Life in A. Minor: The Beginners Guide to Hip-Hop

By Broadside Columnist Andy Minor

As time goes by, I find myself forced into little musical stints of two to three weeks where most of the music I listen to is dominated by a particular artist or genre. When I was 16, the Smashing Pumpkins consumed me, at 18, the Smiths, and somewhere in there I discovered Miles Davis. I don't object to my listening becoming pigeonholed into a particular subset as it gives me ample time to really understand a band or artist's musical value. My first obsession was Led Zeppelin in the seventh grade and I have had nothing but great experiences with my musical fixations over the years. This week's article is even fueled by one —- my recent infatuation with the world of hip-hop.

My story with rap and hip-hop is an interesting one at best. I used to loathe the genre, thinking that it possessed about as much musical value as a can of creamed corn. I would abhor listening to it and oppose anyone who tried to make me. I simply didn't like it. Eventually I realized that I had really never given it a chance.

Enter Outkast. This Atlanta duo gave me my first real taste of hip-hop that I could swallow with their hit “The Whole World.” It was catchy, had a great rhythm and just enough melody that my rocker-kid ears could begin to understand it. It was far from love at first sight, however. I remember sitting in my basement, watching the music video and hearing the fight begin between my brain —- convinced that this was baseless music -— and my ears, who wanted nothing more than to enjoy it. I was never quite sold all the way with “The Whole World,” but I was well on my way.

Then came “Hey Ya.” Hardly a hip-hop standard, “Hey Ya” was nothing more than an extremely catchy song that one was forced to listen to anytime there was a radio, TV, CD player, computer, record player or phonograph in the vicinity.

With “Hey Ya” came “Roses,” and eventually I succumbed to the power of these two outrageous hits and bought my first rap CD ever; Outkast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was a double album that proved to be my gateway into the wonderful world of flowing rhymes and heavy beats.

I'm rather glad that I came into my hip-hop fanhood through Outkast. They're a very good musical group to get your average non-hip-hop listener to open their ears.

Big Boi and Andre 3000 have found an extremely effective way to mold rap, funk, jazz and dance music all into one, creating a truly unique sound that almost anyone can relate to. Their later stuff is a bit easier to swallow because it has more genres evident in the style, but once you're into their later productions you'll eventually discover great albums like Aquemini and ATLiens. Dive into Outkast and before you know it you're a rap listener.

I don't really mean for this article to turn into a rant about the musical esteem of Outkast, I'm just offering my personal story of how I came into hip-hop. It probably could have happened to anyone else with any other rap outfit, but the real point here is that it can happen.

I know plenty of people who, like me, used to pass off rap and hip-hop in the same close-minded fashion. While it may not turn out to be one of their favorite styles of music, they can at least still learn to appreciate it as music rather than some simple rhymes and beats designed to make money.

So where did my hip-hop obsession lead me next? Well, I kind of like to think that beyond Outkast I got into the legends that made the genre great. I still remember buying an N.W.A. and Notorious B.I.G. CD from Tower Records on the same day, and I couldn't decide which one I liked more. From there I got into Tupac and Wu-Tang Clan, but obviously that still wasn't enough. There was always Run D.M.C. and Public Enemy, of course; but I was still in search of something with even more depth and artistry. I found it, thanks to some good friends and the Gorillaz, in the world of indie hip-hop.

Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Blackalicious, Lyrics Born, Lateef the Truth Speaker, Kool Keith -— all names that belong to the ranks of indie hip-hop. The whole sub-genre captivates me in that all of these artists are extremely unique in their own ways, yet there is still a sort of uniform sound that identifies all their music in the same light. Another way to describe this is that if you like one of these guys, you'll probably like all of them. I've been particularly hooked this past week on MF Doom and his many aliases, but at every turn I'm discovering a new artist who something new to say.

I'm not going to try to further reminisce about my relationship with hip-hop and how it helped me open my ears to new styles of music. I will say, when you deny a particular artist or genre a chance to impress you, you could be denying yourself a whole lot more than you think.

Obviously, hip-hop exceeded my expectations to the utmost degree, and I look back on the days when I would renounce it and wonder how I could’ve been so stupid. The whole thing has taught me a lesson: when it comes to music, keeping an open mind is as important as keeping your eyes open during a movie; forget to do that small step and you'll be missing the much bigger picture.