Saturday, July 22, 2017

Blackstar 5: Going Deep and Wide

What I most admire about hip hop are the lyrics, which when good, are sharp, tight, imaginative and, when needed, funny as hell. And the sound effects can be very cool, too. But what can be forbidding is the music itself, which is so rhythmically oriented.

For me, rhythm was never an essential musical element. Oh, I loved things that moved but I’m  a melody guy (thank you, Beatles) and a guitar guy (ditto).

So it was hard to love something that was light on those two elements and heavy on rhythm. Which put hip hop at a disadvantage with me.

But I’m coming around...

My knowledge of the Roots is limited to their impressive appearance in Dave Chappelle’s Block Party and Jimmy Fallon’s show, which I rarely watch. But when I do, there they are, playing with - and adding to - whatever musical guest Jimmy throws at them, like Car Seat Headrest, for instance.

Allmusic.com files them under “Rap”, and, realizing my limits in appreciating that genre, I held back.
But when Amazon offered this for $5, what am I supposed to say?  Jaybee, you’ve been having your fun so far this year. How about a little education? So fine, I said. (I talk to myself a lot.)

And the Roots give me a way in.


Roots.jpg

Roots: How I Got Over (2010)

The first surprise is how damned catchy this is. The arrangements are tight (in the good sense).  And Questlove, if you didn’t already know, is a great drummer. When he hits the snare. He. Hits. The. Snare!

Which brings me to something else that seems to help. The Roots are a band. Instead of using turntables, they play instruments. Imagine that. It really shouldn’t matter, but it seems to anyway.

And, okay, I’m not hearing many melodies, but the textures (keyboards, and yes, guitars) keep me listening.

Which gets me to the words. And while some speak of defiance, there’s also plenty of doubt, and a desire to do better. It's Aspiration, in the very best sense of the word.

One highlight is “Oh, God 2.0”, which improves upon the Monsters of Folk version.

Another is the totally unexpected inclusion of a Joanna Newsom sample, changing its nature while at the same time adding to the song at hand.

And best of all, the title track with its heartrending lyrics:

Out on the streets
where I grew up,
First thing they teach you 
is not to give a f*ck,
That kind of thinking 
will get you nowhere,
Someone
Has To
Care

These, along with several others are the best I’ve heard all year.

So, while Kanye is a brilliant music maker, it’s always about him, and where Kendrick Lamar goes so, so deep, the music isn’t always what I need.

But the Roots - providing nuance, brains, and themes of internal and external struggle - give me hip hop I can really hear and love.

It may be my favorite of the genre.

A-

“How I Got Over”