If you're living poor, broke, and dangerous, most of the music comparing Bentleys and Bugattis was made with you in mind.

Be it escapism or the hood Horatio Alger, all that "watch the throne" stuff is for people of modest means. Prosperity Gospel via rap, a topic we've already touched on in previous posts.

But once you get some (whole)food(s) in your belly, a whip that ain't 10 years old, a few brand names in your closet, drinking that top shelf, splurging on the good weed - Who writes for you?

Of course you don't have everything, but the worst days ain't the birthdays no more.

Who inspires you?
How are they inspiring you?

What do you say to the comfortably numb?

After you've gotten further up Maslow's pyramid, is the only thing you can nod your head to about self actualization?

one
k. orr

in a never ending baudrillard like nightmare


and not listening to new music.

_______________________________________
When discourse of Blackness is not connected to efforts to promote collective black self determinism
it becomes simply another recourse appropriated by the colonizer

http://hardboiledbabesanddarkchocolate.tumblr.co

>in a never ending baudrillard like nightmare
>
>
>and not listening to new music.

i'd ask you to expound on this in detail but you're getting dangerously close to 1000 posts.

linen n sandals while sipping mojitos @ brunch music

Totally. And Maze.

fuck you.

>linen n sandals while sipping mojitos @ brunch music
>
>


and Straw Hats.

______________



http://www.windimoto.com


http://ten2one.wordpress.com/ <-FEB

http://wallpapershi.net/wallpapers/2012/01/boba-fett-star-wars-star-wars-boba-fett-movie-anime-1080x1920.jpg

You just described every patio on a Sunday afternoon...

that materialist rap is hood prosperity gospel. Personally I think that shit is catering to the burbs more than anywhere else. It's just a large scale version of what comfortable, middle class young males already do. Think of young college stoners listening to Wiz Khalifa smoking weed. He's talking about being in some million dollar condo, they're in an apartment, nonetheless in their minds they have things in common. "Watch The Throne"....shit that's the young white guy in new car anthem.

The only time I remotely believe this whole gospel thing is with the southern rappers. Gucci Mane, Waka Flocka Flame, Young Jeezy in his prime, people talking more about bricks than just immense wealth and luxury. "Watch The Throne" and money-throwing rap is a far cry from the OG Trap Rap it decided to outsize.

So basically, I think that "Watch The Throne", Wiz Khalifa, Currensy and Rick Ross shit is mostly comfortable life rap. If we're talking like comfortable and aloof.

Perhaps it's the terminology that's mixing it up. If we're talking maturity, like true grown man rap, I don't know, that's a hard ass call to begin with considering 90% of rap is immature. The most mature rap is the serious rap, the kind that is never the most popular and usually found in the top 10 list of purists.

So I don't know, If I was comfortable to the point where I didn't feel like listening to motivational, materialistic rap I'd probably shift to the opposite, which is smart, deep rap. The kind of shit I can presently take here and there but generally don't feel like dealing with.

So probably all those relaxed, smart, rap and philosophy/social commentary type of albums.

Either that or no rap at all and start listening to soul, r and b, classic rock, indie rock, etc.

>Perhaps it's the terminology that's mixing it up. If we're
>talking maturity, like true grown man rap, I don't know,

Naw, I'm just stating the obvious, that a song like "racks on racks on racks", is primarily written *by* cats who don't actually have "racks on racks on racks" (legal or illegal), *for* cats who don't have "racks on racks racks" either.

Be it on some hustle harder steez, or on some escapism, black folks that actually have stacks aren't really bumping "maybach music" type dudes because it's inspirational, or even because it's a little dream life they can float off to, so they can forget how brutal the streets really are.

Both functions, inspire or meaningful escape, seem to be relegated to folks who are actually just trying to get by, not overextended and overeducated middle class black folks that are out the the club complaining that folks ran out of peach ciroc, or the more upper-crustian ones wanting something better than Jamo.

A little Waka Flaka on the pandora account can get you to tear through them "TPS" reports a little faster, but the same demographic plays Ante Up while they're at the name brand gym trying to get "toned". (only if they freeze their weights though).

At this point in my life, I actually know more corporate thugs than real ones (despite the fact that I probably see more real thugs in my hood than corporate ones, lol) So when Jay tosses out a line for the cubicle G's like myself, we eat it up.

But VIP @ the club? Fresh rims on the euro barge?
That's that 1st year making that good money type thing.

>that's a hard ass call to begin with considering 90% of rap is
>immature. The most mature rap is the serious rap, the kind
>that is never the most popular and usually found in the top 10
>list of purists.

I'd love to see these lists.

>So I don't know, If I was comfortable to the point where I
>didn't feel like listening to motivational, materialistic rap
>I'd probably shift to the opposite, which is smart, deep rap.
>The kind of shit I can presently take here and there but
>generally don't feel like dealing with.

interesante

>So probably all those relaxed, smart, rap and
>philosophy/social commentary type of albums.

few and far between by my count.

>Either that or no rap at all and start listening to soul, r
>and b, classic rock, indie rock, etc.

Which is why you see a lot of my demographic looking down on ppl for just "discovering" Fleet Foxes or Clams Casino.

one
k. orr

justified. Seeing "Watch The Throne" and the like as music for the struggling AND for those with careers and the like makes sense. In agreeing with the escapism side moreso than the gospel of wealth side ('cause I think a lot more are being simply entertained than truly internalizing lyrics or applying them to their lives), I'll just focus on the latter half pertaining to music for mature people.

I agree with you on few and far between and even had to ask myself "Have I ever really seen such a list" when referring to the whole top 10 list thing. In truth, even older folks love hip-hop that I wouldn't exactly call mature.

For my generation, Kendrick Lamar's Section 80 comes to mind. That's the last album I remember listening to that made me feel like hip-hop is more than entertainment and actually an art form that can have a deep purpose the way certain films, books, etc. do.

For older heads, I don't know. Maybe some KRS albums, 2Pac albums, Nas albums or whoever else seemed to be concerned with the bigger picture and really dealing with life's serious issues.

Again, this is all functioning on the assumption that said comfortable demographic still has an interest in societies issues. If you're on a "not my problem" or "fuck them, I made it so can they" kind of perspective, I wouldn't know what you'd listen to.

Interestingly enough, I think the reason I find it so hard to get into indie rock is because I'm so firmly in the young and struggling bracket lol. It's hard for me to sit around and listen to music for it's artistic sake when I got a lot of shit weighing on me and I'd rather listen to something motivational or escapist. I guess that's why I don't have patience for long indie rock instrumentation and would rather hear someone young and angry barking over tracks lol.

I'm currently finishing up a teaching degree. Once I'm a teacher and make enough to support myself (modestly as I know teacher's aren't ballin'). I imagine I'll spend more time caring about artistry and musicianship and all of that and less time wanting stuff that's inspiring or emotional.

FE rap about relationships on lounge grooves, k'naan is an NPR poster boy who raps about conflicts one reads in the international section of Time magazine or something.

I'd wager the comfortable set listen to non-threatening stuff about things that they have no control over. I'd bet 'global warming' rap would be big with them as well.

-------
http://adevotedappraisal.tumblr.com - Essays, reviews, short stories and free writes on music, film and life around us.

>I'd bet 'global
>warming' rap would be big with them as well.

this album by Jakob Magnusson called JACK MAGNET
everything, from the lyrics to the instrumentation suggested "comfort".

I felt like I was dropped right in the middle of a 760 GLE fresh off the line in 1982.

Even the progressive rock of the late 70's and early 80's like Tangerine Dream, Alan Parsons Project

i refuse to argue this, but it was

seems to lack a little passion.

*********************
www.dumhi.com

there wldnt be any surprise in that right?

*********************
www.dumhi.com

isn't that exactly what Drake is?

once you've made it...

once you've become the man..

and you are sitting on your throne..

you get a chance to ponder and ponder and ponder and ponder..

that's basically his whole M.O.

Double 0
DJ/Producer/Artist
Producer in Kidz In The Hall
-------------------------------------------
twitter: @godouble0
IG: @godouble0
www.thinklikearapper.com

www.royallegacy.org
http://therapfest.com/up-next-artists/

yes but rich people who are introspective appeal to comfortable middle of the road folks. Cuz it's past the "flash" of being rich... it's like what happens once you are "good"

Double 0
DJ/Producer/Artist
Producer in Kidz In The Hall
-------------------------------------------
twitter: @godouble0
IG: @godouble0
www.thinklikearapper.com

for the comfortable.

You may have a point.

Will ponder.

and the men sexually attracted to them.

_______________________________________
When discourse of Blackness is not connected to efforts to promote collective black self determinism
it becomes simply another recourse appropriated by the colonizer

http://hardboiledbabesanddarkchocolate.tumblr.co

╭∩╮（︶︿︶）╭∩╮





www.last.fm/user/Tha_Abstract

he's attempting to connect to ppl about the human condition and the inherent struggle there in,

problem is his struggles amount to falling in love with strippers and being a former child actor wanting to be a rap star and being told that isn't gonna happen.

thats got nothing to do with being comfortable per se just a paucity of thought imo.

_______________________________________
When discourse of Blackness is not connected to efforts to promote collective black self determinism
it becomes simply another recourse appropriated by the colonizer

http://hardboiledbabesanddarkchocolate.tumblr.co

Every time I hear a rapper say something like "you ain't doing it like me", I wonder if the dude who is doing it like him likes his music or thinks he's better off than some silly rapper.

If anything the top 40 guys are the ones making music for the well off people, and the "underground" dudes are making music for "real" people because they talk about what "real" people are going through.

I don't see too many rich people actually giving a fuck about anybody, especially in this country. You can argue some specific case of a few people giving to charity but for the most part I really don't see somebody who has it all sitting back and wondering about the lesser folk. These people are usually arrogant, assholes, and too concerned with keeping what they have to waste time being charitable. But, pretending to care and just listening to music about some other person's problems does sound plausible.

I'm saying rich on purpose because I think everybody who isn't rich is represented in some way by a lot of rappers "everyman" type of raps.

plus comfortable is too open of a term, people might have money to get by, but i don't see debt, mortgage, and other bills putting somebody anywhere near comfortable.

I think the comfortable want a soundtrack to pat themselves on the back to.

PEACE LOVE and MONEY

https://soundcloud.com/dabeatnik/drumpf-beer

on the underground representing "real" people. For whatever reason, rap music seems to have veered away from that. If I had to guess, it would be because of production. Like in truth, I consider the majority of underground types much more honest and the kinds of stuff I can relate to. Hell the era I truly learned to love hip-hop in (early to mid 2000's), that was popping off. Back then Def Jux was huge and Atmosphere was huge and everyman rap existed in a totally different universe than Mainstream rap.

Then the later half of the 2000's happened and it was game over. Dude's rapping about bullshit were doing it over better beats. So it became hard (for me) to listen to that latest everyman rapper over OK beats while new dudes were busy playing bangers. Granted, I also grew very tired of viewing life seriously and being too emotional about anything in general. Thus I liked the shallowness and emptiness.

I really do feel like the trend is ready to go the other way again. This swag era/banging beats fuck what they're saying era is on it's way out I think. I give it around 5 years before the albums getting the most attention again are those with strong lyrics and messages.

> Back then Def Jux was huge and Atmosphere was
>huge and everyman rap existed in a totally different universe
>than Mainstream rap.

Both of these groups had huge skate/emo followings and more importantly indy rock/emo/alt influences.

Atmos - I remembered interviewing them boys during the 1st record, before Eyedea won that truck on HBO - they wasn't on that same Hiero, Tribe, Gangstarr, Tried by 12, :Lace Da Booms, Shabaam Sadeeq. I got a miniDV of their first Austin show somewhere in the stacks.

El P - wasn't on his rock star shit back then, but the other artists on rawkus were just about flipping nouns and verbs as opposed to ki's and birds.

That underground was about battle rapping over primo-esque chops and breaks that Diamond D or Pete Rock might have used. You found more introspection on a Tupac record.

For every Murs, there were a lots of Mike Zoots and J-Treds.

or something 'cause I remember that being the main appeal. The battle cuts were always a minor part of those dude's albums. Much more everyman shit/emotional.

As for the other underground types, well I suppose I should clarify the term. I was like 17 in that era, so I'm talking about the kinds of shit that kids in high school in small towns would know about. The immediately appealing stuff. Not what the purists were into back then.

>or something 'cause I remember that being the main appeal.
>The battle cuts were always a minor part of those dude's
>albums. Much more everyman shit/emotional.
>
>As for the other underground types, well I suppose I should
>clarify the term. I was like 17 in that era, so I'm talking
>about the kinds of shit that kids in high school in small
>towns would know about. The immediately appealing stuff. Not
>what the purists were into back then.

Arguably Pac, Face, and Cee Lo were really talking about something other than being a superman, but not raw like Slug or El-P.

Royal Flush did a song about domestic violence on his album, but El-P's stepfather factory was something totally different.

There's introspection and self examination, and then there's introspection. I think we've talked about a missing emotional component of hip hop for a while, but we can't ever nail it down, cause most rappers, under and overground do take a look at themselves.

But the, 'what has my life become' kinda raps, ...I dunno. Something about Prodigy or Jay Z doing it always seems to be couched in "coolness". Same with Nas.

Or I could just be projecting.

~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas

http://www.last.fm/user/NodimaChee
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
http://rateyourmusic.com/list/Nodima/run_that_shit__nodimas_hip_hop_handbook

>But once you get some (whole)food(s) in your belly, a whip
>that ain't 10 years old, a few brand names in your closet,
>drinking that top shelf, splurging on the good weed - Who
>writes for you?
>
>Of course you don't have everything, but the worst days ain't
>the birthdays no more.
>
>Who inspires you?
>How are they inspiring you?

I think once you reach a certain point in your life, the music no longer inspires you. It might move you, the way a good groove is supposed to move you, but the idea of listening to an artist that inspires you in some kind of way becomes kind of, juvenile maybe?

>What do you say to the comfortably numb?


>After you've gotten further up Maslow's pyramid, is the only
>thing you can nod your head to about self actualization?

Who's listening to what they're saying anyway?

--------------------

blah blah blah

>I think once you reach a certain point in your life, the music
>no longer inspires you. It might move you, the way a good
>groove is supposed to move you, but the idea of listening to
>an artist that inspires you in some kind of way becomes kind
>of, juvenile maybe?

Jill Scott's 'Gotta Get Up' speaks to me when I wanna play hooky. Which is most days bc I have severely mixed feelings about my job.

Sounds of Blackness' 'Optimistic' was my song as I prepared for the Bar exam. And sometimes on my way to law school classes.

But I dunno if that's what we're talking about here.
>
>>What do you say to the comfortably numb?
>
>
>>After you've gotten further up Maslow's pyramid, is the only
>>thing you can nod your head to about self actualization?
>
>Who's listening to what they're saying anyway?

fuck you.

>
>>I think once you reach a certain point in your life, the
>music
>>no longer inspires you. It might move you, the way a good
>>groove is supposed to move you, but the idea of listening to
>>an artist that inspires you in some kind of way becomes kind
>>of, juvenile maybe?
>
>Jill Scott's 'Gotta Get Up' speaks to me when I wanna play
>hooky. Which is most days bc I have severely mixed feelings
>about my job.
>
>Sounds of Blackness' 'Optimistic' was my song as I prepared
>for the Bar exam. And sometimes on my way to law school
>classes.
>
>But I dunno if that's what we're talking about here.

RIght, which was why I responded to the questions about who inspires you.
I can't think of any music that actually inspires me. (of course I am being lazy)

But music that speaks to a level of contentedness? To me that kind of music captures a mood more than anything else. To me that could be anything that doesn't speak to any kind of real struggle. Frank Sinatra, Michael Franks, or like Bin said up top Maze and Kem for the leather ball cap/ linen short suit set. (I hate Kem btw) Certain jazz and classical albums can put you there too. Miles Davis 'Kind of Blue' does it for me every time.

--------------------

blah blah blah

or a better term might be "Infinity G35 Rock"

Lots of Kenny G, Gerald Albright, and Brian Culbertson, to go with that good Ciroc.

______________



http://www.windimoto.com


http://ten2one.wordpress.com/ <-FEB

http://wallpapershi.net/wallpapers/2012/01/boba-fett-star-wars-star-wars-boba-fett-movie-anime-1080x1920.jpg

Cause I can't think of anyone in my age bracket jamming that Hidden Beach steez.

The furthest my people go is Redman, Joshua not Reggie.

one
k. orr

>Lots of Kenny G, Gerald Albright, and Brian Culbertson, to go
>with that good Ciroc.

Well, really, his album Breakin' Away is the perfect example of this sort of sound. It didn't hurt that his producer during the time was Jay Graydon.

http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=5&topic_id=2543857&mesg_id=2543857&listing_type=search
________
Big PEMFin H & z's
█▆▇▅▇█▇▆▄▁▃
"I ain't no entertainer, and ain't trying to be one. I am one thing, a musician." © Miles Davis

"When the music stops he falls back in the abyss."

I remember reading that joint but forgot to respond.

I will up it

do or die

but their music always had a snarky undertone that seemed to make fun of that life at the same time.

They always came off as like... what Bill Maher would be if he recorded music.

There's a clear line from, for example, from "Show Biz Kids" to "Deacon Blues" to "Glamour Profession." There's always the sense of not belonging to the A list, not being comfortable with success/money/fame.

to that shit anyway...rich or not.

╭∩╮（︶︿︶）╭∩╮





www.last.fm/user/Tha_Abstract

someone above mentioned the word maturity, and I think that's the key element here. Once rap moves beyond coming up, the drug grind, etc, then you have the opportunity for mature subject content, like exploring the human condition and examining the greater world around you.

To me, Oddisee is a good example of an artist who does this; in "Different Now," he talks about the different desires and expectations that come along with growing up fully, and how your mind state changes even over a short time span.

I think songs like these are important; I honestly don't think I can listen to "N*ggas in PAris" when I'm 40 years old. Is balling hard really what I want to think about and listen to?

"Different Now"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX-ECeV9rF0&feature=fvst

_________________________________

The Beat Catalog
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