Several of hip hop’s currently most talked about (relatively) underground rappers are being questioned, whether maliciously or genuinely, by fans and critics alike on their authenticity.1
Most recently Joey Bada$$ has become a “webpage name” by pulling a Marty McFly (by his own intimation) and traveling back in time, specifically the late 90s/early aughts, to save good rap music from an early death in the future. His first mix tape, 19992 has garnered at least one review that made it seem as though the listener would have had significantly more appreciation for it had it been released in the time period it celebrates. I understand the reaction of skepticism but at this point I find myself more at odds with the questioning than the artists in question.
Most recently Joey Bada$$ has become a “webpage name” by pulling a Marty McFly (by his own intimation) and traveling back in time, specifically the late 90s/early aughts, to save good rap music from an early death in the future. His first mix tape, 19992 has garnered at least one review that made it seem as though the listener would have had significantly more appreciation for it had it been released in the time period it celebrates. I understand the reaction of skepticism but at this point I find myself more at odds with the questioning than the artists in question.
Yesterday I was playing 1999 at home and my girlfriend and I had the following exchange,
“Who’s this? I like it.”
“Joey Bada$$. He goes to Murrow.”
“Really? He’s a senior?”
“Junior.”
“Wow. He sounds really old school.”
She didn’t have that reaction because she had read press or heard the buzz before the music. Nor was it because she has a depth of knowledge on the production styles from the likes of EZ Elpee or True Master. She responded to the music that way because that’s the reaction Joey Bada$$ and his Progressive Era crew were looking for. What we need to do as consumers is decide whether or not this is a bad thing.
According to Joey, he didn’t know music like this existed until he was in the 8th grade, which is totally conceivable when you consider what the accessible hip hop music was for someone his age growing up. But imagine a young Bada$$ never finds a copy of Operation Doomsday almost ten years after it’s release and succumbs to the influence of mainstream rap. Let’s say we can sum up his influences like so: on the 106 and Park front, when Nelly’s video comes on, he doesn’t change the channel and when he’s listening to DJ Clue on Hot 973 he’s checking for the new Fabolous and Paul Cain freestyle. Wouldn’t that result in today’s Joey Bada$$ being another version of Meek Mill or Big Sean? Aren’t those artists on the radio enough? Do we need any more of them? And since in reality he did obsess over his MF DOOM CD in his formative years, wouldn’t it be a natural progression for his music to sound the way it does? Wasn’t Amy Winehouse’s second album better than her first; when she started singing to the music her voice is naturally suited for, the music she grew up listening to, instead of the “neo soul” beats that were popular at the time? What about when The Strokes agreed they identified more so with The Smiths4 and New York Dolls than Pavement or Silver Jews and subsequently reshaped the entire landscape of indie rock music? It’s pretty well documented that we don’t view lack of originality or innovation as deal breakers when it comes to what we want to listen to, watch, read, eat or drink. In fact, we call it “retro” or “an homage” and chalk it up to “nostalgia”. Whatever works.
What I find inexcusable is when an artist tries to be coy when confronted about what their influences are, whether in general or on a specific piece of work. Woody Allen maintains to this day that Stardust Memories was not an homage to Frederico Fellini’s 8 ½. At the beginning of their career Interpol told us repeatedly that any similarities between them and Joy Division were purely coincidental5. On it’s surface I find that type of behavior insulting because I own a working set of both eyes and ears and on a deeper level because Stardust Memories is my second favorite Woody Allen movie6 and Interpol’s first two albums are on my classic list. I didn’t need to be lied to in order to appreciate the merit of those works. For me it’s refreshing when ASAP Rocky openly admits that as an outcast he felt more in tune with what was happening in Houston than Harlem. When I was growing up and Nas was being touted as the second coming of Rakim, it got people excited. I don’t know if I believe Joey Bada$$ is the second coming of Nasty Nas7 but he is certainly the reincarnation of Nas’ era. What is it that makes Nas in that spot celebrated but leaves Joey Bada$$ susceptible to questioning? Is it fair to discredit his talent because at the moment people would be more receptive to the next Biz Markie than they would the next Kool G Rap?
2. Right.
4. I haven’t read or heard anyone else make this comparison but if people can pull a Television comparison out of their ass then damnit I can pull The Smiths out of mine.
5. I didn’t know of Joy Division until after I had heard Interpol. When my friend who turned me on to Interpol played me Joy Division for the first time, I was positive that it was Paul Banks’ singing I was listening to and thought she was playing a trick on me.
6. I actually like it more than 8 ½, which I’m aware is sacrilege.
7. Although when you listen to the versatility he displays on Progrssive Era’s The Secc$ Tap.e, you have to admit there’s some potential there.
All art is re-hash: a collective rebuilding on themes and ideas that have snuck around the back of man's skull eternally. It's just nice when someone re-hashes something good. This mixtape drops the static-y soul sample on the young twitter-thumbers; educates the youth.
ReplyDeleteThank god A$AP heard the South and Bada$$ heard the DOOM.