Black Hippy thread (Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, etc.)

[Versive]

Much appreciated Versive.

Absolutely. I envy the position of anyone just discovering any of those artists. Have fun and feel free to hit me up for additional recommendations. There's a sticky thread in TROY also, but I haven't checked it out in a while.

[sleazy_j]

http://www.acclaimmag.com/music/country ... butterfly/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD (RAP) MEN: TO REVIEW A BUTTERFLY
THE ALWAYS CONTROVERSIAL ROBBIE FROM UNKUT WEIGHS IN ON KENDRICK'S LATEST ALBUM

Kendrick Lamar‘s third album is an incredibly self-indulgent ride on the Mothership which has already been hailed as the most important hip-hop album of the century by the internet. In comparison to endless Migos clones it certainly sounds new and original, but on closer inspection To Pimp A Butterfly owes a heavy debt to groups like The Coup from Oakland, who were cooking up exotic Funk Rap gumbo since the early 90′s. Musically, it drifts between some tight, intriguing riffs and messy, chaotic-for-the-sake-of-being-chaotic dirges that sound like the work of someone who bought a ‘Best of P-Funk’ box set a week ago.

There are moments that begin like a clever parody but then you realize that maybe he’s actually being serious, such as the ‘For Free’ interlude which seems like a gag on the Last Poets style but then it keeps going and you begin to think, ‘Wait up, is this guy is actually trying to get his modern-day griot on here?’ The frustrating thing is that when Kendrick isn’t rapping in Gremlin voices and trying to be extra experimental, he can be very effective, as ‘How Much A Dollar Cost’ and ‘Alright’ demonstrate.

‘Complexion (A Zulu Love)’ gives us a glimpse of Kendrick really hitting his stride, as the loop stays in the pocket and flips into a brilliant beat change for Rapsody’s section while they both address the ever-poignant issue of identity, before sliding into the driving force of ‘The Blacker The Berry’, which features some of the most potent vocals of the entire album. But before we know it we’re back into some Erykah Badu-lite nonsense for ‘You Ain’t Gotta Lie (Momma Said)’ and an overly-ambitious attempt at channeling Sly Stone on ‘i’ before we hit ‘Mortal Man’ (aka the song no one will ever play in their car on account of the seven minutes of poetry and fake Tupac interviews that follow the actual song). ‘Mortal Man’ is Kendrick’s way of saying ‘Good luck with making your own iTunes version of my album, dickheads!’ since you’d have to fuck around and split the file up to get rid of that spoken world action. Bonus points for trolling, sir.

While I respect Lamar’s ambition here, To Pimp A Butterfly is let-down in the execution. He clearly has a lot on his mind and addresses a number of topics worthy of discussion, in particular the allegations of hypocrisy that have been leveled at any rapper who hasn’t conveniently fit into a box marked ‘conscious’ or ‘ignorant’ since KRS-One stormed the stage of that PM Dawn show in 1993. The problem is the music, which often sounds amateurish when compared to the sophisticated reinterpretations of P-Funk previously achieved by Above The Law, Dr. Dre and DJ Quik.

For all that is compelling about this record on paper, much of it is simply a drag to listen to to anyone who’s familiar with the source material and the how much better the same thing was done twenty years ago (albeit without the same level of lyrical mastery). On the five songs where him and his production team get it right, Kendrick nails it. But when the music falters, so does the the listeners attention span, making what could have been an amazing EP into a frustrating cosmic slop of an album.

[EMCEE DARTH MALEK]

if old people like your music you're failing

[zombie]

so is this like macklmore 2.0?

[Captin Planit]

The cynic in me doesn't even want to give this album a chance because of all of the literally unblemished praise it's receiving.

The praise this album gets reminds me of the praise that came along with MBDTF, except we knew what was coming as the songs surfaced, the role call surfaced, etc. GOOD Fridays basically let us know that Kanye was on to a sound, Kanye had an impeccable team with him, Kanye was saying something without alienating newcomers. And despite all the forewarning and build-up, the album (at least to me) still exceeded expectations, even as soon as you let it run for the first 5 minutes.

This new world of the "surprise album" makes that same type of unanimous herald feel so forced that I don't want to touch something like this until the pulse starts to cool. I came here to see what PF had to say, and I'm surprised for better or worse about the amount of love you guys give it, as well as the breadth of people giving that love.

Time to cave and stop crying.

[peanut butter]

I've listened a few times, and appreciate it. But I enjoy GKMC alot more.




PEACE

[EMCEE DARTH MALEK]

men lie women lie numbers don't.

http://www.newsweek.com/good-kid-csh-ci ... 00k-315498

By early Tuesday, Lamar had broken the record for most Spotify streams in a single day: 9.6 million times all the way through the album

According to calculations based on Spotify’s formula for royalty payments, the site said Lamar raked in between $921,600 and $1,290,240 from the Spotify streams in a single day. It’s proof that artists can make serious money from Spotify, even though it has been critiqued by artists for providing paltry royalties.

[ackbar]

i like it more than GKMC personally. which is weird considering my usual listening habits.. but i was ready for something different & kendrick going in on #bars isn't my fave because i feel other people do that better

all things considered.. it's crazy how influential flying lotus (via dilla) has become

[Captin Planit]

it's crazy how influential flying lotus (via dilla) has become

I think this is one of the most cemented observations to come from this record and everything that's happened in the past few years. There is this widening gap between the further exploration of this lo-fidelity, jazz-influenced, no-holds-barred approach to production and the pop-friendly, southern-influenced, everyone's-from-Atlanta trap boom, and it's like everything falls somewhere on the ph scale that's got its bookends entrenched in either of those sounds. There's room for little else to succeed. I can't tell if that's because this is the answer nowadays to avoiding sampling royalties altogether or if it's because that's all people want nowadays.

[intuition]

it's crazy how influential flying lotus (via dilla) has become

I think this is one of the most cemented observations to come from this record and everything that's happened in the past few years. There is this widening gap between the further exploration of this lo-fidelity, jazz-influenced, no-holds-barred approach to production and the pop-friendly, southern-influenced, everyone's-from-Atlanta trap boom, and it's like everything falls somewhere on the ph scale that's got its bookends entrenched in either of those sounds. There's room for little else to succeed. I can't tell if that's because this is the answer nowadays to avoiding sampling royalties altogether or if it's because that's all people want nowadays.

i would imagine in this case it's less about sampling laws and more about vibes. the LA beat scene and kendrick's camp (it seems) are very big on vibes, and it looks like flylo and kendrick had good vibes and clicked when they worked together for flylo's record...then add thundercat to that mix (there are interviews i read where they literally say "we just really liked his vibe and had to get him in the studio") and you've got two of the biggest influencers in the LA beat scene laying some of the foundations of the record.

seems like less of a logical thought about sample laws or marketing and more of a "this feels right" thing. they made a very insular LA-centric record, and it's better for that.

[Versive]

FlyLo was Lamar's DJ when he toured with Kanye. Probably worth mentioning.

[seagrams hotsauce]

^I am almost positive that isn't true

[starks]

it's not true. he worked on kenny's visuals for that tour

[Versive]

My mistake. I knew he did something.

[drizzle]

There is this widening gap between the further exploration of this lo-fidelity, jazz-influenced, no-holds-barred approach to production and the pop-friendly, southern-influenced, everyone's-from-Atlanta trap boom, and it's like everything falls somewhere on the ph scale that's got its bookends entrenched in either of those sounds.

this is a false binary, plenty of rap out there has nothing to do with either

[Captin Planit]

There is this widening gap between the further exploration of this lo-fidelity, jazz-influenced, no-holds-barred approach to production and the pop-friendly, southern-influenced, everyone's-from-Atlanta trap boom, and it's like everything falls somewhere on the ph scale that's got its bookends entrenched in either of those sounds.

this is a false binary, plenty of rap out there has nothing to do with either

I'm thinking namely work that finds commercial success or major label support/ distro. Even more specifically music that makes it on syndicated radio, thus dismissing the likes of Bronson, Danny Brown, etc. I guess I'd also have to dismiss anything produced by Mustard... My argument loses steam the more I stack parameters, but I definitely think there's something to be said about artistic progress-turned-commercial success catering to those two camps above other musical interests.

[intuition]

but which acts would you consider truly "commercially successful" that are using beat scene style beats? (TPAB aside)

[drizzle]

but which acts would you consider truly "commercially successful" that are using beat scene style beats? (TPAB aside)

this. kendrick's album feels like a token example, not a representative one

[Captin Planit]

I guess I look at the beat scene influence as the grower in this case. There's this, Because the Internet, Goldlink's debut, Chance's more recent work, Vic Mensa's work, the direction taken thanks to Soulection and similar outlets. I feel like the beat scene-as-backdrop is coming into prominence, and there's a quiet war ensuing between them and the people still backing the heavier, stripped trap work coming from everywhere, even if there's other rap coexisting amidst all of this. TPAB just represents the most successful instance of the headier side of the spectrum, thus making it the example that precedes the norm, maybe?

I know I'm reaching, I just feel like so much of this taps into the new wave of cool, and Kendrick just made it NPR-accessible.

[intuition]

edit: i forgot what i was arguing as i was typing it...
thread way off track, my bad. kendrick is the biggest rapper thus far to have flylo / thundercat / beat scene music on his album.

[Captin Planit]

When I mention trap, I'm not talking about the EDM scene, I'm talking about London, 808 Mafia, even Mike Will Made It, people who are responsible for chart-topping radio hits. If anything, the more insular side of EDM trap would support the notion that the beat scene is at war with radio and carving its own success story without needing to go gold or platinum. A-Trak's article on Medium made it clear that it's hard to offer a lot of these up-and-comers paving their road on Soundcloud deals good enough to counter the gains they make for themselves.

I recognize I'm contributing to the derailing, but that Brainfeeder presence on a record this successful contributes to the titling of the axis. I used "commercial success" too facetiously in this case, but I think in some ways, we're arguing in favor of the same trends. This album isn't a token example, it's a sharp spike in activity.

[Captin Planit]

Damn, my rambling is moot in the wake of your most recent edit.

[intuition]

yeah sorry about the edit, thought it might have come off like i was talking shit about the beat scene when i have a great deal of respect for it.

i guess i just don't see it as a tipping of the axis because it's a very contextual album, made by a rapper that was in a position to do whatever he wanted. that's a rare position to be in. there are no huge singles, so no one is going to be seeking to replicate what kendrick did on this record (i.e. "let's get the same production team involved and make a hit!"). seems like a natural progression from two seemingly insular LA camps that joined forces for a project, but i don't think it's going to change the overall direction of rap's sound on a mainstream pop level.

artists and labels want mike will made it beats because the dude churns out crossover hits consistently. beat scene dudes just aren't doing that, but i don't think that's necessarily what any of their intentions are.

[EMCEE DARTH MALEK]

i been digesting this & so far it's holding up. musically it's interesting to listen to, but more importantly kdot talks about some real shit. i get that heads aren't ready for the unorthodox delivery on 2nd half of "u" & the lucy song, but he says some real fukin shit here. by the time he tells you kendrick lamar by far the realest negus alive, you believe it.

ps. lucy is a better version of macklemore's "jimmy iovine" imo

rich givin to poor

[starks]

edit: i forgot what i was arguing as i was typing it...
thread way off track, my bad. kendrick is the biggest rapper thus far to have flylo / thundercat / beat scene music on his album.

LA beat scene, the UK scene been on

[peanut butter]

i like it more than GKMC personally. which is weird considering my usual listening habits.. but i was ready for something different & kendrick going in on #bars isn't my fave because i feel other people do that better

I don't know if you're drawing this comparison, but GKMC isn't really about Kendrick going after #bars at all.


PEACE

[EMCEE DARTH MALEK]

kendrick writes with a purpose. he writes about stuff. it's never about bars.

[CHANCE RANDOM]

kendrick writes with a purpose. he writes about stuff. it's never about bars.

This. It's funny as fuck seeing critics and others pushing their glasses up their nose and actually giving Kendrick shit for writing extended metaphors and tons of figurative language tricks, like he's writing a fucking AP English Lit assignment or something. There's very few if any rappers with the audience Kendrick has doing what he's doing and people are making fun of it.

Motherfuckers don't want to think critically, they just want to go fishing with little bitty shrimp dips.

[Versive]

Having given this album a few full listens this week, I'd like to a small step back on my previous statement that the best thing it can do is inspire heads to get into jazz. I mean, I still hope it does that, but this album is amazing and deserves to be appreciated for its own merit. But yea, listen to jazz too.

[B. Ware tha Siniq]

I hear people who want to separate the cleanliness and sobriety of the album from the Funkadelic tradition, and I get that. I think that's valid. I guess I was thinking more in terms of the eclecticism of the album and the types of commentary he's making. Kind of the philosophical perspective of it all. Seems to be me to be very George Clinton inspired.

I also get people who don't like the album. It's not an easy listen at all, but the more I listen to it the more I enjoy it. But it's not the kind of play it all summer album that GKMC was.