Thursday, March 26, 2009

Is it just me or is alot of hip hop starting to get boring?? It probably is just me... Ive always been the person people cant relate with, the outcast in most groups hahaha. My homeboy Openmic would be pissed at me for sayin this lol but hey, in the words of 3 stacks, "Im just bein honest" But really I think what it is, its that my music likes, influences, and interests are continuously evolving and expanding to more than hip hop.

I was raised on Gospel, contemporary christian, and jazz, so thats my foundation: God and the complexity of melodies, rhythms, chords, and the theory/science of music.

Middle school was when I really got into hip hop, so thats my heart: ill lyricism, heavy beats, and the overall history and impact of rap on african american and all of pop culture.

And when I got to Belmont University, I really got into literally everything else (minus country haha), so thats my evolution: studying and appreciating the art of making a great song in any genre, the the perfection and clarity of good engineering and production, and clever songwriting.

In high school, I was all hip hop.... nothing else. Roots, Talib, Yeezy, Jay, etc etc. My main goal was to bring real hip hop back!!! Nothing more nothing less, I had absolutely no diversity in music, besides my jazz and gospel roots.

When I got to college I really began to appreciate the differences of other genres such as the history, development, and culture of folk, rock, techno, pop, etc etc. The first "diverse" song I did was playing a saxophone solo on a folk song freshman year. Lol it was DIFFERENT but I loved it. And thats how the seed got planted. I havent been in the most "hip hop" atmosphere with me not being at an HBCU and being exposed to so many other genres here. And I'm forever grateful for that.

My sound now has evolved into a reflection of my influences:

Norwegian singer/songwriter Sondre Lerche
Sri Lankan superstar M.I.A.
UK Electronica singer/producer Calvin Harris

And the list goes on.

So thats why I say hip hop is boring sometimes to me. Dont get me wrong, I LOVE HIP HOP... I AM HIP HOP... Im a PRODUCT of HIP HOP MUSIC AND CULTURE. But Im forever on a quest to grow musically, lyrically, spiritually, conceptually, culturally, etc.... and hip hop ALONE no longer satisfies that. And thats why lately Ive been on a search to get my inspirational fix in other places than just rap music. Rap is my home, my heart, my main influence, and my comfort zone in music. I can always depend on hip hop, so its been such a challenge for me to branch outside of that and expand my musical repertoire. As a result, I'm a more well versed, well rounded artist, and able to not only appeal to a wider fan base, but also able to relate with fans of other genres. Ill kick it with somebody in a second and chat it up about Drake's new mixtape, and in the same day discuss with another friend Chromeo's CRAZY Electronica vibe.

Music is the universal language, and Im tryna to be multilingual lol. Im very happy in the direction I'm maturing musically and I'm always open to learn about and check out a great artist. Hit me up if its somebody u think I need to check out, im all ears lol

ANYWAY, its late... and i still aint done any homework..... and the Tyra show is on and its pissin me off, but im too lazy to get the remote...

oh, and if u dont know him, get up on your Sondre Lerche game... dude is ridiculous


Sondre Lerche - Phantom Punch

PEACE

Labels: calvin harris, chromeo, hip hop, m.i.a., sondre lerche

11:39 PM

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