Jul 10, 2007
How we do it in the Chi
Over the weekend I re-watched Dave Chappelle's Block Party on DVD. I caught it in the theater when it first dropped - it was really a good portrait of DC's frame of mind in the time between his signing a 50 million dollar contract and ditching the same contract. As there were no Presidents in this movie (except for the song "If I Was President" this entry is about the rap in the movie.

Almost every musician in the film were from either NYC, Chicago, or Philadelphia. And while the old woman from Broken Angel wasn't a fan of how negative hip-hop is, how much cussin' there is, it was an overwhelmingly positive lineup. Very soul based. What would you call that style? Socially conscious rap, since everyone had a message?

It's peculiar that rap is so localized. I'd like to explain, but I'll let MIMS do it.




I represent New York
I got it on my back
Niggas say that we lost it
So I'm gonna bring it back
I love the dirty, dirty
'Cause niggas show me love
The ladies start to bounce
As soon as I hit the club
But in the Midwest
They love to take it slow
So when I hit the H
I watch you get it on the floor
And if you needed it hyphy
I take it to the Bay
Frisco to Sac-town
They do it everyday
Compton to Hollywood
As soon as I hit L.A.
I'm in that low, low
I do it the Cali way
And when I hit Chi
People say that I'm fly
They love the way I dress they like my attire
They love how I move crowds from side to side
They ask me how I do it and simply I reply...

Etc.

The West Coast is still the home of Gangsta, the Yay Area is the home of hyphy, dirty south, etc. Why's the northeastern quadrant of the country so synonymous with socially-conscious, well-intentioned rap?

Don't get me wrong, it doesn't matter to me whether or not a rap song says something - I think T.I. has some great shit out there that says absolutely nothing (What You Know About That?). But what is it about the northeast that compels rappers to make a point?

What's great about the film, though, or perhaps about the genre of rap we're talking about, is how easy it is to tell that everyone really cares about the music, that the art of it is the most important part. Perhaps it's showing the divide - someone like 50 Cent, whose flaws I addressed previously, seems to be primarily a performer. A half-assed one, but he's a businessman, a character, a performer. What's more important - image, lifestyle, business, or the poetry of it? Can you describe it as poetry to a beat? I think that's what really sets these goddamn northeasterners apart.

Side note: dead prez was in this movie. Last time I saw them, they got a whole bunch of white people to yell "REPARATIONS NOW." fucking white people.

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