This guy is incredible! Actually rapping about things that matter. Seems trivial but it's a huge undertaking. Applaud and support the effort. Will keep buying
From Macklemore's single White Privilege:
> Now I don't rap about guns so they label me conscious > But I don't rap about guns cause I wasn't forced into the projects > See I was put in the position where I could chose my options > Blessed with the privilege that my parent's could send me to college
Pretty much everyone in hiphop is rapping about things that matter. You probably just don't like a lot of black hiphop.
I think his work is commendable on several grounds, but it's not in being a pioneer of progressive or political hip hop.
There are a lot of rappers (black, white, filipino, chinese) that rap about these things. One of my favourite mainstream artists is Common who has managed to avoid gun and gang culture and produced a few conscious songs that also were club bangers.
So deep I can't even see you anymore.
On a serious note though, I don't need these lyrics to be deeply philosophical, it rocks even rapping about grandpa's clothes.
http://frontalot.com/ http://mcabdominal.com/ http://mclars.com/site/
In your own tastes, you rank some music as better than others right?
But how can we have a conversation if you've never even listened to any of his other stuff? Thrift shop is his one-off single, and not nearly as full of meaning his other stuff. You said "heck, even [...] is better", saying you think those artists are "better" than him, and now knowing you hadn't even listened it seems you just wanted a chance to show off some guys you like. Fair enough, just no need to hate at the same time is all I was saying.
to you..
Otherside, about drug abuse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvDQy53eldY
Same Love, about gay rights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlVBg7_08n0
I'm always interested in when artists can "recreate" quality versus a single one-and-done, i.e. can they continually output "hits" versus just a singular confluence (luck, the right creative spot, a band member, who knows).
If I was gay, I would think hip-hop hates me
Have you read the YouTube comments lately
"Man, that’s gay" gets dropped on the daily
We become so numb to what we’re saying
A culture founded from oppression
Yet we don’t have acceptance for ‘em
Call each other faggots behind the keys of a message board
A word rooted in hate, yet our genre still ignores it
Gay is synonymous with the lesser
It’s the same hate that’s caused wars from religion
Gender to skin color, the complexion of your pigment
The same fight that led people to walk outs and sit ins
It’s human rights for everybody, there is no difference!
Live on and be yourself
When I was at church they taught me something else
If you preach hate at the service those words aren’t anointed
That holy water that you soak in has been poisoned
When everyone else is more comfortable remaining voiceless
Rather than fighting for humans that have had their rights stolen
I might not be the same, but that’s not important
No freedom till we’re equal, damn right I support itWhat shoes you wear are not important (Wing$ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAg3uMlNyHA) I know this doesn't seem important, but just listen. It is heart retching.
I'm curious because I did and I suspect his music won't reach those kinds of audiences. He seems like a "preaching to the choir" kind of issues musician. Which is fine, it's hard to reach people who aren't inherently your audience. But I also think if you're a musician and you know you're talking to a certain audience and your message is political, it's a higher bar for your message to be political and meaningful.
This guy is from Seattle, if he's talking about gay rights and what shoes you should wear, that's kind of an easy target for a region like the pacific NW. It kind of becomes a critique of people who aren't like you rather than a message that we can be a better culture. There's a real danger of the message becoming "the burden of improving society is on those of you who aren't already as thoughtful as I am."
From Wings: "And then my friend Carlos’ brother got murdered for his fours"
And in Same Love he talks about how his Uncle is gay.
In 2008 he was in rehab for drug/alcohol abuse.
Seattle and the Pacific NW is a big place. Certainly, it's more liberal on average than most other regions in the US, but I would be wary making wide assumptions.
For instance, I went to college at Evergreen, in Olympia. While the city itself was exceedingly liberal, it wasn't uncommon to drive out to surrounding areas and see signs on someone's property disparaging homosexuals, liberals or what have you.
Granted, though, his audience (as in, his fans) are prone to agree with him. However that holds true for most artists. We always self-select based on our tastes.
> But I also think if you're a musician and you know you're talking to a certain audience and your message is political, it's a higher bar for your message to be political and meaningful.
This is a fair point. I'm (genuinely) curious : what are some artists who you feel have conveyed a political message, either outside their fan base or who have in some other way met that high bar?
I suppose, thinking out loud, that Bob Dylan or John Lennon come to mind, partly based on the sheer circulation and relative timelessness of their work.