Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Only for "REAL" hip hop lovers




They sarcastically ask me "when you're cd droppin son"!



I hate to say it but hip hop is fighting me right now. Recently i had the pleasure of indulging in the latest joe budden mixtape "Mood Muzick 3" and it is very introspective. Budden is one of the most legitimate story tellers in his craft (hip hop). If you wrap poetry up with emotion and give it a rhythm then it would be called Joe Budden. He puts things together that most brains wouldn't let touch the same hemisphere. I have concluded that what makes musicians music greatly coveted and sought after is when people feel connected with the person or song, therefore it makes the music more personal and not just another good song. With that said, Joe never gets the love he deserves for that talent that he shares. It makes me wonder then would we rather view musicians on a higher plateau than ourselves because Budden gives you the music from a regular guys perspective. With that said I don't put anyone above myself, we all bleed red! Matter of fact one of his monikers is "Regular Joe". When he raps he paints the picture so vivid. I feel like i know everyone that he knows, its almost like i grew up with him. He's like the character in the movie that you want things to go right for, but they just never do and it hurts you just like it hurts him.


If you ever listen to him he is a very personal and revealing emcee. One of Budden strengths is his ability to release plenary emotion into a track and it comes through uncompressed. His trials and tribulations are laid out like an adolescents clothes before the first day of school. What im trying to say is that he has substance in his rhymes and not just everyday egostatistical "im the man" raps (although he can do that too if necessary, if thats what gets you in the "mood"). Joe puts himself in a vulnerable position letting everyone into his life but he ends up with the upper hand because it makes you fiend for more, i don't know how he does it. I almost cried when he rapped about not being able to see his son when he wants to because of the relationship that he has with his child's mother. Think about how most rappers want to be viewed, they make everything cool and give you the impression that they are "that guy". Nobody in hip hop has real problems it seems. And maybe i utilize music differently than others, perhaps others use it as a getaway and i use it as therapy just like Joe Budden the difference is he talks it and i listen to it. However after talking to my significant other I was reminded that some people just hear music and it grooves them or it doesn't, then there are people that actively LISTEN for the content. There are plenty of instances where I have had to stop my mother from singing a song and I've said "Mom do you know what they are saying" and she usually responds "no". I always did find that mind boggling.



With that said, all this talent is being subdued. His one and only album came out in 2003. And he still has a current record deal but cannot get an album put out through a major record label. It makes me wonder what record execs and record labels really value. Any of the higher ups on the label have to realize that he is a very talented individual. He notes on this mixtape that he is often pressed to fit into a particular mold. But in the words of Joey "why try to fit in when you a stand-out".


Are you in that mood yet!


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