Glenn Beck Moves On

So, Glenn Beck won't be on Fox anymore. I only have one thing to say to that.

peace.

The First Hip Hop?

A few nights ago I stumbled upon this.

These cats were named The Jubalaires. They were a gospel group active during the '40s and '50s. You can look up some their information here.

Who knows the first instance of someone performing in a way we recognize as rapping. It was probably way before we had the ability to record it. However, I'm still fascinated by the similarity between what these cats were doing and the way hip hop is performed today. Concepts of syncopation, meter, addition and subtraction of syllables are all very much on display in this video. In fact, other than the subject matter, this sense of hip hop performance communicates an almost identical feel to early hip hop artists like Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and Kurtis Blow.

All we need now is Kanye to sample it. I mean, he did do "Jesus Walks."

peace.

Resonances of Malcolm

I've had a couple of instances in the last few days that have reminded me how much the ideas and words of Malcolm X have shaped my view of the world.

The first was the news surrounding the untimely death of Columbia University professor Manning Marable. (See here for an excerpt.) Dr. Marable succumbed to complication of pneumonia on April 1st, two days before the publishing of his biography of Malcolm called Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention. I actually have a friend that has been taking Dr. Marable's class this semester. From the stories I've heard from her, he was quite an individual and extremely dedicated to communicating his truth and experience of Malcolm's work.

The other was this eight minute recording of Malcolm being interrogated by agents of the FBI.

I think the most impressive thing about this recording is Malcolm's complete confidence of thought in defiance of the most intimidating and infamous branch of the United States Government. The Federal Bureau of Investigation scares everyone; I'm certain that's by design. Like Germany's Gestapo and Russia's KGB, the FBI carries a history and aura of unwarranted clandestineness and questionably legal and political morality. So for Malcolm X to sit in a room with two of their agents and respond as coolly and masterfully as he does in this recording is nothing short of brilliance.

I really wish I could have seen him in person. Perhaps I was born in the wrong era.

peace.

Holmes, smell ya' later!

Do you know the words to this?

I'm willing to bet you do.

In fact, I have a hypothesis about this. I wholeheartedly believe these are the most well-known rap lyrics in the history of hip hop. I've lived four states and two countries and spent significant time in many of the major cities in North America, and never have I come across someone who doesn't know at least half of this.

Now, before posting tonight, I had a wonderful debate with my homie Marcel (who also gave me some revisions for the No Wack Verses Club). He reckons that "Rapper's Delight" by Sugarhill Gang is more well known, especially the first chorus and verse of the song.

The conversation eventually shifted towards the significance of hip hop culture in the shaping of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air's narrative. But I think the jury is still out on the original premise as to which song is more well known.

I'll say this. "Rapper's Delight" came out at a time when hip hop wasn't really heard outside of a 50 miles radius of New York. And yes, it was the first hip hop track to get substantial airplay, but its entrance into the collective consciousness didn't really happen until about 10 years ago. In fact, it took an old white lady covering "Rapper's Delight" in the 1998 film The Wedding Singer before mainstream America realized how much they'd been affected by this song's success.

Conversely, The Fresh Prince theme was a much more immediate influence on how American pop culture viewed hip hop. Many people who had very little exposure to hip hop culture were able to tune in to this show and witness a relatively accurate (though extremely non-threatening) sample of the hip hop perspective. That peek into something new and unknown is one of the foundational aspects that allowed the show to be so successful. People who had never known any rap songs at least knew the words to The Fresh Prince theme. That was their way in.

One day I'll figure out a way to test this scientifically. How would I do that?

P.S. I think Ms. Jackson by OutKast and Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-a-Lot are up there, too. People in Louisiana flying confederate flags play those at tailgating parties. Crazy.

peace.

No Wack Verses Club

About a year ago my friend Marcel and I got into a conversation about emcees we thought had never performed a wack verse (a poorly written rhyme for the uninitiated). It's a difficult concept to gauge. We all have our own sense of poetic excellence; not all emcees will appeal to all people. However, I think the most appropriate way to evaluate this topic is by comparing an emcee to the best examples of his or her work.

All rappers have one or two instances in their careers in which most of their fans agree to be defining moments. Many Kanye West fans feel his ability was most palpable on the Late Registration album. Nas fans will more often than not refer to his lyrical mastery peaking at Illmatic. You see the trend. To ascertain an emcee's consistency, I use their perceived artistic peak as a measuring stick for the rest of their catalogs.

Here I have an ever evolving list of emcees who I feel belong in the No Wack Verses Club. If you have any to add or take away, get at me and we'll discuss it.

But yea, I've never heard anyone listed below kick a wack verse. Ever.

Black Thought

Joell Ortiz

Jean Grae

Elzhi

Andre 3000

Big Boi

MF Doom

Phonte of Little Brother

Bahamadia

Lauryn Hill

Royce da 5' 9"

peace.

notice: updated 4/4 due to spirited conversation with my homie Marcel

Emcee of the Month: Joell Ortiz

Way back in September of last year, Joell Ortiz was the seed from which the idea of this blog grew. I was on one of my usual youtube cruises when I came upon this:

Immediately I copied the link and stuck it in an email to my homie Marcel. My exact message to him was, "[Joell Ortiz is] my rap hero for the month of September." His reply was, "Yes, [Ortiz] is in the no-wack-verses club." (So far, the club consists of Joell and Black Thought. We'll get into that soon.)

Joell's combination of pure joy and unapologetic aggression is undeniably engaging. He rhymes like he's having the time of life. So now that Emcee of the Month is up and running it's only right I revisit Joell and his astonishing sense of hip hop. I can't wait to share some of the wonderfully provocative gems he's given to the culture.

peace.

Vancouver Trek

This week I found out I'll be heading back to Vancouver to serve as an associate instructor at Canada's National Voice Intensive, (check this) and I feel like I've won the lottery or something. As I've mentioned here before (here!), my experience at the Intensive has immensely influenced the way I approach my practice of theatre. As I told someone in conversation recently, I think CNVI is the closest thing to a pilgrimage I'll ever have in my life.

It's a pilgrimage of practicality, mind you. I think there is a stigma that exists in the world of theatrical education that views voice teachers as the pseudo-shamans of actor training. Supposedly, we are closer to spiritual healers than acting teachers, who pass off our work as a form of quasi-ethereal enlightenment or awakening rather than functional artistic awareness.

For the Intensive, nothing could be further from the truth. The work there is designed for professional actors or actors in training who desire a "re-inspiration" ("re" meaning "again", "inspire" meaning "breathe in") of their work. The practice gives the participants a way to reliably access the wealth of their actor energies with a repeatable, yet malleable, progression of voice and text explorations. And yes, it's true some of the work can have therapeutic resonances, but the foundational purpose is, and has always been actor training.

I just ordered a few books that I'll be needing for the Intensive and I'm making plans to let my cat live with my parents for the month. I don't know how my blog will function while I'm there; my access to internet will be limited. But I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

We'll have a new Emcee of the Month tomorrow! YEEEEEEEEAAA SON!!!

peace.