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Speech Is My Hammer...

Viewing Posts Tagged "Kanye West" View All

Why Kanye's the New Primo

May 24, 2007 | Tags: Kanye West, DJ Premier

I didn't plan to write a blog going into much more detail about this, but in light of Meka's blog [1], I figured I'd write one to clarify my points, both for him or anyone else that disagreed. Excuse the length, but this is to expound on a previously one-paragraph statement, and to respond to an entire blog (lol).

Firstly, saying that Kanye is the "new Primo" and saying that Kanye is an equally talented, historically significant, or even prolific producer are completely different. I'm a huge Primo fan, and that comment was moreso meant to give Kanye props, not to diss Primo.

But I'm still not backing down from what I said. One argument that Meka used was that Primo was "almost single-handedly responsible for injecting a wonderfully muddy yet abstractly hardcore sound into hip-hop music with his jazz-inspired productions." While I'll admit that Kanye hasn't implemented a "street" sound, he has still made a considerable impact on hip-hop with his style of production. No one's saying that sped-up soul samples didn't exist before Kanye, but it's undeniable that those popped up a lot more after Kanye and Just Blaze's work on Jay-Z's Blueprint, and later, on College Dropout. Other producers around that time [2] virtually owe entire segments of their careers to Kanye's revamping and additions to that production style, or at least, some of their hit singles. After College Dropout, his beats on Late Registration were even more innovative, especially in the context of hip-hop. That style wasn't duplicated as much among other producers, but with how much LR hit, I'd guess that this was more because of other producers not being capable, or Kanye's sound being so unique around that time that biting would be too apparent. Similarly will likely happen with Graduation. You can rant all you want about his competition not being as talented, but that doesn't take away from Kanye's talents. Music isn't like sports, where everything is based on how you measure up against competition - music is as much based on individual performance as it is on outdoing competition, if not moreso - especially when you're making trends instead of following them. And The same way that Primo had a huge influence on the direction of music during his heyday, Kanye has had a huge influence during his own.

As I stated before, Kanye is one of the most prolific producers out there, and virtually all of his beats - all that I've heard, anyway - are solid, if not incredible. If he wasn't as consistent as he is, not as many people would go to him for their beats; it's that simple. The same way that the versatile Primo is looked at for beats by everyone from commercial heads like Jay-Z, to street heads like Nas, to R&B singers like Christina Aguilera, the versatile Kanye works with Jay, Mobb Deep, Mos/Talib/dead prez, and Monica or Jagged Edge. With how extensive his catalog is, Kanye's beyond the point of the "producer du juor," and is more of a concrete name in hip-hop for his beats, as is Primo. "Producer du jour" would fit someone like the aforementioned Polow, The Runners, or Nitti. As for the throwaway beats Meka named, I guess it's a matter of difference of opinion, because I liked all of those beats, aside from the joints from White Boy and Boo & Gotti (I thought "03 Bonnie and Clyde" was wack because of Jay and Beyonce's execution, not because of the beat; and I don't really remember the D12 joint, deleted that album years ago). But even then, I wasn't saying that Kanye doesn't have any throwaway beats at all, because every producer does; I was saying that I couldn't think of any throwaway beats off-hand, using that as evidence that Kanye doesn't have many of them, and showing the lack of their significance amongst the rest of his large catalog.

I've also heard/read is that Primo found a way to make weak MCs sound dope. As another blogger stated, Kanye hasn't worked extensively with that many wack rappers. While I'll give Primo points on that aspect, I still disagree with Meka's evidence. Consequence's Don't Quit Your Day Job was a solid album, and a widely unknown fact regarding that album was that despite Con being on GOOD Music, Kanye only produced two songs on the album - the older "Good, Bad and Ugly," and the already-released "Grammy Family." [EDIT: He did three - ironically enough, I forgot about the song, "Don't Forget Em"] Rhymefest had a great album as well, but the general consensus is that his aesthetic doesn't fit that of today's primetime, platinum-selling artist; but if we're talking strictly about music, Kanye's songs with Rhymefest were dope. Same for Freeway [3]. I liked the Jadakiss song as well, but even if it was wack, I'd say that Jada "benefitting" from a Kanye beat would be difficult to determine, since it was only one song that wasn't even a single. But I will say this: Roc-a-fella's heralded late 90s/early 2000's roster of MCs wasn't as good as people thought they were, and I'll bet my iPod that if Kanye were to take on an entire project with a less-talented MC, that it'd still be a solid project.

I can't say that I'm surprised that someone disagreed - anytime someone has made a mark historically in any forum, people always get upset whenever someone new gets compared to them, because icons consistently have an elevated, untouchable status. That's what makes them icons. But people need to learn when to move on, and when to give props where props are due. Kanye may not be the new Primo in terms of actual production style, but I'd definitely say he is in terms of how prolific they both are, overall beat quality, versatility, influence, and how in-demand they are. If not the new Primo now, as a commentor on Meka's blog said, he's on pace to be.

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[1] And penchant for e-beef, but it's whatever.
[2] Heatmakerz, anyone?
[3] But I coulda sworn he went gold.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

Common's Finding Forever: The Prequel (AKA, I Download Too Much)

May 21, 2007 | Tags: Common, Kanye West

I know I've got a (unhealthy?) habit of opening blogs with strong statements, but let's get this out of the way: anyone who doesn't put Common at least in their Top 10 (EDIT: Top 15, just for a bit more room) MCs of all time needs their ears checked. Take a look at all of your favorite "conscious" MCs, and they can't even hold a torch to Com's catalog [1] of two 3.5-4 star albums (Can I Borrow A Dollar? and One Day It'll All Make Sense), two undisputed classics (Like Water For Chocolate and Resurrection), one debateable classic (Be), and a dud that many hip-hop fans appreciated three years after it came out (Electric Circus). He's versatile enough to hit you with harder verses ("Orange Pineapple Juice," "Thelonius"), diss tracks (granted, "The Bitch In Yoo" was his only one, but nobody's really fucked with him since), narratives ("It's Your World," "Payback Is A Grandmother"), and female-friendly joints. [2] From his Can I Borrow debut to Be, he's shown artistic growth with every album out, and it's only felt forced with one of those. Plus, he's one of the few MCs to make female-friendly singles that still capture his conscious steez, but without being corny. Be was the best amalgam of conscious hip-hop and mainstream sensibilities since, well, College Dropout. [3]

But judging off of the leaked tracks from Finding Forever, Com's taking it there (word to Alias). So far, six tracks are out there: "Black Maybe," "Misunderstood," "The People," "Southside," "So Far 2 Go," and the first single, "The Game." [4] While Be was more of Common simply executing things flawlessly, these new tracks have Common sounding a lot hungrier. He was already comfortable in his zone, but he also sounds empowered - the verses on "Black Maybe" and "Misunderstood" sound like Common feels a responsibility to give his insight and viewpoints, which is how he was with some of his past work. With Be, Common seemed like he was focused on making a great album; this time around, he sounds more focused on making a point.

Oh yeah: as much as I hate to admit it (and trust me, I do), Kanye is the new Premo. Dude is one of, if not the most prolific producers in the game today, and I can't even name five wack beats by him off the top of my head. Plus, at least with his own projects, he changes his formula every time out; it's scary how much better he gets with each stage of his career. All of the beats I've heard for Finding Forever so far are incredible. Hate on his whiny award show theatrics, fashion sense, or even his rapping all you want [5], but dude's got the crown right now. My homie said that as far as major labels, only four people keep their work consistent and genuine: Kanye, Ghostface, Nas and Common. I couldn't think of any competition, but let me know if you do. Either way, Common and Kanye are the best Chicago duo since Jordan and Pippen. [6]

A friend who heard it in its entirety told me that Finding Forever shits on Be, Electric Circus, and possibly on Like Water For Chocolate; and while I don't believe him just yet, I'm definitely not calling him on bullshit anymore.
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[1] Mos? One solo classic, one group classic, some great cameos, and that's about it. Same for Talib.
[2] Sorry for the excessive examples; just had to make sure that the haters had a reference point.
[3] I kid, I kid...sorta.
[4] Is all this bootlegging going to get this album Lupe'd? Or, better yet, Be'd?
[5] Personally, I don't think he's that bad.
[6] Don't even try to name Kirk Heinrich and Luol Deng, or any other duo on the new Chicago Bulls - holla at ya boy when they beat Detroit in a playoff series.