As The Weeknd and Drake so eloquently put it; "This the shit that I live for!" I put in absolutely tireless work being the rap nerd that I am (for the most part), and being a rap nerd (not by choice, though I was CHOSEN), I definitely question and think about music and headlines a lot more than the average person. I have to admit I was a tad late to Kendrick's Section.80 train, and it's funny because listening to it as thoroughly as I have the past 2 or 3 weeks, I find I enjoy it more than Good Kid Maad City, and have it as a close tie with To Pimp A Butterfly (yes, that's right) as Kendrick's best album. Only minor things differentiate the level of music, lyricism and story-telling Kendrick shows in each album, but I won't get into that right now. Instead, I'm choosing to try and get to the bottom of something that I've been curious about since I first heard this song; why does Kendrick kick a girl out of the studio as he says in the song "Hol Up"?
(*I do not own this song, or the rights to it*)
I have to say before I start my usual nerdy, superstitious rap rant that this song sounds like elevator music to me. Imagine you're in an elevator and it's playing music... couldn't you imagine this playing? Of course you could... I rest my case. Either that or this song symbolizes Kendrick being high; Kendrick starts out the song by saying "I wrote this record while 30,000 feet in the air." He's high; literally. He's ELEVATING. Could he have smoked weed before he recorded it? Possibly, though Kendrick had made it known on Good Kid Maad City that he doesn't smoke because his first blunt had him "foaming at the mouth." I wouldn't smoke either, good reason not to.
And as I stray away from the point of why I'm writing this, I'd like to get to the point. At the 1:45 mark, Kendrick goes on to say (right in the middle of recording this track) "hey, hey kick her out the studio Ali" (Ali of course being Kendrick's engineer recording the song, in case you didn't know). Now I have 2 notes I must point out about this funny little recording Easter egg, 1. It seems rappers DO indeed keep "bitches" in the studio with them to record (word to Schoolboy Q for staying loyal, hopefully). I found this funny. But, #2 is a question; why would you not re-record the verse with the line taken out of the song? This could possibly be because Kendrick and friends were paying for studio time and they did not want to take any more time than they needed, or this could have even been just because they didn't feel like taking the error out and wanted to leave it in for memories. Either way, this little comment leaves questions, and that's probably exactly what Kendrick and his crew want you to feel listening to it; curious.
Ali actually explained the incident to XXL when asked about it, here's what he had to say; "It was really happening. It was actually somebody from another session. Somebody came in and was drinking a little too much and started getting loud and we had to get 'em up outta there. One of them random things that happens in the studio." A short, yet to the point explanation from Ali for sure. I have to admit I'm a little disappointed with Ali's answer, I surely thought there would be a big long story (tour stories from rappers are always great) accompanying the line, but that's the way the cookie crumbles I suppose. You have to love the little Easter eggs and stories that rappers and entertainment figures give that you just don't see every day.
I have a very strong loathing of radio music. My area's go to station for the top 40 hits (more like top 10 songs over and over again) is Mix 102.7 (not really a mix when it's the same stuff over and over again guys, I hate to be the one to tell you). Now a lot of people like hearing the songs Mix 102.7 plays, and I'll admit there may be 1 or 2 songs I don't mind hearing, but every single day with the same songs you grow to hate is not an element anyone wants to be in (just so you know I don't listen to this station by choice, it plays every day at my work establishment). My extreme disliking of Mix 102.7 aside, there are definitely a few pop songs with certain parts and portions I actually enjoyed hearing; that is, before the station CUT THEM OUT. The great thing about rap nowadays is that it has gone mainstream, mainstream enough for it to not be too foreign for you to hear a verse from one of your favorite rappers on a pop song every now and then, and there were a few songs that weren't classified as rap that (for a hot second) had a dope verse or 2 from a rapper. Allow me to introduce to you to...radio pop songs that have verses from rappers that don't play on the radio.
California Gurls - Snoop Dogg
This song is 2 completely different songs when you play the version with Snoop, and when you take Snoop out of it. With Snoop it really does have that West Coast sound and feel, as if summer just got here (and it's VERY close now ladies and gents, be excited), your cup is filled with gin and juice and you're ready for beaches, warm weather sports like basketball and football, bon fires, and many more things that you just can't do any other time of the year. Take Snoop out of the equation, and that feeling, and everything that comes with it is lost.
Payphone - Wiz Khalifa
Another song that has 2 completely different vibes to it with and without the rapper's verse is Maroon 5's "Payphone". Now I used to be a fan of Wiz, not so much now, but he makes this song so much better with his verse, as soon as he starts it out with "Man fuck that shit", you already start jigging just a little differently than you did when the song started, and it's pretty cool how the beat switches up when his verse hits. But the radio made another decent song bad again... it seems to never fail.
Jealous - B.o.B
(*I do not own these songs, videos, or the rights to any of them*)
I hate to admit that this song is actually pretty catchy, and even though Bobby Ray just jumped on the remix not too long ago, this song is pretty dope with the B.o.B addition. The beat is (kind of sort of) catchy, and it's funny because being a B.o.B fan (not so much a "radio" B.o.B fan), I thought about how Bob would sound on this song (which can be a good or bad thing), and right before my eyes, voila! He jumps on the remix and makes it a decent song, though this is indeed another case of a rapper getting shunned, because this version does not play on the radio.
I hate to hate on anything (ironic as that sounds), but top 40 radio music really does irk me to no end. I only hear it when I have to (at work), when I'm in the car or anywhere else you better believe I'm making it a point to switch that channel when Taylor Swift comes on. Nothing against Taylor Swift, I'm sure she makes some semi decent music, I wouldn't know because I don't listen to her whole albums, but her radio hits are seared into my brain for good. Dammit. I have heard however that her newest song "Bad Blood" features 2 Kendrick verses and I'm pretty excited about that, hopefully that will get some radio play and they don't take out Kendrick's verses (they probably will). Anyways, I have a short PSA for Mix 102.7 as well; you suck. You play the same crap every single day and it's incredibly annoying, why not switch it up a little bit? Do you really need permission from artists/labels/radio program directors to play something DIFFERENT, even if it's on the same album as other singles? Of course I would hate the radio being the rap die hard/hip hop head that I am... we're supposed to hate it.
I like to think I use the blog for good (or try too, maybe I'm not at that level yet), and I definitely have to speak on something I believe needs attention. Killer Mike made an appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher recently and discussed the events of Ferguson along with free trade, the declination of Christianity among the youth, and multiple other things.
Is Killer Mike the spokesperson hip hop needs? You have to love his professionalism in handling the questions asked, and his responses draw much applause from the crowd. This, to me, is what protestors and blacks need to do to gain respect and to make headway in this mass movement of violence. If police call the National Guard to come in and break things up, it's because people aren't handling the police's actions very well (which is very much understandable), but is answering the response of violence with more violence really an effective answer? I would love not to see more people killed, no matter where it may be (I'm not exactly an activist myself, but I don't really enjoy getting on the internet and reading about riots, cars being flipped over, stores looted and people being killed, the idea of martial law gets more real with more riots). Mike also discusses racism in America and Michelle Obama's comments on it, you can checkout that video right here.
Arguably one of the most talked about and hilarious television shows of the last century, "Chappelle's Show" is still giving new comedians and actors inspiration even today (although the last episode premiered more than 10 years ago, give or take a few months). The show tackled many social issues which at the time were scary and so new to people that they were afraid to talk about some of them; except Dave Chappelle wasn't (he actually had a goal of getting canceled which is pretty funny, if you watch the first season he talks about it). But Chappelle was also a huge fan of "the hip hop music" as he says, his interest spanning from the Roots, Mos Def and Talib Kweli, and many more. So to celebrate one of my favorite shows of all time, allow me to introduce to you 5 of the best hip hop performances from "Chappelle's Show".
I apologize for the link to the video instead of the video itself, but Snoop Dogg's appearance on "Chappelle's Show" was nothing short of spectacular. Snoop performs "187" with Tyrone Biggums as his hype man... who better to help you with back up vocals? He wouldn't ask for money for the help either, probably just asked for some crack (or money, to go towards crack of course). This doesn't have anything to do with the performance, but an interesting factoid about Dave and Snoop is that Snoop has came out and said that Dave actually smokes weed better than Dr. Dre. Seriously, ask Snoop. How does one smoke BETTER? I couldn't tell you, but apparently Dave's a champ with his weed.
Big Boi
Half of Outkast also made a pretty funky appearance on "Chappelle's Show" as well. I don't know much about Big Boi besides his hits with 3 Stacks, but the song he performed on this show was exceptionally dope (song is called "The Rooster" off of Outkast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below album), and it definitely has that real musical and funk influence that Outkast was known for around this era. It's too bad they both don't see eye to eye now...
Kanye West + Common
This performance is nothing short of dope just like all the other ones, especially considering the fact that this is before Kanye West really blew up. This isn't the last time that Common and Kanye link up though, because Kanye also brings Common on stage in the movie Dave Chappelle's Block Party (ironically enough, which J. Cole made a very brief appearance in as a fan in the crowd, seriously you can find it online). In an interview last year with Jimmy Fallon, Dave had a funny story about why he knew Kanye was going to be one of the greats as well, and you can peep that here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4SYIfhzMmU.
Chappelle also had countless other hip hop performances on the show that you really don't think about how dope they were until you look back and actually realize... "damn, that was pretty dope" (not the most clever line I've thought up, bear with me). But the rest of this post I'm going to use to get my message out to Dave Chappelle; please come back to comedy. The games needs you. I NEED YOU. Your influence remains on the stand up and acting world still, and the world DEFINITELY still needs it now. Some comedians and entertainers are great, but none compare to you. Many today are afraid to say what you aren't afraid to say, and there is nobody that has the pull and the comedic ability to make even events like Ferguson somewhat laughable and enjoyable for people (which I saw you did in your stand up somebody taped on their phone and put on YouTube, go find it if you're curious, it's from 2014). Dave, you have the ability and the comedic timing the be one of the most well known and funny people who ever lived, and also make people smile in a world so full of negative, bleak world war and violence. Please consider how you make people feel. Thank you,
Geff
Yelawolf... who is he really? Can you say you really know him just from listening to some trunk banging tracks he's put out in the past? His mix tape Trunk Muzik has defined him as an artist, because when people think of Yelawolf, this is the era that people think of, but is it possible for Yela to move past this and create a new identity for himself? Yelawolf weighed in on what his newest album Love Story was supposed to tackle in terms of subject matter, plus how he felt he was "filling in the blanks" with it below (also features some hilarious Eminem tidbits). If you're reading and you're as sharp as I believe you are (which I know my readers always are, come on now), you'll have noticed that I title this "my completely unbiased album review." That's because I am reviewing this album with no previous experience listening to Yelawolf's music. Now this could be bad based on putting the music out of context, but I see it as a "more honest" way to review this album, which means if I liked it and haven't heard any Yelawolf before, you'd definitely be a fan with no past listening experience of Yelawolf. Now let's get to the reviewing.
(This definitely doesn't sum up the album, continue reading to find out if Yela finds his sound for real.)
"Outer Space".... how to speak about this song in language that mere mortals can understand? Definitely an interesting start to the album, as it starts with a skit of what sounds like Yelawolf rolling up somewhere in a truck (apparently somewhere out in the middle of nowhere), and being abducted by... someone. Does this mean Yelawolf is rapping about being abducted? Could this mean that Yelawolf is otherworldly and the only ones able to keep up are legit aliens? You could assume both of these (whatever floats your boat), but some fast-paced and funky production are backed by some sweet ending vocals from Yela on this intro. Yelawolf claims "I'm not out of place, I'm from outer space" on this one, and it's hard to argue.
Being an Alabama native was going to make for some real southern-influenced music on his second LP, and "Change" is a track that mirrors this perfectly. Losing your way and having to find it all over again is something many people are too familiar with, and "Change" is a song that puts this feeling into such relatable perspective for many people, black or white. From my point of view, listening to "Change" made Yelawolf relatable to me, and if I weren't a fan before, this track certainly peaked my interest.
"American You" is another track that spoke to me on a personal level, mostly because this one attacks the every day lives of average American citizens, aka "American You." Talks of going to church, getting tattoos and even getting married, Yelawolf sums up the American life style today so well with this track, and the hook singing "fuck you too" in such a polite way also sums up the passive aggressive lives of Americans' who couldn't really do what they wanted to with their lives. This song really makes you think about working hard, taking the chances you get and not wasting them for sure. All around great message from Yelawolf once you get past the every day negative mindset that we Americans so often perceive.
I already did a post mentioning "Til It's Gone" way back when it was featured in one of the season finales for "Sons Of Anarchy", and it certainly fits well when you think of the losses and circumstances you have to deal with being in a biker gang like the Sons. I've never seen "Sons Of Anarchy", but "Til It's Gone" even seems like it could fit the bill of "Breaking Bad" when it was still running, with all of the losses and circumstances old Heisenberg himself had to deal with, although I like the western vibe "Til It's Gone" gives you when you first hear it, definitely not a song you first think of when you think rap or hip hop, job well done pushing the boundaries by Yelawolf on that one.
Then comes "Devil In My Veins." This song is not just one that comes and goes based on popular opinion, no "Devil In My Veins" is not a song you play once and understand what Yelawolf is talking about, "Devil In My Veins" is the song that shows Yelawolf finding his very unique sound not just as a rapper, but as an artist (because this song could very easily classify as some old rock or country music). "Devil In My Veins" is that song that you hear that sounds so familiar, yet you can't quite place your finger on what it sounds like, maybe not because it sounds familiar, but because it sounds too good to not have something like it made before. It's too hard to tell whether Yela is venting about the industry or the bottle based on his deep songwriting in this song, I'll leave it to the peeps to try and understand what this one's really about. Bottom line: "Devil In My Veins" is a highlight of this album and is more than just hip hop; it's great music.
(*I do not own these songs, videos, or the rights to any of them*)
"Best Friend" is another highlight of the album, and not just because of the crazy Eminem feature, but because the concept behind it is an interesting way to think about what Yelawolf is talking about in the song. In his verses Yelawolf talks about church and the "father, son, and holy spirit" (which he talks about a lot of religion on the album for claiming not to be religious). Is Yelawolf venting about the struggles of the industry on this track? My guess is yes (although I've always been a conspiracy theorist), Yelawolf's supposed only "Best Friend" at this point might be religion, or in other words, getting right with God after all the sins you supposedly commit in the music industry. It's an all around great song though, and is definitely a thought provoking track, not to mention it boasts a crazy Eminem verse.
Yelawolf's struggle with alcoholism is such a key concept in Love Story that the title of the album might as well define Yelawolf's relationship with the bottle. No I'm absolutely kidding of course, though the alcoholism does play a key part in Yelawolf's growing process. "Empty Bottles" is a great example of this, and the story told throughout almost defines an alcoholic's attitude and mood swings. From verse 1 to verse 3 (verse 3 being the angry, mood swinging version), "Empty Bottles" is definitely that thought provoking message you were looking for if you see Yelawolf as an honest rapper, and it succeeds in making you think about the devils of alcohol. In "Tennessee Love" Yela also has a key line that says it all; his "withdrawals from alcohol" line proves his concept of his drinking habits getting the best of him throughout the album, though the song is more a homage to Tennessee and the many things to do in it.
"Box Chevy V" and "Love Story" might be my 2 favorite tracks on this album. Yelawolf sounds as if he's in his most comfortable element, he practically blends into each of these tracks like a chameleon. "Love Story" has such a pump up vibe to it, with each drum hammering into your ears (because listening in your headphones is the only way to do this song justice) is a special feeling you only get from specific songs from your favorite artists. Yelawolf sounds like he's leaving from where he's at for good and never coming back (if I could place the vibe you get from this song, this is how I'd describe it). "Box Chevy V" has such an old school bumping vibe to it. I'm a fan of Big K.R.I.T, and this song sounds as if in's in the same general ballpark as a song like "Lac Lac." Yelawolf shows his ability to make bumping songs (Trunk Muzik) with "Box Chevy V" and it is awesome.
Other songs like 'Disappear" and "Have A Great Flight" have a definitive country sound that Yelawolf blends so perfectly with his rap abilities. I actually thought I was listening to a Johnny Cash song when I first heard the music to "Have A Great Flight.". To say this listening to a rap song is not exactly the first thought you expect you'll get. The feeling you get listening to some of these Yelawolf songs is crazy, I felt like I grew up 10 more years just from listening to "Til It's Gone", "Devil In My Veins", "Love Story", and you definitely feel the growing process Yelawolf is going through in "Disappear."
So does Yelawolf's sophomore LP live up to the hype? I would certainly say he did his thing, and his thing only, because I haven't heard any type of rap that sounds this different musically, the instrumentation and musical prowess Yelawolf shows is only comparable to B.o.B on a musical level (that is if Yelawolf actually played the instruments himself). The country vibe is something you don't even get from the absolute most southern rappers out there, the likes of Big K.R.I.T, Ludacris, or Nelly couldn't make anything like this in their primes. Yelawolf's ability to not only completely combine 3 different genres (hip hop, rock, country) of music, but to also make them sound good is a fresh breathe of air to a repetitive genre (arguably). Yelawolf's album is certainly not for everybody, though if you have an open mind of the future of hip hop, Love Story is certainly worth the listen, and this is all based off of my first real listen of a full length project from Yelawolf. So what's next for Yela? I certainly wouldn't mind tuning in to see.
