In this day, hip-hop has nearly taken over the music industry. Being such a young genre of music, it continues to rise to the top of the charts. But, is the hip-hop of today as good as that of the past? Many of today's artists focus so much more on bumping beats rather than lyrical content. Although this is not true to all of today's artists, there is still a large portion that do fall under this category. Artists like Soulja Boy and Waka Flacka Flame, in my opinion produce nothing more than just nonsensical noise.
But going back a few decades to the 1990's, it can be said that this era was the golden age of hip-hop. Some of the most influential artists came out of this period. Many hip-hop enthusiasts will agree that some of the greatest artists are no longer living. Artists such as Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, Guru, and Big L; however small their contribution changed the hip-hop industry forever.
Here is a list of the good and bad or old and new of hip-hop.
Soulja Boy's "Turn My Swag On":
Released in 2008, "Turn My Swag On" is the epitome of my earlier mentioned "nonsensical noise". If Soulja Boy's existence had never occurred, the hip-hop industry would be a much better place. Soulja Boy's success depends solely on his attraction to the younger crowd with his catchy beats and subpar rhyme scheme and content.
Eminem's "Syllables":
In 2010, Eminem challenged the music industry with his song "Syllables". In it, he rhymes about today's rappers and how phony they are. A hip-hop artists ability to quickly transition from word to word while rhyming them together can be a large factor to the quality of an artists work. But, so can the usage of larger and more complex words. The ability to rhyme together words with many syllables is a thing of the past that many newer artists lack. In "Syllables", Eminem claims, "And how do we adapt and get TRL votes, when 13 year olds control the remotes". This is a testament to the reason behind the success of many artists today despite their lack of lyrical talent.
Tupac's "Changes":
Originally released in 1992, the song "Changes" encompasses the struggle of living on the streets. Tupac claims that there must be a change made in order for the people of the U.S. to live in peace. Unlike many artists of today, this is a common theme in many of Shakur's recordings. His songs all have a deeper meaning to them than just attracting a fan base. This is why Tupac is regarded as one of the most influential figures in hip-hop.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Dave Matthews Band
Hailing from South Africa (and Virginia) the Dave Matthews band lead by none other than Dave Matthews is an American rock band known for their intricate improvisational acts and eclectic mix of instruments. DMB is most well known for their summer tours, which I can tell you firsthand are truly something else. Being my favorite band, I have been to three Dave shows in my life. Twice at Woodstock in the summer of 2009 and 2010, and once at the Comcast Center in Hartford, CT. Upon arrival, every parking lot was full. Tailgating is amazing at Dave shows and allows for opportunity to meet lots of new people. But enough with the show business and onto the music. I will now share with you my favorite Dave Matthews Band songs.... enjoy.
1. "Two Step":
Despite its lack of credibility on the music charts, for true DMB fans, it is one of the greatest live performance done by DMB. As the third track on their most successful album Crash, "Two Step"features a very upbeat tempo accompanied by a quick folk guitar riff. To me, Two Step is a very uplifting song. It's chorus repeats, "celebrate we will, for life is short but sweet for certain", to celebrate for we only have one chance is the message being sent to the song's audience.
2. "Big Eyed Fish":
The last show I attended, DMB opened with "Big Eyed Fish". Located on the album Busted Stuff, the song contains immense animal symbolism. Each verse tells a separate story of animal that goes outside its natural habitat or against what is commonly accepted only to fail miserably. The first line tells of a man who held his breath until he died, which clearly falls under the category of "stupid". But the point of the song is that one must accept their fate and not stray far or else failure can and will occur. The slow downbeat tempo of the beginning of "Big Eyed Fish" accompanied by soft vocals quickly picks up as the chorus approaches and returns to a slower speed during each verse.
3. "Lie in Our Graves":
One of the most distinguishable tracks by DMB, "Lie in Our Graves" is all about living life to the fullest and not having to question life at its end. I love the message they put forth in this song as I believe we must live life to the fullest each and every day and truly abide by the phrase "Carpe Diem" or "Seize the Day". The extremely upbeat tempo gets me in a good mood every time I hear the first few notes of the song. As with "Two Step" and "Big Eyed Fish", I have also heard "Lie in Our Graves" live. Out of every performance, "Lie in Our Graves" tops any song I have ever seen performed live.
1. "Two Step":
Despite its lack of credibility on the music charts, for true DMB fans, it is one of the greatest live performance done by DMB. As the third track on their most successful album Crash, "Two Step"features a very upbeat tempo accompanied by a quick folk guitar riff. To me, Two Step is a very uplifting song. It's chorus repeats, "celebrate we will, for life is short but sweet for certain", to celebrate for we only have one chance is the message being sent to the song's audience.
2. "Big Eyed Fish":
The last show I attended, DMB opened with "Big Eyed Fish". Located on the album Busted Stuff, the song contains immense animal symbolism. Each verse tells a separate story of animal that goes outside its natural habitat or against what is commonly accepted only to fail miserably. The first line tells of a man who held his breath until he died, which clearly falls under the category of "stupid". But the point of the song is that one must accept their fate and not stray far or else failure can and will occur. The slow downbeat tempo of the beginning of "Big Eyed Fish" accompanied by soft vocals quickly picks up as the chorus approaches and returns to a slower speed during each verse.
3. "Lie in Our Graves":
One of the most distinguishable tracks by DMB, "Lie in Our Graves" is all about living life to the fullest and not having to question life at its end. I love the message they put forth in this song as I believe we must live life to the fullest each and every day and truly abide by the phrase "Carpe Diem" or "Seize the Day". The extremely upbeat tempo gets me in a good mood every time I hear the first few notes of the song. As with "Two Step" and "Big Eyed Fish", I have also heard "Lie in Our Graves" live. Out of every performance, "Lie in Our Graves" tops any song I have ever seen performed live.
Monday, September 12, 2011
First Playlist
As a huge music fan (mainly hip-hop) of just about everything, I figured I would blog about my love for music and the individual pieces that support this obsession. For my very first playlist post I thought I would do songs that I listen to regularly in bad times. Feel free to listen to the songs via the attached links.
The first song is "Sometimes I Rhyme Slow" by Nice & Smooth. This 1991 minor hit by the underground New York rap group features a sample hook from Tracy Chapman's hit song "Fast Car". The first verse of the song performed by Greg Nice is more upbeat with quicker rhymes and more blissful lyrics. While the second verse performed by Nice's partner Smooth B is a slower more discontent story of a girl who did him wrong. Although the song is not much of a feel good story itself, the sound of the song can always get me up when I'm down.
Second comes "Jammin'" by none other than the great Bob Marley. The most influential and recognizable figure of reggae music epitomizes the essence of "feel good" with his hit "Jammin". Bob sings to whomever his audience is supposed to be telling them he just wants to jam. To Marley and many other musicians alike, "jamming" can be very relaxing and expressive. Not only are the lyrics relaxing but the music is very soothing itself featuring electric guitar, bass guitar, steel drums, and some sort of organ or piano.
The third and final song for this playlist is "Moment of Truth" by Gang Starr. This is possibly the most influential song on me. So influential I decided to tattoo a line from the song across my back (see picture below). The line goes as so "no one is untouchable, no man is bulletproof, we all must meet our moment of truth". I believe that what Guru (the MC from Gang Starr) was trying to say that we are all only human, no matter how powerful you may be there is a demise to us all. Guru believed this and that we all must someday accept this truth thus leading one to his or her "moment of truth". Despite these deep lyrics, it is a feel good song to me for that reason exactly. The sheer power and meaning that is put into each and every line of this song by Guru truly exemplifies not just a feel good, but ranks among some of hip hop's greatest titles.
Why music?
Since you're going to be reading about my choices in music, I may as well introduce myself. My name is Shamus Higginbottom and I hail from the 860. For those of you that don't know, that is the area code for my hometown of New Milford, Connecticut. I currently am a Freshman at the University of New England in Biddeford, ME and am studying Sports Management with hopes of someday becoming a sports agent. In addition, I am a recruit for the men's varsity lacrosse team. I chose to blog about music because music has always played an integral role in my life. As I have changed throughout my 18 years, so has my taste in music. Music is a way to express oneself and I feel very strongly about that statement. I have grown up around music as my father plays guitar in a local band and I myself have been playing the drums for just under 9 years now. With my love for music, I intend to share the wealth of music on my itunes library to anyone who dare read...
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