Music is the key to the soul
I speak for many when I say that music is true access to bliss from the outside world. It is an escape that you can’t truly describe in words, but here I am trying to do that. Music has been bringing people together and touching the soul since as far as time can record, so the appreciation we have for it should be just as deep. From Renaissance orchestration to techno and heavy metal, it’s something out there for every set of ears. A true appreciation for my favorite genre of music being hip-hop/rap, culture is almost always the defining element of what makes it unique. GZB speaks for culture and soul. This is a platform of appreciation and acknowledgement of the world around me to a deeper meaning. I feel like I have to give respect to the genres before my time. Let the record say that, I’m a way bigger fan of todays music. Moving on, the evolution of some of my favorite genres can’t go unnoticed. I like rugged, I like bass and deep drops and eerie tough sounding music. These are some of characteristics that make Hip-Hop and Rap what it is, those features won’t ever change I feel like.
Rap in Regions
East Coast
The more rugged side of rap in my opinion. Pockets were filled hard with literature and compacted to make lyricism burst through the seams of the beat being rapped over..West Coast
The idea of old west coast rap is more melodic to me. The slower paced, but still sturdy style of hip-hop can be a small taste of the views accustomed to the west coast's ambience.Early contributions to the blueprint of rap are credited to people who pushed the barrier. Im a big fan of Wu-Tang Clan coming from the east in the early 90’s. But Hip-Hop came in regions too. What I mean by that is certain areas had certain sounds. New- York’s early Hip-Hop sound came from people like Curtis Blow who had the forefront of Hip Hip in the 80’s, groups like Run-DMC and A tribe called quest pushed the agenda, and even LL Cool J’s burst onto the music scene elevated Hip-Hop on the east coast. Of course figures like the Notorious B.I.G. and DMX still get the credit and flowers the deserve in today’s society, but there’s artists that also pushed the backend of the 90’s of the east coast into music oblivion. Some of my favorite early artists from the east coast are Health Skeltah, Biggie and just recently, Big L has been getting plays from me, May he rest.
-Genres inside of Genres-
Versatility Lies within our culture
Categories like rap have been dominated and excelled by the black community for years, yet it’s important not to constraint that talent to one genre the way the world has. Black people have excelled in many genres of music like Pop, Rhythm and Blues, Jazz, Gospel and many more. Artists like Aretha Franklin, Bobby Brown, Deniece Williams, and of course the late great Micheal Jackson are icons that I had the pleasure of listening to growing up, so shout out to moms. Sharing and appreciating music for what it is an act of soul. Yet, the reason I mention them is because this is music before my time, but still had the priveilege of listening to. That’s the point, music that lives on. It’s one thing for someone to find music they enjoy of their time, but it’s another for the music to outlive the artist and still bring joy to the next generation, shows longevity and range in our culture. I can’t be the only one that thinks even certain music gets better over time.
Sub-Genres
A sub-genre is the profound variations of a genre, The certain instruments used, cadences, delivery, flow and beat speed are just some of the many factors that can make a subgenera different from its parent genre. Take the examples of some beloved jazz sub-genres, which include the fast tempos and syllable talking of bebop. Then the origination of house music changed the game. You have funk which brings the low-bass heavy beats that force a groove through you.
The sub-genres of Hip-Hop run deep too. You got the original hip-hop branching out to things like trap, which is big in the south and drill originating in Chicago. Florida has it’s own cadence and for the most part, rappers being categorized as low melodic beats that people still love that arguably originated in the great city of Chicago. Then you have categories like trap’s speaker-breaking bass originating from Atlanta. Southern Rap itself is different But as I said,
Black people have been musically inclined and versatile for generations
Magnum Force – Heltah Skeltah
Release date: October 13th, 1998
I listened to most of Sean P and Rock’s discography from the era, and I can say that it embodies what old-school hip hop was for New-York no matter the borough. Some of the best bars and catches in the east coast rap music to came
I was a big fan of the skits thrown into the soundtrack, which was also became a noticeable trend in rap albums during the time with artists like Nas and Wu-tang who I mention. Interludes and skits gives the album the creative entertainment element I like. With imagination, it’s like getting movie and music in one. Still a tactic used today by artists. Sean P and Rockness complimented one another well in this album for me giving it the New-York feel at the time. Brozeville, NY was their home and they made sure to represent the streets that shaped their style and musical influence throughout their discography.
However, Magnum Force was special to me because of tracks like “Perfect Jab” that showed the power in bond when both lyricists piggy-back off of one another. Then songs like “Chika Woo” have the element of love and affection attached, giving diverse feelings throughout the album, making it enjoyable for everybody. Rap has ben versatile since it’s birth, and this project was one of the many in the 90’s that solidified that.
The Infamous- Mobb Deep
Release date : April 25th, 1995
Mobb Deep was also a rap group I gravitated towards when exploring the common features of old east coast music. Rap groups and duos seemed to be a theme among others when it came to rap. Mobb Deep became one of the frontrunners of hardcore east coast rap with the release of this project. One of the most impressive things about this release was the fact that they managed to do it at just 20 years old out of Queensbridge, NY, AKA Queens. The raw and hardcore feel for the beats and lyrics of the album is a east-coast characteristic
Similar to groups like Heltah Skeltah and Wu-tang, pairing on tracks was a recipe for the style of music Prodigy and Havoc used to climb charts. Along with the elements that make the album flow from top to bottom, the album was real in the simplest sense. Mobb Deep made sure to capture the true feel of what the streets of NY was like at the time. The wars, the crime, oppression, violence and day to day lives of black people aren’t always things that the media likes to put in the forefront. Mobb Deep seems as if they simply didn’t care.
My favorite tracks include “Temperature’s Rising” band the classic “Shook Ones” both part II and the original. My interpretation of the track is the advocation for the the troubled youth subject to gang violence and street troubles not because they want to, but because people are always subject to be products of their environment. Prodigy and Havoc were in fact apart of the troubled youth they advocated for, using music as a tool and voice. One of the best representations of hip-hop in that time period for me
Enter The Wu-Tang – WuTang Clan
Release date: November 9th, 1993
Wu-Tang originating from Staten Island. NY which they often referred to as ‘Shaolin’ is where 9 members assembled a super-team of rappers that grabbed the forefront of the east coast rap scene by incorporating a different type of literature into their music, movies. Old Kung Fu movies were used as a tool to intertwine art forms. As this was one of, if not the first time it was done with Hip-Hop. Enter the Wu-Tang was something many hip-hop listeners hadn’t seen before making it easy for the clan to pave their own road in the industry and beyond.
The release and construction of the album, was strategical as well. Like many albums, the track order is incredibly important, but skits and transitions gave the album the Shaolin movie feel the clan anticipated perfectly. Adapting a kung-fu theme to their debut album was something people gravitated towards because it was different. Incorporating movie scenes with skits made by the group was unique. It was a number of groups who adapted this style of music release but Wu-tang was original from the beginning because of their group format.
Harf for me to choose, considering this is one of my favorite albums ever, but some of the best tracks on Wu’s pilot album include “C.R.E.A.M.” because of its literal and symbolic meaning. Cash does need rule everything around us. The society we live in unfortunately reinforced capitalism but that’s not a musical conversation. The next for me would be the “7th Chamber” track because of the diverse verses. Inspectah Deck’s verse showed the most lyrics in my opinion, followed my Masta Killa’s arrival on the beat. ODB’s verse was a complete embodiment of who he was in the group. Overall, just a masterpiece of an album and a certified rap classic.
Ready to Die- Notorious B.I.G.
Release date: September 13th, 1994
Notorious B.I.G aka Biggie, was bigger than ever relative to most at only 22 years old when he dropped this masterpiece through and through. Representing Brooklyn was apart of him and he embodied it through the music. Hits like ‘Big Poppa’ and ‘The What” which featured Method Man are songs that solidified Biggie as a true superstar in the game at the time I’m assuming. Ready to die in totality was a burst of lyricism that people didn’t expect. The underestimation was always something Biggie seemed to thrive off. Regardless, Ready to Die was an album that captured his life at the time, down to the title which was explained by the hardships he suffered both financially, and emotionally . Biggie would often open up about then difficulties him and his mother faced while living in Brooklyn, after his mother immigrated from Jamaica.
We know that he has classics, but some more of my favorite Biggie tracks are ‘Unbelievable’ and ‘Kick in the door’ even though Kick in the door is on his posthumous album. Interestingly, Ready to Die went quadruple platinum in the late 90’s, proving that his music spoke to early rap enthusiasts and had both the streets and streams in a chokehold. Tracks like “Juicy” spoke on Biggie’s rise to fame and how different lifestyle living was from being on the corners of Brooklyn. However his riches and fame never seemed to take a toll on his ego, as I seen which also helps his greatness agenda in my book. Ready to Die was and still is a work of art. Rest up to one of my favorite rappers ever, Notorious B.I.G.
Liquid Swords- GZA
November 7th, 1995
Releasing almost exactly 2 years after Wu-Tang, GZA aka “Genius”s first solo studio album was a certified gritty-lyrical hit at the time. Liquid swords is. special 90’s project to me because it embodies the culture of many art forms taking their place in music, the same way it’s been for centuries. What I mean is that art forms like like movies, games, and poetry became tools musical artists used to elevate their music to another experience other than listening, and the Wu-tang Clan mastered this strategy. With GZA being one of the most lyrical of the group in my opinion, it was only destined that he create his own form of art with personality courtesy of his own.
Liquid Swords features all of the Wu-Tang members solidifying its greatness, but that’s not all. The beats and even sample lines taken from movies incorporated into the rhymes gives a sense of story. The track titled ‘Labels’ was special to me because of its multiple levels of interpretation of what the song could mean. On top of interpretation, the beats of early east coast will forever be a staple in the musical world to me because of the gritty, sharp sounding bass and bounce that a majority of 90’s rap has. My favorite track goes to Meth at song on ” Shadow Boxin’ ” though. One of the best Method Man verses of his rap prime if you ask me. Him and GZA’s ability to walk the beat down in tag-team fashion showed the chemistry this group had, and GZA’s ability to bring out the best in his Clan making this masterpiece of an album with lyricism in his bag.
A moment to appreciate the cover of the album, As you see GZA in the Black hoodie battling the antagonist of his rap story. There’s a lot of components to recognize such as the figure helping him in combat with the Wu-tang hoodie, The crown on GZA’s head has symbolization, even the chessboard the battle is being taken place on is a symbolic factor or why I keep calling the album a masterpiece all around.
