4 posts tagged “hip-hop”
I'm looking forward to seeing "American Gangster." Ridley Scott is definitely one of my favorite directors (I'm watching "Matchstick Men" right now). I think there's a possibility that "American Gangster" will quickly line up alongside "The Godfather," "Scarface," and "Goodfellas" as a film that middle class male wankstas look to for inspiration. Michael Corleone, Tony Montana, and other characters of their stripe are supposed to teach lessons. It's ironic that they seem to be idolized as role models by a lot of young guys. Throughout four years of university, our suite was of the few that was not adorned with posters of Don Vito holding a cat or Tony Montana brandishing an M-16 (I had a "Pulp Fiction" one-sheet instead; Uma Thurman is slightly more attractive).
My hypothesis has been strengthened by the announcement that (the supposedly retired) Jay-Z will be releasing an album of songs inspired by the film. Hip-hop has a longstanding relationship with this type of movie. A lot of artists want to believe that they live in the same high-rolling/high-risk world that the characters do. Not the healthiest image for their audience. We'll see how this one develops.
Q-Tip and Common co-headlining a fifteen-date tour? Sounds good to me. I saw a Tribe Called Quest at Bumbershoot last year, but I've never seen Common. He's one of my favorite rappers (more for his flow than for his rhymes, which can get a bit too preachy sometimes). I should try and track down some Tip albums. I'm not really familiar with his solo stuff, though I'm sure I'll like it. He's one of the smoothest emcees out there.
I've been listening to Jurassic 5 a lot lately, specifically the Jurassic 5 LP. It's such a good album, probably the most listenable hip-hop album I've ever heard. I need to start listening to some old school hip-hop crews. These guys came a bit late in the game, but they're still awesome. Most of the groups around now seem more like packs of lackies gathered around one star rather than truly collaborative teams. The members of J5 really feed off of their collective energy, and deliver a product that is greater than the sum of their individual rhyming/spinning skills (though I must confess that Chali 2na is my favorite, his voice is so deep and it makes his flow sound pretty nasty). "Jayou," "Improvise," and "Concrete Schoolyard" are my favorite cuts from this particular album.
In response to W's awesome video of some sick French DJ's, I shall continue the exploration of the francophone world's contributions to the forgotten elements of hip-hop. This dude is from Belgium, and he goes by the name Roxorloops. He's a ridiculous beatboxer. I wouldn't say that he's better than Rahzel (though YouTube does have videos of the Godfather of Noyze himself asking this guy for pointers on one of his techniques), but he's pretty freaking amazing. Here he performs, among other things, some of the Four Elements techniques from the hidden Rahzel/Kenny Muhammad track on Make the Music 2000. He has a different style; he dabbles in electronica beats as well, not just straight hip-hop. I can't get enough of this stuff. He has a few more videos on YouTube. Enjoy.
