(Truth is You probably don't care, but for the sake of introductions I'd like to believe you are all scratching your scalps wondering who the hell is Randy Mason. So play along and act interested! Thank you! Now that i have your undivided attention, I'm just a kid from the Bronx who loves to write. More specifically I'm a 23 year old emcee, song writer, & freelance writer. I write for the Connex list magazine, Protege magazine, doperthanheroin.blogspot.com and now The Breezy Effect! Yes, its official, i will have a column here at TBE! I think ill call my column This That & The Third. Thanks Crystal! Aside from my artistry, I'm a proud father & husband. Hmm, What else? Guess the rest is none on your biz kid! Nah but really you can find my full bio somewhere on here as well as at my blog and myspace link www.myspace.com/randymason Any questions? Email me: rmason2185@yahoo.com)
Now lets get to business! Is it me or is there a rapidly increasing amount of young Hip Hoppers specifically emcees currently surfing the tidal wave induced by cats like Kanye West and more recently Lupe Fiasco and there main stream success?
I say more specifically "emcees" because, well that's who I'm talking about exactly actually. I'm not referring to the whole Hipster invasion. That's another story in itself. They're everywhere aren't they!? Like roaches, only they don't scatter when the lights come on. Nah, I don't have anything against the "Hipsters" its all good, I love dope kicks too. As long as that's you, and not who your trying to be for whatever reason. Williamsburg, Brooklyn stands up!!! Yeah, I know that's going to piss some people off, but that's the point.
So back to kids under the Kanye/Lupe umbrella.
Of course Kanye & Lupe are influenced by numerous artists as well, from whom they also probably generously borrowed from while creating there own unique identities. It’s the same with any and every artist on planet earth. We are all influenced, inspired by & look up to others in our field, and there isn't anything wrong with that at all, it’s inevitable, But! There is an invisible line that every TRUE self respecting artist with integrity is very much aware of. A line most artists would rather croak then cross. It’s The line that separates the realm of influence, inspiration, respect, admiration, appreciation, and the realm of... The biters! The swagger jackers! The sloppy ass copy cats! The ban wagon riding, vh1, MTV, b.e.t worshiping, fad following, john and Jane doe's of the world. I read an article a few years ago, I forget what mag it was featured in, but anyhow it was a round table conversation between Kanye west, Dead prez, Talib kweli, & Common, I believe that was it, if I missed someone, oops. Anyhow part of the discussion was based on kids biting styles, and someone brought up an interesting point. Something to the effect of; wouldn't you rather kids bite dope authentic hip hop and mimic that, than to bite and copy from other UN original, stale, corny, garbage emcees? Hmmmm, well I get it, but still if you ask me id say a biters a biter regardless what he or she happens to be chewing on, and will never ever, ever! Get respect from r to the mason. So yeah there’s a new wave of what at first was some different sounding shit in hip hop, but now it seems to be becoming the new norm, almost as redundant as the opposite style/sound which dominated main stream hip hop for over a decade now.
So Where’s the happy medium person?
Of course there is another logical theory for the boom, and that is... Maybe cats like lupe simply opened the door, making it a little easier for other artist in that same lane to rush the industry and be accepted. Don’t get me wrong, I dig the change taking place, people are becoming less afraid to just be themselves in Hip Hop and that’s a great thing for the art & culture. Be you dang it!
In the mist of all this being the skeptic I am, I'm a little Leary as to who is just doing the cool, arrogant nerd, super smart and still kind of street thing because its "IN" and when its no longer "IN" to be super cool, fashionable, and lyrically witty ( or at least try to be lyrically witty, because seriously, some kids try too hard and end up sounding like an illiterate super senior trying to recite Shakespeare) But anyway When its no longer "IN" to be all these things, I'm interested to see who sticks to the script, and who will morph into next years "cool" character. Anyone see the cover of XXL's last issue with the 10 freshmen? Which by the way kind of inspired this piece along with a lot of new groups emerging like the retro kids, the cool kids, kids in the hall, ect.
O.k. well before ya get to spazzing out, fall back like you tripped on something because I dig a lot of the cats featured in there personally. That kid BLU is doper than heroin! Anyhow, It’s a new day though, & you can tell just by looking at that cover. There is a vibe, an attitude, a look, and all together it’s quite cohesive. Now, go back to the previous 10 freshman issue they did last year. There is a different group of emcees, with a different vibe, attitude & look. A harder, street bunch, Papoose, Joel Ortiz, Saigon, Plies, ect. with one kid who really stood out, and was on some whole next left field shit. That kid was Lupe.
He didn't re invent the wheel or anything but I definitely think he was being Lupe before it was "cool" to be Lupe. Majority of the other cats on there with him are on some more straight up street ish, and he was coming out with "kick push". Today... Needless to say It’s cool to be Lupe.
Aright, So I'm a leave it up to y'all to take it from here and let me know what you think.
Randy Mason
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