“Four and three and two and one, and when I’m on the mic, the suckas run…”
Hip hop and rap — styles of music that seem to be either loved or hated. We’re on the love side, and it’s entirely possible that if you’re on the hate side, we might win you over by the end of this episode.
We kick it off talking about the first rap or hip hop we remember hearing. After that, we move on to what we say to those who tell us they can’t stand rap and hip hop (even going as far as saying it’s inferior to all other music). Want to know what songs we play for those who say they hate all rap and hip hop? We tell ya!
Rap gets a bad…rap for being sexist and homophobic. While it’s not something exclusive to the style of music, it’s definitely prevalent enough that we spend a little bit of time to talk about that. And while we’re on that roll, we discuss the use of “nigger” and “nigga” in rap and hip hop. (Hint about our feelings: just typing that seems sooooooo wrong. This part of the show devolved into talking about the awkwardness and desperation of Quentin Tarantino.)
Rap and hip hop have been influential enough to have offshoots like nerdcore and trip hop. We discuss that for a bit before jumping to how rap and hip hop have influenced music in general.
We take a little detour and talk about the best live rap or hip hop shows we’ve seen, and then it’s on to a one-minute lightning round where we rattle off all the rap and hip hop we like as fast as we can.
We’ll be the first to admit that not all rap and hip hop is good. We devote some time to the worst tunes before wrapping it all up by discussing what the future holds for rap and hip hop.
We’d love to know how you feel about the music; feel free to comment below.
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So many rap / hip hop songs I love… I tend to love specific songs to pieces and skip over the rest. The 90s were SO AWESOME for hip hop, that was my “I’m a strong black woman” phase, I was loving it. Going through some hard times, my posse helped me out. I sat in front of BET and just absorbed. Missy Elliott, Lil’ Kim, Eve, Solé, Lil’ Mo, Da Brat, TLC, and Beyoncé. And of course, the guys too. Kanye West, Jay-Z, Sisqo, DMX, Busta Rhymes, Ginuwine, OutKast, 50 Cent, Ying Yang Twins, Ludacris, Nelly, Eminem. I know I’m forgetting some from that magical period. None of my friends were into rap / hip hop, they didn’t “get” it.
The main message I heard in those songs was about money and sex. Contradicting Shawn’s criticism somewhat, I loved the lyrics for the in your face honesty. I also vividly remember the first time I saw Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” video. I snapped to attention and THE REVOLUTION IS HERE! and I was ready to hit the streets. So many of those music videos hit me in my core. They spoke to my soul. Yes, I know I’m a white girl. 🙂
I’ll be frugal here and stop at 2 links, one from Miss Demeanor (Elliott) and one from Da Brat. They were my girls. 🙂
https://youtu.be/2NAyzeR3QtQ
https://youtu.be/EDExY9TK9Ow
OK one more. https://youtu.be/hWmgsfiklcs
I remember the first time I heard Busta Rhymes and I thought, “Holy shit, how does one’s brain and mouth move in unison so fast?!” But it wasn’t just that: the voice! Everything, really. He’s great…even that tune he did with Janet Jackson is wonderful.
And while talking about that…maybe it all became commonplace, but rap and hip hop videos had a HUGE effect on video cinematography. So crisp and colorful and saturated. It got old relatively fast, but again…those first videos that really focused on cinematography were wonderful.
Missy Elliott. I didn’t watch musch of the Super Bowl, but when she appeared during the halftime show, I seriously almost shrieked! She’s just too cool!
Kanye…My fave video is just a juggler swiping a Kanye (et al) tune: https://youtu.be/M9MKMAnEyZg I recently wrote about Kanye on my main blog (http://www.christophergronlund.com/2015/02/11/in-defense-of-kanye-west/) and someone posted a Kanye interview to prove to me what a telentless, arrogant asshole his is (https://youtu.be/zLgjXbL4zv8). It only made me like him more!
And Public Enemy. Chuck D is…just absolutely friggin’ wonderful. I heard Public Enemy before seeing Do the Right Thing, but had I not heard them…that movie would have hooked me. I love the music; I love that sound. I really do think Public Enemy captured in music at least a facet about what I love in Native Son, and if I can one day write a story that moves someone half as much as some of Public Enemy’s music has moved people, I will have served my purpose as a writer.
Thanks for sharing the videos — had fun watching them all. As always, post more if you want…you’re kinda like our third voice on the show at this point 🙂
Further defense of Nicki Minaj 🙂 https://youtu.be/pOXXJg–dhM
Lotta love Missy! 🙂
Yeah, so many of the rap / hip hop videos were slick and saturated, and that’s another reason I love them. And true, a lot of the songs and videos were all about boobs, butts, and booze, and moneymoneymoney… but the message I got was “empowerment.” Who cares? Haters gonna hate. We can sing about the excesses of success and make the flashy videos and share the fantasy. I still don’t see misogyny. When I watch the videos, I see the women are 100% in control. A celebration of female strength and power. Maybe it’s a part of the fantasy: https://youtu.be/aJEzl31zL-I Same with Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin’ ” and Sisqo’s “Thong Song.” A celebration of freedom and inhibition. The lyrics? They’re honest, and I love them for that. DMX’s “What They Really Want”? How about John Mellencamp’s rock song “I Need a Lover”? Both were criticized for supposed misogyny. I say they were awesome for being honest. An empowerment of women and men and slices of live at specific time periods. And DMX and Mellencamp and the rest went on to record other songs about other things. 🙂
And these artists were crafting a music video style unlike anything that came before it. https://youtu.be/NiF6-0UTqtc https://youtu.be/FrLequ6dUdM
Another thing I loved about that period in rap / hip hop – the artists were always collaborating and sampling each other unabashedly. The women and the men together, jumping in to make something to blow you away: https://youtu.be/6yA9kkA9b6g
Speaking of cool, here’s the perfect summer song from a hit machine: https://youtu.be/y6y_4_b6RS8
If there ever was a perfect music video, this is it: https://youtu.be/PWgvGjAhvIw
I could spend days… weeks down this hip hop rabbit hole. A wonderful decade of music and music videos… 🙂
Lil Jon may have said the best thing in the history of humanity with this quote:
TLC…my wife and I liked them. Really, how could you not?
And OutKast. I was driving home from work after a cruddy day. Turned on the radio, which…I normally don’t do. “Hey Ya” was playing. For a few beats, I thought, “Did Fishbone just get radio play?” but then I realized, “Nope, not Fishbone…” I can never tire of that tune. And, speaking of OutKast, there’s this (with Killer Mike…Killer Mike is a badass!): https://youtu.be/udmTfK6_aM8
Your point about empowerment is good. Sure, you have House of Pain say, “I’ll serve your ass like John McEnroe/If your girl steps up, I’m smackin’ the ho!” but so many tune sung by women are empowering.
It’s all such great music. The opening of this video…all of it, really, but that opening: https://youtu.be/9aofoBrFNdg
Ha! Such a fun blast from the past! 🙂
Immediate disqualification for the mention of Sisqo. *shudder*
“She had dumps like a truck, truck, truck.”
How could you not love that? XD