REVISED History of Rap

History of Rap

            Ever since your great granddaddy could spit kids have wanted to be rebellious. It all started when Jesus turned water to wine at his high school graduation party and ever since then kids have been pissing their parents off in any way they could. The 1950s and 60s kids modernized rebellion by using rock and roll to ‘stick it to the man’. Similar to the children of that era kids of the 1990s and 2000s use rap to channel their wild side. Do you actually expect 16-year-old white girls to do the horrific things described in these songs? No, but the carefree aggressiveness you get from these songs is what draws in the listeners. Rap hasn’t always been rebellious though, it started from very different roots and has transformed over time.

            Nobody knows exactly where rap came from but a lot of nerds who research this kind of stuff mostly agree that it came from Africa and the Caribbean Islands. It started with storytelling with a beat behind it. This style of storytelling was brought to America when the slave trade brought thousands of Africans across the ocean. Until the 1960s who knows what happened to rap. The genre laid low and didn’t get too much love because it was an African American dominated genre and blacks were not the most loved people in the 1960s. Once Blacks began fighting back against oppression the genre gained traction and popularity as a genre all Blacks could get behind and support as music their people created and liked. Rap popped up again with a legend, DJ Kool Herc (you know he’s really cool because he spelled cool with a K).

Herc started making beats by using two record players and bouncing back and forth between the two to make the first beats ever for rapping. This is pretty dope because people now make some pretty garbage beats and they have thousands of dollars of equipment and all my man had was 2 record players. This really opened up the flood gates for anyone who can rap because now they had beats to rap on. The Fatback Band released the first rap song ever ‘King Tim III’, not a super well known song but it’s important to mention because releasing the first rap song ever is pretty cool. No one really cares about the Fat Back Band but everyone knows about Rapper’s Delight. This song brought the masses into the rap scene and got them interested. After the crowds got drawn into the rap scene it was time for Run- DMC and N.W.A. to make their dash into the lime light and cement their place as rap legends. Rap with these kinds of rappers was meaningful and had messages about social problems and other big issues. N.W.A.’s hit song ‘Fuck the Police’ was a rally song for blacks who felt oppressed by the police. If you find a song as influence as that song now, please come find me because you probably never will. Until the 1980s rap had been dominated by African Americans, it was time for the white people to show what they could do, the Beastie Boys were the first and wow was that weird… but still great music. This was a big time for rap because it showed that rap was for both black and white people because before that rap was seen as music only for African Americans. Better white rappers did come along, in the early 2000s Eminem came onto the scene and it hasn’t been the same since then. Before you can talk about Eminem you can’t skip over some of the rapping greats. 

The 1990s were dominated by the biggest rap names of any time period: The One and Only Dogg, Tupac, DMX, and Ice Cube. Most people would probably consider this the Golden Era of rap. The media was dominated by Rap and the feuds that came with it. The beef between Suge Knight, Biggie, and Tupac was the biggest headlines to come from rap. Suge Knight was blamed for the murder of both of them, even if you didn’t care for rap you still knew what was going on because it was like a reality show. Conspiracies still surround what happened between these prominent artists. Rap had meaning and was not the violent hate filled rap we see today until this point in the genre. Once rappers started shooting each other and becoming angry is when the genre took a new direction. Some may say this is bad but it gave birth to some of the greatest rap music ever created. ‘No Sunshine’ by DMX is a good example of this, it is a rap song with no great meaning but it is loud and violent and it described the rap climate at the time.

Not all artist stuck to this loud and in your face rap, that style of rap isn’t for everyone and was at times too much to listen to. Rappers like Snoop Dogg, and later Wiz Khalifa, stayed away from killing and stuck to a calmer recreational activity, smoking the gandja. It’s what the Dogg has always done and will always do. On a side note Snoop Dogg created the scene for rapping about weed and that’s still popping today with rappers like Wiz Khalifa. This style of rap is carefree and more accessible to people who can’t handle hardcore rap. So after all that drama and nonsense with Suge Knight we get into some more great rap from people like Eminem. The movie 8 Mile showed off rap and brought more people into the genre. Rap battles and freestyles became popular and pinned two rappers against each other to see who the better rapper was. Rap was at its prime for lyrics at this point in the genre. The genre was focused on the word used but that was all about to change because next came rappers with insane beats.

The 2000s were started with lyrics but the genre has definitely transitioned away from that and gone towards flashy beats and catchy hooks. Andre 3000 and his flamboyant clothing was one of the first to get into this with songs like ‘Hey Ya!’ and ‘Ms. Jackson’.  Although these songs may not be meaningful and the anthems for social justice these songs did a lot for the genre of rap. It showed that rappers can have topics besides shooting each other and smoking pounds of weed and still stay on the radio. Andre 3000 started this kind of rap but it became perfected with artists like Jay Z and Kanye. Jay Z is undoubtedly the most successful rapper to ever be in the game, he took rap and made it into his empire. Jay Z started a label and signed on artists, this is a big move for the rap game because artists started to collaborate and work together rather than shoot and hate each other. Jay Z has also made an ass ton (thats a metric measurement) of money from rap, he is the third richest rapper ever with a net worth of $550 million dollars. Jay Z saw the potential in rap and the culture surrounding it and made it his goals to get a portion of that. Dr. Dre had a similar mindset and capitalized on rappers and rap fans by creating Beats by Dre a headphone company. Artists turned businessmen like Jay Z and Dr. Dre are popping up more and more. The most recent has been with Kanye West and his takeover of the fashion through Yeezys and his clothing lines.

Kanye was born in the rap game, he embraces the fast and wild lifestyle that you expect a rapper/fashion artist to live. As a side note Kanye is married to Kim Kardashian, take that how you will but to me its evidence Kanye may be clinically insane. Although the rap game did some weird things to Kanye he still is a rap mastermind, he took the emphasis away from the lyrics in his album Yeezus and made it a mashup of rap and electronic music. Kanye is breaking ground in the rap world by using electronic beats and fully altering his voice through auto tune and other electronic software. Kanye uses these tools on Yeezus, not because he needs help with his sound but because he wants to create sounds and songs unique to anything you've heard before.  Although this album is surrounded by hate it was still a huge album because he combined rap and electronic music, arguably the two largest genres for party music, and opened the floodgates for wild party rap. Yeezus also introduced rapper styles like the goon himself, Lil Boat (Lil Yachty or Miles McCollum), the savage from Atlanta.

Lil Yatchy is an anti-thug, fun loving, rainbow grill wearing rapper that is living the dream life of every teenager in the USA right now. Although Yachty will probably be gone soon he still has made his mark on the rap game with electronic silly beats that ride the top 100 songs on the radio for waaaaay too long. Yachty will also be noted for being a successful rapper that never acted like a thug. Many rappers had to play hard and flew how street they are to make it to the top but Yatchy never did this. He stayed true to himself and rapped about his life, as normal as that sounds it’s not the normal for the rap industry. The most recent kings of the rap game have been the group Migos. Migos has combined lyrics and catchy beats unlike any other artists to bring together the two elements of rap and create radio dominating rap music. Migos and especially crew member Quavo have been featured on most new rap songs released and have dominated radio and all rap top 20 charts. As we have seen rap has gone from social justice music for African American rallies to music everyone and their mother has heard, rap has been all over the spectrum of music. Many people say the Golden Era of Rap has already happened but I believe we are living in it right now. If this is the Golden Era of Rap then who knows what will come next??

REVISED - Holistic Album Reviews

I Decided

Big Sean wrote this for college students like me and probably you if you're reading this because who else cares about rap music. This album is made up of easily forgettable songs that probably will never see any radio air time except for a few flame songs but luckily for Sean that’s not why this album matters. This album is a ‘I made it to the top, let me see how far I’ve come’ kind of thing. Similar to Chance the Rapper’s “Coloring Book”, Big Sean is reflecting on his path to success. These kind of albums are great because you get a glimpse into the real life of rappers, the fake front of “murdering gangsters” and “slaying hoes” comes down and their soft fuzzy underside shows. 
Even though Big Sean knows he’s on top this is definitely not a happy look on his path to getting there. In order to get where he is Sean has had to neglect a lot of important things in his life to get there, mostly his mom and loved ones. This is the biggest message Sean stresses in the album and also in interviews, he tells how his mom always had his back along the way to the top but he’s been selfish and hasn’t given enough back to her. The songs don’t speak much to you but at the end of the songs there are short sound bites from phone calls that really tug on your heart strings. This is a really unique way to include an underlying message into an album without affecting the music of the album. Sean left himself room to be as creative as he wanted to be the music but still hold the message he wanted to give to his audience. Hearing Big Sean talk to his mom and tell her he wishes he could’ve spent more time with her makes you want to call your mom right away. Just as you’re ready to call your mom and move back home because you miss her so much the next song comes on and it’s a banger. 
The album has a good mix of storytelling songs and songs that you want to scream along to while you’re driving to the gym. Sean knew he couldn’t be all ooey gooey so he brought on rappers like Eminem and Migos to breathe life into this album. The balance between the two types of songs on this album is flawless, even though the two are so different. The songs with Eminem and Migos appeal to people who maybe arent as big of Big Sean and just want to hear good music, the other songs appeal to the people who appreciate hip hop and the meanings Big Sean puts into his songs. The first time you listen to this album try not to fall asleep because it kind of sucks and drags on. Once you understand that this is a slow meaningful album you can get into it and enjoy it. 
The first time you listen to it you don’t pick up on the messages and the story behind the album but after you’ve heard it once or twice the meaning reveals itself and you feel connected to it. Big Sean’s other big purpose for this album is to talk about failure and how you can learn from it and do better the next time, I guess that why he named a song “Bounce Back.” In the album and interviews Sean talks about his hardships getting to the top and it is very relatable to anybody because nobody gets what they want out of life without failing a couple times first. This album honestly is great when you’re lying in bed hungover at 9:50 and have a class at 10:05, it gives you enough motivation to get up and seize the day even though you hate life. For college kids this album is great, it helps put everything into perspective sometimes you get too caught up in your life and think that all that matters is what’s going on here and now, but Big Sean is here to tell you otherwise. Take a breath buttercup you’re not that important, life can get overwhelming but meaningful albums like this help you get through it. Plenty of albums teach lessons or tell stories but for me and our generation I think this can be a perfect example of how music can do that. Sadly, this album will be greatly overlooked because looking at it song by song it sucks pretty hard but all together it is meaningful and impactful. Big Sean took an album and created a story in a way that I have never experienced before. 
Although i've critiqued the hell out of Sean's work and said all the bad things about his album overall it was a very good album that deserves a lot of praise. Songs like Bounce Back will endure the test of time and stand as a testimonial to the work he put in. Not only will the song Bounce Back hold up, the rest of the album will be noted as an album that influenced rap and the culture surrounding it. Keep it up Big Sean you're the man. 

REVISED Track by Track Review

Track by Track Album Review

The Return of East Atlanta Santa – Gucci Mane

Gucci’s 3^rd album of the year just dropped. This album came out November 2016, it is his second release since being released from prison in May 2016. Yes, that’s right two albums in seven months. Sounds like someone was grinding in prison. This album is also the third Christmas themed album/mixtape that Gucci has made. The album being written by a recently released felon and the use of the Jingle Bells beat makes me anxious to unwrap and dissect this early Christmas gift from the Trap God himself. With all that being said let's talk about this wonderfully thug album.

·      St. Brick Intro- Guwop starts the album off very strong even though the whole song is to the Jingle Bells beat. The song is a “drug dealer’s” Christmas, it is a very weird song at first trying to figure out how Gucci Mane is going to use this beat. Once he gets to rapping he blows your mind, selling bales of cannabis and “murking” people is not would you expect because it is way too cynical for Christmas but it works for Gucci. Even though you have chiming bells and Christmas noises the songs is good enough to be played year round. You have to applaud the guy for taking a tricky beat like this and straight murdering it. To bring the song away from being too Christmas-y the beat laid on top of Jingle Bells is very fast and keeps the song moving. The beat holds the entire songs until the end where it slowly fades out and your left wanting more.

·      I Can’t- No more Christmas and fun it’s time to rap, Gucci puts this song second because it’s the regular thug music you expect from Gucci. This song is very reminiscent of Yo Gotti’s “Law”, trash talking other people for being snakes. Gucci has always been known for not taking shit grief from anyone and this song proves it. This song is also somewhat of a dis track, Gucci calls rappers out for wearing fake chains and snitching.

·      Walk on Water- Gucci can ride a beat; we know this but this song makes me doubt he can do anything else. Why would you put this on an album? It’s too repetitive and feels loud and overwhelming. Again you feel like the verses Gucci puts together are okay but when you hear his weird hook with these odd children voices it kills the entire thing. One redeeming factor of this song is hearing Gucci praise himself, his self-centered attitude and egotistical lyrics are amusing and kind of scares you when he talks about the thug things he does.

·      Both- Okay Gucci we see you!!! Now you’re really speaking to your audience. Before I even heard this track I knew it would be flame. Drake and Gucci on one song…is that legal? I don’t know and I don’t care, everyone wants more of this. There’s no slow start to this song, the second Gucci starts he hammers on the beat. He also shouts out Drake in the very beginning causing a nice back and forth between the two throughout the song. Not only is this song a good rap song but it panders to pop and the masses by having Drake on the song. This isn’t the first time they have collaborated on a song, earlier in the year the song “Back on Road” was dropped and had a similarly huge impact on the rap scene. Similar to Kendrick and Taylor Swift in “Bad Blood”, Gucci has a harsher and more abrasive voice for the verses and Drakes voices grounds in back out with his hook. Whenever these two get together good things happen, let’s hope they keep this streak up.

·      Stutter- Back to Back bangers on the album, this one Gucci knocks out of the park on his own. With a decently slow beat this gives him a lot of room to work with for rhyming and lyrics. This type of music is exactly what Gucci needs to stick to, thug lyrics and good rhyming are the key elements to this song. He doesn’t need a flashy chorus to draw in fans, this song is for rap fans not pop fans and it is unapologetic for that. The fact that the song is called stutter and he throws a stutter into the beat and lyrics is ghetto genius. Gucci didn’t do this alone though the beat made by Murda Beatz he was perfectly set up for success on this song. Overall great lyricism and beat and good job not focusing on a chorus.

·      Drove You Crazy- This is the chorus we have been waiting for by Gucci, the duo of him and Bryson Tiller drives this song to the greatness it deserves. Gucci has decent verses but you really connect to this song when the chorus comes on. It’s a playful and when you hear Tiller come in it’s nice because it’s a sound you don’t usually hear on a Gucci track. It’s a unique song, I’m not sure what instrument was used in the background, maybe a keyboard or something electronic but the sound is nice and compliments the two rapper’s voices nicely.

·      Crash- Yeah this song seems like a crash, it sucks plain and simple. The beat drones on and so does his voice, I was happy to hear the end and move on to the next song.

·      Yet- Reminiscent of an older style of rapping, ridding a beat and having a statement behind your rap. This song depicts Gucci’s come up and struggles he’s been through. Not a happy song but if you just served a couple years in jail like Gucci has this is the kind of music you would make to. Selling dope and cooking crack is a crazy lifestyle but when you hear this song it makes it sound like a dream world. Gucci has always been great at telling stories and bringing the listener in and this is a perfect example of that.

·      Nonchalant- Too Generic, too monotone, too boring, too many songs on this album. I’m not sure why Gucci didn’t cut some of these songs, they don’t seem like his best work.

·      Last Time- Wow, all it takes is Travis Scott and these two are on top of every music chart in the USA. Similar to “Both”, Gucci brings in some talent for a good hook and he murders the verses. Travis Scott of course brings in an electronic type beat; this is his style of music so it sounds great for him. Gucci doesn’t sound quite at home but he makes it work. Auto tune is utilized very well in this song, it’s not for the usual purpose to help a singer but it changes Scott’s voice making him sound robotic. There is also a surprising amount of piano in the song giving it a quite almost serious tone; the rappers calm tone backs this up making the song pretty tame and calm even though they’re rapping about drugs and girls.

·      Bales- What more do you want out of a Gucci album than a song about selling bales of weed? Nothing. This song is very underrated, the combination of a fast beat and uncharacteristic not monotone singing from Gucci turns this song into something to remember. This song also has some good political references in it which is very timely with the current election. Very ironic that a prominent figure like Gucci is bragging about selling weed, that’s still a crime big guy might want to be careful. Other than admitting to committing crimes this song makes you understand why it belongs on this album.

·      No Smoke- This is a message to anyone that’s thinking about crossing Gucci. It’s easy to forget that these artists are gangsters but songs like this make you remember who they are and where they came from. The dirty streets of the East ATL. A unique fire alarm or bell sound can be heard in the back which is perfect for a song about smoke. The song has an overall feeling of coldness and hatred, perfect song to listen to if you’re going to be in a gunfight in the next few minutes.

·      Greatest Show on Earth- Very strange ending to the album, the beat comes on very strong with a rubber band like sound. Next Gucci’s voice comes in and slow raps on the beat followed by an odd chorus of Gucci calling himself the greatest. This song is more confusing than anything, it would be hard to listen to this song more than a handful of times. With such a strong list of songs earlier in the album this song feels like a bad ending to a mostly happy trip through the album. Gucci tried something new with this song but it did not work, you can’t knock him for trying though.