LA Times: Paid Dues Indie Hip-Hop Festival
Few things irk me more than the glut of critics self-righteously spitting at all things indie rap, while championing OJ Da Juice Man as the savior–as though there weren’t reams of photo negatives of them rocking backwards fitteds and Jansports. Conversely, nothing seems more trite than dudes championing “that real hip-hop,” while sneering at anyone with a recording budget bigger than one month’s rent.
It’s hard for me to critique the Paid Dues Festival. I’ve got boundless respect for both Murs and Guerilla Union: their contributions to hip-hop, their tireless work at preserving the culture, and the music/shows they’ve been a part of. Both Murs, Brother Ali, et. al, love and appreciate their fiercely loyal fan-bases, something clearly evident during the marathon autograph-signing sessions they put in following their sets.
That said–attending Paid Dues felt like I was trapped in an alternate ‘99. I obviously enjoyed several performances. Slaughterhouse were phenomenal, and Ali and Atmosphere are always reliable, if not overly familiar. B-Real played “I Want To Get High” and “Hand on the Pump,” which was cool. But equally often, things veered into maudlin nostalgia and rote cliche. Giving out Paid Dues backpacks to VIP’s? $10 beers, $40 tickets, and $15 to park, at a festival ostensibly intended to be a paean to the independent spirit? Really?
William F. Buckley: About that “Real Hip-Hop”
As an inherently reactionary art form, backpack rap was regressive from the get-go. After 10+ years of railing against what Ali called, “the corporate shit they stick down your throat,” when does that complaint become stale? When does it become more important to offer new alternatives than to critique existing options–however dismal they may seem. Preserving hip-hop culture is wonderful and important, but at what point does the definition of “real hip-hop” seem narrow and antiquated. Some geographic diversity, and a greater role for the next generation would’ve been welcomed.
Hell, why not add rap-friendly rockers like Black Lips, Islands, Dungen, or even Wavves. You’ll mutually expose your fanbases to new acts and ideas, and it could make for interesting collabos. When your festival is 87 percent male, that’s not a good sign. The days of the “rap exclusivist” are numbered. Like it or not, rap is pop–nobody’s parents forbid them from listening to Kanye or Wayne. Holding the four elements sacred doesn’t have to mean slavish attempts to re-create dead days.
Of course, not all the groups, nor all the fans at Paid Dues fit that definition, but for such a purportedly progressive circle, there were tangible parallels between the current state of the indieground and William F. Buckley’s definition of a conservative: someone standing athwart history, and yelling, “Stop!” Independent and intelligent hip-hop will always have a major role in a genre that often places commerce over craft. But hip-hop is inherently a post-modern and protean beast. The definition of hip-hop in ‘09 can’t be stuck in ‘99, wishing it was in ‘89. The foundation isn’t cracked, but the exterior is in bad need of a renovation.
LA Times: Paid Dues Indie Hip-Hop Festival
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MP3: Slaughterhouse-”Slaughterhouse” (Left-Click)
MP3: Slaughterhouse-”Fight Club”
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March 30th, 2009 at 7:53 am
Well said.
March 30th, 2009 at 11:35 am
murs hatd that shit lol. You can argue that the last say ten years of rap has not been post-modern like most other music. Yah it was shitty and it was crunk but it wasnt the backpackn raps of the post-modern HipHop underground. When rappers begin to realize that they need to listen to more than just rap they will be straight. Why were the 90s so good? Snoop dogg and others attributed their music to James Brown. These days rappers shout biggie. Its so easy to be big in rap. Sample Acid House.
March 30th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Dungen are rapper friendly? Have they collaborated with rappers or just expressed appreciation for rap?
March 30th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Gustav actually began his career writing hip-hop songs, regularly spins hip-hop DJ sets in Sweden, and recently appeared at the Dublab pledge drive.
Also, check this interview from LA Record.
http://larecord.com/interviews/2008/11/12/dungen-it-is-not-my-purpose-to-neglect/
When asked about his favorite contemporary bands:
“Madlib because he seems to be a composer not concerned with rules. For me he is not any particular genre. He is just making music and that is very inspiring. And the music is very beautiful at the same time. I listen to him every day. Also MF Doom and a lot of new indie hip-hop.”
March 30th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Hip Hop has been hating both itself and everyone else for a long time (mid 90’s on). That negative sentiment alone has contributed to the demise of it’s relevancy. The fun and conscious intelligence of hip hop were replaced by those whoring every sin as a sales pitch, having a good time in hip hop is no longer a reality, but depression, misogyny, and ignorance dirtys its path. Although there are many talents throughout the genre, the fact of the matter is, like a friend that does nothing but complain, lie, steal, or bragg… hip hop has become a music that many don’t want to associate with.
March 30th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Sigh. Like we’ve discussed in the past, I’ll never understand why these shows have to be stuck way the hell out in San Berdoo. It seems the moving this show to L.A. proper would do well to increase ticket sales.
I’m happy to hear that Slaughterhouse is as good in real time as they look on paper. I LOVE that they came with the whole butcher-shtick in concert. It probably pissed off ol’ Tech N9ne to no end, though.
I’m sure MURS is open to the idea of getting freaky with the line-up.
March 30th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Hopefully, he will when he’s done trying to diss me via Twitter.
March 30th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Oh, dear…
March 30th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
I think the first year I went to Paid Dues (which mightve been its first year going on?), it was scheduled to be one place but then it got moved like a week before and caused mass confusion. The point being, I can imagine it being harder each year to get a venue with so many owners seemingly trying to disassociate themselves from hip-hop all the time and the police steady making up violations to shut shows down.
Onto another point, since when have those PD acts been spitting the same vague, anti-corporate backpack agenda as ‘99? Most those acts you mention (Atmos, Ali, BluEx, Cage) seem more emo rap than keep-it-real rap. Wouldn’t emo rap being the progression you’re looking for?
March 30th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
excellent observations as always Weiss
March 30th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
@ Quan: I was there that year, at the Shrine, right? I honestly don’t think finding a venue is a problem. They’re having the Break Fest in May @ LA State Historic Park. I’m sure Paid Dues could do a similar thing if they wanted. You could have it at Barnsdall Park in Los Feliz, where they had the Arthur Fest. You could do it at Elysian Park. There’s tons of places. I mean this is 2009, people don’t riot at rap shows anymore.
Also, it was called “The Paid Dues Independent Hip-Hop Festival,” so the keeping it indie/real theme was in full force. Ali was the most vociferous in those sentiments, but it certainly was the most prominent thread uniting the acts.
@ Curt–Thank you very much.
March 30th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
I think the “indie/real” grouping isn’t exactly right/accurate (kinda like my word choice here). I mean, you hear both Murs and Slug in interviews these days and they seem much more middling than the indie/real vs. corporate/mainstream/fake binary from the backpack doctrine. You don’t think the music reflects that new open-mindedness too?
March 31st, 2009 at 12:50 am
No, I was referring to the general tenor of the event itself: offhand rapper comments, title, general vibe. I mean Murs is signed to Warner Bros after all. Like I said, not all the artists reflected that stance individually. It’s as much aesthetic as anything.
March 31st, 2009 at 1:40 pm
i wouldn’t consider Murs’ Twitter posts to be any more of a diss than your review of Paid Dues. you wrote a review expressing distate for the event and he tweeted about his distate for your review. seems like a fair exchange to me.
sounds like you need to sit down with Murs and hug it out.
March 31st, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Yeah, it was a fair exchange. I’m hoping we can further the dialogue as well. Hopefully, will have something to relate on that front in the near future.
April 2nd, 2009 at 7:59 pm
“Few things irk me more than the glut of critics self-righteously spitting at all things indie rap, while championing OJ Da Juice Man as the savior–as though there weren’t reams of photo negatives of them rocking backwards fitteds and Jansports.”
I think your enemy went extinct about eighteen months ago.
April 2nd, 2009 at 9:42 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwM8ylfQeWY
I think this means Boosie is The Great Compromiser.