Entirely Random [ER]#10 -- Music from 2014, Indiana(USA)
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib Piñata
As with any genre of music, there's a lot of sub-par rap coming out these days. I almost used the word "trash", but I feel like that term is a big harsh; but there seems to be less "heart" in the genre than there used to be.
Every now and then, however, a new artist surfaces that I really back. Often times, these artists will "sell out" or "fall off" to some extent; although I do realize it's part of a necessary path to success for some. Now, I understand that lifestyles change, and it is growth to some extent, but a lot of the times these artists will go on to make music directly in contradiction to their previously expressed views.
Freddie Gibbs, however, is not one of these artists. I still remember right out of high school, sitting around "my apartment"(there was about 8 of us living in a 3 bedroom) and finding his ThisIs50 freestyle and showing my friends saying "you ever heard of this guy?" His lyrical talent and understanding of flow was immediately evident to us and it set off quite an obsession with the rapper from Gary, Indiana.
We quickly realized his real talent when we discovered his "The Label's Tryin' To Kill Me" mixtape, which involves him rapping over 80+ short songs in rapid fire. During my avid following of his music, and watching his rise in the music industry, I've never been sure whether I'd want to sit down for a cup of coffee and an intelligent discussion with him, or if instead I should just be terrified of him. I'm kidding, but he's evidently been through some serious shit.
This album is a project he did with Madlib. I think anyone who knows anything about Madlib should immediately know this album is fire. Freddie recently released a new album, which inspired me to make this post, but if you are new to him I suggest you start off with his earlier work. And if you're new to Madlib, well, I hope you have some time on your hands.
Note: There isn't a full album embed that I am aware of, so here is the firs full song from the album. If you like what you hear here, there are playlists for the album on YouTube. Obviously I suggest anyone interested to support the artist, but rather use this as a means of exploration. Enjoy :)
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I think you are right. It seems to be very hard for a musician to keep clear from the mundane mainstream when they start to become known. Probably managers and other people make new formats for the musician to reach a bigger audience.....
I just remembered, in the Netherlands 'we' made a song for our new king. Everybody could help and send in words and ideas. The result is very typical of the problems you get when something 'has' to be nice for everybody. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koningslied
Right. And I feel strongly as though music is an artistic self-expression which is why it bothers me so much to see artists swayed by these outside influences. They go from artists to poster-children.
I looked into the Koningslied song after you mentioned it. The song certainly seemed like kind of a mess; I did, however feel bad for the composer. Threats to leave a country over a song can be pretty hard to hear for the person who made the song xD
It was a few days ago but I don't think I could find an English translation, unfortunately. I think I still have the tab with the lyrics open so I'll probably try pasting them into a translator later.
I have found a translation of the song: https://www.directdutch.com/2013/04/word-of-the-day-koningslied-kings-song-in-english-translation/
Unfortunately we have a shift in culture in this country into hate. It is very frustrating to watch and I know the majority of people here don't agree with this shift. I have some ideas why this is happening.
Threats are never okay, especially not for making a song for our king. The whole idea was that everybody could pitch in so he wasn't even able to make something he likes. It is the perfect example what happens is every body needs to like it.
Piñata is a really good record. I particularly dig the tracks "Harold's" and "Thuggin'". Freddie has such a strong, heavy delivery, and it pairs really well with Madlib's iconic sense of rhythm. Great stuff, and a great post!
It sure as hell is. Harold's, Thuggin and Deeper are among my favorite tracks on here for sure. I guess they all are.
Damn right! Thanks for your input, and for stopping by!
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Thanks mudcat! You're the shit!
I'm not familiar with the hiphop genre, but your statement more and more trash is produced, well, I can say this is also the case for many of the sub-genres in electronic music. With all sort of software available, so many people think they can produce something. The hard truth is, the mass even supports quite a few artists adding no value to music in general.
I think it's the case with every genre. The problem is there will always be many more people who see music as a form of background noise rather than an art form.
Like electronic music, hiphop and it's subgenres can be produced entirely from one's laptop with all this readily available software. It's a tough subject, because I do feel that it's great to have such easily accessible programs for everyone interested in making music. However, the ease of being able to publicize everyone's music creates a much bigger pool of nonsense for quality work to get lost in.
As I was typing that last part, it kind of reminded me of things I've heard said on Steemit recently about the platform itself. As long as an individual has the ability purchase promotion/votes, issues like these will always remain.
Thanks for stopping by :)
Talking about Steemit, with the big votes DTube and DSound are giving, did you notice the amount of users who download some app for simple music creation and for the first time in their lives start making music and uploading it? Most;y sounds like nonsense, or even worse :( Crypto space is on one hand good, but I think it also results in a lot of bad content being created, including music. Musicoin gives free money as well; When requesting all your friends to click your tracks over there, one can earn good money, regardless of quality of the music. But yeh, that's life I suppose,
Yeah, that is a tough situation. Unfortunately it's the same concept that's allowing us to do what we do here. I think overall it is a good thing, but you're right, it does encourage quantity over quality to some extent.
I plan on posting more in the future about my friends' who are musicians. I don't use the term meaninglessly - they are very much so musicians. I am just hoping to have a bigger following before I do so to gain them more exposure. I think if people continue to promote actually good music on these spaces, over time it will begin to weed out what's good and bad. It is certainly a better system than how the current music industry operates, at the very least :)
Steemit and similar platform do indeed provide a great opportunity, for anybody who can create content, good or bad :)
Am I the only one who thinks the man looks like Tupac?
I could see it!