We have all heard the retarded phrase "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", and yeah. . . sometimes that applies. . . I guess. . . But let's be real. . . We live in a society that values upgrades, whether they are necessary or not. Perhaps you don't need a new car, but if you are pushin' a scraper, and you can afford a Benz, why the fuck not? Sure, maybe it ain't broke, but. . . anyway, you get where I am going with this.
My question is, does this same theory apply to music?
As a listener, I am torn between the beauty of the evolution of music, and the need for that classic shit that I love SO much already. . . There are several albums coming out in the next few months that will undoubtedly draw attention to this issue. . . Do we want artists makin' new versions of the same shit, cause we love it, or do we want something entirely new, different, etc, knowing we run the risk of not liking the new direction the artist has gone in?
I constantly find myself saying I miss the Kanye of 'College Dropout'. . . the witty, cocky yet not impossibly egotistical, humorous, sane Kanye. . . The Yeezy we all fell for, and defended up until it became unbearable to do so. When I was given a link to Kanye's latest (yet NOT greatest), I found myself saying it again. . . "I want the old Kanye back". . . If THAT'S growth, then lets stunt that mothafucka' because that is NOT good hip hop (in my opinion).
See for yourself: http://usershare.net/1xwgs1us52s6
I'm gonna resist the urge to make jokes about the irony of the name of that track. . . Moving on.
In a strikingly similar (yet unexpected) situation, when I was presented with a track off of Slum Village's latest a few days ago, I also found myself saying 'is this my SV?!'. . . What I heard was NOT what I was used to from that group, and I am not going to lie, a part of me was vastly displeased by that. . . When I think of Slum Village, a thousand amazing tracks pop into my mind, and granted, they aren't all EXACTLY the same, but they definitely have that Motor City foreplay feel that I have come to know and love. . . but this. . . this new track. . . I didn't feel it. . . it didn't FEEL like Slum Village. . .
Check it: http://usershare.net/kv5hqkpmafnn
After being hit with this inescapable reality of the situation, that MY Slum Village had gone and switched things up on me, I was forced to reevaluate what I had heard, and listen to the new track in a different way. . . Let me explain: When you have attached yourself to a group. . . or an individual for that matter. . . that you LOVE. . . sometimes, when they do things differently than what you are used to, your first reaction is "this shit is just WRONG. . ." That was me. . . I wanted Slum Village, and I felt like I had gotten. . . something. . . else. . .
After having a little 'get your fucking shit together' talk with myself, I re-listened to the track. . . I heard it for what it was, not for what I expected it to be, or what I wanted it to be, etc. Upon second, third, fourth, and fifth listen, I realized this was not 'devil music' like I had previously dubbed it out of anger at it's being different. . .
It was a solid track, with a great beat. . . it was something that, had it not been Slum Village, I would have had no issue with from jump. . . In all actuality, I rather like the darkness of the track, with the beat giving off a dramatic feel and the flow aggressive, slightly morbid, critical, and. . . well. . . very real. . .
My only complaint about the track was the Lindsay Lohan comment in the chorus. . . cultural references are so hit or miss with me. . . and that one missed. . . by a mile. . .
Anywhos. . . (c) DOOM. I definitely had to check myself when dealing with the situation as described above, because I feel like, if I had let my closed mindedness about what Slum Village 'should' sound like dictate my actions/thoughts/feelings, I would be missing out on a solid track in "Dope Man". . . on the other hand. . . I still want to tell Kanye, 'please take it back to 'College Dropout'. . . you have only gone downhill from there. . .'
Which brings me to. . .
Evolution: any process of formation or growth; development.
To me, the evolution of a group, artist, etc, can be a good thing, because evolution has a positive connotation to it. . . growth and development are hard things to hate on, but at the same time, what about the not so positive changes? Do we point to some MC's and say 'hey you, evolve, you can do it..!' and then to others 'just do the same shit you did on your last album, cause you really ain't capable of too much more than that. . .'? Unfortunately, we can't do that. . . but even if we could. . . would that really be the best move? Sometimes people have to fuck up tryin' new shit before they fuck around and do some new and great shit. . . I will continue to listen to every Ye album that comes out in the hopes that he either goes back to his old, much better, ways, or that he does something new that's amazing. . . truthfully, I would be happy either way. . .
I heard this issue brought up a lot over Hov's latest. . . and Hov made a very good point on the album (I know, me. . . giving Hov credit for something. . . what was that? Did you hear that? Oh yeah, I think it was hell freezing over. . .). "Niggas want my old shit. . . buy my old album. . ." Now. . . granted. . . I don't want is old OR his new shit. . . but the point is still valid. . . we can't NOT love artists for progression. . . whether it's what we wanted from them, or not. . .
Also, we have those old albums, tracks, etc, to fall back on. . . I listen to 'College Dropout' weekly. . . it's a great album, whether Kanye sucks right now or not. . . if he came out with something new and amazing, it wouldn't change the fact that I love 'College Dropout' and it's an album that will always be in heavy rotation with me. . . As for Slum Village, if you know me at all, you know I listen to pretty much every Slum record. . . ever. . . every day. . . I am hoping that, with the upcoming release of Villa Manifesto (set to drop December 20th), that won't change. . . THEY might be changing, which in some ways is sad, because I loved them just the way they were, but in other ways, it's great, because the change is a positive change. . . at least on "Dope Man".
Bottom line: If you really love hip hop, you have to be open to it's growth, changes, etc. If you love an artist, and then they come out with some BAD shit, that's one thing. But if you love an artist, and they come out with some DIFFERENT shit. . . you gotta be open to it. You don't HAVE to like it, but if you hate on it simply because it's not the same old shit they have been giving you for 10 years, then you're doing yourself, and that artist, a disservice. . . The likelihood that there will ever be another Fantastic Vol. 2, Enter The Wu-Tang, Illmatic, Low End Theory, etc again is probably fairly slim. . . those albums were epic, and really, can't be touched. . . but that doesn't mean that a group/artists new shit can't be amazing, and worth every minute spent listening to it. . .
Alternately: Love the classic, but be open to the fresh. . . I'm just sayin'.
As a listener, I am torn between the beauty of the evolution of music, and the need for that classic shit that I love SO much already. . . There are several albums coming out in the next few months that will undoubtedly draw attention to this issue. . . Do we want artists makin' new versions of the same shit, cause we love it, or do we want something entirely new, different, etc, knowing we run the risk of not liking the new direction the artist has gone in?
I constantly find myself saying I miss the Kanye of 'College Dropout'. . . the witty, cocky yet not impossibly egotistical, humorous, sane Kanye. . . The Yeezy we all fell for, and defended up until it became unbearable to do so. When I was given a link to Kanye's latest (yet NOT greatest), I found myself saying it again. . . "I want the old Kanye back". . . If THAT'S growth, then lets stunt that mothafucka' because that is NOT good hip hop (in my opinion).
See for yourself: http://usershare.net/1xwgs1us52s6
I'm gonna resist the urge to make jokes about the irony of the name of that track. . . Moving on.
In a strikingly similar (yet unexpected) situation, when I was presented with a track off of Slum Village's latest a few days ago, I also found myself saying 'is this my SV?!'. . . What I heard was NOT what I was used to from that group, and I am not going to lie, a part of me was vastly displeased by that. . . When I think of Slum Village, a thousand amazing tracks pop into my mind, and granted, they aren't all EXACTLY the same, but they definitely have that Motor City foreplay feel that I have come to know and love. . . but this. . . this new track. . . I didn't feel it. . . it didn't FEEL like Slum Village. . .
Check it: http://usershare.net/kv5hqkpmafnn
After being hit with this inescapable reality of the situation, that MY Slum Village had gone and switched things up on me, I was forced to reevaluate what I had heard, and listen to the new track in a different way. . . Let me explain: When you have attached yourself to a group. . . or an individual for that matter. . . that you LOVE. . . sometimes, when they do things differently than what you are used to, your first reaction is "this shit is just WRONG. . ." That was me. . . I wanted Slum Village, and I felt like I had gotten. . . something. . . else. . .
After having a little 'get your fucking shit together' talk with myself, I re-listened to the track. . . I heard it for what it was, not for what I expected it to be, or what I wanted it to be, etc. Upon second, third, fourth, and fifth listen, I realized this was not 'devil music' like I had previously dubbed it out of anger at it's being different. . .
It was a solid track, with a great beat. . . it was something that, had it not been Slum Village, I would have had no issue with from jump. . . In all actuality, I rather like the darkness of the track, with the beat giving off a dramatic feel and the flow aggressive, slightly morbid, critical, and. . . well. . . very real. . .
My only complaint about the track was the Lindsay Lohan comment in the chorus. . . cultural references are so hit or miss with me. . . and that one missed. . . by a mile. . .
Anywhos. . . (c) DOOM. I definitely had to check myself when dealing with the situation as described above, because I feel like, if I had let my closed mindedness about what Slum Village 'should' sound like dictate my actions/thoughts/feelings, I would be missing out on a solid track in "Dope Man". . . on the other hand. . . I still want to tell Kanye, 'please take it back to 'College Dropout'. . . you have only gone downhill from there. . .'
Which brings me to. . .
Evolution: any process of formation or growth; development.
To me, the evolution of a group, artist, etc, can be a good thing, because evolution has a positive connotation to it. . . growth and development are hard things to hate on, but at the same time, what about the not so positive changes? Do we point to some MC's and say 'hey you, evolve, you can do it..!' and then to others 'just do the same shit you did on your last album, cause you really ain't capable of too much more than that. . .'? Unfortunately, we can't do that. . . but even if we could. . . would that really be the best move? Sometimes people have to fuck up tryin' new shit before they fuck around and do some new and great shit. . . I will continue to listen to every Ye album that comes out in the hopes that he either goes back to his old, much better, ways, or that he does something new that's amazing. . . truthfully, I would be happy either way. . .
I heard this issue brought up a lot over Hov's latest. . . and Hov made a very good point on the album (I know, me. . . giving Hov credit for something. . . what was that? Did you hear that? Oh yeah, I think it was hell freezing over. . .). "Niggas want my old shit. . . buy my old album. . ." Now. . . granted. . . I don't want is old OR his new shit. . . but the point is still valid. . . we can't NOT love artists for progression. . . whether it's what we wanted from them, or not. . .
Also, we have those old albums, tracks, etc, to fall back on. . . I listen to 'College Dropout' weekly. . . it's a great album, whether Kanye sucks right now or not. . . if he came out with something new and amazing, it wouldn't change the fact that I love 'College Dropout' and it's an album that will always be in heavy rotation with me. . . As for Slum Village, if you know me at all, you know I listen to pretty much every Slum record. . . ever. . . every day. . . I am hoping that, with the upcoming release of Villa Manifesto (set to drop December 20th), that won't change. . . THEY might be changing, which in some ways is sad, because I loved them just the way they were, but in other ways, it's great, because the change is a positive change. . . at least on "Dope Man".
Bottom line: If you really love hip hop, you have to be open to it's growth, changes, etc. If you love an artist, and then they come out with some BAD shit, that's one thing. But if you love an artist, and they come out with some DIFFERENT shit. . . you gotta be open to it. You don't HAVE to like it, but if you hate on it simply because it's not the same old shit they have been giving you for 10 years, then you're doing yourself, and that artist, a disservice. . . The likelihood that there will ever be another Fantastic Vol. 2, Enter The Wu-Tang, Illmatic, Low End Theory, etc again is probably fairly slim. . . those albums were epic, and really, can't be touched. . . but that doesn't mean that a group/artists new shit can't be amazing, and worth every minute spent listening to it. . .
Alternately: Love the classic, but be open to the fresh. . . I'm just sayin'.
No comments:
Post a Comment