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I fell upon this link and am in awe of your bio. I love that you are passionate about us here at Rapdogs.com. As someone who loves music from the smallest seed of its creation…I find that sometimes those with such experience as yourself do not consider “us” (emcees, turntabilists, beat miners) as real musicians.
I think what i want to say is…reading this bio made me realize that a passionate and genuis voice like yours is a blessing to have behind us. That ..the fact that you run this for us and recognize our importance in music history is just really nifty.
no suck up intended…just being real.
meg
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Sweet! (Meg is our leading “femcee” commentator and article writer for RapDogs and very involved in the Northeast Canadian music scene).
RapDogs.com is actually my offering and begging for forgiveness of two errors in judgement I have made in my life. The first was back in 1984. I was 18. My best friend Jerome and I were in Denny’s after a night of clubbing. He told me that rap was the next major audio art form and was here to stay. At the time Sir Mixalot was cutting edge and rap was just starting to emerge in the dance clubs in Renton, WA. Being so smart and knowing everything, I told Jerome that “people won’t even know what rap is in two years. It’s a fad.” Kind of funny to think of that in retrospect. Since that time I’ve produced and mastered hundreds (probably over a thousand) of hip hop tracks and artist demos.
To me, hip hop is currently the leading edge genre for freedom of speech in the audio arts Most artists I have recorded take it VERY seriously – it is their high art. They do not approach it with a pedestrain attitude – their conviction is inspiring to me. As hip hop has matured, many artists are questioning and revisioning how hip hop can be used for a message that challenges and uplifts us. I like seeing that emerge.
Second mistake. It was 1987. I was 21. There I am playing a grand piano in a tux (all classical) and a lady comes up to say, “Can you play any Patsy Cline?” I was SO offended. I stopped playing, looked at her and said, “M’am, I play REAL MUSIC.” At the time I was totally serious. Country was not even considered music in my book. It was something people listened to because they were uncultured idiots that just didn’t know any better. Liking country music told me all I needed to know about someone. Well, after that I ended up playing on the Southern California country music circuit, grew to love country. Eventually even played on TV at the Grand ‘Ol Opry and was with Freddy Fender when he got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (crossover artist: Country, Latino and Pop).
I’ve grown to love Country music – especially early country from the 1930’s to 1960’s. It’s a horrible thought to think I could have lived my life without knowing so many of the classic lyrics of country music.
So why do I write about hip hop and country in the same post? They have a very strong connection. Both styles are all about the story. The music is there to bolster what the lyrics have to say. Turning a clever phrase, finding a new way to express situations and thoughts that are universal – Country and Hip Hop share that lineage.
Those were two main paradigm shifts for me and my views of music. Now I feel that if someone doesn’t like a particular style of music, it might very well be that they just don’t understand it. Read that sentence again.
There is no shortage of people that are eager to tell us what is “real” art and what is not. Although their intention is to show how cultured they are, to me it is a sign they haven’t been around the block much.
So my message to emerging artists: Don’t make any calls on what is valid art and what is not. Do not make light of the styles that are not your own. Do your thing, push the envelope and don’t follow others down the path you’re “supposed” to take. Make your own way. Say what is on your heart, because it is YOURS to say.
I think you’ll find that if people have done a closed set of musical styles for most of their life, or make their living withing a closed genre – those are the ones that will be more likely to make derogatory comments on art styles outside their sphere of influence.
There’s no time for fellow artists to make calls on the validity of artist expression. There’s far too much work left to do…..