Voice - A$AP Rocky

"This is why, this is why, this is why I’m hot

I'm hot cuz I am, you ain't cuz you not

This is why, this is why, this is why I'm hot." Mims

This is not my typical post about voice. Normally, I would highlight an MC who I think has a good rap voice. This however is more about voice in the way that authors or trained actors use when they are taking on a role on an individual that speaks with an accent or in a particular dialect.

This is all I could think about when listening to young Harlem upstart A$AP Rocky. Despite being from Harlem rocky draws most of is inspiration from Texas, namely Houston, rap culture. I am not talking about Geto Boys, Big Mike and Scarface Houston (although that would be awesome). I am talking Lil Flip, Paul Wall, Mike Jones, Slim Thug, Houston. His D.J. Screw inspired 'throwed' flow has got him some buzz and a decent little fan base. 

 

Borrowing from, or being inspired by, artists that are from a different region from you is nothing new. Again, I grew up on Willie D and Bushwick Bill so I can relate. I have also read a bunch of interviews with Southern rappers whose early works were a facsimile of their Northern cousins. More recently Cam'ron and the Dips found inspirations in Midwest aesthetic, and 50 Cent's southern twang wasn't just about his gun wound. Purple City, a below the Mason-Dixon line inspired album remains a favorite for me.

As a an MC, well, lets just say Rocky is still at the rapper stage. Sure, he shows some promise, but he has a way to go for his overall development. I can't help but wonder is he would be getting the same buzz if he had a flow similar to Murder Mase, Herb McGruff or some other cat from his borough. Clearly these days rapping like your from Swishahouse is more profitable than raping like Harlem's own Children of the Corn.

 

But at the same time I respect A$AP for being inspired by other artists, and not simply to make a buck. A few weeks ago I went to see a non rap show where the opening act announced that they were all from upstate New York, then proceeded to whip out banjo's and play Bluegrass. For a second I was expecting the Klan to roll up in there! Point being, artists find inspiration all around.

Flow - Common

Common used "The Corner", from his album Be, to really flex his boom-bap ability. There is so much to say about this song from the structure, to the delivery, to the flow, and the wordplay. My focus will be on the first verse but I have to speak on the structure of the song a bit. Each verse is done primarily with an end rhyme and stresses particular syllables. 

The first verse uses the "0" sound, the second employs the "ight" ending while the third utilizes an "i" sound. He also plays with his voice, dropping it on the end rhyme for each bar.

"Memories on corners with the Fours and the Moors
Walk to the store for the Rose talking straightforward to hoes"

He also uses "and" a lot to compare and contrast and provide imagery. It also kind of minimalist in some ways. By doing this Com gives the song a cypher kind of sound, a delivery you would hear with a bunch of heads out on a corner just reporting out the things going on around them. Hence the songs title. Adding the Last Poets furthers that feel.

"...every black, "you're not black enough"...

...is a white, "you're all the same"  - Childish Gambino

Okay, so remember that dude you went to school with back in the day that was always around but no one really knew who he was. He was from around the way but no one knew exactly where he lived or anyone he hung out with. You never saw him at the courts playing ball, wasn't into rocking J's, and had a really jagged line-up. Didn't hoop, sling, bang, get at chics or any of the other prerequisites of "Blackness". One of your homeboys remembers having a class with him and clowning him about his dirty Nike Cortez and extra-medium Pantera t-shirt. He had a few other outcast friends but was otherwise completely off the "down" radar. Well, he was listening to hip-hop under those wack-ass headphones you used to smack off of his head. Guess what, he raps now, and he's got major beef with you.

Well, not just you, he also has an axe to grind with the bro-dudes and semi-down wealthy kids from his private school too. Most of his venom, however, is for you. Mainly because he expected more from you, than he did from them.