A Message to All Rappers and Fans of Rap Music

I first heard cats talking about the "commercialization of hip-hop" well over a decade ago (damn I'm old), and I thought that phrase was only its increased popularity. "But, isn't that a good thing?" I often thought to myself. I mean, what could be wrong with people making a living from rap? And, when thought of in that respect, it is a very good thing. People no longer just do it as a hobby; you can actually make a living off of something you love. Granted, that movement was well before my time, probably circa the mid 80s when the Run-DMC's and KRS-One's were making their names known in the mainstream media. But if history has taught us anything, it's that the hard labor of older generations bears rewards that eventually are seen as privileges, and ultimately as rights. It bothers me a lot that KRS-One spent several years sleeping on park benches before he "blew up" (used loosely because I bet most people couldn't name more than three songs by him), while Soulja Boy Tell 'Em got a Grammy nomination for Crank Dat in 2007. Sigh.

I just feel like rappers now just follow fads, and have their entire styles cookie-cut from whatever most recently is in style. Take the whole "New Cool" movement, for example. I feel like this came from Lupe Fiasco, for the most part, and then suddenly sprung up a whole lot of rappers who wore hipster clothes, had alternative tastes in music (not really alternative anymore), and were very different from what you're used to. The quintessential "rebel without a cause, but if they DID have a cause it would be 'to be a rebel without a cause.'" Not that I have a problem with that, because I appreciate that Lupe does it. However, this isn't all he's about; he's still an excellent lyricist, which is what rap is supposed to be about in the first place right? Even worse, with absolutely no reason for it, these rappers exude this douchebag sense of entitlement, like "I'm too cool for rap but I'm gonna do it anyway"(I'm not calling it cockiness, because that implies that you're not doing it on purpose, and for some reason people like to be arrogant pricks). There are lots of other fads that are exploited ad nauseum, like every rapper's claim they don't write down lyrics. Oh really? Biggie was the first person I heard that did it, which is why he didn't have 40 singles come out after his death; then there was Jay-Z, then there was Lil' Wayne, T.I., Ne-Yo, Rhianna, Yellowcard, Paul McCartney, and so on. First off, I'm not really that impressed by people who don't write down lyrics; I mean they have to have a great memory, but who's to say that you don't spend as much, if not more time thinking them up as someone who cares to write them down? And it's not nearly the same as freestyling, which shows your dexterity and ability to think on your feet. I mean, if I write a song in a half-hour, and you spend two days trying to create lyrics without writing them down, and my verses are better, I'm still a better rapper. Which is why Eminem (in his prime) ranks in my top 5, but Jeezy doesn't. Budden says, "The more rappers said they didn't write down lyrics, the more it started to sound like they didn't." Do your listeners a favor, and write down your lyrics, just every once in a while. You may actually create a verse that gives you a reason to call yourself the best rapper alive.

The worst fad of all, in my opinion, is "Swag," since it extended well outside of the realm of just music, and now everyone adopted it. (see: pink tees, and throwback jerseys) Everyone claims to have it, no one has swag like them, etc. etc. Even now, check your friend list: I'm sure at least 10% of your friends talk about swag somewhere in their profile or status. "Da sWagG iZ ofFicIaL" or some sh*t like that (Damn that was painful to write). Everyone talks about they have it, and strangely enough they look and act like everyone else who also has it. Like, you can't claim to have swagger because you dress like Jim Jones. First of all, this picture makes him look like a bum that jacked a Louis scarf from an old lady, and attempting to be like that, or any other famous person you see isn't swagger at all. The word used to refer to confidence in style. Now it's like the opposite, something you have to say about yourself 40,000 times for people to give to you. It's gotten so bad, I feel like Jay-Z, someone who arguably popularized it, is using it more so he can stay relevant, based off of "Jockin' Jay-Z" and the two versions of "Swagger Like Us" he'll be on. And as far as rap itself goes, it just seems to be an excuse for an ass rapper to be an ass rapper, because you don't like them for their lyrics, you like them for their swag. I don't know about you, but I'm not about to pay 17 bucks for someone's swag; I can't listen to swag on an Mp3 player. So I'm officially calling for the retirement of "swagger" and all things related, including the Old Spice deodorant. While I'm at it, I also call for the retirement of Auto-Tune, because that sh*t's just terrible.

The Boy From Big Business is Back or: The Winter of my Discontent

After taking off the whole of October for no reason at all, Ask-a-Robot is back to its regularly scheduled programming, keeping in mind that there is no schedule. Anyhow, I would be remiss if I didn't recap the last few weeks, as eventful as they were. Let's see if I can keep this under 40 words: 5 Weeks of Review!*

Bailout.
Bobby McFerrin becomes 10000th artist to remix SLU.
Political master debators have at it a few times.
Sarah Palin on SNL.
Phillies win World Series.
NBA season!
Halloween.
Obama wins election, Ciroc Obama can stfu (finally)
Michael Crichton died.

Damnit. I was so close.
Now that I've gotten that out the way, regular blogging can take place.

This may very well be the winter of my discontent. Over the last few weeks I've heard a few more singles from Kanye's upcoming 808's and Heartbreak, including "Heartless" (my favorite track so far). The others I've heard, "Robocop" and "Coldest Winter"...eh. Then again, my ears are probably jaded since everyone else has already used the Auto-tune thing on guest verses, and he's used it on a couple guest appearances himself. So the idea of an album full of Love Lockdowns doesn't appeal to me. In the least. So, next.
Another highly anticipated (I use the term loosely) album is 50 Cent's Before I Self Destruct. I've only heard the one track "Get Up," which seems to be another one of his uncanny "I go hard" type club songs. And while it gets the job done in that respect, it's still a far shot from "I Get Money", one of few redeeming tracks from Curtis's Curtis, and that speaks volumes. Maybe I liked him more because I wasn't hearing his name/seeing his face all the damn time, which apparently won't change anytime soon. Next.
Jay-Z, in a very Brett Favre fashion, is releasing another album this winter, Blueprint 3. Hip Hop's Iron Man is supposedly releasing his 11th studio album sometime in early December. The nickname is fairly accurate, as they are both known for their proclivity for "touchdowns", number of interceptions, and seeming inability to gracefully retire. Don't get me wrong; "History" is pretty raw, but he only had the 2nd hardest verse on SLU by default. Even worse, I feel like Jockin' Jay-Z is only popular because of the beat, something that's supposed to happen to Lil Boosie or Hurricane Chris. If you find yourself saying that about someone who's supposed to be one of the GOATS, that doesn't bode well for the next LP.

But there is hope, albeit not in album form; Notorious is supposed to hit theaters January 16th. From what I've seen in trailers and what not, it looks like it'll be worth seeing in theaters. I've never seen the cat who's playing Biggie before, but although he doesn't look like him, he does a damn good impersonation. Derek Luke plays Puff Daddy, and seems like he fits the part well. The movie also incorporates Pac, Faith, and Lil' Kim in what should all be interesting supporting roles. Even if it's terrible, it will be worth it to see Derek Luke pull off some of these dance moves. I'm back, bitches.

*5 Weeks of Review contains events that may/may not have actually happened, like Halloween.