It’s an odd conceit to suggest that there may be other creative LA rappers who mock celebrities, rap about murder, and loathe Kid Cudi and every last drop of liquid cocaine clogging his cranium. Call me crazy, but there might be one or two who formerly recorded for the same label as the guy previously nicknamed Mr. I Don’t Give a Fuck. And maybe, just maybe, his new largely-ignored record features beats from the guy who was the O.G. straw-man for the hand-wringing and scarf-swaddled set.
Granted, Lamont lacks the ability to be dissected and re-packaged to amp the cool quotient for click-hungry lifestyle magazines. And perhaps he’s not the most innovative artist of all-time. But in a diffuse landscape scarred by a surfeit of free content, it seems that attention gravitates towards the most outwardly bizarre or those with a narrative ripe for the media to mythologize and mangle. Odd Future have both, and they’re obviously gifted. But we’ve arrived at a point where the music seems to be of secondary importance to brand-building (an extra-musical quality that artists theoretically shouldn’t even have to consider.) Besides, Bishop’s saga is pretty standard. The Aftermath-rapper-exits-label hell-with-sanity-scarcely- intact angle has been previously mined by Joell Ortiz and Raekwon. Though if it’s any consolation, Shawshank Redemption has a couple songs that can be wrongly pigeonholed as “horror core.” And horror-core is so hot right now (word to Mugatu).
For those late to Lamont, the Carson-raised rapper has a lengthy and strong discography of deceptively bizarre music, including but not limited to, songs about his hatred of Scientologists, the time he accidentally tried to fuck Talib Kweli’s wife, and an entire mixtape dedicated to South Park (no Ganksta N-I-P.) His latest features beats from Dre, Quik, Lord Finesse, and Bink, plus guest spots from Busta Rhymes and Kurupt. I have a few words about Shawshank Redemption at Pop & Hiss. The tape has filler and several weak guest turns, but trimmed down to its best dozen songs, it’s a vivid reminder why he once had next on Aftermath. Maybe he just needs a Tumblr.
Download:
MP3: Bishop Lamont (prod. by Dr. Dre)-”Rain”
MP3: Bishop Lamont-”Hollow Eyes”
ZIP: Bishop Lamont-”The Shawshank Redemption” (Left-Click)
7 comments
Thun says:
November 10, 2010 at 8:22 pm (UTC -7)
I mean, if the problem is that the music has become a secondary critical concern, shouldn’t you devote the vast majority of words per article to the subject at hand? If brand building is an inevitable but problematically extra-musical quality (a claim that is probably vulnerable to valid dissecton esp. as it applies to rap)that should not be the focus of legit crit than why should the reader have to trudge through an elaborate explanation of how Lamont isn’t Odd Future to get to an admittedly well crafted plea to give his album a chance for its own merits?
Not trying to dis, serious questions.
Passion of the Weiss says:
November 10, 2010 at 8:24 pm (UTC -7)
That’s fair. It’s because I already logged 500 words describing it on the Times blog and didn’t want to repeat myself. Also, I’m pressed for time and ideally hope that someone would read this, like the album, and expound further about it.
Passion of the Weiss says:
November 10, 2010 at 8:42 pm (UTC -7)
I should probably add that I’ve been writing about dude for years and no one seems to ever write anything substantial about someone whom I consider a notable talent (I understand the Dre co-sign means less than it once did, but still).
http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2007/12/bishop_lamontthe_next_great_we.php
http://www.laweekly.com/2008-09-25/music/four-on-the-floor/2/
http://passionweiss.com/?s=bishop+lamont
The point could be made about any number of LA guys: Co$$, Open Mike Eagle, Nocando, Shawn Jackson, who I consider to be very strong rappers ignored by the Pitchforks, Spins, Faders, Complexes of the world.
I’m not trying to attack anyone, but I think we’ve gotten to a point where we’re 180 degrees from where we were in ’88-90 when Native Tongues, Public Enemy and so-called “conscious” groups were the only thing the media really engaged. Now it’s only the flashiest and most swagged out.
I’m not saying Odd Future don’t deserve attention. They do. But we’d be better served if there was more well-rounded balanced coverage.
Twitter Trackbacks for Passion of the Weiss » Blog Archive » Shawshanks and Skateboards [passionweiss.com] on Topsy.com says:
November 10, 2010 at 8:42 pm (UTC -7)
[...] Passion of the Weiss » Blog Archive » Shawshanks and Skateboards passionweiss.com/2010/11/10/shawshanks-and-skateboards/ – view page – cached It’s an odd conceit to suggest that there may be other creative LA rappers who mock celebrities, rap about murder, and loathe Kid Cudi and every last drop of liquid cocaine clogging his cranium. Call me crazy, but there might be one or two who formerly recorded for the same label as the guy previously nicknamed Mr. I Don’t Give a Fuck. And maybe, just maybe, his new largely-ignored… Read moreIt’s an odd conceit to suggest that there may be other creative LA rappers who mock celebrities, rap about murder, and loathe Kid Cudi and every last drop of liquid cocaine clogging his cranium. Call me crazy, but there might be one or two who formerly recorded for the same label as the guy previously nicknamed Mr. I Don’t Give a Fuck. And maybe, just maybe, his new largely-ignored record features beats from the guy who was the O.G. View page Tweets about this link [...]
Thun says:
November 10, 2010 at 9:20 pm (UTC -7)
Fair enough. Sorry for jumping the gun. I will give this album a listen for sure.
I can’t speak for anyone else, and WAY too much has been written in the past several weeks about the non-musical/meme/epiphenomena/reception culture/fanbase/what have you surrounding Odd Future, but the exact reason why they have attracted and sustained my attention is … almost impossible for me to describe. They just sound fresh as fuck to me in a way I haven’t felt about rap in forever. Ask sach, I tend to hate EVERYTHING.
That being said, having caught their bait, I can assess their music for its own merits and I think I have done so while completely avoiding any discussion of the “meta” topics:
http://www.thetroyblog.com/2010/11/10/tyler-the-creator-ofwgkta-de-la-soul-ft-black-sheep-the-roots-and-sonic-sum-the-wondrous-mundane/
http://www.thetroyblog.com/2010/10/26/peace-party-people-mellowhype-ofwgkta-and-a-tribe-called-quest/
Passion of the Weiss says:
November 11, 2010 at 1:38 am (UTC -7)
Those are good pieces.
It’s just a little weird that I can’t think of a single thoughtful album review of any one of the OFWGKTA albums, but I’ve read a dozen pieces trying to contextualize them with a queasily anthropological fascination. I feel like I’m trying to be sold a brand. And no one should ever compare anyone to Wu-Tang. That does no one any good.
That said, I’m on-board with the concept of the anti-Drakkardnoir. I saw them at Low End Theory. They’re raw, but there’s definitely something special there. Hopefully, they don’t believe what they read. My guess is they don’t.
The Bishop album is no classic, but I ensure you that its worst songs are better than anything Theophilus London will ever do.
nickrosenberg says:
November 14, 2010 at 6:30 pm (UTC -7)
The Odd Future hype is totally weighing down the music. And the music is fantastic. I concur with Thun that it’s the freshest shit I have heard in years.