Rap Music

[J.F.]

Here's another I'm not so familiar with this and have a question-post of mine:

In passages of (basically) solo rapping, the rapper often gets joined by his buddies (or overdubs himself) for the end of the line, so the last few syllables/words get rapped by several people together. First I'd like to say I find that an odd stereotype... I started to imagine Charlie Parker themes played by a solo sax, and the last two notes in each phrase get orchestrated with trumpet and trombone... that would sound funny, and I heard examples in rap - mostly in live situations - where I found the effect actually pretty close to that (or maybe that's just because I payed special attention to that aspect?).
But that subjective impression aside, I wonder where this thing comes from, when/where it started to be a trademark of rap music, or if anybody has any ideas about a possible "function" of those doublings - I remember from a Zappa-related thread for instance that somebody assumed those complex Zappa-unisons are there to underline that all that stuff is actually written out. One thing I recognise myself: those doublings at the end of the rapped lines in a way sure underline what's said. But maybe somebody can say more about that?

Something different: I remember I was in awe about the way many rappers pretty accurately double their own irregular Sprechstimme-melodies per overdub. Now one related thing I recognised in some of M.I.A.'s tracks: She raps/sings several tracks on her CDs in small parallel intervals (I assume in major seconds, which actually strongly reminds me of the way Steve Lacy used to arrange many themes from his song book). Is this dissonant and "untidy" studio-doubling a special M.I.A. thing, or are there other rappers who arrange their vocal-stuff like that?

[MRS]

http://www.blackbookmag.com/article/ear ... ated/25551

[bryan]

I've been rocking Krit's Return Of 4 Eva lately. Sorta a throwback to UGK and Outkast. Free DL. Track 3 sets it off right.

http://returnof4eva.com
Jeez, it's a fight to embed every time.. but there's also a NArduwar vs. Krit youtube vid that is entertaining..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93zbaLjsLh0

[bryan]

I wonder where this thing comes from, when/where it started to be a trademark of rap music, or if anybody has any ideas about a possible "function" of those doublings

I dunno but I think of My Bloody Valentine recording lots of takes of a vocal and they ended up using all the takes at once in the final mix and this lended an ethereal quality to their vocals but in the case of rap it became common to double up vocals and I think it's the same function as in a Beatles recording: thickening of the vocals, sonic interest. runonsentence

[hnismokehash]

I've been rocking Krit's Return Of 4 Eva lately.

I really haven't been digging Krit's new tape too much. I liked his first one a lot, but my opinion is mostly based around a Chopped & Screwed version. And C&S-ing makes basically anything better. I'm blanking on what it was called, but it had a track with Devin The Dude called Moon & Stars that was really great.

Nardwuar has been totally killing with these interviews lately! The Curren$y one is pretty great too, and I think Nardwuar talks about how Spitta took a bunch of the vinyl Nardwuar is always handing out in the Krit interview.

[RJMyato]

Here's another I'm not so familiar with this and have a question-post of mine:

In passages of (basically) solo rapping, the rapper often gets joined by his buddies (or overdubs himself) for the end of the line, so the last few syllables/words get rapped by several people together. First I'd like to say I find that an odd stereotype... I started to imagine Charlie Parker themes played by a solo sax, and the last two notes in each phrase get orchestrated with trumpet and trombone... that would sound funny, and I heard examples in rap - mostly in live situations - where I found the effect actually pretty close to that (or maybe that's just because I payed special attention to that aspect?).
But that subjective impression aside, I wonder where this thing comes from, when/where it started to be a trademark of rap music, or if anybody has any ideas about a possible "function" of those doublings - I remember from a Zappa-related thread for instance that somebody assumed those complex Zappa-unisons are there to underline that all that stuff is actually written out. One thing I recognise myself: those doublings at the end of the rapped lines in a way sure underline what's said. But maybe somebody can say more about that?

I would say it gives rhythmic emphasis to certain parts of a line, musically, as well as sometimes demonstrating the skill of the group/backup rappers who can match up with the lead. And the role of the hype man or the rest of the group in supporting the "soloist" (if that's how you want to think about it) is important. I think this is probably something more common in hiphop which puts emphasis on group interaction and virtuosity (especially older) rather than solo or club-oriented stuff.

edit: also i'd like to say i like your posts in this thread because it's clear you're coming at hiphop from a different direction and questions like this are pretty interesting / thought-provoking

[hnismokehash]

sometimes demonstrating the skill of the group/backup rappers

I don't know if its demonstrating the skill of the backup rapper so much as giving a rapper's weed carrier something to do on stage. I agree that it definitely emphasizes a word or phrase, but I kind of feel that giving the less talented members of a crew something to do is a concern. On the emphasize kick, though, one of my favorite things about Chopped & Screwed music is the way that the DJ can emphasize a line by repeating it a few times. I noticed this a lot with tapes done by Swishahouse and their DJs (just off the top of my head, a C&S version of Big KRIT's first tape, KRIT Wuz Here -- http://screwheadsonly.com/2010/08/11/bi ... ael-watts/), but I'm sure other DJs do it too, as a way of putting there stamp on the mix.

On a kinda unrelated note, some rappers when performing live just rap over their song playing on the speakers, words and all. I recently caught the Dipset reunion and, when Cam brought out Vado to do a few songs, it was hard to hear his actual voice over the song playing. I'm not sure why a rapper would do this, other than that they don't feel comfortable enough with their ability to actually go in on stage. Regardless, I think this points to the fact that some of the tactics rappers use in a live setting can have something, at least, to do with the logistics of performance.

I.E. I don't understand why Vado didn't just rap, he seems like he has the skills outside a studio:

EDIT: Aight, I can't figure out how to embed so here's a link to him freestyle on Hot 97: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-RDSDdNUeQ

[RJMyato]

ha that's probably true too for some people...

thanks for bringing up swishahouse though... i love a lot of that clique's stuff.

[bryan]

I really haven't been digging Krit's new tape too much. I liked his first one a lot, but my opinion is mostly based around a Chopped & Screwed version.

The first tape didn't grab me but the new one got me interested. Sometimes I just have to be in the right mood on the initial listen for it to click.

And C&S-ing makes basically anything better.

I can see that.

On a kinda unrelated note, some rappers when performing live just rap over their song playing on the speakers, words and all. I recently caught the Dipset reunion and, when Cam brought out Vado to do a few songs, it was hard to hear his actual voice over the song playing. I'm not sure why a rapper would do this, other than that they don't feel comfortable enough with their ability to actually go in on stage. Regardless, I think this points to the fact that some of the tactics rappers use in a live setting can have something, at least, to do with the logistics of performance.

As lame as this sounds, sometimes it's just as simple as not having an instrumental version on hand. And yeah, on a performance level, rapping over the studio version is always annoying and happens too often live. The worst is when the vocal tone on the studio version is much different than the live vocals.

[dave quam]

the new juic j and lex luger tape is great

[bryan]

the new juic j and lex luger tape is great

Oh yeah thanks for reminding - I need to get that.
Link for everyone:http://www.livemixtapes.com/download/13 ... ess_2.html

[Antoine]

Very nice 2cd reissue (on Rephlex)

[Dan Bennett]

Just been alerted to the existence of this group
http://soundcloud.com/deathgrips

http://thirdworlds.net/

Just wow. Particularly these:

[faster]

I heard the drummer from Hella is behind it

[bryan]

Just been alerted to the existence of this group
http://soundcloud.com/deathgrips

http://thirdworlds.net/

Just wow. Particularly these:

(vids)

Yah! Aggressive and raw and nice visuals. Thanks for posting this up, I needed something like this.

Found a brief writeup from Noz. He's on point: http://www.thefader.com/2011/04/28/vide ... -goes-yah/

[RJMyato]

That Death Grips stuff is awesome! I probably wouldn't have given it a chance if I'd known it was Zach Hill related before downloading. Really glad I did.

[bryan]

So I've had Ex military on repeat since I got it. Found a few more Death Grips tracks to DL here:
http://www.wefearchange.com/2011/03/dow ... p-project/

On a different end of the spectrum, Issue is now on his third E:
http://www.iheardissue.com/

I haven't even listened to Goblin yet. Thoughts?

[faster]

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/n ... uture.html

Guh?!?

n April, Complex magazine reported that it had found Earl, at a school for troubled boys in Samoa. About that same time, Sanneh was digging into Earl’s background and learning about the origins of his startling talent. Earl’s real name is Thebe Neruda Kgositsile, and his father is Keorapetse Kgositsile, one of South Africa’s most celebrated poets. Sanneh spoke with Kgositsile, and learned that the father knew of Earl’s success, but had not listened to the music. “When he feels that he’s got something to share with me, he’ll do that,” Kgositsile said. “And until then I will not impose myself on him just because the world talks of him.”

The person most responsible for Earl, however, is of course his mother, whose marriage to Kgositsile fell apart about a decade ago. She asked that The New Yorker not publish her name because she feared that Earl’s fans would harass her, and she is fiercely trying to protect her teen-age son from the exigencies of sudden fame. “There is a person named Thebe who preëxisted Earl,” Earl’s mother told Sanneh. “That person ought to be allowed to explore and grow, and it’s very hard to do that when there’s a whole set of expectations, narratives, and stories that are attached to him.”

[bryan]

The New Yorker article on Odd Future... linked up here:
http://www.oddfuturetalk.com/forums/top ... s-to-earl/
Making my way through it right now. It's a great read so far. I hope Earl comes back to rap another day. The game needs him.

[Joda]

Seems to be some contention as to whether those words come from Earl... anyways: http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2011/05/odd- ... tatements/