From Darren Keast Sent Wed, Apr 21st 1999, 01:19
From Darren Keast Sent Wed, Apr 21st 1999, 01:19
I fully understand this point, and agree to some degree, but this is a revisionist theory which looks back on hip-hop from a 90's perspective, where beats reign supreme. While the DJ started hip-hop, the MC was very soon the dominant figure, still reigning supreme in traditional hip-hop. Throughout the late 80's and all of the 90's, I would find it hard to believe that the final say on the beat for a given track was the producer. Most hip-hop instrumentals are tailor made for the particular rap style of the featured artist. The electro sound of the early 80's is not a good example since it was started by whiteboys without any real message to bring, who found MCs to rhyme over their futuristic creations. So of course the rapping was stilted, the real MCs were out in the park doing their own thing, thinking "Planet Rock" was some weird disco shit. MCs still have the artistic power to choose the beats they want to rap over...the good ones go find a producer who will make beats that sound good under their flows. Jungle MCs are weak for the most part because they couldn't get a "real job" with a good hip-hop producer (this is changing to some extent with new breed MCs like Wordplay from NY, at home over hip-hop or dnb). I think the evolution is both parts MC and producers, but for the majority of hip-hop's history, people didn't even talk about the beats...it was all about lyrics. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's not a rap song to be heard, janky remixes aside, where the beats don't define to the last letter the method of rapping on top." i agree...but that's putting the cart before the horse...the producer is being paid by the MC to make a beat that define the MCs flow. darren Tom Millar wrote: > I think that "beat determinism" is a very effective theory. > > I think that what Sam is trying to say is that when the beats were locked-up > drum machine electrowank, gated snares and so forth all over the place, the > rapping ended up suffering from similarly stilted delivery and bad funk. It is > notoriously difficult to sound good using a modern rap delivery style on top > of syncopated-freakout bass drum patterns with too much reverb and choppy > hi-hats. The raps had to be deliberately simplistic and each line was forced > to carry about the same dynamic weight just to be heard clearly over the beats. > > When the beats became more sample-driven, tighter, and more reliant on > live-feeling loops as opposed to the tyranny of the 16th-note resolution > forced by older gear, the rapping opened up and was freed to stomp all over > the place. When the rhythm underneath isn't tripping all over its own > polyrhythms, it makes it easier for a rapper to play with his delivery and use > _his_ polyrhythms, dragging and rushing over the beat to emphasize phrases. > > So I agree, the beats lead the way, though I'm sure plenty of rappers were all > set to use some different delivery patterns as soon as affordable samplers and > such hit the market. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's not a rap song to be > heard, janky remixes aside, where the beats don't define to the last letter > the method of rapping on top. > > Tom