As the NHL season comes to an end and the playoff picture has been painted, you would think that I'd have puck on the mind. And trust me, once the puck actually drops and when "History will be made" like the NHL has so eloquently drilled into our brains, my mind will be mostly on vulcanized rubber. But today, I turn to my second love: music.
For the three of you who may keep up with my Twitter, you may have noticed I have developed quite a bit of a man crush on a hip-hop artist named Childish Gambino, aka Donald Glover. If you haven't heard of Glover (I'll post a couple of links at the bottom of the post), the 28-year-old wrote comedy for Saturday Night Live, and the popular SNL inspired, 30 Rock. He then transitioned to acting, and plays a high school student in the popular and critically acclaimed comedy Community. He's now touring around North America on the IAMDONALD tour which what we've been told is a tour that will consist of Glover doing stand up comedy, and finishing it of with...a rap concert, under the moniker "Childish Gambino". At first I was skeptical. I love hip-hop, and the inner critic in me was assuming this was just some rich kid messing around, trying to feed off of his unrelated fame in order to bring in more money for himself. Boy, was I wrong.
Turns out, the guy is good. His rhymes are clever, complex, and personal. His flow is tight, polished, and yet unique. But what I think is the most impressive about him is that the man can sing! In my opinion, Childish Gambino has what it takes to make it big in specifically today's hip-hop world, and although his rhymes and flow are impressive, it is his singing voice that brings me to this realization. And it also made stop and ponder about what the hip-hop world has turned into today.
It has been well documented that today's music industry has taken quite the hit. Rolling Stones reports that album sales have gone down once again in 2010, this time by 13 percent. Not only that but they also inform us that even ticket sales have gone down 12 percent in the last year. If that wasn't already enough, digital sales, the medium that was supposed to save the music industry, did not continue to grow rapidly like it has over the past few years, and only grew one percent in 2010. But what does this all have to do with hip-hop specifically?
Yes, the music industry as a whole is suffering. But there is hope. In the same article, Rolling Stones makes all of the hip-hop haters backtrack when they report that although every genre suffered a decrease in sales by double digit numbers, hip-hop sales are actually up 3 percent in 2010. Sure, you could pass some of the credit to Eminem producing the top selling album of 2010. But, I would argue that the increase of hip-hop's popularity should not so much be credited towards certain individuals, but instead it should be directed towards the current mold of hip-hop today.
Ever since the origin of hip-hop, the genre can be recognized by its rough and rugged nature. Think about great rap crews like N.W.A., Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, and even the Beastie Boys. Their music was filled with long fast paced verses, hard hitting beats, and rarely did you ever hear any kind of melody, even in the chorus. The only time you would hear any singing at all, was if it was a sample of an entirely different song, or in some rarer cases, another artist outside hip-hop would lend their voice to the track.
This trend, although I know there were some exceptions, carried on into the 90's, and into the new millennium. Fast forward to 2010-2011, and we see that the art of hip-hop is done a little differently these days. Now, you are seeing more and more rappers doing more than just rap on their songs, but sing as well. When you take a look at the hip-hop artists today that are buying into the 2 for 1 combo when it comes to singing and rapping, the list is ridiculous! You got Drake, B.O.B., Knaan, k-os, KiD CuDi, Andre 3000, Lupe Fiasco, Mos Def, Wiz Khalifa, Nelly, and Nicki Minaj just to name a few! Now just by reading the names I came up with, it is important to take into consideration that the larger majority of those mentioned are relatively new artists. Of course you have guys like Andre 3000, Mos Def, k-os, and Lupe that have been doing this for a while now, but the rest of the artists have pretty much just hit mainstream within the last few years. Not only that, but they are some of the biggest artists in the music industry today, never mind just in the hip-hop community. These facts are simple, but yet they should speak volumes to why hip-hop is so successful right now.
Hip-hop has, and always will be my favorite genre of music. I love all of it, from the classics, to the type of tracks that are coming out in 2011. And I know there are hip-hop purists out there that will say hip-hop isn't the same as it used to be, as they stick their chins high in the air and turn up Straight out of Compton in their iPod's. And they're right. Hip-hop has changed. But the beauty of music is that it's always changing. In 2010, hip-hop reigned supreme over every other genre of music, and many people ask the question: why? It's because during hip-hop's cycle of evolution, it has now hit a point where melodies and rap collide. Drake's singing to try and "find your love" and in the next track, letting the world know with a swagger only hip-hop can provide, that his last name's Ever, and his first name's Greatest. The beauty of hip-hop today is that it speaks to all demographics, all situations, all emotions, and all personalities. Hip-hop has always had a large set of messages that can touch any one's life, but the difference now is that it's speaking to people in a sound that is appealing to the listeners ear. Now, instead of turning the station, they turn up the sound.
Lupe Fiasco wrote "Hip-hop has saved my life". How great is it that in a time where nothing seems to be working, it's now the music industry whose life hip-hop seems to be saving.
Also, download Childish Gambino's new EP HERE
Jtraa
Oh Sweet Melodies
