The greatest alive?

I had a hazy idea of who Lil Wayne was before the beginning of the school year. I'd heard from a few that he was "hot" if not "the hottest rapper in the game," but only from people whose opinions I didn't take too seriously (I wasn't quite up on the blogosphere just yet). I unfairly labeled him as another Southern one-trick crunk pony, without actually bothering to listen to any of his material.

Surprisingly, it was at Swarthmore that I began to see first-hand the amount of hype and importance that has been attached to Lil Wayne. I remember one time I was doing statistics with my friend Ray in the library, both listening to our iPods, and him suddenly telling me,"Berto, I can't feel my face!" "Wait, what, Ray?" "I said I can't feel my FACE!" "Um." With increasing frequency, both kids who could and couldn't really give a damn about hip-hop beyond The Hood Internet or whatever mashup group started trying to convince me of the genius of Lil Wayne. Unique voice, humour, crazy flows, what was there not to like?

Still, I slept, dismissing most of his supporters as those who'd enjoy only rap ironically. Outside of occasionally listening to him in a friend's room or being told that she wants to lick him like a lollipop at EVERY campus gathering from March onward, I didn't make time to listen to him. Too much other classic material to get through, I told myself.

Between taking the train to and from work and sitting idly at my work desk for entire days on end, I've actually had plenty of free time to myself now, most of which was spent reading other people's reactions to Tha Carter III. While I'd already arranged a list of albums to get through for the week, my curiosity finally got the best of me today and I listened to Tha Carter III (I love typing out this album title!).

Now, if this were a review of Tha Carter III, I wouldn't have wasted your time with this ridiculously long introduction. No, I feel some have already critiqued the album down insightfully enough (if not getting a little too hyped about doing so).

What I find truly interesting is the diversity of opinion you find on the album and Lil Wayne in general; the critical media (Pitchfork especially) mostly love him, while the bloggers I read think he's above average to awfully overrated. My basic thoughts are that Tha Carter III, while not a bad album bad any means, is nowhere near the classic that Wayne was aiming for. I was both pleasantly surprised and disappointed by this album; I finally recognized Wayne's flow and word-bending talents, but I wish he could've just focused a bit more on using those talents to make the album more cohesive.

A friend of mine recently told me he feels people shit on Lil Wayne just because he likes to have fun. After reading so many different takes on him, though, I think the divide between his fans and his ardent critics are more fundamental than a lack of humour on the part of hardcore rap nerds (I have seen Redman on too many Top 10 lists to count). Not so implicit in all of these discussions are differing notions how great hip-hop should be defined in the year 2008.

In the comment section of one of the blogs I linked to, Doctor Zeus suggested that Lil Wayne study GZA to learn about the art of the extended metaphor. I think that's a perfect example of what a lot of older rap fans expect; to be heralded as "the greatest rapper alive" today, Wayne would have to match or surpass the quality of the work that's come before him. That's a tall order, and a reasonable argument could be made that it's a snobbish one. Why can't Lil Wayne just make great music, why must he be compared to other people? The fact is, however, that Lil Wayne very self-conciously aspires to be mentioned alongside Jay-Z, Biggie, etc., and a lot of media outlets and fans have already embraced the idea. This makes other heads, the ones who've bumped Liquid Swords since '94, defensive. If the hype machine is able to make Lil Wayne into the greatest rapper of the decade despite his technical shortcomings, it almost feels like there's been a breach of continuity in hip-hop's story.

Of course, it is only natural that as a form of popular music, hip-hop can be consumed and critiqued by anybody from an ahistorical context, so I don't personally sweat all of the acclaim too much. In fact, I'll probably be bumping "Dr. Carter" for a good while, I think it shows what Weezy F. Baby can do when he actually sticks to a concept. And even if future pop-rappers lacking Wayne's talent take his free-associative rhyming-without-writing approach too far, at least I'll always have Operation:Doomsday (I have fallen in love with this album, write-up to come soon hopefully).

So, maybe I kinda lied before about this not becoming a hip-hop blog...

I'm kinda late on this, but I want to add to all of the hype surrounding Wale and his recently released "The Mixtape About Nothing." Even though it's billed as a mixtape, I'm sure it'll stand head and shoulders above most actual albums released this year. In fact, it is one of the first mixtapes of its kind, featuring original material and actually following something like a concept, as Wale incorporates a loose Seinfeld theme throughout it. Seinfeld is known as a show "about nothing," the mixtape is "about nothing," get it, yeah? Except Wale is actually able to say a lot working within this framework, and the Seinfeld samples really help him. I don't quite have the drive to break this down as I did Starship Utopia, but know that the mixtape contains what may possibly be the best song in hip-hop about the n word titled "The Kramer" (see, he really does use this Seinfeld thing quite brilliantly) If you're reading this, you MUST AT LEAST listen to that song, and after you enjoy it, why not cop the mixtape? It's actually quite funny and witty overall and free and most likely better to whatever you're listening to anyway.

(You can read a more detailed and accurate review of the mixtape here.)

Also, would anyone be interested in starting something like a black music alliance/club at Swarthmore? I'll type up details sometime soon, if you're reading this (and a Swattie) and are interested, feel free to let me know now.

Review: CYNE - Starship Utopia (2008)

A disclaimer: This is NOT going to be an exclusive hip-hop blog. I don't have nearly the same dedication, time, or knowledge that most of the web's hip-hop writers do, and so I'll leave hip-hop journalism to them. You can check out my links or read HipHopDX or whatever for stuff, though I think I'll still review albums from time to time or give ups to deserving artists. I wanted to do something like a "Lost Classics" column in The Phoenix next year where I'd review somewhat forgotten gems from the 90s (think of work by members of groups like Freestyle Fellowship, D.I.T.C, etc.) and obscure releases from this decade, but I couldn't muster the will to fill out the application.

The real reason I care about writing this particular review, though, is that CYNE happened to be my gateway into hip-hop. I had listened to Mos Def and Talib Kweli's Black Star and Mos Def's Black on Both Sides before and loved them, but had I not stumbled across CYNE, I would probably still be that kid who loved no other rap albums besides Black Star and Black on Both Sides. Listening to their 2005 Evolution Fight pushed me forward into my backpacker phase. Fast forward to today, and thankfully now I'm that kid who mentions hip-hop just a little too often in regular conversation. In any case, onto CYNE's Starship Utopia released yesterday.



CYNE (acronym for Cultivate Your New Experience) is a group of four hip-hop musicians from Gainesville, Florida. Why should you care about CYNE any more than the thousands of other indie hip-hop groups with unfortunate names? For one, CYNE's music happens to be interestingly good, better than much of the "boringly" good music that the underground is often accused of being filled to the brim with. In other words, CYNE has a unique sound that you don't really hear too often, either in the underground or the mainstream. This is mainly because of the production work of Speck and Enoch, the group's two talented beatsmiths. I guess you could characterize their sound as electronic, but still keep the beats warm and groovy. That description doesn't really tell you anything, so here are some examples:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=oSwc3Q4NGeA
http://youtube.com/watch?v=IZROFPUlfqY&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=i-OkwhQ6O2g&feature=related

CYNE's two MCs, Cise Starr and Akin, also distinguish themselves favorably from the pack. Both hail from Ghana, and often make insightful allusions to Africa in their rhymes. They go far beyond the now-tried formula of rhyming about just how underground or anti-establishment they are, instead touching on themes of spirituality, family, and life. They also switch up their flows, relying on their delivery just as much as their lyrical content to keep listeners interested.

One of CYNE's best qualities, however, is how they cut extraneous bullshit from their albums, and Starship Utopia is no different. 11 tracks, 30 minutes, no skits. The album does not begin with an introduction, but a battle cry against corporate forces polluting hip-hop in "Kill The Music." Yeah, it's a somewhat tired theme at this point, but they touch upon other topics, and I really like how Akin and Cise Starr conclude their verses by realizing "it isn't dead" (I've always thought the whole "Hip Hop is Dead" phrase was kind've a misnomer). It is followed by the title track "Starship Utopia," a track layered with a beautiful soul sample where Akin and Cise Starr essentially establish why they rap:

“Sun top of glacier, but niggas need ice...!
What for? I seek more, reach for more
...
Niggas ask why, ‘Why you stargazin’ Jupiter?
Because Earth’s unalert, so far as a lover of sound
Black bastard, hypocrite, it hurt what my mind is
Zapped back to the past to chat with Bigger Thomas
Asked him why he did it, then zapped back to now
Now I’m hip-hoppin’ aboard in love with the sound"
- Akin

Cise Starr and Akin go on to rap about the perils of prostitution ("Sex Tapes"), the Iraq War ("Six Shooter"), but I think they are at their best when they rap more about their personal issues. On "Loopholes," Akin declares:

“I slapbox with devils and speak to Gods,
Asking them questions like ‘do I need a job?’
Cuz a nigga got stressful time 9 to 5
I weather the migraine just to survive
got a chip on my shoulder for real
and you can tell when, this nigga smile with a smirk cuz it’s hell sent
Feeling I’m doing work for the devil, because I’ve got a bad back
but the wrath of a rebel see
Every day is like an episode, I replay it, I dig life like a retro DJ
Try to stay on top of things
so the raw uncut shit is what I sing
Believe it or not, I’m feeding off of experience
Experience is this, and it’s bliss because you’re hearing it”

(I apologize for any errors with the lyrics, I had to transcribe them myself)

While Akin and Cise Starr each deliver great performances throughout, at 11 tracks, this album is just too short for them to discuss issues at the same depth of CYNE's prior (and longer) Evolution Fight, which is the album's weak point. They also feature two tracks with guests Seven Star, Soarse Spoken, and Stres, and while their contributions are okay, they don't really add much either (except for the first guest spot on "Floatin," that's a dope verse). Speck and Enoch, however, bring the heat to each and every track. Their production seems to get better and better with every release, as they have overtly incorporated more soul and funk into their work than ever before while maintaining their slightly abstract electronic edge that serves to emphasize the two MCs' vocals.

In conclusion, this is a great album, probably one of the best of 2008 thus far. While the album could've been a bit longer, I'm glad to have a release that is packed with good music instead of a sprawling release stacked with filler. The beats also rock something hard. Still, if you are new to CYNE (and anyone reading this blog probably is), I would recommend picking up Evolution Fight first, and picking this up as a supplement. Amazingly, CYNE is due to drop another LP in June titled Pretty Dark Things, and if this is any indication, CYNE will have TWO contenders for some of the best records of 2008.

Score: 4/5

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/cyne