On Tue, 21 Nov 1995, Moran wrote:
quoted 4 lines Yeah... I am disappointed with most rap artists now a days.. There just>
> Yeah... I am disappointed with most rap artists now a days.. There just
> is not the innovation. I used to be heavily into rap.. but the
> exploration just ceased to be there density wise..
I think the rap scene has become slow to innovate the last couple of
years.
_Fear of a Black Planet_ in spots had reached maximum density. Everyone
including Public Enemy pulled back density-wise. It seems to me what's
been happening the last couple of years, first, is the more explicit
integration of the stripped-down 70's funk sound, as in Dr. Dre
productions. I think Paris did a far better job on _Guerilla Funk_ even
if it might suggest a bit of bandwagon-jumping. Especially in light of
his excellent _The Devil Made Me Do It_ (90?) and _Sleeping With the
Enemy_ (92?) which are thick and dark sample-collage ala Bomb Squad but
with his own clear identity.
Two other notable arists are Cypress Hill and Wu Tang Clan. Cypress Hill,
for better or worse, are responsible for the whole blunt/cheeba thing far
as I can tell. Muggs' production is stripped down, solidly in control of
atmosphere. It's not just about how complex the rhythms are. I think the
scene went back to the original idea about rhythm and poetry, and ended up
going back to the old-school beats but changing the kind of samples and
sounds used on top.
That's where Wu Tang Clan come in. There's the debut _Enter the Wu-Tang
(36 Chambers)_. Very stripped down but surprising samples, unbelievable
funk and an atmosphere you can truly feel. Method Man, Ol' Dirty
Bastard, Raekwon and Genius/GZA have solo albums out. Method Man's is
pretty tight and wigged. Ol' Dirty Bastard's includes various interludes
and spoken segments, samples from all over, leans toward the comic.
Raekwon's is tough, wise, smart and way funky. Genius/GZA's is probably
the darkest but ultimately full of hope.
Public Enemy's output has been disappointing the last few years. A Tribe
Called Quest took a step backwards on their last release. Naughty by
Nature were never the innovators but they've become completely uninspired.
Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg, sorry to say, are in business to sell
themselves to a wide (white) audience as some kind of gun-totin'
bitch-slappin' n***as, which frankly insults my intelligence. (I'm white
if you think it matters.) But hip-hop (along with techno) is really the
mining ground for the future of pop and dance music, even if the scene is
a little slow at the moment.
--Mark Kolmar