Some Shit/Hipster Hop

I think NYC is starting to reawaken my love for hip-hop, the passion that I once had for it back in the day that has been gone for so long. As I left hip-hop to go other directions it seems its time in the wilderness is coming around- people are starting to push out, and wierd has become (in a macho homophobic way) strangely acceptable. Lil Wayne is a huge part of this, but so is Kanye, T.I, the autotuner, M.I.A., and the giant orchestral beat. But I think that it is the fanboy/sceintist approach to the music by hipsters, the indie press, and blogs that has caused some of this too. Some of these people, like at cokemachineglow, dig into the lyrics in the nature of their lit theory-music criticism that in some sort of reverse way it makes hip-hop musicians take themselves more seriosly, a good thing as the lack of analysis by the gernal fanbase had led to the complacency and a broad saying of nothing (It was sites like pitchfork that embraced Kanye West long b. It has brought out more in artists like Young Jeezy (maybe), and has caused haughty elitists like me to take him more seriously (truth).

I've been listening to The Recession (released early september! he was on top of his shit) recently, and while it is a flawed album, its highlights are complete showstoppers. He pushes his weak lyrical prowess as far as he can, snarling and playing with his graaaaavelly voice and picking the biggest beats he possibly can. It is on the tracks that are the best written songs that he succeeds the best. Listen to this (bump it LOUD):

"The ask me what I do, I say teaching for a living"

Now there is a new genre called Hipster-Hop or alternative hip-hop or whatever. The word "hipster" has developed terrible connotations, and being dubbed hipster-hop is a sort of slapdash insult/shove to the side. 2 at the forefront of this movement are Wale (who is called Wah-Lay, a little to close to Kan-Yay but ohwell), whom I've yet to really listen to but hes from DC so I should check him out, and Kid CuDi who first showed up on my radar on that Kanye I posted about before (Welcome to Heartbreak). So I got the A Kid Named Cudi mixtape, and this shit is ILL. Its boundless energy, diversity of beats, and creativity (the singsong rapping is exactly what im about too) has once again made me feel hopeful for rap. I put up 2 tracks: First single Day N Night is just one of the coolest raps ive heard in a while, with a subject mater more immediately relateable to me than anything in hip hop for years. And the vibe on the Maui Wowie is just chilll as shit. Great production too, it makes me wonder about all the other mixtapes I've missed, it plays like a class album.



Download it now:
http://crowndozen.com/main/archives/001810.shtml
Oh, and maybe because he knows hes so good, Cudi's not scared of the hipster hop moniker. He samples Band of Horses song The Funeral (!!) and the last song samples ratatat. This is my boy. One to watch

Anyways I hope these tracks work its such a fucking pain in the ass to get these up.