I just found out the tragic news that Reggae Rising will be cancelled for 2010. And though I'm not surprised considering their totally lackluster lineup this year, I still found myself going through old Reggae Rising photos from years past this morning. As I was reliving the glory, I somehow started thinking about rap music (which has little connection to reggae, so I'm not quite sure of the synapse rail line I took, but here I am) and how much I hate...Bad Rap Music (or "Skank Music", as my Dad affectionately calls it). Haven't we heard enough about hos, bitches, bitch slapping, big d****, and bigger rims already? Isn't there anything more original that rappers can come up with than just new things to rhyme with drinking, money, and crazy sex? I mean, really. You may think I'm anti-rap, but I'm not. I don't listen to The Postal Service or Jane's Addiction (though there is nothing wrong with these either), reggae and rap are the rhythm to my life; I'm just so tired of hearing the same thing with different beats behind it. There are some original artists: I am as I have always been, madly in love with Snoop Dogg, Jay Z, the late 2Pac, and godfather of the Bay Area hyphy movement, MacDre. But the likes of Gucci Mayne and Lil' Wayne, save for the occasional song that's just too catchy to pass up, sound the same as every other rapper out there. Has the business made rappers so cookie cutter that they really have nothing novel to say, no new art to contribute to the musical community or the public at large? I think it's a sad day when a once new and altogether exciting musical format becomes so trite that one can't decide who it is that they're listening to anymore, but rather let it drone on as one looped beat of degradation and dreams of millions to be squandered the moment they're made.
though there may be artists out there that make my poor ears threaten to crap out entirely, there are still those that have me listening to their albums on repeat for weeks...
I love...
Snoop D-O Double G. Oh boy do I love the Dogg. weather he's letting loose with a voice synthesizer or waxing poetic about his wife and kids, I just love to hear that man get down with his bad self. How much I love Snoop as an artist doesn't even rely on his invention of an entirely new language in the early 2000's, or his avid use of Mary Jane: to me, Snoop epitomizes an artist's ability to grow and change without losing his following or respect. If given the chance to meet Snoop, I don't even know what I would do other than make a giant fool of myself, but would I leap out of my shoes at the chance to meet him anyway? Fo shizzle, my nizzle!
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