Welcome to class kids, sit down, shut up and don’t fall asleep. That means you Mr. West. This class is designed to give you a rounded view of several kinds of hip hop in five albums. It is a diving board into the vast swimming pool of rap music that, without guidance, may appear overwhelming.
1. Surf by Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment
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This album, organized by Chance the Rapper and his posse, became an instant hit when it was released for free on iTunes in May of 2015. Expertly incorporating a multitude of MCs largely from the Chicago area, Surf kept a single cohesive sound through the whole project while still maintaining an individual identity for each track. Surf is fun, passionate and hype while always using similar brass heavy instrumentals throughout the project, and it marks the beginning of mainstream use of gospel in hip hop that is seen later on Chance’s ‘Coloring Book’ as well as Kanye’s ‘The Life of Pablo’.
Notable line: “I got a future so I'm singing for my grandma/
You singing too, but your grandma ain't my grandma.”
2. Midnight Marauders by A Tribe Called Quest
Originating in New York, A Tribe Called Quest is quintessential chilled out East Coast rap. Sampling heavily from Jazz, Midnight Marauders, released in 1993, is a relaxing and rhythmic journey that one cannot help but nod along to. Tribe pushed the boundaries of hip hop with their love of Jazz and even had Logic steal their robotic narrator on his album ‘Under Pressure’.
Notable Line: “All the residential Questers who invade the air
Hold up a second son, cause we almost there”
3. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West
Released in 2010, this album is the conglomeration of the styles of all of Kanye’s albums up until this point. It builds on his experimentation with production and synthetic instrumentals that he began to work with on ‘808s and Heartbreak’ that marked the transition between “old Kanye” to “new Kanye”. Continuing his passion for sampling, notable artists such as Arctic Monkeys and King Crimson can be heard in the instrumentals of several songs. Kanye resurrects his playful and on occasion controversial lyricism that made his simple rap delivery so iconic. With several stellar features, this album never has a sub par track.
Notable line: “Cause the same people that tried to black ball me
Forgot about two things, my black balls”
4. Aquemini by Outkast
Big Boi and Andre 3000’s collaboration, Outkast, is classic Dirty South rap. Originating in Atlanta, Outkast embodies the slow drawl mixed with quick rhyming that characterizes Southern rap. Aquemini, the combination of Andre and Big Boi’s horoscope symbols, perfectly represents the duality of the two MCs’ different delivery styles mixing over relaxed, semi-psychedelic instrumentals often including vocal harmonies that fade in and out of the tracks.
Notable line: “Twice upon a time there was a boy who died
And lived happily ever after, but that's another chapter”
5. Good Kid, m.A.A.d City by Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar’s second studio album, released in 2012, is a work of storytelling genius. While this album does contain songs that at first listen appear to be party bangers, in the context of the album become powerful narratives of Kendrick’s experiences. Most famously, the song ‘Swimming Pools’, on first listen appears to be a party anthem about drinking in the club, while in reality, it is a solemn warning against alcoholism and the dangers of drinking to escape one’s reality. This album manages to have both an infectious, danceable sound that persists throughout and a harrowing story of Kendrick’s experience of a bad trip. The story is told out of order, and after a few listens, the genius of his storytelling ability becomes clear.
Notable line: “You love your hood, might even love it to death
But what love got to do with it when you don't love yourself?”
Check out your new intro to hip hop playlist here.
