What, a 40 minute interval in my day where I don’t have
something planned?! Write for pleasure? Yes, please.
I’ll try to do something that I haven’t done before, and
that is writing about music on here. I spend more time looking backwards for
good music then I do trying to identify the next big thing. There haven’t been
many experiences where I actively look for new music, as I mostly rely on other
people to recommend music for me. Thus, my iTunes catalog isn’t updated and I
still have music on my iPod from 2005-2006. (I also don’t download music,
either, so that doesn’t help with the updating the music catalog thing).
But I lived with a roommate last year, Jake, and music was
one of his greatest pleasures. The kid scoured websites, reading critics,
learning about set lists, and typically listening to some of the most eclectic
shit I have ever heard. Which was awesome. I actually think I’m a better person
for it: I listened to much more music as a result, and one of the passions that
he left me with was a greater appreciation for hip hop and rap (he’s on
internship in MD, so sadly his impact on me has diminished a bit). As a result,
I spent most of the summer exploring two artists that I had always liked but
had never fully listened to: Kanye West and OutKast.
I think it’s impossible to be our age and not have some sort
of appreciation for these two artists (even if you think ‘Ye is an asshole*).
High school and camp dances were not complete unless a rendition of “Hey Ya” or
“The Way You Move” was played, and I definitely heard a fair bit of “Stronger”
and “Flashing Lights” at Colby. But my appreciation for either of the two
didn’t grow until I groovesharked their albums and read further in depth about
the two*.
There are certainly big distinctions in the stylings of ‘Ye
and ‘Kast, but both are rightly praised for lyrics that are embedded with
double meanings, entendre, humor, and thoughtfulness, while the songs push
creative limits with their beats and samples. Most of my associations for hip
hop or rap, previously, were generally limited women, guns, drugs, and general
thuggery. But I find myself compelled to listen to albums like ATLiens or The College Dropout to pick up nuances and themes on my second
go-round that I do not hear in hip-hop songs that reach the mainstream radio.
While Kanye is still relevant and putting out damn good
music (e.g., “To the World,” a huge and hilarious middle-finger collaboration
with R. Kelly), OutKast, as a collective, has been out of the scene for a long
time. OutKast, of course, is/was composed of Big Boi and Andre 3000. And while
they were at the height of their popularity, most critics were actually
heartbroken. To many, the double album was a reflection of how the two were
growing apart. Speakerboxxx/The Love
Below brought the group lots of popularity, but the album featured very
little collaboration during the actual songs (“Roses” is one of the few where
they both work together and happens to be my favorite from the bunch… It also
inspired my Halloween costume, but I can explain that at another team). They
put out one more album, Idlewild,
which was conceptualized as a soundtrack for the feature film they put
together, in 2006, and there has not been a whole lot else from them, unless
they have been collaborating on songs for other groups (UGK’s “International
Players Anthem”) or for solo output that one or the other has put out (Big
Boi’s “Royal Flush”). As a result, a lot of OutKast fanatics are disappointed,
as the two were certainly the best rapping duo, ever, and they want more music
from them. But it does not look likely that they will be doing things together
as OutKast in the near future:
http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/61859/how-a-razor-is-keeping-andre-3000-and-big-boi-apart
The article is a bit of an exaggeration, as Big Boi
clarified that there wasn’t an issue between the both of them and that he
always welcomes working with Dre. Yet I think their dynamic becomes even more
compelling after hearing a song like this:
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/14613-sorry-ft-andre-3000/
To give some context, Big Boi is expecting to drop his
second solo album (his first one, Sir
Lucious Left Foot, was bomb), while 3000 has been concentrating on other
things (acting, collaborating, producing) and has never dropped a solo album of
his own. This is disappointing, for many reasons, for OutKast fans. As I stated
before, as a combo, rap has never seen anything like these two together. But
based on individual merits, some people would consider Andre a tad superior and
up there with some of the best MCs ever.
So Andre decides to use the song as an opportunity to
apologize to his other rapping-half. 3000’s
verses are pretty fucking spectacular in this song. Not only does he
acknowledge that he’s been holding back (or rather, has run away from the
spotlight), but he is also reflective about his past relationship with Erykah
Badu, the mother of his son. Or, you could take it as an extended metaphor
about his previous relationship with rapping. Your choice, but brilliant either
way.
Another thought that I take from the song reminded me of a
Ted podcast I listened to that explored the concept of genius. Elizabeth
Gilbert (of Eat, Pray, Love, which I
haven’t read…) talks about genius how the Greeks and Romans conceptualized it.
We conceptualize genius as coming and going, and once having achieved or
produced something genius that we have to live up to that moniker (in other
words, something that is attained and maintained). Genius, in the Greek or
Roman mindset, was a mischievous entity that would hang out or ditch artists at
work. It was up to the artist to keep plowing through, and “genius” would come
hang out as long as you were putting your effort/your half of it into it.
Could it be that Big Boi is working through and finding his
genius (and consequently, producing awesome new music)? Is Andre having a more
difficult time of living up to the lofty expectations of him and choosing to
explore something else?
Whatever the answer may be, my music listening life has been
improved by listening to OutKast. Count me among those people that now long for
more OutKast. In the meantime, I’ll happily consume whatever each individual
produces, because these two are still incredible.
*I’m thinking about our trip down to Tahoe, Allie.
**Also, much thanks to Jess and Isaac for Grooveshark and
jamming out in the apartment Senior year to your playlists. It’s an awesome
website.
