Maybe it was just me, but Hip Hop got really boring and predictable for a while. Flooded with disrespect to women, money flaunting, ego tripping and empty rhymes, I tuned right out. I’m not saying let’s clean up Rap music, I’m just saying get some raw energy going and stop making studio tracks that all sound the same.
That being said, Kanye West probably gets more eye rolls then a google-eye doll but at least he is pushing the genre in new directions. His recently released album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is being ecstatically reviewed and his short film/music video, Runaway, is visually stunning to say the least.
Kanye’s half-hour directorial debut is a preview of the tracks on the album and an indulgent story full of melancholy symbolism. Abstract? Not really. Many of the allegories, symbols and slow-motion shots scream “Look at me, I’m so artsy AND I have a big budget.” However, the scene with the ballerinas is so amazingly choreographed and beautifully shot that I was entranced. You can love it or hate it but this kind of intensity is surely a injection of life into a genre that was being killed by it’s own creed.
Not to give Kanye all the credit, some other faces have appeared on the scene like a hurricane. North Carolina native J. Cole is making some serious waves, selling out a Toronto show at Sound Academy even before a debut album. J. Cole’s notoriety comes from being signed to Jay-Z’s new label Roc Nation and gaining a steady fan base through releasing mix tapes showcasing his production and talented lyricism.
Pittsburgh’s Wiz Khalifa has been coming up in a similar way, generating hype through his fan base, called the Taylor Gang, his independently released mix-tapes and working social media like it’s his job. Now signed to Atlantic Records, his single Black and Yellow shot up to the top 15 on the Billboard Charts. These young, ambitious artists are bringing some underground energy into the mainstream scene and might just be giving Kanye a run for his money in 2011.
Wiz Khalifa – Black and Yellow from Bill Paladino.