Once upon a time in a universe far, far away, HipHopDX used to host blogs. Through Meka, Brillyance, Aliya Ewing and others, readers got unfiltered opinions on the most current topics in and beyond Hip Hop. After a few years, a couple redesigns and the collective vision of three different Editors-In-Chief, blogs are back. Well, sort of. Since our blog section went the way of two-way pagers and physical mixtapes, Twitter, Instagram and Ustream have further accelerated the pace of current events in Hip Hop. Rappers beef with each other 140 characters at a time, entire mixtapes (and their associated artwork) can be released via Instagram, and sometimes these events require a rapid reaction.
As such, we’re reserving this space for a weekly reaction to Hip Hop’s current events. Or whatever else we deem worthy. And the “we” in question is me, Andre Grant and Ural Garrett. Collectively we serve as HipHopDX’s Features Staff. Aside from tackling stray topics, we may invite artists and other personalities in Hip Hop to join the conversation. Without further delay, here’s this week’s “Stray Shots.”
What Does Travi$ Scott’s Refusal To Be Called Hip Hop Mean?
Andre: Travi$ Scott calling himself niche or quirky is one thing, but not calling himself Hip Hop at all is maddening. I’m not sure what not trying to be boxed in creatively means, but it’s something that people have been throwing around with serious faces for a while now. Like using the words “curate” or “diaspora,” being “boxed in” has acquired new meaning over the course of time. Either way I don’t care for it, though. You can’t just exonerate yourself from Hip Hop when you feel like it. Especially when, in the next breath, you talk about Hip Hop like it’s the air you breathe. It reminds me of when Kanye said, dealing with great personal distress, that he wanted to move beyond being at the top of Hip Hop pile and be on the top of the artist pile. That kind of admission has a slight difference: its reference is not of the music. It’s how the culture at large views a bunch of people they’d long wanted to get rid of create another immensely popular musical platform, and trying not to let that culture spread. It’s cultural redlining, if you will, and wanting to escape that is not only admirable it’s a fight for freedom. Just dipping out of Hip Hop, though, because you think other emcees are dicks is just fraught with contradiction. Whatever. He’s dating Rihanna and I’m not.
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Ural: Hip Hop is fairly old at this point. And, it’s literally everywhere. Yesterday, while battling a really bad sinus attack, I stuck to the bed in a drug filled haze watching this fairly ridiculous show on Disney Channel called Dog With A Blog. It was fairly funny as well. Keeping things simple, it’s about a dog who lives with a human family and has a popular blog. Let’s just say Dog With A Blog is in the same vein as Alfie. Nope, I can’t make this stuff up. Staying on point, the episode I watched involved the family beatboxing and attempting to rap in a way that was self-aware and cringe-worthy in how awful they sounded. The scene was also a great indicator of how mainstream Hip Hop has become over the years. No longer the new kid in high school able to successfully maneuver around the social ladder, the culture itself is a senior who everyone is envious of, has the baddest chick and probably sports a lettermen’s jacket. Maybe Hip Hop just became too cool or even lost its way in being at the top.
Add the influence of the Internet generation and it’s not surprising why someone like Travi$ Scott would find themselves wanting to be removed from that conversation. These new artists truly hate to be boxed in creatively. In Scott’s case, he seems more concerned with being remembered as a producer, if anything. Looking at his debut Rodeo, it’s a hybrid of a wide range of sounds that many felt didn’t blended too well together. Regardless, the nucleus of Scott’s career will always be based in Hip Hop considering his ties to T.I. and Kanye West. An interesting question that came to mind during his interview with French outlet Clique is what exactly about today’s “rap niggas” does he find corny? Past the pretty good production, he doesn’t do much vocally outside of anything one would hear on radio in my opinion. That includes sing-songy hooks, auto-tune, chanting and everything else in between. Then there’s the fact that Rodeo is fairly feature heavy with rappers from Chief Keef, Young Thug and Schoolboy Q to West himself. Though Scott sounds as if he doesn’t want to artistically settle with perceived notions of Hip Hop, he’s not alone. This is just how the internet works.
Why Is “Trap” Music So Alluring?
Ural: The history of black music has always been about social outsiders giving up on mainstream acceptance before the inevitable happens. Jazz was dubbed “jungle music” for years before the smooth sounds caught on. Some could say the same for what would eventually become modern R&B and Rock. Here we are today with Hip Hop’s currently popular phenomenon, trap. For those out of the Southern rap loop, Trap has technically existed for decades at this point. Hell, the first time I heard the term was on OutKast’s greatest instrumental, “SpottieOttieDopaliscious,” from their Aqueminialbum during Big Boi’s spoken word section. Within the context of his narrative, he used Trap to describe a socio-economical situation many poor and disenfranchised blacks have historically become fairly familiar with in regards to a systemic cocktail of unemployment, drugs and guns. Sonically, the Hip Hop subgenre is the evolution of crunk, which was highly popularized by Memphis outlet Three 6 Mafia. Having Atlanta as the epicenter of Southern rap, the area capitalized on the sonic premise to what many know as trap today. Add technology to the mix and it’s fairly easy to understand exactly why someone with a lack of opportunities would want to partake in the movement.
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Like Hip Hop, trap is also starting to make its way into other genres and creative outlets as well. Hell, the most radio friendly single from Kendrick Lamar’s Godzilla of an album, To Pimp A Butterfly, is the jazz/trap fusion “Alright.” On the other side of the spectrum, this year’s greatest breakout story in rap was Fetty Wap’s “Trap Queen.” In the middle of that is everything from Migos to Young Thug. But, why do the masses enjoy the concept of trap? It’s fairly easy. For the poor and disenfranchised, it’s the best and most cost effective way in the Internet world to express the pain, anger, frustration and aspirations of the hood. Those with a clear knowledge of that context have no problem relating. Plus, there’s nothing like some kicking 808s. Everyone else outside of that understanding are probably attracted to the pure chaos, degeneracy and modern punk rock appeal the music articulates. Sure, it’s easy to pass trap off as a fad because of its simplistic nature. However, if history repeats itself, white America will probably take it and say they invented it anyway. By then, another movement will probably spring from a currently unknown location and will be treated as unintelligent or nonsense before the cycle repeats itself yet again.
Andre: While my cohort above tends to lean to the side of open-armed acceptance and understanding, I’m a crotchety old guy that thinks there’s more to life. That’s not to say the thing is immature or anything. In fact, trap has created some of the best Hip Hop moments of the last few years. OT Genasis turned the term “I got baking soda” into opera. Migos continues to reinvent the way I look at professors and Future’s music is from a tongue-tied, alternate dimension where all the genre’s come together in a lean tinged rainbow. Shoot, “March Madness” may somehow be a conscious-trap masterpiece. Still, it may have just had it’s run. People are starting to parody, and while the folks from ATL, Georgia are some of the most creative in the world the exuberance is being smacked out of the sub-genre by oversaturation. Plus, let’s not act like all the trap coming out is good. Most of it is a jumbled, what the hell is that mess.
With that said, turning up in the club has become more important than ever. It’s literally the only time most people get offline these days. One of the rare moments when it’s okay to actually be in the moment. And trap embodies that as much as any other sub-genre of Hip Hop ever has. So it’s allure is that allows you to connect with someone else. Look into their eyes and shit. See their soul or whatever. Because the web has most of us trapped, and the romance of things, of life must come from somewhere.
Andre Grant is an NYC native turned L.A. transplant that has contributed to a few different properties on the web and is now the Features Editor for HipHopDX. He’s also trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot. Follow him on Twitter @drejones.
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Ural Garrett is a Los Angeles-based journalist and HipHopDX’s Senior Features Writer. When not covering music, video games, films and the community at large, he’s in the kitchen baking like Anita. Follow him on Twitter @Uralg.
