VARIANT 25 | SPRING 2006 | 23 At the Crossroads Tom Jennings The concept of “the crossroads” has been a staple the public. Crucially, the cultural neo-colonialist hip-hop. of US blues traditions. It refers to an oscillating recuperation of independent local production state of paralysis when faced with equally systems under monopoly control coincided with unedifying moral choices concerning the personal the clout of hip-hop’s younger Black audiences who Paths of Least Reminiscence directions to be taken in life – with the emotional rejected the yuppie 1980s MOR and disco R&B resonance of “feeling the blues” lying in its styles. Ironically, the subsequent overdue return poignant acknowledgement that pain inevitably of soul to the maturing hip-hop spectrum reflected accompanies any chosen action. The quintessential both the business success of entrepreneurs like concept of the blues crossroads contrasts selling Sean ‘Puff Daddy’ Combs whose upward mobility one’s soul to the devil in exchange for earthly masterminded the move, and major label rap’s gain, with the deferred satisfaction of piety rapid tumble into vapid bling. The outcome now, promising heavenly reward. Beyond the religious according to Neal, is that the promotion of R&B overtones, of course, far more prosaic existential only through affiliation with superficial hip-hop and ethical dilemmas fit the model thanks to its has effectively evacuated the human heart of the metaphorical economy of memory and biography, genre. social imbrication, fantasy and individual agency, This analysis accounts for the present and the sense that the profound complexity and preponderance of teenage R&B karaoke acts intransigence of the world never permits simple or visibly lacking genuine feeling. However, R&B’s perfect solutions. So, now that the cutting edge of traditional opposition of big money and individual globalising capitalism concentrates on squeezing essence is as problematic as any simple model of profit from its colonisation of culture, even the alienation. Both musically and performatively, hip- most belligerently oppositional genres and forms hop aesthetics specifically counterpose grass-roots of production find themselves indentured in its collective experience and personal biography, dream factory. Short of abject submission, those thriving on the contradictions and ambivalences If R&B authenticity appears possible only in the mesmerising matrix of this most secular of thrown up which the transcendent emotionality in nostalgic reference, hip-hop’s disputed crossroads must thus also distinguish lines of flight of a single isolated voice could never resolve. golden ages are too recent to mythologise so from dead end postures in avoiding the sacrifice of The contemporary challenge, then, is to find effortlessly. From a rich field of hip-hop realism autonomy. renewed expressive potential within a landscape and representation, the only transcendence of During the past decade hip-hop musicians, of broken beats and fractured subjectivities pain and struggle yet yielded is a handful of performers and entrepreneurs have transformed without sticking with the busted flushes of moguls marching into mansions and boardrooms the profile of the contemporary popular music spiritual uplift, liberal civil rights and bootstrap remixing the American dream. The celebration industry in an unprecedented invasion of economics promising fortunes for tiny fractions. of such unlikely riches without any disavowal commodified cultural space on the part of largely Hence thug soul2 thematics grapple forcefully with of origins may be an instructive demystification lower class Black people (with considerable the fallout of class struggle in a neoliberal age, of continuing race and class aristocracy, but no multiracial involvement at all levels and stages). while exploratory R&B musical innovation is only political phoenix has yet risen (as anticipated by Starting from organic community responses to intermittently apparent,3 as it has serious trouble rap’s cultural visionaries) from the ashes of civil the social and economic circumstances of mid- resisting corporate sanitisation due to its dialogue rights and Black power’s encounters with the late- 1970s New York, hip-hop’s immensely innovative with hip-hop. capitalist state. Instead commercial ascendancy compositional, discursive and productive The paucity of significant major 2005 releases has attenuated the potential down to cartoon formations spread like wildfire across the US, largely bears out the story of the suffocation of caricatures of toxic ghetto freaks and monsters, as then worldwide. Mobilising and infecting other soul. Flashily fashionable new pop tarts with exemplified by Eminem and 50 Cent10 and sundry media and musical genres on the way, as well as varying degrees of talent but utterly unoriginal similarly tawdry seductions into the wild goose the sports and fashion fields, so-called ‘urban’ material abound, whereas commercially-proven paper chase. Nevertheless many refuse to resign style is now accepted to be the most profitable stars trot out more (or less) of their same. The themselves to a social death of enslavement to framework for cultural production. But success respective vocal strengths of Mary J. Blige (The repressive commodification – preferring a tactical brought not only continual hostility from Breakthrough) and Faith Evans (The First Lady) retreat into harnessing the strengths of early 1990s external gatekeepers, policers and arbiters of retain considerable evocative power, but the styles but retrospectively questioning the logics taste, and repeated backlashes against its vulgar excessively smoothed-out retro ‘80s production of assimilation and accumulation leading to the profanity, but also dissent from within – so that and minor tinkering with signature styles contain present impasse.11 all commentators now foresee no solution to the only flickers of their key contributions to hip-hop North Carolina’s Little Brother have no doubts grave crisis of authenticity arising from the music’s soul – an affiliation whose receding substance about the status of mainstream rap. The Minstrel dislocation from its grass-roots origins and the justifies the album titles in the narcissistic sense Show mimics the format of a television talk show, apparently inexorable primacy of commercial of resting on laurels.4 In contrast, Jon-B’s fifth simulating comic interludes, cabaret and comment agendas. Through a survey of trends in last year’s album, Stronger Everyday, marks a minor advance interspersed among tracks which excoriate the urban recording releases, this review of the state due to the greater freedom given by a smaller guns, sex and cash obsessions of radio rappers of hip-hop asks whether the cultural and political independent label to combine songwriting, vocal, as no more than contemporary stereotyping and movement pursued for three decades really is instrumentalist and production prowess with a justifying racial subordination.12 But the equal finally at a standstill in the cul-de-sac of the wider range of subjects than hitherto allowed, with appeal of progressive rap to both white and spectacle. much darker and edgier material accompanying Black youth as well as the class affiliations of accomplished romantic balladeering.5 gangsta rap paint a more complex picture, which Roads to Nowhere New Rising stars signal little forward movement is probably why Little Brother offer no analysis either. John Legend’s earnest soulman anthems or prognosis to back up the bald mantras. More in Get Lifted sparked mendacious marketing well nuanced is Black Dialogue by the Perceptionists, beyond self-important moniker and pretentious drawing on more hardcore conscious antecedents title.6 Meanwhile the great black hope of neo- to experiment with a wider range of personal soul also risks premature greyness. So there’s no and political orientations in confronting present doubting the sincerity and sweet soulfulness of circumstances.13 Heavier still are The Black Market Dwele, but second album Some Kinda … virtually Militia, recalling the awesomely dark ghettocentric recapitulates his debut.7 And although scarcely mysticism of the Wu-Tang Clan collective musically adventurous, Jaguar Wright’s Divorcing combined with the programmatic ambitions of Neo 2 Marry Soul is far grittier and more energising Public Enemy, Paris and Dead Prez in calling the in plumbing depths of frustrated desire.8 Anthony disenfranchised to arms on their own behalf.14 Hamilton’s still longer journey from North Unlike many rap luminaries critiquing Carolina saw his debut Soulife9 followed this year the degraded state of the music who need by Ain’t Nobody Worryin’ – both classic documents distance from commercial imperatives to speak of empathic soul detailing the manifold hurts and out, Common continues his sophisticated In a series of articles in Pop Matters magazine hopes in life spoiled by economic, emotional and co-articulation of blues, soul and rap in the entitled ‘Rhythm & Bullshit?’,1 Mark Anthony social dysfunction. Hamilton’s voice conveys such consistently excellent Be. The occasional preachy Neal details the market consolidation of US generosity of spirit despite repeated heartbreak superciliousness of this wordsmith is here recording and radio sectors in the 1990s, and its that questions of sentimentality seem superfluous more than compensated for by his imaginative severely constricting effects on the range of music – especially when his breakthrough required hired identification with the ordinary guy on ‘The coming from blues and soul traditions reaching hook singing for tired radio rap, mirroring the Corner’ (the first single) mulling over constraints payoff for perseverance of recuperation familiar in on agency and community and striving to make 24 | VARIANT 25 | SPRING 2006

honourable sense of a dishonourable world. of business development obliterated, in practice, anchoring her new image in the mythic history of Whereas on Version 7.0: The Street Scriptures, Guru other political or cultural tactics.17 Here, selling rap parallels the trend noted above among today’s swaps the hip-hop royalty status he shared with DJ (out) seems the only agenda. maturing MCs and DJs for retrenching within hip- Premier in Gang Starr for the hands-on difficulty hop’s cultural and political strengths as a defence A more interesting template is Outkast’s of a small label. This gives further authority to his against the theft, trivialisation and symbolic incorporation of big beat and disco rhythms insistent stress on how the double binds of inner- murder they observe in the corporate takeover (i.e. to appeal to the pop sensibilities of younger city hardship threaten to overwhelm integrity of both the music and society generally). But of mainstream white audiences18 – bringing – where maintaining a capacity for ethical course the appropriation has always been a two- Atlanta’s southern soul to new listeners without reflection is even more hard-won and essential way process, where hip-hop’s key compositional compromising its status as rap music. André than in the music business. And Kazé’s Spirit of breakthroughs stemmed from cultural guerilla 3000 and Big Boi employ innovations in sound to ’94: Version 9.0 renders explicit rap’s inherent raids – on the commodified history of Black music stretch to the limits some of the oldest African- intergenerational conflict with 9th Wonder’s and electro’s manipulation of found material American cultural themes (the trickster’s boasting evocative beats enclosing perceptive lyrics for dance beats, which in the 1990s extended to and posing, plays on words and appearances, intimately connecting family history to individual digging in the crates of all regions of contemporary etc) that energised hip-hop from the beginning. and communal futures.15 popular music. And whereas the most commercial Other new US production collectives similarly Steadfast on the independent underground producers go straight for the pop payoff in blur boundaries, such as the Sa-Ra Creative New York scene, talented lyricist J-Live is a incorporating the most abject teenybop chart- Partners’ soul, funk and ambient-tinged extensions real original in his use of the elements of hip- topping material, smaller hip-hop labels and of orthodox hip-hop beats – and Kanye West is hop. Preferring live shows with real bands and their rosters of independent artists specialise attempting something similar without venturing unusually capable of rhyming whilst scratching, in venturing beyond easily available musical so far from accepted formulae. Late Registration he’s also an excellent producer. If that wasn’t resources, giving other media and genres of youth chronicles the distractions and affectations of enough, The Hear After oozes with intelligence and subculture an urban twist. the black lower middle classes at the bottom insight into the contradictions of the music and Esoteric experimentation may be conceived as of the greasy meritocratic ladder, nervously (or its social environment. Mobilising the banality art among independent hip-hop aficionados as well longingly, depending on the mood) looking over of religious themes and concepts, their meanings as in electronic and dance genres. This elevation their shoulders at what they’re leaving behind. The are translated into everyday secular contexts of sometimes manifests itself in apparently elitist similarly schizophrenic musical accompaniments personal meaning and collective ramification ambitions to stake a claim in modern classical mix wistful melodic arrangements from indie-rock with tentative conclusions woven back into a music, where Stockhausen et al can be cited as producer Jon Brion with West’s powerful beats questioning of the purposes of cultural practice. inspirations alongside more recent digital wizards. laced with killer vocal hooks and unexpected On a similar level of artistry and commitment, Short of such pomposity, the ‘concept album’ is a sampled concoctions. Many of the lyrics deal Talib Kweli has made steady inroads into the common phenomenon, often drenched in futuristic with the psychological and social consequences mainstream, but, it seems, enough is enough – and cod-mysticism. A good example is Princess of daily practices of consumerism among those Right About Now revels in the refreshing lack of Superstar’s intriguing sci-fi themed My Machine, with at least some disposable income, rather constraints a small label imposes. This “mixtape” hybridising fashionably explicit cyborg erotica to than extremes of utter poverty or ghetto fabulous is “sucka free” in that no pretence of conceptual ironically critique and/or celebrate virtual desire. fantasies favoured elsewhere. This is especially singularity inveigles the audience into passive In addition to the obvious allure of science fiction pertinent given that a significant minority consumption. Instead this exuberant collection narratives for generations reared on computer of hardcore rap icons have more comfortable of raw hip-hop expertise, energy and lust for life games and virtual reality hyperbole, many other backgrounds than their performance personas shines precisely due to the absence of overweaning artists plunder cult horror and comic book back suggest, and also signifies the socio-economic promotional hyperbole corrupting strategic catalogues. A superior and thoroughly conceived status of increasing numbers employed in the bragging into the tactics of the brand.16 example of hip-hop superhero animation is industry itself. Dangerdoom’s The Mouse and The Mask, with characteristically clever and subtle lyrics Trade Routes and Branches supported by equally skilful and original beats.20 In contrast, those associated with the Def Jux label often combine rock music samples and references with the orchestral pretensions of 1970s prog-rock, or trade in the individualist indie currency of art- school existentialism and fashionable depressive angst rather than the collectively-oriented passions of other hip-hop subgenres.

Kanye West’s balancing of compositional artistry with a contemporary thematic spin allows him Despite the seeming stasis of soul, and the to maintain subcultural hip-hop credentials, stultifying pressures towards conformity required as in his production for Common’s Be. Missy by major labels packaging rappers as brands Elliott’s strategy is bolder still. The Cookbook rather than artists, as always in hip-hop seeds moves further away than before from Timbaland’s of renewal are being sown, responding to and lush multi-layered polyrhythmic production mobilising technical developments in other paradigm towards stripped down digital beats genres and emerging from the fertile dynamics – simulating a bygone party aesthetic for a CD- of competition and imagination in hip-hop itself. buying MTV audience. Gone too is her video All sorts of musical and lyrical innovation are portrayal19 of a monstrous gothic-futuristic female Meanwhile – refracting the other end of the guitar bubbling under mainstream radar, even if the most trickster flouting the rules of pop femininity. Now music spectrum – all those dreary white metal obvious examples achieve prominence not from conforming to acceptable conventions of beauty, bands trading on urban cool with desultorily grass-roots pressure but a commercially-driven her early career in routine R&B harmonising clueless pseudo-rapping are counterpointed by need to appear fresh – widening audiences without also echoes through several tracks which are pre-eminent performance poet Saul Williams threatening the existing corporate status quo. So otherwise entirely out of place. The overall effect pissing away his blistering political spoken word production team the Neptunes (Pharrell Williams 21 is to reference her previous incarnations and with 1980s NY thrash-style backing. Utilising a and Chad Hugo) started in hip-hop but thanks to questioning of gender stereotypes, but with the rather different conception of Black punk rock, their unparalleled range and mastery of digital associated ambivalence, irony and depth no longer the Ying Yang Twins’ exuberant The United States composition can deliver compelling arrangements integrated into the music. of Atlanta celebrates the rowdy, lower-class crunk in any genre. However, without the vision or aesthetic of the southern state’s party scene, Missy is certainly unusual in sidestepping project of, say, a Dr Dre, all they’ve aimed for is the digitally synthesised using elements of Miami the past 20 years of hip-hop and in jettisoning celebrity and wealth that gangsta rap ended up bass and reggae dancehall, with its relentless the styles that made her name. Nevertheless with once a depoliticised Black nationalist agenda slackness watered down (though not much) to VARIANT 25 | SPRING 2006 | 25

widen the appeal. But whereas Lil’ Jon and other dexterity, alternating mature funk and blues For really exciting advances in British urban “dirty south” heavyweights are quite clear about themes and riffs to rival any nu-soul don. And if culture, though, the many-faceted Jamaican their indebtedness to Jamaican vocal, musical and his album contained nothing particularly new, connections are finally coming to fruition in performative traditions, well-established hip-hop that was not true of Terri Walker, whose quirkily a compelling pincer movement of vocal flows superstars struggle to do more than blatantly rip sassy attitude and powerfully sultry voice had and bassline rhythms.37 Least unconventionally, them off. So Lil’ Kim’s latest release The Naked already demonstrated a knack for conveying pop The Rotton Club – the fourth album from Blak Truth milks the most unimaginative and tediously songs with real depth. But, in addition to framing Twang (aka Tony Rotton) – combines a skewering commercial contemporary chart rap, tacking on her —completely inappropriately—as a British cockney rudeboy swagger with sharply conscious generic roots reggae beats to avoid looking so answer to the new American R&B teen pseudo- blue-collar decency in deeply personal lyrics. utterly stagnant.22 divas, Mercury also managed to suicidally botch The reggae influence surfaces in the musical Further south, hip-hop and reggae styles are the content, promotion and launch of her second tempos too, but this is first and foremost prime proliferating and mixing with local traditions.23 effort, L.O.V.E. UK hip-hop from one of its pre-eminent and Younger Jamaican performers blend different Moving from farce to tragedy, another second most consistent exponents. Considerably more dance rhythms into basic dancehall beats to album to promise far more than it delivered is idiosyncratic is Mixed Blessings by Lotek Hi-Fi, present themselves as more radio-friendly and Judgement Days by Ms Dynamite—a textbook which has a refreshingly ragged DIY feel thanks commercially viable,24 while international rock case of an MC fooled by her own bragging; a to its unpolished hip-hop magpie aesthetic stars makeover anodyne muzak with pale ragga biblical arrogance no doubt encouraged by media chopping pure Caribbean ingredients. Roots imitations.25 In a rude awakening to this sanitised adoration and industry sycophancy. The slickly and dub collide with soca bounce and dancehall travesty, Damian Marley (Bob’s youngest son) superfluous pop-R&B production here might sell minimalism, with English patois running through offers an invigorating blend of styles prevalent CDs in suburbia, but exchanging wicked rapping benevolent gruffness, decisive intonation and in actual Jamaican clubs (including R&B, hip- for weak whingeing singing two-fingers her sweet harmonising. These folks clearly enjoy their 38 hop, roots and dancehall). Though designated underground origins in UK garage and hip-hop. music – and it’s infectious. Nonetheless, the as crossover material, he characterises Welcome Worse, the unforgiving tenor of her arguments most accomplished, self-assured and satisfying To Jamrock as “the whole mix” from Kingston snootily equates the moral inadequacies of rich UK reggae/rap crossover vibe belongs to Roots – where jamrock encapsulates a grass-roots and poor – as if ghetto pressures are comparable to Manuva, whose third album Awfully Deep goes version of reggae’s history. Then, in a simple but the preoccupations of her new pals in the celebrity further towards syncopating British dub’s bastard 31 highly effective rhetorical move, the magnificent charity world. Fortunately, redemption songs offspring into a seamlessly sensual complement title song26 reinterprets jamrock as the “real” were at hand from South London duo Floetry, in to his easygoing, humorously intellectual lyrical 39 Jamaica spiralling into escalating poverty, violence Flo’ology’s gorgeous blend of Natalie Stewart’s mischief. and social division disguised as the superficial skilfully ironic spoken word and songstress Marsha hedonistic paradise pimped in tourist brochures – Ambrosius’ searing gospel-tinged voice floating New Directions Underground implying that the island’s most profitable cultural over the best Philly velvet jazz alchemy. True, export colludes in this tragic dishonesty. In a only the Roots’ Black Lily performance poetry parallel manoeuvre, the album’s random changes venue rescued Floetry’s intelligent womanist of tempo27 refuse the structural conventions sensuality from a lack of UK recognition for the 32 inherited from Western rock music’s pretensions real deal. Conversely, their surprisingly unusual to high art, since the privatised consumption of synergy testifies to the rarity of Lauryn Hill’s or this commodity could never accurately convey the Est’elle’s dual melodic and rapping expertise – and experience which makes its creation possible – the embarrasses those who flop like damp squibs dancehall party where the selector’s sensitivity between stools. to audience reactions determines content and sequencing. Unlike other bland attempts at populist contemporary reggae,28 Jamrock’s multidimensional double vision and breadth of themes, sounds and attitudes (conservative, raging, patronising, caring, self-critical and/or radical) simultaneously looks backward, sideways and forwards. This fully realised and unflinching statement of the present forecloses on none of the possible futures – for culture or society; for better or worse – and that’s a rare achievement.29 Apart from the direct lineage audible in the sounds produced by those of recent Jamaican Following Beaten Tracks descent, reggae’s beat structures and performance conventions have had a more circuitous influence on contemporary British music ever since prominent Kingston producers relocated to London in the 1970s, supplying the sonic impetus for trip-hop, bhangra and various UK electronic innovations. The prime movers of the rave Maintaining its cool distance from corporate revolution may cite Detroit techno and Chicago nonsense, straight-up homegrown hip-hop house precursors, but subsequent developments received even more pitiful mainstream profiling regularly counterposed vacuously inclusive artistic than R&B. A perfunctory boost was reserved for or philosophical elitism with dangerous grass-roots south Wales underclass comics Goldie Lookin’ populism. However, despite the empty escapism Chain, whose Safe As Fuck affectionately and of acid house ecstasy, student partying in a global shamelessly sends themselves up without a trace Ibiza or the yuppie new jazz of drum’n’bass, of Pitman’s bile or Ali G’s contempt.33 Elsewhere, there has always already been an abject ruffneck horizontal distribution self-organised by small antithesis blaring out from the nearest sink labels insulates the old-school clarity of MCs-plus- estate down the road. Originally dubbed “jungle”, DJs from 21st century sullying.34 Nevertheless, This side of the Atlantic the familiar MTV/radio- chopping and screwing dubplate 45s at 78rpm, even in grass-roots production a wider range of friendly patterns are also readily apparent. the ambivalent clarion calls of its MCs hype up sonic options is now being explored by those who Big record companies oscillate between their the assembled massive into a mobile frenzy while appreciate Timbaland, Dre and the Neptunes traditional indifference to indigenous output urging communal coherence in the face of the dog- but are confident enough to follow their own inspired by Black traditions and packaging new eat-dog misery the rave offers refuge from.40 courses. So Derby’s Baby J expertly combines acts as little more than pop idols with street- Using new computer tools for sophisticated judicious sampling, compositional simulation cred peddled as short-term novelties. In 2005 the digital invention, pioneers of the drum’n’bass and meticulously crafted percussive structure usual sorry litany of incompetently marketed paradigm quickly superseded crude sampling, to synthesise downhome and decidedly British bands most obviously lacked soul. So Lemar’s while mainstream acclaim and huge sales for moods and atmospheres – showcased in the subtly R&B-lite, Joss Stone’s fake funk and half-baked Goldie, Roni Size and LTJ Bukem made it clear effective nuances for various artists in his mixtape singer-songwriting from Kevin Mark Trail, for that CDs could be sold by stripping away the demo, F.T.P.35 Also taking a cue from American example, squeezed out attention for the new ghetto dancehall appeal. Successive generations R&B/hip-hop crossovers is Doc Brown’s impressive album from Lynden David Hall—easily the most of UK garage producers and promoters have The Document, managing to echo lyrically and significant British soulman since Lewis Taylor oscillated between nourishing the hardcore musically the ambivalence of streetwise love refused to toe the blue-eyed line.30 In Between underground where MCs cut their teeth, and and pain from 1990s US blueprints, but without Jobs summarises Hall’s vocal strength and musical commercial soft-peddling to middle class sounding old, tired, naff – or remotely American.36 26 | VARIANT 25 | SPRING 2006

consumers. Until recently mainstream airplay roots party. Finally, and most spectacularly, Sri- environment saturated with commodified Black necessitated revision to mirror R&B and rap Lankan born and London raised M.I.A. explodes culture, where the stark subsistence alternatives genres reluctantly tolerated thanks to US global the precious small-mindedness of national and for the young poor are crime or slave-labour dominance, but now all of these boundaries are generic divides—whether in music, culture or McJobs as the welfare safety net subsides into the beginning to blur in the catch-all category of politics—suggesting an incipient consciousness historical sunset. ‘grime’. After the fits-and-starts of garage’s So in dancehall. Her sensuous MC cadence confuses Amid the usual adolescent bluff and bluster Solid Crew, the pop crossover of The Streets and insurrectionary zeal and street aesthetics with and the heightened agonies of self-destructive prompt defections of stars like Craig David and an ironic wayward vulnerability appropriate to negativity in many of the lyrics, a genuinely fresh Ms Dynamite, two successful albums from Dizzee the awkward contradictions in multiple-rooted social consciousness is manifesting in the manic Rascal and excellent debuts from Shystie and postmodern identity, reinforced sonically by cross-pollinating grime of reggae, jungle and hip- Wiley have definitively signalled the arrival of a the eclecticism of Diplo’s towering, swirling and hop. The call of shared influences and a common new urban broom sweeping away the snobbery.41 discomfiting electronic production.43 plight yields collective responses in a music widely Grime vocalists pace themselves to match but unofficially performed and enjoyed in raves rapid-fire multiple beats, but lyrically emphasise and on pirate radio. Grime’s practices face the neighbourhood social networks and collective Streets Ahead full panoply of repression, occasioning a chorus expression. Naturally this includes all the tiresome of condemnation from outside of the milieu petty beefs and macho melodramas of youth gangs – running the gamut of class-based hatred and in poverty-stricken environments, translated moral panic to New Labour’s fascistic fantasies of into battle rhymes and party anthems just as in social order. The aesthetics of grime also occasion early hip-hop. Staying closest to junglist rabble- a cacophony of sneers – particularly ironic when rousing mode, Lethal Bizzle of More Fire Crew/Fire its primary poetic and compositional textures are Camp acknowledges debts to rap braggadacio unapologetically half-inched from hip-hop and but makes no attempt to copy any hip-hop style. drum’n’bass. These may be the most sophisticated After several underground smashes and even Top new musical movements to emerge for decades, 20 hits, his ferocious Against All Odds peppers but the respective complacencies of subcultural crowd-pleasing chorus catchphrases with nascent hubris and mystifying technobabble among many narratives of desperate hope. Rival East London proponents tend to render the blood and guts of collective Roll Deep’s eclectic In At The Deep End ordinary audiences irrelevant. strays much further musically from the trademark Instead, grime celebrates the dirty commonness sparsely synthesised bleeps and squelches of the of degraded humanity, anchoring hopes and ‘eski’ production style by mobilising all their pop fears in an exhilarating self-organisation of its reference points from the 80s onwards – from elements, shrugging off predictable self-serving Asian, Latin, Caribbean, American, and, most of opprobrium from elders and betters. An organic all, UK sources – held together with a dozen MCs and pragmatic promiscuity of form and content, in tight-knit breakneck freestyle formation.42 So, as in other sectors, new cultural enclosures grime wrenches the new technology of sound If the lyrical content so far leaves something to across the globe imprison previously autonomous from computer nerds to fit the needs of the urban be desired for those of a poetic streak, and frantic forms and practices under multinational control. wasteland—reflecting its dark and conflictual lived articulation in the heat of the rave satisfies only Media conglomerates build on production and reality while bucking the apparent inevitability speed freaks elsewhere, Bristol’s K.Ners flexes distribution patterns formed in the corporate co- of despair endemic there. Enlisting the everyday expert delivery from a hip-hop apprenticeship optations of jazz, blues and soul and honed in the enthusiasm for R&B, hip-hop, and reggae—rather around cutting edge digital percussion in K In homogenisation of disco and contemporary R&B/ than flogging the frantic pace of the rave—is thus Da Flesh. Meanwhile Manchester sextet Raw-T hip-hop. Here, individual artists can realistically a natural cultural advance as well as a strategic (with 4 MCs and 2 DJs) blend prodigious rap only play with permutations of existing elements, career move. It facilitates grass-roots networking technique and posse sensibility with grimy ease in with room to manoeuvre depending on the degree among open-minded practitioners of established Realise And Witness, with a naturally uninhibited of contractual independence negotiated on the forms who are sick of incestuous backbiting outlaw flow any studio gangsta would covet. promise of safe profitability. In mainstream R&B, among those protecting their imaginary status Backed by a startling and brooding bricolage market share consolidation shuts out practitioners as big fish in small ponds. Most significantly, of up to the minute UK garage and US hip-hop who reject the hip-hop glossover styles perfected grime’s expansiveness hints at a sense that the sonic inflections, this has a much fuller, more in the mid-1990s – in the process ignoring sublimeness of soul, the social survivalism of multilayered sound than anything coming out innovative work which offers renewal. Likewise, reggae and the political potential of rap promise of London, incorporating judicious samples in stateside rap flouts its fanciful irrelevance or most in passionate interaction – rather than in synthesised breaks plus some mind-boggling retreats to the prideful consolations of the past. the false consciousness of pure essence, whether scratching and juggling. Together with lyrical Occasionally, genuine grass-roots developments based on the cult folklore of chemicals, electronics, depth and quality unexpected from 15 to 20- – accompanied by changes in local patterns of individual genius or divine purpose. Living at the year-olds, Raw-T fully deserve wide recognition involvement – still provide leverage for established crossroads is a problem only for those clinging and appreciation irrespective of subcultural stars to simulate growth while opening doors a onto the wish-fulfilment of such magically pigeonholes. crack for new talent. If the latter already organise cleansing solutions – and the fellow-travellers of Back in London, Lady Sovereign rules the east on the basis of the social nature of the scene that grime peer through the fog of such devilish auras, end underclass party roost like a miniature pearly nurtured them, rather than offering themselves emphatically mobilising from the bottom up the queen. The deceptive simplicity of the Vertically up in vulnerable isolation, the more of a challenge profound and profane advantages of the mundane Challenged EP and singles like ‘Hoodie’ mix they are to commercial predictability—with the mongrel, impure in signposting ways forward. lazy ease, wicked humour and pointed everyday strength of their home environment providing an relevance into basic but rousing beats – and a edge, a base and a safety net. possible US album release next might catapult her Major labels then filter in a few representatives freewheeling chutzpah to global attention. Content of emerging trends, pressurise flagship artists with parochial belonging, Mike Skinner’s first to copycat, offer branded pop acts the surface signing with The Streets’ profits are the Mitchell stylistics (to contaminate them with credibility), Brothers, ducking and diving to some effect in A and/or flood the market with manufactured Breath of Fresh Attire’s alternately affectionate clones. However, with little understanding and fractious multicultural makeover of Cockney of the source they may also be powerless to geezers. More ambitious and introspective in prevent relatively unadulterated expressions of referring to rites of passage from underground vernacular lower-class culture gaining exposure. rave (via football trials) to kosher music career, This probability is enhanced by the UK majors’ Kano’s emotive Home Sweet Home nobly fails abiding obsessions: combating US commercial to bind together the schizoid strands of grime threats with legions of middle class guitar bands, with the lyrical cohesion of hip-hop. Sway, on the and endless permutations of the bubblegum pop other hand, threatens to do just that – not just formula optimising a combined appeal to younger through sheer lyrical brilliance, but from a facility children and undiscriminating adult markets. to project episodic fragments of personality Contemptuous of this packaged froth, urban youth and experience to chime with compelling beat nevertheless increasingly refuse the superiority structures at any frequency. As with Skinnyman, complexes of their predecessors so that the desires Sway’s flow maintains an unerring balance in to develop their art and engage wider audiences never overriding a rhythm – and, like the best while earning some kind of living are not felt as hip-hop originators, any underground genre may remotely contradictory. Aspirations to purity make be embraced as grist for his mill, provided mutual no sense for those growing up with the complex www.tomjennings.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk respect accompanies the ability to rock a grass- social reality of a multiracial Britain, in a media VARIANT 25 | SPRING 2006 | 27

Notes presumably symptomatic of the disrespectful nature abandoning safety in numbers to follow up personal 1. Mark Anthony Neal, ‘Rhythm and Bullshit? The Slow of their appropriations – neither Kim nor Foxy seem to peccadilloes. Decline of R&B’, Pop Matters, June-July 2005 (www. have picked up on the specific challenges to traditional 43. Most keenly felt in the mixtape Piracy Funds Terrorism, popmatters.com). male supremacy inherent in contemporary ragga (see Volume 1 before sample clearance problems bedevilled Carolyn Cooper’s fascinating Sound Clash: Jamaican the more austere Arular. Their tour with Roots Manuva 2. Such as by Dave Hollister, Mary J. Blige, Jaheim or Angie Dancehall Culture at Large, Palgrave Macmillan, 2005). Stone. early last year was followed by supporting Gwen Stefani 23. In some cases taken up by major labels – for example, stateside, and M.I.A.’s next album will be recorded in 3. For example in the work of Me’shell Ndegeocello, reggaeton (a Spanish-Caribbean blend of hip-hop/ Jamaica and produced by Timbaland. D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Bilal and Lina. dancehall/neo-soca) and the worldwide success of Daddy 4. In command of their own recording destinies; but with Yankee’s Barrio Fino. Brazil also has particularly fertile Discography (released 2005 unless stated) apparently little idea of what to do with the freedom. scenes and a widespread love of reggae – see Patrick Baby J, F.T.P. (Hall or Nothing/All City) 5. In an album of consistent quality throughout, including Neate, Where You’re At: Notes from the Front Line of a Black Market Militia, Black Market Militia (Nature Sounds/ collaborations with 2-Pac and Dirt McGirt (aka Ol’ Dirty Hip-Hop Planet (Bloomsbury, 2003). Performance) Bastard) (both now deceased) and Scarface (ex-Geto 24. E.g. singing duo Brick & Lace, who recently toured Boys). the UK with ‘Queen of Roots’ Marcia Griffiths and Blacknificent Seven, The Blacknificent Seven (Dark Horizon, 2006 [forthcoming]) 6. Even extending to ridiculous comparisons with Marvin, dancehall’s Lady G. Donny and Stevie. No wonder little is expected of 25. Such as No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani in her solo rebranding. Blak Twang, The Rotton Club (Bad Magic/Wall of Sound) R&B, even if this particular Legend should last well 26. Easily the best single release of 2005. Mary J. Blige, The Breakthrough (Geffen) past lunchtime – not least if ‘get lifted’ is uncharitably Common, Be (Geffen) interpreted to refer to endorsement from Kanye West. 27. Which most critics saw as a major flaw. Jamrock’s Comparably inflated claims for greatness are now guestlist also summarises the male vocalist’s multiple Daddy Yankee, Barrio Fino (Mercury) roles in reggae, such as revolutionary prophet (e.g. routinely applied to competent but scarcely original Dangerdoom, The Mouse & The Mask (Lex) songwriters – another recent example being Alicia Keys. Nas in ‘Road To Zion’), condescending patriarch (The Roots’ Black Thought in ‘Pimpa’s Paradise’), or loverman Dangermouse, The Grey Album (self-released, 2004) 7. With new words and melodies, even more exquisite (Bobby Brown in ‘Beautiful’) – as well as the pivotal Doc Brown, Citizen Smith (2004), The Document (Janomi) sonic crafting … but nothing to rouse listeners from its historical inspiration of US Black music. hypnotically complacent cul-de-sac. Dwele, Subject (2003), Some Kinda … (Virgin) 28. And despite claims by those like Sean Paul to be Missy Elliott, The Cookbook (Atlantic) 8. Paralleling the personal travails of ordinary women and speaking on behalf of the ghetto poor, but whose the professional pitfalls facing extraordinary female heavily-promoted material displays only a fraction of the Faith Evans, The First Lady (Capitol) artists – convincingly galvanising anger into strength energy and imagination the latter routinely demonstrate Floetry, Flo’ology (Geffen) and solidarity. (given half a chance). Goldie Lookin’ Chain, Safe As Fuck (679) 9. Shelved by Atlantic in 2001 but now released after the 29. Also true of my choice as 2004 ‘album of the year’ Guru, Version 7.0 The Street Scriptures (7 Grand) eventual acclaim for 2004’s Comin’ From Where I’m – Gangsta Blues by Tanya Stephens (again from Jamaica; From. see ‘Beautiful Struggles and Gangsta Blues’, note 16). Lynden David Hall, In Between Jobs (Random) 10. See my ‘Br(other) Rabbit’s Tale’, Variant, No. 17, 2003, 30. See Mark Anthony Neal, ‘Rhythm & Bullshit’, note 1. Anthony Hamilton, Comin’ From Where I’m From (Arista, for further discussion. 2004), Soulife (Rhino/Atlantic), Ain’t Nobody Worryin’ 31. See my review in Freedom, Vol. 66, No. 23, November (So So Def/Zomba) 11. For a pungent and condensed statement of this 2005. awareness, see the interview with M-1 from Dead Jehst, Nuke Proof Suit (Altered Ego) 32. Reflected in multiple Grammy nominations for their Prez in Josephine Basch, ‘New Year Revolution’, Hip- J-Live, The Hear After (Penalty/Ryko) Hop DX magazine, January 2, 2006 (www.hiphopdx. 2002 debut and writing for big hitters like Michael Jon-B, Stronger Everyday (Sanctuary) com). A detailed and thought-provoking analysis of Jackson and Styles P. the relationship between hip-hop artistry and cultural 33. Nor, sadly, either of the latters’ political nous; but Kano, Home Sweet Home (679) politics can be found in Imani Perry, Prophets of the certainly with periodic novelty single appeal, given the Kazé & 9th Wonder, Spirit of ’94: Version 9.0 (Brick) Hood: Politics and Poetics in Hip Hop (Duke University precedent of Mike Skinner’s lovable lad schtick for The Killa Kela, Elocution (BMG) Press, 2004). Streets. K.Ners, K In Da Flesh (Cristal City) 12. Little Brother are MCs Phonte and Big Pooh and 34. Notable releases emphasising original skills include UK producer 9th Wonder, and the name refers to ‘older Hustlerz’ The Return, with a sizeable posse of the finest Talib Kweli, The Beautiful Struggle (Rawkus / Island, brother’ Afrocentric precursors like De La Soul and underground rappers flexing their vocabs to Disorda’s 2004), Right About Now: the Official Sucka Free Mixtape Tribe Called Quest. The Minstrel Show’s thesis is also capable soundtrack. Also, a significant 2005 milestone (Blacksmith / Koch) echoed by one of the most forthright hip-hop writers was the breathtaking display of visceral instrumentation Lady Sovereign, ‘Get Random’, ‘Hoodie’, Vertically tackling these issues – former Source editor Bakari in Killa Kela’s Elocution – human beat-boxing being a Challenged [EP] (Chocolate Industries) Kitwana. Ironically, his Why White Kids Love Hip Hop: live art notoriously resistant to studio recapture. Finally, John Legend, Get Lifted (Columbia) Wankstas, Wiggas, Wannabes and the New Reality of Race Jehst’s Nuke Proof Suit (Altered Ego) displays both in America (Basic Civitas, 2005) effectively undercuts prodigious lyrical skills and engaging self-produced Lethal Bizzle, Against All Odds (V2, orig. 2004) its own oversimplifications, for example conceding beats. Lil’ Kim, The Naked Truth (Queen Bee/Atlantic) that Black and white hip-hop interaction outside of the 35. Standing for ‘fuck the police’ or ‘for the people’, etc. Little Brother, The Minstrel Show (Atlantic) corporate context – but enouraged by the latter’s youth Baby J enhanced his rep no end last year with the Lotek Hi-Fi, Mixed Blessings (Big Dada) subcultural hegemony – has the capacity to generate soundtrack for Skinnyman’s social realism on Council fruitfully progressive social and cultural exploration. Estate Of Mind (see ‘Beautiful Struggles and Gangsta Damian Marley, Welcome to Jamrock (Island) 13. And layer Mr Lif’s and Akrobatik’s emphatically sharp Blues’, note 13). M.I.A., Piracy Funds Terrorism, Volume 1 (mixtape with vocal delivery with a slew of interesting production 36. Despite evoking humbler London parallels to Biggie’s Diplo, Hollertronix, 2004), Arular (XL) styles. These variously recall a spectrum from past Bomb storytelling, 2-Pac’s passion, and the observation of Nas Mitchell Brothers, A Breath of Fresh Attire (The Beats) Squad glories to Pete Rock’s smooth soul, but are always – the 2004 mixtape Citizen Smith having already proved Ms Dynamite, Judgement Days (Polydor) forward-looking and as intricately interwoven with Doc’s penchant for convincing local personae. The the lyrics as the two MCs themselves aim for in their Document also benefits from excellent production and Outkast, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (Arista, 2003) sparring. first-rate guest verses from the other Poisonous Poets as Perceptionists, Black Dialogue (Def Jux) 14. The Black Market Militia comprises Tragedy Khadafi well as the scintillating Yungun. Princess Superstar, My Machine (K7) (aka Intelligent Hoodlum), William Cooper and Wu-Tang 37. Thankfully not via humdrum Bob Marley covers, such as Raw-T, Realise & Witness (F4) affiliates Killah Priest, Timbo King (of Royal Fam) and those trotted out by Ms Dynamite and Floetry (among Hell Razah (of Sunz of Man). others) … or even interesting adaptations like Damian’s. Roll Deep, In At The Deep End (Relentless) 15. With the ‘soul dojo’ hip-hop space metaphorically 38. The group comprise Wayne Lotek (producer/MC), Roots Manuva, Awfully Deep (Big Dada/Banana Klan) unifying body and spirit for battles to come. Aurelius (aka Dazzla, MC) and Wayne Paul (MC/singer). Skinnyman, Council Estate Of Mind (Low Life, 2004). 16. See my ‘Beautiful Struggles and Gangsta Blues’ (Variant, Guests adding to the chemistry include ex-member Earl Sway, This Is My Promo Volumes 1 and 2, This Is My Demo No. 22, 2005) for more on Kweli. The new album shies J, long-time collaborator Roots Manuva, and rising star [forthcoming, 2006] (DCypha/All City) away from outright political messages in favour of Sandra Melody. UK Hustlerz, The Return (Suspect Packages) playful lyrical brilliance underscored with suggestive 39. For an enjoyable review of Awfully Deep celebrating Terri Walker, L.O.V.E. (Mercury) implication – supported by the subtly conscious force of Roots Manuva’s unique style, see Stefan Braidwood, ‘He guests like Mos Def, Jean Grae and MF Doom – reaching got mad style, he strictly Roots’, Pop Matters magazine, Jaguar Wright, Divorcing Neo 2 Marry Soul (Artemis/Ryko) a crescendo in ‘Ms Hill’s barbed love letter to Lauryn February 2005 (www.popmatters.com). Also look out Kanye West, Late Registration (Roc-A-Fella) operating on half a dozen levels at once. for The Blacknificent Seven – Seanie T’s posse album Ying Yang Twins, United States of Atlanta (TVT) 17. Dre is the Neptunes’ most obvious precursor musically, with producer Skeme and fellow MCs Rodney P, Roots in marrying the ‘hard’ thematics of inner city violence Manuva, Karl Hinds, Estelle and Jeff3, which may well and desperation with the ‘soft’ melodies and rich be the most exciting UK hip-hop set to date. textures of California soul and funk – see Eithne Quinn’s 40. Exactly the same ambivalent role of the DJ in reggae intelligently illuminating account of the development dancehall: see my ‘Dancehall Dreams’, Variant, No. 20, and significance of gangsta in Nuthin’ But a “G” Thang 2004. The Culture and Commerce of Gangsta Rap (Columbia 41. The persistence and popularity of pirate radio stations University Press, 2005). have undoubtedly been as important as local rave 18. Most recently in Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, 2003. scenes for grime’s emergence, as documented in BBC3’s 19. As fashioned by renowned director Hype Williams. Tower Block Dreams (2004) and Channel 4’s so-called 20. From the collaboration between legendary MC/producer interactive fiction Dubplate Drama (Luke Hyams, MF Doom and producer Dangermouse – the latter also 2005). The latter stars Shystie and also features cameo responsible for remixing the Beatles in The Grey Album. appearances by umpteen grime stalwarts as well as hip-hop and garage heavyweights like Skinnyman (also 21. On his self-titled album – see my review in Freedom featured in the former) on fine form and Ms Dynamite’s magazine (Vol. 66, No 13, July 2005). superb spitting schizophrenically split off from her 22. Trumping rival Foxy Brown’s longer-term project official output. See ‘Beautiful Struggles and Gangsta – stymied for the past three years by record company Blues’ (note 13) for more on Shystie. wrangles – of working with prominent dancehall 42. See Derek Walmsley’s excellent blow-by-blow account vocalists and producers. Astonishingly for women at www.playlouder.com. Former Roll Deep members MCs trading on their ‘bad girl’ hypersexuality – and include Dizzee Rascal and producer/MC Wiley – both