I think your words are a bit unfair given a bit of Ali’s other material, especially so against the backdrop of the entire scene and what else is out there (not to say that art should be rated comparatively, but I think to a certain degree it’s fair to do so). I think rather than rapping about being a rapper, “Take Me Home” is a rap about how he goes about his business. You’ve blogrolled Nah Right, so I know you’re familiar with any number of artists out there who do the exact same thing without putting as much time into their rhymes…though, they don’t typically blatantly announce they’re doing so at the start of the track: “I’ma tell you something about me. That’s my favorite subject, I don’t know if you picked up on that yet or not.”
I’m not from MN, like yourself, so I won’t give a touchy, loosely nepotistic response to your ‘blasphemy’ comment, but…I just think it’s a little near sided.
Yeah i think that makes sense, and i’ll qualify my previous statement by saying that Ali is one of my favorite emcees ever.
I just think that sometimes we in the indie hip hop community fail to challenge ourselves, and fans fail to challenge artists who are already good to become transcendent. The conversation around underground hip hop always goes “Emcee X is so amazing because he’s not talking about cars, pimps and money.”
It’s a definite struggle to balance the fact that it is indeed important that some artists are offering an alternative with the fact that a lot of them aren’t exactly blazing new trails creatively.
Sometimes i get the feeling that underground hip hop strives for a kind of “solid, respectable mediocrity,” rather than reaching for the stars. Because we hate on mainstream hip hop so much, we’ve idealized the 1993 boom bap rapping-about-rapping style which, and i love that stuff too, isnt’ exactly innovative, unless you’re comparing it to 50 Cent.
And if any emcee should be reaching for the stars, it’s Brother Ali. Songs like “Rainwater” and “Prince Charming” and “Dorian” and “Forest Whitaker” and the last three tracks on his new album are pretty brilliant. Ha with that said maybe i AM unfairly judging Ali– but the larger point here i think is valid.
I actually just finished my book, and there’s a long essay on this phenomenon that lays it out more clearly. Maybe i’ll post some excerpts on my blog this week.
Take Me Home also premiered on mtvU this week:
http://www.mtvu.com/music/video_premiere/brother_ali
am i the only person getting sick of brother ali rapping about being a rapper?
is that blasphemy here in MN?
i mean, he’s a great emcee, but is a whole lot greater when he’s telling stories or exploring concept songs.
I think your words are a bit unfair given a bit of Ali’s other material, especially so against the backdrop of the entire scene and what else is out there (not to say that art should be rated comparatively, but I think to a certain degree it’s fair to do so). I think rather than rapping about being a rapper, “Take Me Home” is a rap about how he goes about his business. You’ve blogrolled Nah Right, so I know you’re familiar with any number of artists out there who do the exact same thing without putting as much time into their rhymes…though, they don’t typically blatantly announce they’re doing so at the start of the track: “I’ma tell you something about me. That’s my favorite subject, I don’t know if you picked up on that yet or not.”
I’m not from MN, like yourself, so I won’t give a touchy, loosely nepotistic response to your ‘blasphemy’ comment, but…I just think it’s a little near sided.
Yeah i think that makes sense, and i’ll qualify my previous statement by saying that Ali is one of my favorite emcees ever.
I just think that sometimes we in the indie hip hop community fail to challenge ourselves, and fans fail to challenge artists who are already good to become transcendent. The conversation around underground hip hop always goes “Emcee X is so amazing because he’s not talking about cars, pimps and money.”
It’s a definite struggle to balance the fact that it is indeed important that some artists are offering an alternative with the fact that a lot of them aren’t exactly blazing new trails creatively.
Sometimes i get the feeling that underground hip hop strives for a kind of “solid, respectable mediocrity,” rather than reaching for the stars. Because we hate on mainstream hip hop so much, we’ve idealized the 1993 boom bap rapping-about-rapping style which, and i love that stuff too, isnt’ exactly innovative, unless you’re comparing it to 50 Cent.
And if any emcee should be reaching for the stars, it’s Brother Ali. Songs like “Rainwater” and “Prince Charming” and “Dorian” and “Forest Whitaker” and the last three tracks on his new album are pretty brilliant. Ha with that said maybe i AM unfairly judging Ali– but the larger point here i think is valid.
I actually just finished my book, and there’s a long essay on this phenomenon that lays it out more clearly. Maybe i’ll post some excerpts on my blog this week.