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surge42-blog · 7 years

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Dedication Post

So I recently been on Facebook, liking random pics, sharing whatever it is that needed to be shared,stealing memes in comment sections and stuff until I commented on one of my friend's posts about "Which rapper influenced you personally". I scrolled through the comments and since it was TDE group it was posted on it was a toss up between Kendrick and J.Cole (what a surprise), but I saw many other rappers listed and I was like "Hm, I haven't commented in a while so I dropped my list of rappers". Before I go into my list first we gotta understand my journey through music. As a kid I wasn't into MTV cause of the reality shows,except maybe Celebrity Death Match and Beavis & Butthead. I didn't like the local music channels either. I viewed myself more as a VH1 baby because I grew up on that most of my childhood,they'd play a lot of classics so I was pretty much a young old-head in a sense. I'd watch Prince, Whitney, Michael (a childhood favourite), Tina Turner, Marvin Gaye, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chilli Pepper, Twister Sister, Too Fighters and Nirvana. I was more of a funk/soul and rock fan but I'd enjoy seeing VH1 play Pac's California Love, Busta Rhymes' Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See, and Wu-Tang Clan and their swarm of animated bees run amuck all over my TV screen. Then 2013 came, it was around the time YMCMB had the game on lock alongside names like Chris Brown, it's all I'd hear playing so I wasn't fond of it and I thought it was corny listening to Nicki's Starships even now as I write the music video just played on TV in the same cringeworthy fashion lol. Whelp I guess this is the time to start with my list.... •KENDRICK LAMAR ———— I think due to the extreme boredom caused by mainstream hip hop it made it quite hard for me to listen to Kendrick especially since he was the it thing around the time, so I thought "Oh no,not another one of these Drake/Wayne hybrids". When I got good kid, m.A.A.d city I'd skip every damn song,plus it was the first album I truly owned in full on my phone so I was yet to understand the flow of an album. But once I fell in love with "Real ft. Anna Wise" it really kicked off my journey as hip hop fan. Kendrick's music would get me through a lot of emotional moments in life, since I was in my teens at the time it really resonated with me personally, I'd dig up some of his gems like "I Hate You" and he was just so captivating. I may not listen to a lot of post GKMC Kendrick but his music still has a special place in four-chambered chest organ. •DANNY BROWN ———— Danny was a funny one with the voice on every one of his features that I heard. I got a hold of XXX, but the voice was just too much so I'd leave it on my phone for a while until I really got into it. Outer Space started it all, I was really getting to it and that cactus line had me cracking like a damn fool. Once I adjusted enough to his voice to understand what he was saying I was like "Oh this is tight", songs like Nosebleeds and Party All The Time were sad and emotional and had me pondering, but it's not until I reach the penultimate track "30" that I became a permanent fan. Hearing him talk about his struggles as a youth and the fact that at the time he seemed to not be going anywhere as he struggled to prove his value as true MC since that was all he had left. On top of it all he was 30 years old so it hit home cause me entering the life of an adult it was relatable cause I had no job either but I had talents I was and still am hoping would tell me further, so shout out to Stanny. •AB-SOUL ———— And here I thought it was hard enough to get into Kendrick's music. I kept making jokes about my friend in high school that he's ScHoolboy Q cause he always had a hat on, but he was like "Nah, I'm more into Ab-Soul". I was a Kendrick stan at the time at that time I didn't know Ab-Soul,nor did I know he was in TDE. It was hard to vibe to him cause I was too deep into Kendrick to vibe with him...or anyone else for that matter. Once I heard Nibiru I was in awe, the title on it's own intrigued me cause I was into science, astronomy and esoteric stuff and I hadn't heard of rap song incorporating that. The look on my face when he said "Anunnaki Flow" had nerdgasm written all over it. The longterm series was all the more nice. I was so used to seeing rappers flash money and women around, so it was refreshing to hear someone talk from the perspective of a broke person which I still am, so I had a balance of the personal stuff like Longterm 1,2, Mentality and the deeper stuff like Control System, These Days..., and DWTW. And unlike Kendrick I'm still able to listen to a lot of his post-Lance Skiiiwalker works. And oh yeah.....SOUL!!! •CHILDISH GAMBINO ———— This one had to be on the list. Around the time I heard about Gam-B my musical taste had grown significantly, but I kept holding off listening to his music saying "I'll get around to it eventually". Once I got to listen to Unnecessary I was intrigued for a moment. I got ROYALTY and didn't fw it much, then I tried EP and I went batshit crazy. I went further back in time and got Culdesac and Poindexter. I related to him, cause he was a nerd/geek which is what I am, he was just that weird guy in school who got teased a lot especially because of his high voice and it felt like I was listening to mp3 autobiography of myself. I got Because The Internet and STN MTN after and it was amazing, he wasn't doing the I'm a nerd who doesn't fit in thing but he was channeling his existential and awkward persona of The Boy. I got the script of Because The Internet and it was a good read it even inspired me to take up screenwriting myself, and the fact that he used an Adventure Time reference to unlock lyrics for 3005 (Beach Picnic Version) made it even better. He was what I've been working to be, a nerd and an artist. He was a reflection of me, from the Invaders Zim lines to his multi talented nature Gambino became a personal favorite, and him going back to the Funk/Soul sound I liked as a kid made the experience all the more enjoyable. Now that he's officially a dad it kinda inspires me to reach that phase in life, I'm already at the first phase so we can only wait and see what's to come for myself in the future, so shout out to all these rappers and their contribution to music and people like me out there.

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surge42-blog · 7 years

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Cartoons & Cereal

Don't let the title fool you, this is not another Kendrick related article. Today I'd like to talk about cartoons or rather animated characters so I don't cause any confusion. Okay first of all I'm a huge fan of animation, whether it's cartoons, Adult Swim cartoons, or anime I love animation. And of course rappers love animation too with "AKIRA" references in Kanye West's "Stronger" music video, or when Pharrel Williams and Lil Uzi Vert turn into anime characters in their respective videos. Just as much as rappers love cartoons and anime so do the actual creators of cartoons and anime. So I'd like to lay down a list of animated characters inspired by rappers for fans like me. •KANYE WEST ———— It only makes sense that Ye be on the list since he opened the door for geeks and nerds alike to open up about the love for cartoons and anime. Kanye has been spoofed on South Park before (Puff Daddy as well) with him singing a parody of "Heartless" (remixed into Gay Fish on the show) but if I had to pick a fictional character it would have to be Kenny West from The Cleveland Show. You couldn't miss the Ye influence here, he was old school Kanye with shutter shades and classic autotune to complete the package. Kenny is the main antagonist of Cleveland Jr. but their beef is squashed after Kenny loses a rap battle against him and thus earning West's respect and shutter shades. •SOULJA BOY ———— Ah yes, the guy who was a forerunner of viral rap music. The guy came in hot and now lingers in limbo. The rapper was the first to hand "legendary" rapper, SUPAHOTFIRE (he's not a rapper), his first ever loss thus breaking his ridiculously high winning streak of over a million to nothing. Soulja Boy minus Tell 'Em has been spoofed on The Boondocks as Seargent Gutter. His parody incarnation was the viral kid with a hit song that came packed with a trendy dance move, this angered rap veteran, Thugnificent, and led to beef between the two. The beef was similar to Ice-T's feud with Soulja Boy as seen by Gutter replying through the PC screen which is an exact reproduction of Soulja Boy's with the two friends in the background and the same colour clothes. •WU-TANG CLAN ———— The martial arts inspired supergroup itself had to have made the list at some point, if you're constantly showing off your love of the Asian culture it's only fitting that Asia show love back to you. No, they didn't inspire Afro Samurai or Samurai Champloo (as far as we know) but they did inspire one anime in particular. It's none other than Killer B of The Village Hidden In The Clouds from the Naruto franchise. The dead giveaways is that: A) Killer B speaks in raps and aspires to be the best rapper B) His name is a nod to the Clan's a.k.a which is Killer Bees and C) Don't you think B looks like a chubbier version of Redman/RZA? The ninja from the predominantly black village is nothing to take lightly as his Kenjutsu and Taijutsu combination could've killed the "almighty" Sasuke Uchiha and he is quite the smart one having been able to think ahead of time to avoid perishing at the eternal black flames of Sasuke's Amaterasu. •CHILDISH GAMBINO ———— One of my all time favourite rappers and inspirations, Childish Gambino. When he's not stealing an Asian dude's girlfriend he's attending his music or his acting. Bino has been all over our TV screens having voiced the Robot Chicken version of Samuel L. Jackson's character, Mace Windy, from the Star Wars series, Alpha Dawg on Regular Show alongside Tyler, The Creator and rap legend and veteran femcee,MC Lyte. Hell he even voiced Marshall Lee from Adventure Time....which could explain the line from his ROYALTY mixtape that goes "Flossing flossing hard, Ice King, no more Finn and Jake". He is set to create and possibly voice Deadpool in a whole new Deadpool animation. But what character has inspired? Well if you have read my previous articles it should not come as a surprise that he and Barack Obama inspired the character of Miles Morales a.k.a Ultimate Spiderman from the Marvel Franchise. If that's not enough he even voices Miles Morales on the ill-titled "Ultimate Spiderman" animated series which is a culmination of his old #Donald4Spiderman hashtag from his younger days. Logic even shouts him out on his song Black Spiderman and did I forget to mention that Bino will star in the new Spiderman: Homecoming movie? •LUDACRIS ———— The Fast And The Furious actor and rapper takes the cake on this one. This guy has been featured on Robot Chicken voicing himself on that "Don't Be Ridiculous" segment (ah memories). But this guy takes the cake for being spoofed not once, not twice, but at least three times!!!!! He has inspired the character of Alcatrazz on the "Pranksta Rap" episode of The Simpsons with 50 Cent being alongside Bart Simpson. He gets spoofed yet again on The Simpsons as Luda-Crest the rapping toothpaste mascot. But the most iconic of characters to be inspired by Ludacris is (drum roll please)..........THUGNIFICENT!!!! Otis Jenkins a.k.a Thugnificent is an unforgettable character indeed, in a show that has Air Marshall 50 Cent, Usher, and R.Kelly he managed to stand out from the rest. He is among my favorite recurring characters alongside A Pimp Named Slickback, and Tom. He wasn't a one hit wonder like the Fleece Johnson inspired Booty Warrior or the Chris Brown/Usher inspired Pretty Boy Flizzy character whose most popular song was "You Make Me Wanna Ugh",no, Thug had an array of songs like Booty Butt Cheeks, Stomp 'Em In The Nuts, Eff Grandad, and Dickriding Obama (at a time when I didn't know what dickriding was and how toxic it could be). Both Luda and Thug are from Georgia and they both at sea point rocked the puffed up afro. Luda might not have an iconic character as Thugnificent ever again.

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surge42-blog · 7 years

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Meaningful Mumblers

For a minute our radio has been flooded with trap music or as it's derogatorily known as, mumble rap. The formula for a trap song...well a normal one is pretty much like gangsta rap but with 808's, bass, and a lot of drugs. T.I has not only popularized but he has mastered this original sense of trap. Then we got trap's retarded cousin which is mumble rap (yes, I got jokes too). Mumble rap uses the same instrumental formula but lyrically it's just money+clubs+expensive cars+clothes+sex+women+recreational drugs+unclear vocal delivery=mumble rap. I remember watching a vine that used one of 21 Savage's songs and went like "I ain't afraid to be a real n—ga, 21...zeyeyiuargoda n—ga, iowuyiuyiugoda n—ga", I heard nothing at all. Then I heard Yachty's "Peek A Boo" via music video...it was mumbly even The Migos, among the few non-mumbling rappers, started to sound mumbly too. I just couldn't get into it like that, then I tried XXXtentacion as suggested by my homies Omar Hawwash & Jordan Botha. He's been labelled trap, yes...but there was something different about his style. Indeed vocally he tends to lean towards mumbling but he teeters between meaningful and nonsensical. He has songs like "Look At Me" a.k.a the can't keep my dick in my pants song, it was lyrically generic but then I tried Garret's Revenge (not Revenge), it wasn't what I was used to from trap artists, it made me think of Raury for a moment (mostly instrumentation). Then you listen to songs like Wing-ridden Angel and you can't help but wonder if this is really trap. This guy felt more rock than trap, and I should know cause I was a huge fan of rock prior to my introduction to hip-hop in 2013. And when you listen to Revenge (not Garret's Revenge) you can hear this guy has real stories that hit the heart (R.I.P to his female friend Jocelyn by the way). He was more of a rock star, and no I wouldn't say it's rock rap like Tech N9ne and his entourage,but this is like near literal rock rap. And just when I think it ended there I tried out Lil Uzi Vert's "Luv Is Rage 1.5". It was what I expected: more generic trap music. Then I got to "XO Tour Llif3" which I've heard about but not really heard first hand, at first you'd think it's the same old same old, especially at the moment when Uzi goes full on Young Thug mode in the middle. Then you listen again but focus on the words, the chorus goes "push me to the edge, all my friends are dead" which is something entirely different from "igaluddasheejeztilidizeer LIFESTYLE!", the song on it's own feels like a great song to dance to but the lyrics are quite sad. Uzi details the toxic relationship he had with his ex-girlfriend who by the sound of it trapped Uzi into not leaving her by threatening suicide. Uzi falls into depression and Xanax was his way of easing the pain for a short moment but then it became an addiction he cannot run away from and he too display suicidal thoughts. Of course as it is known his fans refer to him as a rock star instead of a rapper, and rock adds this infectious emotion through the vocals (much like X at the end of Garret's Revenge). Uzi infects the listener the same way as you end up mimicking him throughout the song. This new sound from trap artists is interesting, it sounds mainstream enough for radio but slips in something meaningful underneath. Could this be the end of the usual money money,cash booty, skrt skrt type of rap and the start of a newer and more bizzarely intriguing kind of rap? Emo Rap maybe? I guess we just gotta sit back and listen for more if this is the case.

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surge42-blog · 7 years

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Biopics & Their Legacy

We've been shifting through many eras in Hollywood filmmaking. We had an age where RomComs were still a thing, then as of late we ventured into the era of recycling and live action with titles such as Power Rangers, KONG, Ghost In The Shell and The Mummy being the remakes of their iconic predecessors. What's interesting in this era of recycling is the new interest in biopics. I love biopics, they take me to a time when I wasn't even conceived and I do have an interest in historical facts and such. We've had many stars portray iconic figures like Denzel Washington as Malcolm X, Will Smith as Muhammad Ali, and who can forget Jamie Foxx's role as Ray? Now in the 2010's we have been graced with the Straight Outta Compton biopic which was accompanied by it's side story, Surviving Compton. Oh it was a site to behold, it came with the feels like Ray but went beyond and took me into the politics of the time with riots sparked by an incident of police brutality. It knew how to push the right buttons with the actors and the iconic music that was repopularized in my generation because of this great flick. The movie was on point with Snoop Dogg being played by Atlanta's own Darius (I know that's not his name but he Darius to fans of the show,including me), and of course the bald-headed flagship artist that is Tupac Shakur. We were like "Damn, that dude looks just like him" and I think that was the moment when people at cinemas and on their laptops were looking at each other saying "We need a Tupac movie now". I was skeptical of it from the very beginning because this was too ambitious of a job. This is Tupac we're talking about, a man with that much clout to his name makes Hollywood's job even harder to transition him into the big screen. People have so much expectations for Pac, especially when you see the much loved New Edition three part biopic creating a buzz. Fans of Makaveli might've seen all of these as a sign that the Pac movie will be the pinnacle of it all. All Eyez On Me made the right moves prior to it's premier, they dropped teasers in important Pac-related dates making movie-goers all the more anxious for the movie. Then it happened....the movie came out, people went in with their Tupac memorabilia and souvenirs, and came out with 'meh' written on their faces. I haven't even seen the movie but this just confirms the feeling of skepticism I had from the beginning. Will Smith's wife, Jada, even critizied the historical inaccuracies of the flick and boy she made a list of inaccuracies. Biopics are enhancements in an icon's legacy but by the looks of things this has made Pac's legacy seem quite lackluster. Fans who probably had children in the time of Pac must've regaled their children with all these great stories about Pac almost like fairytale, a myth, an epic. Now that their kids are grown this movie probably downplays the years of stories and myths as if they just found out wrestling is fake and there's no such thing as Santa Claus. I want to see the movie for myself to give it my own fair and informed judgement. Until then stay tuned for more articles.

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surge42-blog · 7 years

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On The HiiiWay

Introducing Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, SZA, Isaiah Rashad, Lance Skiiiwalker, and SiR....a.k.a TDE. Now at this point it should he no secret that I am a TDE fan (bear with me as I'm trying my best to write non-TDE articles in the near future), but there's something I'd like to dive into that has to do more with the business side of TDE. Back in the day the was a time when Kendrick (then known as K-Dot) wasn't booming. Instead it was Jay Rock making moves left and right. He had a hit with Wayne and Will.I.Am called "All My Life (In The Ghetto)", his first commercial hit. Ol' boy Rock nabbed himself a Warner Brothers contract becoming the first TDE artist to be signed...heck at some point he was even in Strange music. Much later we got to see TDE gain new artists (such as Q) and lose some (such as Bo). Top Dawg Ent. was steadily on the rise, churning out mixtape after mixtape, and then the point where they started making actual albums (the independent variety though). Kendrick and ScHoolboy Q got snatched up by Dr. Dre and added onto the Aftermath roster thus making them the 2nd and 3rd Black Hippies to be signed. Sometime later SZA and Isaiah Rashad were added into the TDE family. They both released projects in 2014 (Z and Cilvia Demo) and they too started creating a buzz. As of Kate both have released new albums with Rashad dropping the oh so vibey "The Sun's Tirade" and our beautiful TDE songstress released CTRL. What's interesting to note is that our girl SZA got signed to RCA (home of Tinashe) prior to releasing her album and so far things have been looking up for her. As for Team John Doe (Lance Skiiiwalker and SiR) we are still trying to grow with them and figure out what these two are really about, but for now it seems our next likely candidate to get signed is Isaiah Rashad. An already likable fellow (except when he touches my bae SZA), he has even performed his smooth cowboy whistle infused symphony "Tity & Dolla" at the BET Hip-Hop awards last year in 2016 much to the enjoyment of the audience. But wait I missed someone... Now who could it be? Of course it has to be Pastor Black Lip himself... Ab-Soul. He's been here for quote some time and has been growing his cult following as of late. Now how is it that he has not been signed yet? Oh sure Rock isn't signed ANYMORE but at least he had that extra support at some point in time whereas Soul is being passed by artist who joined after him (Q and SZA). Often times I see new Ab-Soul fans out there stating their reason for liking Soul was his wordplay although he is more than just metaphors and punchlines, he is the self-titled YMF. His first album Longterm Mentality was a goldmine, but the song we should take note of there is Top Dawg Underdawg. He speaks on how his fellow labelmates are garnering fame and success and ponders on his state as a rapper even referring to himself as an amateur. On his feature on "Never Know" by Rapsody he says record label think he is "less unmarketable than the grocery store". Of course, he was different, but he had potential. Today I listen to songs like "Hearses" by Smoke DZA, and "You're Gone" by Ab-Soul and JMSN and wonder how is he not marketable? This man may not have had it all by when it came to music he gave it all he had. As I mention said songs I'd imagine the music videos for them using my own imagination and I could easily picture these hits blasting on the TV. As it should be known amongst Soul fans at some point he and JMSN worked on a joint album titled "Unit 6". Unfortunately because of difference between their management teams the album did not see the light of day although JMSN still has it in his hard drive. JMSN and Soul have such great chemistry together, having given us "You're Gone","WROH", and the song that made me a permanent Ab-Soul fan,none other than "Nibiru", it is clear that "Unit 6" was a match made in musical heaven. I feel TDE dropped the ball with this one, this could have been Soul's one way ticket to the top...who knows? Maybe we would've had Longterm 3: Lifestyles Of The Rich and Famous playing on our phones right now. We know Soul has to finish the Longterm series but before we can even get 4 we still need Lifestyles Of The Rich and Famous but right now it doesn't like it's coming soon, although Soul says he's doing good financially...even These Days outsold Control System. I have faith in TDE artists, I had faith in SZA to blow and now she's getting her chance, and I have faith in Ab-Soul. He may be the last Black Hippy to get a Wiki but he has potential having already gained respect from Lupe Fiasco and recently being shouted out as one of several artists who are inspiring Jay-Z (remember the line from ILLuminate?). What does the future hold for the ZestGod? Only time will tell.

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surge42-blog · 7 years

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StereNOtype

As the world around us change from politics, fashion, social issues etc so does the music we listen to. Today my fellow followers...oh wait, I have no followers so I guess I'm talking to myself right now...oh well, I would like to talk about the impact of stereotypes on hip-hop music. NERDY GEEKS & GEEKY NERDS --- Recently during yet another hip-hop related debate I saw someone in the comment sections say he doesn't like a rapper whose name I will not disclose is only for nerds...and he meant it in a bad way, and with the ambiguity of the words nerd and geek it was safe to say he referred to both of these words. His viewpoint was rather preposterous and here is why: Nerds/Geeks that are not part of the NERDCORE rap genre have been killing it in the rap game. Let me go way back to the 90's. In the East Coast, in New York to be precise, rose a hip-hop supergroup by the name of The Wu-Tang Clan. One of rap's best hip-hop collectives if not the best, the de facto leader of the group, RZA, has made it no secret that he is a Nerd/Geek. Before some guy hits me with a "how sway?" line let me explain. RZA has another side to him, an alter ego called Bobby Digital, his geeky/nerdy persona, but aside from the Bobby Digital stuff (I love saying Bobby Digital), RZA is already am extremely smart emcee, he loves comic books and watching martial arts flicks even incorporating it into his rap collective (in true otaku/fan boy fashion). Next on the list is Kanye West, the man who paved the way for future generations of nerds and geeks in the industry. At a time when rap was all about braggadocio and that street life, Kanye on the other hand took a different approach. He wanted to be true to himself as a geek/nerd so he thought "Since I ain't a gang banger how about I go with what I have". Years later Ye has cemented his spot as a legend. Soon many followed such as Lupe Fiasco with Food & Liquor, The Cool, and Tetsuo & Youth under his belt, and Childish Gambino with Camp, Because The Internet under his. And who can leave out Tyler, the Creator out of the equation? Heck even the now popular Lil Uzi Vert is a nerd/geek as referenced by his love for anime and the graphic novel Scott Pilgrim. QUEER EYE FOR THE RAP GUY --- Sexuality is one of the more cringeworthy topics to have amongst people,a topic many shy away from. I had a chat with a friend a while back about Frank Ocean, he would listen to Blonde a lot but be confused about "certain" lines. I explained to him that Frank Ocean is and always has been gay and never his it from anyone. At this realization he said "I'm deleting this album" and I did a mental smh when he said that. As we know rap is seen as the type of music thats heavily filled with braggadocio, machismo, and whatever other masculine phrase there is. In recent years we've seen the likes of Jaden Smith wear dresses, Young Thug wearing a dress on his album cover, and now rompers are now creeping into male society. A lot of people see these things and call it "gay" and use it as a reason to belittle a rappers music. Gay has been associated with weakness or in the case of rap weakness in lyrics as well. Last year (2016) we saw the rise of Young M.A (is it em aye? Or ma?) a lesbian femcee, she came into the mainstream with OOOUUU which has been remixed left and right and we gotta admit her cypher on BET slapped. We have Chance The Rapper's younger brother and fellow rapper, Taylor Bennett, open up about his sexuality (he's bisexual just so you know, even ILoveMakonnen has admitted to being bisexual. Former Black Eyed Pea, Fergie, is also bisexual...heck Angel Haze is pansexual for crying out loud and their music is good. They are examples that there is hope in the LGBTQ society in the industry. BLACK TO THE FUTURE --- Ahh and last but not least is the topic of race. Original "rap" was a fast spoken poetry used long ago that even Shakespeare might've dropped some bars himself back in his time. Modern rap emerged from New York as a form of expression by black people. Rap was that edgy sound equivalent to rock music, it was an infectious sound, but it wasn't a white sound. When Vanilla Ice picked up the mic we were not given some country tune or any guitar riffs but were given rap's funniest figures. No one expected Mr. Ice-Ice-Baby to even reach plastic, he went as far as reaching 7x platinum with no features. But one day a boy from the motor city itself, Detroit, Michigan came up, carried on the shoulders of Dr. Dre, it was none other than Eminem. The Rap God as he is referred to, in my youth I recall seeing him and Dre dressed up as Batman and Robin, and I giggled at "Ass Like That". But he has showed us that white people go hard too, we've seen an increase in white rappers such as Machine Gun Kelly, Slim Jesus, G-Eazy, and Lil Dicky (lol he said dicky). An interesting specimen is Logic, although not many will admit it some folks harbor hatred for Logic because they see him as the white kid who so trying too hard to be black (glares at Just on Bieber), some comparing him a cheap imitation of Cole and Kendrick for various reasons. This specific hate on Logic is, dare I say, illogical. In reality Logic's mother is white while his father is black. This is the exact same thing with J.Cole and Drake, both have white and black parents but people are fine with them because their features lean more towards the black side as opposed to Logic who looks more white than black. Bottom line here is that rap music is more than just boasting about women consuming your phallic body part, how manly you are, or how gangsta you are, it's a form of expression of the individual, like interpretive dance...but for the voice instead. Scroll down my tumblr for more articles and follow me....please follow me, I can't keep talking to myself like this lol.

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surge42-blog · 7 years

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Drop It Like It's Hot

Have you ever had a debate with some peeps about trappers and rappers? Well if you have then you know how ugly these kind of conversations become. I've noticed in a few Kendrick/Cole debates whenever someone provides a reason why they don't like one or the other someone always comments "You don't know hip-hop" or even "You probably listen to Lil Uzi Vert and Young Thug" and obviously the latter also carries negative connotations to it. It seems in this world where people are trying to "bring back real hip-hop" (as I sarcastically say) trap artists are correlated with stupidity along with the fans of their music. The stigma has long been prevalent. Many dare not touch an artist's musical catalog as soon as they find out they're trap artists. I agree that trap is not as intelligent as conscious rap but it is a necessity nonetheless. I've had talks with some friends about T.I, they enjoy his music, but once I revealed that he's a trap artist they'd glare at me with surprise. They still vibe to his music though, but in their heads they think trap is all about dread longs that have been dyed, mumbling (shout out to 21 Savage and Thugger), and prominent autotune. Listeners who view themselves as "real hip-hop heads" scorn the ever successful and mainstream trap music, and many have used the now outdated "it takes a certain level of intelligence" phrase. The year is 2017, Migos have released their "Culture" album,and Future has released "HNDRXX" and self titled album, these projects have performed quite well, but let's turn our direction elsewhere. Lupe Fiasco and Kendrick Lamar have just released "DROGAS Light" and "DAMN." respectively. Both of these conscious artists were digging into foreign ground...it came as a shock when I saw the Wikipedia page of Lupe's album have "trap" written in the genre section, boasting songs such as "Dopamine Lit", "Jump", and "Promise". On the other end Kendrick offers us "LOVE.", "ELEMENT." and "HUMBLE.". both artists have lost favor with a certain percentage of their fan base whilst gaining yet another. Personally both albums are not their best offerings but I found them as okay albums...yes even DROGAS Light. On K-Dot's side it came as a surprise to hear him sing and rap over a beat that was meant for Gucci Mane but people still ate it up as evident in the billboard charts. Kendrick worked hard to make a mainstream, trap infused album (maybe that's why he's been collaborating with a lot of trap musicians...was it for practice?). Wasalu on the other hand deliberately tried to make this album a mediocre effort as vengeance towards his former Atlantic Records (DL is Lupe's last album under the label just so you know). But he still gained fans from the album (shout out to Crystal Lynn out there). Lamar's label mate, Isaiah Rashad, even confessed to listening to Lil Yachty music on his "Tity & Dolla" gem from his 2016 "The Sun's Tirade". Trap is not that bad of a genre, people dance to it, people love it. One does not hang with their girl at the club and requests songs from "To Pimp A Butterfly" because nobody is in the mood to hear about the emancipation of the black man, or goes to a BBQ to play "Adoration Of The Maji". Trap is for the fun moments in life, for a more youthful feel, I mean don't we all need something we can listen to so we can "drop it like its hot" every now and then? Now if you'll excuse me I'll be in my bed bumping X's "Look At Me".

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surge42-blog · 7 years

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4 Your Fanz Only

Hello world, it is I, Surge42. I'm back from a long hiatus (don't ask) and today I'd like to talk about Cole. Last year the Dreamvillain released his long awaited 4 Your Eyes Only album, as he tells the tale of his deceased friend accompanied by smooth instrumentations and a lot of singing from Cole. We watched as the album go gold and reach platinum thus making Cole the first hip-hop artist to go platinum twice with no features and I do believe that deserves a round of applause. Although it seems like the album performed well in terms of numbers how did it perform for fans? Personally I prefer 2014 Forest Hills Drive over his latest effort but I did like the concept of the album as it was heartfelt. But there's division amongst Cole fans about the album. One side adores the album, the other despises it,then a small percentage think it was aight. So what went wrong? The side that hates the album have claimed the name is weak, lazy, unoriginal, and sleep inducing, some even jokingly saying it's "4 Your Eyez Only because it's definitely not for your ears". Jokes aside let's try seeing things from their perspective. THE INSTRUMENTALS ---- Majority of the instrumentals are sombre,melancholy,and depressing,with Changes, Neighbours, and Foldin' Clothes being more on the jazzy side of things. Jazz alone is already is a relaxed music genre with the addition of the sombre beats it adds in to the relaxation and it's understandable if one can find this tiresome as this can make an individual too relaxed. COLE'S RAPPING ---- This is the one I hear brought up many times. Some say Cole hasn't changed his flow and style and has been rapping the same way ever since who knows when. Some on the other hand just don't think the subject matter was delivered in any attention grabbing manner. Then others say the album has no quotable lyrics whatsoever. JERMAINE --- Now let's understand one thing: Cole is not just a rapper, he is a recording artist as well thus making his job all the more tiresome as he has to not only impress us with actual lyrics but also put on a show. Yes the album is too sombre to have "bangers" but a banger is not necessarily what fans are looking for. A recording artist is a performer which is akin to an actor,both have to put on a great show and convince the crowd of their performance...y'know, to find it believable and such. Let's look at Cole's song, Apparently. The song is not a banger but this song is one of the best examples of Cole putting on a show. From the beginning you'd feel the emotion behind the lyrics, he was fully expressive as he touched on subject close to his heart, to top things off with the violins at the end to almost bring me to tears. He manipulated the beat and expressive lyrics to his favor to achieve the goal of touching the hearts of his audience. I feel that this is what fans were expecting with 4 Your Eyez Only, emotional story with a beat and "expressive" lyrics to match. J.Cole's project did not touch the hearts and souls of many but this is not the end of the big guy as he also released "High For Hours" afterwards which I feel was the Cole a lot of people expected. With talks of Cole no longer doing features it's interesting to see where Cole goes from here, but until then, Cole will be in tour with Jay-Z. Make sure to check out J.Cole's documentary on YouTube.

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surge42-blog · 7 years

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A King And His Kingdom

In each era of rap music there's always the select few who are said to have the game on lock and in this current era it can be none other than the rap triad itself: Drake, J.Cole, and Kendrick Lamar. If you have been a fan of any of these you would know that no fan discussion...or more precisely fan arguments can name one of these rappers without mentioning the other two. -SYNOPSIS- Drake, from the kid in the wheelchair on Degrassi to arguably one of the most revered rappers in the game. There is nothing that Drake does not touch lately that doesn't become an instant hit. The ladies love him, horny teenage girls have his pictures on their bedroom walls...he's that pretty boy almost every girl wants. J.Cole, born in Germany, raised in the U.S of A. Raised by a single mother much like certain of his contemporaries. From rap battling with highschool friend and fellow Dreamvillain, Omen, to being the producer/pro-rapper dominating the 2010's. Jermaine, a married man(ooh shocker), allowed even single mothers to stay in his childhood home... quite a good Samaritan. And lastly, Kendrick Lamar. The man who was officially inaugurated as The King Of The West Coast, acknowledged by big names and cosigned by Lil Wayne in his C4 days and later by Dr. Dre in much of the latter part of his career. Among these three artist he is perhaps the most controversial among them, from song related law suits to conflicts with feminists(I think the HUMBLE incident was the second),he always manages to find himself in the headlines. -RISE TO FAME- YMCMB The Canadian rapper and producer(under his C-Papi pseudonym) started out with a couple of mix tapes,of course having had an acting career prior to that it was hard for him to gain respect as a rapper. But Dreezy wouldn't give up,having a cosign from Lil Wayne he started booming in a time was still hot and Young Money was killing it. He released his best ever album, Take Care, and he had the clubs jamming, the crowds dancing, the ladies singing alongside the hottest female hip-hop act Nicki Minaj. Although I admittedly am not a Drake fan I cannot take away his influence on the sound of hip-hop as he popularized the singer/rapper motif. ROCNATION Jermaine has had impressive mix tapes in his younger days like Friday Night Lights for instance. I remember being a kid seeing him on TV while channel surfing with his nicely cut hair and that goatee rapping out his then-signature song Work Out after signing with music mogul, Jay-Z. I remember my best friend letting me bump Lights Please and that was one of our jams back when we were still newbies to rap music(around the early 2010's). Cole was clearly a major threat to the rap game. TOP DAWG ENT. Kendrick,formerly K.Dot,was still maturing when he released his first mixtape Hub City. He was an unknown learning from his musical big brother, Jay Rock, although he clearly had the Weezy influence in his sound he was just a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. Mixtape after mixtape, Kendrick dropped his first and only independent album Section.80 soon followed up by the masterpiece that was good kid m.A.A.d city(the first full album I owned on my phone and the first album that made me a hip-hop fan). Kendrick has slowly and aggressively climbed the ladder to success. -CONTROL VERSE- These three rappers have crossed paths and even collabed in a couple of their tracks before. On one fateful night during The Grammy Awards, Big Sean performed Control alongside his features,Lamar and Jay Electronica. Big Sean delivered a killer verse that had everyone bumping their heads and finally he made way for Kendrick's much awaited verse. It started out quite smoothly and then he named dropped his contemporaries including Cole & Drake (much like Ab-Soul did in his song "Hell Yeah") saying "I got love for you all but I'm tryna murder you niggas". The verse triggered responses from rappers and hilarious memes. And this has changed rap music as Kendrick confirms "nothing's been the same since they dropped Control". Since then we have seen a sudden change in Drake,Cole, and Kendrick's musical relationship. They no longer did any more features together. This sparked some theories that there might be some beef amongst each of them although it seems like the rappers are on good terms as Drake shouted out Kendrick in his appearance DJ Khaled's Major Key album which coincidentally sees all three rappers on the album,and Cole has produced for fellow rapper Ab-Soul on his song Sapiosexual. Recently Cole and Kendrick have hinted at their long speculated collaboration album with the release of their Black Friday songs. -PRESSURES OF FAME- These three artists have went from peasants to kings of their respective kingdoms. Jermaine ruling his Coleworld, Drake honored as The 6 God, and Kendrick reinvented as King Kunta. Their place in the hip-hop pantheon has been solidified already but all this fame must be getting to them of course. As kings they're responsible for their kingdoms. Each artist is expected to do so much for the fans. Drake released his long awaited Views,his worst album. This showed some mortality in The 6 God. But Drake is not only a rapper but also a pop star,he thrives on sales, trends, and always bringing something "new". He released his mixtape If You're Reading This Is Too Late,which in retrospect is really an album,he released his commercially successful Views album, and lately he released a "playlist" called More Life (again it's just an album). He uses his different cultural personas from the Jamaican Drake to the pseudo-English Drake to appeal to international fans. He jumps on every feature to make sure he stays relevant, it's a lot of work really. NB: Common Drake fan arguments are "He still makes more money than you and your artist" J.Cole on the other hand has a different struggle. Unlike Drake who is expected to feature on so many songs he rarely did any features. When he dropped 2014 Forest Hills Drive the pressure must've got to him after he became the first artist in years not only to go platinum, but double platinum with no features. His subjects celebrated his accolade although much of them have expressed their anger towards The Grammy Awards for not acknowledging his talent. But nonetheless Cole's album even led to him being the highest paid rapper of 2015. Cole had gone silent up until releasing some singles in late 2016 which led up to the release of his album 4 Your Eyez Only. The album performed well, also going platinum with no features. But fans have been split about this album some calling it his best effort and some calling it his worst. Even Twitter has went on to say Do What Thou Wilt by Ab-Soul which dropped on the same day as Cole's album is better than J.Cole's album. Jermaine became the no feature king after it was announced that after his collaboration with Joey BadA$$, Cole wouldn't be doing any more features(although we're not sure if that applies to his own projects either). NB: Common J.Cole fan arguments are "Cole still went double platinum no features" And lastly Kendrick Lamar. He has underwent through various incarnations from K.Dot,The Good Kid,King Kendrick,King Junta,Cornrow Kenny all the way to Kung Fun Kenny. Much like his change in honorifics,he too is expected to change things up all the time. Kendrick is known for his vast change of flows,voices,lyricism etc. He released To Pimp A Butterfly a couple years back....along with Tupac's ghost on the final track. The pressure has piled up on Kendrick for years, having cosigns from Dre,The Game,Eminem,NWA,and many more. Eminem even went as far as testing Kendrick's penmanship by making him write a verse on the spot for him, and to make things even more intense Kendrick got to meet with the former POTUS, Barack Obama. Kendrick has been called for features around the clock from Jidenna's Classic Man remix to Travis Scott's Goosebumps and many others. Then Kendrick released DAMN,which fans considered the below TPAB and GKMC,although these comments don't necessarily mean the album is bad although there are other fans who considered his worst album...period. NB: In the absence of a specific phrase as of late the common Kendrick fan phrase is "Bitch be humble, sit down". -THE FANS- "From a peasant to a prince to a mother******* king" as Kendrick says pretty much sums up all three of these men's journey to the top. They fought long and hard to gain our attention but now that they have it is it perhaps a blessing and a curse? They give us so much and it seems we want more from them,even to excess. The pressure we put on them must be taxing on them,although still relevant in the game,and although they're careers have reached god-status,4 Your Eyez Only,DAMN, and Views just show us their more mortal sides....although they're not to be considered failures...oh not at all. Their respective fan bases love their respective albums and in the end if the fans enjoy their music that's all that really matters, this article and many other review sites will not really change how their overall fan bases feel about them...and really they shouldn't. So kudos to the rap triad that is Drake, Cole, and Kendrick, we're looking forward to more fantastic music from you all.

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surge42-blog · 7 years

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Do What Thou Wilt: A sermon by Ab-Soul

Ab-Soul's Do What Thou Wilt album is perhaps one of his most controversial offerings. Soul having called it a love story and female appreciation album, it baffles many listeners when they listen to the album because it seems as if Soulo is throwing too many concepts all over the place.....or is he? After a random listening of the album I picked up a something out of nowhere. EVANGELISM The album starts out aggressive as it kicks off with RAW(backwards). Soul starts out by evangelizing listeners as the Carson native raps "another Baptism by Pastor Black Lip". What is he evangelizing them from? Well it's answer in hook which goes "we don't wanna hear that whack shit no more",which could be directed towards his contemporaries who rap about money,hoes,clothes,drugs dealing, and glorifying the gang life. The "battlemongers"(haters) called him a reject as he puts considering how much negativity he's gained from his previous album "These Days...",but Soul doesn't allow this to deter him. Then comes the most notorious part of the sing,which is a jab at Jay Electronica who was featured with Kendrick over the controversial Control track. It should be noted that there has been tension between Kenny and Jay after the chain of events set off by Lamar's verse. Ab protests that "it hurts when an O.G who was supposed to be a G.O.D is standing next to King Kunta(Lamar) feeling like Tobi",he means that it saddens him to see a respected artist as Electronica shows signs of having an inferiority complex for a song verse that was not really supposed to have bothered him...or anyone for that matter. This song is called RAW(backwards) which is WAR,not physical but rather a war of words,Soul's preachings are a weapon to fight against the problem he is yet to elaborate on. "Cause we don't die, we just multiply,divide and conquer": Ab-Soul's fan base or rather converts keep growing despite any hindrances (These Days...). He warns listeners that "the truth is scary" and that they must brace themselves for his teachings and making the listener anxious. "Wicked as Aleister Crowley" is a line Soul has used time and time again...not to be misinterpreted by any means,he is comparing himself to Crowley because Soul has cult following of fans similar to how Crowley had a cult following of converts. The next song Braille comes in with a wonderful Bas feature. But why Braille? Braille is a writing system used by the blind in place of normal alphabets,it is an unusual alphabet system for the normal seeing person which makes sense as I continue to explain. The song begins with the hook "Try saying something new,ain't nothing new to say, everything been did each and every which way" in reference to the wack shit that Soul spoke of: the repetitive songs about money,fame,women etc. But he continues "you ain't never seen it done like this" meaning Soul is about to bring something new to the masses,something out of the ordinary kinda like making non-blind people read Braille..am I right? The song doesn't seem all that 'new' as you listening to it,Soul uses a generic flow,and raps about the same things he just called wack("we went from Pentos to Benzos" along with the braggadocio that ccomes with hip-hop), although he does keep his witty lines accompanied by Bas' killer verse. This song seems more like a parody of today's music really...until the end of course. The beat becomes distorted and Ab raps "What the tongue can't taste,what the eyes can't see,what the ears can't hear",it's about his subject matter of the album,stating to the evangelized listener that it makes no sense or better yet,it is unfathomable. Huey Knew THEN begins to play its sinister instrumental. This song is about the financial prosperity of the black man as Soul begins with a rendition of The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air theme. Will Smith on the show portrays a young man from his low income lifestyle in Philadelphia moving to a neighborhood of wealth. Soul raps "I gotta shoot a fuckin' free throw to make my point". A longstanding stereotype about the black man is that the only way a black man can make it out of poverty is through basketball. Now onto Huey, the man who the song is named after. He was a civil rights activist fighting for the equality of the black man in order give him a chance to prosper but the system has been designed to keep the black man from achieving: the guns and drugs prevalent in black neighborhoods which lead to gang wars and the likes. Black out is used as a metaphor for death,black out being a minor sleeping state which is considered the cousin of Death which is in turn reaffirmed by the reference of the pale white horse. Telling white lies refers to the underhandedband shady dealings of gangbanging which also leads to the demise of the black man. "White lives matter when I black out" means white people become the topic of discussion in the death of a black man(such as the case of Trayvon Martin). Soul talks about "looking for shortcut to be an icon" but later says he's only doing it for the money,but not in a condescending way,he means he's doing it to make a living for himself as a black man with limited opportunity. And then the line "your 16 is pint sized to me" is referring to the rappers he addresses in RAW(backwards) and Braille meaning that their raps are meaningless to him,and furthermore lack true meaning to him. In the first three songs of the album Soul directs our attention away from these unnamed rappers and directs us towards him instead. This is the evangelism phase of the album. But wait...there's more. Huey was part of the Vanguard and it is a known fact that women were not allowed to join in. This sets the stage for the next song. THE SERMON Now that Ab-Soul has converted you and baptized you into his religion, he begins his sermon to the new and old converts(fans). He begins his song Threatening Nature with "this time around we're taking atheists to church,serving serpents with sermons with curse words". He talks to not only the nonbelievers of God but also the sinners using his profanity filled raps. Soul says his heart pumps the same blood as Jehovah's son or rather Joseph meaning Jesus. White people have long used religion to paint other races as inferior,but this statement by Soul challenges such a notion firstly because Jesus was a human like anyone else and on top of that he wasn't even white to begin with,this is continuing the theme of racial equality from the previous track. He challenges (threatens) the norm(nature) that he is white. Soul then switches the focus from race to something else...gender. He says "coming with lies to tell fairies(women) out of nowhere to help my selfish desires(sex)",Soul talks about how he deceived women into sleeping with him. "My life is about the vices(sin)" no explanation needed. Then he opens the first book of the bible and takes us to the garden if Eden. He talks about Adam,"If Eve never ate that apple he'd be mad sad",apple in this sense refers to Adam's sexual organs(the forbidden fruit),"and would've never pulled the leaves off of Eve and seen all that ass like a true man",Soul details how men use women as sex objects by using the example of himself and Adam and he says its "10 times harder fighting temptation". Men are tempted to feed their primal urges to have sex with women,but he is by no means defending men. Soul criticizes men by telling them that they bow down to pray to a man they don't understand (God) and get on one knee to propose to women(getting married without understanding the true meaning or purpose of marriage). Oh I love this part,"in grade school I learned about HIStory but what about HER story,did anybody ask?". In history women are not represented as much as they should and thus are overlooked in most cases. If it's not about the founding FATHERS,JFK,the first man on the moon, Martin Luther King,or Obama then it's rarely about women. "Tryna flower Queen Elizabeth",in a male run world it seems that in most cases the female power(Queen Elizabeth) is always shut down and dismantled(deflower). Soul says Genesis is the genealogy of Isis. With all that is going on around the world I can bet all my money that we all thought about the terrorist group ISIS...you know I'm right. But I think Soul is referring to the Egyptian goddess worshipped as the ideal MOTHER and WIFE. Isis is held in high regard and using her to symbolize Eve says a lot. "The chicken came before the egg"...uhm,hold that thought for now I'll explain that later. Soul goes back to HIStory when he talks about his ancestors picking cotton to their liberation from slavery today(Huey Knew) but we were so focussed on everything else that we forgot about speaking out on sexism because "the black man could vote before the women could". We sing hymns in church but what about the hers Soul asks with his witty wordplay. "Hilary Clinton tryna get ahead in the senate",Hilary was so close to making history as America's first female president the most powerful spot in the world,something that seemed like a dream at first but the fact that she didn't become president proves Soul's point even more on how the female power is always shut down. Soul says "getting head and I'm sinning"(female sex object theme). Men don't want to see a woman in power,they rather they cook,clean,pleasure them in bed...such a travesty don't you think? TESTIMONY OF THE PRIEST In mid-sermon, Ab-Soul takes a moment to talk about his sins as a man. The beginning of his testimony starts with Womanogany. In the song Soulo uses the imagery of Aphrodite (goddess of love,beauty,pleasure,and procreation) and her son Eros (god of desire,erotic love, attraction,and affection) and how they play tug of war with him. Aphrodite symbolizes genuine love while Eros symbolizes lust and thus Soul struggles between forming a genuine relationship with a woman and sleeping with a woman just for the sake of sleeping with her. This theme echoes throughout the hook that goes "I LIKE girls that's in LOVE with me". Soul manipulates women's attraction to him to please his sexual desires and confirms this when he says "gave her morning wood and rolled my wood in the morning" (one night stand). ScHoolboy Q's part on the hook "From the womb to the tomb nigga,keep that womb in that tomb nigga" is about some of the women aborting their babies(from the womb to the tomb) after Soul defiled them. A SINNER'S PRAYER The testimony continues as Soul details his calls for God's favor (an invocation) in the next song. Soul has been womanogamous(slept with so many women) and worries that his behavior might harm him as he symbolizes pussy as destructive and dangerous (Sexually Transmitted Infections). "That's why the wealthy need welfare",many affluent(wealthy) men have used their money for sexual favors and like Soul they fear for their health. In the hook Soul raps "He is I and I am Him" meaning he is a God...or rather God the Son(Jesus), symbolism he used heavily in "These Days...",and he also raps "I pray to Lord my soul's a G,if I O.D before I awake,I pray I ressurect on the third day". If you look closely at that line Ab is spelling out the word GOD,and also with the ressurection part he is praying it the Lord that he reaches a state of godliness and righteousness before he dies. Soul continues comparing himself to Jesus as people talk about him at barbershops and white kids wanting his autograph, his fame is spreading just like that of Christ, and like Christ he too is challenging the norms of his time. This prayer to God as I said is for Soul to be righteous and flee his sinful nature(sex). But like any recovering sinner he stumbles too as he says "Come suck Jesus'(Ab-Soul's) penis on Venus (desire)" going back to treating women as objects of sexual fulfilment. This is also relates to how women would want to satisfy Jesus in anyway they can(story of Mary Magdalene),the only difference her is that unlike Jesus who didn't seek sexual pleasure, Soul did. The Crowley and Jesus references go hand in hand because they also thought Jesus was spreading an evil doctrine although he was trying to enlighten people. Soul talks about "faith without the 'h' ",it is fait(fate) which is destiny...our destiny to go to "where the arc of the covenant is still" (Heaven). FELLOW SINNERS We move on from the struggling Ab-Soul and focus on his peers on Wifey vs. WiFi. This song is about Soul's friend,Riley. On verse 1 Riley gets arrested for possession of drugsdrugs and we hear the cell doors close on him. The hook is Riley reprimanding his girl(Wifey) for complain about missing her calls when he has to deal with matters of doing time in prison. In verse two Riley complains to Soul about his(Riley's) mother always arguing to him(most likely about his mistakes which lead him into prison), and calls her devil which Soul reacts to by telling Riley to "chill" and Riley continues to insult his mother(misogyny theme) by correlating the word "MOM" to it's corresponding numbers on the dial pad (666). Then we move on to Riley on the inside of prison,portrayed by BR3. This details Riley's survival on the inside of prison and somehow making many to send to his mother. He asks "why did I have to lose the case?" and continues "I feel like Biggie when he lost faith". Riley's life has been controlled by the system because of the life he chose(drug dealing,banging,etc). He has lost faith in having a better future and lost faith in God (although he reaped what he sowed). His life has spiraled and to top things off he suspects his girl is having sexual relations with other men. Riley chose the thug life which is about the masculinity that comes with street cred,and machismo which is evident in his disrespect of his mother and girlfriend. There's a Boondocks reference here. Huey the older brother is the activist fighting for civil rights of black men and Riley the younger brother is the one with an affinity for the thug life. But even with this difference they share one thing in common....they forget about the women. Riley aught to repent from his sinful ways like Soul but he doesn't. IT'S A SINNER'S WORLD Riley is saddened that he had to lose his case. But some sinners were luckier than Riley who are able to elude the clutches of prison. They are better off because they don't allow the system to send them off to every black man's perceived destiny (prison) so they beat the case like runaway slaves fleeing from their oppressors. But they're oblivious to the fact that their actions contribute to the control system. Straight Crooked sheds more light on the situation on people like Riley. "A prisoner's best asset is his liability (lie ability)",the criminals who beat their cases in the court room lied their way out of their situations and misleading the law enforcement (don't snitch). Ab calls the government a Muppet show or rather a joke of a system which is used to keep the black man from succeeding. Huey tries to break this system to give the black man equal opportunity to financially prosper but in failing to do so people like Riley resort to criminal activity to try and financial prosperity. All the efforts seem to be in vain. DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER Portishead In The Morning begins with Soul reviving his Jesus reference by calling himself a demigod (half human half god). Soul tells us he's "the brightest silver lining" and urges the converts at the service to not "make me take my light back". This sentence relates to one of Soul's lines "You can have all my shine I'll give you the light" as in the phrase "shed light"(knowledge/information). Like Jesus he tries to spread a message and urges listeners to withhold this knowledge which has been withheld from them by the system (forbidden knowledge). He asks congregants if they view him as man carrying a message(prophet) or think this is just Soul using a gimmick for financial gain(profit). They acknowledge his intellect but they tell him to dumb it down to gain greater appeal from the masses. Ab-Soul tests the male listeners in his sermon by asking a trick question: "Do you really wanna go to Heaven? Ain't no bitches mentioned". There are no female figures mentioned to be in heaven, all Angels that have been mentioned have been male, God is male,cherubs have various body parts with the head of a man. Soul paints a picture of divine sausage fest but the question is used to test the hearts of men, would they rather go to heaven or go to hell to fornicate as much as they want to. He references his song from Control System "Bohemian Grove" which is about the club of the same name which rejected women from joining, which it has been criticized for being misogynistic. In a way Soul's question is also sarcastic because he knows women are allowed in heaven(I ain't sexist,I'm inviting sisters too) so why doesn't the Grove do the same? Soul grabs the attention of atheists when he says the devil is a creation and not a creator and quotes the scientific law "energy is not created nor destroyed". God is energy because he is the uncreated creator. He uses science to prove the existence of God to the atheist converts. Describing the devil in an opposite way makes him less powerful and godlike and making him more inferior (Soul is not a satanist guys remember that). Soul ends with "God gotta be a thot". Let me explain, this song comes after two songs about sinners and criminals who have no problem in disrespecting women so this is where Soul addresses the misogynists in the room because God gave birth to Adam, thus making him a lifegiver meaning God is a female in that sense so by disrespecting the females you're nalso disrespecting God too. THOT is a term of disrespect for women so therefore if men call women thots(that.hoe.over.there) then you're pretty much calling God a that too....I hope you understood what I meant in that explanation. So when Soulo talks about the blood from your brain and beat rushing elsewhere (penis) and can't think and can't run(function) which is pretty much how men are when they are around these so called thots,they get horny and let their instincts drive them without thinking about what is it they are doing(which is defiling women),so this is Soul sort of asking you "you defile women,do you want to defile God too now?"(obviously the answer from the congregants at Soul's funeral should be no). Soul is teaching them a harsh lesson here to respect women. THE TRUTH IS SCARY Ab-Soul pretty much dropped a bombshell in the previous track which made way for the scary truth he spoke of earlier in the album which is God's A Girl...but it's more of a question from the congregants "Reverend are you really saying God's A Girl?". Some might think Soul contradicts himself,"you shit on us for calling women thots but you call them bitches",but Soul has stated in an interview with Soul that nowadays the term "bitch" is more of a term of endearment, kinda how men calk each other dawgs(dogs) so the female equivalent would be bitch. God's A Girl? is a second testimony by Soul. He starts by saying "you got me crying with a hard dick,I love you so much that I hate this shit",Ab trying to keep to his promise to refrain from his sexual urges says he cares about women that he hates the fact he has this urges in the first place, but then Soul reverts to sin when he says "come have sex with Jesus(Ab-Soul)" and "do your job" followed by a woman moaning during sex. He now uses women as sex objects again and being misogynistic again by telling the woman to do her job(sex). He thought he learned from his mistakes on Womanogamy but failed as he gives in to temptation. He shows the men he addressed in the previous song that "I too am not perfect so don't feel too ashamed when you also slip up". Soul raps "all I got is Goddess,I'm a heroine addict"......Soul becomes womanogamous again. The song pauses as Soul has a conversation and in the background we hear SZA's chorus on God's Reign...you do the math. In the second part of song,Soulo fell off way hard as he talks about going to rehab and the possibility that he might relapse(Soul's repentance and return to sin). He winds up acting like the rappers he addressed in RAW(backwards) as Soul raps about the "wack shit" too such as indulging in alcohol with peers,trying live recklessly like a rock star, getting fellatio in an expensive car and bragging about having more money than certain individuals. Towards the end Soulo contemplates his actions. "On the mountain top about to cry cause it gets so lonely up here",like any rise to fame it gets lonely at the top,he has the money but not the happiness. "Is anyone out there? Can anybody hear me?" is where he references his song from Longterm 2 of the same name where he raps about selling his soul and "Am I the next Shakur or an attention whore"...this is what Soul became,"I could save you with quotes"...this is what Soul needs to be again. This is the point of the song where he gets sense knocked into him and he realizes how much he's fallen and scrutinizes the world around him which is the "generation of complacency (self satisfaction)",the same world he became a part of for a moment. Soul vows to better himself to do the right thing when he puts his "right hand in the Bible with you". In his testimonies he has just revealed to us his demons and vows to try his best to change for the better and to leave his life of self satisfaction and misogyny. Now Jesus (Ab-Soul) goes back to his mission of trying to teach listeners. He raps "my ancestors came on a mother ship so I had to take it farther(father)". A child is born of the mother and lives under the rules and guidance of the father,Soul's ancestor(Adam) came on a mother ship(given birth by God) and lived under the rules of his father(also God). The song title is a question of whether God is a girl or not but the way Soulo puts it he is saying "Yes,God is a girl....but...he's also a man,so he's both" meaning God is equally male and female. This is a powerful revelation from Soul because what this teaches us is that even by divine law men and women are equal(the whole point of feminism). TAKE THE TRUTH AND EAT IT And Now You Know the scary truth Soul was hinting at in the beginning,the theory that the chicken(mother) came before the egg(child). At this point Soul knowing that this is a lot for you take in tells you to "try to relax". This track serves as a revision as Soul rreprises the line "I'm just a youngin' Del Amo"(Huey Knew),"cups with ices"(alcohol from God's A Girl?). Soul talks about being "miseducated, misled,misinterpreted, misunderstood, mistaken,misjudged" and a misfit causing mischieve. Majority of these words pretty much mean "I had things all wrong" and noting the "mis-" prefixes Soul is saying not only did he have women all wrong but also that he was doing them wrong. When he said "all you feminists should be on my dick for this shit" he meant they aught to be Stans (dickriders) for coming with a such a powerful and elaborate means of promoting feminism. Soul says he would change out the 'y' in mystery with an 'i' meaning that he is now figuring out women and what they want...which is to be treated as equals. He references the Bohemian Grove song intro. Thus reminding us of the objective of gender equality. Soul alludes to his conception in the womb as he talks about meiosis and mitosis (cell division) and floating through a body of water(sperm swimming in uterus) and says "And you know why I love my momma so much" is because his mother gave him life(God's A Girl) which hints the hook of the next song. At the end of the song Soul takes a misogynistic pledge which is basically a summary of his old self and also clarifying to the male listeners on what constitutes to misogyny. THE PAIN OF THE PRESENT D.R.U.G.S is a call for help from Soul. Soul talks about his personal and emotional issues and the pain he tries to take away with drugs. Mac sings "I can't help myself I think I need some help" but the only help present to Ab is his drugs which have become his crutches. Towards the end he says "Aderall Admiral give Danny credit",Aderall Admiral is a song by Danny Brown about the drug Aderall. It should be noted that at one point in time Danny went onto Twitter to vent about his internal pain telling people that he doesn't do drugs because it's cool,he does drugs becausenhe has problems in his life and Danny has hinted at suicidal tendencies on his song "30". Soul referencing Danny in such a way tells us that behind the calm shades lies a broken man as we see in the album cover. He openly asks us his "brethren" to alleviate his pain. Ab-Soul has been using the Jesus symbolism throughout the album,so this moment on D.R.U.G.S is reminiscent of Jesus crying during prayer asking God to free him from the suffering he'll endure during his trial and crucifixion. This is the moment in the Bible where Jesus shows that he too is human with fear and pain. Soul is human too with problems like anyone else even though he keeps his composure in the public eye. In the music video for this song Soul calls to check up on his mom(God) and says he'll be coming home soon. But in Soul's background we can see Jerusalem as he says he's coming home(Heaven). This means souls will be crucified for our sins(album art of These Days...) and ascend to heaven. Don't Ruin Us God Said is lyrical reference to Lupe Fiasco's song "They.Ressurect.Over.New" which Soul is featured on. This means Soul will die and rise again (his song Stigmata) into something new and transformed....or rather reincarnated(which is the theme of T.R.O.N) this could also be hinting at Andy Weir's short story called The Egg where God says we are all one entity living out different incarnations of ourselves also giving a secondary meaning to Ab-Soul's line "he is I and I am him,they ain't me and I ain't them" meaning we are all different incarnations but we are one. This theme of unity ties in with the feministic theme of the album of male and female equality or in spirit science terms: unity of male energy(logic and analytical thinking) and female energy (creativity and abstract thought),unity of yin and yang to find peace and thus reach nirvana, a place of no suffering. This is the penultimate conclusion of Tetsuo & Youth which life,death,reincarnation("proceed to the next level") and finally Nirvana. Tetsuo & Youth is the game and Do What Thou Wilt is our instruction manual to get us to nirvana. TRIBUTE TO THE DEAD Evil Genius is a memorial service of Alori Joh(Ab's deceased girlfriend). He gathers longtime Alori Joh collaborator and friend Javonté for the ceremony. Soul first talks about himself as the misunderstood "evil" genius although his motives are good and talks about how Alori would help Soul as a partner in crime and calls her an evil genius too because she understood Ab and his motives. In the hook Soul references the song "Let You Shine" by Alori which he referenced on "The Book Of Soul' too,plus he even samples the song on Evil Genius but the song is distorted and gives it a ghostly feel. The last time Alori was heard was on Section.80 and Control System and so this is like Alori's ghost ressurecting and Teedra Moses' voice which is eerily similar to Joh's indeed makes it seem like she is rising from the grave. On D.R.U.G.S,Soul has a void in his heart which only Joh would've been able to fill and thus Soul realizes even more how alone he is and starts to break down. A BISHOP'S TEARS On Lonely Soul reiterates how much he is misunderstood as he baffles people like the Baphomet. The Baphomet anatomy is all over the place and is confusing and misunderstood by onlookers but in the madness there is meaning,kinda like Soul's lyricism,but the only person who understood Soul is dead and gone and he feels out of place. He sulks in this song telling people to "Leave me (a)lone". He goes back to his crutch,drugs[lavender(purple kush) and pastel green(chronic)]. When he is asked "What happens after Control System?" he replies "the system controls me". The loss of Alori hit Soul so hard and it heavily accounts for his reckless nature in his testimonies stated above and how the depression he felt made him even more vulnerable to the system and sinning. He says "a coward killed my brother Georgiano and his momma"(the thug life/Riley). The loved ones around him are dying and adds on to his depression. The only person who could help was Alori. Soul is the male energy which is destructive in the absence of the female energy (Alori),emphasizing the importance of a woman in a man's life. Soul is the Black Lip Pastor and Alori was his priestess. Alori made "The Love Religion",an album full of live songs dedicated to Soul. In the absence of the priestess,The Black Lip Pastor now takes over The Love Religion and is about to minister to us what the law of this religion is....."Love is the law,love the only law" as SZA sings. Soul gains his composure at this point of the sermon. Ab revisits the past and in a way "The Law" can be seen as a bonus track for "The Love Religion". He talks about getting money to feed his female(Alori). "We are divided to restore the balance" and remember the song by Alori "Happy Medium ft. Ab-Soul" where the couple is engaged in argument(divided) and they make up after Soul says "You know I'm tryna make your family my in-laws". The song is nicely completed by Rhapsody as she says "we took him(men) to heaven where those golds and arcs are at" as a cherry on top to what Soul has been saying throughout the album in the importance of women in the lives of men and reaffirming that male energy cannot function without female energy. THE END OF THE SERMON YMF is Soul rapping up the sermon. The hook basically means that Soul is a sinner like everyone else and in a way states that we need love to get through life. Love for each other not only as blacks and whites,natives and foreigners, but also as men and women. "Another portions of the big picture that you'll leave out of the portrait that you will paint for me",Soul is the portrait,and the woman in his life is destined to finish the portrait and finally make Soul to be whole. God is love God is peace God is a man God is a girl Women are the missing piece of men needed to bring peace into their lives and as such should be treated with respect. Soul is a Young Mind Fuck who is misunderstood, waiting for a woman who'll understand him so Soul can be at peace in this lifetime and reach a state of Nirvana. At the end of the song God in His female personification brings light into this surround by darkness. I'm not sure if I'm 100% correct but one thing is for certain.... DWTW will go down in history as one of Soul's most powerful albums.

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The Blacker The Hippy The Sweeter The Juice

What is Black Hippy? Who is Black Hippy? At the first mention of this name I thought it was an EDM DJ with a head full of dread locks. Black Hippy is a hip hop collective comprised of Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul, and ScHoolboy Q. This group was hailed as the new age NWA, I wonder why? *stares sarcastically at Ab-Soul* In a time when YMCMB was still the talk of the town they slowly crept up on the rap scene ready to pounce. Black Hippy is like a boy band in a way: Each member has their own magnetic personality that defines them. JAY ROCK The man who started it all. As his name implies he is the hardest rapper out of the entire group. He brings that toughness he has acquired from his gangbanging days. A blood all the way from Watts,California.....or is it Balifornia? I really don't know how these things work. Jay Rock was the name that was heard around the block, he is the ghetto wordsmith you never wanted to mess with...one can't help but shake in their boots after hearing Rock say "Don't f****** move" on the Black Hippy remix of Scenario. Top saw a potential star in the Watts native. KENDRICK LAMAR A man who needs little to no introduction really. Going by the name of K-Dot in his youth he was that short, spunky, big-eared homie from Compton....a former Roc-a-fella signee before the label shut down(you done missed out on this one Hov). Kendrick had that youthful energy in him,throwing punchlines that made people in a cypher go "OOOH". The Beyonce of the group (such a cringe-worthy title to be given to an artist), he's that guy who seems to be the more flashy and stylish of the group, praised for his multis,change of voice and flow,ability to adapt to a beat....he's that guy. AB-SOUL The third signee to the label...and knowing him he'll probably use my sentence for a third eye reference (I'm kidding). The misunderstood one amongst them all, and the brains of the group. Easily identified on a track by his absurd lyricism and spiritual/philosophical themes, and his ad-lib which echoes around the room and makes listeners stare like meerkats popping out of their burrows. Soul Brother number 2, KRS-Two, The Black Lipped Pastor, along with other pseudonyms, he's the guy you get your brain geared up for in race of wits,trying your best not to let that one metaphor fly over your head...and he's highly favoured by Lupe Fiasco himself,so try not to strain your brain. SCHOOLBOY Q And finally the last signee of the TDE conglomerate. Q, the Hoover crip...yes you read that correctly, a crip, he is the guy with the groovy vibes....he can have fun but can also be serious, able to indulge in pleasurable activities(he plays Call Of Duty) and knowing when to shift from his man-child antics to be real with you. He and Rock make sense for this group: Rock in the red corner, red being a flaming and angry color,and Q in the blue corner with blue being a cool and calm color. These guys are two sides if the same coin and they match oh so perfectly. The Fame The years 2011 all the way to 2013 were a great time for the squad. Each of them releasing killer solo projects whilst still gathering together for a few posse cuts. Kendrick gaining the honorific of "King Of The West Coast", and ScHoolboy Q finally eating (as far as the street lingo goes). Out of these four rappers only three were signed to two record labels, Dot and Q being signed with Interscope, and Rock being signed to Strange Music...up until his departure later on. Q and Dot were at the forefront of the fame while Rock and Ab languished behind them. Not long after all of this soon Q started to fall behind Kendrick as Kendrick was getting calls left and right for collabs and potential projects *stares at Cole*. The Black Hippy of today seems to be drifting in a way. Instead of the group being acknowledged as a unit it seems that Kendrick is now way above them in terms of fame, Q still doing well with his piece of the pie, Ab-Soul still surviving from his cult following of fans,whilst Rock seemingly takes a back seat in it all. Nowadays it's rare to hear anyone of them to command listeners to out three fingers in the air, or shout out Hiiipower. Although we still get posse cuts every now and again it seems they all become futile for a third of the rappers as critics and fans...scratch that...stans alike hail Kendrick above them all. Has Black Hippy become the Destiny's Child of rap with the fame of Kendrick Lamar crippling the collective? Will Rock and Ab ever shine among the stars with Q and Dot? Will we ever get the long awaited Black Hippy project we've been taunted with? Will Kendrick's dad ever find his dominoes? Only time will tell for our beloved rappers.

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surge42-blog · 7 years

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surge42-blog · 7 years

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Geeks in the Game

The rap game has evolved quite a lot from it's earlier day.....from the funky vinyl scratches to the braggadocio which dominates hip hop nowadays. Everywhere we went it was all about the thug life....that is until Kanye West came around and flooped the pig on the game. This bizzare and yet likeable change spawned a new breed of rappers: Nerdy Geeks and Geeky Nerds and others in between all of that. LUPE FIASCO -- Perhaps one of the greatest in the nerd /geek spectrum. Aside from rapping, Lupe, is a hell of a gamer....he beat a world champion gamer in Street Fighter, he's a lover of anime..... which could explain the origin of the album name "Tetsuo & Youth" as well as the name of his rock band, Japanese Cartoon. A Muslim rapper, Lupe has really turned the tide for the geeks and otakus out there having the best rap album in America at one time (Lupe Fiasco's The Cool). Lupe is prone to beefing.....I just saw him in his samurai gear and I do not think I can fair well against beef with Lupe lol. He embodies his nerdy intellect with his metaphors that take so long to decipher even causing listeners to tell Lupe to "Dumb It Down"...even though he has been getting mixed to bad reviews for his projects, Lasers, and DROGAS Light(the refined version of Lasers as he puts it) he has still impressed me nonetheless cause Lu goes in hard...that reminds me I should give "In" another listen for the fun of it. CHILDISH GAMBINO -- Mr. Troy Barnes a.k.a Mr. LMNOP a.k.a Black Kennedy a.k.a Donald Glover. The guy or rather The Boy as his fans know him is the epitome of nerd. He's been oozing geekatude since day one. Born sometime in September on an airbase....well cause he's so fly (see what I did there?) he didn't have an awesome upbringing. His family was quite poor,living in the projects, he was the hope of the family towards a good life. They sent him to school to get himself good grades and hopefully get a good job. At the age of 21 he lost his virginity and thought his phallus would fall off or something, and at 23 he started working on the hit comedy show 30Rock. Bino was just an ordinary kid really. He got together with some friends and made a bunch of comedy videos and a movie too. It was around these times he started rapping. He released the mixtape Sick Boi and Pointdexter with the nerd gimmick...well is it a gimmick if he is one? Of course they laughed cause he was a comedian.....if Kevin Hart dropped an album under his Chocolate Droppa monicker wouldn't you laugh too? Mixtape after mixtape went by and Donald has really went far...from his nerdier days as the Sick Boi, to the iller days as Black Kennedy, all the way to his existential days as The Boy, he has truly cemented his place among the stars. The guy has been doing things a nerd can only dream of: voicing Mace Windu in Star Wars(Robot Chicken), Miles Morales (#Donald4Spiderman),Alpha Dog on Regular Show, and Marshall Lee (flossing flossing hard,Ice King, no more Finn and Jake). Me -- So here I am,Surge42, a rapper as well,I really learned from these guys...they stuck to what they know best...being nerds and achieved the impossible, I have now digressed from my old days of trying to fit the mainstream rapper sound,but I just figured let me be me instead. So shout to the nerds out there and stay geeky

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surge42-blog · 7 years

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No GOAT

Hello there all,here's something that has become the topic of the ages in hip-hop.....the status of The G.O.A.T THE GOAT: For those unfamiliar with this term,G.O.A.T is an acronym for Greatest Of All Time. Right now as you're reading you're probably thinking Tupac and Biggie aren't you? Well it's quite difficult to come up with a formulaic approach in unearthing the true, and singular entity of...The GOAT. This status is often attributed to the many artists and it seems no one can agree on a singular GOAT in the rap game mostly because we are just too subjective in our approach. -The Debate- Who are debating these things? no really,think about it. We have Backpackers who seem to be more inclined on towards the underground spectrum,we have the indigos and spiritualists who have an affinity for psychedelics,philosophy, and the third eye amongst other things,we have the trap heads who dabble in money,cars,clothes,women,and the selling of drugs which has been the stereotype for hip-hop to various onlookers(fake cough mom and dad fake cough). Of course there are many others in between such as Christian and Muslim hip-hop or Pop Rap(shout out to Drake and Nicki). The bottom line here is that there are just too many kinds of people with too many differing interests many of which are SUBJECTIVE. Oh let's not forget the Stans or as their derogatorily called d***riders,but we'll get to them shortly -The Artist- Ah the main man/woman,the person who this is all about...the artist as it should've been obvious above is definitely on one spectrum of hip-hop or another, sometimes hybrids. Genre-wise we have the Cloud Rap of A$AP Rocky,the Acid Rap of Chance The Rapper(or raper as some people without autocorrect say....I'm playing lol),the Alternative Rap of Danny Brown(not sure if he says Cha! or Check!),and the Gangsta Rap of Jay Rock. But let's move away from genre right now and delve into the actual rap structure Punchlines: Punchlines come in many forms,some corny,some awesome,some nasty,and some downright outrageous as I say it in a faux British accent. Punchlines are either metaphors or more regularly as similes like Childish Gambino's line from Arrangement which goes like "Bank account looking like when little kids break s***". Vocabulary: This is the artist's word bank right here. Statistics say right now the current artist with the most extensive vocabulary is Aesop Rock(don't confuse him with the cloud rapper). Language: Of course the language in rap by default will have to be mostly the jargon of hip-hop such "homie","stunt",or the one that white people use to feel more black is the timeless classic "nah mean". Lyricism: The actual artist's use of metaphors,wordplay,double entendres(or more),and all the lot. Flow: Is the artist's mastery of rhyme scheme. Subject Matter: The rapper's topic of discussion....that was a quick one lol. -Criteria- Again may I note that G.O.A.T is something that should be viewed in the most objective of forms but that's virtually impossible if we think about it. The GOAT is the guy or gal who is the best to have ever done it as some or most would say. Many of the names thrown in were those most revered in the rap pantheon such as the iconic Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G,Immortal Technique has been thrown in there,Eminem as well(he has literally been given the moniker of King Of Hip-Hop or more recently The Rap God). This artists are all too different in my eyes...or rather my ears lol,so what criteria do people use in their rationing? -The Stan formula- The d***rider formula is basic and is merely off of pure emotional investment in artist.... like it's so bad that even if their favorite artist were to intentionally make a bad song the artist nonetheless can do no wrong in the stans opinion. The Stan's lack of musical variety doesn't help the situation either. Stans have been prevalent over the years and often are on side of an argument from the Tupac vs Biggie,the Jay-Z vs Nas,the 50 Cent vs The Game,all the way down to Kendrick vs Cole.....Cole even says "Get off my d***" and stans ride his d*** heavy nonetheless lmao. Basically the Stan formula has always been flawed. -Non Stan Formula- Finally we're getting somewhere right? Well wrong! This one is also very difficult because of people's general interest. I once overheard a group of girls playing a Kendrick Lamar song...King Junta to be precise. One of the girls voiced here interest in the song and here disdain for the first single 'i'....these are both the same artist's songs and both are jazz rap/funk right? So what went wrong? Well I know the chick so i know she just wants a song she can dance to with her gal pals and at a clyb so 'i' in that respect lost her favour cause it was something your grandaddy might dance to(coolest grandpa ever am I right?). Another Cocoa Butter Kisses by Chance The Rapper....your girlfriend has the song unbeknownst to you,it's smooth,it's catchy,it's loveable off the bat but some might praise that song and hate on "Angels". These people are more interested in the sonic aspects of rappers. Some would prefer subject matter as the main argumentative basis in the case of Tupac's anti establishment and thuglife stories being put over...I dunno....Drake's raps about exes we don't know of nor care about lol,no shots at Drizzy. Others like storytelling, others are more inclined towards metaphor and punchlines,others might just prefer relatabilty to an artist. -The Sound- I often come across these situations...a trap song comes out,people play it like there's no tomorrow,and I ask...."What is he saying?"....they wouldn't know the lyrics aside from the hook but in their defence they would say that "the beat is sick though". This can lead many astray from the actual rap. Of course the beat is essential to the music like how I like the "Waves" beat by Joey Bada$$ which induces such irrational nostalgia or how the "Bonfire"beat of Childish Gambino gets me turnt or how "The Book of Soul" beat by Ab-Soul can get me in my feels....someone please hand me a Feels Guy meme. At end of the day we're judging rapping prowess. -The Untouchables- There are certain "elite" groups which have released timeless classics to the public that now challenging their GOAT status is considered blasphemy. Often this are artists that unleash the inner Stan hidden in most of us. Tupac and Biggie being center stage at all of it,with practically everyone else taking second place to them in the hierarchy.... Some people who lack the knowledge of hip hop just assume these two men impregnated each other and birthed hip hop. Although they have been essential to the evolution of hip hop it was not really a two man job. Others such as DMX,Snoop Dogg,Wu Tang Clang and more also did their part in shaping hip hop in it's golden ages and many are arguably in Pac and Biggie's league. I bet a will be crucified for this part lol so let me end it there. -Sales- Let me get to it......Sales don't mean jack!!!!! This is perhaps one of the most absurd arguments out there. An artist's record sales are not representative of their skill things such as the formerly famous now infamous J.Cole "double platinum no features" accolade have clouded people's judgment and they make it out to be Cole's only suit of armor of relevance. Or Drake's "Views" which was by far hot steamy garbage and yet look it went 4x Platinum. The Sale's argument has been buried alive by the increase in internet streaming and Chance The Rapper's 3 Grammy awards with not a single copy sold. Granted such accolades or ones similar are impressive but many seriously great artists cannot be judged by the accolades or lack thereof......if we had to then that would mean Illmatic is also hot steamy garbage cause it took years for it to turn platinum and that would mean Kevin Gates' album which also went platinum with no features(not the deluxe edition) is greater than illmatic....right? -Conclusion- Music has and always will be subjective. The search for the G.O.A.T is just too hard and futile. Unless somehow the gods send us a hip-hop Jesus(not Slim Jesus),one who has all the flow and lyricism in the world and is able to function successfully every single subgenre of hip-hop...and yes that includes dabbling in both Christian and Muslim rap....as contradictory as that may be. I dunno what your thoughts on this might be,I might get challenged and called a fake fan of hip hop or something.... I'm mean real recognize real right? As the slogan goes. Peace

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