Don't Stop That Beat!

If you know me casually and we bring up music you eventually figure out that I’m a fan of rap. If you see me drunk you can see my horrible mic skills. If you actually get to know me very well you can figure out that I’m an avid fan of the genre. I just fucking love it. It’s so creative and filled with so much variety that I just can’t help but be enamored by it. Rap gets a lot of undeserved hate and insults. I can see why honestly. A lot of the subject material shown is just awful and worthless, but that does not mean it should be dismissed. This looooong post will be really just a fangasm. I’m not here to convert anyone or tell you that you MUST listen to rap. It’s not a genre for everyone at all. I’m just here to fully articulate and explain my reasons to why I enjoy this music genre. There’s really no structure to this one, it’ll really just be off the top of my head.

Like every music genre, rap had a Golden Age. And what an age it was, this is the creative height of the genre with both the East and West coast putting out defining work. This age begins in 1988 with both the east coast and west coast bringing out two of the most celebrated albums of all time, NWA’s “Straight Outta Compton” and Public Enemy’s “It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back” both of these albums would greatly shape the entire sound and direction rap was headed into for the next few decades. With NWA the West Coast would adopt gangsta rap and the main style. Public Enemy was outspoken and political with a message. At this point the East Coast would have the most diverse sound with Jazz based rap, Alt. Rap, and later on the darker more Noir based stuff coming out. Needless to say the West was still young and inexperienced. Keep in mind the East coast had over ten years to hone out a sound. Of course other great albums came out this year, but these two are the stand outs.

The next year was the year the East Coast ruled. Alt rap was at it's peak. This is the non gangsta and without any hos or bling or getting money. This is fun and positive. With great defining releases by De La Soul and The Jungle Brothers it was a great time for rap in the non gangsta department. The next year was interesting to say the least, Digital Underground shows that the West Coast is more than just the center of loud angry music. But this is also the year Ice Cube released his first album, the amazing Amerikkka's Most Wanted, so yeah I guess it added more variety. East Coast is still a beast with Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, and LL Cool J's comeback showed off that the East can still evolve the form.

Now we come to 1991 which is the high point of the Golden Age, which is saying a lot. 2pac enters the scene, not a great album but hell we all know his best work is in the coming years. Gangstarr starts it's amazing run of albums. Digital Underground is still throwing it down. Cypress Hill is unleashed. Ice-T, Tribe Called Quest, and De La Sould continue to pull out some of their best work. But the real king this year is Ice Cube. Death Certificate is one of greatest pieces of social commentary in the past twenty years. It creates such a vivid piece of how LA was at that time and adresses serious concerns within the black community. Does it give out answers? Maybe, but the powerful delivery makes it worth respecting.

1992 was another defining year. Pharcyde and Common begin their careers, which is always a great thing. Pete Rock releases the song TROY(They Reminisce Over You) which is one of the greatest songs ever put out. BUT the reason this year stands out is because for the first time the West coast truly took over the game. Dr Dre bust out the now legendary The Chronic. This is the definitive West coast album, bar none. Dre perfected the G Funk sound and truly buried any competition. The album doesn't have the most positive message(I mean c'mon Bitches Ain't Shit is in here) but the production is so perfect and it just flows so well that I really don't give a fuck about that cause it's the perfect sound for LA.

West Coast was riding high in 93, ruling the whole genre. So what was the East to do? Well it divided its sound, with De La and Tribe working on their Alt and Jazz masterpieces and other acts putting out more Jazz and the Riggidy Ruffians working on more content. And then comes Noir. The New York Rennaisance has begun. The Wu Tang Clan unleashed and put out such a hard sound back with amazing mic skills. The fact that there are nine members and they work so well makes it amazing, with each possesing their own style to make the whole album work with amazing finese. Wu Tang's first album is my favorite hip hop album ever and is the main reason I love this genre so much.

So in 1994 the East Coast started a undergoing a major change. It embraced the dark noir sound that was perfected last year and just ran with it. This allowed the East to fully dominate this year. West Coast was really put out of the spotlight this year with only a few albums here and there but nothing too special. 1994 saw the entrance of Notorious B.I.G who would become Tupac's biggest rival, as we all know how that worked out. The South also started to emerge led by the amazing Outkast, but they wont be a major force for a couple more years to come. The real big deal that came out this year was Nas' Illmatic. I don't say this a lot, but this is one of the few albums I could call perfect. EVERYTHING here is phenomenal. The lyrics and delivery are so fierce and raw, the intro is my favorite intro in any album ever, the production goes so well with the lyrics and feel it's almost unreal. It feels like you're in the city and experiencing everything Nas is talking about. It's a very personal joy of mine when I go to LA and just walk around with this album playing. Even though it's clearly a NYC album it just works so well. This is a definite high point in music period. Hard to believe that he made this at the age of 20. Think about that, at that age he has created something so well respected and loved and legendary. Boggles the mind

1995 was the year of the East Coast/West Coast feud. This is where it goes all out. Tupac emerges as the major force he will be remembered as and the Wu Tang would prove to be an unstopable force reaching their high point with GZA's Liquid Swords. Basically both sides were releasing the sounds they've honed and perfected over the years to try to knock each side down. This is also really the begining of the end with a tragic conclusion coming next year. But for now the creativity was high and everyone wanted a peace of the action.

1996 was the end of the Golden Age. G-Funk pretty much went down and only Dr. Dre really survived. Tupac was killed by the end symbolizing the fall of the West. The East would suffer a major loss in early 97 with the death of Biggie as well. A lot of groups that flourished started to fall as well. But Tupac did release an amazing double album just before his death. Outkast emerges as a major player. Jay-Z releases his first album and prepares to dominate the coming years. And the last amazing album of the Age, The Score by the Fugees, is released. This album is so lovingly crafted and beatiful that it stands as the last bastion of a fruitful and creative age.

So the Golden Age ended like any good thing does, so what happened next? Well 97 was a stagnant year with some terrible shit. The Wu Tang fell off their greatness, which is tragic to say the least. Jay-Z comes up and becomes King of New York, which is really not saying much due to the throne being empty but hey he took an oppurtunity. 98 was another pretty bad year, but we still got some great works. Black Star, the group of the talented Mos Def and Talib Kweli, first came out this year so it's definitely worht celebrating. Goodie Mob and Outkast bring out new albums as well. Still even with those and a few other releases there is still a lot of filth in between that. The next year was a mixed bag for me. It really saw the true collapse of The Wu Tang Clan, with only Ghostface still standing over the next few years. But Dre comes out with another album which is always a celebration. MF Doom starts up shop and that'll leave some interesting and creative music in the years to come. And most importantly Mos Def releases his phenomenal first album. This is an expressive and uncomprimising release. And earns every bit our respect.

2000 was start of great beginings. Jurassic 5, Ghostface Killah, and Blackalicious all bring out terrific albums that celebrate both the renewal of the East and West. Common, Outkast and Deltron 3030 all bring out defining masterpieces that are must haves for ANY fan of the genre.

Over the next decade we see the rise of some talented individuals for sure. K-OS being one of the biggest standouts. A talented Canadian who has what it takes to reinvent the genre with some great genre hopping. Kanye West is actually a terrific producer and makes up for his meager mceeing and Late Registration is a classic to say the least. Nujabes, a producer from Japan, has garnered respect over the years and not without reason. The man produces such a great blend of Jazz and Japanese sensibilities. Lupe Fiasco is another newcomer that's got some great talent, even though there's a high chance he's gonna retire real soon. Honestly it's still way too early to really be able to reflect on more recent acts. There's been a shift to auto-tone which I'm not too big on, and the indie scene is still quite large and expanding.

That's basically all I got. I might break down certain albums over time but for now I've said all I really want to



so just chill, till the next episode...

Born to Run

Due to my recent revival of non-stop reading I'm putting my reading list. Mainly as a point of reference and cause I can

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Creation by Gore Vidal
United States: Essays 1952-1992 by Gore Vidal
Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Go Down, Moses by William Faulkner
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
Homer's Odyssey
For Whom the Bells Toll by Ernest Hemingway
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Sanctuary by William Faulkner(may dramatically move up from ranking)
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Crime and Punishment By Fyodor Dostoevsky
Child of God by Cormac McCarthy


This is just a quick rundown, more may come

Next post should be a giant one, so look forward to it!

License to Kill

I've lately lost the inspiration to really write anything and it's not good. The only thing keeping me up is my script but even that's been suffering. This seems to happen a lot but I'll recover. I think once I finish reading Bluebeard it'll come back and I'll have tons of ideas flowing out.

Lately tons of people I know have been really down and fucking emo. It's really polarizing honestly as I really don't know what to say or do. Honestly it's been getting to me too and I've been a little out of it myself. But again it's nothing that I can't get over.

I feel like ranting but I'm not sure how or to what, which is really strange seeing as how I usually do it with no problem. I guess there's no major problem bothering me, but it's a bunch of little ones that add up to collectively piss me off.

Actually there is ONE thing that has been frustrating me to no end. Quite a few people have been constantly hassling me on something they claim I should do. and I say FUCK THAT. Yeah I could do what you're asking me to, it's not that fucking hard, but I'm not gonna do things they way you guys do. It'll be accomplished on my terms and my way. Fuck all that bullshit. Seriously get off my case and off my fucking nuts. God people piss me off.

Wow that felt to so much better to let out.

Ok back to reading Takamura vs Hawk and listening to Bruises by Chairlift[that song makes me :)]

Hyper Music

Finished The Sound and the Fury the other day. Simply phenomenal. Started reading Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut and I simply love it to death. Not much else has been going on. Still playing Resident Evil 4, but I'm almost done with it. Oh I did start writing my script again so I should have that finished soon. Hopefully by the end of the month, then I can give it to Ivy. Currently reading Takamura vs Hawk from Hajime no Ippo(ch. 375-397) cause it's the most badass fight ever. For music I've just been listening to the first two Muse albums which are excellent

lazy post by lazy author

Till next time,Space Cowboy

Flashing Lights

Finally turned 21 last week in the most stressful week of the year so far, but it was still a great overall to be sure. So the main event of the week was of course saturday. Thanks to Justin's help I was able to rent out a hotel, it was a nicely sized room so it worked out for the best. Everyone invited came except one or two people so I think it was a success. Don't remember half the night but I do know I had fun.

suddenly I have no desire to write, so I guess I'm done

Till next time, Space Cowboy

All Over the World

IT'S FINALLY COMING OUT! FUCK YEAH THIS IS AWESOME!