Hip Hop (1st in a series)

"Hip hop is my fate, since cassette tapes" - Obie Trice ("Cry Now")

It's hard to get to know me for more than a short period of time without knowing that I'm a huge rap fan. I listen to it constantly. I post lyrics on my Facebook page and occasionally at the top of my blog posts (See above). It's also an art that has gotten me through a lot of hard times.

I always liked rap music. I grew up in New York City, so it's almost genetic. I grew up hearing music out of the windows of people's cars. Also, my dad DJ'd part time so I would constantly listen to rap music from the 1980's hearing Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, and Run-DMC. As a result it's hard to pin down when I "fell in love" with rap because it was, and still is omnipresent in Springfield Gardens, Queens. It didn't begin in one place for me; it was always there.

I do remember listening to a freestyle with my brother in my dad's car that was a turning point for me. In the 90's, Hot 97 (WQHT) was THE station for rap music in New York. It had great, legendary DJ's and hosts in Ed Lover, Funk Master Flex, Mister Cee, Angie Martinez and many others. My favorite things to listen to were the freestyle sessions. Rappers would come to the station and give their best lines. The best thing was that there were no restraints. No choruses, no concerns about making a "club single". It was just rap in its purest forum. My dad taped a session with Canibus, Noreaga, and DMX, 3 rappers who, at the time (about ‘98) were up and coming.

"My style is every color in the spectrum, your style is plain like trains without vandalism" -Canibus

It’s a lot more interesting than saying "When it comes to rapping I'm interesting, you're boring". It also adds more to the idea and gives a better sensory touch. It also contains slant rhyme. There was about 15 minutes of this from Canibus, DMX and Noriega. Getting away from the technical aspects of the session, I was hooked. My brother and I listened to the tape enough times that I memorized most of it. (Except Noreaga, I was never a huge Noreaga fan.)

Looking back, it had a huge impact on the type of music I listen to and the way I listen to music. I still prefer the rappers with witty punchlines who put time into their craft. It also added to my appreciation for language. 

Throughout the last month or so, I’ve had a ton of discussions about rap music with my classmates. People from all over the country have different interactions with it. Over the next month I’m planning to go in depth discussing facets of my interactions with the genre, through influential albums, songs, artists and storylines. I’ve been working on this project off and on for about a year now and can’t wait to see how it turns out.