Understanding Rap Music
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on August 22, 2010 by admin in Music
Sunday, August 22nd, 2010You can learn about a lot of things by researching them on the web. Rap music isn’t one of them. But GoogleRaps is here to help.
 Google Rap Maps. Is there anything Google can’t do? |
When someone asks me, “do you like rap music?”, I’m never quite sure what to say. Do I try to clarify their question by saying “You mean those audio recordings of rhyming rhythmic monologues about killing, misogyny, drug deals, narcissism, sexual organs, racism, and egoistic persecution complexes?” To which the answer would be “Um…no.” Unfortunately, that’s what a lot of people think of when they think of rap, so if you say “Sure, I like rap” then you risk being pigeonholed as someone who hates women and thinks shooting people is a noble way to resolve a dispute. And if you’re white, you’ll be subject to the additional assumption that not only do you approve of these behaviors, but you do so by co-opting the values of an oppressed subculture. My actual answer to the original question is probably something like “Yeah, I like rap music. GOOD rap music”, going on to explain what a useless term “rap” is. Using information from the internet does nothing to clarify the issues at hand. Wikipedia has a dry description of rapping that suggests that “rap” may be etymologically derived from “repartee” and then goes on to talk about things like the early influence of The Memphis Jug Band, but the term “rap” redirects to “hip hop”. Which in my opinion muddles the definition beyond belief, since the page itself defines rap as being merely one of the four “key stylistic elements” of hip hop. Yeah. Whatever. There are also a lot of sites that attempt (and mostly fail) at meta-ironic humor based on “whitefying” the meaning of rap lyrics, like SnacksAndShit.com or Underground Hip Hop For Dummies . One example: Lyrics from Krizz Kaliko’s Get Cha Life Right – ” I ain’t trying to be Bill Gates, I’m trying to be the nigga Bill Gates hates.” Translation – “Here’s one goal which is impossible and another goal which is not that hard and wildly unambitious”. There’s a much more elaborate form of this in a special Intellectualize Rap forum on SomethingAwful.com, but the problem here is that if you had a deep enough knowledge of the songs being referenced, you probably wouldn’t find any of the Demotivator-style images funny. For the best laugh, you could try linkbait-tripe-posing-as-actual-content like EzineArticles.com’s Understanding Rap Music, which informs you straightaway – in self-unaware deadpan hilarity – that “Many rap songs are fast-paced. It can be tough to tell exactly what is being said“. Thank you, underpaid content-farm hack Val McQueen, for the insight. And then there’s the “Yahoo Answers” of rap lyrics, UnderstandRap.com, which takes easily-decipherable lyric snippets and deciphers them for you. Probably the only resource we found that was both informative and funny was Rapgenius’ ne feature The Rap Map, which offers extensively annotated Google Maps of rap. With a little tongue in cheek. Know of any good resources for useful or amusing rap facts? Read the rest of this entry »
Lady Sovereign May Be Short, But Not On Sass & Raw Talent
[ Comments Off ]Posted on August 2, 2010 by admin in Music
Monday, August 2nd, 2010Never mind all the “British teenage lesbian rapper picked up by Def Jam” spin, and ignore her non-existent PR skills. Just have some fun with her tightly-produced Garage Grime.
Even though she’s been releasing material since 2004, you may have overlooked UK MC Lady Sovereign. That would be easy, she’s only 5’1″, a fact that she apparently has no discomfort with; her label is an EMI subsidiary called Midget Records. And while we’re at it, let’s get all the white British teenage lesbian rapper crap out of the way first thing. And don’t worry about her opinions on life either. Lady Sov probably needs a publicist or should let herself remain mysterious. She doesn’t work so well in an interview setting, so do yourself a favor and don’t bother watching or reading any interviews. Just listen to the music. She sort of proved her chops in 2005 anyway, when Jay-Z asked her for one on-the-spot freestyle before offering her a contract with Def Jam. Her 2006 release Public Warning was mostly synth and Eminem-style speed rap driven, but was punctuated with the occasional treated guitar or MIA-like whoops. 2009′s Jigsaw showed some maturing in her presentation; she almost kind of sings here and there, and comes across a little less like some punk out to prove herself. There’s still plenty of naivete, but that’s part of what makes it work. Lady Sovereign fills in a strange space between Die Antwoord, Robyn, MIA, Lily Allen, and Eminem, and if she manages to keep it together – she’s apparently a bit of a party monster – could turn out to be someone to keep an eye on. Vids below. Read the rest of this entry »
Two Tuned Tablas And A Microphone Part III – Maybe Bad Boy & Bhangra Don’t Mix
[ Comments Off ]Posted on January 22, 2010 by admin in Music
Friday, January 22nd, 2010As we continue to drown in a sea of desi music, we wonder if goa and gangsta really work together, and decide that D is for Detroit, not Desi.
 Sorry, Kidd Skilly. The D is for “Detroit” not “Desi” |
In part one and two of our dip into desi music, we whimpered a lot about the overwhelming amount of material to explore. We’re still whimpering, but after a watching a LOT of video clips and listening to dozens of streams, we’ve reached a few conclusions, even if we have only scratched the surface of the larger desi market. One is that we’ll be doing a part IV. Another is that the best of the current releases are the ones that don’t pander to rap cultural inflections. If you think a rural white guy co-opting black urban culture is funny, you should see what happens when a British Indian guy tries it. As an example, an artist like ADH can turn out a fairly decent live groove like Tu Ni Jaandi and then turn around and produce a rapper-wannabe absurdity like Taubah Taubah. I mean, if I’m not mistaken, the fellow is wearing a “Members Only” jacket in that last video. In part II we mentioned the lack of terminology for desi genres. I’m classifying that one as “Pootyjab”. Along the same lines, ADH’s Kurri – while a cool groove – might’ve benefited from a little less autotune. The guy’s got a great voice, there’s no need to “Akon it up”. In what is nearly the inverse of this problem, you have white Euro swami-wannabes like Prem Joshua jamming around India in their old man ponytails and 70′s facial hair. I can’t help wondering if I might have actually liked a tune like Sharanay if I hadn’t seen the aging Euro-hippies playing it. All these little criticisms serve to point up what does work though, which is when the artists adhere to their own cultural strengths, which in the case of a lot of desi music is either an almost kitschy romantic eroticism, or a passionate and deeply expressive melodic and rhythmic sophistication. If the fusion they reach for is musical rather than visual, as in the case of an artist like Surinder Rattan – who fuses his Indian stylings with Two-Step Garage – the results can actually be gratifyingly original as with his chart-climber Tappe from 2006 (which strangely keeps reminding me of Stereo MC’s Elevate My Mind from the 90′s). So as we said, we’re still only scratching the surface here. We not only haven’t finished digging into the more diverse global desi market, we’ve omitted a huge segment of this market by focusing mostly on the “poppier” material, and especially the UK-influenced bhangra scene. We’re actually bringing in an “expert” on Part IV, in which we’ll explore both the complex distribution channels for this stuff, as well as the more classically-influenced material. Unfortunately, in spite of the wealth of material out there, even sites like Pitchfork.com don’t cover these genres; there’s just not enough money in a single niche to garner revenue-generating readership. For now though, if you’ve been enjoying the material we’ve already explored, you might want to check out sources like SimplyBhangra.com, the UK label Moviebox, and YouTube channels like Felonious Vindaloo. They’re all great launchpads to a mind-boggling world of bhangra. Read the rest of this entry »
Two Tuned Tablas And A Microphone Part II: Ululate To The Party
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on January 16, 2010 by admin in Music
Saturday, January 16th, 2010Who knew Brimful of Asha was considered desi? Part two of our look at desi pop and hip hop with Panjabi MC, Notorious Jatt, Juggy D, Punjabi By Nature, and the Rishi Rich Project.
In part one of our little exploration of desi pop, we mentioned the difficulty of sifting through complex history of the music, and the mountain of material that’s out there. Even after a lot of digging, that remained an obstacle to finding material we thought worth sharing. A great example of just how convoluted the history is would be the 1997 international hit Brimful of Asha, by Cornerstore. You almost certainly know the tune, but likewise, you almost certainly don’t know that it’s considered desi. There’s a great explanation of how it’s a Bollywood tribute here. This kind of music also really needs some better distribution channels and terminology. A good example of the lack of terminology is Juggy D’s Sohniye, which has a little reggae-ish tinge, but not enough bhangra feel to use one of the few common terms like bhangramuffin. Juggy D, by the way, is one of three fairly established UK artists that gained most of their recognition via the Rishi Rich Project, the others being Rishi Rich himself, and Jay Sean. For my tastes, the Rishi Rich crew is a bit too white bread R&B. A little more up my alley is stuff like Notorious Jatt. Never mind his affected smooth gangsta fashions, this dude can ululate, and throws down some fat-bottomed rhythms. I especially like the urban-to-turban Marrey Dil Vaaliyan De’. In the same way that you’d have to have a serious nerve disorder to not move to mambo, you’ve got a serious problem if that tune doesn’t cause something in you to wiggle a little. Also inclined to make something in you move is Panjabi By Nature’s Jaan Punjabi. I have no idea who the featured rapper in that clip is; help me out if you do. A rapper I do recognize is Jay-Z, who manages to not get in the way too much in Panjabi MC’s Beware, which is a bit funkier than these other tunes while still maintaining the Panjabi vibe. As we get a better grasp on the larger view of this incredibly diverse market, we’ll be back in part three with a list of the best sources we’ve found, and clips from about ten more artists we’d like to share. For now, enjoy the clips below, and feel free to correct any artist names or song titles. Or turn us on to artists we should know about. Read the rest of this entry »
Two Tuned Tablas And A Microphone – Part I
[ 4 Comments ]Posted on January 11, 2010 by admin in Music
Monday, January 11th, 2010I went looking for some desi music, and got more than I bargained for. Part one of a look at Bollywood, bhangra, urban desi, hindi hip hop, and punjabi pop.
The clip that started my search |
The Internet can be a very dangerous place. Any of you who suffer – as I do – from the probably incurable malady known as Wikiphilia will know what I mean. You find an interesting video, article, or some other piece of pop cultural flotsam & jetsam, and before you know it, several hours are gone, and you know a lot about something that probably matters very little. This happened to me recently when I ran across the video Horizons by the Bay Area desi act Karmacy. The clip itself is – like a lot of desi songs and videos – a peculiar mix of brilliant and cheesy, at least when viewed with a more western eye. Yes, the guys in the video look sort of like they took a long lunch hour from their ad agency or tech startup jobs to do the shoot, but they’re rapping in five languages: English, Spanish, Hindi, Gujarati and Punjabi, and the song is actually is kind of hooky. In any case, the tune gave me flashbacks of 90′s club bhangra, and got me wondering if any kind of durable genre evolved out of it. The only artists I could remember by name from the era were Apache Indian, Diamond & Simon, and Bally Sagoo; a LOT of the music was remixes and mashups of traditional Indian music or Bollywood tunes, and kind of blurred together in the techno/rave haze of my memory. So my search was on, and… it was mind-numbingly frustrating! There’s an INCREDIBLE amount of desi pop music out there, but there are a few obstacles to finding the good stuff. First of all, there’s just SO MUCH to sift through. If you take all the style fusions that are possible with just the sources available on the Indian sub-continent, and combine that with the fact that the people from the area have moved all over the world, you begin to get the picture. There are two other obstacles to finding the best material; one is that the bulk of the Read the rest of this entry »