Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Advice that's Impossible to Follow



Celebrities say that they keep it real. But I don't think they remember what being a non-celebrity is like. Perfect example? The-Dream. His advice to you, is, if you ever happen to make your girlfriend mad, it's no thing. Just drop FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS on designer clothing and all will be well. This is kind of like the time that Jamie Foxx was asked by Sports Illustrated about how he picks winning teams and Foxx, obviously hoping to appeal to the average fan, said that he calls Kenny Smith, and shoots the shit with him for a while. Thanks Jamie Foxx and The-Dream, I will definitely call Kenny Smith right after this five thousand dollar shopping spree I'm about to take my girl on.

Video: Curren$y-So High

FRENCH MONTANA FEAT. CURREN$Y-SO HIGH (OFFICIAL VIDEO) from Mike D'Angelo on Vimeo.



When I started listening to rap, everything seemed really simple. First there were Eminem and Dr. Dre, and their 2000 albums, The Marshall Mathers LP, and 2001. Then, after enjoying those albums, I went back and got everything either of them had ever done (which obviously worked a little better for Dre) and everything anyone who collaborated with them had ever done. And from there, I just spread out, listening to the music I liked by the artists and producers I liked. And the cool thing was, I was naive enough to think that this was all just rap, no further categorization needed.

Things are different now. Gangster rap doesn't occupy the mainstream space it once did, and people like me who grew up on Gangster Rap 2.0 have a hard time figuring out what to listen to. Rap is about 25 years old now, and just like Rock N Roll right before it hit that scary third decade, it's splitting itself and multiplying, producing sub-genre on sub genre in an effort to to further define an original and unique sound.

This is bad for some music, but its terrific for others. Most notably, stoner-rap, one of those genres that's been around forever but that I failed to categorize, even after going back and listening to Devin the Dude's entire catalogue after hearing him on F**k You, on 2001. Stoner-Rap is strong right now, with rappers like Devin still going pretty strong (Suite 420 is not bad) and a new breed of rappers joining him, most notably Wiz Khalifa and Curren$y.

Curren$y is great. He's got a weird, slow flow which doesn't seem to adhere to the beat quite right, but somehow makes sense. What's more, he's got a great ear for beats, and an ability to make his co-stars sound as good as him (which probably has something to do with whatever he's sharing with them in the studio.) This is a long post to pretty much introduce this video for the Curren$y song So High, but I hadn't blogged for awhile, and wanted to get back into it a little bit. Anyway, this song exemplifies Curren$y's style, and the ladies in the video are extremely pretty.