Monday, October 08, 2007

stuck in the 90's (c) von pea


so this weekend was cool in a rollin with the homies kinda way. the lessondary had a field trip to the moma on friday and that was dope because it was artists looking at art. attendees included spec boogie, che grand, von pea and filthy. smashing good time i say! afterwards we headed over to filthys to drink and bullshit. now when you get that many artistic people in the same room it turns into show and tell eventually. its not like we dont hang out around each other and talk alot but it always kinda becomes a sort of progress report. so i got to hear some honor roll courtesy of filth, got to preview the EGU mock up cover courtesy of che grand and got to hear a rough take of a last minute introspective cut courtesy of spec boogie. von also took that time to play all of the brooklynati demos that we currently have in the pot, this is where the blog entry really starts, kinda. filth said it sounds like some really good 90's shit.

so the next day i woke up and kinda cleaned but spent more time nursing a hangover and needing paper towels. i also spent a substantial amount of time rooting around the internets for some of my favorite albums that i havent heard in YEARS. the hip hop that i grew up on and loved. salt n pepa, kid n play, fu shnickens, yo yo, house party soundtrack... i was just on a tear coppin all this shit and being blown away by it all again.

the more i listened and studied the more and more it hit me, we are stuck in the 90's and there is not too much we can do to get out of the 90's, hell i dont even know if i would want to if i could. its odd because i never heard what people who say that are talking about. it didnt make sense until i actually heard all these masterful lps side by side.

i think its our sensibilities moreso than our sound to be honest. we use alot of samples but so do alot of current groups. i think its how we approach making the music that gets us stuck with the 90's throwback rap connotation. rap in the 90's was urgent, furthermore each group had an identity/personality largely based on the sound and their flow. its like you kinda knew what their lp was gonna sound like based on the single or their first lp cus it was so consistent. well thats how we are. these are the albums that informed my opinion of what good music is and its probably what i subconsciously aspire to make.

its alot to explain but im assuming all of you know what im talkin about since alot of you guys think this. it just never clicked. in my head until recently. like hearing the shit that herbie luv bug was doing and hearing the way ll cool j was putting his records together and even hearing the way that the albums where sequenced it makes sense now.

i also went to first saturdays at the brooklyn museum and heard the homie rich medina spin which was dope. sunday i woke up, cleaned up, grocery shopped and bought a new shelving unit for my 'kitchen' (aka hte corner of my loft space that houses my refigerator/microwave) its nice, real nice i might add and fun to put together. like playin with leggos.

so now its back to the grind. i got alot of shit to square away before we get to vegas both personal and professional. its a serious juggling act and i have no idea how im gonna keep up with all of it cus my scrap paper to do lists and sidekick memo's hold no weight. i swear to god i need a personal assistant. i wish i had the money to pay a person to keep me in order and on task. like i would be their job. in due time right?

thats about it for today, i think...

- i still contest that salt n pepa hot cool n vicious is one of the greatest hip hop lps ever recorded
- i dont mind sounding like im stuck in the 90's, that much.

oh yeah and FYI i have been biting my tongue about fiasco gate and i will continue to do so, not a single peep. thats not to say i dont have a stance on the matter but at the end of the day i got bigger fish to catch and fry. the show hasnt even aired yet for christ sakes!

8 comments:

thatdudedave said...

pharcyde!

Donald Williams said...

i love the pharcyde, LOVE them. that said i cant listen to their stuff. i played it the fuck OUT lol... them and digable planets... jsut cant bear to hear it

thatdudedave said...

lol.....that's when all the writing would come off the tapes from being turned over so much.....

angie said...

I LOVE 90's hip-hop, I am stuck there....

filthygomez said...

said it better than i ever could have.

Che Grand said...

its the drums!

Donald Williams said...

really? the drums? thats it?

Che Grand said...

yep its all in the drums man, and im sober as hell this time.

i'll let you hear neeze's southern fried batch beattape and put you on to what i mean... basically samples can get freaked any and every way possible but its the type of drums laid over them (and sometimes the BPM) that put the music in a certain zone