Jay Z and Camron

Oooooh why did my prof play a dis track that was delivered from Cam'ron to Jay Z implying that Jay Z bites all BIG's rhymes. If you were a Jayz fan, you just might have been dissapointed. However, taking one line out of a song does not got to state that the rest of the lyrical content from the rest of his eight albums or more are not worthy of the credit he receives. Its difficult for me to discuss this topic because I have never been a cam'ron fan. It just never happened for me. Kudos to Jay for responding to Cam'ron in the same manner, but what topped off Jay's response to me is when Jay points out that Cam..."killa Cam" was bitting off of him. WHat could he say then....

Women in Hip Hop

Our guest speaker Kim had a point when she stated that if there were any women in the rap game that would be able to significantly sustain herself a s a rap artist, represent for the women and still maintain her respect in the game, that person would be Lauryn Hill. It wasn't until I completed my 5 mic album review of Fugees the score that I realized Lauryn Hill was awsome. Her delivery is versitile, her flow is sick and her lyrical content can adhere to any cypher wether it be male or female. She is a very talented artist from rap to R&B. While it remains unknown if she will ever poke her head through the rap game again, I beleive that if she did and she was ready, she could definietly dominate the game or atleast be in the top 5.

Emcee VS Rapper

I think that an Emcee is a skilled lyrcist. To be an Emcee I think you should know the origin or history of your craft. An emcee is versitile. I also feel like as an emcee it is necessarry that you study your craft and research the elements that help you to improve it. An emcee is a leader. He/She posseses his own style, creativity and develops accordingly. A rapper is "in the box". A rapper seems to lack the knowledge of their craft. There is no real mission when writting the lyrics to a song. The rapper puts on a show but does not perform. An emcee does both. When an emcee is on stage, he cares about his audiences reaction and wants to be engaged in that reaction. A rapper will put on a show and will be happy with just himself being pleased with the reaction. An emcee has fans that care about their music and themselves. A rapper has fans that care about what you had on that day. THe fan of an emcee wantas to know how you connect with them. A fan of a rapper wants to know how much money you got and what you did to get it.

Learning to B-Boy

Ok so..... I thought I would experiment this weekend. I love watching Americas Best Dance Crew. (Airs again Sunday Aug, 9.....YAY!) Well... apparently my son does too. He 3yrs old. He incorporates (well trys to) the moves when he is dancing. He starts off with a regular dance and when I say "break it down!"...lol... He goes off into his "bboy" style of dancing. I mean he does it all.. he attempts the headspins and everything, not so much the popping and locking though. Too young I guess... So I was playing around with him and decided since I read some info on how to breakdance, I figured he and I should give it a try. Let me just tell you...when it comes down to the floor moves. IT ain't no joke! I could do the simple stuff but when we started trying to put one leg through another and trying to balance yourself on only your upper body...HUH! My hat goes off to the pros. I would personally suggest gymnastics first...It might help to lift weights too...lol Dont laugh at me yall.... And no I did not video tape it..lol

How I listen to HH

When I hear HH alot of factors play a part in how I listen or weither or not I listen. Mood definietly has alot to do with it. If I am energized and hype...it's a go. If Im chillin wit the fellas, that's cool. But in a down and out kind of mood, it's the last thing I wanna listen too unless the lyrics in one way or another are similar to how I feel.

When I listen to HH music, the thing that cathes me first is the beat. That's part of what makes me want give the track a chance. I usually dont focus on the words first, unless I'm in the car. Listening to rap music is something different to me in the car as opposed to listening to it while cleaning the house on a saturday morning. Riding in the car allows me to pay attention to the lyrics because that is where I am in a zone. I call it the destination zone. It's your own space, where you can cry if you want, dance if you want, recall the day or let your mind wonder....(not too far, dont wanna crash) All you care about is getting to your destination. Meanwhile, for the most part your mind is clear to focus on what has your attention at that moment other than the road, which is the music. It's something about the loud base and the treble being set just right that allows you to tune into the lyrics. It like it's the music and the words are right there right behind your ear, you have no choice but to listen. The key is listening carefully.

As I get older, because I know that what Im interested in the quality of rap lyrics, I hear more than just the beat, negative lyrics or positive. Dont get me wrong I dance and party to songs that lack the quality just like errry body else...lol But, my rap music collection has gotten smaller. Either lack of quality or im growing out of it, or both. Not sure....

Graffitti Insight

It is not so hard to understand why graffitti writers do what they do. Everything that each of us enjoy in life, for some rhyme or reason it makes us feel some type of way. For some people it may be for empowerment, self expression when you think no one is listening, etc... As stated in a portion of the "Style Wars" clip, what we enjoy doing can also give you a sense of identity or belonging. What ever it is that you enjoy, it makes you feel good or better atleast temporarily.

Youth play a major roll in graffitti writing, is it hard to belleive? Youth have the most unrespected voice. America seems to feel like youth dont know anything about life and what can they (youth) possibly teach adults whom have lived through more experiences (general). America does not give youth an opinion. I completely understand why doing graffitti would be a way of being noticed and acknowledged for their existance. It's like saying "we're here" and "what we think and feel matters".

When graffitti artist write, I look at it as a form of art when it is in the format of a burner, a piece or wild style, etc. To me that is a form of art. However, my view is a little different when it is a toy or a tag. While I understand that due to NY city laws it was the easiest way to continue doing graffitti. I do not view those two forms of graffitti as art. I view toys or tags as vandalism. In my view, there is no message or picture or creativity in tags or toys. In my view tags and toys are to be written on bathroom walls in the girls or boys bathroom.

Every morning I ride by the NATS Stadium in SW Washington DC. There is an area where new condos and high rises where just built in the past year. I cant remember the name of the street but there is a gate with boards attached to it which allows for graffitti artist to write (picture of location above). My questions is, why if someone pays you to express yourself is it then acceptable but if you do it just for the love of it and by free will it is not viewed as creative? Could that be why people dont respect HH rap music anymore? Is it because when it was done by free will and in the form of expression and delivered a tru message but not at a high paying rate that it was respectable; and now that you can make a living from it some rappers, possibly such as soulja boy and lilwayne are chasing the money from the rap game, is it no longer an art form?

Introduction

I am currently taking a class on Intro to HH. I am learning alot so far.... I knew there was history but I've def learned why it is so hard to give a definition of it or to try to say what particular dates contribute to the makings of the culture. Bring on the knowledge.