Post by droidofages on Jan 15, 2009 12:42:07 GMT -4
Who knew this would turn into such an interesting discussion!?
While I agree that Con-eh? is preferable over the likes of Fiddy-Cent, that's not saying much. I still get the sense that Canned-Ham is in music more for the bidness (his charity work aside), and not as much for the art form. Maybe that's just me and my personal tastes and bias. If dude doesn't have his own cologne out yet, I bet he will by the end of 2010. I'm actually surprised we can't get glow in the dark window blind shades like his at the It Store. Kind of like Michael Jackson glitter-gloves back in the eighties.
Sure some of the production in his music is cool (A-Track rawks the house!) but I feel the same way about Fiddy, and I can't seperate that from the lyrics and attitudes of the MC's. Put out instrumental versions of their albums and and I'd probably be a little more interested in some of it.
I also agree that there are different types of Rap/Hip-Hop Dybbuk. I think we both lament about what the major labels provide radio and MTV with. For that kind of product, it really is about the bottom line, and it's just that much easier to sell a product that is generic, familiar and easily pigeon-holed, which doesn't encourage creativity or sincere expressions.
And let's face it, a lot of people tend to accept what they're shown as all there is, right? (Gawd I'm a snob.) I wouldn't be surprised if the passive consumption of TV and commercial radio has helped with getting us into this habit... and so a lot of us tend to listen to music, not to discover something new or to challenge our tastes or preferences... but to sing along with something familiar or to fill the silence. There isn't anything wrong with that, but it probably doesn't encourage a lot of experimentation or free expression, right?
That being said, quality is subjective amongst all of these examples. "There's no accounting for good taste" as the old saying goes. It just seems to me (and maybe I'm an exception to the rule) that more often than not, it's fairly clear which creative projects are conscientious expressions of ideas or feelings, and which ones come across as more shallow products that are carefully designed for maximum profit... I personally get the feeling with Kanye specifically that it's a product more so than an expression (although he isn't as bad as others) and there's still value in that, but it's just not my bag. The few times that I do get the sense that he's actually being genuine, like in the quotes Mike provided above, he comes across as arrogant and/or out of touch with reality... except that "George Bush doesn't care about black people" thing... That was just rich.
Anywho, I think we can all agree that Hip-Hop (defined by most as the amalgam of turntablism, rapping, graphic design/tagging, fashion and dance) has many shades as varied as any other art form and can't be represented by any one artist or any one style/variation. From the original approach of the earliest artists (Cool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, etc.) who combined the Jamaican dancehall MC techniques with the break beat mixing of the dance club culture and the invention of the cross fader... to the fusions and hybrids we see now like Heavy Metal and Rock bands that incorporate a DJ's and rap lyrics...
I will admit to being a little extreme when I said that Clown-A was no more Hip Hop than Nickleback was Rock and Roll though...
Heh heh. It's all Hip-Hoppa-Rocka-Disco-Blugrass-a-ramma-lamma-ding-dong! 
While I agree that Con-eh? is preferable over the likes of Fiddy-Cent, that's not saying much. I still get the sense that Canned-Ham is in music more for the bidness (his charity work aside), and not as much for the art form. Maybe that's just me and my personal tastes and bias. If dude doesn't have his own cologne out yet, I bet he will by the end of 2010. I'm actually surprised we can't get glow in the dark window blind shades like his at the It Store. Kind of like Michael Jackson glitter-gloves back in the eighties.
Sure some of the production in his music is cool (A-Track rawks the house!) but I feel the same way about Fiddy, and I can't seperate that from the lyrics and attitudes of the MC's. Put out instrumental versions of their albums and and I'd probably be a little more interested in some of it.
I also agree that there are different types of Rap/Hip-Hop Dybbuk. I think we both lament about what the major labels provide radio and MTV with. For that kind of product, it really is about the bottom line, and it's just that much easier to sell a product that is generic, familiar and easily pigeon-holed, which doesn't encourage creativity or sincere expressions.
And let's face it, a lot of people tend to accept what they're shown as all there is, right? (Gawd I'm a snob.) I wouldn't be surprised if the passive consumption of TV and commercial radio has helped with getting us into this habit... and so a lot of us tend to listen to music, not to discover something new or to challenge our tastes or preferences... but to sing along with something familiar or to fill the silence. There isn't anything wrong with that, but it probably doesn't encourage a lot of experimentation or free expression, right?
That being said, quality is subjective amongst all of these examples. "There's no accounting for good taste" as the old saying goes. It just seems to me (and maybe I'm an exception to the rule) that more often than not, it's fairly clear which creative projects are conscientious expressions of ideas or feelings, and which ones come across as more shallow products that are carefully designed for maximum profit... I personally get the feeling with Kanye specifically that it's a product more so than an expression (although he isn't as bad as others) and there's still value in that, but it's just not my bag. The few times that I do get the sense that he's actually being genuine, like in the quotes Mike provided above, he comes across as arrogant and/or out of touch with reality... except that "George Bush doesn't care about black people" thing... That was just rich.
Anywho, I think we can all agree that Hip-Hop (defined by most as the amalgam of turntablism, rapping, graphic design/tagging, fashion and dance) has many shades as varied as any other art form and can't be represented by any one artist or any one style/variation. From the original approach of the earliest artists (Cool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, etc.) who combined the Jamaican dancehall MC techniques with the break beat mixing of the dance club culture and the invention of the cross fader... to the fusions and hybrids we see now like Heavy Metal and Rock bands that incorporate a DJ's and rap lyrics...
I will admit to being a little extreme when I said that Clown-A was no more Hip Hop than Nickleback was Rock and Roll though...
Heh heh. It's all Hip-Hoppa-Rocka-Disco-Blugrass-a-ramma-lamma-ding-dong! 
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