Hip Hop aint dead!

K, so I was talking to some guy today about Hip-Hop, and it's just kinda spawned the thought trail leading me here, and to whatever shall fall from my fingers through the keys to be read bellow.

I'm a hip hop fan. That simple, and unashamedly, I love Hip Hop. The ability to rap to a beat, use voice as percussion with melody, and exhibit your views upon the world in that format. It's genius. But I hate rap, and what Hip Hop is becoming.

I heard the phrase "I want the hip hop lifestyle, the guns, bitches and ho's and all that bling" and it disgusted me. To quote Scroobius Pip, "Remember, that guns, bitches and bling were never part of the four elements, and never will be"

So the Hip Hop lifestyle should revolve around turntablism, emceeing, Graffiti and break.I mean, if you think back to the forefathers of modern Hip Hop, yeah there was a certain embellishment, an artistic licence to brag about skills and talents, but it never escalated the level of pomp that Rap currently holds.

I mean sure, Sugarhill Gang laid it down proclaiming TV's, Cars, Money, and the famous like "If your girl starts acting up, then you take her friend" but the song was fun, a quirk of the era.

I hope I'm not being pretentious, but this is just where I draw the line in my mind, and it annoys me when people around me, after being surprised I like Hip Hop, scorn it because they don't understand what Real Hip Hop is. They're used to Eminem, 50 cent, T.I. and everything made possible in the aftermath of Death Row's popularisation of Gansta Rap. But thats it, Gangsta Rap was a new genre to evolve FROM Hip-Hop, but wasn't it anymore, in the same way that Metal is no longer Rock. So today's Rap records should be labelled as Rap, and not just dismissively side-swiped in a related, but completely different genre.

But aswell as frowned upon by my unknowing friends I also get laughed down by my friends who are up on their Rap, as they view it as a childish, pretentious, retro, and slightly dead genre of music. And indeed, to find any sort of recent Hip-Hop (anything not pre-dating Snoop Dogg's first few albums)you do have to tend to go quite underground. Which, as anyone familiar with the underground scenes, does tend to reek pretension in giant wafts.

However, it is out there. Along with the old greats, things like Sugarhill, the Roots, Jurassic 5, Rakim, 2pac, Tribe Called Quest and KRSone, their lurks a new breed of modern-day Hip-Hop greats , just under the horizon, mics posed, and ready to touch with their words, beat and melody.

Listing just a few;
Sage Francis,
Busdriver,
Aesop Rock,
Buba Sparxxx,
Atmosphere,
Non-Prophets,
Immortal Technique,
Ill Bill,
Hilltop Hoods,
Sole,
Dark Cloud,
Soul Position,
Class A.

And this isn't to say I lose hope completely, there are some people in the charts that are dutifully paraded as Hip Hop, instead of maintaining a facade underwhich lies neuvo-rap-infused-RnB-derived-pomp.

Figures are rising to the forefront with weight and udnerstanding. Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Flobots and Scroobius Pip, for four.

So I don't despair in the genre totally, I've know it's there, and I've found the music that I would call Hip Hop. But, I'm just waiting for the rest of the world to realise the difference too.

Lily Allen.

Lily Allen. I guess I should start here by saying, I am in no way a fan. Britpop, for me took a massive nose dive when “Mockney” entered the charts. For the longest time, I’ve thought her fame and meteoric rise to the top had been brought around soley by her relation to Keith Allen, her father, who must have pulled some chains with his contacts in the business. If I was listening to the radio and “Smile” or “LDN” came on, I would jump from my chair, and through anyone in my way to change station.

Her video’s didn’t make it easier to like her either. “LDN” for those TV stricken, features her walking through London, wearing a beautiful red dress, and the ugliest white trainers I have ever seen. This coupled with her massive gold ear-rings immediately gave her about a 9 on the chavometer. All throughout the video everything around her seems to turn to dust and depression, which must have been the producer’s in-joke stab. Her lyrics too, reek of pretension and the annoying attitude that seems to of infused itself with people who shoot to the top.

So to reiterate, I don’t like her sound, style, or even the way she talks. However, her new single, “The Fear” I like, and for no small reason. The start of the record, doesn’t sound like a Lily Allen song, with an acoustic guitar hook, strangely echoing something akin to the “Juno” soundtrack.

When she start’s singing, it’s still her voice, but the words she’s using and the sentences they form must be some of the most honest she’s ever used. The record is full of self-reflection and a down to earth lyrical review of the music business.

It’s still Lily Allen, but the solemn attitude mixed with the danceable beats that the single has, seem to work, making it sound thoughtful, yet mindlessly foot-stomp-able at the same time.

Hopefully this is a sign of an artist turning of age, maturing and being ready to face the crowd with integrity, and still keeping the sound that has made her popular to her fans.

Melon Head Man...

Whenever I go to rock gigs nowadays, I despair. I find that I am surrounded by 15 year old Simon Amstell wannabes, in their skin tight jeans, fuzzy hair, and bootleg band T-shirts. The naughties have been incredibly harsh on this, dying genre of music.

Indeed, if you approach one of these teens in their “Iron Maiden” tees, and ask them to name 5 songs by the band they have chosen to have proclaimed to be a fan of through their clothing choice, they’ll either name two albums, then stop, or fail completely. Either that or call you a pedo and walk off, leaving you feeling weird and slightly tarnished.

So it was with great apprehension and anxiety that I let a friend of mine drag me to a rock gig this week. A feeling it seems, that was completely misplaced.

“MelonHead Man” were an awesome band. Incredibly retro, but in that good, clean way, that hasn’t been set up by popular media as a demographical tactic. From the moment the front-man picked up his American flag guitar, sprawled with confederate flags, to the moment he put it down, shouting at the crowd, “Thank you in the front, and damn you sat down” (pointing to a middle-aged man, now spluttering his Bishop’s finger) I was enthralled.

An hour and a half had gone by while the band was jumping up and down, playing their hearts through their instruments. Rocking out in a way reminiscent of a youthful Metallica, mixed with a sort of “Dallas” appeal. Their songs were loud, brash, risqué, and most importantly, crowd pleasing. The audience were hooked on their every word, every note and every motion. Jumping up and down in time with the drum beats and singer. They included everyone in the trance-like state they played in, from the 16 year olds who had snuck in, to me and my group of 20-something friends at the front head-banging to the beat.

They knew how to play their crown, to pander to them leaving them pining for more. And that’s what matters with music, what really counts. That you can follow the band, not what some radio controller is telling you to like, but that you can feel the presence of something truly great as the band plays. That you can feel like you’ve lost something when they stop, and it’s time to go home. That when the band announces they are selling their CD out of the back of the truck you will rush with them down a dark alley to buy it, not caring that you can’t now afford a taxi home.

So, it’s from a dark alley somewhere in Canterbury, stranded with no way home that I tell you, go see MelonHead man. Now, how do I get home?

Oh, and for those of you intrested in more, Be sure to check out the bands Myspace page.

http://www.myspace.com/melonheadman

First Blog.

At this point in time, I don't have much to write home about, and havn't really planned to write much down here. But hey, here goes nothing...

So the past few months have been weird for me. Aaaaand I guess a lot has happened, although not to many people but me.

I've dropped out of uni, moved back in with my parents after three years away, and amd trying to find a career in.... something. I'm working as a Chef at the moment, but I don't think it'll pan out long term. It's not something I could see myself doing for an extended period of time. The place is pleasant enough, as is the job itself, it's just not glorious enough. I guess I'll carry on writing, hence the start of this blog.

I plan to write reviews up here, post some music and what not, and work in that way. I mean, I've hit rock bottom right? 21 and living back at home after 3 glorious years of freedom? So I guess I'll carry on writing.

Cheers, Sven.