Boom bap odyssey: The last 24 hours of the rap Internet
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
For much of the last decade, critics lambasted anyone who had the faintest trace of nostalgia for the golden age of hip-hop. They even went so far as to malign anyone who had the temerity to use a phrase like ‘golden age,’ lumping those who grew up worshipping ‘90s rap with creaky ‘60s psych-rock fetishists.
It was an understandable, if overblown, corrective to the previous years during which all things New York had been glorified at the expense of all other regions. Moreover, the glorification of the past tended to obstruct progression in the present. Thankfully, that era is over. The contemporary rap climate is more get-in-where-you-fit-in than any point since the early ‘90s.
Whether it’s underground thug rap, weird post-Project Blowed L.A. fast-rap, stoner fare, subwoofer rattling Southern trunk muzik, or whatever Odd Future is, the genre is firing on all cylinders (though you might be mistaken if you paid attention only to the seven major label rap releases a year). Even the New York-centric subgenre boom-bap -- moribund for much of the last decade -- has seen a resurgence with the continued emergence of Roc Marciano and Action Bronson.
Released today, Marciano’s latest record, ‘Greneberg,’ a collaborative EP with West Coast-raised underground vets Gangrene (Alchemist and Oh No) finds him further refining and expanding upon the sound of classic mid-’90s murder music. Yet every day he’s surrounded by a treasure trove of artifacts, homemade compilations and videos that flood the Internet. If you can avoid vertigo, it’s a boom time to be a rap fan.
After all, in the last 24 hours, a dizzying array of material has leaked that hark back to the good ol’ days and reassure one that the genre is thriving 35 years after Kool Herc first turned the break beat into an art form. Your first stop through the Web ought to take you to Drop Tops and Stacy Lattisaw Tapes, where HL has compiled a Zip file of the 50 records discussed in Complex Magazine’s excellent introduction to the groundbreaking D.I.T.C producer, DIamond D. Required listening for both those who have one-track minds and those intrigued by all types of hip-hop. In the meantime, with Tribe Called Quest once again a topic of conversation, the DJ Mick Boogie has compiled a stellar mix of the group’s rarities and obscurities. You can download it here, or go to Boogie’s site and stream the deep cuts that go well beyond the regular detours to Linden Boulevard and El Segundo.
Over the weekend, the legendary funcrushers Company Flow reunited in New York, along with the Juggaknots, one of the late ‘90s’ most subtly innovative crews. Ming Tzu of the website Grandgood was there to record both sets, which should appease those who couldn’t afford the airfare back east. Downloading is recommended, especially for those who find the summer sun too bright.
Also:
Album Review: Company Flow’s Funcrusher Plus Reissue
Michael Rapaport’s Quest: To Give Tribe It’s Due
Alchemist + Oh No Distill ‘Gutter Water’
-- Jeff Weiss