The Year In Rap: 2014

Another year goes by, another roller coaster ride of rappity rap is put in the books, and more New Years resolutions are going to be made that probably won't pan out to be followed as planned (I however am planning to listen to little to no amount of music from Rae Sremmurd, so far I've kept my promise and it's not even the new year, isn't that amazing?). From elevator fights over who knows what to the incredible rise of one of the hottest new rappers out, to rap reaching new levels of fan interaction and battle rap pummeling it's way into the mainstream, 2014 was absolutely filled with excitement. Where do we even begin?

In terms of albums being released, J. Cole has seemingly owned the year, and just within the last month of it all. Cole had only announced his 2014 Forrest Hills Drive this November and it has without a doubt been the most interesting story in rap, quite possibly in all of music this year. With little to no promotion for the actual album itself, Cole still made headlines over the incredibly humble moves he made involving his fans this year, hosting events like album listening sessions at his own house, random stops at events and performing for fans, and there was even one instance where Cole showed up to a fan's house to give out signed copies of the album, take pictures and even hang out with the fan for a little bit. To top it all off Cole's newest release has just recently been certified gold by the RIAA, and it's certainly well deserved. Other successful album releases included Nicki Minaj, Eminem, Royce Da 5'9, and Kevin Gates even charted with a specially released mix tape.

(Cole performed his song "Be Free" on Letterman to promote not the new album, but the recent Ferguson violence and Erick Sermon's death by chokehold. His sweatshirt reads "Fuck Money Spread Love" in logos. Is Cole the new Tupac?)

Another huge story that took over headlines the time it had happened was the famed Beyoncé, Jay Z and Solange Knowles elevator incident. This led to jokes, memes, interview questions, and even (alleged) song lyrics talking about the matter. The story is that supposedly Solange got very angry at Jay Z (why, nobody knows, she might have been drunk) and the surveillance video shows Solange continuously punching and kicking Jay Z while he just stood there and took it (like a man should of course). Was Solange trying to stand up for her sister?  Could Jay really have cheated on Beyoncé?  Was Solange in need of money and did Jay just tell her to go start her own label?  All of these could have been plausible questions that still nobody has any answers for. Check out the surveillance video below.

Iggy Azalea had an absolutely huge year as well, and it's hard to deny that she got massive attention even if you don't like her music, but the attention was hot one second then cold the next. Her constant beef and involvement with other rappers/celebrities on social media probably wasn't the attention she was looking for, but the saying "any press is good press" comes to mind when you think of Iggy (maybe not if you're really a fan). I'm not exactly a super fan of Iggy myself, but you have to respect what she is doing and how much of a following she's built in such a short period of time. I do know that she can rap given the chance, even though The New Classic isn't the best evidence of that claim. Her huge year was more evidence of how the Grammy's overlook other truly great music though, and in terms of rap Macklemore definitely wasn't the most deserving candidate for best rap album (he even admitted it and put out an apology to Kendrick).

Macklemore's apology to Kendrick seemed to get mixed opinions and views from people, some people said Macklemore shouldn't have apologized seeing as it takes away the competitive aspect of rap, while some others gained a newfound respect for Macklemore and saw it as him "seeing the unfairness to hip hop from the Grammys." This unfairness has been a thing for quite some time now, and it became even more of a thing when Kendrick's album, Good Kid Maad City, which some people highly consider the best hip hop album of the past 20 years or so (although the word "classic" has been thrown around many more times than it should), got snubbed at the Grammy's and lost to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' The Heist. To many people The Heist wasn't even as good as any of the other nominees, which included Drake's Nothing Was The Same, Jay Z's Magna Carta Holy Grail, and Kanye West's Yeezus.

The mix tape circuit has been almost as exciting as the album circuit this year, if not more so. There are many that stand out among the best, a few that got a bunch of attention were ones like Mick Jenkins' The Waters, Kevin Gates' By Any Means, Lil B's 05 Fuck Em, and many more, but the one that garnered my attention the most had to be Mac Miller's Faces. Being a Mac hater (admittedly) since his mix tape days of course I saw this mix tape and didn't bat an eye at it at first, but I had a friend introduce me to Faces and I have to say I was immediately impressed by not just the skill, but the musical range of Mac as well. What he can do with a song is truly amazing, his production skills are almost as good as his rapping abilities, and he know how to truly entertain someone with his abstract writing ability and topics, and Faces is the absolute pinnacle of Mac's abilities. Faces doesn't seem like a mix tape at all, it seems more like an album to me, I mean why else would it not have any DJ tags?  The rumors of his being on drugs during the entire process is certainly plausible (I mean come on, have you LISTENED to it?), and his mental state is something you'd certainly worry about if what he raps about is true, it almost seems as if Mac has entered this sort of "Slim Shady" phase where he feels like he has to do drugs to draw the influence and become great. The music is great and the fans are happy, but when it comes to Mac being healthy, you have to wonder.

                                (*I do not own any of these videos, songs, or the rights to them*)      

So with the elevator fights, the crazy amount of good music, the snubbing of rap at awards shows (as usual) and so much beef you could cut it with a knife, you have to wonder what 2015 will bring. Rumors are there will be new albums from Kendrick, Drake, Kanye, Mac Miller and too many more to name, the anticipation is always there but you never know how the year will turn out until it's actually happening (or if you're like me and you really don't think about it at all until just now). Rap is constantly on the move in terms of advancement of the culture and how people see it and how seriously they take it, and I feel like there will always be that certain audience who can't take it seriously just because of the egos involved, but if you're not confident and can't take pride in what you do, then how can you say you love it?  The competition will only get better (especially as Kendrick continues to slowly slither his way back into the music scene), the music will only be top notch, and the rhymes will be so much farther ahead of us than we even know. So to end the last post of the year, allow me to leave you with some advice:  take time to enjoy your music, the times in your life, the people in your life, and the ride of what's to come. As Weezy said:  life is like a fuckin roller coaster then it drops!  Be ready for your next hill.     
         








  

Best Parody Rap Songs

I probably take a lot of stuff way too seriously. I mean it, like, seriously bro. One of these things would definitely be my music. If you start dissing my music, you better be ready to start throwing hands. One pretty cool aspect about music though is that it can bring out all sides of a person. Whether you're super happy, nervous about a particular situation, enraged and want to let off some steam, or maybe you're just down on yourself for whatever reason, music is the ultimate therapy for any and every person alike. Rap music just happens to be the bomb diggity for just about any given situation, but I thought it would be good to look at one particular type of song that stands out more than others. Without further ado, I give you the best parody rap songs (by "parody" rap songs I mean actual rap songs that may seem like a parody at this point and time, so if you're looking for Weird Al Yankovic type songs, you'll probably be disappointed). (*Disclaimer: I do not own any of these videos, songs, or the rights to them*.)

Macklemore - Thrift Shop

This dude won a Grammy for best rap album. Won a GRAMMY for BEST RAP ALBUM!! Yes, you read that correct. The guy that goes to thrift shops across the country looking for grandpa-looking strap on shoes and fluffy fur coats to go and ride on his teal colored high handle-barred bicycle. Believe in yourself kids. Anything can happen (sorry Kendrick).

Tone Loc - Funky Cold Medina

Here's a case of a short termed big time superstar that also had another big hit that you've heard of if your parents are old farts like mine, (Wild Thing) also by Tone Loc. When you're young, hip and have as good a sense for cool as it gets, this might not seem like your average everyday Drake or Wayne single, but back then this is what was in. Tone Loc was known for his mixture of rock and rap, and it's evident with the use of guitar in "Funky Cold Medina" and "Wild Thing", which are widely regarded as his 2 biggest hits.

Baby Got Back - Sir Mix-A-Lot

This list wouldn't even have been a thought if it weren't for this song. Who doesn't know this song?  I haven't heard it on the radio in quite awhile if ever, but would I be surprised if I heard it?  Absolutely not. Arguably the biggest booty anthem (and if it isn't Nicki Minaj certainly sampled it into one), you could probably put it on a list for most popular songs of all time in any genre, not just rap, this is certainly the easiest choice on this list. You could almost say this song has set the precedent for not only how people view rap, but also one of the the first songs people think of when they think of parodies.

Riff Raff - Tip Toe Wing In My Jawwdinz

If there's any dude in the rap game today that nobody takes seriously (or that I really hope you wouldn't at least), it's Riff Raff. This dude's entire career is a parody. There's no denying that he has some sort of ability to freestyle whether you respect his skills or not, and if you don't know you can check out any of his radio show freestyles (Shade 45 with Sway, etc.). The weirdest thing about Riff Raff is that he has a rare disease called synesthesia, where he is able to hear colors and smell sound (no joke, look it up if you don't know, it's actually extremely fascinating), which means he associates sounds and musical notes with different colors and smells, which could almost explain his musical voice and abilities.

Biz Markie - Just A Friend

The Biz with this jam (teehee) is pretty short and sweet. "Just A Friend" includes an incredibly catchy drum beat with an almost nursery rhyme-like piano, and Biz's voice and seemingly slurred-word rapping style just adds to the hilarity of it all. The best part is the god-awful hook Biz lays down, though. You want to say he's singing, but you almost legally can't.

You really could say that parody songs have given people a new outlook on rap. When it comes to the older jams like "Just A Friend" and "Funky Cold Medina" (or any older rap songs viewed as parodies for that matter), people may not have seen these songs as a parody at the time, but looking back they say "wow I can't believe this was big back in the day." It's certainly a growing process thinking about rap's timeline, and today is no different. The only debatable difference I see myself is that today rap is living on a much grander scale and has so much more of an influence than it did during its come up in the late 70s and 80s. You have to be able to make fun of yourself to grow properly though, and whether it seems like rap has gotten to that point yet or not, you can't argue that it's getting there. So make sure you're able to laugh and appreciate things while you can.