Postby WildcatOne » Thu Oct 18, 2007 10:54 pm
Working all day every day with rappers, I've picked up on some of it...they belong to a website and they relate heavily to the ethos of rap, hip-hop and the street beat. They're great at it, too. They use aliases and one of them performs every weekend with his group. I have cred with them because I still play every weekend, doing soul music in a big band...the roots of their music. They ask me about the songs we play...these guys I work with know about that music but their music style is based on the beat and lyrics with melody and arrangements being not so much of a priority...however, they also sing...beautifully...and I asked 'em, why dontcha sing, man. You can sing. So sing. Well, yeah, they say they do sing. But it's not their main deal. A lot of it is image over substance, macho posing over connecting directly with the audience. I will make it to one of their gigs when I'm off some weekend. Coming up this weekend I have a gig at the Houston Raquet Club for a wedding reception tomorrow night, and Saturday night, we're driving over to Beaumont, which is a ways off...it's on the East bank of the Sabine River, which is the border between Texas and Louisiana. We're playing at the Jefferson Theatre, downtown. They call the Beaumont/Port Arthur/Orange area the "Golden Triangle". They had the Golden Triangle Drag Strip there back in the day. Anyway, I digress. I respect and understand rap and its offshoots, but they do need to move forward. Hip-hop is more musical but still a little deep into the gangsta deal...but it is gentler and more poetic...most of the music they do is sampled, recycled via tape loops into their songs...I'm rambling, gotta crash. That is a great thing you achieved, MC, and more will come...stick to it! Cheers, WC1
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