Some Bullshit
https://youtu.be/TjGNL2lPXY8
"Fuckin' em, From the East to the West up down all around/
Fuckin' em, In hyper space they beggin' me to come down" - Mac Dre
At the beginning of this track, a raspy man's voice says "I'm talking about some dope shit, some shit that's fucked up, and some bullshit." I love these delineations--"some dope shit" is positive, "some shit that's fucked up" is stressful, and "some bullshit" is unfairness.
But that's just my take on those three types of shit.
Yesterday, I was watching an interview with Tupac in which he said that if C. Delores Tucker, a harsh critic of rap lyrics in the 90s, had to live poor, she would understand gangster rap music and why its lyrics are so harsh.
Like UGK, Mac Dre and The Cutthroat Committee committed crimes to support their music making; the Cutthroat Committee were notorious armed robbers. The idea of enjoying the music of felons, especially music so full of vicious criminal swagger, is hard for many listeners. They want rap that makes them feel good about life, that lifts their spirits and keeps the party going.
As someone diagnosed with bipolar disorder (with bonus psychotic tendencies!), I love gangster rap's swagger. I spent a large time during my adolescence scared to say anything for fear of being mocked. Rappers present fearless personas and that can't help but be attractive to fearful folks who wish they could be brash and outgoing.
But Mac Dre and the Cutthroat Committee, despite being infamous criminals, are not fearless. No human is, but growing up in the poor part of Vallejo, CA, they learned to project an image of fearlessness that not only protected them, but served them well as entertainers.
Despite its obsession with "realness," rap is not real. It's poetry and you'd be a fool for accusing TS Eliot or Sylvia Plath of "not keeping it real." There is always going to be a difference between poetic and musical expression and the language we use to interact with each other in the world.
I want to use this blog to talk about what excites me in music, and what excites me is often vulgar, cruel, hateful, and offensive. Poetry and music cannot survive without these "negative" things. Poetry and music have never been and should never be "a safe space." The historical legacy of poetry is full of beef, insults, sex, hate, cruelty, and a whole lot of micro-aggressions.
If you don't like the music of the Cutthroat Committee, that's fine, but open yourself up to music by people society has deemed "bad" or "evil," because they are in a long line of infamous poets and musicians.
"Fuckin' em, From the East to the West up down all around/
At the beginning of this track, a raspy man's voice says "I'm talking about some dope shit, some shit that's fucked up, and some bullshit." I love these delineations--"some dope shit" is positive, "some shit that's fucked up" is stressful, and "some bullshit" is unfairness.
But that's just my take on those three types of shit.
Yesterday, I was watching an interview with Tupac in which he said that if C. Delores Tucker, a harsh critic of rap lyrics in the 90s, had to live poor, she would understand gangster rap music and why its lyrics are so harsh.
Like UGK, Mac Dre and The Cutthroat Committee committed crimes to support their music making; the Cutthroat Committee were notorious armed robbers. The idea of enjoying the music of felons, especially music so full of vicious criminal swagger, is hard for many listeners. They want rap that makes them feel good about life, that lifts their spirits and keeps the party going.
As someone diagnosed with bipolar disorder (with bonus psychotic tendencies!), I love gangster rap's swagger. I spent a large time during my adolescence scared to say anything for fear of being mocked. Rappers present fearless personas and that can't help but be attractive to fearful folks who wish they could be brash and outgoing.
But Mac Dre and the Cutthroat Committee, despite being infamous criminals, are not fearless. No human is, but growing up in the poor part of Vallejo, CA, they learned to project an image of fearlessness that not only protected them, but served them well as entertainers.
Despite its obsession with "realness," rap is not real. It's poetry and you'd be a fool for accusing TS Eliot or Sylvia Plath of "not keeping it real." There is always going to be a difference between poetic and musical expression and the language we use to interact with each other in the world.
I want to use this blog to talk about what excites me in music, and what excites me is often vulgar, cruel, hateful, and offensive. Poetry and music cannot survive without these "negative" things. Poetry and music have never been and should never be "a safe space." The historical legacy of poetry is full of beef, insults, sex, hate, cruelty, and a whole lot of micro-aggressions.
If you don't like the music of the Cutthroat Committee, that's fine, but open yourself up to music by people society has deemed "bad" or "evil," because they are in a long line of infamous poets and musicians.
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