ReasonablySober wrote:Thought this was a good read.
Got around to reading it. I'm just wrapping up a re-read of Jeff Chang's "Can't Stop, Won't Stop." Initially, the plan was just to go over the first Pre-Reagan chapters and momentum took over and I'll wrap up the whole mess this weekend. The Defector piece is great, largely because it sharpened my own thinking and brought up questions I wouldn't have thought to ask.
This piece doesn't get at it, but I question the whole idea of hip-hop as a culture, especially at this point in time. Once upon a time, self-expression (style) was the overriding concern, but commodification and the marketplace operate with a different mathematics.
Watch an interview with jazz drummer Art Taylor....Just as Taylor identified with jazz, the people most invested in hip hop culture lost control of it. They only held control so long as it wasn't generating real money. The moment it was mainstream American music: POOF! Taylor talked about missing the days he’d play at a bar and talk to the pimps and prostitutes over a drink during breaks. The money wasn’t there, but the people enjoyed the music on its terms, and discussed it in ways that made sense.
Two things here: 1) There's always a push-pull between "artistic purity" for lack of a better term and being able to eat/live off of the art. Like Crazylegs is probably the greatest b-boy of all time and he's a footnote. For art to have "legs" it has to have longevity. If you can't make a living at it, it becomes a hobby. It can mean a lot to someone, but material concerns are always there. Patronage, son. Need some Medicis to feed the artist.
2) I'm a big jazz dude. Art Taylor's greatest time period was in the 50s and 60s. Jazz wasn't the mainstream music then! Englanders weren't tagging factory walls with "Coltrane is God" aerosol scrawls. Newport wasn't Woodstock. C'mon.
Anyway, if capitalism can get its hooks into it, whatever is ensnared will be shaped via capitalistic aims.
Lastly, the vanguard of hip-hop has historically come from the youth. The youth are, how you say, youthful. To expect coherence from a demographic still coming to terms with itself is a shaky proposition. To expect well-considered politics and concerns is folly. When dewy energy and social consciousness align, it's a beautiful rare thing. Like, I didn't consider myself an adult until I was well into my 30s. It's also why I go easy on pro athletes when they do stupid but harmless things in the public eye: they're still kids!
I dunno, good piece. I was engaged and not merely consuming. Enough Prof Chones. Need to get back to some good ol' .imo posting.
