Monday, December 03, 2007

The rap-o-meter (being white)

Surely there is nothing whiter than analysis, but as pointed out in day of the triffid's you have to speak the language of all types if you want to get anywhere.
I feel ashamed doing a post like this, but only slightly.
I got a friend of indian background who is a fellow, rap & hip hop enthusiast. He even enjoys Wayans brothers comedies. I believe nobody has any real superior claim to anything as universal as music. But we all tune in or out of various things for different reasons.
I particularly believe that if my friend and I were in down town Harlem, he would get about as warm a welcoming as I would. This would probably also be true for my Muslim friends, and definitely for my asian friends whom all seem to take the view that a bit of melanin in the skin practicly assures entry into the club.
But my friend and I were at a screening of Dave Chappelles block party one time, and this is going a fair ways back when we were in the bathroom during interval (astor cinema) and two white guys were analysing. My friend looked at me and said 'can you believe that?'
Yes I can. I understand how in some cultural contexts, 'he so fly' is considered communication. But to share a truly mutual experience of meaning. Some people may like to do a little bit of analyses.
Anyway, I sometimes worry about my friends who think rap is all 'how'd you get so chingy' and 'snoop dogg is ohhh-oh-ohh' certainly, these are rap, I won't deny it. But I remember reading a book that had a list of classical music, with the intention that these compositions were so good, they would help any pleb get into it.
So I thought I would give you my reader, a list of MC's that should help you discover how good rap can be. I have rated them on three measures, flow, wit and mysogeny. First two high scores are good, the last one low scores are good.

Fly MC's according to me:

Trugoy the Dove
Group: De La Soul
Rock equivalence band: Faith No More (breakthrough, versatile, 5 star all the way)
Flow: 7
Wit: 7
Mysogeny: 1.5

Pousdnous
Group: De La Soul
Rock equivalence band: Faith No More
Flow: 8
Wit: 7
Mysogeny: 1.5

Q-Tip
Group: A Tribe Called Quest
Rock equivalence band: Rage Against the Machine (definitive, breakthrough yet consistent)
Flow: Mega 10 + 1
Wit: 7
Mysogeny: 4 (2 extra points for the cameo on black sheep)

Dres
Group: Black Sheep
Rock Equivalence band: Red Hot Chilli Peppers (technically proficient, but channel energies into getting laid, also one truly landmark album)
Flow: 7
Wit: 9
Mysogeny: 6

Lawnge
Group: Black Sheep
Flow: 7
Wit: 9
Mysogeny: 8

Fife Dog
Group: A Tribe Called Quest
Flow: 8
Wit: 8
Mysogeny: 2

Jimmy Pop
Group: Bloodhound Gang
Rock Band Equivalent: The Bloodhound Gang
Flow: 5
Wit: 10
Mysogeny: Ridiculous 10 or some non real number like pi.

Tuna Fish
Group: Jurassic 5
Rock Band Equivalent: The White Stripes (for being almost a mini early 90's revival and quality too)
Flow: 7 + 1 bonus point for having serious balls in his voice
Wit: 7
Mysogeny: 1

And that would be as much analyses as my inner pastiness can muster right now. Seriously though, there's so much good stuff by those guys right up there that if you still don't like hip hop after chucking their stuff in the player one day, there is no hope for you, grow a mullet and listen to Journey and Rush exclusively.
Also as a side line, I should clarify that for me, Hip Hop is primaraly about two things, first and foremost wordplay, secondly coming up with interesting beats and samples. I enjoy it very much on an intellectual level. Whereas I suspect my friend has dancability thrown in as well. I don't really dance so I should clarify, that A Tribe Called Quests breakout album 'People's Instinctive Travels on the Paths of Rythym' whilst recognised for its historical significance was also panned as 'the least danceable album of the year' on realese.

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