Chance The Rapper Live in the UK (Electric Brixton)

The following is a short video based on Chance the Rapper's live performance at Electric Brixton (located in the UK).

Hope you enjoy!

DROWNING IN THE WATER[S] - MICK JENKINS

It has been a while since a rapper has caught my attention to this extent.
In fact, it's been a while since a rapper has even caught my attention.

With exceptions including Joey Badass, Chance the rapper and Childish Gambino, the majority of the hip hop music released recently, follows a similar cliche, a similar style and and a similar sound. It causes the listener to wonder; is hip hop progressing or has it hit a plateau? Will we just continue to listen to whatever modern trends feed us, or will we finally, find originality?

The answer to those questions is: Mick Jenkins.

The 23 year old-Alabama born rapper, not only brings something new to the table but something worth admiring. In his most known work, "The WATER[S]", every song feels like a piece of poetry (which it is). From the beats, his lyrics and his flow, virtually every song captivates you. He faces deep cultural themes in songs such as ''Martyrs'' and criticises what he believes modern society has become in songs such as ''jazz''. His presentation and sound is unique, forward thinking and refreshing. He focuses on the concept of H2O,
feeding water depicting sounds into every track. His voice is deep, similar to that of Tyler The Creator and every syllable in every word is masterfully projected over the beat, not only emphasising the depth of the individual lyric, but making it a enjoyable to listen to.

There are very few things I would ask Mick Jenkins to do in order to improve. The fact he reaches such depths with his lyrics and has masterfully created his own unique sound, essentially progressing certain aspects of the genre only allows me to have one issue. An issue of content. All I can ask of Mick Jenkins to do is to release more music. A well crafted album will take time, so for the time being "The WATER[S]" will do just fine.

For anyone looking for an original take on Hip Hop, with an original sound, deep themes and masterful lyrics, listen to Mick Jenkins. start off with "The WATER[S]" and allow yourselves to become submerged in what is one of my favourite hip hop albums of this year.

redefineculure.

A TRIBE CALLED QUEST -THE ABSTRACT INNOVATORS

 Classic Hip Hop lay down the foundations of the rap and to an extent the modern Hip Hop genre. The classics provided inspiration, guidance and most importantly innovation, which to to this day is respected from those who grew up with the genre and to those who have just discovered it. 

 However in the briefest of terms, we simply skip over who actually defined the classic genre; who actually developed original sounds and who brought forward the originality in lyrics, the very individuals, who are referenced in modern music and those looked up to with honor in the Hip Hop hierarchy.

 There were many that helped contribute, leaving a small yet significant mark, there were many who helped branch the genre to the ears of thousands, but there was also the group of individuals who not only left a mark, but left behind a masterpiece.

3 of these individuals, were the legendary: A Tribe called quest.

Consisting of: Q-Tip, Phife Dawg and Ali Shaheed Muhammad.

Original, intricate sounds, developed with metaphoric lyrics and overall innovation: Quest had it all.

 Songs such as 'Electric relaxation', one of the many hits the group had to offer, had layers of deep expression, not only through the surface of their rhymes, but through the beats, flow and masterful pacing.

This group did not simply string sentences together and rap them over a pre-recorded beat. They developed a mechanism; a complex architecture, which allowed the beat to complement every word and in turn emphasise it far more than the vocals of a single rapper ever could. The unique sound of both Q-Tip and Phife Dawg, further developed the intricacy of the individual words, uniting both the lyrics, with the beats as well as their own originality into one masterpiece of music.

 The themes in their songs never lacked in expression, form social issues down to the emotional devotions between them and females, they covered it all. 

 The successful mechanism and in turn architecture is what led Quest to success, with songs such as the previously mentioned 'Electric relaxation', 'Can we kick it', '1nce again', 'Bonita applebum', 'Award tour' as well as many others; are what left their true contribution in Hip Hop.

 Rappers in the modern day, such as J.Cole, have drawn inspiration from Quest's previous work. An example is 'Forbidden Fruit', to which on the surface looks like a well crafted song on behalf of Jermaine Cole, but with further inspection, we clearly hear a remake of the beat from 'Electric relaxation' accompanied by the very same theme introduced to the world in 1994, with the release of Quest's album, 'Midnight Marauders'.

 This group, along with a selection of others truly defined the genre. They were the poets, artists and the innovators of Hip Hop and to this day, are listened to with respect and devotion.

It is rumored that they still have one more album to release within their contract with Jive records. 

 Maybe one day we will see this tribe make one last comeback, with one last masterpiece and with one last innovation.

 Finally allowing us to see them complete their long and tiresome quest in the genre of HipHop.

THE WEEKND -"KISS LAND"

 23 year old Abel Tesfaye, also known as 'The Weeknd' released the album 'Kiss land' September 10th 2013, featuring songs such as 'Belong to the world', 'pretty', 'Wonderlust', 'Live for' featuring the OVOXO member Drake and of course the song named 'Kiss land'. So how does this album differ to what we currently know and love, from both The Weeknd and other other artists of similar style?

 First of all, there are no artists that match the poignant lyrics, deep imagery and expression that The Weeknd has to offer, the ideas may be vaguely similar depicting the difficulties of relationships and heartbreaks in their final hours of life, but The Weeknd brings far more to the table than that- in fact he changes the game and rather than telling you a story of emotion he brings you into a world full of corruption and emotional distress, whilst hitting high notes and developing original sounds and ideas.

 Every song in the album from 'Belong to the world' down to the Pharrell remix of 'Wonderlust' has an original feel, more so an enticing 'vibe' which from start to end grips you in the hidden meanings every song has to offer. The song 'Belong to the world' particularly has been the main song of discussion among his fans and music fans alike, due to the immersive imagery and style, strong sound and metaphoric lyrics, with such depth and precision that numerous theories have been formed around the song to this day.

 Kiss land, is the type of album you listen to when you are ready to search deeper and enjoy genuinely well crafted music, and in turn credits the mind behind its creation, The Weeknd, who not only created a new feel in his music but also did not repeat his 'Trilogy' methods which led him to success, rather, forged new ones.

 Kiss land is a worthwhile album to listen to, it defines The Weeknd as a true artist who painted what he sees as 'KISS LAND' and achieved success and respect while doing so. 

 So next time you feel the music you listen to isn't providing enough and you want something far more, remove the 'e' from Weekend and search for the work of art:

named KISS LAND.

CHILDISH GAMBINO -"BECAUSE THE INTERNET"

 Childish Gambino has recently released the song '3005' along with a music video depicting an online chat with actress Abella Anderson. The song has gained various amounts of attention and has been applauded for its original sound and smart lyrics mixed in with Gambino's nerd like excitement we all know and love. '3005' is accompanied by the song named 'Yaphet Kotto' which is in fact the song that featured on the album teaser, which in turn was equally well received and gained moderate amounts of popularity.

What we currently have, we love.

 The two songs have completely different concepts behind their meaning, we have '3005' on one hand showing both literal and metaphoric devotion to a female, possibly quite close to Gambino, or more formally, Mr Glover, subsequently showing us that he may in fact be trying to show the world a more mature and serious side of the artist, possibly his form of emotional expression. On the other hand we have, 'Yaphet Kotto', a song in which he clearly expresses his difficulties from becoming a comedian/actor to rapper and possibly constrained thoughts he never expressed, thus through music form letting out a flow of expression on who he is as a rapper in the industry and the obstacles he has overcome.

 So what could we expect from his upcoming album 'Because the internet'?

We believe we shall see a side we have not seen from Mr Glover before, something with deeper meaning with a more serious tone than in 'camp', 'black faces' and 'royalty' and possibly the bridge between the legendary Gambino and the average hip hop listener, touching on ideas and concepts the industry has encountered before, but with innovation in lyrics, clear expression and sound, and why the social media and services alike have made Gambino's journey a long and tiresome one.

We cannot wait, and we guess we have the internet to thank for it.