[quote]JLone wrote:
I am 100% serious when I say you are too pretty for earnings. No one empathizes with a rich pretty boy that wants more when they think you already have enough.
Try to look less preppy buy buying your coats from stores other then Nordstroms or Banana Republic.
Sweatshirt hood would have made sense if you were going to the gym.
Had a definite “Good Vibrations” feel to it when you had your shirt off.
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Oh yeah! Me love Marky Mark in that vid.
The love scenes look crap though. He should have banged his girl against the fence like a rough warrior would.
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Damn you got nice glutes. Wait there’s a video I need to see???
[quote]Jscoope wrote:
Better than I expected. I don’t know why people are telling you about you need a catchy hook or don’t put an city backdrop with people jogging in it. I thought it was pretty obvious from the lyrics that you aren’t trying to be on a G Rap/hardcore persona. It still seems weird that people think of hip hop and immediately equate it all to some effort to be “Gangsta”.
Anyway, lyrically it was a lot better than I expected, I can tell you put a lot of effort into your schemes and patterns. But, your voice is too light, you need to work on your delivery and cadence a lot more. You’re from MN right, go to some Doomtree shows and see POS and Mike Mictlan for tips on that shit.
In terms of the video itself it was pretty well done, there isn’t a whole lot of “originality” in music videos but I mean in terms of production quality it was pretty good, didn’t look like some handycam shit at all and was pretty professional.
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Hip-hop inherently is connected with “the streets” and some sort of “gangsterism”. It’s like the blues. You can’t play a blues tune that talks about the success of your financial portfolio. It’s like listening to Mick Jagger sing about how he can’t no girlie action. Total bullshit.[/quote]
Mike Shinoda has done very well without rapping about the streets or being a gangster. 90% of his stuff is just rapping about rapping. That may be an exception to the rule, but it does mean there might be room for someone else in that space.
Flailing your arms about is not intense, nor menacing, well maybe it was, in the early eighties.
Granted, with the lyrics you cannot simply walk along and angrily rap into the camera but what you do is just a tad on the poser side, by which I mean way too much on that side.
I have no idea what to do instead, ask ID he is our resident expert on visual expression.
RE: “hits” without a hook = I was moreso referring to the fact that there is a HUGE portion of hip hop that has no interest in radio hits. Some people just rap cos they love to rap. To quote a certain somebody “it makes us smile cos it sound cool”. Trust me, I get what you’re saying about a hook greatly helping with commercial appeal, but not everybody - especially in hip hop - is out for commercial appeal. A hook is in no way necessary to a dope song.
RE: Hip Hop and “the streets” = Again, historically, yeh rap and street culture are heavily connected. But hip hop is also an incredibly diverse culture that has spread increasingly to the middle class. Just cos you rap doesn’t mean you came from nothing. Just cos you are spitting in front a city skyline doesn’t mean your trying to be hardcore, maybe your just proud of your city, maybe you just think it looks cool. Shit, I may as well mention that hip hop is not even an American thing anymore. Some of the dopest MC’s on the planet don’t come from the US. eg/ Tumi Molekane (South Africa), Trem (Australia), Jehst (UK), Lowkey (UK), Klashnekoff (UK), Shad (Canada) and many of the dopest within this country come from markets outside of the NY/LA hoods. eg/ Doomtree (MN), Grayskul (WA), Sapient (OR).
I suppose all I’m trying to say is this guy is probably better served by feedback from actual hip hop heads. Again though, I could be way off, maybe his sole goal is to blow up commercially and be on some Wiz Kahlifa wack lyrics/huge radio hit steez, I just didn’t get that impression from this sampling of his music.
[quote]Jscoope wrote:
Better than I expected. I don’t know why people are telling you about you need a catchy hook
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If you’re aware of a big hit in this genre without a hook, let me knwo.[/quote]
Triumph by the Wu-Tang Clan
Flip Mode Squad Meets Def Mode Squad by Busta Rhymes
Clones by The Roots
6’7" by Lil Wayne
almost all of Paid In Full from Erik B. and Rakim
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fwiw I’ve not listened to the song or watched the video. I’m arguing by proxy and don’t give a fuck about OP. I’m a white girl who doesn’t do the hip hop.
Props for having the confidence to put that up, however I’m not a fan. Lyrically it did nothing for, I thought the flow was all over the place. It felt as though the lyrics were forced and many seemed out of place.
As others have said if you want to come at the audience grimy and “spitting lyrics that leave our lungs polluted” you need to get a edgier. You look like a frat boy, I could believe you rapping about keg parties and banging chicks. Over all it’s not believable, look at all the greats when they rap you believe it and feel it. They take you on a journey through the places they’ve been.
All that being said keep it up, you have something you just need to find yourself so that we can find you.
I appreciate all the honesty and advice. Most of it makes sense and I understand the stereotypes associated with Hip-Hop that mislead a number of you into thinking I was trying to be something I am not. I’m not trying to look or sound like I “need more” and am struggling financially and am not trying to be “hard” all though i can easily see how that is assumed based of my tone and lyrical content during parts of the song. Just trying to show who I AM and the idea when thinking of the concepts for the film was to have two storylines in a way.
1: I’m getting ready for a fight
2. I’m getting ready for a show then go out and noone is there and I want to just give up but say “F-It” and perform anyway to the empty crowd as if it was my most important performance.
Hip Hop has evolved into a forum for poetic expression in whatever form the user wants to mold the content into. You can rap about any subject matter. There are thousands of rappers out there and each style provides different material to the listeners.
Yes i know I don’t look like a hip hop artist but why does a hip hop artist have to look a certain way? Societal expectations of course but nothing wrong with going against those and that is where I find the most adversity when doing this hobby.
I actually wrote and recorded this song two years ago when I was a junior in college, and many people told me i should do a video to it so i did. I believe I have grown a lot since then with my music and am continuing to.
Again i appreciate the honesty and your time typing out thoughtful responses. Both positive and negative feedback are helpful to me!
look forward to any more advice, impressions etc. as they all will help me grow.
Like i said I’m trying to show ME and yea that happens to be my style i’m not going to wear something I wouldn’t normally wear.
THis goes along with one of my lyrics from the song
“Mixed and matched the crucifix to fix the fad I’m used to it”
that also ties in my spiritual upbringing and how it conflicts with me feeling the need to conform my style to be what is expected of me yet stay true to who I am, even if who I am is not remotely set in stone at this moment of my life.
Where’s the musicality gone in hip-hop? I mean seriously, is there a single song out there that’s in something other than 4/4? How about something that grooves that’s in 7/8 time? How about a little displacement of the backbeat? Why does it always have to be right on 2 and 4? Why is it no one ever moves it around, like on the “and” of 2? How about a song with some weird turnarounds of the beat where there’s a measure of 5/4 or 3/4 after several measures of 4/4? Would it kill a producer to produce a beat where the backbeat moves to 1 and 3 halfway through the song? How about some 1/16 notes on the hi-hat with accents on 1, 2, 3, 4 and the “ands” of 1, 2, 3, and 4? It just seems to me that hip-hop has constantly changed, but the music itself hasn’t actually progressed at all?
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
Where’s the musicality gone in hip-hop? I mean seriously, is there a single song out there that’s in something other than 4/4? How about something that grooves that’s in 7/8 time? How about a little displacement of the backbeat? Why does it always have to be right on 2 and 4? Why is it no one ever moves it around, like on the “and” of 2? How about a song with some weird turnarounds of the beat where there’s a measure of 5/4 or 3/4 after several measures of 4/4? Would it kill a producer to produce a beat where the backbeat moves to 1 and 3 halfway through the song? How about some 1/16 notes on the hi-hat with accents on 1, 2, 3, 4 and the “ands” of 1, 2, 3, and 4? It just seems to me that hip-hop has constantly changed, but the music itself hasn’t actually progressed at all?[/quote]
Wu Tang Clan aint nothin to fuck with
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
Where’s the musicality gone in hip-hop? I mean seriously, is there a single song out there that’s in something other than 4/4? How about something that grooves that’s in 7/8 time? How about a little displacement of the backbeat? Why does it always have to be right on 2 and 4? Why is it no one ever moves it around, like on the “and” of 2? How about a song with some weird turnarounds of the beat where there’s a measure of 5/4 or 3/4 after several measures of 4/4? Would it kill a producer to produce a beat where the backbeat moves to 1 and 3 halfway through the song? How about some 1/16 notes on the hi-hat with accents on 1, 2, 3, 4 and the “ands” of 1, 2, 3, and 4? It just seems to me that hip-hop has constantly changed, but the music itself hasn’t actually progressed at all?[/quote]
Wu Tang Clan aint nothin to fuck with[/quote]
You’re right, they ain’t nuthin to fuck with. But that song is in 4/4 the whole way through. If you count along to the song going 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 the backbeat is on 2 and 4 the whole way through. There’s nothing special going on with the hi-hat, either. It’s straight 1/8 notes with an open hi-hat on the “and” of 3.
Still a great fucking tune, though.
Another thing: how come hip-hop doesn’t “swing”? I never hear a triplet pattern played on the hi-hat. I don’t know, maybe I just don’t listen to enough hip-hop. There’s progressive rock, which incidentally I’m not that into other than Tool, but I never hear any “progressive” hip-hop from a musical standpoint. The lyrical content has certainly progressed, but the music hasn’t.
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
Where’s the musicality gone in hip-hop? I mean seriously, is there a single song out there that’s in something other than 4/4? How about something that grooves that’s in 7/8 time? How about a little displacement of the backbeat? Why does it always have to be right on 2 and 4? Why is it no one ever moves it around, like on the “and” of 2? How about a song with some weird turnarounds of the beat where there’s a measure of 5/4 or 3/4 after several measures of 4/4? Would it kill a producer to produce a beat where the backbeat moves to 1 and 3 halfway through the song? How about some 1/16 notes on the hi-hat with accents on 1, 2, 3, 4 and the “ands” of 1, 2, 3, and 4? It just seems to me that hip-hop has constantly changed, but the music itself hasn’t actually progressed at all?[/quote]
Wu Tang Clan aint nothin to fuck with[/quote]
You’re right, they ain’t nuthin to fuck with. But that song is in 4/4 the whole way through. If you count along to the song going 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 the backbeat is on 2 and 4 the whole way through. There’s nothing special going on with the hi-hat, either. It’s straight 1/8 notes with an open hi-hat on the “and” of 3.
Still a great fucking tune, though.
Another thing: how come hip-hop doesn’t “swing”? I never hear a triplet pattern played on the hi-hat. I don’t know, maybe I just don’t listen to enough hip-hop. There’s progressive rock, which incidentally I’m not that into other than Tool, but I never hear any “progressive” hip-hop from a musical standpoint. The lyrical content has certainly progressed, but the music hasn’t.[/quote]
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
Where’s the musicality gone in hip-hop? I mean seriously, is there a single song out there that’s in something other than 4/4? How about something that grooves that’s in 7/8 time? How about a little displacement of the backbeat? Why does it always have to be right on 2 and 4? Why is it no one ever moves it around, like on the “and” of 2? How about a song with some weird turnarounds of the beat where there’s a measure of 5/4 or 3/4 after several measures of 4/4? Would it kill a producer to produce a beat where the backbeat moves to 1 and 3 halfway through the song? How about some 1/16 notes on the hi-hat with accents on 1, 2, 3, 4 and the “ands” of 1, 2, 3, and 4? It just seems to me that hip-hop has constantly changed, but the music itself hasn’t actually progressed at all?[/quote]
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
Where’s the musicality gone in hip-hop? I mean seriously, is there a single song out there that’s in something other than 4/4? How about something that grooves that’s in 7/8 time? How about a little displacement of the backbeat? Why does it always have to be right on 2 and 4? Why is it no one ever moves it around, like on the “and” of 2? How about a song with some weird turnarounds of the beat where there’s a measure of 5/4 or 3/4 after several measures of 4/4? Would it kill a producer to produce a beat where the backbeat moves to 1 and 3 halfway through the song? How about some 1/16 notes on the hi-hat with accents on 1, 2, 3, 4 and the “ands” of 1, 2, 3, and 4? It just seems to me that hip-hop has constantly changed, but the music itself hasn’t actually progressed at all?[/quote]
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
Where’s the musicality gone in hip-hop? I mean seriously, is there a single song out there that’s in something other than 4/4? How about something that grooves that’s in 7/8 time? How about a little displacement of the backbeat? Why does it always have to be right on 2 and 4? Why is it no one ever moves it around, like on the “and” of 2? How about a song with some weird turnarounds of the beat where there’s a measure of 5/4 or 3/4 after several measures of 4/4? Would it kill a producer to produce a beat where the backbeat moves to 1 and 3 halfway through the song? How about some 1/16 notes on the hi-hat with accents on 1, 2, 3, 4 and the “ands” of 1, 2, 3, and 4? It just seems to me that hip-hop has constantly changed, but the music itself hasn’t actually progressed at all?[/quote]
I’m a white girl who doesn’t do the hip hop.
