Comments on: Douglas Martin’s Dirty Shoes: A Blipster’s Guide to Hipster-Hop

By: Sly

Sly — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:03:02 +0000

that “fire” is definetenly one of my fave’s for 2008..i just cant believe more hippie raps could come from the west hippie is the new gangsta..u cant help but notice the swag as well - shout out to Jeff for posting these jems..keep up the good work fam..

One!

By: Passion of the Weiss

Passion of the Weiss — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:06:13 +0000

Yeah, I’ll be there for sure. Should be a great one.

By: Scott T. Sterling

Scott T. Sterling — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:23:34 +0000

It sounds like the Q-Tip/Knux/PacDiv/Cool Kids show at HOB on Saturday is gonna be a DOOZY.

By: DocZeus

DocZeus — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:39:14 +0000

And as for any level of “objectivity” in music criticism, that’s beyond absurd. It’s inherently subjective. You can’t objectively prove that one style of music is better than another. It comes down to a matter of taste.

By: DocZeus

DocZeus — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:37:22 +0000

Tray-

I didn’t realize the Kidz in The Hall were “beloved” to me. I liked their album, loved the single, and thought the three remixes were fantastic (especially El-P’s and the West Coast Remix). Giving an album a positive review does not equate to unequivocal worship. I share a lot of your same concerns with a lot of these groups but they also make music I happen to enjoy and like. I’m not equating these guys with the creme de la creme of the genre.

And reducing the Knux to Outkast rip-offs is unbelievably simplistic and just shows a lack of critical thinking. I mean sure Rah Almillio’s voice sounds like Big Boi’s but he’s hardly the first artist to have a voice similar to another. People used to accuse Guru and Parrish Smith of sounding like Rakim but that doesn’t inherently invalidate EPMD and Gang Starr as Eric B. & Rakim rip-offs. As Douglas pointed out, Outkast doesn’t play their instruments and while Big Boi & Andre are clearly influences on the group the Knux are far more indie rock-ish than Outkast ever dared to be even at their most Love Belowy. These guys aren’t Guerrilla Black.

By: jrfjelstad

jrfjelstad — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:17:24 +0000

“I’m just saying that, as a matter of objective fact, they aren’t any good.”

*”objective fact”* (!)

hasn’t this shit about objectivity in a necessarily subjective experience been hashed out a million times before? or are you just saying that you have better taste than all those who dig this (sonically-innovative, fresh, fun as fuck) music?

By: douglas martin

douglas martin — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:55:33 +0000

Scott: I read this article the other day, and I have to say I feel the same way as you. I felt like the BRC was counterproductive to having culture as a whole accepting these guys as merely “black dudes that happen to be in rock bands.” By setting themselves apart and naming themselves the Black Rock Coalition, they immediately unnecessarily cast a light on their race. That’s one of the reasons why TV on the Radio is so respected, because although they sometimes write songs about being black (”The Wrong Way”), they never overstated their case, thus being respected by both black and white people all over.

Which brings up Dart’s point again: If you do hip-hop, you’re a Hip-Hopper.

Tray: I don’t think Kidz in the Hall is “beloved” by anyone on this thread. If you read my post correctly, I used the words “calculated” and “contrived” within two-hundred words of each other. It’s safe to say that if I use EITHER word, let alone both, I’m not a fan of the artist/group in question.

Secondly, your point about The Cool Kids could also be said about The Knux: They’re not outright Outkast rips, being as though the groups rhyme about fairly different topics, and the guys in The Knux play their own instruments. Until you show me a Youtube of Big Boi shredding the shit out of a Fender, then this point is invalid.

Lastly, you can’t say the exact same thing about two different groups, and justify one of them while skewering the other. I personally don’t have a problem with you, but in the future, if you’re going to argue against something, please make sure your arguments are thought out better.

By: bding7

bding7 — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:17:06 +0000

how are the knux or kidz in the hall underground? the knux are on interscope, it’s just they don’t have the same promotional push as the big name acts on that label. KITH were part of the reinvigorated Rawkus and are now on BCC, as well as being affiliated with Just Blaze (before he sampled “numa numa”). i don’t know if underground rap is dead, but some of these guys are very well-connected and can’t make moves.

By: Tray

Tray — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 03:34:30 +0000

But I don’t have a “cause” (and I do know everything I need to know in this regard, and I’m not 21). So I don’t really care if I do the “cause” harm. These guys aren’t good. I’m not trying to drive them out of rap, or even trying to convince you to not like them, no more than you seek to convince me to like them. I’m just saying that, as a matter of objective fact, they aren’t any good. You all can and should feel free to continue listening to them; I don’t mind, so long as you’re not playing the crap loudly, in my residential neighborhood - this isn’t like politics where your voting for the wrong guy does me some harm. There I do have a cause. Here, not at all. It’s only you who’s worse off for listening to these folks. I merely seek to vent my displeasure with the progressive hip-hop movement, and to insist, against its defenders, that underground rap is dead.

By: Passion of the Weiss

Passion of the Weiss — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 03:06:35 +0000

Tray: I was 21 once too. I thought I knew everything. Turns out I was wrong. Listen to Zeus and Zilla. You kill your cause every time you open your mouth.