Unbeknownst to the reasoning, I came up hooked on the music of the Westcoast. Be it N.W.A, Nate Dogg, Tupac, Dr. Dre, Eazy E, Snoop Dogg, The Game, Ice Cube, W.C., Westside Connection, Dilated Peoples or any other I haven't named due to a need to end the list somewhere. Hence, what is shaping up to be a rejuvenated Westcoast scene, is, exciting to me, and perhaps has activated some primordial DNA strand of my soul which I'm oblivious to the existence of.
Kicking off far in advance of a meteorologists definition of the summer season, The Game has stepped forward with Meek Mill to cut the metaphorical ribbon with the release of The Soundtrack. Widely received as a one of the hottest from the latest material out, it sees, what I believe to be the return of The Game to his styles from which he grew with The Documentary ('05) and Doctor's Advocate ('06). With the also, hopefully soon-to-be, release of The Documentary 2, after the 10 year anniversary of version 1, this is conceivably somewhat unsurprising, but nonetheless brilliant to my humble self.
If you caught it first online, it's likely your initial thoughts of it were pertaining to the record cover (also seen below). The kind of photography which endures vividly in the minds eye even with little exposure to it, and is not a shred short of perfect in its representation of the conceptual focus of the tracks content. A young boy with a ski-mask and no snow insight to justify it as innocent. The ski mask being a visual accoutrement of the violent and murderous activities of the gang affiliated faces which they cover. The sheer oversized nature of the disguise conveying the adult age connotations which accompany the life within which the boy finds himself. Yet with enough material for a well fitting t-shirt for the photographed boy, it is evident that his life, if not now then in the future, will likely require it be used as a ski mask, and not so much because of the lack of a need for a t-shirt in the California sunshine.
Of course, we are dealing here with rappers and so you have to account for a variable degree of exaggeration. The primary message though being the life in which the child is still likely, but not exclusively, to grow into on the streets of Compton. This simply being the way things still are, and portrayed as a trap by many, not only in Compton but across the U.S., and indeed the wider world.
The lyrics within this packaging are tightly bound to each rappers respective city, Compton and Philadelphia. It's the cities knack for producing 'realness' which is the subject at hand. As stated, the rap/hip-hop industry is littered with rappers who exaggerate to the point of complete fabrication; Game's likening most rappers lives to a Miguel music video. Rap being born through a need to express or share a message, has like most industries been diluted by money. Certified 'Real' by their cities upbringing, they illustrate their stories;
"Politics is usual, them palm trees is beautiful/ Crack rock lingerin', fiends suckin' they cuticles/ Wear the wrong colours round here n***** is shooting you" -The Game
"I fell in love with these streets I lost my n***** to" -Meek Mill
The back and forth of their delivery is a chemistry to behold. Pick any sports analogy you like to communicate it; tennis, basketball, ping pong, many will work. Or perhaps it's most similar to squash. Two guys swinging at the same wall; the wall being the fakers in the industry, as they demonstrate that it doesn't matter which was rapping, the situation was much the same in Compton as in Philly.
Finally but foremost, the music arrangements on this record are so LA I can't help but loop it multiple times. Being signed to Blood Money Entertainment, a subsidiary of Cash Money, and having spent time in Miami under what I believe to be the commercial influences of CEO Birdman, it's so nice to see The Game back in LA. Although still under the same record label, the dawn of the Compton Summer has definitely brought his mindset back. 10 year anniversary celebrations with his mentors, and founders of the Westcoast scene, and on set with the same crew at the filming of Straight Outta Compton, I believe is what we owe it too.
With a desire to capture the same LA vibe in The Documentary 2, you can tell he's looked back for inspiration. This being done primarily through a saxophone. Listening to the track I can't help but think about the theme music to Boyz N The Hood; the quintessential representation of South Central Los Angeles in the 90s. So reminiscent is the saxophone that you can't help but think of the 'Ricky' scene from the film.
After doing a little research, I've discovered that the Boyz N The Hood theme was composed by Stanley Clarke. An American jazz musician and composer, who, like Meek Mill, was a Philadelphia native who helped to represent for LA.
The track then is great. And great things are coming for Compton which anybody who loves Hip-Hop can enjoy. Hopefully 'The Soundtrack' will be the first single off The Documentary 2, and will go along way in catching the overall style of the album. With so much newness coming for one city in one year though, I can't help but think it was planned. And being as the city is Compton, I wouldn't be surprised in the least if all this fresh art was individual master strokes from an Artist who calls himself a Dr. The same Dr. who is really a producer. And the same producer who is The rap mogul. Dr. Dre. The man affiliated in some way with all that is good from the C.P.T. (with the exception of the Williams sisters), yet still originally from The Worlds Most Dangerous Group...
No comments:
Post a Comment