Confessions of an Oddball Rapper
I'm a 40-year-old classical composer, a rapper, and a "prude." Opera elitists take me for some street dude who's "trying" to compose. Hip-hop's kids peg me as an uptown snob, who dabbles in music that he doesn't understand. "My old gym teacher ain't supposed to rap," L.L. once said - before he became an old gym teacher. As for the "prude" moniker? Subscribing to Judeo-Christian morality and renouncing crack rap earned me that reverse-Scarlet letter.
Well ...
Dear opera elitists: I rap because I like the art form. It is actually an art form, even though you've never heard an artistic rapper. (They exist.) Your sense of cultural supremacy has marinated for centuries, so not much else I can say will change you. That is all.
Dear 5 boroughs: I rap because I like "rhythm and poetry," as Rakim described it. It's that simple. The drum set is my favorite instrument to play, and language is among my favorite things. No, I wasn't born in New York. Neither does Kool Herc call me at home. But I'm pretty sure that the existence of music, turntables, spoken language, poetry, and the concept of rhyme, pre-dated the 1970s and involved other places. Not to deny those developments and figures who came from your region. It's just that, in the grand scheme of things, I find your in-group/out-group psychology as puzzling as you find me.
Dear prude-mockers: I rap because, when I was introduced to it, there was no mandate for me to be a convict/kingpin/pimp mash-up. Those versions of rappers existed then, but diversity was allowed. There were also inspiring rappers. Dare I say, decent ones. I wanted to be that kind, so posturing as the bad-ass pimp nigga was too high a price to pay for the credible-rapper seal of approval. It still is. As for the inevitable 'judgmental' charge, I'm not morally self-deluded. My name is not Yeshua Ben Yosef. I simply choose not to be a poster child for dysfunction, even though I tussle with it outside the recording booth.
Dear subject-matter goons: I rap for the same reason I speak: because I have something to say. In my dream world, critics judge lyrical skill and beats, while leaving content to the artists. Also, I believe the public can distinguish skill from content. Now, I don't expect you to like what I have to say, just because I say it well. But neither should you misread your distaste for my messages, as me lacking craft.
Dear age-discriminators: I rap because, when it comes to music, "age ain't nothin' but a number," as the late Aaliyah sang. I grew up with rap, so why should I have to abandon it by some arbitrary point in time? (I'd like to cite Shawn Carter's sustained credibility as support, but it doesn't count . He's not a 40-year-old rapper. He's "Jay-Z." From the consumer-psychology standpoint, there is a very big difference.)
Stronger artists take being different as a badge of honor. Maybe I'll get there one day. Better hurry up. I'm already getting junk mail from the AARP.
Well ...
Dear opera elitists: I rap because I like the art form. It is actually an art form, even though you've never heard an artistic rapper. (They exist.) Your sense of cultural supremacy has marinated for centuries, so not much else I can say will change you. That is all.
Dear 5 boroughs: I rap because I like "rhythm and poetry," as Rakim described it. It's that simple. The drum set is my favorite instrument to play, and language is among my favorite things. No, I wasn't born in New York. Neither does Kool Herc call me at home. But I'm pretty sure that the existence of music, turntables, spoken language, poetry, and the concept of rhyme, pre-dated the 1970s and involved other places. Not to deny those developments and figures who came from your region. It's just that, in the grand scheme of things, I find your in-group/out-group psychology as puzzling as you find me.
Dear prude-mockers: I rap because, when I was introduced to it, there was no mandate for me to be a convict/kingpin/pimp mash-up. Those versions of rappers existed then, but diversity was allowed. There were also inspiring rappers. Dare I say, decent ones. I wanted to be that kind, so posturing as the bad-ass pimp nigga was too high a price to pay for the credible-rapper seal of approval. It still is. As for the inevitable 'judgmental' charge, I'm not morally self-deluded. My name is not Yeshua Ben Yosef. I simply choose not to be a poster child for dysfunction, even though I tussle with it outside the recording booth.
Dear subject-matter goons: I rap for the same reason I speak: because I have something to say. In my dream world, critics judge lyrical skill and beats, while leaving content to the artists. Also, I believe the public can distinguish skill from content. Now, I don't expect you to like what I have to say, just because I say it well. But neither should you misread your distaste for my messages, as me lacking craft.
Dear age-discriminators: I rap because, when it comes to music, "age ain't nothin' but a number," as the late Aaliyah sang. I grew up with rap, so why should I have to abandon it by some arbitrary point in time? (I'd like to cite Shawn Carter's sustained credibility as support, but it doesn't count . He's not a 40-year-old rapper. He's "Jay-Z." From the consumer-psychology standpoint, there is a very big difference.)
Stronger artists take being different as a badge of honor. Maybe I'll get there one day. Better hurry up. I'm already getting junk mail from the AARP.
Labels: hip-hop, mature hip-hop, misjudgment, music, old-school, rap, self-analysis
posted by steveburks at
9:07 AM
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