I don’t know if MIA or Santogold are emcees
in the rigid sense of the word.
However, I am warm to the idea of them getting
love and being able to live as artists.
You all know how I feel about having more than the
Rhianna prototype represent who women are in pop music.
We are thick, petit, dark, light, nappy, curly,
bone straight, angry AND content.
Our music should reflect this.
There was an article in The Times this Sunday
about women in hip hop which mentioned
M.I.A, Santogold, Kid Sister and Amanda Blank.
I have a hard time placing them square into
the throws of hip hop. I think they are doing
something a little different.
But this is Post Party like a Rock Star,
Post Yeye + Daft Punk. So it makes sense.
In a way, I feel the more weird and boundary
pusing the music is, the more license I have to
be weird and push the boundaries.
Its a vicious, vicious cycle.
Perhaps they are part of their own genre
of 80’s-Soul-Robotica. But then that phrase
doesn’t even capture M.I.A’s global tension.
Even thought the article mention’s most of
the women discussed in this post I couldn’t help
but feel that the article was missing something,
?There is a reason why these artists are having so much early traction online,? said Josh Deutsch, chief executive of Downtown Records, which will release albums by Amanda Blank and Santogold this spring. ?And it?s because they have such strong voices and strong points of view. Therefore, this process continues in the bile ducts, liver, sphincter of Oddi djpaulkom.tv purchase cheap levitra causing the stones’ formation, blockages, and inflammation. Some are actual rings as their identify company counterparts, and perform just as correctly, but price significantly a lesser amount of. samples viagra It originates best buy for viagra in the dental pulp and/or in the peri-radicular tissues. Side effects are common to develop with the anti-impotence cialis price canada drug. There?s nothing remotely manufactured about them.?
How many times do I have have to hear
“These girls have something to offer” or
“they are saying something different”?
Perhaps we can talk about what it means to
be outside the boundaries and what it means to
be a female in POP music and go against the grain.
What’s really going on?
Which reminds me that I need to netlfix that Dixie Chick
documentary.
The notion of making different music reminds me
of Gregs Tate’s latest rumination on Black
Rockers in this year Pazz and Jopp Poll. He writes,
That said, Black Rockers (or Negroes Who Rock) need our own Pazz & Jop, and really our own Village Voice and our own Grammies, and of course our own extraterrestrial galaxy far, far away. If only because I’d love to show and tell the good news to all those other Black people who don’t rock, but are maybe open to hearing something musical from American-raised coloured folk other than Beyonce, Rihanna, Jay-Z, or Soulja Boy. Because such folk need?nay, deserve?to know how stupendously, consistently genius MeShell Ndegeocello’s The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams is….
Every since my “I Can’t Listen to Nas” post,
I have been trying to figure out what I am going to run to.
As of late, it seems like the Stars are lining up.
I just discovered Ken Starr, NERD is coming out
with a new album and M.I.A. is showing some
running potential.
So, I think I will start with M.I.A.
Tomorrow.
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Listened to any new genre pushing
music lately?
Is the Black Rop-Rock recognition a
long time coming? Where Kelis at?
She the main one in all this.
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Aside from my stuff, I’ve been listening to more old than new honestly..dunno why but I’m rediscovering older soul classics and esp. jazz..I’m getting into that more and going back to classic rock as well..80’s stuff first.
Kelis should’ve been one of, I think she still is in a sense she’s always been outside every box, not quite R&B, not really hip hop, not all the way rock.
The Black Rock thing has been alive for a while for it to be appreciated first off cats gotta be open to musical instruments since the foundation for rock is live instrumentation..but as far as open-mindedness to music seems to me black folks in america as opposed to elsewhere in the world got this problem of not being open to new and different stuff other than 808’s, snares or chant-hooks..
Hmmm, I guess I will have to look up Amanda Blank and Yo Majesty. Kid sister has yet to impress me.
I have been listening to MIA and Santogold a lot lately and I have to say that 80s-Soul-Robotica fits perfectly. Walking around with headphones, I find myself randomly thinking “what am I listening to?”. I guess its normal for us to want to catagorize/organize even though everyone always shouts about how they dont want to be labelled.
Im glad to see these artists getting recognition–after all they arent all THAT different. Its mainstream genres, just shuffled and combined.
I have heard of a lot of other “genre pushing” but the ones mentioned are the only ones that are really getting play on my ipod. There are a lot of acts that are trying this 80s-singsong PopHop type stuff but have yet to really come with anything BUT singsong.
Tiombe Lockhart and Janelle Monae, they are sort of genre pushing. Semi-Robotica, hold the 80s.
i used to experiement, but now i just stay in my lane. it’s too much work to be up on myspace and youtube trying shit out. i got a kid! LOL (i did hear that MIA joint before..and can now google the rest)
and Kelis *sigh* who knows what happened to her. i actually like her a lot. i thought “Tasty” was a good album (who COULDN’T like “Millionaire”?) sometimes i feel it is BECAUSE she’s black that people don’t know what to do with her.
i used to have this idea in my head & wanted to write an article/essay about how FREE white girls can be, simply because they are white. and i don’t mean “free” in the MLK/Jim Crow since, but stylistically…meaning they can just about try ANYTHING and no one will look at them sideways because that’s what “they” do. but when black folks venture outside of the black box…people start to wonder what’s wrong with them.
Tiombe Lockhart and Janelle Monae, they are sort of genre pushing. Semi-Robotica, hold the 80s.
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Man T go Howrd.
Thats my peoples.
I love the semi robotica hold the 80’s, lol.
I love your blog!
I so love you for this post. I love what I’ve heard of Santigold so far and of course I love MIA. Have you heard MIA’s Hussel, because line of the song was”if you think its tuff, come to Africa”. I so love Kelis, have each one of her albulms. Even rappers like Kayne and Lupe sort of hit this 80’s glam thing for me. I so love Lupe’s “Streets are on fire”. That is my favorite song of 08 so far.
They were not ready for Young,Fresh and New bby Kelis. A real hood rock and rool song.
In a general sense, isn’t most music black music no matter what the genre may be? Especially when you think about rock, I mean we know where Elvis got “it” from right.
Personally, I’m on an “other than hip hop most of the time thing” lately. I’m really feeling these hip hop influenced jazz cats like Russell Gunn, Christian Scott, Soulive, and Roy Hargrove
As far as the rock thing, there’s a group called Flipsyde they do this hybrid rap/rock thing and there pretty dope.
On the Femcee side I would say Medusa she’s got this funky undergroun thing goin on.
M. Dot if you’re still in the Bay you should check out this radio show called Hard Knock radio it comes on 94.1fm on Mon-Fri 4p-5p I got hipped to a lot of diff styles of music on the show. I think that show was the first time I ever heard of M.I.A.
Gorgeous Black Women said…
I love your blog!
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Thank you.
Its like AA, “Keep coming back”..lol
Have you heard MIA’s Hussel, because line of the song was”if you think its tuff, come to Africa”.
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I was trying to find a video for that sh*t but I couldn’t.
M. Dot if you’re still in the Bay you should check out this radio show called Hard Knock radio it comes on 94.1fm
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Dude…..the saddest sh-t that I don’t have are:
a. My old wake up show tapes.
b. My kevy kev stanford? show tapes.
c. My davey d show tapes.
I think they were all the predecessors of the 94.1 show.
Which reminds me, where in the f*ck is the book about how independent radio kept hip hop going when the mainstream ain’t care?