Untitled Opinions

Hip Hop is supposed to be the culture of change. But is it just a culture with restricted boundaries?

Hip Hop's sound has changed from when it originated, and that's fine and great. BUT let's talk about when up and coming rappers put out new music and are being told, "it doesn't sound Hip Hop" or "it's not a club banger", well then what should the new artists do? Lose their identity for some dollars? Of course not! I would say just do you and make music for your fan base and yourself.

From the outside looking in, people don't know that in order to be in the "Hip Hop circle" you have to dress a certain way or an artist's music has to sound a specific type of way just to fit in. Hip Hop is somewhat like a high school cafeteria in my opinion. And if you love Hip Hop and understand the content of Hip Hop then you know exactly what I'm talking about.....For example, I remember having a conversation with one of my followers on Twitter about this exact topic. I tweeted out, "Childish Gambino is a better singer than Drake. #FACT". One of my followers said, "Drake can sell a R&B album and it can go straight to number one". I said that might be true, but Gambino can still sing better than him. And then my followers said, "Nobody knows Childish Gambino, he is not even on the radio". Long story short, all my follower did was list all of Drake's accomplishments and how popular he was. I never said Gambino was more talented or popular then Drake. I actually don't care how popular both of them were to be honest. All I wanted to know was if he sing better than Childish Gambino.

People don't even see how talented Childish Gambino or Tyler The Creator really are because they don't dress a certain way, talk a certain way, act a certain way, or hang out with the top rappers in the industry. But does that make them different or "lame rappers"? When artists like Tyler or Gambino are being casted out it makes me ask myself,  why is it that a powerful and influential culture (Hip Hop) won't accept rappers like Tyler The Creator? Hip Hop can make Miley Cyrus twerk and Wolf Blitzer dougie but if a rapper doesn't rap about urban things he/she are cased out.

There are rules and regulations to Hip Hop, and a lot of dos and donts. People want Kanye West to stick to rapping and producing and not focus of designing clothes because designing clothes "is not Hip Hop". What kind of logical thinking is that? Let the man design and rap because we are ALL going to buy it! We bought the Yeezys didn't we? Why should the individuals in Hip Hop be abel to put people in a boxes? The more boxes there are the more people are not going to care anymore.

Hip Hop is bigger than what it really is. If people noticed how much influence and power it and stop putting artists in boxes, Hip Hop could be only ONE genre of music.

Even though I'm upset about the restrictions some artists go though, I will always love Hip Hop to death. In my opinion, Hip Hop is so strong that not a genre of music anymore. It's clothes, the way an individual talks, a social status, and etc. Hip Hop dictates what's in and what's not. Hip Hop is Pop culture.

Femdot's "Top Gawd"

Femdot linked up with GRWYF$ producer Charles Lauste to bring you the first leak from his upcoming King Dilla project, which is expected this fall. Rapping over a flipped sample of SpeakerKnockerz "Lonely, Fem's flow was quite different from the rest of his tracks, which is a great thing but I wasn't intrigued. I honestly think that "Top Gawd" wasn't a good choice for a single. I heard better songs from him than this. On a positive note, the production was good.

Soundcloud Link: https://soundcloud.com/brent-douglas-1/femdot-top-gawd

Produced By: Charles Lauste

Twitter: @thereal_femdot, @Chvrleslvuste, 

Travis Scott's "Days Before Rodeo" EP

Travis Scott's mixtape, "Days Before Rodeo" is filled with crazy voice over effects, amazing production, and creative sorytelling. Enjoy....STRAIGHT UP!

"Days Befote Rodeo"
When I saw that "Days Before Rodeo The Player" was produced by wondagurl, the same person who produced Jay-Z's "Crown" I got pretty excited because for Crown was something serious, so I automatically knew that Travis was going to go in. In this song, Travis rapped about his life after stardom using an amazing flow, which made the storytelling enjoyable. The introduction and outro was great as well! A good song always needs a good intro and outro to me. 

"Mamacita" ft. Rich Homie Quan and Young Thug
I really did feel "Mamacita". When I saw Rich Homie Quan's name I knew he wasn't going to give me nothing but the same flow. And what is even worse was that I don't even listen to Young Thug, so u couldn't even tell if I was listening to Rich Homie Quan or not..... (don't judge me, thanks!).

Quintana Pt. 2
So when "Quintana Pt. 2" started to play I instantly got a Miami Vice vibe. In contrast to "Quintana Pt. 1", which was a trap song and definite club banger, "Quintana Pt. 2" gave off a whole different vibe even though he was repetitive with his favorite ad lib 'Straight Up". The piano work into T.I.'s interlude was a great transition. But T.I. kind of messed up the song for me; he doesn't belong in this song at all! His flow was okay, but he just made the song die out. Overall, my favorite part in this song was the end when Travis rapped, "Tell me why she wants to leave me, she used me to get high.....so tell me why she wants to leave me". The auto-tune that was used was a great ending to the song. I really enjoyed it a lot because if reminded me of "808 & Heartbreak". I actually wished the whole song was like that.

"Drug's You Should Try It"
The guitar work in the beginning really drew me into this track. Can we please praise Travis for his excellent choice of intrumentation on this track. "Drug's You Should Try It" doesn't even sound Hip Hop at all, more Rock/Alternative music. In this track Travis Scott rapped about being with a girl that likes to do drugs with him. This song was really quick and sweet, I wish it was longer.

"Don't Play" ft. The 1975 and Big Sean
I loved the soft lyrics in the beginning of the song because it didn't mix well with the beat.....ugh, and then when the beat drops it gets better! Always count on Travis Scott for an excellent trap but electronic beat. The beginning of the song which was sung by The 1975 made me think that the song wasn't going to be too turnt up, but as they finish singing the beat drops with, "I ain't playing with these niggas". I then knew this track was something serious. So when I seen that Big Sean's was on the trsck I really wasn't expecting much. If you know me, then you know how I feel about Mediocre Sean. As I digress,  I wasn't too excited,  but when I heard his verse I was extremely impressed! I could actually comprehend his choice of poetic devices, because lord knows he always raps about six different things that have nothing to do with each other in most of his songs. But anyways, this is the first song I actually like of the tape. The production, lyrics, flow, and creative were on point!

"Skyfall" ft. Young Thug
Once again,  who is Young Thug...because I don't care for him. ANYWAYS, Travis explained on Twitter that "Skyfall" was about old artists that have fallen off and how the new generation isn't hip to them anymore.  Travis raps, "I don't wanna buy no more, your shit ain't getting me high no more". Ths song is one big metaphor and besides Young Thug's senseless verse, this song was deep. We can all somewhat relate to what Travis was saying in "Skyfall" because we know a couple of old heads who just need to quit it.

"Zombies"
Why is this song called "Zombies"? This track sounds like a anthem or may be a chanting song like "Black Skinhead". Even though this song might be unclear,  I think Travis dedicated this song to his fans. If anybody is going to understand him, it would be his fans. He raps, "We will understand if they don't, we don't want they're bullshit no more". I guess his fans have something in common with Kid Cudi's fans; they're eccentric hipsters.

"Sloppy Toppy" ft Migos and Peewee Longway
If 1+1= 2, then we all know what sloppy toppy means. In this track, Travis, Migos and Peewee Longway their opinion and stories on a sloppy toppy. This song is all kinds of ratchet,  well almost any Migos song is ratchet.

"Basement Freestyle"
So when I got on Twitter, most peole said that were feeling Travis' "Basement Freestyle", so I was glad I finally got to listen to it. I had to listen to it a couple of times because the beat combinations and transitions threw me all the way off. I wasn't all the way thrown off, it's just that it reminded me of how pop songs would have remixes, but with this song it has unexpected beat-drops. As I digress, the freestyle was very storytelling and I enjoyed his flow in between the cycle of the different beats that were used.

"Backyard"
We went from the basement to the backyard as Travis Scott rapped about him growing up in Texas. This track, unlike the rest of the tape gave off a nice summer vibe. I actually want a video for this song, that's how good of a vibe it gave me. It really mapped out his life growing up in Mo City and I enjoyed his storytelling. "Backyard" was a great transition to the next song on the tape.

"Grey"
"Grey" sounded like a single to me as well and I also wouldn't mind a video for this track. Travis switched up flows on this Mo City (Missouri City), inspired song. In my opinion, "Grey" is one big metaphor for Travis' hometown. I think Mo City isn't black or white, it's in between; an undefined city with unclear achievements. I really enjoyed Travis's creative storytelling in this one. At the end of the track, Travis told a story about one of his friends that grew up Mo City. Apparently Travis' s friend is now in prison for a gun charge, and so happened to be a star athlete in Mo City. We hear these stories too often, especially in the Black community. Travis Scott ended the song with some deep words about his city: " Another lost kid, Mo City soul. The sky is grey."

I enjoyed "Days Before Rodeo", but I would only download two songs from this tape. I mean this tape dropped then it went. Nobody is talking about, no more press, no promo....just Ye tweeting about it. But I love Travis Scott, lowkey is one of my favorite mixtape artists. I just love how Travis uses different voice over effects. I think he is the only rapper besides Ye who can actually get alway with multiple uses of voice over effects in a song. I am glad Travis is signed to G.O.O.D Music as a producers because his is absolutely talented.....TALENTED! His productions are uncommon,  intriguing, and his vision is eccentric and that's why I enjoy his work so much.