[Ro]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

Ro...how did you become such a fan of hip hop? That is a question born purely of curiosity and nothing more. I know some hip hop fans around here are real touchy if asked something like that.

Yeah, not touchy at all. Although I do feel like I need to justify why I like the genre sometimes, and feel that's kind of sad. But not at all unwarranted. A lot of the mainstream stuff is truly awful, and I can't condone or even try to identify with some of the messages and ideals much of that music stands for.

But how did I grow to love hip hop so much. Hmmmm. I just kind of fell into it I guess. I don't think there's any question that when I first discovered it, I was enthralled by the imagery, the swagger, and definitely the violent/bad-ass nature of the stuff I listened to at the time (Cypress Hill - Black Sunday, Dr. Dre - The Chronic, etc.). I also grew up listening to, via Mom and Dad, a lot of Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Commodores- the popular R&B/soul music of the 1970's/80's- so I suppose I had an affinity for some of the samples used in hip hop beats even if I wasn't aware of it then. They didn't to listen to any hard rock or even stuff like Pink Floyd or Zeppelin like some of my friends' parents did, and I didn't have any older siblings handing me Sex Pistols or The Clash tapes. Just never listened to alot of rock.

But now that I think about it, those albums I mentioned weren't even close to the first hip hop records I discovered. The first I guess was stuff like MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice. DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince- pop rap. I remember being drawn to the beats, and eventually, finding great pleasure in memorizing and breaking down the lyrics. Trying to understand the slang, learning to appreciate the cadence, breath control, stuff like that.

And it just went from there I guess. I could be wrong, but I don't imagine there aren't many 10-14 year olds who start out right from the beginning listening to The Shins or The Flaming Lips or Wolf Parade or any number of bands that show up on troutman's "best of" lists. My guess is they start out listening to pop/mainstream stuff, and just continue to seek out stuff that they like. As they grow older and experience more and more music, they become more discerning and critical of what they're listening to, and start "digging in the crates" (to use a hip hop phrase) to find, well, better music.

So yeah, it went from Vanilla Ice to Dr. Dre - The Chronic to A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Maruaders to Dilated Peoples - The Platform to Louis Logic - Misery Loves Company. Some evolution there, I suppose, although I can still get down with some of the more mainstream stuff if I disregard the lyrics and just groove to the beat, lol.

More to the point, I imagine some people would appreciate me addressing the question "why does an upper-middle class white kid from the suburbs like hip hop so much?" First of all, I don't pretend to understand what it means to be poor, or live in the projects, or "the black experience," or anything like that. But hip hop isn't necessarily all about that. There are plenty of artists who are "keepin' it real" so to speak, and rhyme about more universal topics and have a more positive message.

First and foremost, I love the wordplay. There's nothing better than listening to a track you've heard dozens of times and thinking about a lyric/phrase a different way or finally cluing in on a pun/meatphor/simile. Some of the best rappers are true poets and wordsmiths, and are unbelievably complex/witty/smart with their rhymes. Any range of listening experience is possible, from having a visceral visual picture painted for you, or coming along on an epic journey, or wandering inside the mind of somebody/something. I've always felt that although traditional singing hits the listener in a different way, and the above reactions are certainly not exclusive to one genre of music, there's only so much you can say in one verse if you sing it. With a hip hop track like N.Y. State Of Mind from Illmatic there's just so much substance, so much to take in and absorb. So many words, sentences, phrases. Nowadays a lot of it is wasted or unnecessary or negative or stupid, but don't kid yourself, there's been awful hip hop since the mid 80's- it's all about seeking out quality music.

I also love the braggadocio, the swagger, the "battle" aspect all great lyricists have. But it's different than it was when I was younger- as you grow older, you're not shocked/drawn-in by cuss words or gun talk or the "n word" or whatever anymore, and songs full of that kind of stuff aren't calling out to you like they were when you were a know-nothing 11 year old dufus thinking he's being a rebel. Now it's on a more intellectual level- something more clever than just name- or brand-dropping or simply boasting about how much cash/women/Patron/blah blah blah you got. I'm a pretty mild mannered, calm guy, so maybe sub consciously I feed into this aspect of the hip hop music I enjoy. A little testosterone, a little escapism, taking some pleasure in vicariously "destroying a wack rapper" with an exceptional diss or ill line.

Turntablism also plays a role too. I bought two Technics 1200's in high school and grew to learn and appreciate the role of the DJ in hip hop, and the amazing skill turntablists have. Anytime you start digging a little deeper into a particualr genre, I'm sure you discover more and more independent stuff you like, and learn to appreciate and seek out the best that genre has to offer. And with the way I was able to manipulate records, create my own drum breaks, blend songs together, and scratch lines I liked, I did just that. The music just speaks to me man. Much like the way people talk about guitars hitting them aurally in a special way, a nice little sample, chopped up over a breakbeat puts a smile on my face and a kink in my neck!

Illmatic is an interesting album because although it's quintessential east-coast "boom-bap" (an era in hip hop I immersed myself in and will always associate with "true" hip hop music) record, meaning there's plenty of "project/crime/drugs/bitches" talk, it's combined with brilliant and diverse lyricism that helps those topics become more universal (pain/struggle/strife/hope/friendship) and you are also able to appreciate them from a more analytical, almost English major-like aspect. And the beats are timeless- representative of that era for sure, but also full of soul samples and scratched-up classic hip hop quotables and kickin' drums and all that other good stuff classic mid 90's hip hop is full of.

It's one of those albums that helped me to think "hey, this hip hop stuff has more to it than some people think." And that, in turn, sent me down the path of discovering fulfilling hip hop music and not disposable crap.