Interview with Alyssa Goldrich (unedited)

Two Feet, One Goal

 

"It's not soccer, it's football"

Robert Nesta Marley and James Marshall Hendrix, Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix. Two men from two different backgrounds, cultures and genres, yet they still seemed to have the same charisma when it came to music. This photograph claims to be a meeting of the two icons entertaining themselves with a soccer ball in a dressing room. I thought the idea of those two in the same room was incredible, so I did some research to find out more about the encounter.  Unfortunately, what I found out was that the man in the photograph is not actually Hendrix, but someone who was made to look like him by blurring the side of his face. I was a little upset that I was misled, but the idea still sat with me for the rest of the day. I thought to myself: "How awesome would that have been, being in a room with those two? What kind of conversation would take place?" Both of these men were known for their open use of marijuana so I imagined a chat between them would be along the philosophical lines. It seemed like another one of my outrageous fantasy scenarios but I thought about it longer than expected. I closed my eyes and imagined again. A sold-out concert with screaming fans, everything is dark. Suddenly the spotlight shines on the stage as Jimi Hendrix plays the opening melody for Bob Marley's song "Exodus". The crowd goes crazy as Bob joins in with vocals, revealing the entire stage and supporting band. Even though the story behind promoting this image was false, I loved where it took my imagination.

What's Real? What's Not?:The Current State of Hip Hop

Much has been said about the current state of mainstream rap music. If you ask the fans, you may get mixed reviews. Some people think the music that goes viral on your local urban radio stations "Isn't real hip-hop/music", or you may hear people say they like the music that plays on the radio because it puts them in a good mood and they don't have to do much thinking to listen to it. Unfortunately, that's the problem. Most people are ignorant of the distinction between hip-hop and rap, and many see the two as synonymous. While the two are connected, to say that they are the same thing would be incorrect. Hip-hop can be defined as "a culture which allows self-expression through many different avenues." The three main pillars of the culture are: DJ'ing, Breaking (incorrectly called break dancing), and MCing (informally known as rapping). The word "rap" itself is used to describe the music an MC (master of ceremonies) performs over. So basically rap is the music within the culture of Hip-Hop. The unique thing about rap music is that there is a wide spectrum when it comes to content. When it first began in the south Bronx in the 70’s and 80’s it was more centered on the struggles of the middle class and growing up in such a rough era. In the mid 80’s to the mid 90’s there was a period of mass innovation called  “The Golden Age”. Everything about rap music was new back then because so many artists were finding ways to reinvent the genre. As the 90’s came to close, "gangsta rap" took a choke-hold on the industry in what would be the beginning of a decline in the culture which held so much promise. Through the early 2000’s rap music saw the heavy presence of innovation dwindle to a sound of heavy bass drums as southern rap held the crown for a decade. Southern rap was a huge catalyst to the industry going into the 2010’s as most mainstream music surrounds booming bass and synthesizers combined with materialistic subject matter. Despite this imbalance within the culture, one shouldn’t say that mainstream music “isn’t real”. The music designed for party scenes and nightlife serves its purpose. Unfortunately due to a high demand from big record labels to feed this monster, fans miss out on the music that relates to real-life situations and issues which most rich and famous rappers of today’s industry cease to mention.

MTV's Hottest M.C.

On March 7th MTV released its annual "Hottest MCs in the Game" list which ranks rappers based on their commercial success over the previous year. After a brief period of anticipation, brought on by the suspense of revealing the list one artist at a time, the full list is finally here. MTV’s Top 10 Hottest MCs are the following: 10. Meek Mill. 9. Future. 8. A$AP Rocky. 7. Kanye West. 6. Big Sean. 5. Drake.  4. Nas.3. Rick Ross. 2. 2 Chainz. 1. Kendrick Lamar. The list created quite a buzz around with hip hoppers as well as the artists themselves. Kendrick Lamar, the newly crowned “hottest MC in the game” was shocked when he heard the news. Kendrick was told he was coming in for an interview on the Hottest MC TV special when MTV personality Sway surprised him and told him that he was voted the best and Kendrick’s reaction: “That’s craazy”. The 25-year-old rapper from Compton, CA was all smiles and seemed very humbled and appreciative. Meanwhile, artists like Kanye West whose rank was #7, and Drake whose rank was #5, had a different kind of reaction. Kanye West called New York City urban radio station Hot 97 to share his thoughts with DJ Enuff. The interview made West sound a bit bitter and ungrateful stating that Lil Wayne is the number one rapper and that Big Sean and himself should have been placed higher. In the midst of the list debates, north of the border, Canadian rapper Drake released a track called “5am in Toronto” in which he aggressively lets off some steam directly addressing the list: “I swear f*ck them n*ggas this year, I made Forbes list n*gga, F*ck your list, everything is looking gorgeous”. Kendrick Lamar being crowned the hottest MC means one thing: Lyricism and real life issues are shifting back to the forefront of rap music. There may be hope yet.

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Interview with Alyssa Goldrich

Check out my interview with Multimedia Communications classmate Alyssa Goldrich.

Intro

My name is Daniel Muhammad. I'm from Rochester, NY, and a St. John's University senior, majoring in Communication Arts.  I have many interests but the one I want to focus on is music. I love listening to music, I love creating music, and I love talking about it. Primarily, I listen to Hip Hop, Dancehall and R&B, but I listen to other genres as well such as Rock, Oldies, Jazz, Blues etc. If you can't tell already, my blog will be about music and I can't wait to share my love for it with you.