In the Bay

Here's a problem.

The Bay Area hip hop scene seems to be solely associated with the "Hyphy Movement." At the moment, that seems to be our claim to faim in the hip hop world. When I take a trip anywhere outside of the Bay Area, people ask me all about "going dumb" and "ghost riding," assuming that's what I'm into because I live in the Bay Area and like hip hop. If you're in that same boat, then this post is for you.

In the Bay Area we have a good amount of talented MC's, and I want to help do away with any misconceptions that "Mr. 40 Water" has created around here. So here are a few important Bay Area artists that will change your mind about our hip hop scene.


Hieroglyphics:

Casual, Pep Love, Opio, Tajai, A-Plus, Phesto D, and Grammy-winning Del the Funky Homosapien are 7 (8 if you count their manager Domino) of the Bay's most valuable MC's, and together they comprise our most valuable hip hop group. They've been in the game longer than most around here, and they have their own record label. In my opinion, they are to the Bay what Wu Tang is to New York.

Zion I:

Beats by Amp Live, lyrics by Zion(aka Zumbi)... these guys are by far the best MC/DJ duo we have around here. Zion's style is unique, and his lyrics are creative and insightful, sometimes political. Zion I represents their culture to the fullest, and are a crucial part of our hip hop scene.




Planet Asia

Planet Asia is one of the most talented solo MC's we have around here. He's worked with Talib Kweli and Ghostface Killah (to name a couple), was given Source magazine's First Round Draft Pick award, and has even been nominated for a Grammy. His lyrics are straight; he does not mess around.




There are plenty more, but these were the artists I thought were most worth mentioning, and they may lead you to other important Bay Area artists. Just remember, we're not all "hyphy hyphy hyphy hyphy" around here.

How to Write a Lil' Wayne Verse

I found a ten step process to successfully writing a Lil' Wayne verse.

My picks for most pivotal steps to becoming "The Greatest Rapper Alive" are:

-"Connect [a] verb to some sort of simile. Every single Lil' Wayne line must contain some sort of relatively obvious simile. So maybe you can 'duck like Scrooge.' 'Run like a bloody nose.' Or even 'Dodge like Kansas.'"

-"Declare that you are Weezy F. Baby. This will tell listeners who you are. Whatever you do, don't attempt to ascertain what the 'F' stands for."

-"Make some sort of obvious pop culture technology reference. Talk about IPods. Or Myspace. Or gigabytes. Something remotely technological. It will show that [you're] not completely retarded (just partially) and might have actually read a newspaper once or twice. Which clearly means [you're] a genius."

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY:

-"Proclaim yourself 'The Greatest Rapper Alive.' If you proclaim yourself the greatest, you will be the greatest."

One of Many

Obviously, I'm not the only one who keeps up a hip hop blog. In fact, type "hip hop blogs" in Google and you'll be able to choose from just over 5 and a half million results. Who knows where mine will show up. Anyway, I'm glad other people are doing it; that way pretty much every aspect of the culture is covered somewhere on the internet.

One blog I ran across was a blog called Welcome to Real Hip Hop. The blog moderator is a user named "asian persuasion." He doesn't write much; each post is basically just an album suggestion along with the track listing. Going down the list, I couldn't disagree with one album he suggested. If someone was to actually cop each of the albums he's suggested, they'd be well on their way to being an expert in underground hip hop.

Another blog I've known about for years is called Nappy Diatribe, written by a guy who calls himself Humanity Critic. He was sort of an inspiration for me wanting to write about hip hop. He blogs for Vibe.com, and he's on Blogger too. Lately he's been more of a political blogger than a hip hop blogger, but if you look at his older posts you'll see why I thought he was so good. He's a sarcastic, bitter man who shares my hatred for Lil' Wayne and my love for Rakim.
(If you find his post from about a year ago titled "Respectfully, Blender Magazine has lost it's f**king mind!!", addressing Blender's 40 Worst Lyricists list, you'll find my name mentioned there because I suggested the topic to him. That's how avid of a follower I was.)

And since I mentioned Rakim, check out this album:



Yeah, it's old school, but I believe Rakim is the greatest MC in history. I hope you'll see why.

"Through The Wire": My Hip Hop History

In my junior year of high school I was listening to a lot of Jack Johnson; I had chilled out a little on stuff like System of a Down, and there wasn't really a certain genre that I was wild about, especially not hip hop. My perception of hip hop was what I was hearing on the radio. When Live 105 went to a commercial break, I'd reluctantly listen to something by R. Kelly or Chingy on Wild 94.9 just because there was nothing else on. It was repetitive, unoriginal, and incredibly materialistic.

Luckily one night I was driving to a night class I was taking at the time, and a song called "All Falls Down" came on. It was different from anything else they were playing; I noticed that the lyrics had a lot more substance, and the beat was a lot more intricate than a few little clicks and whistles. I waited patiently for the artist to be announced, but the DJ never did. On my way back from class that night, I hoped to hear it again. Instead, "Through the Wire" came on, and I could immediately tell it was the same artist. This time his name was announced: Kanye West.

My birthday came up shortly, and my sister got me Kanye's debut album College Dropout. Almost immediately, I fell in love with hip hop. Most of the underground elites were featured on it: Common, Talib Kweli, Mos Def... names that I had unfortunately never heard before. Then the hunt was on. As I researched Kanye and these other artists, a door opened to a limitless supply of underground material, and I still hunger for more every single day. I guess you could say Kanye West brought me hip hop.

Unfortunately, over the years I've watched Kanye sky-rocket from a talented kid who got a lucky break to an egotistical, materialistic rap idol. He is a radio superstar. The evolution of Kanye West is almost a picture-perfect example of the differences between underground and mainstream, and how the radio has the ability to change artists. As disappointed as I am, I still owe Kanye West a lot for opening my eyes to hip hop culture, and I'm glad there are still a number of underground artists who stuck to their guns.

Kanye performs "Get 'Em High" with Common (2005)

Kanye performs a remix to "Lollipop" with Lil' Wayne (2008)

Funny how things change...

Underground vs. Mainstream: A Quick Look

I hate to use the cliche "Webster's Dictionary defines..." essay opener, but whether I like it or not, it will assist me in what I'm trying to accomplish in this post.

So first, I'll give you a few definitions of "underground" straight from Webster:
a: "an unofficial, unsanctioned, or illegal but informal movement or group; especially : a usually avant-garde group or movement that functions outside the establishment"
b: "existing outside the establishment"
c: "produced or published outside the establishment especially by the avant-garde"

(In all three of these definitions, it's important to notice the repetition of the phrase "outside the establishment." In hip hop's case, the "establishment" is represented by major record labels, radio stations, etc... i.e. the rap industry.)

Now we'll look at "mainstream."
: "a prevailing current or direction of activity or influence"


You'll notice that the word "mainstream" is given absolutely no negative connotation. The fact that certain hip hop artists are mainstream is not the problem at all. The problem is what it takes to be a mainstream artist these days. Hip hop executives have figured out what sells: materialism, misogyny, violence... pretty much what you're hearing on the radio. Artists who aren't willing to fit themselves into that particular mainstream profile won't be getting radio play or million dollar contracts until they're willing to format their material; unfortunately, some artists do exactly that.

But some artists aren't happy with the "prevailing current or direction of activity or influence" in the hip hop world. These artists stand defiantly against what's accepted and continue to write deep, thoughtful lyrics and strive to destroy negative stereotypes about their culture and bring it back to its positive roots.


Wrap Up
In my next post, I'll explore underground culture in more detail. Until then, I have some underground listening material for you. This is a playlist of tracks by a group named Black Star, comprised of MC's Talib Kweli and Mos Def. I would consider both of these guys underground, although they have been able to infiltrate the mainstream world at times. Pay attention to the lyrical material, and how it's completely devoid of misogyny, violence, materialism or anything else that is stereotypically "hip hop." In fact, you'll find that it's quite the opposite.

(Oh, and don't pay attention to the track titled "Get my Gun." That's not a Black Star song and I don't know how it found its way into this playlist. You'd have to ask an imeem.com user named myko ablog, because that's who I stole this from.)