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How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Support the Underground

May 19, 2012
Features
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By David “The Mast” Masters

“They only say hip hop is dead ‘cause the dope shit is underground.”
- Joe Budden, D.O.A. Freeverse.

Music has been with me my whole life. I don’t believe illegal downloading is okay and every piece of music I own is bought/paid for. My CD collection has everything from thrash metal like Slayer to Prince. From mellow and jazzy folk artists like Norah Jones, to Norweigan black metal pioneers such as Emperor. If you’re into more electronic sounds, I have everything from Depeche Mode to Burial, from Brian Eno to Kraftwerk. If I like it, I’ll buy it. Good music is good music, to me. Today, I’m here to discuss hip-hop.

My first dalliance with the genre of hip-hop was ‘Prophets of Rage’ by Public Enemy. I was too young to appreciate bars, but something about the aural flow and linguistic punch of Chuck D. managed to hit my inner ear. It felt like swearing in French. If you don’t know what I mean, watch The Matrix Revolutions (it’s shit, but for reference).  After rattling off a barrage of foul language spoken in French, The Merovingian so eloquently states that swearing in said language is “like wiping (your) ass with silk. I love it.”

It was kind of like that. Hearing, “With vice, I hold the mic device. With force, I give it away, of course.” immediately struck me. As I grew older, I gained more and more of my hip-hop sensibilities, morality and code of ethics from that one line. “With vice, I hold the mic device.” Chuck was saying that he grabs the mic, his tool of artistry, with authority and an air of confidence. “With force, I give it away, of course.” Here, he is suggesting (from what I interpret), that if he’s gonna give the mic to you, be prepared to rule it or don’t bother. My point is that I like my MCs to rap well. I don’t particularly care if you have mediocre lyrics so long as the music is pleasing to me. Lyrics, in all music, are nothing more than a good bonus at best. I buy music for the sound. MCing, though, is an art within the music. It is a skill. One does not need to be able to perform linguistic somersaults, à la Canibus, to be a great hip-hop musician. In fact, the best albums are often ones with a heavy balance.

To elucidate: 2pac was never a top seed if we’re discussing lyrics. Ed Lover said that, word for word, when talking to Joe Budden. “I live the era, I knew Pac personally. He is not a top seed if we’re talking about lyrics, which is what BEST RAPPER should mean.” Yet, I would much rather listen to ‘California Love’ than a lot of what Canibus has produced. To judge hip-hop artists is not to judge them as MCs and vice versa.

Where am I going with this? Well, I want to talk about underground hip-hop vs. mainstream hip-hop. To get right into it, and continue from the previous thread, lyrics are typically a huge point of division between the mainstream and the underground. Though the mainstream has always been in the vein of more popular material, thus the more accessible, it did allow for incredibly talented lyricists to ply their craft as hip-hop artists. Nowadays, I do not believe that is so. I’d like to weigh up the changes, why things have changed, and whether I think they are changes for the betterment or decline of hip-hop.

Rewind to the 90s. Everyone will tell you that everything was so much better. Granted, the 90s probably do rack up as the greatest musical years of all time. Not due to nostalgia, but due to the sheer amount of stylistic movements across all genres. You had the grunge movement out of Seattle, the alternative rock movement out of L.A. and the West Coast, and you had the whole new wave of hip-hop artists. This, I believe, is where the current mainstream differs. Allow me to explain…

When Redman, Method Man, Wu-Tang Clan and their ilk came forth, people DID shun them. They dressed differently, they rapped about different things, and they were generally looked upon with the same view many people use today! “Ack! These new guys have no respect!” However, analysing the classic 90s hip-hop albums reveals to us the difference between now and then. Muddy Waters, those first two Wu albums and the affiliated solo efforts, ‘Ready to Die’, ‘The 18th Letter’, ‘Uptown Saturday Night’, ‘Lifestyles ov the Poor and Dangerous’ etc. These albums, if not made by vets, had clear musical links to what came before. Even if they sounded entirely new, they either had musical or influential links to what had proven to be pioneering, quality hip-hop.

Who can analyse a Young Money (you knew it was coming, shut up) track and say that? We’ve gone from musical evolution, to musical creationism. People are looking at all rappers as hip-hop artists, and that isn’t the case. I refuse to label Drake as a hip-hop artist. That isn’t me being afraid of new things, it’s him not being hip-hop. He raps. That’s it. He is no more a hip-hop artist for rapping as Adele is a punk rock vocalist because she too is a singer.

The continuity of history is gone, I feel. Let me clarify, though, that I do not feel everyone HAS to listen to, or like, Rakim or any of those older guys. I just think people should know where things came from, and what music was like at different points in time. Today, the mainstream of hip-hop is all about collaborating with whoever will help you get that money, and if you disagree…you’re a hater. It’s focused on “swag”, a word of which the usage should be punishable with death, and things of that nature. Things HAVE shifted, and I don’t necessarily believe it’s for the better. Taste is subjective, but I find it hard to believe that anyone can watch the last episode of Yo! MTV Raps and not feel depressed. I watched it when it aired, and it saddened me then. Seeing Rakim, K.R.S., Serch, Extra P., Special Ed, Red, Meth, Chubb Rock and many others getting it in to the instrumental Pete Rock remix of Real Hip-Hop by Das Efx is something I will never, ever forget.

They all looked like bums, but did it matter? No. What mattered was their ability. When you ask Drake to recite a verse, or drop a freestyle, he can barely manage three of four bars without pausing for a while. MCs these days have not developed to appreciate the craft of MCing in and of itself, for the most part. The closest thing we have is the B.E.T. Cypher, and that’s nowhere near the same.

“They’re doing alright! They’re getting all that money!”, I hear you say. True. That is a benefit of being a mainstream hip-hop musician. But at what cost? I am no Drake fan, but even evaluating his earlier work shows a magnificent difference between the Drake who did ‘Good Riddance’ and the Drake who does thinks like ‘Over’ or ‘Fall for Your Type’. Compromise is key, more so than ever. A mainstream hip-hop artist is not going to get away with putting a single out with no chorus or hook on it, for example. You would never see a posse cut, A TRUE posse cut, make the grade now. The ‘Flava in Ya Ear’ remix (if you haven’t heard it, then yes, I judge you) would never get the notoriety today that it did when it came out.

Joe Budden most famously put out ‘Pump It Up’ on Def Jam, as well as Focus (which, I believe, he did for DJ Clue and it blew up unexpectedly). They smashed into clubs and everyone bumped it. Then the album dropped and people were horrified to hear self-referential, reflective tracks such as ‘Walk with Me’; a masterfully executed meditation on how fame and fortune can change you and/or everyone around you. They didn’t want that, and so Joe was eventually forced off Def Jam and retreated into the underground. The money wasn’t as good, the exposure was non-existent, but he had 100% control over EVERYTHING he did. The result? Go listen to any of his four Mood Muzik mixtapes. The third installment, specifically, is absolute brilliance. He has lamented his time in the mainstream, even going so far as to say, “I pick anonymity over being famous.” “I’m not worried ‘bout the limelight, ‘cause that’ll manifest when the time’s right.”

Now, we see Joe and his four-headed monster group, Slaughterhouse, signed to Shady Records. When I heard ‘Loud Noises’, I internally screamed like Homer Simpson in Candyland at the prospect of no-chorus barfests coming back into the mainstream. Then I heard ‘My Life’ most recently and began to fear for the group that I truly believed would be saviours. That’s what happens, though. When sales security isn’t a guaranteed shout, do you push on or take the easy way out? Many mainstream MCs have done this, and it’s a regular pitfall. If you listen to Ludacris (yes, the guy who did ‘Baby’ with Justin Bieber) on ‘Incognegro’ or ‘Back for the First Time’, you will be blown away. He was the Southern Redman, at one point. His second album, ‘Word of Mouf’, showed some mainstream sensibilities (who DOESN’T love ‘Area Codes’ and ‘Rollout’?), but it had that Luda-essence. Then, things went wrong.

Most famously, though most often disagreed with, I have to shine the light on Eminem. ‘The Slim Shady L.P.’, to me, is arguably the greatest complete work in hip-hop history. It has great music, side-splitting comedic lyricism/ad-libs and some genuine, thought-provoking material. Lyrically, he not only smashed the ball out of the park on a technical level (‘I Still Don’t’, ‘Just Don’t Give a Fuck’ and ‘Brain Damage’), but he told amazing stories with his words (‘Rock Bottom’ and ‘If I Had’. Fast forward to the time when he realised he could get a lot more money and fame if he did give a fuck, and he’s doing Stan (one of the most overrated “deep” tracks ever. Do not EVER call that song deep, to me, ‘Without Me’, ‘Ass like That’ and the deplorable bandwagonry of ‘Mosh. People call it stylistic evolution, I call it selling the fuck out, to be marginally less eloquent.

There just seems to be a great amount of rappers, but no hip-hop. That is the issue, nowadays. I refuse to believe it’s nostalgia, because it isn’t. I have an analytical, justifiable beef with the way things have gone, and I refuse to support or affiliate myself with the hip-hop mainstream until it sorts itself out. MCs aren’t willing to grind hard in favour of owning everything they do, and doing everything they want. Granted, Drake may want to do what he’s doing now, but I have such unwavering suspicion when I see such a massive stylistic leap in someone’s back catalogue. How can ANYONE see Snoop Dogg doing tracks with Katy Perry and not give a big, loud, Nate Dogg-style “HOLD UP”? There was a time when Triumph by Wu-Tang Clan was a worthy, chartable single. Now, the closest thing we have to a posse cut is ‘Forever’ or ‘Bed Rock’. That’s not ok, and I’m not ok with it.

Make NO mistake, for I am not anti-mainstream. I am anti-what’s mainstream now, and I think that’s perfectly understandable. In 2012, where record labels, though powerful, are becoming less and less relevant, I believe artists should start taking back demand. Artists seem to be in a rush to give something to the labels that can be sold, or remixed. Instead, make the labels want YOU and you will retain the power. Labels need artists. Artists do not need labels. Record labels exist because of musicians, and it will NEVER be the other way around. Demand more, push for more, and make THEM change. There’s room for Young Money, J. Cole and all these mainstream guys, but they are out there, like it or not, representing hip-hop because they rap. All while Elzhi is probably never going to see the exposure they have.

I know we’re in a recession, and I know we’re in a steal-before-you-buy (if you even buy) culture, but please…if you claim to be a fan of hip hop…BUY something independent. Go support Flight Distance or 24/7. Rhyme Asylum or Jehst. Iron Solomon or Illmaculate. Soul Khan or Atmosphere. Just take a gamble on something less than famed and you more than likely will wish you’d done it sooner. I don’t wish to use this phrase, but the true essence of hip-hop (yes, such a thing exists) IS dying and it will continue dying until all that’s left is rapping over an R&B instrumental. That is, unless, people start pushing.

Chuck D. held what he loved with vice, and gave it away to these newer generations with force. I feel like he is being let down. Let’s change that, as fans.

@TheMastTweets
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Save Yourselves: Abolish “Real Hip-Hop”

May 2, 2012
Features
3 Comments

Aesop Rock (Def Jux/Rhymesayers)

By The Ruby Kid

This article, the second guest post I’ve written for this blog, has an interesting provenance and has gone through a few different permutations (which is why it’s appearing about a month after it was first commissioned; I’m not usually that slow when it comes to writing stuff like this). Tom initially suggested that I might like to write something on why the UK hip-hop scene hasn’t, ostensibly at least, produced as much boundary-pushing music as America’s “indie rap” milieu. The question Tom posed was: “why hasn’t the UK produced an Aesop Rock or a Dose One?”

It’s a big question, and I can’t give a definitive answer (so if you’re looking for one, you might as well stop reading now). The question itself is subjective; what if you think it’s a good thing that UK hip-hop has never developed a distinct “indie” or “alternative” fringe in the way that American hip-hop culture has? To really answer it would also require a discussion of UK hip-hop’s origins, some examination of the affect sheer scale plays (i.e. Britain is tiny, America is huge, and the law of averages suggests that a milieu with vastly more artists in it will produce more challenging/interesting art than a milieu with far fewer) and most fundamentally an exploration of what we mean when we use terms like “indie rap” or “alternative hip-hop” (“alternative” to what, exactly?).

I made a few faltering attempts at something approaching a response to Tom’s initial question, but they all drowned in a sea of semantics, contested signifiers, and sub-theoretical, wannabe-crit-theory bullshit. And I hate that stuff. It’s like… why can’t we all just listen to the music we enjoy and let it be? Let’s not overanalyse or waste time on all this intellectual masturbation.

But I hate to pass up a soapboax, and as my rebbe Allan Königsberg says, “don’t knock masturbation: it’s sex with someone you love.” And Tom did ask me to write something, so I figured I’d try and sketch out a few general thoughts on the topic. Whatever “the topic” is. This piece doesn’t aspire to much more than being a catalyst for some discussion and debate, so if it’s taken in that spirit I reckon it will have been a worthwhile endeavour.

Anticon labelmate Yoni Wolf of Why?

In my previous guest post for this blog (”Your Scene or Mine? Why Rappers Should Care More About Spoken-Word Poetry”), I argued that the hip-hop community could learn something from the poetry scene about embracing stylistic diversity and artistic pluralism. That’s the key element of what I think UK hip-hop could learn from US indie-rap, too. What I love most about the US indie scene is its range. Aesop Rock is nothing like Vast Aire who’s nothing like Yoni Wolf who’s nothing like C-Rayz Walz who’s nothing like Slug who’s nothing like Dessa who’s nothing like… you get the picture. But all those artists, broadly speaking, inhabit the same artistic milieu and cultural community – they’re on each other’s tracks, they play similar venues, they’re labelmates, their fan-bases (to an extent; there are race and class issues I’m eliding somewhat here) overlap.

As I said in my other piece, the stylistic diversity that exists in our scene often feels formulaic and sanctioned – you can have your “own style”, but only if it conforms to one of a fairly limited range of pre-determined “types”. Maybe I’m underestimating folk here, but for all that a lot of UK rappers claim to be fans of, say, Aesop Rock, I genuinely feel that if AR ghostwrote a verse for someone to drop to an audience of “real hip-hop” heads, it’d be met from a lot of quarters with, at best, bemusement. People just wouldn’t know how to process it. They’d have no frame of reference. “That was pretty weird… he didn’t say the word ‘lyrical’ or talk about ‘the mic’ or his ‘bars’ or mention how ‘real’ he was once…”

On his track ”Save Yourself”, Aesop Rock weighs in against rappers with a messiah complex thinking that their brand of “real” hip-hop can save the genre (from who/what, exactly?), when actually it doesn’t need saving: it’s a fluid artform, within which people are always innovating. That’s the attitude UK hip-hop needs. Instead, we have a scene hegemonised by the attitude that hip-hop needs to be taken back to the “real” (defined and arbitrated by who?), and then ossified. It’s the exact opposite of a progressive, liberated and liberating attitude to art, and for the probably quite small number of readers of this blog trained in debates about art theory within Marxism, doesn’t it remind you of the Stalinist “realism” that Trotsky and André Breton polemiscised against in their 1938 manifesto?.

(Before anyone calls me out for hypocrisy, I readily accept that my own track “Art Versus Industry” could be deemed to fall into the category I’m criticising here. I don’t disavow those lyrics, but I think my perspective has become a bit more nuanced since I wrote them.)

What hip-hop needs is what all art needs – to embrace the inevitable constancy of change, to understand that new forms can be generated through engagements and even clashes between ostensible opposites, and to reject entirely any notion of a fixed, unchanging “real”, anchored in some mythical golden age. What we should ultimately aspire to is not a more rigorously sub-divided culture or even a clearly demarcated “UK indie-rap scene”, but a mutually-supportive artistic community that embraces and nurtures stylistic diversity within hip-hop, welcomes engagement with other kinds of music and art forms, and encourages the challenging of orthodoxy.

I don’t want to romanticise things in America. The US indie scene has its dogmatists too, and I find indie snobs (on either side of the Atlantic) who won’t listen to a Kanye West record, or refuse to entertain the possibility that there’s something of artistic value in Dipset’s oeuvre, utterly tiresome. But when you’ve got Freeway putting out records on Rhymesayers and El-P producing records for Killer Mike, I think it’s clear that the prevalent impulses there are towards open-mindedness and the breaking of boundaries and barriers rather than their reinforcement.

I’m more excited about hip-hop now than I have been at any point I can remember since I’ve been paying attention to it. Aesop Rock’s new album, plus his “Uncluded” project with Kimya Dawson, Rob Sonic’s new joint, El-P’s “Cancer for Cure” album and Killer Mike’s “R.A.P. Music”, Das Racist, Danny Brown, Death Grips… all different, all diverse, all challenging orthodoxy – but, crucially, none particularly snobbish or self-righteous about their “indie” status or their unorthodoxy. All forward movement. I can’t put it better than a YouTube comment exchange on Death Grip’s “Double Helix”: “this is the future”, wrote one commenter. “Nah”, replied another, “this is now’s greatest moment.”

If we can abolish “real hip-hop”, or rather abandon the futile and reactionary search for it, then the UK scene might start pushing into the future and creating some of our own greatest moment of the now.

Postscript

This article talks very negatively about UK hip-hop, and probably gives a misleading impression of my opinion. I don’t by any means think there’s nothing of artistic merit in the UK scene – far, far, from it – and even some of the artists who might see themselves as advocates for “real hip-hop” are people who I hugely respect and whose work I enjoy. And there are also UK artists making music which I think is incredibly original and challenging, as well as enjoyable, so I wanted to include this postscript to draw attention to a few them. I don’t want to shackle them with labels like “indie-rap” or “alternative hip-hop”; they’re just people whose work I think is worth highlighting in the context of this discussion. Readers of this blog may or may not have heard of them, and this list is by no means exhaustive, but I think the following artists are particularly worthy of a click of your mouse, and more:

H.L.I. – if the UK has an “indie-rap milieu” to speak of, you could make a pretty strong case for saying that the Birmingham hip-hop scene is it. Artists like Juice Aleem (who’s worked extensively with Mike Ladd and toured with Dose One) and the rest of the Shadowless crew, MD7, and others maintain stylistic diversity alongside a progressive attitude to the form. H.L.I., made up of emcees Sensei C and Elai Immortal, are two of the scene’s best representatives in my view. I’m kinda biased though, coz they’re my people, so check out their track “Vectors” and draw your own conclusions.

tHe bEiNg – the success of Gasp and Depths in Don’t Flop (following a trail blazed by Respek BA in Jump Off before them) has brought Glasgow’s tHe bEiNg crew to a wider audience. The whole crew is crazy talented, and the diversity of style and approach even within their own ranks is deeply impressive. The standout artists for me are Loki (who is, in my view, simply one of the UK’s best rappers) and Skribbo (whose 2011 mixtape “It Takes A Nation of Baldwins”, released with fellow bEiNg member Butterscotch, is one of the most creative and downright entertaining joints to come of the UK hip-hop scene in a long while).

Mowgli – when this guy’s album “93” got reviewed, music journalists did something right for once and reached for the Def Jux comparisons. “Analyse” is a phenomenal piece of musical and lyrical art.

Clayton Blizzard – Bristol’s answer to Yoni Wolf. Again, I’m biased here coz I’ve played shows with this guy more times than I can count. I’m not sure it even makes sense to call him a “UK hip-hop” artist, but then… what does that label means anyway? Whether performing acoustically (just him and his guitar) or over beats with his DJ, Dr. Spin, Clayton has the rap-in-your-own-accent spirit of UK hip-hop as well as taking a lot from US indie culture (he’s a devoted fan of Why?, and has performed with Sage Francis and Themselves). Clayton, and regular tourmate and fellow Bristolian Ratface, are far better known in the DIY/punk scene than they are in the hip-hop scene. If UK hip-hop expanded its artistic horizons a little, I think that would change. Check out his song “Don’t Send Flowers When I’m Dead (I’ll Never Be On Top of the Pops Now)”.

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