Old folks stand up and throw some D’s on this bitch!
I am officially old and washed up. I have been in denial for the last several years in part because the music I enjoyed during my youth was still populated by artists that I enjoyed listening to when I was a bit younger. Even though these artists found it increasingly difficult to produce and release new music just their presence reassured me that I still belonged among them. When the realization finally hit me that I no longer belonged it was colder than ice cold water to my face. I remember this feeling many years ago when this little Philipino chick that I was crushing on sent word through one of my friends that she didn’t like me that way. Heartbreak doesn’t even go deep enough.
I found myself at the wrap party for The Wire last night(more on that later) and my homey from Brooklyn Bodega told me to leave rap music alone. I was too old. It no longer was for me. I resisted. In my mind I begged rap music to reconsider my feelings. We did have good times together didn’t we? Sure I dated soul, funk, jazz and rock music on the side, but that was for sample sources, so that I could become a better lover of rap music. I always came back didn’t I? Rap music unfortunately had moved on. There was no time for a guy like me who had all of these lofty demands.
Here I am trying to espouse complex socio-economic themes and heaven forbid, polysyllabic rhyme schemes while rap music has moved in the direction of songs based on guttural expressions like ‘Yaaah’. This isn’t the fault of Soulja Boy either even though he failed the 9th grade twice before dropping out of high school. I can relate to his plight since I have a G.E.D. my damn self. His triumphant satisfaction with lyrical mediocrity was already trumpeted by the crapper Mims when he said that “I can sell a mill saying nothing on the track”.
This is a scary moment for me. Someone cue up that song from Rose Royce ‘Love Don’t Live Here Anymore’.
Thank you.
So where do I go from here? I suppose I could go back into my funk mode, but lord knows that shit only sounds good with reefer. I love Coltrane ’til deaf, but his music just doesn’t make my head nod unless its sampled by the Bomb Squad. I supposed I could pull some 1980’s new wave shit out for a minute, but when you listen to too much Soft Cell that shit gives you a vagina like HGH. I think its time for me to pull out my Bad Brains and The Clash albums. No one is talking that hardbody social justice shit anymore. The revolution always gets co-opted and silkscreened onto a t-shirt like Che Guevara.
The future of rap music was going to be Joell Ortiz and Saigon with NaS leading the way through the darkness. My problem was that I refused to believe that Hip-Hop died way back in 1979 with the release of the ghost-written classic ‘Rapper’s Delight’. Ever since that moment when three total strangers were assembled to form the SugarHill Gang rap music has been a contrived, commodified commercial corpse. There’s no point in giving this carcass Detox. It’s been dead for thirty years.
start listening to go-go. ChuckBrowns old ass is still a revered statesman to even the youngest of cowbell clangers.
Whatdyou think of Backyard?
It’s a harsh reality. But anybody 30+ is fighting this struggle. I too have just recently realized that if the artist isn’t our age and we came up on him…it’s a 50/50 that you’ll feel what the artist has to say. And it’s pointless trying to convince these kids Lil Wayne isn’t the greatest person to touch a mic. It’s generational. Just listen to the oldies. I was bumping Outkast “ATLiens” this morning on the way to the plantation.
“Cooler than a polar bear’s toenails…”
*Pours out the 40 for rap music*
I have resorted to driving in my car playing EPMD at full blast. I’m hanging on by life support.
(Good look on the Rose Royce)
I was just thinking along the same lines earlier this week man… none of the new shit does it for me, even old heads releasing new shits dont do it.. I watch the Premier “classic” video once a week and T.R.O.Y about my old friend hip hop and get despondant.. nothing lasts forever
Premier “Classic” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCU-qgR_4bM
The race for the grave is tight as dick’s hatband…
I am feeling soooo old right now…
I say throw on some R.A.T.M. break stuff and burn down a Sam Goody.
I felt the same way. I look at it like this way, Rap will never be the way that the 30+ crowd remembers itl. It has evovled into what it is now and will eventually evolve again into something else we probably won’t like either. As long as they make Cds we can always enjoy our culture. I don’t know how many times I blast Criminal minded in my truck and some people look at me like
like I’m crazy and some bob thier head amazed that I’m playing a classic. Check out this website if you want to relive the good old days.
http://30sumthin.blogspot.com/
Yo I haven’t even done a club in years cuz I feel like I might find a need to slap one em juniors acting way stupid(thats not violence, its my fatherly instinct..)……
I did catch a Sean P concert last year, and the juniors were acting like horndogs on crack… I know when I was underage I probably acted the same way, but I just couldn’t take it…..
Until Rock goes into the bing, anything can happen. at least hold out until DIRT…
and while the Clipse, Saigon, Joell Ortiz, Joe Budden, Termanology, Crooked I, Brother Ali and their ilk are still fucking with hip-hop enough to spend months in the studio to drop unacknowledged mixtapes, ill still be around to do them the courtesy of listening
of course i’m a young head though. if i were an originator too, id prahlee have converted to neo-soul in the mid 90s
Rock For Light
I keep tellin ya to come on over to my spot for Manic Mondays – meaningful and refreshing!
L
Anyways ………. I did go to Monday’s Weezy show here in Diego and it didnt suck. So Hip-Hop will always live as long as there is the live show. Word to the Roots! Ohh and Police and Thieves(the Clash) is the most hardbody track, thanks to the homie DP and BS for putting me up on them. And whoever I think Eloheem for letting me know that they covered the song by a Reggae Artist who’s name I cant dig out of my brain right now.
I hear you all the way . . . but I still roll with my old homey Hip Hop. Sure a lot of these new cats are saying nothing and making bread but some of them are simply having fun.
. . . remember the Rappin Duke, da har, da har??
There’s always going to be some sillyness in the genre, I’m just happy that there are some acts still pushing artistry even though I have to search high and low to hear their music.
I read an excerpt from Soulja Boy’s myspace page. I am not surprised. Like Will Smith said a while back, most cRappers are simply not intelligent. And even veterans continue to make uninformed, sideway comments like Raekwon. But yeah, who cares . . . I’m just bumping the good sh*t. GREAT POST.
No one is talking that hardbody social justice shit anymore. The revolution always gets co-opted and silkscreened onto a t-shirt like Che Guevara.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
smh. and add a big ol’ *sigh* to that.
oh and if you wanna follow ceezdiem’s advice, DP, I can send you a some gogo.
Chuck Brown is that dude.
I feel like bustin’ loose, bustin’ loose!!!
Man, i feel you DP.
In my opinion hip hop died about 10 years ago.
Sure Jay Z released the “Life and times of Shawn Carter Vol. 2” and
Lauryn Hill released “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”; but another album was released during this time period………
And it was from Q-tip.
Anybody remember “Breathe and Stop”? I couldn’t even listen to that shit. However, I did used to watch the video on mute cuz dem chicks was phat as hell.
But Back to the subject…. How could THE ABSTRACT fall so far?!!!
I mean damn, hip hop was already on life support because puffy and mase raped it, with all those corny samples and shiny suits. As well as the deaths of Big and Pac.
And then while hip hop was on its last leg, one its pioneers, a living legend decided to go pop.
This is only my opinion, maybe it was dead long before then. But this is the point in time that I remember when everything went down hill.
Weed, drank, and listening to my old man’s whole catalogue I ripped to my iTunes. Thats how I survive my weaning from rap music…
Dallas – call me up for the next cruise session sponsored by Billy Dee and Verve Records.
Bad Brains all day ..Banned in DC !!!
My personal 2007 list of rap artists who dropped very good albums in 2007
All u “hip hop is dead” criers, randomly pick 3 artists from my alphabetic list below, listen to it, & see if you’re still crying after that. Instead of crying, you could spend your time more productively by listening to this new good shyt:
1 Blu & Exile “Below The Heavens
2 Blue Scholars “Bayani”
3 Common “Finding Forever”
4 Cunninlynguists “Dirty Acres”
5 El-P “I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead”
6 Funky DL “The 4th Quarter”
7 Hell Razah “Razah’s Ladder” & “Renaissance Child”
8 Kanye West “Graduation”
9 Little Brother “And Justus For All” & “Getback”
10 Panacea “The Scenic Route” & “RPM Pyramids In Moscow”
11 Talib Kweli “Eardrum” & “Liberation”
12 UGK “Underground Kingz”
13 Y Society “Travel At Your Own Pace”
Thankfully, we have the “4 horsmen of the internets rap reviews” that stay up on the new good ish.
Ironically, each of these 4 dudes, as an INDIVIDUAL’S FREE TIME HOBBY, PWNS “professional hip-hop organizations” like XXL or hiphopsite.com, when it comes to reviews:
Diction http://rateyourmusic.com/list/diction/2007_hip_hop_best_to_worst
Dart Adams
http://poisonousparagraphs.blogspot.com/2007/12/dart-adams-presents-top-50-hip-hop.html
Eric/WTR
http://whentheyreminisce.wordpress.com/
Travis/WYDU
http://wakeyourdaughterup.blogspot.com/2008/01/year-end-list-to-end-all-year-end-lists.html
Blu & Exile is one of the greatest rap albums I have heard in years. Can’t front on that one at all.
well im kinda young (no quite 30+)…biggie was poppin in my jhs days and in high school jay came out with hard knock life so i can always go back on that. i wish it was the way it was, but eh.
I don’t agree with the comercialization and content or lack of content in today’s Rap game but my parents didn’t agree with my gens music so hey.
Hip hop is not only music for me it is a part of my culture and the soundtrack of my youth. I’m old(er) now (35) my relationship with the new “artist” and “Music” will never be the same but thats just a natural transition in to adulthood. I refuse to be that old dude that complains and lives in the past. Black 2 The Future my dudes. “Spaceships dont come equipped with rearview mirrors” -Andre 3000
***Blu & Exile never heard of them. I’ll check it out.
Shhhh! Dallas don’t tell: I just finished watching my old VHS of “Wild Style.” My favorite scene is Grandmaster Flash cuttin’ in da kitchen… I watch this movie at least once a month…
Is the new black sheep album any good? I still feel Wolf in Sheeps Clothing, lyrical genius in some of them tracks.
In my late 20’s I started experimenting musically and found a surprising amount of funk in the Rock Genre, try Bloc Party, razorlight and the Kings of Leon new album…..dudes. Theres still some interesting stuff coming out of Star Trak records as well.
There are still some intelligent rappers out there though, is it just that their stuff won’t sell (is Kanye the exception to the rule)? I blame the gangster crappers the image and the fools that buy into it….
I hear you, but I still refuse Dallas. I just dust off my old school cd’s if it gets really bad. I’m now into a lot of underground shit. I’m sure you get a bunch emails of press releases from up and coming artists, and they usually send a link to their music. I’ve come across a few that I like, there are still some out there that make quality music. Too bad we have to search for it now.