At first, I wanted to name this blog post, “What Makes an
Album Great?” but then I thought about it for a while and I thought the word “great”
was too broad for what I wanted to talk about because there are a lot of albums
that are “great.” Therefore, I chose to change the title to “timeless” because
it perfectly describes the types of albums that I wanted to talk about that I
think are “great.”
So what do I mean by timeless?I mean albums that can stand the test of
time.I mean albums that you can play
more than once without feeling like you’re forcing yourself to like it.I mean albums that sound great being played
over and over again.I mean albums that
you can play a year or two from now and it’s feels like you’ve experienced it
for the very first time.
I’ve been listening to a lot of albums lately and I’ve
noticed that all of the albums that I love are albums that give me a great
experience.
Now when I’m listening to an album, I like to try and figure
out the album’s experience and get into the mind of the artist who crafted it.
To give you a better idea of what I’m talking about, you
know you’re listening to types of albums when you feel like you’re listening to
a movie.
I envision these types of albums as one whole song as
opposed to a group of songs.Each song
on these types of albums effortlessly and naturally transitions to the next
song in order to enhance and continue the listener’s experience.
Here are a group of albums that I feel describe what I’ve
just described above:
Kendrick Lamar – Good Kid, M.a.a.d City
The Roots – Undun
Childish Gambino – Camp
Kid CuDi – Man on The Moon:The End of Day
Kid CuDi – Man on The Moon II:The Legend of Mr. Rager
Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II
Kanye West – 808’s and Heartbreak
These are only some of the Hip-Hop albums that I feel are
timeless.If I missed anything, it’s
because I forgot to add it to the list or didn’t listen to it yet.
So what do you think?Do you think an album’s overall experience is what makes it
timeless?Or do you think I’ve missed
something about what makes an album great?Let’s start a conversation.
Be sure to support the artists you feel deserve it in any
way possible.Good music shall always
prevail.
If you want to check out my music, head over to my YouTubeChannel.
I believe establishing a unique identity is the biggest
obstacle for any beginner Rapper/MC in today’s age of the internet.
Because aspiring Rappers/MCs now have access to a bigger
platform thanks to the internet, any aspiring Rapper/MC can have the chance to
show the world what they got.As good as
that sounds, beginner Rappers/MCs can also expect more competition for their
chance in the spotlight, which brings me to why I am writing this article.
Because more Rappers/MCs have access to bigger platform, new
Rappers/MCs of today need a way to stand out from the competition.
One way, Rappers/MCs can stand out from the competition,
besides being good at rapping, is to establish a unique identity.By the way, this is not the only way to stand
out from the competition.There are
other ways as well.In this blog post,
I’ll only be writing about how to establish you unique identity.
This may sound simple, but there’s more to it than just
stating that you represent A-B-C.You
need to be able convey your identity as a Rapper/MC and channel it through your
music.
Establishing your unique identity as a Rapper/MC is so
important because it will affect what type of music you will write, what kind
of beats you will select for your music, and it will give an audience something
to associate your music with because a lot of Rappers/MCs are forgettable.Your skills at rapping may be great, but
showing off your skills only through braggadocio-esque rap songs and showing
off how good you are can only take you so far.You DON’T want to be forgettable. Being forgettable is the death of any new Rapper/MC
It’s also important because a lot of beginners who don’t
take the time to find their own unique identity often sound like those who they
listen to and admire the most. I’m not
saying that it’s bad to be inspired by other rappers because if you’re getting
buzz, there will always be people who will label you as the next so and
so. I’m saying that you need to stand on
your own two feet. You need to develop
your own style. As Method Man once said, "Don't bite my shit."
When you establish your own identity, this doesn't mean that
you can’t break out of the mold of people’s idea of your type of music and do
something that’s completely outside of what people expect from you. You have to send the message that it’s still
the same you, but you’re just doing something that you usually don’t do. It’s all about keeping it real. As long as you keep it real, you can be as
creative and innovative as you want through your music.
So how do you find out what your unique identity is as a
Rapper/MC?
Assuming that you are already great at rapping, you need to
know who you are as a person.
One way to do that is to find your unique voice.If you look in the beginning of this blog post,
I posted a link to what inspired me to write this blog post.That link leads to another blog post which
contains ten questions which can help you find your unique voice.
As an aspiring Rapper/MC myself, that blog post has helped
me a lot with establishing my unique identity.Hopefully it will help you out as well.
So what do you think of this blog post?Did it help you out in anyway?Are there other ways to stand out from the
competition that you’ve learned?Share
it in the comments below.
As always, be sure to support the artists who you feel
deserves it in any way you can.Good
music shall always prevail!
If you want to listen to my music, you can go to my YouTube Channel.
Alex Ruffin is a 19 year old MC who, despite his young age,
has what it takes to match and even exceed the skills of most rappers who have
been doing it for years.
I remember coming across his music as I was scrolling
through my Facebook page and seeing a status update mentioning the young MC by
Rap Genius.Declaring anybody the best
lyricists of 2012, especially somebody who is not known by many people, is a
huge statement for someone to live up to.After hearing his song, “Overdosed on Reality” on YouTube for the first
time ever, I believe that Alex Ruffin has what it takes to be a contender for
the title of “Lyricist of The Year.”
I was immediately impressed by his effortless flow, his
deep-voiced delivery which commanded attention, and the old school atmosphere
that was created by J. Dilla’s instrumental.
After he announced that his second mixtape was coming out
soon, I crossed my fingers hoping that his other songs would be as high quality
as his recent work.After I listened to
U.B.E.R., I was not disappointed.
Be sure to look out for Alex Ruffin’s name in the future,
for he is truly an MC that will soon get the recognition he deserves with hard
work, consistency, and growth in his skills.
Since I’m all about giving people good music to listen to
and supporting artists in any way I can, I want to start recommending some
music artists I believe are great and deserve more recognition.
I’m not going to be writing reviews or anything like
that.I just want to recommend good
music I come across to people who read this blog.
So my first ever ‘New Artist of the Week’ goes to Dylan
Golden, a Hip-Hop artist/musician from Miami, Florida.
A new music video was retweeted by QuESt (http://twitter.com/yesiamquest) which
I thought at first was a new music video by him.Instead, I was lead to a new music artist
whom I never heard of before and was pleasantly surprised.
I was immediately impressed by his lyricism combined with his raspy delivery and the smooth,
yet fast-paced sound of the song (Deano. Miles did his thing, as well).After I listened and watched the music video,
I knew that this guy deserved more recognition than what he was getting.
"Drive is the perfect anthem
for someone who is constantly pushing their boundaries and consistently
changing peoples opinions. The song is about striving to be the best, no matter
your situation or circumstances. Its about pushing beyond your limits. Drive
until you make it!" - Dylan golden
In case you’re wondering about the name of the lovely lady
in the video, it’s Keilah Rose. (https://twitter.com/KeilahRose)
You guys should also check out her YouTube Channel for more
music by her.
Below is a music
video which features Dylan Golden and Keilah Rose both showing off their
lyrical skills.
Welcome to my first blog post ever!Isn't this exciting?Anyways, instead of just promoting my music,
I thought I’d also blog about my opinions and observations that I experience
and think about that’s related to the Hip-Hop culture and start a conversation
with ya’ll.I may also blog about other
stuff that’s not related to Hip-Hop.
Before I get started, this blog is of my own opinion and my opinion
shouldn’t be substituted for your opinion.If you have one, post it in the comments section.Let’s get a dialogue going.
HERE’S THE SITUATION:
Anyways, the first topic I want to get off of my chest is
something that I’ve seen a lot lately as I’ve browsed through the internet.I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been on the
internet too much lately (and I’m sure you’ve heard something similar outside
the internet as well) but I’ve seen a lot of “Hip-Hop fans” talk about how there
is a distinct difference between “rap music” and “Hip-Hop music.”I’ve also seen these “Hip-Hop fans” refer to
certain rapper’s music as “real” rap as opposed to “mainstream garbage” or what
have you.
Not to mention that if I had a nickel for every time somebody
used Lil’ Wayne as a negative comeback in response to a YouTube comment that is
not agreed upon by the majority of “real” rap fans, in response to a “real” rap
music video , I wouldn’t be blogging about this silly issue to you know now,
would I?
Basically, there are a group of people who think that one
aspect of Hip-Hop music is quantitatively better than another aspect of Hip-Hop
music and people who don’t agree with their opinion are not “real” rap fans and
should “go listen to lil wayne.” I
refer to these close-minded “fans” as Hip-Hop Elitists.
I’ve also seen a variation of Hip-Hop Elitists who believe
that old school rap music was when Hip-Hop was truly “alive” and the majority
of new school rap music killed it (And chooses to ignore the music that agrees
with their close-minded idealism in order to save face).They also like to compare old school rappers
to new school rappers as well and whine about how Hip-Hop is dead.I like to call them Hip-Hop Past-Ers (HHPE),
or Hip-Hop’s Grumpy Grandpas (HHGGs).
MY OPINION:
I have no idea where people got the idea that one aspect of
Hip-Hop music is “better” than the other, but I’m not going to start pointing
fingers and naming names either because I’m a gentleman.
I mean, I just don’t get it.Why can’t I have the freedom of listening to Chief Keef’s “I Don’t Like”
without having to be concerned about not being called a “real” Hip-Hop fan?
And to be honest, I don’t give a shit either.If I want to listen to something, I’m going
to listen to it.Sure, listening to
meaningful songs is nice, but I’m the type of person who can’t listen to the same
type of songs every single day without having to balance it out with “mainstream
garbage.”That’s just who I am as a
person.I’m human and I have moods (with
certain types of music to match).
As a matter of fact, I willing to bet many of you once upon a time listened to the radio and were once bumping the latest mainstream rap music craze.
It’s as if these Hip-Hop Elitists expect every rapper to be
a humanitarian.REALITY CHECK:Not every rapper is, wants to be, or should be a
humanitarian!
Sure, it’s nice to know that your favorite rapper is doing a
charity concert for the starving children in Africa, but you have to
acknowledge that everybody is a unique individual with their own goals.
Not to mention that the commercial exposure of Hip-Hop music
has turned the culture into a brand (Which isn’t all bad).Hip-Hop music has also evolved into
entertainment.And that’s just the way
it is.
Sometimes, you have to accept change and move on.
I may be stretching things here, but I believe the
paradoxical part of all of this is that we may actually NEED these “bad”
rappers. I mean, if there were no “bad”
rappers, who would be the “good” rappers?Think about it.
Let's take the balanced approach.
If every “bad” rapper went away, Hip-Hop music would just
not be fun anymore.I mean, who can we
rely on to be the punch-line of every Hip-Hop joke?The funny part is, we would still have this
competitive mindset and still rate who’s the best and who’s not.There STILL would be bad rappers even if
there were only “good” rappers alive.In
my opinion, without the entertainment aspect of Hip-Hop music, the culture
would be dying out faster than you think.The entertainment industry helped Hip-Hop grow and become
international.And yes, good and bad
consequences have been the result of this growth.
Apparently, this is when Hip-Hop music became commercialized.
In conclusion, I get that Hip-Hop is a masculine,
competitive culture.That’s one of the
things I love about Hip-Hip.It’s what
gives it life.It’s what keeps it alive.But this senseless hate that’s going on is
what’s killing Hip-Hop music to me.So
next time, if you don’t have anything nice to say, I suggest you do everybody a
favor and keep it to yourself.If you
don’t like a certain type of music, keep it moving, but saying that someone is
beneath you just because they don’t agree with your taste in music just makes
you look like an arrogant asshole.Naturally, birds of a feather flock together.Music is music, and there is no quantifiable
way of ranking/measuring it no matter what your opinion about it is.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be listening to some Drake. Why? Because I FEEL like it.
"Is this what ya want?"
P.S.
Make sure to support the artists who you feel really deserves
it in any way you can.Good music shall
always prevail.
So what do you think?Do you agree or disagree with my sentiments?
Post your comments below and let’s start a dialogue.
