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One simply doesn't just listen to Chuck D. You have to fully understand and experience what he speaks about. He speaks truth in every track. I can't tell you which track resonated the most with me. Each one here has done so in it's own way. The thing I really like about Chuck D (or Mistachuck, as he preferred to be referred to for his solo career) is that he makes references to all of Public Enemy's tracks as well as his own in every album. In order to listen to and understand him, you must own all of Public Enemy's and Chuck D's solo albums. You must listen to them like your livelihood depends on it. If you still don't understand, you must play it several times and pay attention to what he's saying. You may need to do some research. If you can't do that, then , "I've got nothing for you, man." Stand out tracks include: No Generation Wrekkked Free Big Willie Horizontal Heroin Talk Show Created the Fool Underdog But Can You Kill... Paid 5/5 Stars
I just finished listening to the album, and a lot of it is lol. He made me laugh when he said 'I speak swag-hili". I was hoping the album had more substance to it. He mostly brags about "bitches" and riches. If I wanted to hear that from him, I would have bought a JayZ cd. The beats are definitely on some next level strange ish, so I can respect the production. I also found it interesting that "I Am A God" received complaints based on the title alone. He basically said a lot of the things that other rappers would say, and being a celebrity will give a person a god complex. Why is it that when Kanye says it, all of a sudden, he's a spoiled douchebag? People are definitely playing favorites when it comes to Kanye in general. I was hoping for his album to be something you sit down and give it your undivided attention to. I wanted this album to have depth and substance. Some of it does (3 songs) but the rest doesn't do it for me. Maybe it's because there are too many bitches and p*ssies sprinkled throughout the album. It gives me the idea that he may be over compensating a bit. I'm glad I streamed it first. Here's a brief breakdown of the tracks:
On Site: That was weird, however the lyrics were decent. I enjoyed the beat transition. It was a very unique experience, to say the least. I'm definitely not used to listening to such a bizarre beat.
Black Skinhead- I like it! Kanye definitely changed the game with this one. I love the message. Great energy.
I am a God- I tried to listen to this track while erasing any and all opinions I've heard pertaining to the title. The content of this song is similar to what a lot of other rappers have said. They brag about their stuff and being entitled. Kanye did it here, and people shut down. Jay Z has made his living off of rubbing his riches in every bodies faces. Many celebrities do this so Why does Kanye get dubbed as "entitled" and spoiled?
New Slaves- I heard this first when he was broadcasting the videos across the country. I loved it then, and I still love it now, however the auto tune gets in the way. That gets remedied when the sample at the end starts up, so there isn't much of a loss there.
Hold My Liquor feat. Chief Keef and Justin Vernon- This track was tedious for me. Not because Chief Keef was on it but I just couldn't get into it.
I'm in it: Another track where sex was the main topic. However I like the reggae influence and the singing. The 3rd verse was dope "I be speakin' swaghili"! Love that!
Blood On The Leaves- I was hoping this track would have been a bit more in depth. It sounds like it's a track about a failed relationship. another spin is in order.
Guilt Trip Feat.Kid Cudi- Unfortunately, I lost attention on this so I can't really comment.
Send it up-This track doesn't have much substance. It's more of a story about going to the club. The "memories" part made me laugh!
Bound 2 feat Charlie Wilson- This started up as promising. I love the sample. the lyrics not so much.
I usually listen to an album at least 3 times before I decide to give it a review. I listen to it in my car, with headphones at my computer and in my Ipod. Sadly, I checked this album out on my computer, and I can't even give myself the chance to listen to it in my car or in my Ipod.
All in all, this may be some next level swag music. To be honest, I didn't even like this level's swag music, so, there's that.
I want to rate this album higher, I really do. Unfortunately I can't. I'm going to have to give it 3 stars, and that's mostly for the production. I would have appreciated it better if it were an instrumental album. His lyrics are a 2 at best.
Stand out tracks are On Site, Black Skinhead and New Slaves.
Ok, I'm sure everybody has checked these two videos out, and come to conclusions ranging from "Holy shit! This is HOT!" to "I don't get why people follow his music. He sucks." If you haven't seen them, here they are:
Black Skinhead:
New Slaves:
Long story short. I LOVE both songs, and here's why:
Check the comments on the US Magazine article pertaining to the videos. Responses like these can be found all over the internet. Notice how folks are quick to call Kanye all kinds of racist names, and say the same things to those who refute the racist comments. Some are saying that Kanye is racist, and that he shouldn't focus on slavery and that he has no right to talk about something that he didn't experience.
Hmmm
Using that logic, should American Jewish people stop talking about the Holocaust if they didn't experience it?
What about American Whites who speak about their ancestry, and the wars that occurred in their home countries?
But anyways, the point is that people say this is a "post racial" America and that Kanye is just "another Black man with a chip on his shoulder." Nevermind that he mentioned for profit prisons (which are locking up other races as well as Black people, by the way), and what Black people have to deal with EVEN IF they may have money. Sure, Vibe Magazine can point out the hypocrisy in his lyrics for New Slave since he's rich now (I'm sure Bruce Springsteen, and other artists who have spoken out against this sort of thing have been pointed out by numerous magazines, fans etc). They can call him "arrogant" because of what he did, but what Kanye says is true. So many people were quick to dismiss, ignore, and minimize the performance, and message because he's Kanye, and they DIDN'T EVEN LISTEN to what Kanye was saying. Based on the comments made on these performances and everywhere else on the internet, especially when it pertains to Black culture"...Racism still alive, they just be concealing it".
I had the opportunity to get behind the scenes look at my local college radio station. I noticed they played the same songs each week, but in a different order each day. They would rotate a new song or two in the regular playlist from time to time. As a result, the listener gets pummeled with the same message over and over and over, which desensitizes them. As a result,some people seek out the life depicted in the songs, and some don't. This same effect could be seen with Rock and Roll. For a while "sex, drugs, and rock & roll" was the mantra for the genre, and may still be. Some people succumb to it, and some don't. People use music as an escape, and as a result, they are listening to the radio and wishing they were in that life (just like watching TV sitcoms did for a lot of people). It gets perceived as how life should be, and so it's imitated. Since Blacks make up a small percentage of the population, a larger section of that group will appear to succumb to it more often than others. Other ethnicities will display a broader selection of people who have bowed to certain ideals presented to them because there are more of them to draw from. I feel that is why it looks like American Blacks in general are doing far worse than other ethnicities in this country. Thanks to the media, we have seen the American Dream being shoveled into our faces through various outlets, and as a result, people are bragging about getting: money, sex (in various ways and methods), drugs,material possessions... you get the point. People desire these things, and will stop at nothing to get them. So before we accuse hip hop of doing this to a select group of people, we must recognize that America has been doing this to the WHOLE. WORLD., for quite some time, and this is just a cog in the machine, so to speak. The poorest of the poor come to North America in search for some of these things. They flock here because in some way, shape or form, media has told them that America is the place to be if you want to be somebody, meanwhile America's poor (and not so poor) people are seeking this out as well. The American Dream does not help Blacks at all because the same media that touted riches for everybody who entered, is the same media that systematically and continuously crapped on that particular ethnicity for so many years, in various ways and told them to shut up about it at the same time. Could you blame them for screaming for the American Dream, since it seems like everyone has it and they don't, especially when statistics are routinely made in order to drive the message home ? From my standpoint, the image of the snake eating it's tail comes to mind. I feel that hip hop is not the culprit here, it's this gangster ass pyramid scheme of a culture that belongs to North America.
Monday, November 12, 2012
I just posted a new video on TheSpot4HipHopTV created by a friend of mine by the name of Linus Stubbs. Check him out and watch him do his thing by clicking on the channel name printed in yellow. For more videos, go to The Spot 4 Hip Hop's official Youtube page!
Sweet merciful Jesus! This ish right here...this ish right here.. is what you need in your stereo.
Straight out of Ogden Utah...THAT'S RIGHT! Ogden. Utah.
My current audio experiment:
This is a preview of a spoken word EP I've been working on. Please give feedback, click like, and add input. All HELPFUL comments and critiques appreciated (good or bad). More info on this project to come....
Look out for PEMG (Petroleum Empire Media Group)
Here's something you don't see often in hip hop
A very rare glimpse of fatherhood from the view of a single dad pertaining to the child support system he is subjected to. I can understand where his frustration comes from.
As a lot of you know, I've always enjoyed the hip hop culture and rap music. I've seen a lot of trends come and go, and come back for the better or worse. I've gone through a phase where I would rail against songs that had any form of disrespect to women, or anything degrading in them (as folks could see in my previous blog addressing such issues) . I wouldn't even touch a club song with a ten foot pole with a condom on the end of it because I was "too conscious" for all of that, lol. Nowadays things are a bit different.
These days, instead of restricting myself based on prior beliefs, I am willing to check out the artist to see for myself, and take their music for what it is. Recently, I've been exposed to Tyga, Big Sean, and Lil Wayne. And you know what? I may not like the stuff that Tyga, and Big Sean put out, but I take it for what it is: Music made strictly for dancing to. If a person loves to dance, then it suits them. Since I don't go to the club, nor can I dance (strange fact for the day), I figure the music wasn't made for me and leave it at that. Lil Wayne has surprised me at times during appearences on various albums (Nas and Damian Marley's Distant Relatives album), but I still don't go very far to search out his stuff. I enjoy GOOD gangsta rap even though I was never a gangsta. I knew people who were into the street life,I can sympathise with their struggle and feel where they are coming from. Believe it or not, some of the smartest people are/were all in the street life, it's just the dumb ones who put their business out there and get caught up, and some cases, skin color plays it's part as well (don't front, it is true that cops will go after anyone looking "suspect", and that particular level of suspicion depends on the area you live in regardless if you are in the street life or not). Some of these people get dismissed because they may not have graduated high school or been to college. That doesn't mean they are stupid or uneducated, they just have a different degree from a different school that some of us may not have gone to.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is stop being so restrictive. Think about it, the hip hop culture is the most diverse culture to come out of this country. Run DMC was the first to incorporate rock samples in their music, and as a result, many many legendary artists have used various samples from various genres of music to this day. I'm not saying all hip hop fans should go out and buy all albums by every artist ever made, but when I find an artist that may not fit into my so called parameters or requirements for a dope emcee, I check it out, and then form my opinion regardless. They may be Black, White, Puerto Rican, Asian, thug, ex laywer, ex scientist, homeless,street scholar, political, etc. If they spit that real hip hop, then I'm all over it. Life is too short to be trying to fit yourself in a box. That being said, here are some more dope emcees I've encountered over the course of several years. Feel free to check them out. Maybe they might gain a new fan or two!
