Since we've been discussing the L.A. Underground Scene, I've decided to take a look at the acclaimed L.A. record label, Stones Throw. The label was founded in 1996 by legendary DJ/producer Peanut Butter Wolf. Since its beginnings, the label has released music from such names as MF Doom, Dam-Funk, Mayer Hawthorne, and J Dilla.
I find that the records on this label take a completely different approach to underground hip hop than Living Legends and Murs song we watched in class. For one, they are mainly beat focused songs, with little or no attention to lyricism. The songs themselves are also heavily sample based, usually using old soul and jazz records as a stepping stone to the beats.
When the songs do have lyrics, they are usually highly different than those you'd hear in a normal hip-hop song, or even a typical underground hip-hop song for that matter. Check out Madvillain's (composed of MF Doom and Madlib) track Figaro.
It should be obvious how different this sounds from the other underground hip-hop we have listened to. For one, the lyrics, which don't have any sort of message and are also not trying to boast or prove anything. They are just simply absurdist. Also, certain sounds in the beats seem to only appear in tracks by producers on Stones Throw.
Stones Throw should be noted for their artistic and advanced take on the underground hip-hop genre. They show that hip-hop doesn't have to be a way of expressing oneself through bragging and maximilist beats, but rather a sound that can be created through crisp beats and avant garde lyricism.
RIP Dilla
I agree that Dilla and Madvillain take a creative, advanced approach with their music, but I think it does have a message. What I take from Madvillainy is that everyone has an inner villain, an inexplicable desire to walk on the wild side, which helps relate people who are framed as villains to be better understood. I really appreciate this genre of rap, as well, because the content is comparable to a lot of hip hop, but the lyricism, wordplay, and depth is perfectly blended to create music that serves purpose as a backdrop to life, as an outlook.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I really like how DOOM plays with not only the lyricism of his rhymes, but also, as you said leo, how they SOUND. DOOM's words seem to build off each other, almost seeming part of the music itself rather than a verse over it.
ReplyDeleteHis words are like another percussion on top of the beat. This is why I think DOOM fits a little better into the project blowed scene more than Living Legends might. Rather than having a distinct message (though not saying folks rapping at project blowed didn't), DOOM and Blowed are focused more on lyrical boasting, interacting with the crowd, and sounding just really fucking good.