This is either me feeling old or realizing I’m getting old or something along those lines…but my liking of this (song & video) is not on pure merit of the song. The fact that this is the same rapper that made “Bling Bling”, a song I specifically remember singing with friends at school, at soccer practice, and listening to at my family computer in the living room and it’s the same producer that supplied the music for SO many of the songs that were a part of my budding interest in music…results in an emotional response that I can’t quantify with words. This is what old heads need to recognize- you might like your classic New York rap…but that’s not a part of my youth. I’m 23 and I was raised on Mannie Fresh and Pharrell beats and associated acts, Jay Z included, duhh.
Additionally, no matter how stupid I know or one may think it is, this revival of my past loves is happening parallel to the much hated and much loved rapper, Gucci Mane, being back in jail is kind of fucked up. No, I haven’t listened to “Lemonade” yet…because I’m seriously disappointed. Jail time is cyclical and it’s too easy to be optimistic about the cycle ending, only to be let down. I’m not the only person feeling this disappointment.
I was thinking earlier today about how the band Girls, in my head, is a big indie band right now but they actually, are not. Seven thousand myspace friends, 600 twitter followers (that’s indie buzz maybe?) and every person I know who is into indie music right now is wayyy more into the Dirty Projectors annnyywaaayyy. I’m sure my brain has auto-increased their popularity factor because I actually think they are pretty good. I didn’t buy their CD or anything but I like the complexities of what they are doing— particularly, their borderline asexuality. The name “girls”, the pop aesthetic of their music and Owens’ (sometimes mocking) singing voice all play along the line existing between femininity and masculinity. Front man Christopher Owens, is obviously either gay (GASP) or just really into the fashion of androgyny. But it’s a throwback androgyny a la Boy George —not quite being a drag queen…but MORE so being… a MARILYN.
Marilyn (aka MAZ) was a, Jamaica born, contemporary of Boy George that never reached the same level of success. He seems to have been, at least to me, much less marketable because he’s not really quite as “wacky” (in the way that can be written off as artistic and not weird), not as good of a singer, and much less catchy. Probably the biggest thing he ever did was his UNINVITED feature on Band Aid’s “DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS?”.
Even so, the weirdly interesting part of Owens’ and Marilyn’s androgyny is how it’s not necessarily pretending to be a girl but more like pretending to be a girl who doesn’t dress super-feminine—- like a girl wearing flannel or hiking boots- a much more realistic, appreciated reflection of wimins.
Some Marilyn Youtubes for reference/entertainment:
November 22-23: Record and CD show: Greensboro 22nd and Raleigh 23rd. Don’t bother with the Raleigh one though…everything is TORE UP by the time the show moves there.
2. …and since there was no intro from Griff this week (he just DIVES right in and drops the intro later), I made one for you. Yes, that first 31 seconds is my amalgamation of stuff: 410 Pharaohs, Jay E., Jadakiss, Kanye, Gucci, etc, etc.
So, I ripped this because KW GRIFF on 92Q from 9-10pm every Friday night is one of my favorite things on this planet. If you didn’t know, KW Griff is 1/3 of the Doo Dew Kidz, a legendary Baltimore club group comprised of KW GRIFF, DJ BOOMAN & JIMMY JONES. This show is a great primer for what club music is happening right now…I may update this with a tracklist later.
For now, DOWNLOAD AND ENJOY!
BONUS BEAT: Baltimore’s MULLYMAN’s “I GO HARDER” (produced by DJ BOOMAN) chopped and screwed.
I really didn’t want to get involved or comment on this because it’s really just too sad but here we go…
I already know I don’t like Nicki Minaj so I’m not surprised this is weird/bad to these folks because YES, if you are familiar with her at all—you know about the robot voices and other gimmicks.
The more pressing question here is: why are these people being asked to freestyle in the first place and why are they agreeing to? It’s obviously not their aisle.
But on a blogosphere meta-level, the question is: why bother attempting to converse with folks who marginalize all conversation? And do everything in their power to try to make you look stupid?
…WHICH IS WHY THIS IS GOING HERE AND NOT THERE…’cause just like female rapping gets shit on/ignored…whatever, female comments get ignored.
DISCLAIMER: This isn’t NolaBounce.com or DallasBoogie.com or FreshHotUnsignedFemmeMCs.com nor do I intend for it to be but I gotta get in where I fit in…so, I’m just posting shit I like.
I see everything relative to Baltimore club music so it might be unfair for me to post a bounce song…but this post-MJ death remix track from NOLA’s own 5th Ward Webbie and Big Choo might just be the best yet. Not limited to but especially the first 0:40 seconds are incredible with a ton of claps and chopped J5-MJ vocals, it almost feels like you AREN’T going to hear 5th Ward or Choo at all- making it especially powerful when “HEAD SHOULDERS KNEES TOES” urgently DROPS in outta nowhere. The appeal of the track for me, in part, is the lack of acknowledgment of Michael Jackson’s death and by using J5 era Michael also forsaking the negativity associated with his celebrity. Instead, his death is both celebrated and accepted by making it only an actuality connected to the sample which is used as a backdrop for “DIP IT LIKE YOU KNOW HOW!” and other business-as-usual phrases.
There are a handful of female rappers that make me shake my head in…holy shit wonder…Geisha 305 is one of these. She’s really good at playing into the typical hard female rapper shtick but her choice of beats (or limited selection? or familiarity with rap music?) and rapps pull it off in a way that’s interestingly unpredictable. She presents a more complicated personality than most female rappers which is most likely(?) because she’s a youtube phenomenon rather than record label promotion experiment. She’s shamelessly passionate and aggressive, wearing GEISHA t-shirts to the club, but she’s also hilarious in the self-aware way—not the “I’m laughing at you way”. Her openness about her day job as a cosmetologist in a Miami flea market adds another level to her persona. Maybe I have a soft-spot for her profession because my parents used to own a hair salon but it’s symbolic of her giving back to women instead of just being aggressive.
Her rapping and persona have an energy that contrasts with probably the most talked about female rapper right now, Nicki Minaj. While I don’t mind hearing a Nicki Minaj verse on someone else’s track, a whole track of “Nicki Minaj” is unbearable. Her dumb-cute version of the female sex symbol rapper (basically Lil Kim) is really boring. I’m not writing off the idea of the soft image but there’s something necessary about aggression as a mechanism for communicating emotion without belting it out Keyshia-style and GEISHA takes it to a new level.
Especially men. They are just going to be stronger than you, probably faster, most likely better at punching and if they are smarter, they won’t fight you back. A girl larger than you is probably stronger than you- and no matter how scrappy you are if she’s throwing punches with 200lbs behind her, you’re gonna get knocked the fuck out.
2. Don’t start fights.
Nothing should make you mad enough to want to fight someone UNLESS they touch you first- at least that’s my rule. If you do decide you are going to be the aggressor, don’t stand in the corner with your friends getting hype, turning your rings around, trying to act tough- that’s lame. Try using that time to think about why you are REALLY mad and remember, no matter what- fighting isn’t going to make you feel better. Fighting is an immature remedy for an overflow of emotion.
3. Tie your hair back.
4. Take off the heels. Better yet, don’t wear them.
5. If you are going to pull hair, do it with your non-dominant hand, arm extended, elbow loose. If you are getting your hair pulled, don’t bother with anything else but freeing your head. Spending the entire fight grabbing at what you can’t see- that’s getting SONNED.
6. Don’t throw punches if you aren’t confident in your punching ability.
7. Don’t show emotion.
When you don’t show emotion, there is less of a chance of further antagonizing but also, it’s much more intimidating than getting upset and yelling.
8. Weapons shouldn’t be used unless you aren’t the aggressor and it’s purely self-defense.
9. Don’t fight in social situations that matter.
Don’t fight your family, co-workers, or friends- or really anyone you’ll ever have to see again.
10. Allow the fight to be broken up. The longer it goes on- the worse it gets.
