For me hip-hop has different expectations than other types of music. I always think of hip-hop in a more disposable way. In many ways the have it now appeal of the genre is the exact opposite of the album focus I tend to favor here on the blog. If album orientated rock & roll is the TV commercial, the film, or my favorite pair of old boots –hip-hop for me is a lot closer to a headline, a movie trailer, or an Old Navy tee I’m OK tossing in the bin after one wear.
I guess it makes sense that hip-hop dominates in today’s ring tone, single driven, digital music world. Like all of the impulse buy colorful candies and cleverly packaged gums and mints next to the checkout register, hip-hop is impulsive and irresistible. It delivers the right now sound.
Of course there are exceptions to the rule. For every Montell Jordan, Dangerous Minds soundtrack, or Nate Dogg record –there is a Paul’s Boutique, The Chronic, or The Low End Theory. And for the past few years, no one has been more reliable than Kanye West churning out solid hip-hop discs. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Kanye’s first two records. At his best Kanye brings a lethal combo of brains and bounce. For me Kanye is like A Tribe Called Quest meets Diddy. His music is Lacoste brite with the popped color of late ‘90s Bad Boy with the added dimension of a heavy lyric like vintage Tribe.
Truth be told I feel like Graduation is the worst Kanye offering to date. It must be hard, when you emerge on the scene with a song as hot and smart as “Jesus Walks” where do you go from there? His second record Late Registration did a nice job of running a narrative through the entire disc while delivering punchy singles like “Gold Digger,” “Touch the Sky,” and “Diamonds from Sierra Leone.”
I’ll say this, if the appeal of hip-hop is as immediate as a movie preview, then the first single off Graduation “Stronger” would be the Transformers movie trailer on the 4th of July served with a large popcorn with butter in the middle and on top. Toss in a gigantic Cherry Coke for good measure. Damn, there’s a lot of sound in there. This killer single alone gave 50 Cent no chance in the battle for hip-hop supremacy. I spent one entire weekend blasting “Stronger” [Dads, if you start at the 1:30 mark you’ll miss most of the language] for my 6 and 9 year old kids. They straight up love it. When Kanye is at his best it’s like he’s sparring with the music. He’s having as much fun on the ride as you are singing, “Hey. . .hey. . “ “Stronger” is the perfect example of Kanye’s Crayola colored stomp. It’s awesome. I’m sure ESPN will be scoring an Ultimate Highlight to this one. I particularly love the stairway to heaven lyric where he steps from “Kanye likes” to “Klondike” to “blonde dyke” to “limelight”-awesome stuff right there. “Stronger” makes me want to lose my mind. If I were a high school football player listening to this pre-game I might not even make it out under the Friday night lights—I’d probably run headfirst into my locker or throw a garbage can at the chalk board. It’s that good, and you have to like any song with a prominent shout-out to both Prince and O.J.
It wasn’t until late last week that I finally found Graduation still in stock on a sunny morning as I stopped into a Target on my way into work. When I popped in the disc, “Good Morning” started to play and I heard the familiar “uh” of Mr. West –It sounded like a Polo shirt still warm from the dryer. Like hip hop Prozac. “In the Morning” isn’t a mix tape song necessarily but it sure is a great way to start the day. Kanye says early into the track, “Welcome to Graduation” and I was happy to be there.
“Champion” has a nice upbeat vibe to it, but with a title like that it reminded me of that old grey sweatshirt IT TAKE A LITTLE MORE TO MAKE A CHAMPION. And while “Champion” has a nifty sample it won’t bring home any hardware at the big game.
“I Wonder” has a unique heartbeat pace and is pretty interesting in combination with an awkwardly slow pace to Kanye’s rhyme. With the sample it sounds fresh—just not all that appealing. I’m guessing this abnormal rhythm will sound better to the critics listening on their stethoscopes than it will to the masses on their stereos.
It’s hard to punish a song that I first heard on Entourage when Vinny Chase and the boys grabbed a lift off Kanye’s jet to get to Cannes and blasted “Good Life” on the way. But there’s not a lot here once you get past the Jacko “P.Y..T” sample and a few nice “I, I go for mine. I got to shine” lyrical jabs. Yes, it sounds like the good life but I’d rather be “Big Pimpin’” any day of the week. On “Can’t Tell me Nothing” Kanye continues to break down the price of fame and his aggression sounds more natural.
The real reason Graduation doesn’t measure up to previous Kanye records is a sequence of major misses in the middle of the record. On “Barry Bonds” Kanye does clear my throat crunk and it sounds about as natural as when Hammer went gangsta rap. To be perfectly honest I would rather have heard Kanye’s take on the actual Barry Bonds debate, it’s a more interesting story with race, celebrity, and truth as key themes. Instead “Barry Bonds” is the start of a dreadful three song pit stop. “Flashing Lights” is basically a inferior and slower version of Justin Timberlake’s “LoveStoned/I think She Knows,” and only reinforces that J.T. may have made more progress than Kanye himself over the past couple years. This creative caul-de-sac also includes the low point on the record, “Drunk and Hot Girls” a predatory, misogynistic, and actually scary take on coaxing some ladies to have another “sippy sippy” off the whiskey even though they can’t keep their heads up. Brutal. When you hear lyrics like “Suck my fat bitch” delivered in a Macy Gray drawl by ‘Lil Wayne it makes me want to say to Kanye, “come on, you’re better than that.” And he is.
Kanye gets back on track (barely) for the last three tracks starting with “Everything I Am” which has professor Kanye back in the classroom, but still with not much to teach. “The Glory” has a sweet Jackson 5ish sample. And “Homecoming” has a guest appearance from Chris Martin that is a great reminder that the Coldplay frontman’s vocal has reached a “We are The World” level of distinction. It’s just one of those voices that gives unexpected joy and plays nicely with others like Colin Hay or even Sting. I should mention a friend of mine recently proclaimed “Homecoming” the best running song since Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” so I’ll need to pop it on the iPod for my next sweat. Seems like a stretch but Martin’s voice over an urban soundscape makes for beautiful graffiti.
Graduation finishes with “Big Brother” a love letter slash apology to Kanye’s mentor Jay-Z with a nice message to tell people how you feel before it’s too late.
At one point on Graduation West longs for Lauryn Hill to return to rhyming, before volunteering to pick up the slack himself. He falls short on Graduation. He still has nice party moments on the Diddy side of things but he’s missing the thoughtful “Jesus Walks” Tribe style manifestos which ultimately makes Graduation the 3rd pace finisher for Kanye’s solo career.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment