What Happened To Real Hip-Hop Lyricism (Part 1)
It use to be when an artist could do a whole LP expressing what he/ she is going through straight up raw and uncut. Certain artists are not allowed to write their own lyrics (sometimes directed by the executive producer/ label owner), b/c it might cause difficulty selling massive amount of units in certain countries.For example: Jamaica's own, Bounty Killer dropped a full album in the year 2000 and a certain song was banned in his own country for rebellious lyrical content but the label he was with still released the project and it did quite well in sales if you ask anyone that is a true fan of his art.
After the spread of Bling Rap started to escalate, all we been hearing is artists talking about the things that they got but avoid really talking about what they had to do to get what they are bragging about. Behind all of the jewelry, fine women and cars; there is ordinary person will talent that has a story to tell.Some only tells the bare minimum and few actually keep it 100. I also noticed that alot of people say that they are fans, but don't really know that much about who they like... All they know is that they like the music that they release.Back when I was growing up... still in Middle School going up to High School, there were a lot of lyricists and poets that held it down on the mic like Nas, DMX, Redman and Canibus just to name a few... The first studio album from Nas, ILLMATIC, was and will always be a classic masterpiece but what caught my attention was his sophomore release "It Was Written". It was just the way it was illustrated. Since Nas is known as the "POET OF LIFE", you can learn alot from what he say on this album plus its something for everyone on there. Next up, DMX... What set him skyrocketing with followers was the infamous recording, RuffRyders' Anthem, which introduced the world to the Double R movement. I swear as a youngster growing up in the late 90's, X was the hardest street dude that straight up not give a care... He just did him and barked at people that did not like like his hardcore, ruckus style.
Everybody know this Brick City MC from doing movies and getting higher than human with his homeboy, Methodical & Horror film's favorite Chuckie... Redman: When I first heard Red, I was like WOOOWWWW all through his first line of albums. It was one line that he dropped on "Red Gon Wild", it still eats up alot of rapper's bars. That line went like:
I'll rip your MC, no matters whose street/
Call Daipus and how Doc rip the loose leaf/ (www.rapgenius.com)
Another track that Red ripped like a rolling paper was "I Got My Mind Made Up" from 2Pac's All Eyez On Me album featuring Daz Dillinger, Kurupt and Method Man. Photo to the left credit: www.videohds.com
My style's radioactive, massive atomic/
I plan to push the Earth in front of Haley's Comet/ (http://www.rapgenius.com)
My first expression when I popped in the very first album that I bought of his, Can-I-Bus, was timeless like a kid getting a new toy. The feature line up on this album included former Refugee Camp member/ 106 & Park's 1st Generation Co-Host, FREE.So if you haven't heard her spit then you can check her out on Canibus' song entitled "Patriots" also featuring Pras.
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