THE EXPRESSION AND RECITATION OF A SET OF MATHEMATICAL ALGORYTHMS TRANSMITTED FROM AIR PARTICLE TO AIR PARTICLE THROUGH AN OXYGENATED MEDIUM...SIMPLY PUT, MUSIC. THE ONLY THING IN THIS WORLD THAT IS MATHEMATICALLY, SCIENTIFICALLY, AND LOGICALLY SOUND (NO PUN INTENDED) WHILE EVOKING POWERFUL EMOTIONS EXPRESSED BY BEAUTY AND CREATIVENESS. RELEVANT AS IT IS ANCIENT, MUSIC HAS PLAYED (SERIOUSLY, NO PUN INTENDED) A MAJOR ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF WORLD CULTURE, THE ARTS, SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS AND RELIGION AS WELL AS LANGUAGE AND NON-VERBAL EXPRESSION. SO, IT'S SAFE TO SAY THAT MUSIC IS NOT ONLY THE PRODUCT OF HUMAN EMOTION AND INTERACTION BUT THE BASIS ALSO. THROUGHOUT THE AGES MUSIC HAS GONE THROUGH METAMORPHASIS' AND CHANGES. CONSTANTLY EVOLVING DUE TO OUR OWN EVOLUTION. BECAUSE MOST OF THE ANCIENT GENRES ARE RARELY HEARD, CONTEMPORARY OR MODERN MUSIC HAS GIVEN WAY TO GENRES SUCH AS CLASSICAL, JAZZ, BLUES, ROCK AND...ONE OF MY FAVORITES HIPHOP. HIPHOP CONSISTS OF RHYMING VOCAL RYTHMS WITH MUSICAL ENSEMBLES. THINK OF POETRY SET TO MUSIC. THIS STYLE OF MUSIC EVOVLED FROM BEBOP WHICH WAS POPULAR DURING THE 1940'S AND 50'S, REPECTIVELY. HIPHOP'S MISSION WAS TO EXPRESS THE HARSH REALITIES OF GROWING UP IN IMPOVERISHED AREAS, AND DURING THE 1960'S, RESPECTIVELY, IT WAS USED TO GREAT EFFECT ALLOWING IT TO DEVELOP INTO WHAT IT IS TODAY. IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS STRICT ACCENTUATION PLACED ON THE RHYME WHERE IT MATCHED UP WITH THE "BEAT". USING A SIMPLE REPEATING 4/4 TIME SIGNED BEAT AN ARTIST WAS ABLE TO SHOW HIS ANGST THROUGH RHYME AND RYTHM WHILE CAPTURING THE ATTENTION OF THE LISTENER. WHETHER IT WAS A REGULAR PERSON, A FRIEND OR A CITY OFFICIAL "THE MESSAGE" (GREAT SONG) WAS RECIEVED. FROM ABOUT 1987 TO 1997, RESPECTIVELY, WAS KNOWN AS THE "GOLDEN AGE OF HIPHOP" WHERE PREVIOUS IDEALS AND METHODS WERE IMPROVED UPON YIELDING TRULY THOUGHT-PROVOKING LYRICS OVER REMARKABLY UNFORGETTABLE BEATS. PETE ROCK & CL SMOOTH, THE JUICE CREW, THE GET FRESH CREW, GANGSTARR, NICE & SMOOTH, EPMD, DE LA SOUL AND MANY OTHERS BROUGHT THE BEST PARTS OF THEMSELVES AND INNOVATIONS TO THE RECIPE, BUT THERE WAS ONE WHO WOULD CHANGE THE FACE OF HIPHOP FOREVER. THE YOUNG AND AMBITIOUS CHRISTOPHER WALLACE WAS A BROOKLYN NATIVE WHOSE DREAMS OF BECOMING THE BEST CAME TRUE...BUT WITH A PRICE. THE SECRET TO THE SUCCESS OF THE NOTORIOUS BIG, AS HE WAS CALLED, WAS HIS ABILITY TO USE VINTAGE HIPHOP LYRICAL METHODS AND USE THEM IN DIFFERENT CONTEXTS. VARYING THE PRONUNCIATION OF CERTAIN WORDS AND STRETCHING THEM OUT TO CREATE THE "BOMBASTIC EFFECT" WAS HIS "WEAPON OF CHOICE". SHORTLY AFTER GAINING WORLDWIDE POPULARITY IN THE LATE 1990'S BIGGIE SMALL WAS SHOT IN HIS TRUCK WHILE LEAVING A VIBE MAGAZINE PARTY IN CALIFORNIA. IN THE YEARS SINCE THAT TRADGIC DAY, MARCH 9 1997 UP-AND-COMING RAP ARTISTS HAVE EMULATED THE LATE NOTORIOUS BIG'S STYLE AND STAGE PRESENCE.
WITH HIS BIOPIC COMING TO THE SILVER SCREEN ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, AND WITH THE INAUGURATION OF THE FIRST BLACK AMERICAN PRESIDENT HAPPENNING JANUARY 20, I CAN'T HELP BUT BE PROUD AND GRATEFUL TO HAVE SEEN TWO MONUMENTAL EVENTS HAPPEN IN MY LIFETIME.
WELL IT'S LIKE HE SAID...IT'S ALL GOOD BABY BAABAAY...UH!
SO AS I CELEBRATE, I TOAST TO MUSIC...TO HIPHOP...TO THE FUTURE...
R.I.P. TO THE LATE, GREAT NOTORIOUS BIG...TRULY UNBELIEVABLE.
AG-THE FUNKY BLOGGER
No comments:
Post a Comment