Keep a hold of those trousers bro. You don’t wanna make yourself look silly now, do ya?

According to Dallas it’s Weezy’s birthday today, so given that there was a decent response to my previous post and I’ve had a chance to think about the issue at hand a little more, I thought I’d extend my musings on Weezy F. Baby a little further. Man, I love myself a lazy Sunday afternoon.

However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point you in the direction of Brandon’s exceptional two-part piece which engages with the same ideas that I was trying to get down with but in a far more developed and intelligent way (shouts to reader WestIndianArchie for the recommendation). What I found particularly interesting about this piece was that Brandon incorporates a discussion of shifts in production aesthetics and how this has consequences on the style of vocal delivery that is required in order for a song to feel homogeneous. In short, you can’t have Nas’ lyrical flow sit over the top of the more stripped-down, jittery staccato beats that have now found favour with the masses because their very nature necessitates a more off-kilter, abstract style of rhyme. Weezy would sound similarly goofy rhyming over the instrumental of ‘It Ain’t Hard To Tell’. I accept this, and it goes a long way to explaining why Wayne remains a mystery to me because at a base level I don’t ever really feel the beats that he’s rapping over: I’m lost and pretty much lacking engagement before I even attempt to get my head around what’s coming out of his mouth.

But this leads me down another avenue in the discussion. Almost unquestionably, the pinnacle of any MC’s achievement is their flow. Hip hop is so intrinsically a case of style over substance that in reality it doesn’t matter what you’re talking about, but rather the way in which it is delivered (although naturally the true greats transcend this generalisation). But then what do we really mean when we talk about flow? Water flows. Air flows. The word by definition means a movement that is smooth and continuous. In which case, can we really talk about the proficiency and accomplishment of an MC’s flow - if this is the key parameter on which we judge their ability - when their style of delivery is at times the deliberate antithesis of the term itself?

Now I don’t want to go too over the top here. I realise that what I’m now beginning to engage in is a slightly silly semantic argument that perhaps doesn’t hold a lot of weight and would be relatively easy to debunk. I’m also keen to point out that I’m not saying that Weezy hasn’t got flow in the more traditional sense of the word. Of course he does. It also doesn’t mean that some MCs who I love haven’t been deliberately playing with more staccato, off-beat rhythms since way back when (see Pharoah Monch). But when it comes down to it I guess the root of my problem here is that when I listen to the music coming out of the South its deliberate stop and start aesthetic is at odds with what I love about hip hop music in the first place: its sense of unshakable momentum. It flows.

Rather obviously, this is all entirely subjective. One man’s caviar is another man’s stinking pile of fish eggs. Does Lil’ Wayne’s ‘flow’ flow? Does it really matter? Am I misunderstanding something crucial about Wayne’s skills as a lyricist? Are you? Will his heralded genius endure when inevitable shifts in the genre come around again?

Who knows. I still don’t like the guy though.

I just don’t get it.  Doesn’t anyone else think this is kinda annoying?

One thing that has been painfully obvious to me ever since starting in blogging is that living on the other side of the pond means I’m pretty disconnected with a lot of what’s going on in the contemporary American scene. It actually plays on my conscience a little bit, because as much as I realise it’s important for me to keep abreast of developments in the genre, there’s a barrier there that I find relatively hard to break down. In part this is my own doing - there aren’t really any excuses with the proliferation of information on the web - but ultimately I still feel a distance (and vague sense of bemusement) when trying to figure out how it is I’m meant to respond to the commercial side of contemporary rap music in the States.

Let me try and put this in perspective a little. Would it surprise you to know that until about six months ago I didn’t even know who Rick Ross was? Would you be stunned if I told you that I’d never seen a Flo Rida video on TV? Would you be picking your jaw up off the floor if I mentioned that not one single kid out of the thousands I’ve now taught has ever had a hip hop ringtone accidentally go off in class? Would you be left feeling similarly aghast in the knowledge that had it not been for my own intrepid travels through the web I would never have heard ‘A Milli’? (I’m not sure how much better I feel having done so though.) I’m aware of the fact that when it comes down to it what I’m really talking about is southern rap here, but am I the only person who just doesn’t get it? Is it just my Britishness and a lack of necessary cultural reference points that makes the hype around/success of these artists seem incomprehensible? Can I communicate my bewilderment even more eloquently by squeezing yet another question into this paragraph?

I’m desperately trying to avoid a completely tired and two-dimensional view here. This brief aside from regular programming is far more confession than decent, well-informed commentary on the subject. I really don’t want to just come off as some sort of dinosaur who is so blinkered to shifts in the genre that I’d rather just cuddle up with my copy of Enta Da Stage and forget about it all, because I really don’t. I’m also aware of the fact that even in writing this, I feel a niggling sense of guilt/shame that maybe it’s just because I’m not trying hard enough to appreciate what it is that has clearly captivated such a wide audience and garnered such critical praise. I mean if Jeff and Renato can get down with a little Weezy, then why can’t I? I’m open to the idea that it just may not be my cup of tea, but even attempts to listen to Tha Carter III just leave me feeling a little lost. What am I missing here? Is there some level of irony that’s escaping me? I accept that Weezy’s thang is all about being completely over the top, but does no-one else feel like this is just preening, overblown bullshit?

Perhaps all I’m really doing here is exposing my own shortcomings as a hip hop ‘journalist’. I’m also engaging in what must be a completely worn-out argument for some of you reading this: it’s not like there hasn’t been a lot of far more intelligent and pertinent commentary written about the South circulate the blogosphere over the last couple of years, but it’s still a phenomenon I just can’t quite wrap my head around.

I’m open and ready to be slaughtered: don’t hold back. Oh, and if you’re wondering what brought all this on, look here. I mean, what the fuck?

Black Moon - ‘Enta Da Stage’
taken from Enta Da Stage (Nervous, 1993)

In case you missed the deconstruction for the above track.

This is why I want to live in New York. Shouts to Metal Lungies for making me ache with envy.

So I was gonna do a proper post today but after a server changeover mid-week it looks like a few Gremlins are lurking in my Word Press platform. I’ll be back as soon as possible.

Q-Tip - ‘Gettin’ Up’
taken from The Renaissance (Universal/Motown, TBC)

OK, so I know I’m never really on top of the ‘news’, but I guess that’s because for the most part I’m rarely excited by it. So what’s-his-face is dropping a new mixtape? The hottest thing this year?! Gimme a break.

However, the recently leaked single from Q-Tip has me seriously amped for his upcoming release entitled The Renaissance. The beat’s killer and Tip can unsurprisingly still out-rhyme pretty much any rapper on the current scene: bring on November 4th. If it all sounds like this (please, please, please say it does) then we’re talking album of the year status. Although I guess in 2008 that ain’t saying a great deal…

Don’t hold your breath though. If the album drops before 2009 has already started then I’ll happily chow down on my virtual headwear. Eff the majors!