How To Handle A Hip Hop Backpacker
gloom
2,765 Posts
HOW TO HANDLE A HIP HOP BACKPACKERby: Michael Miraflor???That???s not real hip hop.??? ???I never watch MTV or BET or listen to the radio.??????I miss the good old days of hip hop, circa 1994.???There are those hip hop types who you love to hate. The so called ???educated??? coffee-house intellectual types that love to talk about the declining state of hip hop music, as if its best days have long past. They talk about current hip hop music objectively because they think they are above it; their iPods are only filled with the ???good shit.??? You know, old school BEP, Common, The Roots, Talib. The entire Stones Throw catalog. Only revolutionary or obscure cats make their playlists. Holy war to them is the radio mainstream vs. the indie underground. And they still refer to Lauryn Hill as L-boogie. Those who have encountered such hip hop righteousness know not to get into any sort of philosophical argument, unless they are well equipped to do battle. Remember, these are the cats who probably wrote their college theses on the historical importance of Run D-M-C and the postmodern brilliance of Madlib. They never ever back down and make you feel like shit for copping the new Mike Jones album. So how exactly does one prepare for such an encounter with a backpacker?Let him or her take a couple of easy jabs at you. Make them feel like they???re winning. When they ask you what kind of music you listen to, say reggaeton and 50 Cent. Better yet, say your favorite joint is the reggaeton remix of ???Candyshop.??? At this point they???ll think you???re an easy target. When they ask where you cop your music, say you only buy CDs at Best Buy and regularly download the Top 10 ranked hip-hop songs off iTunes. Sensing blood, they???ll next ask you who your favorite MC is. Answer this unacceptably, and they???ll pounce all over you and try to ???educate??? you on how little you know about ???real??? hip hop. Wait until they start to salivate and raise their eyebrows in anticipation. Then calmly and confidently say the name that automatically breaks a backpackers will: Kanye West.The Louie Vitton Don is an anomaly to most backpackers. Someone who transcends the boundaries of what is mainstream and what is conscious simply cannot exist. It defies hip hop physics. How can someone from a major label like the ROC get his inspiration from A Tribe Called Quest? Be street and culturally conscious? I mean, did you see the ???Diamonds from Sierra Leone??? video? Straight killed it son! Kanye has the rare ability to make a political statement without sounding preachy. The teachers and the kids love Kanye.Then go on the offensive. Remind ???em that the self proclaimed ???first ni**a with a Benz AND a backpack??? makes beats for both Jay-Z and Common. Dare them to say that Big L, B.I.G and Nas should not be respected for their lyrical prowess, regardless of their lyrical content. Have them admit to watching BET uncut at 3 in the morning like everyone else.Once their guard is down, break bread. Remind them that hip hop was never meant to be stagnant or one-dimensional. He???ll admit that he loves grinding at the club as much as the next man. She???ll admit that her favorite jams are ???Hollaback Girl??? and ???My Hump.??? After a few laughs, have them listen to ???5 years from now??? off the recently certified platinum Who is Mike Jones?, and ask them if that was not the most poignant and relevant shit that they have heard in the past 6 months. Even Common himself didn???t directly address issues like Iraq, voting, and taxes on the critically acclaimed-but-yet-to-go-gold Be. Admit that album sales aren???t the issue, and that Mike Jones??? rise to the top should be celebrated along with Common???s return to form. Because at the end of the day its all one family, one love, one struggle.Then go home and write Kanye a thank you letter, for restoring faith in another lost hip hop soul.
Comments
Love his use of bongos (almost drum-n-bass-ish), but by now that's about it.
http://www.hiphop-blogs.com
http://www.hiphop-blogs.com/hiphop/2005/06/how_to_handle_a.html#more
All the real headz know that hip hop fell off in '94...
lets just pop some bottles and celebrate music
I mean 94 wasn't shit right?
SAYIN'!
This article's fresh for 94!
"They talk about current hip hop music objectively because they think they are above it; their iPods are only filled with the ???good shit.??? You know, old school BEP, Common, The Roots, Talib. The entire Stones Throw catalog. Only revolutionary or obscure cats make their playlists. Holy war to them is the radio mainstream vs. the indie underground. And they still refer to Lauryn Hill as L-boogie."
And the Kanye West thing is absolutely true. They love Kanye "cause he uses samples, yo."
In his absence, allow me.
* Ahem*
You mad?
heheh... thats at UIC. I remember dudes "hackin'" every day when I went there.
I'm so there dude
dude...
man o man. alright. i love hackey sack. of course, ive never seen anyone bust out at some rap show or anything. and i detest the insinuation that the proud sport of hackey sack could be associated with such deviant music. i mean, its just not true. stop spreading lies dammit.
now, onto the above photo. not only is dude kicking around with mufukin birkenstocks [which i might add is pretty skillfull], but he's also killing it with a sick figure 4 kick to forehead stall. doggs, which one of you vegan poptarts can do that?
ps
i have been proudly rocking my backpack on the LA metro as that style is most definately alive and well in los angeles and im not trying to stick out down here.
i've never owned pants like the dude on the far right. that is all.
I have to agree here... I admit I haven't heard too much from him, but what I've heard definitely didn't blow me away.
The other day I went out for Indian food with the guys I DJ with... we stayed till the joint closed, than stood outside while my pal was playing us all the new Kanye tracks he's feeling from his car stereo... I almost fell over from boredom.
I think I'm more bugged by the phenomenon, which may mack me a backpacker... I hate hearing his name from everyone... I think I saw him on MTV for a second wearing wings like a little girl and dancing around, and that made me even more hardened against him.
Yeah... I'm close-minded sometimes.
Maybe I'll give him another shot...
I see the author is using the term "good shit" loosely.
Actually the above are all just post-good shit imitation.
yall can hate all you want on these dudes, but I could tell you, the dude on the far left got the best hacky-sack game in the nation. That boy is Premier League quality right there. DON'T FUCK AROUND.
money shot.