Diversity in hip-hop

From the early days of hip-hop till today, the industry has been dominated by those of African-American descent. But as the years progress, hip-hop continues to leave the streets and find its way to rappers of other races and nationalities. Although most famous rappers (with the exception of eminem) are African-American, the diversity continues to grow.

Although hip-hop originally stems from America, it has quickly made its way overseas. In Germany, hip-hop artist Peter Fox has drawn quite a bit of attention from European hip-hop fans. A few of his songs including "Alles Neu" have reached the top 5 of European charts.

Despite hip-hop's urban stems, the highly popular music form has made its way from the streets to the suburbs. Rapper George Watsky's rendition of Busta Rhyme's "Break Ya Neck" brought him lots of attention due to his ability to rhyme at a pace rivaling that of Busta Rhymes himself.  His abilities oppose the stereotype that most rappers are African-Americans from urban areas.

DubWhat?

As the years continue to pass, as always new forms of music seem to emerge in America. One of the newest and most unique forms of music that has surfaced recently is a peculiar genre of techno-like music called Dubstep. When I first began to listen to it I was unsure if I liked it. But as I kept listening, I was drawn in by the bass heavy techno beats that these artists produced.

Dubstep was an unknown style of music until only a few years ago. Still, since its existence it gets little airtime on radio and television broadcasting. Despite the fact that dubstep is somewhat underground, it continues to gain more recognition each and every day.

With this being said, here are a couple of my favorite dubstep songs out there:

Skrillex- "First of the Year":

Flight Facilities- "Crave You" (Adventure Club Dubstep Remix):

Favorite Drummers

Drumming has been a part of my life since I was in fourth grade. I began playing drums when I reach fourth grade and was allowed to join band. I spent the next two years playing in the school orchestra and jazz bands. I quickly learned how to play the drums and one christmas I got my first drum set. Ever since I have played drums and until last summer have taken lessons from my uncle who is a drummer in a local cover band back home in Connecticut.

Here are a couple of my favorite drummers of all time:

Neil Peart (Rush):

Highly regarded as one of the greatest drummers of all time, Neil Peart is easily my favorite drummer of all time. Hailing from Canada as the backbone of the three piece set that was Rush, Neil is one of the most technical drummers of all time with skills almost unmatchable by any other drummer in history. I was actually lucky enough to see Rush play live at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut. His drum solo is probably the most memorable musical moment I have witnessed in my life.





Travis Barker (Blink 182):

With Blink 182 being one of my favorite bands, I have always loved to listen to Travis Barker. He is such a talented musician with almost unmatched speeds. He is regarded as one of the fastest drummers in the world. Also, his style of playing is very technical and difficult to play.

It's always the good ones who have to die.

As I spoke about in my last post, the hip hop today is highly inferior to that of old. When analyzing current artists their talent is clearly not as prevalent as some of the biggest names in the industry. Artists such as Tupac, Notorious B.I.G., Big L, and Guru were the sound of the 90's in hip-hop. But what is also interesting is that all these artists have been considered as hip hop's top 50 most profound lyricists. Even further, these highly talented artists/lyricists are no longer living. But as stated in the Wu-Tang Clan track "Tearz".... "It's always the good ones who have to die".

Tupac -"Changes":

As mentioned in a previous post, Tupac's changes is one of the most influential songs in the world of hip-hop. The message he conveys is so powerful that the Vatican named it one of their top 12 favorite songs. Prior to his death, he continues to be a profound force in the world of hip-hop.

Notorious B.I.G. -"Juicy":

Christopher Wallace, more commonly known as Notorious B.I.G., Biggie, or a handful of other titles is one of the most influential figures on hip-hop. The song is considered by many fans and critics as one of the greatest hip hop recordings of all time.

Wu Tang Clan

The Wu Tang Clan is easily my favorite rap group of all time. Hailing from Staten Island, New York a mere hour from my home in Connecticut comes one of the most influential groups in rap history. The Wu-Tang Clan consists of eight original members (nine if you include the late Ol' Dirty Bastard) them being: RZA, GZA, Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa, U-God, Raekwon the Chef, and Method Man.

Wu Tang is most commonly known for their hardcore lyrics and underground sound. Despite being unknown in rap until the early 90's, the Wu Tang Clan exploded on the music scene with the release of their first album, "Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers". One of my favorite Wu Songs is on this album, it is titled, "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'".








Last January, to show that I was a true fan of the Wu-Tang Clan I attended a concert in New Haven, Connecticut at a small venue called Toads Place. I was very excited to see them live as they do not tour very often with the loss of one of their key members Ol' Dirty Bastard. Despite his absence, an affiliate of the Wu-Tang clan named Cappadonna stood in and did a very good impersonation. At the concert they opened with one of my favorite songs in "Protect Your Neck":

Marleys and Me

Despite my profound adoration toward hip-hop in the 1990's, another love of mine is reggae. But in particular, Bob and Damian Marley are two artists who can truely bring me to my "happy place". the mellow, soothing melodies of reggae music can easily make me happy when I'm feeling unhappy. The pure joy that these artists put forth is tremendous due to their Rastafarian lifestyle, which I totally agree with....

Bob Marley, "Misty Morning":

Misty Morning is my all-time favorite reggae track. I really enjoy the horns in this song, for they are very relaxing. Bob's ability to make people happy through his music is truely incredible for it is almost impossible to feel sadness while listening to a Bob Marley tune. 

Damian Marley, "It Was Written".

Although Damian adds more of a hip-hop sound to his reggae style, he is still indeed the son of the greatest and most influential reggae artist of all time. This song in particular is very mysterious and incorporates a heavy reggae melody with a hip-hop beat. It is very inspiring to see these two very popular and different genre's of music colliding so perfectly.

Blink 182

Since the fourth grade I have listened to and enjoyed the music of Blink 182. Ever since I have called myself a fan of the 90's punk rock group. Last August I actually attended one of their concerts in Hartford, Connecticut.

I have listened to the group for such a long time and grow to love them more every time I listen to them. A few of my favorite songs include: Man Overboard, Anthem Pt. 2, and Everytime I Look For You. The songs of Blink truly encompass what it is to grow up while I myself listened to them as I grew up. 

Man Overboard:

Anthem Pt. 2:

Everytime I Look For You: