parodies by nacrowe
HIP HOP CULTURE is a lot of things to a lot of people, but a genre or venue for aging GRACEFULLY is not one of them. in fact, arguably more than its JAZZ, ROCK N ROLL or POP peers and counterparts, HIP HOP in particular is all about YOUTH CULTURE and maintaining an ear to the NOVEL, UNEXPLORED and CUTTING-EDGE. its the LIFEBLOOD of the genre and historically leaves little to no breathing room for so-called LEGACY acts taking up air space as with other genres (examples being AEROSMITH, BILLY JOEL, KISS, PEARL JAM, MADONNA or U2 still drawing ARENA-SIZED crowds despite being culturally RELEVANT literally decades ago). again, you dont see that with HIP HOP. you dont see veteran groups like WU-TANG CLAN, NAS, EPMD, RAKIM or DE LA SOUL selling out MADISON SQUARE GARDEN multiple dates every few years like their DINOSAUR ROCK N ROLL band compatriots.
so for me the BEASTIE BOYS are a complete OUTLIER. right up until their breakup after the TRAGIC PASSING of ADAM 'MCA' YAUCH from PAROTID CANCER in 2012. with each subsequent release they were given the latitude by their fanbase, and more importantly each other, to truly EXPERIMENT and EVOLVE on wax as musicians as well as individuals. case in point was the conscious mid-career choice to ACKNOWLEDGE their previous MISOGYNY on stage and on record and PUBLICLY APOLOGIZE for such. and not only apologize publicly with mere lip service, but meaningfully ADVOCATE on behalf of charities and groups that work in those AFFECTED arenas. in HIP HOP with its OVERWHELMING FETISHIZING of ANTIQUATED cultural concepts like AUTHENTICITY and SELLING OUT, where one is in disincentivized from ACKNOWLEDGING WEAKNESSES and FAULTS out of FEAR of PUBLIC SHAMING and LOSING FACE, the result of such is ironically a lot of bullshit POSTURING and FRAUDULENT claims of personal hardship. over the years of being a HIP HOP fan, the BRAVERY of the BEASTIE BOYS in celebrating their friends and loved ones and getting that FRAT BOY crap they embodied on the first record and tour just comes off as more and more COURAGEOUS and NECESSARY as they transitioned into EMPATHETIC, QUESTIONING, SELF-REFLECTIVE, THOUGHTFUL adults. likewise when MCA became a BUDDHIST and started bringing that perspective into the music, both lyrically and even sonically on tracks like "BODHISATTVA VOW", both ADAM 'AD-ROCK' HOROVITZ and MICHAEL 'MIKE D' DIAMOND went along with it. rather than feeling threatened by this MAJOR LIFE CHANGE, they openly SUPPORTED and CELEBRATED their friend as he continued to EVOLVE on his own PERSONAL journey. ive long wondered why the BEASTIE BOYS were able to carve out this wide lane while their peers and ARTISTIC compatriots have had to largely compete with their younger selves ad infinitum. was it the fact that the BEASTIE BOYS had a large ALTERNATIVE ROCK following unlike peer groups in CYPRESS HILL or RUN-DMC? one would think that given their race in a black-dominated art form they would be even more prone to being culturally pigeon-holed. i dont know the answer. maybe its just because they did it, damn the consequences. either its a pretty COMPELLING narrative, even in retrospect over a decade after their breakup. embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the BEASTIE BOYS. enjoy!
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photo & text by nacrowe
the legacy of OL' DIRTY BASTARD to me is one of UNBRIDLED ORIGINALITY and FEARLESS EXPERIMENTALISM. it may be APOCRYPHAL, but it has been said that the dude entered the booth and went about his LYRICAL DEXTERITY without even listening to the BEAT itself. which kind of makes sense. much of what makes HIP HOP so INTOXICATING musically is the extent to which a GIFTED MC can layer a set of PERCUSSIVELY-EXECUTED RHYMES over an EXISTING track, creating a series of POLYRHYTHMS much like a WEST AFRICAN drum circle where such ODD TIME SIGNATURES ebb and flow from one another and create a MANTRA-LIKE effect. this is on full display with LYRICAL CRAFTSMEN in the TRADITIONAL school of ARTISTS like RAKIM, NAS, JAY-Z, EMINEM and THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G. among others. in contrast, the UNORTHODOX RHYME SCHEMES of OL' DIRTY BASTARD are inherently UNPREDICTABLE and IRREGULAR in NATURE, so any POLYRHYTHMIC effect is entirely RANDOM and CIRCUMSTANTIAL, making his AESTHETIC entirely UNIQUE and AUTHENTIC unto himself. to date, no one sounds like him.
there is also a STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUSNESS vibe to his VOCALS, with much of it seemingly coming from the top of his head in the moment. the effect, especially among first time listeners, is quite MESMERIZING as if this HIGH WIRE ACT is meant to lose balance and topple over. which of course never happens, instead stumbling into the next VERSE with added MOMENTUM and DESTRUCTIVE potential. the absolute CLASSIC tracks off his debut RETURN TO THE 36 CHAMBERS: THE DIRTY VERSION (ELEKTRA, 1995) are "SHIMMY SHIMMY YA" and "BROOKLYN ZOO," which both showcase this invigoratingly ERRATIC sensibility on FULL DISPLAY, with OL' DIRTY BASTARD switching up topics and introducing NON SEQUITURS at a FURIOUS pace. with the WU-TANG CLAN, the only LIKE-MINDED rapper was GHOSTFACE KILLAH who similarly was all over the place with an OFF-KILTER DELIVERY, the difference being his GRITTY LYRICAL NARRATIVES were entirely COHESIVE with an overflowing of MULTIFACETED details shotgunning from his mouth. with OL' DIRTY BASTARD the plot as well as the details were always up for INTERPRETATION, much like an ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST painting. i was in my final year of undergrad when OL' DIRTY BASTARD PASSED AWAY and i took it pretty hard, which was ODD because i am normally quite INDIFFERENT to CELEBRITY DEATHS. with him i felt like there was so much QUALITY WORK left on the table, as he was recently let out of prison (where he was incarcerated on a NONVIOLENT cocaine possession rap) and was in the process of reintegrating with society and getting his LYRICAL BEARINGS back when he PASSED from an ACCIDENTAL overdose of cocaine and an opioid prescription for pain. as an ENGLISH student in college where i was trained to be HYPER-FOCUSED and concerned with things like METER, RHYME SCHEME and CADENCE, OL' DIRTY BASTARD was the prime example of a writer that literally MARCHED TO THE BEAT OF HIS OWN DRUM and created some DIZZYINGLY-EXECUTED GEMS that were HUMOROUS, COMPLEX and highly AFFECTING on an emotional level. still miss the dude twenty years later. RIP RUSSELL TYRONE JONES. WU-TANG FOREVER. photo & text by nacrowe
in retrospect, i believe that KANY WEST's fifth album MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY (ROC-A-FELLA, 2010) marked a SIGNIFICANT shift in both his catalogue and career. up to this point, WEST through SHEER FORCE OF WILL had successfully positioned himself as the embodiment of several previous threads of HIP HOP, everything from the more SOCIALLY-AWARE, so-called "CONSCIOUS" rappers (i.e. COMMON, MOS DEF, THE ROOTS, etc.) taking their cue from A TRIBE CALLED QUEST and the NATIVE TONGUES collective to the more GOAL-ORIENTED and decidedly MATERIALIST strain personified by JAY-Z, 50 CENT and DRAKE among countless others. that WEST embodies both may seem like a COMPLETE CONTRADICTION, but that is kind of the point.
from this point forward WEST seems to take pride in his ability to CONFRONT and PROVOKE to the point that in a few years and a few album cycles he would come to completely lose the plot. before MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY his INDEPENDENT STREAK empowered him, for example, to completely COUNTER men's fashion at the time, replacing oversized clothing and sports jerseys for pink polo shirts and fitted jeans. it also allowed him to seek out EXPERIMENTAL COLLABORATORS in the ART world like VISUAL ARTISTS HARUKI MURAKAMI, VIRGIL ABLOH and GEORGE CONDO and in later years PERFORMANCE ARTIST VANESSA BEECROFT. that CONTRARIAN STREAK is also what led him in recent years to adopt the VIRULENT RACISM of CANDACE OWENS, NICK FUENTES and DONALD TRUMP. the way i see it, both MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY and its follow-up YEEZUS (ROC-A-FELLA, 2013) represents the point at which his head got too BIG and his UNCHECKED EGO led him to actually believe that his powers of INFLUENCE and INTELLECT separated him from HUMANITY. WEST's mother DONDA tragically PASSED AWAY prior to the making of his preceding album 808s & HEARTBREAK (ROC-A-FELLA, 2008) which was a consciously MINIMALIST affair that mourned the loss of not only his mother but a relationship with designer ALEXIS PHIFER. on that album WEST comes across as CONTEMPLATIVE and intensely PENSIVE about his participation and culpability in the dissolution of that relationship. it came across as MATURE and HEARTFELT. in contrast MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY, especially on tracks like "MONSTER," "BLAME GAME," "RUNAWAY" and "HELL OF LIFE," WEST seems to absolutely revel in his own demented and objectifying ideation surrounding WOMEN. it is quite STARTLING the likes of which the depths of his MISOGYNY is on full display throughout MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY, including CRUDE diatribes that are believed to be directed at KIM KARDASHIAN, the socialite / entrepreneur / reality tv starlet who he began dating and famously later married. i am not a psychologist, but it seems evidently clear that the DEATH of his mother had a PROFOUND effect on WEST's life, as it seemingly freed the guardrails on his ability to self-edit his lyrics and ultimately SELF-IMMOLATE his PUBLIC PERSONA on full display to EVERYONE. all that being said, on a purely musical level MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY is arguably his FINEST work. his use of pastiche to inventively interpolate DISPARATE SONIC ELEMENTS from different genres and historical eras of RECORDING TECHNIQUES (everything from KING CRIMSON, JAMES BROWN and MIKE OLDFIELD to MANU DIBANGO, MICHAEL JACKSON, CONTINENT NUMBER 6 and GIL-SCOTT HERON) is truly MIND-BLOWING on just a TECHNICAL and CONCEPTUAL LEVEL. on YEEZUS this same INCREDIBLE proficiency for artistically integrating SAMPLES into a COHESIVE statement would be further harnessed and STREAMLINED to the point of SPECTACULAR obliteration of said SAMPLES, but on MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY he is showcasing that UNMATCHED production foresight that differentiated WEST from his TALENTED PEERS, COLLABORATORS and MENTORS in NO I.D., RZA, Q-TIP, JON BRION, BO1-DA, PETE ROCK and the like. lyrically PROBLEMATIC and musically GENIUS-LEVEL, WEST with MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY and its accompanying short-film entered the conversation with the likewise CONTROVERSIAL legacies of everyone from RICHARD WAGNER, CHUCK BERRY, PHIL SPECTOR, IKE TURNER, MICHAEL JACKSON and MORRISSEY, all of whom made ASTOUNDING contributions to the progress of ART while harboring likewise ABHORRENT PERSONAL FAILINGS that tarnished their public image in perpetuity. do i recommend this album? yes, but with the caveat that one must at least consciously recognize that WEST is not a well-adjusted individual and that during this period in his life the unraveling of the plot was certainly underway. its a SAD narrative to tell you the truth. and very AMERICAN. photo & text by nacrowe
i first came across the LEGENDARY BRONX rapper BIG PUN and the sole album released during his lifetime, CAPITAL PUNISHMENT (LOUD, 1998) back shortly after its release in the late 1990s when i was a freshman in high school. i was at a boarding school and literally the dude next door to me had that record on repeat day after day ad nauseam, so i feel like i learned that album practically by osmosis.
and to tell you the truth, i wasnt a fan. HIP HOP from the jump has long been about AMBITION and SUCCESS and the projection of DREAMS of better conditions unto the future that will hopefully materialize and lead to an improved financial future for one's family. a lot of the CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION and CHEAP BRAGGADOCIO related to the GAUDY flaunting of MATERIAL GOODS (CHAINS, CARS, CLOTHING or even literal MONEY itself) comes from that DARK REALITY of UNDERREPRESENTATION, INEQUALITY and loss of opportunity (OCCUPATIONAL and EDUCATIONAL for starters) that comes from decades of LACK OF COMMUNITY INVESTMENT that has long been a real pox on the inner-city. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT came out during the BLING ERA of HIP HOP during the late 90s and early 00s when the VULGAR and COPIOUS display of MATERIAL WEALTH was a given for most MAINSTREAM rappers. when i heard a track like "STILL NOT A PLAYER" back in that context of my high school dorm room and its lyrical focus on bragging about SEXUAL CONQUESTS and the accumulation of MATERIAL OBJECTS, i was uninterested and turned off effectively immediately. much like i was similarly DISMISSIVE (and still am) about the similar efforts of particularly EGREGIOUS offenders such as PUFF DADDY, T-PAIN, JIM JONES, LIL JON and the like. i was raised on a previous generation of HIP HOP in CYPRESS HILL, PUBLIC ENEMY, BEASTIE BOYS and A TRIBE CALLED QUEST and in time would grow to appreciate similar artists upon discovery in ERIC B & RAKIM, DEL THE FUNKY HOMOSAPIEN, MOBB DEEP, MF DOOM, NAS, GANG STARR, BIG L, MADLIB, EMINEM and especially the WU-TANG CLAN, all RENOWNED lyricists known for their TECHNICAL ABILITY, FLOW, INVENTIVENESS and STREET-LEVEL perspective. at the time BIG PUN to me was more like the PUERTO RICAN version of PUFF DADDY. and for the record PUFFY is and always will be irredeemably LAME. where i should have been looking was the NOTORIOUS B.I.G. for a comparison. like BIGGY, BIG PUN was an EXPERT lyricist who championed his community and embodied the ASPIRATIONAL lifestyle that came with chasing MATERIAL OBJECTS. in the intervening years i have come to correct my initial reaction and respect the WORDPLAY and CRAFT of BIG PUN on tracks like "YOU AIN'T A KILLER," "TWINZ (DEEP COVER)" and "YOU CAME UP." the dude was particularly comfortable with RAPID-FIRE INTERNAL RHYME SCHEMES and bending WORDS and PHRASES to his will in an EFFORTLESS and INTERCHANGEABLE manner between both ENGLISH and SPANISH, which is something i still have not come across to same extent in years since. obviously BIG PUN is still much BELOVED in THE BRONX as well as PUERTO RICO and his untimely passing from a heart attack at 28 back in 2000 is a tragedy for that borough specifically as well as the greater HIP HOP community in general. posthumously the peer he is mostly compared to his EMINEM, with his penchant for turning REAL-LIFE experiences into rarified ALLEGORICAL LYRICAL CONTENT with an UNBRIDLED, CREATIVE FLOW that was both highly TECHNICAL and CRAZY CLEVER. obviously i got over my initial dismissal of BIG PUN and have seen the error of my ways. i feel like a lot of artists from that era i need to revisit and reassess. but thats on me.
parodies by nacrowe
check out HERE this recent streaming video episode of DEER GOD RADIO celebrating the INCREDIBLE LYRICIST and WEST COAST HIP HOP PRODIGY, KENDRICK LAMAR!
​ ​​past episodes of DEER GOD RADIO are available here at the DEER GOD website as well as in the MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC archives. and if you haven't done so already get the FREE PHONE APP for IOS/ANDROID and enjoy listening to MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC 24/7 at your convenience! photo & text by nacrowe
for all the RIGHTEOUS, EMPOWERING and brazenly TRANSGRESSIVE and SEXUALLY-EXPLICIT content currently emanating from MODERN female HIP HOP MCs in CARDI B, MEGAN THEE STALLION and NICKI MINAJ, i think people forget just how REVOLUTIONARY LIL' KIM's HARD CORE (ATLANTIC, 1996) debut album was back in the 1990s. FEMALE SEXUALITY is largely a COMPLEX CULTURAL TABOO, since AMERICAN society for whatever reason has stuck to its INHERITED VICTORIAN PURITANICAL IDEALS. i believe that with millennials and the next generation that such REGRESSIVE BELIEFS have died down considerably and WOMEN are now somewhat EMPOWERED to say publicly what men have boasted about for generations, i.e. their LOVE OF SEX, DESIRING and BEING DESIRED.
back in the 1990s LIL' KIM was largely seen as a paramour of the NOTORIOUS B.I.G. who was married to R&B singer FAITH EVANS until his untimely passing. just on that information alone i believe that she was seen as everything from UNSERIOUS as an artist to a CUTTHROAT opportunist. of course the MISOGYNY in that assessment is pretty TRANSPARENT, as nobody faults BIGGY for his involvement or agency in such a TANGLED love triangle. the fact that EVANS and KIM later did a track together just shows how adults come together and handle their disagreements with DIGNITY and MATURITY. anyway, KIM absolutely faced this MISOGYNY head on with HARD CORE, as she unabashedly leans into ILLICIT perceptions of her and goes down and dirty to the point that i believe even LUTHER CAMPBELL (of 2 LIVE CREW fame) would blush. standout tracks include the single "CRUSH ON YOU" as well as similarly themed tracks in "NOT TONIGHT," "QUEEN BITCH" and "NO TIME." for my part, its interesting for me to notice how angry people get at modern tracks like the CARDI B / MEGAN THEE STALLION collaboration "WAP" or NICKI MINAJ's "ANACONDA," since i want no part of dictating to WOMEN how they should perceive or describe their own BODIES. to me that line of thinking is beyond PATRONIZING and just indicative of an overt PATERNALISM that is OUTMODED in modern society. i dont believe there is a lane that WOMEN, or men, need to stay in due to their GENDER. my belief is that the real test and judgement is going to be on how AUTHENTIC their music is to both themselves and their audience. thats it. everything else is IRRELEVANT. on those terms i believe HARD CORE is one of the more low-key INFLUENTIAL records of that period as it found a female MC that was willing to take on the boys at their own game, OBJECTIFYING them and PROFITING off of her own INTELLECT and celebration of her SEXUALITY. every time i come across a NEW artists like ARMANI CAESAR, FLO MILLI, KENTHEMAN or an ICE SPICE, it all feels like UPDATED versions of the same playbook LIL' KIM did back on HARD CORE. which im all about. definitely worth revisiting and checking out again. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
"sometimes, there's a man, well, he's the man for his time and place. he fits right in there. and that's the dude." - THE BIG LEBOWSKI (POLYGRAM, 1999)
it is difficult to watch the recent RICKY POWELL: THE INDIVIDUALIST (TIME STUDIOS, 2020) about the much BELOVED late PHOTOGRAPHER RICKY POWELL and not come off astonished at the CASUAL CHARISMA and INTUITIVE EFFORTLESSNESS with which he interacted with his SUBJECTS and life in general. his PHOTOGRAPHS, especially those that showcased the early HIP HOP scene of the 1980s (RUN-DMC, LL COOL J, BEASTIE BOYS, PUBLIC ENEMY) as well as the concurrent modern art scene of the period (JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT, KEITH HARING, FUTURA, ANDY WARHOL), showcased a level of fly-on-the-wall, BEHIND-THE-SCENES INTIMACY that made them have a sense of URGENCY and feel forever IN-THE-MOMENT. the moment is FLEETING, but POWELL's POWER as a PHOTOGRAPHER was his ability to project through his work a SEAMLESS level of integration between ARTIST and SUBJECT that can only come with the later feeling truly SECURE and COMFORTABLE in the former's presence. his gift in other words, was his (like THE DUDE) ability to be SIMPATICO with his surroundings. one of the UNIQUE ironies is that although as a PHOTOGRAPHER who primarily shot CELEBRITIES, he was constantly not on his own turf, being on tour buses, backstage rooms, restaurants, art galleries, museums, but through his PHOTOGRAPHS these CELEBRITIES were really in his world. somebody in the film makes the comment that the purpose of these MUSICIANS and ARTISTS very existence was for him to document them, so respected was his TALENT and EYE. i remember a relative of mine that has long worked in the FILM INDUSTRY once told me about an upcoming MUSICIAN that befriended a famous ACTOR in the 1990s. this ACTOR had access to a private jet and took his new friend on a world tour of sorts as part of his entourage which apparently lasted a few years. the musician effectively stopped writing new material and eventually returned back to a reality in which he had rent due and bills to pay. so he asked the actor for money and that was it. he was cut off. the whole experience set him back and whatever momentum his career trajectory he was on a few years prior was irreparably dashed because of his temporary dalliance with the jet set crowd and that lifestyle. watching RICKY POWELL: THE INDIVIDUALIST made me think of that scenario immediately. yes, POWELL was TIGHT with the BEASTIE BOYS and was undoubtedly part of their crew for almost a decade, you know, UNTIL HE WASNT. instead of transitioning from that experience into the next phase of his career, he instead became a HERMIT in his downtown studio apartment and effectively separated himself from society for a few decades. the film gets into his HORRIBLE upbringing by a single mother who cherished her animals more than her son, but it doesnt take a psychologist to realize that these ARTISTIC and MUSICAL COMMUNITIES POWELL so effortlessly surfed between were SURROGATE FAMILIES of sorts. and when those RELATIONSHIPS came to a natural end, he was left to make sense of the pieces. i found this documentary to be very MELANCHOLIC with this highly CHARMING yet unbearably VULNERABLE figure of POWELL. the fact that he dies alone from cardiac arrest shortly after filming is almost too TRAGIC to take in. he had such a UNIQUE GIFT and such a preternatural EMPATHETIC ability to connect with STRANGERS, FAMOUS or otherwise. its too much to bear that he seemed to be LONELY sans a family his whole life. he almost came resigned to the fact that the search wasnt worth it. again, just DEVASTATING. in the past two years i have been lucky enough to secure copies of both of his much SOUGHT-AFTER PHOTOGRAPHY COLLECTIONS OH SNAP! (ST. MARTIN'S GRIFFIN, 1998) and THE RICKFORD FILES (ST. MARTIN'S GRIFFIN, 1999), so i was very much motivated to seek out this documentary once i learned of its existence. i see the film as ESSENTIAL and definitely recommend it to anyone interested in the beginnings of HIP HOP or the UNDERGROUND graffiti art scene of 1980s NEW YORK CITY. NOTABLE interview participants include PROMINENT rappers such as LL COOL J, DARRYL "DMC" MCDANIELS (RUN-DMC), CHUCK D (PUBLIC ENEMY), FAB 5 FREDDY and MIKE D (BEASTIE BOYS), producers MARIO "C" CALDATO and MARK RONSON, publishers DAVID HERSHKOVITZ (PAPER MAGAZINE) and JODI PECKMAN (ROLLING STONE) as well as NEW YORK actors like NATASHA LYONNE, LAURENCE FISHBURNE, DEBI MAZAR and VIN DIESEL, and artists like FUTURA, ZEPHYR, KAVES, MAX PERLICH, CHERYL DUNN, CEY ADAMS, SUE KWON and PATRICK MCMULLAN. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
for the past ten years or so there has been a healthy dose of QUALITY LYRICISTS emerging out of the WEST COAST including KENDRICK LAMAR, AB-SOUL, YG, TY DOLLA SIGN, SCHOOLBOY Q, NIPSEY HUSSLE (RIP), JAY ROCK and LONG BEACH-native VINCE STAPLES. much like LAMAR, but less OBTUSE, when i listen to STAPLES i am confronted with an ARTIST that takes inspiration from the MILIEU of his upbringing, dropping INSIGHTFUL truths concerning URBAN LIFE from a BLACK PERSPECTIVE without necessarily voicing judgement upon such. this is the type of HIP HOP i appreciate the most as it serves as a gateway to an ENVIRONMENT and WORLDVIEW that im not accustomed to otherwise, much as FELA KUTI served as a contextualizing agent to what i witnessed upon moving to NIGERIA back in the mid 1990s.
STAPLES is ELOQUENT and POIGNANT and is a noteworthy POET well worth checking out.
parodies by nacrowe
the internet is an INTERESTING place.
when i did my 120th EPISODE of DEER GOD RADIO back during the height of the pandemic in april of 2021, i chose to highlight a SMALL but highly INFLUENTIAL record label responsible for some of my FAVORITE HIP HOP artists of all-time in MF DOOM, MADLIB and the producer J DILLA. it was part of an ONGOING series featuring the ROSTERS of various (mostly INDEPENDENT) RECORD LABELS including at that point LIKE-MINDED firms such as 4AD, DOMINO, STAX, GREENWAY, SUB POP and CHESS and has gone on to include DFA, CARPARK, MATADOR, WARP, NACIONAL, DISCHORD, SARGENT HOUSE, FAT POSSUM, STIFF, FOOL'S GOLD and METAL BLADE to date. for all of these SHOWS i created parodies of their respective LOGOS to say "DEER GOD" instead of their actual name. these are of varying quality but made in GOOD FUN and on SOCIAL MEDIA i routinely tag the LABEL to both let them know about the SHOW and the NONPROFIT RADIO STATION MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC as well as make them aware that i am utilizing, but absolutely not profiting off of their INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. what is intriguing to me is that up until this point, for three years i had gotten pretty good responses from some of the ARTISTS and LABELS that i parodied and highlighted on my BI-WEEKLY RADIO SHOW. in fact, in the two years since (and over 200+ total episodes), never anything remotely NEGATIVE happened until STONES THROW, which i will readily admit saddened me. and its not like they did anything particularly intense, just mocking me with two new versions of their circular LOGO stating "WRONG FONT" and "BUT THANKS" on TWITTER. and point taken, DEER GOD has seven letters while STONES THROW has eleven, so the font wasn't completely a one-to-one facsimile. i was just surprised that they would PUNCHING DOWN at someone promoting their LABEL and ROSTER. i took the time and effort to create a playlist of their ECLECTIC ROSTER and talk during a two-hour SHOW about why their LABEL mattered to me, and they effectively SHIT ON ME. or rather the sadly inevitable VILE comment section thereafter did. if it was a direct message from STONES THROW id have been in on the joke and laughed, but there is something about making it public and having their fans make judgements about me that kinda soured me on their whole operation. which is UNFORTUNATE. they are a RELEVANT underground LABEL that continually promotes unknown artists of an ELEVATED artistic caliber in spite of the whims of the industry at large. but i guess they are also pretty ELITIST in the process as well. my experience being case in point. or maybe i am just too THIN-SKINNED. probably. anyway, below is the EPISODE in question if interested. investigating MADLIB, MF DOOM and J DILLA is most definitely worth your time for the uninitiated. REST IN PEACE DANIEL DUMILE and JAMES DEWITT YANCEY.
parodies by nacrowe
its hard to believe that its been something like seventeen years since the LEGENDARY SOUTHERN HIP HOP duo OUTKAST last decided to put out an album.
that may be in part due to the fact that the ATLANTA HIP HOP scene in the intervening years has long since emerged as a VERITABLE MECCA of cultural activity that has rivaled (along with HOUSTON) the traditional powerhouses that are LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK CITY. look no further than all the local artists out of ATLANTA that haven risen alongside OUTKAST or thereafter to national prominence such as CHILDISH GAMBINO, LIL JOHN, SOULJA BOY, GUCCI MANE, LIL BABY, 2 CHAINZ, KILLER MIKE, T.I., YOUNG THUG, WACKA FLOCKA FLAME, 21 SAVAGE and MIGOS. in many ways it feels like we are very much living in a COMPLEX musical world that is decidedly influenced with a UNIQUE SOUTHERN flavor and seemingly GENRE-LESS AESTHETIC that OUTKAST played an INSTRUMENTAL role in creating. rappers BIG BOI and ANDRE 3000 are DISTINCT to one another. not exactly opposites per se but more DISPARATE CONCEPTIONS of what a HIP HOP artist should that somehow paradoxically complement one another. BIG BOI is definitely from the HARD-HITTING mold of celebrated STREETWISE lyricists like ICE CUBE, NAS, 2PAC, MOBB DEEP and RAKIM whose CRAFTSMANSHIP and preternatural ability to evoke the GRITTY and UNFILTERED ETHOS of daily URBAN BLACK life to the mic are stuff of absolute legend. ANDRE 3000 is likewise a TALENTED lyricist but seemingly more focused on EXPERIMENTAL WORDPLAY and expanding the boundaries of the FORM, writing more OPAQUE CONCEPTUAL NARRATIVES over time in the tradition of artists like Q-TIP, MADLIB, TRUGOY THE DOVE, MF DOOM, TALIB KWELI and even GEORGE CLINTON and SLY STONE. in my mind OUTKAST married those two strains of HIP HOP in a SEAMLESS fashion and the culture itself has been following that lead ever since. i remember getting to see OUTKAST on tour in support of their STANKONIA (ARISTA, 2000) album as part of MOBY's ECLECTIC AREA:ONE tour back in 2001 and just being amazed that this dude wearing blonde wigs with football shoulder pads and feather boas was part of the same group with his more traditionally attired ATLANTA FALCONS jersey, low-brim baseball cap-wearing counterpart. of course in rap this dichotomy was nothing new at the time, just look back at PUBLIC ENEMY with the ECCENTRIC clock-adorned FLAVOR FLAV grabbing attention or WU-TANG CLAN's OL DIRTY BASTARD evading police at industry award shows and taking trophies on stage from others with MEMORABLE impromptu, heartfelt speeches like "WU-TANG is for the children." look at KANYE WEST, INSANE CLOWN POSSE, TYLER THE CREATOR, DANNY BROWN or BIZ MARKIE (RIP) for that matter. i feel like the difference with ANDRE 3000 is that his IDIOSYNCRATIC presentation was less of a calculated conceit for generating attention and more an expression of an ALTERNATIVE ARTISTIC VIEWPOINT, complete with an EXPANDED LEXICON of what constitutes MASCULINITY in HIP HOP culture. himself an acolyte of Q-TIP, i see his lineage in peers and EXPANSIVE-MINDED, THOUGHTFUL and SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS artists like FRANK OCEAN, CHILDISH GAMBINO, KENDRICK LAMAR, RUN THE JEWELS, J. COLE, AB-SOUL, LOGIC and CHANCE THE RAPPER. seeing the sometimes intermingling manifestations of those two DISTINCT STRAINS and TRAJECTORIES of HIP HOP is endlessly FASCINATING and part of the allure of paying attention to how emerging artists RE-CONTEXTUALIZE the form itself, which is in a constant state of rebirth. unlike their ROCK AND ROLL counterparts, HIP HOP as a musical FORM is always EVOLVING and giving away to new permutations and EXPERIMENTAL SONIC JUXTAPOSITIONS that is NOVEL and EXCITING for those who choose to participate and i give some credit to OUTKAST for helping spur such, especially in the somewhat more artistically conservative 1990s. embedded below is a recent DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes a playlist celebrating the career of the ICONIC ATLANTA HIP HOP duo OUTKAST. enjoy!​ photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
there are so many stellar ONGOING live PERFORMANCE video series produced and recorded by radio stations across the county, including NOTORIOUS ones by KEXP 90.3FM in SEATTLE and KCRW 89.9FM in LOS ANGELES among others. recently i discovered another great example done by KCMP 89.3 THE CURRENT in NORTHFIELD, MINNESOTA, called THE CURRENT SESSIONS which is run by MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO and has a broadcast range that covers the nearby "TWIN CITIES" of ST. PAUL and MINNEAPOLIS.
the visual and sound quality involved is TOP NOTCH and includes past PERFORMANCES by everyone from NOTABLE songwriters like SHARON VAN ETTEN, ROBYN HITCHCOCK and FIRST AID KIT to INDIE ROCK bands in BUILT TO SPILL, AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS and STARCRAWLER, not to mention HIP HOP acts like KILLER MIKE of RUN THE JEWELS fame. needless to say, THE CURRENT SESSIONS are definitely worth checking out. photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
LOS ANGELES rapper YG is everything i love about TRADITIONAL WEST COAT HIP HOP. he is unapologetically OPINIONATED lyrically with BARBED missives against both his competition and his enemies, while maintaining a WICKED sense of HUMOR. he is easily the most intellectually DEXTEROUS LYRICIST to come out of the region this side of KENDRICK LAMAR and ICE CUBE. whereas LAMAR takes full lyrical flight in IMAGINATIVE NARRATIVES with involved SCENARIOS, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT and COMPLEX METAPHORS, i'd liken YG's style more to that of CUBE and his school of directly relating the pulse of the street in a NO BULLSHIT PRESENTATION. if anything YG ups that directness with UNRESTRAINED FLAIR, BRAVADO and SELF-AWARENESS of the inherent ABSURDITY of it all. his music videos often play up this SURREAL nature of his LYRICAL CONTENT, which involves the HORROR, KINSHIP and MORAL QUANDARIES that define GANG LIFE in south central LOS ANGELES.
i wouldnt state that he is necessarily celebrating or glamorizing GANG LIFE, but merely reporting on it in a MATTER-OF-FACT MANNER. it is what it is and such is his COMMUNITY. if outside people want to draw conclusions and judge such than they should consider their own culpability in the manufacturing of a society over generations of AMERICAN history that has limited opportunity and gutted the social fabric of minorities of every spectrum. if anything, his COMMUNITY is a source of IDENTITY, EMPOWERMENT and ART in his LYRICS, MUSIC and VISUAL PRESENTATION. his work may be a bit CONTROVERSIAL but i feel strongly that YG is one of the most EXCITING rappers to come along in recent memory and is most definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
i hate SACRAMENTO with a PASSION.
i spent my senior year of high school living with a relative in a WHITE-BREAD suburb of the state capital in the wake of 9/11 and was just appalled at the IN-YOUR-FACE JINGOISM, RACISM and just NAKED IDIOCY on full daily display. and that aftertaste very much still lingers. at the time, i kept thinking that nothing of CULTURAL VALUE has come from the area with the lone exception being the SEMINAL ALTERNATIVE METAL band DEFTONES. over the past two decades that list has been amended a bit with INNOVATIVE and IMPACTFUL acts such as HELLA, CHELSEA WOLFE, TERA MELOS and DEATH GRIPS. when i first came across the debut mixtape EX MILITARY (THIRD WORLDS, 2011) by EXPERIMENTAL HIP HOP act DEATH GRIPS i was completely emotionally sideswiped. it didnt process. it was like this ABSURD hybrid of the highly MANIPULATED, IMAGINATIVE FOUND SOUND-enabled UNPREDICTABILITY of APHEX TWIN, the OBLITERATING sonic BRUTALITY of CONVERGE and the CONFRONTATIONAL, NO-BULLSHIT, STREETWISE LYRICISM of the WU-TANG CLAN. these component parts should not exist together, and yet they do and the sound is CHAOTIC and BEAUTIFUL in its TECHNICAL WIZARDRY, COMPOSITIONAL COMPLEXITY and EMOTIONAL RELEASE. EX MILITARY was easily one of the most ADVENTUROUS releases i had heard in decades. the whole VISUAL and AURAL AESTHETIC of DEATH GRIPS is absolute uncertainty conceived and played with UNRIVALED PRECISION. it is BRILLIANT. the three-piece is made up of MC/vocalist RIDE, drummer ZACH HILL and keyboardist/programmer ANDY MORIN. HILL of course is a PRODIGIOUS, generationally TALENTED musician that came to UNDERGROUND prominence in the PROGRESSIVE MATH ROCK band HELLA. his METRONOMIC PRECISION on the kit is ABSURD, which is prefect in the context of DEATH GRIPS and their EXTREME DYNAMICS with EVER-SHIFTING AND COMPLEX TIME SIGNATURES and TEMPO SHIFTS designed for the maximum juxtaposition of DISSONANCE and AURAL DISLOCATION. key tacks included "BEWARE," "CULTURE SHOCK," "GUILLOTINE," "LORD OF THE GAME" and "KNOWN FOR IT." RIDE comes across as the most INTENSE and PRIMAL of ringleaders of a DEMENTED circus youd never wish to attend, guiding you through a sonic mind-field that is both OVERWHELMING and EXASPERATING in detail and UNRELENTING BRUTALITY alike. i see his function within the MUSIC as making it feel COHESIVE by providing a FOCAL POINT and an INTENT, even if such is purely CATHARTIC and EMOTIONAL in scope initially. his VOICE pulls you in and directs you through the CHAOS. not sure what else to say. i absolutely adore this band and this mixtape. an absolutely ESSENTIAL release that is well worth checking out, much like other OPAQUE yet highly IMAGINATIVE and ORIGINAL releases of past decades like NINE INCH NAILS' THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL (INTERSCOPE, 1994), SWANS' CHILDREN OF GOD (CAROLINE, 1987), CAPTAIN BEEFHEART's TROUT MASK REPLICA (STRAIGHT, 1969) or MF DOOM's VAUDVILLE VILLAIN (SOUND-INK, 2003).
parody by nacrowe
the story of SUB POP RECORDS is so fantastical, it is something akin to fairy tale. in a notoriously SELF-CANNIBALIZING industry with a irredeemably RAPACIOUS and INSATIABLE appetite for SELF-SERVING, DEVIOUS business practices and CYNICAL self-justifications for mercilessly economically raping their CLIENTS and FANS alike, it is a wonder the PACIFIC NORTHWEST INDEPENDENT record label is still standing and functioning today. and not only surviving, but in fact thriving in a MODERN POST-STREAMING DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT where culture is moving and innovating at an increasingly fast clip. since the 1980s SUB POP has basically been a beacon for INVENTIVE established and emerging MUSICIANS alike, providing a platform and opportunity for wide exposure to ARTISTS across HIP HOP, INDIE ROCK, COMEDY, ELECTRONICA, SPOKEN WORD, PUNK ROCK, INDIE POP and TRIP HOP genres alike.
SUB POP began interestingly enough not as a LABEL, but as a FANZINE and RADIO SHOW at EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE by student and music fanatic BRUCE PAVITT. it later morphed into a NEWSPAPER COLUMN and then a LABEL as a means of putting out a compilation album of unknown local SEATTLE acts in the late 80s. this small but close scene, uniquely propelled by its ISOLATION, cultivated an EMERGING ALTERNATIVE ROCK scene that infused elements of PUNK ROCK, METAL and CLASSIC ROCK influences to create something entirely FRESH yet FAMILIAR. by SERENDIPITY and hard work, SUB POP tapped into that vein and promoted the likes of SOUNDGARDEN, GREEN RIVER, MUDHONEY, NIRVANA and so on to the present day. what i appreciate about the LABEL is that they have never attempted to put out the same thing over and over again like so many other SUCCESSFUL AMERICAN INDEPENDENT LABELS (cough, cough, EPITAPH, FAT WRECK CHORDS, etc). i see SUB POP as more akin and in-league with the LIKE-MINDED BRITISH RECORD LABELS (4AD, ROUGH TRADE, XL, MUTE, WARP and DOMINO), as well as a few AMERICAN ones as well (MATADOR, MERGE and JAGJAGUWAR), that nurture and curate INGENIOUS new ARTISTS. whenever i feel jaded about music, SUB POP continues to be an entry point into the AVANT-GARDE of music right now. not thirty years ago at the height of a much BELOVED but IRRELEVANT and BYGONE GRUNGE movement, but right at present at this cultural moment. i just dont understand how they remained intact. its almost as if the COMMUNITY is consciously along for the ride, which is reassuring about HUMANITY in general. and thats exciting. SUB POP is a gift to music lovers. embedded below is a DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that includes an ECLECTIC playlist of SUB POP bands new and old, notable and upcoming. enjoy! photo & text by nacrowe
when you look back at the nascent HIP HOP scene in THE BRONX in the late 1970s, there was a lot of EXPERIMENTATION going on. the form itself was justing coming into being and the sonic possibilities that came with remixing one's record collection on turntables with a clever DJ running copilot was seemingly limited to one's imagination.
what is INTRIGUING about going back to the source, of which AFRIKA BAMBAATAA & SOULSONIC FORCE's EPOCHAL release PLANET ROCK: THE ALBUM (TOMMY BOY, 1986) is how informed his range was of the musical AVANT-GARDE, even going so far as to sample KRAUTROCK contemporaries KRAFTWERK for the LEGENDARY title track. in his hands (along with collaborating co-producer ARTHUR BAKER), the consciously RIGID and MACHINE-LIKE efficiency of "NUMBERS" off of KRAFTWERK's COMPUTER WORLD (KLING KLANG, 1981) became something totally unexpected: FUNKY. in the MODERN lexicon of HIP HOP as it has develop over the ensuing decades, "PLANET ROCK" has one of the DEFINING samples of the genre. so much so that the song helped provide the impetus for the ELECTRO movement that followed. sometimes genres become more CALCIFIED over the course of their development as a form and there is this fallacy that develops that the early FORBEARERS somehow held onto this UNADULTERATED, UNALLOYED, PURE DISTILLATION of the TRUE SPIRIT of the genre. you see that type of incorrect thinking and mythologizing with everything from PUNK ROCK and the BIBLE to BASEBALL and the UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION. its a very human thing to distort the past. the further you go back, often what becomes apparent is how in flux and undetermined all these later DOGMATIC parameters were at the time of formation. HIP HOP is no different and "PLANET ROCK" is a PRIME and INTRIGUING example of such. i would be remiss if i didnt mention the other STANDOUT track, which is "RENEGADES OF FUNK," decades later MEMORABLY covered by BAMBAATAAA acolytes RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE. lyrically the song celebrates all these BLACK EMPOWERMENT and is a bit of history lesson of such, listing past THINKERS and REVOLUTIONARIES that pushed the ball forward in terms of the LIBERATION and FREEDOM of the AFRICAN DIASPORA. in fact, BAMBAATAAA headed the UNIVERSAL ZULU NATION, an international HIP HOP awareness group he initiated while still in high school that promoted PAN-AFRICANISM and BLACK EMPOWERMENT. later NOTABLE affiliates include Q-TIP (A TRIBE CALLED QUEST), KOOL MOE DEE, BIG BOI (OUTKAST), KURTIS BLOW, IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE and ICE-T among many others. i should also state that in recent years BAMBAATAAA has become something of a CONTROVERSIAL figure, with many allegations surfacing of his alleged involvement in the molesting of young boys going back to the 1970s. BAMBAATAAA has vehemently denied these charges and to date no charges have been leveled against him. all the same it goes without mentioning that these allegations have complicated his legacy as a HIP HOP ORIGINATOR and CULTURAL INNOVATOR of the first order. photo & text by nacrowe
after the career-defining twin cultural HIP HOP milestones that were THE SLIM SHADY LP (INTERSCOPE, 1999) and THE MARSHALL MATHERS LP (INTERSCOPE, 2000), DETROIT rapper EMINEM settled in and released THE EMINEM SHOW (INTERSCOPE, 2002). by the time he recorded his third album, he'd gone through the ringer publicly after resolving a CONCEALED WEAPONS CHARGE, being SUED BY HIS OWN MOTHER for defamation, as well as a lengthy DIVORCE with a related CONTESTED CUSTODY BATTLE for his young daughter. for EMINEM, his life very much felt like a WARPED spectacle that was fodder and entertainment for the masses, so why not just give them all an actual show on his third album.
the first two records were mostly produced / co-produced by DR DRE with EMINEM gaining confidence along the way. THE EMINEM SHOW is SIGNIFICANT in his catalogue as the majority of tracks are produced by EMINEM, showcasing a FIERCE new SKILLSET he developed under the watchful tutelage of DR DRE. such being the case, the piano-derived single-note MELODY LINES share a DNA link with the N.W.A. legend, as made evident on tracks like "BUSINESS," "WHITE AMERICA," "SQUARE DANCE," "WITHOUT ME" and especially "CLEANIN' OUT MY CLOSET." i was aware of EMINEM throughout high school, as THE SLIM SHADY LP came out my freshman year and THE MARSHALL MATHERS LP my sophomore year, but i didnt initially take to his music because his stuff was popular with the jocks. and by that i mean the hockey players that TERRORIZED and BRUTALLY HAZED me and my friends as an underclassman. i was at a boarding school so there was literally no escape from those ASSHOLES and their ABUSE. by the time THE EMINEM SHOW came out, i was near the end of high school and a lot had changed. i was no longer in boarding school, having spent my junior year with my parents in KUWAIT and then senior year with a relative in SACRAMENTO after 9/11 happened that year. the company my dad worked for had a policy that his family could fly out twice a year, airfare fully paid, so it was on a five-and-a-half hour solo journey FRANKFURT-KUWAIT CITY flight that i first really dug into a copy of THE EMINEM SHOW i got at the airport and finally came to appreciate its appeal. as with all great MCs, EMINEM is a GIFTED POET. not just technically-speaking, as the dude can INTERNAL RHYME SCHEME and CADENCE his way with DEXTERITY with the best of them, but in term of his ability to emote a wide dynamic range of mental states through his PERSONAS. he can be COY and HUMOROUS to ireedemably CAUSTIC in zero seconds flat. targets include his family, his WHITE AUDIENCE, the BUSH ADMINISTRATION, former girlfriend MARIAH CAREY, the MUSIC INDUSTRY and those who seek to censor him. besides his lyrical acrobatics, the songs work because of the sonic bedrock he's established to fortify and buttress the complex architecture that is his SOPHISTICATED RHYME SCHEMES, WORDPLAY and CULTURAL REFERENCES. it is a style that is definitely old school with prominent structural elements that give the listener an innate sense of METER and PITCH of which he is bouncing ideas off of. today's MODERN, more ABSTRACT cloud rappers don't mess with this type of beat as it limits their choices, which makes EMINEM's achievements that more SPECUTACULAR in comparison. personally i love THE EMINEM SHOW and feel it is required listening, but in terms of his catalogue the first two albums really are where one needs to begin their journey. everything else is a variation on a THEME, including the standout THE EMINEM SHOW. definitely worth checking out.
parody by nacrowe
its one of the big musical ironies of my life that it took me moving to WEST AFRICA from SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA to learn about one of the greatest WEST COAST HIP HOP groups of all-time, CYPRESS HILL. that transition happened in 1996 when i was in sixth grade and to be honest, i was completely IGNORANT about HIP HOP when i lived stateside since family didnt have cable television (much less any of my childhood friends) and none of my friends or neighborhood kids were into it. shortly after moving to NIGERIA, a LEBANESE classmate of mine (and MASSIVE POTHEAD) basically EDUCATED and INDOCTRINATED me into the church of CYPRESS HILL as he had the first three records at the time: CYPRESS HILL (COLUMBIA, 1991), BLACK SUNDAY (COLUMBIA, 1993) and III: TEMPLES OF BOOM (COLUMBIA, 1995).
while i never got into smoking MARIJUANA, i was very much taken aback by the STREETWISE LYRICISM and PROPULSIVE DELIVERY of the gifted MC tandem B-REAL and SEN DOG as well as the INGENIOUS PRODUCTION of DJ MUGGS which both had the potential to be FOREBODING as well as PSYCHEDELIC. the combination of those two elements made for a CINEMATIC AURAL EXPERIENCE that was CONTAGIOUS and INCREDIBLY COMPELLING to just get lost in for hours. in essence CYPRESS HILL was my entry point into HIP HOP. end stop. looking back at that period in the mid-1990s, NIGERIA was in a transition period whereby things got more than a little DANGEROUS at times, especially where we lived in LAGOS. years of rampant CORRUPTION effectively rendered the place the wild west. even traveling to and from school was everyday was done with an armed guard with a size-able automatic weapon. i say this to make the point that CYPRESS HILL was the absolute perfect soundtrack to this completely FUBAR situation, one in which people visibly struggled for SURVIVAL. the music at its core seemed to CELEBRATE that STRUGGLE and the FORCE OF WILL it took for those trapped in its INSIDIOUS clutches to maintain a sense of HOPE, DIGNITY and HUMANITY. from my love CYPRESS HILL grew an appreciation for later HIP HOP artists and groups i became exposed to over the coming years including PUBLIC ENEMY, NAS, A TRIBE CALLED QUEST, ERIC B & RAKIM, THE PHARCYDE, MF DOOM, DE LA SOUL, OUTKAST, RUN THE JEWELS and the WU-TANG CLAN. and it goes beyond HIP HOP, as BRITISH TRIP HOP acts like MASSIVE ATTACK, PORTISHEAD, THIEVERY CORPORATION, SNEAKER PIMPS and TRICKY werent that far removed from what DJ MUGGS was up to on a purely SONIC LEVEL. i know that much of their public profile is surrounded by MARIJUANA ADVOCACY (which i support), much like other NOTABLE acts like SUBLIME, 311, SLEEP, BLACK SABBATH, THE GRATEFUL DEAD and CANNIBAL CORPSE, but for me what make a CYPRESS HILL such a seminal group is their ability to coherently present a COHESIVE LYRICAL and AURAL PICTURE of life in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA for the SOCIALLY UNDERPRIVILEGED and CRIMINALLY UNDERSERVED. if WEED makes that CREATIVE PROCESS happen, then i am all here for it. they are one of the key musical groups of my youth that helped me emotionally make sense of TRAGIC surroundings and TRAUMATIC events that marked my three-year stint in LAGOS as a kid. for that i am still indebted to them. embedded below is a DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that originally aired on new year's day back in 2020. the playlist includes music from throughout CYPRESS HILL's catalogue. enjoy!
parody by nacrowe
when i think about how i got into HIP HOP, there is pretty much two eras: before hearing the WU-TANG CLAN and after hearing the WU-TANG CLAN. i was somewhat naive about RAP in general during my early years in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, but when i arrived in middle school to NIGERIA i learned about a whole host of artists ranging from CYPRESS HILL, NAS, TUPAC SHAKUR, A TRIBE CALLED QUEST, THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G. and so on. it was an EDUCATION to say the least and alongside my EXPOSURE to WEST AFRICAN artists like FELA KUTI, KING SUNNY ADE and LAGBAJA, it provided a foundation for APPRECIATING the COMPLEXITY of modern music from across the AFRICAN DIASPORA.
enter the WU-TANG CLAN. i was in boarding school in MASSACHUSETTS and the mixed-race son of a UMASS professor who lived next door had an ENTER THE WU-TANGE (36 CHAMBERS) (LOUD, 1993) poster proudly displayed in plain view from the hallway. remarkably somehow the WU-TANG CLAN never made the journey to NIGERIA. still boggles my mind. hearing them for the first time really triggered something in my UNDERSTANDING and APPRECIATION of HIP HOP from there out. the idea that the objective was to have the most CLEVER people spitting the most CLEVER shit over the most CLEVER production possible. in WU-TANG you had all of that, with ten MCs tagging themselves in one after the other, attempting to outsmart and essentially outcompete their fellow bandmate. it was POETRY as a sport envisioned through the LEXICON and VISUAL ICONOGRAPHY of KUNG FU films as stand-in metaphors for the black experience in STATEN ISLAND. there was literally nothing out there as INTELLIGENT and CREATIVE as WU-TANG in any genre. that debut is one of those turning point records that hasnt been topped since in my opinion. and just for the sake of honesty, i worship at the high altar of A TRIBE CALLED QUEST, my all-time favorite HIP HOP group, along with PUBLIC ENEMY, OUTKAST, THE PHARCYDE, GETO BOYS, DE LA SOUL and the BEASTIE BOYS. but in reality none of those groups produced anything as TRANSFORMATIVE as WU-TANG's debut. its a PERFECT record. period. as if that wasnt enough, there is also the less spoken about BUSINESS SAVVY and GENIUS of WU-TANG CLAN. signed to LOUD RECORDS, a subsidiary of ZOO RECORDS (of GREEN JELLY and TOOL fame), the label in essence had the rights to the catalogue of the band but not its members, which allowed all of them to sign deals with various labels, such as DEF JAM (METHOD MAN), MCA (GZA), EPIC (GHOSTFACE KILLAH, CAPPADONNA), LOUD (INSPECTAH DECK), ELEKTRA (OL' DIRTY BASTARD), BMG (RZA), PRIORITY (U-GOD), RCA (RAEKWON) and NATURE SOUNDS (MASTA KILLA). in essence this mean that most of the conglomerates at the time had a financial stake in the WU-TANG enterprise, supporting one in essence raised the profiles of the others. previous to this arrangement, all solo careers of PROMINENT members were pre-arranged to be developed and promoted by the same management and label as the main group, which effectively straddled momentum. this INNOVATIVE arrangement WU-TANG employed is now commonplace in the industry and has led to more OPPORTUNITY and DIVERSIFICATION of risk in the music business pre-NAPSTER and widespread internet-enabled file sharing. i find myself always going back to the WU-TANG CLAN debut. you hear a verse you love and then find out that the next few hours is all about GHOSTFACE KILLAH's SUPREME CLIENTELE (EPIC, 2000) or FISHSCALE (DEF JAM, 2006) or maybe even OL' DIRTY BASTARD's RETURN TO THE 36 CHAMBERS (ELEKTRA, 1995). its a ride that is worth repeat visits. embedded below is a DEER GOD RADIO episode on nonprofit internet radio station MAKERPARKRADIO.NYC that originally aired more than three years ago. the playlist includes music from throughout the WU-TANG CLAN catalogue, both the group and its members' various solo and outside projects. enjoy! photo manipulation & text by nacrowe
my instinct is to always call BULLSHIT whenever people speak nostalgically of a golden age of anything. truth is, every generation has talent. each generation also has an artistic mandate to push forward and expand the lexicon of what came before and keep the FRESH musical and LYRICAL EXPERIMENTATION going. JOEY BADA$$ is a BROOKLYN rapper that came on the scene a decade ago and was heralded as an GIFTED MC that was bringing back CONSCIOUSNESS and INTELLIGENCE back to a national scene dominated by MUMBLE RAP and fly-by-night SOUNDCLOUD artists that made the form DISPENSABLE (as argued by some OVERZEALOUS critics and old heads).
i dont know if i by into such talk, but in the past decade JOEY BADA$$ has proven to be a THOUGHTFUL and INTROSPECTIVE lyricist who much like his better known peers in J COLE and KENDRICK LAMAR, trades on a personal brand of HIP HOP that is focused on his lived EXPERIENCE (RELATIONSHIPS, PERSONAL LIBERATION, COMMUNITY, EDUCATION, etc.) and has lasted the test of time. to say i consider him in the same league as Q-TIP, TALIB KWELI, CHUCK D, BLACK THOUGHT or MOS DEF is beside the point and IRRELEVANT. i just look forward to following this guy for years to come. at the very least he is most definitely worth checking out. photo & text by nacrowe
the BEASTIE BOYS fifth studio album HELLO NASTY (CAPITOL, 1998) was a seminal HIP HOP album as i experienced it the summer before my freshman year of high school. i knew of their existence before due to hearing various LICENSE TO ILL (DEF JAM, 1986) tracks out of context during my elementary school years in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, but i never had their records nor strangely did anyone i knew growing up there and in WEST AFRICA. its ODD in retrospect since other MAJOR HIP HOP artists like CYPRESS HILL, A TRIBE CALLED QUEST, THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G., WU-TANG CLAN and TUPAC all seemingly made the jump overseas, but for whatever reason not the BEASTIE BOYS.
regardless, the SEMINAL HELLO NASTY album was the first BEASTIE BOYS record i ever bought and i basically worked my way backwards shortly thereafter. by this point for years my family had relocated to NEW JERSEY during the summer months (in part to by a years worth of supplies that would shipped overseas to NIGERIA) and in the summer of 1998 "INTERGALACTIC" was a monster hit on both INFLUENTIAL NYC HIP HOP stations like HOT 97 and POWER 105.1 and the ALTERNATIVE ROCK juggernaut that was 92.3 K-ROCK. that level of UBIQUITY on the airwaves, not to mention the accompanying ADAM YAUCH-directed music video on MTV at the time, made that track a particularly UNIQUE cultural moment at the time. HELLO NASTY was co-produced with MARIO CALDATO, JR who was involved with their previous three releases ILL COMMUNICATION (CAPITOL, 1994), CHECK YOUR HEAD (CAPITOL, 1992), and PAUL'S BOUTIQUE (CAPITOL, 1989) and sonically the record is high-energy and propulsive with a clever mix of DANCEHALL, DUB, LOUNGE, DRUM & BASS elements. this is also the first BEASTIE BOYS release to feature MIX MASTER MIKE as their effective house DJ (complete with his innovative wah-wah pedal inflected vinyl scratching), a role he would continue until their break-up in the wake of YAUCH's passing from salivary gland cancer. STANDOUT tracks include "REMOTE CONTROL," "THREE MC'S AND ONE DJ," "BODY MOVIN'" and "SUPER DISCO BREAKIN'" with guest performances by the likes of MIHO HATORI (CIBO MATTO) and legendary DUB producer LEE "SCRATCH" PERRY. everyone has their favorite BEASTIE BOYS record (mine will always be ILL COMMUNICATION), but in effect they are all great. if you are unfamiliar with their work there is no bad place to start and HELLO NASTY is as GREAT an introduction to a nearly FLAWLESS discography as you will find. definitely worth checking out. |
NICHOLAS ARCHIVES
March 2024
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