Be Careful What You Wish For (See: Ice Cube)
I have been hard on 50 Cent for not “evolving” since he first came on the scene with Get Rich or Die Tryin’. I’m starting to think I may be wrong about that. My basic argument has been that rap itself is always evolving; it is changing (and hopefully improving) at a rapid pace. I think we can all agree that as dope as some of the early jams were, they seem fairly sophomoric compared to the bars today’s MC’s are spitting out.
Plus, rap fans are always looking for the next best thing. Most don’t want the same sound from 10 or even 5 years ago, which is why folks like EPMD and Public Enemy aren’t selling out crowds like U2 or AC/DC (a damn shame, that). Rap has always been about setting trends – heads what the newest and hottest sounds and styles.
So I’ve argued that Fifty needs to change his game up if he wants to stay relevant in this thing called hip-hop. But in flipping through my music collection, I started to realize that sometimes evolution isn’t always positive; sometimes an artist can go off in an unexpected (and unwelcomed) direction. Obviously, Kanye West comes to mind immediately. But I have another example, at least for me: West Coast legend Ice Cube.
From his days in N.W.A., Ice Cube was seen as the premier lyricist not only in the West, but in hip-hop in general. His delivery was relentless and his lyrics were on point. When he went for self, Amerikkka’s Most Wanted became an instant classic – in any category. He took his Lost Angeles perspective and used a style that could go up against NYC spitter.
Want an example? Glad you asked. Here’s “A Bird In The Hand” off of his second classic, Death Certificate:
Man, Cube was killing it. At the time, heads were checking for anything he put out.
But if you recall, around the 93/94, before Illmatic came out and helped to correct things, everyone started to adopt their particular styles. The rapid-fire “diggity diggity das” Das Efx (remember them?) was real big back then and everyone was biting their style. But there was also a style, and I’m trying to figure out exactly were it started, that all your favorite rappers were using back then.
Even Ice Cube succumbed . Here’s “Really Doe” off of the largely forgettable Lethal Injection:
Quite a change in style. Cube slowed down his delivery and changed his flow. And not for the better. In fact, that’s about the time when I stopped checking for Cube. I still appreciated him as an MC and a legend in rap, but I never felt the same way about his music from then on. I haven’t even copped Raw Footage yet. Yeah, I know.
So not all change is positive. As much as we may want to hear a rapper spit a new style, that new style may not fit properly into their flow – at least to current fans. For better or for worse, there is a reason 50 Cent is popular. His particular slow, deliberate delivery may not be the hottest right now, but at least Fifty is doing him. As Ice Cube’s discography demonstrates, change always brings with it a certain level of risk.
Before I once again state that 50 Cent should change with the times, I should be careful what I wish for. Results may vary.
On an unrelated note I’ve been meaning to ask what you think of Run DMC being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.
Yes, that is unrelated. LOL. I think its great and well deserved. Its also important largely because there is no hip-hop equivalent. Its good when non hip-hop musical institutions recognize hip-hop as a genre.
I would advocate for a rap/hip-hop hall of fame, but it would have to have rigid criteria. It couldn’t just be some arbitrary group of people choosing who they like. It would have to be a balloting system, with those casting votes being people with actual credentials in hip-hop.
I am available.