The Hip-Hop Messiah: An Archetype
March 25, 2015 10:36 AM Subscribe
The hip-hop messiah is both real and not real.
"When he’s anointed, it’s not for the work he’s already done, but more for the work he should do. He must create something that feels as though it has grown organically out of his city, but that is at the same time universal. His work must feel political, but not overtly political. He should be an example and a savior to the young black people who listen to his music."
"When he’s anointed, it’s not for the work he’s already done, but more for the work he should do. He must create something that feels as though it has grown organically out of his city, but that is at the same time universal. His work must feel political, but not overtly political. He should be an example and a savior to the young black people who listen to his music."
Not bad as a sort of review of the new album but the whole "messiah" thing is extremely overstated. Even in his "partial list" or whatever that was. Probably could have turned it down a notch or 8 with the terminology there.
posted by Hoopo at 10:50 AM on March 25, 2015
posted by Hoopo at 10:50 AM on March 25, 2015
This is the closest “To Pimp a Butterfly” comes to clarity.
Indeed. I found it to be all over the place.
Lamar, himself, might not quite know what he has created. There is a hoarder’s mania to this album – he seems to have gathered every idea and influence he could find without too much care for what all that clutter reveals, knowing only that there is something beautiful in it.
Maybe. But it's hard to find much in all that clutter. Each time I contemplate listening to it again it feels like thinking about whether or not I should clean the windows, scrub the bathroom floors, rearrange the pantry.
posted by cashman at 11:27 AM on March 25, 2015
Indeed. I found it to be all over the place.
Lamar, himself, might not quite know what he has created. There is a hoarder’s mania to this album – he seems to have gathered every idea and influence he could find without too much care for what all that clutter reveals, knowing only that there is something beautiful in it.
Maybe. But it's hard to find much in all that clutter. Each time I contemplate listening to it again it feels like thinking about whether or not I should clean the windows, scrub the bathroom floors, rearrange the pantry.
posted by cashman at 11:27 AM on March 25, 2015
Is it odd that an article about hip-hop and messiahs doesn't even mention Kanye one way or the other?
posted by idiopath at 11:47 AM on March 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by idiopath at 11:47 AM on March 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
Not bad as a sort of review of the new album but the whole "messiah" thing is extremely overstated. Even in his "partial list" or whatever that was. Probably could have turned it down a notch or 8 with the terminology there.
Hoopo
That's the point of the article, though:
The hip-hop messiah is both real and not real. He — and with the possible exception of Lauryn Hill, it has always been a “he” — is real in the sense that every five years or so, whenever hip-hop feels too boring, or, worse, too corporate, an artist will be appointed as the spiritual future of the form.
But the hip-hop messiah is also a prospective title: When he’s anointed, it’s not for the work he’s already done, but more for the work he should do. He must create something that feels as though it has grown organically out of his city, but that is at the same time universal. His work must feel political, but not overtly political. He should be an example and a savior to the young black people who listen to his music. It’s an impossible role to inhabit — at least while the hip-hop messiah is alive.
The article isn't saying that Lamar is a messiah or that there actually are such things, but that every once in a while a rapper emerges with something fresh who is then hailed by everyone as the savior of the form. This is a construct with all sorts of expectations and demands that don't necessarily emerge or even exist in reality.
Lamar has indeed been hailed lately as a resurgence of hip-hop. Remember the sensation Lamar caused with his verse in Big Sean's "Control" where he called out a bunch of other rappers and everyone was saying how great it was that he was upping the game and holding others' feet to the fire again? I think there was a MeFi post about it.
posted by Sangermaine at 11:53 AM on March 25, 2015
Hoopo
That's the point of the article, though:
The hip-hop messiah is both real and not real. He — and with the possible exception of Lauryn Hill, it has always been a “he” — is real in the sense that every five years or so, whenever hip-hop feels too boring, or, worse, too corporate, an artist will be appointed as the spiritual future of the form.
But the hip-hop messiah is also a prospective title: When he’s anointed, it’s not for the work he’s already done, but more for the work he should do. He must create something that feels as though it has grown organically out of his city, but that is at the same time universal. His work must feel political, but not overtly political. He should be an example and a savior to the young black people who listen to his music. It’s an impossible role to inhabit — at least while the hip-hop messiah is alive.
The article isn't saying that Lamar is a messiah or that there actually are such things, but that every once in a while a rapper emerges with something fresh who is then hailed by everyone as the savior of the form. This is a construct with all sorts of expectations and demands that don't necessarily emerge or even exist in reality.
Lamar has indeed been hailed lately as a resurgence of hip-hop. Remember the sensation Lamar caused with his verse in Big Sean's "Control" where he called out a bunch of other rappers and everyone was saying how great it was that he was upping the game and holding others' feet to the fire again? I think there was a MeFi post about it.
posted by Sangermaine at 11:53 AM on March 25, 2015
This is the best thing I've read that articulates my reservations with this album. I think it's exactly right that there's a kind of seemingly-effortless brilliance and understated poetry in the best hip-hop, and Kendrick's previous album exhibited that. But this is drowning in effort, with a touch of piety, and it's screaming "Meaning!" and "Masterpiece!" at you with a megaphone every minute. At the end of the day, what are you really taking away from this thing? He's got hundreds of references and a global scope, but is it making you feel something strong, or is it making you understand something you previously didn't understand? What does all of it add up to? The best case I can make for it is that it's an attempt to reclaim a huge swath of black culture and place it in the context of what being black means today. But beyond that it's all hazy. I haven't done a deep-dive into the lyrics yet, but I just don't see all of the various dots connected in a way that makes sense. And, per the last minute or so of the album, maybe the point is that it's all fragmented and there is no single unifying lens to look at any of it. But that's not particularly compelling either, given the constant pervasive "I've got something important to tell you and I'm going to corner you for 80 minutes to do that" vibe I get from this album.
posted by naju at 11:53 AM on March 25, 2015
posted by naju at 11:53 AM on March 25, 2015
The best case I can make for it is that it's an attempt to reclaim a huge swath of black culture and place it in the context of what being black means today.
I think, given a lot of recent events and a very blatant increase in racial tensions in this nation, that's a pretty compelling case.
posted by ourt at 11:56 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
I think, given a lot of recent events and a very blatant increase in racial tensions in this nation, that's a pretty compelling case.
posted by ourt at 11:56 AM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Right, and it brings me to a certain likely possibility - "maybe this work isn't speaking to me or for me, since I'm not black" - and that's alright. But it doesn't seem as though merely saying that is enough - if Kendrick has tremendous things to say, I want to understand.
posted by naju at 12:00 PM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by naju at 12:00 PM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've been wondering if the lack of clarity is intentional. Perhaps the seeming lack of direction and the muddled message is more metaphorical to the complexity of it all than anyone's giving him credit for.
posted by ourt at 12:03 PM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by ourt at 12:03 PM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
Is it odd that an article about hip-hop and messiahs doesn't even mention...
Self-appointed messiahs are never messiahs.
posted by sexyrobot at 12:07 PM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
Self-appointed messiahs are never messiahs.
posted by sexyrobot at 12:07 PM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
Worked out for that Jesus guy.
posted by Sangermaine at 12:20 PM on March 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by Sangermaine at 12:20 PM on March 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
Is it odd that an article about hip-hop and messiahs doesn't even mention Kanye one way or the other?
That's Kanye's whole problem, he always asserts his genius before one can acclaim it, and your praise is left choked in your throat.
posted by maggiepolitt at 12:30 PM on March 25, 2015
That's Kanye's whole problem, he always asserts his genius before one can acclaim it, and your praise is left choked in your throat.
posted by maggiepolitt at 12:30 PM on March 25, 2015
Perhaps the seeming lack of direction and the muddled message is more metaphorical to the complexity of it all than anyone's giving him credit for.
Kanye's last album went this route too, and I don't think the way TPAB is done is part of some masterful conception at all. As far as Kanye, his genius is often in how relatable his work is. I think for at least a few of those other partial listers, that isn't the case. There was a little mystery around Nas, around Ra, around Tupac and Biggie for sure. Kanye was never dangerous like some of those people. For some of the previous "messiahs" it felt like if they got their heads together, they could lead a nation of people into the future. For Kanye it felt like he could lead a nation of people to the mall of America. It would be awesome and it would be fun, but it wouldn't be transformative.
Remember the sensation Lamar caused with his verse in Big Sean's "Control" where he called out a bunch of other rappers and everyone was saying how great it was that he was upping the game and holding others' feet to the fire again? I think there was a MeFi post about it.
Yeah.
posted by cashman at 12:36 PM on March 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
Kanye's last album went this route too, and I don't think the way TPAB is done is part of some masterful conception at all. As far as Kanye, his genius is often in how relatable his work is. I think for at least a few of those other partial listers, that isn't the case. There was a little mystery around Nas, around Ra, around Tupac and Biggie for sure. Kanye was never dangerous like some of those people. For some of the previous "messiahs" it felt like if they got their heads together, they could lead a nation of people into the future. For Kanye it felt like he could lead a nation of people to the mall of America. It would be awesome and it would be fun, but it wouldn't be transformative.
Remember the sensation Lamar caused with his verse in Big Sean's "Control" where he called out a bunch of other rappers and everyone was saying how great it was that he was upping the game and holding others' feet to the fire again? I think there was a MeFi post about it.
Yeah.
posted by cashman at 12:36 PM on March 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
When Kanye says "I am a god, so hurry up with my damn massage", you'd have to be fatuous to not see it as playful provocation. But it feels like Kendrick is straight-up aiming to be the prophet and savior of his generation. (I think a major part of the short-term praise is in the ambition and guts it takes to aim that high, rather than whether he actually lives up to that.)
posted by naju at 12:36 PM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by naju at 12:36 PM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
On what planet was eminem, even "with qualifications," considered a rap messiah by anyone with previous exposure to the genre?
posted by milarepa at 1:04 PM on March 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by milarepa at 1:04 PM on March 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
I haven't even listened to this yet but god what do you even expect a guy to do in ~4 years (since Section 80, which was already something of a concept album).
posted by atoxyl at 1:14 PM on March 25, 2015
posted by atoxyl at 1:14 PM on March 25, 2015
On what planet was eminem, even "with qualifications," considered a rap messiah by anyone with previous exposure to the genre?
I definitely remember people being high as hell on Eminem. Pretty sure a number of years back even Chris Rock said he was the best rapper alive (though apparently no longer in his top-5 or something when I went to google that). He was everywhere and he had Dr Dre rapping and doing his beats on his debut album.
posted by Hoopo at 1:21 PM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
I definitely remember people being high as hell on Eminem. Pretty sure a number of years back even Chris Rock said he was the best rapper alive (though apparently no longer in his top-5 or something when I went to google that). He was everywhere and he had Dr Dre rapping and doing his beats on his debut album.
posted by Hoopo at 1:21 PM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
I definitely remember that as well. Eminem was, and rightfully so, the rap messiah for a time. Some of the lyrics he has put together are phenomenal. Figures drugs were involved. But yes, that was definitely the case, and for the most part it was deserved.
posted by cashman at 1:27 PM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by cashman at 1:27 PM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
watched kendrick rap from the back of a moving truck last night.
with the way people were following him and clamoring for every word...
messiah is still a bit too much, but he's definitely got something.
posted by raihan_ at 1:30 PM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
with the way people were following him and clamoring for every word...
messiah is still a bit too much, but he's definitely got something.
posted by raihan_ at 1:30 PM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
Kendrick is great and I respect what he is doing with the medium but I just came in here to tell you to stop what you're doing and go listen to the new Earl Sweatshirt.
You're welcome.
posted by Fizz at 1:35 PM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
You're welcome.
posted by Fizz at 1:35 PM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
Did that too. Aside from moments in DNA, that wasn't mindblowing either. PRhyme is still the best thing around to me. Royce, despite being known, is rather unappreciated by many. Joey Bada$$'s latest stuff was decent for a few days, but he vacillates between actual rapping and the grover voice and it gets annoying. He's on a recent track with Flatbush Zombies and that got a couple of plays but didn't stick.
posted by cashman at 1:42 PM on March 25, 2015
posted by cashman at 1:42 PM on March 25, 2015
Albums are whatever imo. 3 or 4 songs on TPAB are perfect and other are decent, I'll take that. But more importantly, he's the first massively popular true revolutionary in a long while, and that's what I think people are getting behind. Not rapping about brands, or fame, or fucking, or even horror, or even depression, but revolution. People are getting behind the rhetoric, and you better get behind that, or you'll end up in front of it.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:46 PM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:46 PM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Which is to say the trio of PRhyme-You Should Know-Wishin still hits harder than any 3 songs by a single artist on a recent release that I've come across.
posted by cashman at 1:46 PM on March 25, 2015
posted by cashman at 1:46 PM on March 25, 2015
It's Kanye, but some of my plaques, they still say Kane
posted by Apocryphon at 1:46 PM on March 25, 2015
posted by Apocryphon at 1:46 PM on March 25, 2015
I don't think Kanye is comparable to Kendrick. In many ways Kanye is the epitome of vanity rap. Kanye is obsessed with his image and how others perceive him. Kendrick talks about the same sort of thing, but in the context of social justice and oppression.
TPaB is an incredible album. Even a few weeks after release I feel like it's still too early to really judge it. It's comparable to Radiohead's Kid A or Kanye's MBDTF. Even if its sounds and messages may have precedent in other musicians, the fact that such a high profile artist would bring it all together and change his formula to release a commercially risky album is amazing.
I disagree with the author that this album doesn't have bangers. King Kunta, Blacker the Berry, i, are as good as anything on GKMC (and I dare say better than any Nas or Big song). Even on the less poppier songs like Momma, the jazz influences and Kendrick's lyricism make them compelling listens. The fact that he's heavy handed with the message is what makes those lyrics so great; there's almost no throw away verse on any song. And while the message is most obviously about the black community, a lot of the themes can be translated to different contexts. I feel like every listener can take away something different from listening to this album. Which is part of what makes it so great.
After listening to it, it's hard listening to other rap songs coming out now. It's like, Drake, are you still rapping about girls when innocent men are being gunned down in the streets? I think it's a testament to the power of this album when it can make the listener reevaluate the state of the industry like that.
posted by rq at 1:49 PM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
TPaB is an incredible album. Even a few weeks after release I feel like it's still too early to really judge it. It's comparable to Radiohead's Kid A or Kanye's MBDTF. Even if its sounds and messages may have precedent in other musicians, the fact that such a high profile artist would bring it all together and change his formula to release a commercially risky album is amazing.
I disagree with the author that this album doesn't have bangers. King Kunta, Blacker the Berry, i, are as good as anything on GKMC (and I dare say better than any Nas or Big song). Even on the less poppier songs like Momma, the jazz influences and Kendrick's lyricism make them compelling listens. The fact that he's heavy handed with the message is what makes those lyrics so great; there's almost no throw away verse on any song. And while the message is most obviously about the black community, a lot of the themes can be translated to different contexts. I feel like every listener can take away something different from listening to this album. Which is part of what makes it so great.
After listening to it, it's hard listening to other rap songs coming out now. It's like, Drake, are you still rapping about girls when innocent men are being gunned down in the streets? I think it's a testament to the power of this album when it can make the listener reevaluate the state of the industry like that.
posted by rq at 1:49 PM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
I dare say better than any Nas or Big song
0_o
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:50 PM on March 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
0_o
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:50 PM on March 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
Even a few weeks after release I feel like it's still too early to really judge it.
Of course it is. How many true classics were recognized at the time of release? Or even at the end of the year they were released? It takes time and reflection to see how a work holds up. Just look at any year end list and think about how those albums would be ranked 20 years on.
posted by The Hamms Bear at 2:16 PM on March 25, 2015
Of course it is. How many true classics were recognized at the time of release? Or even at the end of the year they were released? It takes time and reflection to see how a work holds up. Just look at any year end list and think about how those albums would be ranked 20 years on.
posted by The Hamms Bear at 2:16 PM on March 25, 2015
Just look at any year end list and think about how those albums would be ranked 20 years on.
Are you being sarcastic here? Those lists are actually pretty good.
posted by Hoopo at 2:39 PM on March 25, 2015
Are you being sarcastic here? Those lists are actually pretty good.
posted by Hoopo at 2:39 PM on March 25, 2015
OK, slightly off topic, but this reminds me of one of my favorite Rufus Wainwright Songs, the Gay Messiah.
posted by schmopera at 7:50 PM on March 25, 2015
posted by schmopera at 7:50 PM on March 25, 2015
It's the piety that will be his undoing when (not if) he is undone.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 9:20 PM on March 25, 2015
posted by Joseph Gurl at 9:20 PM on March 25, 2015
Freedom Song: A Conversation About the State of Black Liberation Music
posted by Joseph Gurl at 2:10 AM on March 26, 2015
posted by Joseph Gurl at 2:10 AM on March 26, 2015
I think Kendrick Lamar is pretty heavily overrated right now. The Control verse was cool, but even GKMC was not as great to me as the internet told me it should be. I do think the guy's under immense and somewhat unfair pressure, though, in some part owing to this sort of messiah-anointing thing.
Cashman is right, though: PRhyme is great. Royce is one of those solid-but-not-incredible rappers that will never not be good and is seemingly incapable of being washed up, and Primo is always good for what Primo does. Joey Bada$$ is fun too, but man does he ever get boring.
With the massive letdown that is RTJ2, and noting the Royce exception, the only real rap shit I've been excited about listening to for roughly the last year has been Elucid and Billy Woods' group Armand Hammer. To me, this is the best NY has had to offer in decades, and it's not even close. And I can't find a single reason to listen to Kendrick's shit instead of A&H/Elucid/Woods/Royce/Bada$$.
And yeah, Eminem was 'the messiah' for a fair bit, and deservedly so. It's an odd bit of revision that so many people now forget or deny the massive impact he had, and how widely respected he was as a rapper. His best still ticks technical boxes most rappers never even come close to.
posted by still bill at 3:48 AM on March 26, 2015 [2 favorites]
Cashman is right, though: PRhyme is great. Royce is one of those solid-but-not-incredible rappers that will never not be good and is seemingly incapable of being washed up, and Primo is always good for what Primo does. Joey Bada$$ is fun too, but man does he ever get boring.
With the massive letdown that is RTJ2, and noting the Royce exception, the only real rap shit I've been excited about listening to for roughly the last year has been Elucid and Billy Woods' group Armand Hammer. To me, this is the best NY has had to offer in decades, and it's not even close. And I can't find a single reason to listen to Kendrick's shit instead of A&H/Elucid/Woods/Royce/Bada$$.
And yeah, Eminem was 'the messiah' for a fair bit, and deservedly so. It's an odd bit of revision that so many people now forget or deny the massive impact he had, and how widely respected he was as a rapper. His best still ticks technical boxes most rappers never even come close to.
posted by still bill at 3:48 AM on March 26, 2015 [2 favorites]
Thanks still bill. I've been rocking Billy Woods stuff like Warmachines and some of his stuff from the past couple of years, but I had no idea about Armand Hammer.
posted by cashman at 6:22 AM on March 26, 2015
posted by cashman at 6:22 AM on March 26, 2015
Cool, yeah, Woods is great--my favorite for a few years now by a wide margin, definitely since History Will Absolve Me came out--but I've actually found myself totally stoked on Elucid, who I used to find kind of grating. Now, though, I love him. His more 'experimental' stuff that flirts with straight up noise music is awesome; check out Bird Eats Snake//The Love Offering, his hour long single track mixtape thing. It's really cool stuff. Woods also has a new album dropping in 5 days, which looks like it'll be great.
posted by still bill at 7:51 AM on March 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by still bill at 7:51 AM on March 26, 2015 [1 favorite]
El P already had his run as messiah, in certain circles of backpackers, in the 90s. Plus, in my estimation RTJ2 is a real let down, save for a few songs/verses. First one is front to back bangers, but the new one just falls flat.
posted by still bill at 4:45 AM on March 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by still bill at 4:45 AM on March 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
You know what Messiah hasn't gotten mentioned? Well it's probably only right because his kingdom was always on high while he was wandering in the wilderness, unwilling to ascend.
Jay Electronica. Exhibit C came out and it was like a megablast. If you're a rap head, you spent at least a day admiring that "...call me Jay Elec-Hanukkah, Jay Elec-Yarmulke..." line.
posted by cashman at 7:13 AM on March 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
Jay Electronica. Exhibit C came out and it was like a megablast. If you're a rap head, you spent at least a day admiring that "...call me Jay Elec-Hanukkah, Jay Elec-Yarmulke..." line.
posted by cashman at 7:13 AM on March 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
Great point. Yeah, absolutely, if we're talking about who rap heads have most recently anointed as messiah, it's almost definitely Jay Elec. Unfortunately for him, he can't seem to release anything, so I think his time has passed. Same story as Saigon (now kinda laughable), Papoose (very very laughable now), and so so many others from the early-mid 00s. When we all used to call hot rappers 'The Truth', it seemed like each week saw the sacred birth of a new messiah.
Also, it strikes me that part of Jay's issue, once people (including me) dug deeper: that 'electronica/Hanukkah/yarmulke' scheme is just about all he's got! I mean, it's a really really great series of lines in Exhibit C, but after the millionth listen it feels so gimmicky.
Unrelated mostly, but I saw Jay Elec in Heathrow 2 weeks ago. He's a very very old looking dude. He was rocking a godly rope and Jesus piece though.
posted by still bill at 7:54 AM on March 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
Also, it strikes me that part of Jay's issue, once people (including me) dug deeper: that 'electronica/Hanukkah/yarmulke' scheme is just about all he's got! I mean, it's a really really great series of lines in Exhibit C, but after the millionth listen it feels so gimmicky.
Unrelated mostly, but I saw Jay Elec in Heathrow 2 weeks ago. He's a very very old looking dude. He was rocking a godly rope and Jesus piece though.
posted by still bill at 7:54 AM on March 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
He was rocking a godly rope and Jesus piece though.
I guess he now gives a fuck about his rings and his chains and it's no longer death to the bling. I figured he was an old looking dude because of the way he cut his hair from the first time I saw him. I don't really mind that though, because sometime in the future there has to be grown folk rap.
His lyrics don't get tired to me. Even the end of that line is ridiculous. The delivery of "My uzi still weighs a ton, check the barometer". That's better than half these rappers' whole careers.
posted by cashman at 9:28 AM on March 27, 2015
I guess he now gives a fuck about his rings and his chains and it's no longer death to the bling. I figured he was an old looking dude because of the way he cut his hair from the first time I saw him. I don't really mind that though, because sometime in the future there has to be grown folk rap.
His lyrics don't get tired to me. Even the end of that line is ridiculous. The delivery of "My uzi still weighs a ton, check the barometer". That's better than half these rappers' whole careers.
posted by cashman at 9:28 AM on March 27, 2015
Black Thought did his verse from what will be the remix to Wishin, at the February PRhyme show in Philadelphia. Thought was supposed to be on it originally but a death meant the song would have common, and then Black Thought will be on the remix.
Thought, Royce and Ra are kings. When Black Thought comes back in for the fast part of Wishin, I damn near cried. I can't wait til the remix comes out.
posted by cashman at 8:03 AM on April 3, 2015
Thought, Royce and Ra are kings. When Black Thought comes back in for the fast part of Wishin, I damn near cried. I can't wait til the remix comes out.
posted by cashman at 8:03 AM on April 3, 2015
I'm with you on Royce and the general goodness of PRhyme, but I can not stand Black Thought. Never have liked him a bit. He's like the snooze button of rappers to me (we all have one, mine just happens to be Black Thought!). I've listened to him sooo much trying to find something, and I still can't recall one memorable verse or line. I do like his voice, but his writing is just boring as hell to me.
Also, I actually agree with you about Jay Elec having some really really nice lines in Exhibit C. I'm partial to the
"Where niggas really would pack a U Haul truck up/ put the hi beams on, drive up on the curb at a BBQ and pop up out the back like 'what's up?'/ kill a nigga, rob a nigga, take a nigga, bust up". I just think it's funny how many times he's used the electronica/Hannukah/yarmulke pattern.
posted by still bill at 3:46 PM on April 3, 2015
Also, I actually agree with you about Jay Elec having some really really nice lines in Exhibit C. I'm partial to the
"Where niggas really would pack a U Haul truck up/ put the hi beams on, drive up on the curb at a BBQ and pop up out the back like 'what's up?'/ kill a nigga, rob a nigga, take a nigga, bust up". I just think it's funny how many times he's used the electronica/Hannukah/yarmulke pattern.
posted by still bill at 3:46 PM on April 3, 2015
I was just saying the other day that Black Thought is one of my most slept on rappers. In fact, him and Phonte's delivery got twisted in my head for years. I would hear a song and not know which one of them it was. Here's the Black Thought stuff I rock. 1, 2, 3.
On 1, check those opening lines. Once he said "Doing it sans assistance" I was like oh shit. But really the whole song just knocks. Then on 3 (thanks neuromodulator), his verse starts at 1:35 and the wordplay is just bananas. To me, when some people act all excited about em's wordplay (his later, "technical achievement" wordplay stuff), this puts his to shame because it has a rhythm to it. But I get that he just doesn't do it for you. I certainly have rappers like that that just don't move me in that way.
posted by cashman at 10:17 AM on April 6, 2015
On 1, check those opening lines. Once he said "Doing it sans assistance" I was like oh shit. But really the whole song just knocks. Then on 3 (thanks neuromodulator), his verse starts at 1:35 and the wordplay is just bananas. To me, when some people act all excited about em's wordplay (his later, "technical achievement" wordplay stuff), this puts his to shame because it has a rhythm to it. But I get that he just doesn't do it for you. I certainly have rappers like that that just don't move me in that way.
posted by cashman at 10:17 AM on April 6, 2015
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