topic but today's technology actually allows us to not have to buy the music we really want. (some people have been made examples for the issue of piracy with more to come) But we don't have to anymore, really. Occasionally it's just free, but there's so many resources. So what happens? It's not in the artist's interest to let their real creative juices flow.

But rather than singing our praise, they do
Raise the bar to a level unattainableAnd people download that cause they're scared to do
What the Soulja Boi fans be prepared to do
What the B5 fans get they mother to do
. . .
It ain't nothin' to you, but it's something to me
I mean, it's something to we artists
It's something to eat
. . . 

 I can't put it in better words. He keeps going:

Tuesdays used to matter, now the only thing that happens is
You, you, and you say "shit I been had that." "shit I been heard that."
"N* been workin'."
. . . 
Lyricism ain't workin
I mean it's been workin, but we don't get support like orphans.
So now this work's been worthless.

Note:  The albums used to come out on Tuesdays.
Side note: I am guilty of the "I been had that, I been heard that" conversations. Don't judge me. It made me feel cool and stand above my peers.

Hey, the real important message in the whole song -- and Wale gets to it, and I agree with him is that

they say Hip Hop's dead, I believe it's just the fans.

Hip Hop fans, support the good guys!
Check out my favorite Free Wale Mixtapes: The Mixtape About Nothing, More About Nothing.

What is NOT Hip Hop

After seeing this a somber mood descended upon me, disappointment, secondhand embarrassment, and admittedly a mild sense of disgust. I just don't see how a person in the public eye can be this unprepared to present themselves on public television. Correction: On live public television.

This is what is NOT Hip Hop.

Waka Flocka is a current popular artist in the mainstream from Georgia (born in New York, *bows head in shame*). I'm not going to knock his work, nor his success, because I'm not exactly going to make this a hate blog, but this is embarrassing. Rappers haven't always had the most ideal images in the media, but one of pure ignorance on topics as basic or simple as education or voting is extremely important. You have to have A REAL OPINION! Anything! Especially if they're spoon-feeding you an opportunity to make a reasonably good impression. You have kids watching you. Idolizing you. Get it together, man!

Just don't bring down the artists that have some decent intellect with you if you're going to do something this careless.

Appealing to the Mainstream

"The game used to make you sell ya soul. Now it gotta' come wit' a dance."

-  Joe Budden, 5th Gear on Mood Muzik 3

Something that has definitely changed over time, and I'd argue it was for the worse, is the style and content of the rap music that sells or gains popularity. It's incredible. I'm not exactly sure that many people realize the vast difference in talent and quality of what used to propel a rap artist to fame as opposed to what actually makes it happen now. There are many arguable reasons why this is so, and ofcourse we would be naive to believe that the industry wouldn't evolve over time. However, I'll immediately admit that in a lot of ways it is rather disappointing the direction it has taken.

This is not to say that the popular rappers these days don't put out music worth the listen, but there is a noticeable lack of soul, dedication, and value in the genre that moved a generation. I'd like to reemphasize that the soul is seemingly gone. 

This isn't a new comparison that I'm about to make, but a necessary one to make early on for the purpose I want this blog to hold. Now, does the below album cover look familiar to you?

 

 To be completely honest, I don't expect many people to know about it. This is completely from my experience and what I have been surrounded by. Nasir Jones, previously known as Nasty Nas, now just Nas, recorded this demo tape when he was 18 years old. His age is the least important factor, rather, the content of this demo tape is. The material on this tape will later be recorded onto Illmatic, which was his debut album in 1994. I don't care who you are, but in ANY real Hip Hop fans top 5 (or 10) albums of all time, Illmatic is undoubtedly a complete classic from Track 1 to Track 10. From "The Genesis" to "It Ain't Hard to Tell," Illmatic is an amazing album. (sidenote: I listen to most of it at least once a month, every month)

A lot of his material on Illmatic was on the Nasty Nas demo, rapped on different beats and different rhythm, but still in his legendary flow. 

Today, it almost offends me that what does become popular are songs with dances. Really? That's down right offensive if we notice the kind of work that was put out by passionate Hip Hop icons compared to "Crank that." It's sad, but the priorities in the Hip Hop industry have seriously shifted. Music generally categorized as "Hip Hop," is no longer the same. 

Luckily we still hear, sprinkled throughout the vast selection of music we have access to thanks to new technologies, music worth acknowledging in light of the Hip Hop movement that was so prominent in the past.

The (re)Birth of the (pseudo)Rap Group

Many are well aware or have at least heard that Hip Hop's latest rap group, Slaughterhouse, has signed with Shady Records, and with them Yelawolf as well. Personally, I was happy to hear this news considering my own affinity for Slaughterhouse specifically, as well as my adoration since my Middle School days for Eminem's lyrical dexterity and content ever.

Slaughterhouse includes:   
              Joe Budden from Jersey City, New Jersey
              Joell Ortiz from Brooklyn, New York
              Royce da 5'9" from Detroit, Michigan
              Crooked I from Long Beach, California

There's no argument that each of these four members is talented. What I came here to do is talk about Rap Groups, or lack thereof. Read through the list below and keep count in your head how many of these names you recognize:

• A Tribe Called Quest 
• De La Soul
• The Pharcyde
• Lords of the Underground
• Cypress Hill
• The Beastie Boys
• Ultramagnetic MC's
• Wu-Tang Clan
• Run DMC
• Digital Underground
• Jungle Brothers
• Souls of Mischief
• Arrested Development

It's almost sad to see that this fact seems to not exist anymore. All of the above named groups had a strong presence on the Hip Hop scene through the 80's and 90's. A few have even been celebrated on VH1's Hip Hop Honors in the past 5 or so years. So what's happened? Rappers seem to have grown into a self-obsessed culture, where the greater majority are more focused on their individual success or legacy. All of them working to lay claim to being the "Best Alive." A title that in this day is, arguably, already taken.

Hip Hop in one aspect used to be a team effort, as a lot of the aforementioned groups have engraved their names as a group in the history books with their individual rap names etched underneath. This isn't to say that rappers these days don't collaborate, but consistent work as a collective group hardly exists. Slaughterhouse is a special example, and even in their case the individual members carry on their personal careers first, releasing solo albums and second, as Slaughterhouse. The concept and popularity of a rap group may be dying out, if at all still alive.

As an avid listener to the "Old School" of Hip Hop, I worry that the genius work that can be born through collaborative work may not happen anymore. I wonder if today's industry is even conducive to this age old style.In most cases, they have enough timeless material out for me to enjoy even if it isn't.