Never liked it. Rap distilled everything I hate in music into a polished easily avoided product. I'm sure in the vein of Spear Head there is a great tradition of intelligent, thoughtful, clever, lyrical rap and beats in the States but American rap and hip hop's stupendous ego and self promotion, gun worship, focus on money, cars and sexism shrink wraps it all into one putrid pile of shit.
But I'm now slowly coming around - Over the last few years I've been discovering Australian hip hop. It's not a facsimile of the American product. It has grown up and now has roots firmly planted in Australian culture and unashamedly, unselfconsciously reflects and comments on the Australian social and political landscape. Tunes you can really listen to and bop along with. Tunes and lyrics that are so Australian I don't think non Aussies could appreciate just how local and relevant they are. Australian hip hop has something to say. Rap has always found fertile ground in personal self reflection and Aussies have never feared talking about their failure (Matty B, I'm looking at you), and personal pain, Bias B missing his mum brings me to tears. When he's not taking the piss fist fucking freedom that is.
Loving The Heard, whether it's wrapping political lyrics around a traditional Australian shanty, the soft target of AWB and Australia's involvement in the Middle East or shaking up the cunts and dancing on the pricks head - contemporary lyrics with a truly Australian cant - "got your arse played in mandarin" aha ha ha, sorry Johney. They do a tops recut of Redgum's classic (<- XL Mate, that's for you). Urthboy, the MC for The Heard has a bunch of good tunes but I particularly like this one taking the piss out'a the local evangelicals
According to voting on various JJJ (the yuff station) hit lists the Hilltop Hoods have the most popular AHH tune.
I love how much Aussie hip hop is about having a few (too many) with your mates:
Dialectrix - Pieces Of A Puzzle, Bliss N Eso - Down by the River the reddest red neck local tune I know of, Matty B - Aussie Weekender, Funkoars - The Hangover are all good tunes.
The Brits aren't half bad at over consumption either.
How about this anthem to low rent living: My whole life needs a coat of paint., and I laugh at the cow bell hidden away in Nothing To Lose.
AHH is heaps good
I just hope the cunts don't put their caps on backwards or I'm going back to Flame Trees.
p.s. If you've got issues with posts full of youtube clips you can get fucked.
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8 comments:
i love the herd "the king is dead" was a great anthem. if you get the chance(mms://wm9.streaming.telstra.com/UCS-wh_fbi0live1)FBI is worth a listen as they really showcase Australian Hip-hop. Some of it is gold but its also balanced with some real crap, i'm not pulling the i'm to old to understand bullshit, i like music and i like hip-hop amongst a lot of other styles of music... but really some of it is truly crap especially the idiots trying to emulate the American styles... the kiwis also have some great hip-hop as well, we just don't hear a lot of it.
Gotta love the Hilltop boys! They're Radelaide fellas, up in Blackwood. :o)
Not too keen on the Redgum classic being massacred...but I guess like any original, it takes a bit to get used to.
I used to HATE with a passion Eminem... but now quite like his stuff. Tastes change.
Thank you for putting up both versions. Those were indeed our mates out there.
Dog30y > Been listening to a bit of NZHH for the purpose of steeling some - saying it's Aussie - but it's a it gangster for my taste. Any specific sugestions ?
Ute > Dito, Dito and Dito. They do - take my interest in b cups for example.
XL > A lot of vets feel very strongly about that song.
And before anybody bitches _some_ yank tunes are fine. Buck 65 included.
I can take Eminem, especially some of his recent efforts teamed up with a hottie singing the melody... but to even give a genre name to "AHH" is a stretch for me.
Maybe I'm just not ready for it...
steven babe: okay...Oz has a way to go to compare to even the local stuff I've heard here in the streets.
just saying...from what I know of music and rapp and the people i see make it.
My cousin does some awesome raps...reflective and oh so true with ryhms. It's true it's best when you know what is said...
Tupac...was a poet but too bad the gangsta life took him and Biggie too. They had some good shit to say. Like I've said before I like some rapp...the deep stuff not the fluff. some of it is crap and I could write better and put the music to it...l;ike left eye used to do for TLC.
I'm afraid Oz rapp wouldn't make it big in the US of A if the accent there...but I'll give it a go to see more of what rapp is there.
ciao XXX
steven babe: okay...Oz has a way to go to compare to even the local stuff I've heard here in the streets.
just saying...from what I know of music and rapp and the people i see make it.
My cousin does some awesome raps...reflective and oh so true with ryhms. It's true it's best when you know what is said...
Tupac...was a poet but too bad the gangsta life took him and Biggie too. They had some good shit to say. Like I've said before I like some rapp...the deep stuff not the fluff. some of it is crap and I could write better and put the music to it...l;ike left eye used to do for TLC.
I'm afraid Oz rapp wouldn't make it big in the US of A if the accent there...but I'll give it a go to see more of what rapp is there.
ciao XXX
I LOVE this post, and love the music you've featured too!
I had no idea you had such awesome taste in tunes!
hi to the missus!
xx
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