The Lazy Ass Village Voice

Over at randomWalks, Adam posted "randomWalks: afrocentric hip-hop is a big shrug," a link to a Village Voice article where they claim that the Coup and Kweli's lyrics are too political for mainstream hip-hop. Typical lazy ass Village Voice reporting. Adam quotes: "People in the streets are now being told what hip-hop is and what it looks like by TV."

Or, it could be that Talib and the Coup are both wack rhymers now. Just because they come correct politically doesn't mean they get a free pass on skills. Listen to their old stuff next to their new stuff, and it's clear they just got lax with their work. Have your whiskey at the ready, though, it's depressing.

The subtext of the discussion is that hip-hop fans can't think for themselves, which is plain false. From Public Enemy to Common to Goodie Mob to Kanye West, there's clearly a thirst for political hip-hop - but not at the expense of good rhymes and beats.

Mos Def and Talib Kweli were on the top of the world when Blackstar was good, but they just dropped it, and I bet they KNOW they dropped it, that's why it's Village Voice reporters doing the whining. Every once in a while I hear a dope new Mos Def verse, and it's like "Woah? What's that from??" "Oh, it's something that's just been in the vault for four years, coming out now." There is nothing hip-hop fans want more than a worthy followup to Black on Both Sides, one of the top five hip-hop albums of all time, but it just doesn't seem likely.

I like Adam's Q-tip quote, of course. Adam - check out Fat Beats Radio. the new Q-tip song is so good. Also check out "Dangerous," ten years ago OC dropped more fantastic rhymes in one verse than most MCs do in an entire career. And if that's not enough, you get to find out what MF Doom thinks about when he puts on his metal mask every morning.

Comments

[Josie]

Black on Both Sides was a really good album, but there were a couple of ropey tracks there. The New Danger was kind of like the mirror image of that. I'm interested to know what your top 5 are. List please!

[ginevra]

thanks for the link to the fat beats radio mix - love it.

[David Jacobs]

Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith were once talking about how there are 20 guys on the "top 5 guys in the NBA list." That's how my hip-hop top 5 is.

It's probably very close to: Illmatic, Black on Both Sides, It Takes a Nation of Millions, Blowout Comb, Kollage. Just missed: Midnight Marauders, Paid in Full, Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Stakes is High.

Look at that, all East Coast. I'm sure I'm forgetting half my list. I still like these albums as well, although my enthusiasm for CRW's records has waned a little bit.

[David Jacobs]

Ginevra: I love it too.

[Josie]

Great set, although I'd swap Missy fr Lauryn any day.

[David Jacobs]

It's not a list of best artists, it's best albums. I thought about Missy. Her career is impressive, but her innovations were mostly in video and handpicking great producers, not that those are trivial innovations, but I ike Lauryn more as a complete artist, and I like Miseducation more than any single Missy album.

Don't get me wrong - I do love Missy. She should call up Gwen Stefani and tell her to stop running all over town with her style.

[David Jacobs]

What's your list, Josie?

[adam]

I'm not really qualified to argue one way or another, but is it really true that from Public Enemy to Common to Goodie Mob to Kanye West, there's clearly a thirst for political hip-hop? I think Common would agree that he's successful as much despite the fact that he can be considered political as because of it.

Anyway the angle of the story I was interested in is just the incongruity of aggressively pro-Black hip hop artists finding overwhelmingly white audiences. Are you saying their large white fan base is less discriminating of skills?

[David Jacobs]

Anyway the angle of the story I was interested in is just the incongruity of aggressively pro-Black hip hop artists finding overwhelmingly white audiences.

I'd challenge this assumption, especially since the Example given was a Coup concert in subruban Oregon. Audience has as much to do with the location of the venue, the price of the ticket and the day of the week as it does with the act. I wonder what a Coup crowd would look like on a Friday night in Atlanta, Oakland, Brooklyn, DC, New Orleans, Detroit, or so on.

Are you saying their large white fan base is less discriminating of skills?

No, although there are some people who respond to hip-hop purely on an intellectual level, and those people are less likely to appreciate records such as the ones cited in the Village Voice article as being successful (Nelly, etc.). And even if I were to make a blanket statement like "White hip-hop fans can't hear good rhymes," I think that would be a logical antithetical to the Voice's thesis, which is "Black fans don't like political rap."

Common would agree that he's successful as much despite the fact that he can be considered political as because of it.

Naah. They go hand in hand. Remember Electric Circus?

[David Jacobs]

Josie - Still waiting for your list! Come on, I coughed mine up in like five minutes. Thinking too hard is cheating!

[David Jacobs]

"one more thing...."

No, although there are some people who respond to hip-hop purely on an intellectual level, and those people are less likely to appreciate records such as the ones cited...

I also think that a lot of "those fans" tend to be more loyal to artists, as opposed to being loyal to the culture. This would include kinds into Punk rock who also love "Kill My Landlord," AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted," and so on. (I am one of these).

[Josie Fraser]

Sorry - I've not been researching I've been in London doing real world stuff & trying not to think about carpal tunnel syndrome. Here's my picks:
Public Enemy: It Takes A Nation Of Millions; Snoop Doggy Dogg: Doggystyle;Dr Dre: The Chronic; Sage Francis: Personal Journals; Raekwon: Only Built for Cuban Lynx.

Can we do country cross over next?