Sounds Without Borders

GENERAL    By Drew Ricketts on July 23, 2007 at 6:50 am

Somewhere between the West Coast surge in gangster rap and the East Coast floss movement, wedged in the Crunk era and some Hyphy mixed in, media outlets somehow could not grasp the universality of rap music and broke it into factions, which made beef more interesting (read: tribalism) and gave a framework for breaking new artists. So instead of new artist Chamillionaire, we hear about “Houston sensation” or Swisha House affiliate Chamillionaire. There’s nothing wrong with representing your region but when a scavenger hunt starts for artists solely based on region, something has gone wrong.

The end of the Regional Rap Race is over, I posit, because marketing junkies have run out of ways to make obscure areas hip. MTV had My Block and Crunk just officially entered the dictionary. That should be enough of the cherry-picking for now. The crux of hip-hop music’s appeal is not directly correlative with geography. As with the history of the world, location is a factor of course. The G-Funk sound and Hyphy movement are grounded in the attitude of California just like Boom Bap is grounded somewhat by the New York gutters and b-boys on the pavement. But since the origins of every phenotype, this thing has spread so that we hear artists from North Carolina and Florida who do boom bap and artists like Dipset and MIMS from the Northeast who essentially make marching Southern records. In an ironic turn, the artists themselves have broken patterns in order to show the common lines and styles among seemingly specific music forms. Jadakiss is on the “Wipe Me Down” remix with Jim Jones. Lil Wayne is a distinctive Southern artist, representing Louisianan pride, but takes a page from his Roc-a-fella Records predecessors in both style and lyrical study.

Then again, the regions have also produced stripped down hits that identify them well. “Ay Bay Bay,” “Lip Gloss” and “Chicken Noodle Soup,” may be associated most nearly with the towns where these one-shot deals sprung from but they also mirror the black music that inspires them on a few levels. The incantatory stylings of crunk artists are often frowned upon without much attention to their piquant qualities. This is not shuck and shuffle music, so to speak. Hip-hop is reacting to the relentless image surges and regional pigeonholing to make shit that will get the kids dancing. Before hip-hop became mightily responsible for every social trend (even ones preceding it), it was dancing and partying. Not to say that this has to represent the entire ethic but, it’s as if we’re ashamed to dance now or to chant now because there is more at stake.

With that, I bring you two videos out of Harlem that have me rocking to the dances that will soon be synonymous with them. Jason Fox brings it with “Aunt Jackie” which harkens back to playful songs like Will Smith’s “Parents Just Don’t Understand” by accentuating the horns and claps for that particular jump. Then, out of another Harlem bloodline, The Project gives due to the “Lightfeet” by naming their debut single after the agile dance of the same name. Both songs show respect for the crowd, the dancers and the interaction between music and its desired effect. The Project especially breaks the mold by lacing “Lightfeet” with similarly versatile lyrics, so while the beat certainly propels it, the words catch listeners by surprise. Peep King Guttah’s first verse for instance as he describes kids with the “necklace shining/but bereft of diamonds.” For a dance song, he delves carefree into weighty matters.

This pair of songs shows not only the power of Harlem dance music but the encompassing shine of dance music when put to work. I’m feeling it.

===============
Loosies

Collie Buddz – Come Around (G-Unit Remix)

Enrique Iglesias Ft. Lil Wayne – Push

Evidence Ft.Phonte & Alchemist – Let Yourself Go (Remix)

Robin Thicke – Superman

T.I. Ft. Mac Boney – The Hottest

Young Berg Ft. Jim Jones Rich Boy & DJ Khaled – Sexy Lady (Remix)

Eve Ft. Jay-z – Tambourine (Remix)

Gucci Mane Ft. Ludacris – Freaky Girl (Remix)

T.I. Ft. Governor – Hustlin

Sean Paul – Get It Right

T.I. – You The Best

Loon Ft. T-Pain – Who Is That

DJ Drama Ft. Trey Songz & B.G. – Long Gone

Erykah Badu – Music Is Everything

Andre 3000 – Banana Zoo

Loosies
===============
Link Exchange? Get @ Us

TSS Crew @ King

Join The TSS Crew @ Myspace.

Posted in GENERAL, LOOSIES, VIDEO