Spring Break Forever: Hipster hop is, um, dead
May 30th, 2008 by negashi armada of supreeme in Negashi Armada of Supreeme
NEW DISCLAIMER!!!!!
Remember in my first blog when I said I’d try to express my opinions without getting beat up by some gangster rapper I might run into someday? Well now I’m gonna try and do that without getting beat up by some Hipster rapper that I def will, and HAVE, run into. I know some of y’all are waaaay more hood than hipster and are just trying to get paid, but if any of you all have a problem with my words it’s not Creative Loafing, crib notes, Godney Starmichael, RAD BADFORD, Supreeme, or any of them. It’s me and my rants again. And white people, I know you’re really sensitive about race these days…so this one’s not about race or gender or sex….Its just about music!!!
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS: HIPSTER HOP, THE SUB-GENRE THAT I’M NOT SURE EXISTS
Being a skinny rapper who isn’t “socially conscious” or dealing coke on record (in real life I’m a Huey P. Newton idolizing Tony Montana), I had a deep seated fear of being lumped into what is now called Hipster Hop. It seems as if anyone whose clothing fits and doesn’t rap about the struggle or the hustle gets lumped into that scategory. For those of you who don’t know, the term hipster no longer only applies to white kids who did psychedelic drugs and listened to Miles Davis. Now it applies to Filipino dudes in exclusive Japanese tees and sneakers, cokehead art student chix who only like “dance music” (cocaine robot remixes), gender ambiguous dudes with fancy haircuts and American Apparel shirts, weird black guys with messy perms who AREN’T hairdressers, and pretty much most people @ DSC, Sloppy blah, Cinespace (LA), Silent Barn (NYC), Sway (NYC), Broke n…Bang Bang blah blah blah.
The term is used almost haphazardly to describe people who often don’t have that much in common. A wave of rappers are coming out of this 238 BPM fashion-cocaine-Macbook-Japan-MySpace-based miniverse who are being called Hipster Hop. My friends and I debate if this subgenre has any signifying sonic markers. I am going to attempt to pinpoint what separates hipster hop from the rest of rap.
DISTORTED DANCE MUSIC SYNTHS
Gritty dance music synths used in a barely melodic fashion that one might hear in a eurotrash club or gay bar or S&M party.
MATERIALISM THAT DOESNT QUITE REACH THE LEVEL OF DIAMONDS AND BENTLEYS
The lyrics will often obsess over exclusive japanese toys, iPods, expensive blue jeans, sneakers, rare t-shirts and nice bicycles. (Listen to Lupe Fiasco’s “Gold Watch” or the Cool Kids “Black Mags.”)
’80s REVIVALISM
Minimalism in the vein of early Eric B and/or Rick Rubin production. Sometimes the ’80s revivalism is limited to lyrical references, to hi-tops and press kits containing pics of the artist in Cazal shades and dookey chains.
SCREWED DOWN VOCAL HOOKS
Do you remember ghetto Texas rap from like three or four years ago? Kinda like that.
IRONIC FETISHISM and MISOGYNY
Gwen Stefani kicked off the fetishism party with her Japanese henchwomen; Spankrock brought that ironic misogyny to new heights, as well as fetishism.
HAVING A NON-TIGHT PANTS TWIN ACT
Now that marker is my favorite and possibly the cheapest/laziest in a Scary Movie/ Date Movie/Superhero Movie/Not Another Teen Movie way. But either way, I have provided you, my reader, with a list of “hipster hop” acts and their BET/MTV equivalent:
Kid Cudi = Bone Thugz N Harmony
Proton = Outkast
The Cool Kids = Clipse
Hollyweerd = Andre’s band from Hey Ya video
Muffy = Gwen Stefani
Pacific Division = Little Brother
Spankrock = 2 Live Crew
Kid Sister = Lil Mama
Mickey Factz = Jay Z
Lupe Fiasco = Nas (with a little Jay Z) YOU ALREADY KNOW WHO THAT IS, DUH
The Knux = Steve Harvey & Cedric the Entertainer
By no means am I saying any of these groups are as good as each other or better or worse or anything. I definitely think Kid Sister and Lil Mama are dealing with equal amounts of talent whereas Cedric the Entertainer is wayyyy funnier than the Knux. Please don’t think I’m hating by noticing the similarities between these so-called hipster hop acts and certain mainstream acts because I honestly think a lot of the people above are very talented. Some of them I definitely think suck. But I’m not here to tell you what to think at all so…check out those links. I don’t know anything: my favorite genres are dancehall and shoegazer.
Another brick in my wall of hipster hop insecurity is that few people care enough about hipster hop to like it or dislike it besides hipsters, and I definitely have some strong feelings about it. What do you think ladies?
Send to a friend:
May 30th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Well, I’m not a lady but… funny thing is the cats who fit the true definition of hipster have totally evaded the rush to pin the hipster hop tag on the donkey. It’s like double irony. Personally, I don’t think anybody qualifies for the term more than Supreeme — not “hipster hop” but hipster. Of course, at this point, the word is loaded beyond meaning. Means different things to different people. Can’t wait for the day that we lay it to rest like Rick Rubin did with “def” back in the day (see: publicity stunt). Even writers/critics (of which I am) who had no idea what “hipster” was a year ago find themselves obliged to use it in order to sound “hip.” At this point, there’s very little hip about the word or the type. The danger is that a lot of truly hip artists may get stuck wearing a tag that isn’t.
May 30th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
cool picture.
good article.
one of the above statements is sarcastic.
May 30th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
As the weird rap uncle-like figure who approaches all non-mainstream (BET/MTV) rap with “Dr. Octagynecologist” as my starting point, I will awkwardly note that this article doesn’t address “underground rap,” and I’m really just talking about Def Jux and all that shit. What’s up with Atmosphere, for instance? Their new LP has some S&M synths. I guess a lot of that shit is either psychedelic Da Da free verse or day-job storytelling backpack crap, but it seems to me that it has more to do with the genesis and definition of hipster hop than the TRL pantheon or 36 Chambers. And where does this all go into the future? I give it a year before they are able to develop a hipster hop supergroup with mainstream appeal and big bucks to break the so-called genre into the consumersphere. Which is why most of the people I know go to 95.5 or V103 for their hip hop, and 88.5 or WREK for the other stuff. Also, 106.7 is pretty cool. But seriously, Negashi. What about Mr. 3:16? Where does he fit into this picture?
Also, stop disclaiming.
May 30th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Supreeme = Ying Yang Twins
May 31st, 2008 at 1:16 am
wouldnt you agree that the cool kids are more 80’s than they are the psuedo materialism that is not quit bentleys and butlers?
May 31st, 2008 at 2:13 am
thanx for the links! man those spanker-rockers r really horny kidz! yea…it seems like the only “fans” of the movement are IN the movement and no1 will notice itz a movement/new era till the epidemic has arrived…good or bad, i’m in.
May 31st, 2008 at 8:15 am
Iono why we need all these genres and shit why can’t it just be rap
And super tight jeans is not hip hop booo to them
Good post
June 1st, 2008 at 12:05 pm
What about Kidz In The Hall? Characteristic # 123872 - have ‘kid’ in your name. Also, I think the characteristic look is the tapered jeans tucked into the chunky shoes
June 1st, 2008 at 1:15 pm
i hate the word hipster.
June 1st, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Nerdcore/hipster-hop is weak as fuck…over-sensitive geeks who try way too goddamn hard to stand out and be different. Fuck all that shit is what I’m sayin. If you a man, act like a goddamn man and cut this neon nerd faggot shit out.
June 1st, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Hip hop in the year 3000:
http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=35296107
June 1st, 2008 at 3:25 pm
rap listeners are all racists and sexist.
people are taking this rap shit too serious.
i don’t know why people even fucking read the hate that is creative loafing.
you all need lives.
(i love you negashi!)
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:07 am
so would maroon 5 be considered “blue-eyed soul”
maroon 5=hall and oates
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:08 am
this, i like. and i like the asses. and, are you holding a hot dog?
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:55 am
whoever said supreeme is hipster needs to explain themselves, they dont skate, wear the lastest bull, or rap over gay club sounding tracks, and they dont adapt to whatever is hot the time( now that 80s cool kids in the hall gold chain bullshit)and thay be spittin, but i guess atleast one person was going to be ridiculous, so i cant be mad
June 3rd, 2008 at 6:58 am
Lets keep making the funky music, and we’ll let the lames label it. hell i wear jeans that fit so my crack and my pistol won’t fall out as i run from “12″. I also like alot of synths in my music, cuz it makes me feel magical as nose dive into a plate of Peru’s finest. Japanese t-shirts? I cant read that shit. B’boom Boom Boom
June 5th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
@Rx4K
“I guess a lot of that shit is either psychedelic Da Da free verse or day-job storytelling backpack crap, but it seems to me that it has more to do with the genesis and definition of hipster hop than the TRL pantheon or 36 Chambers”
Yes, the more to do with Genesis the better!
Honestly though, I’m bummed that hip hop, both under and above-ground has become so stale as of late.
I also really like dancehall!
June 6th, 2008 at 10:43 am
In these post-modern times, artist need to spend less time thinking about how their art will be percieved by the media and the public, and should just DO IT.
Plus, how about we stop eating our own cultural vomit? Why does everything sound like something else? Why do we have to define the future with signifiers of the past?
Don’t think about it, DO IT. Music exists in the now. Destroy all records recorded before 2007! Forget everything!
June 6th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
haha….judi chicago doesn’t want you to destroy their 2007 record. don’t worry guys, i wouldn’t ever destroy it.
hipsterism sucks. i agree with JC…stop thinking so much about this and that and not that or this…do what nike says.
June 20th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
to the first commentator:
fuck that shawty. anyone who has ever given supreeme half a glance knows they are the antithesis of hipster (admittedly an ambiguous term, but we all know what it means). Unlike their peers- proton, hollywierd, etc (no disrespect intended)- Supreeme has contrived or copied none of their attitude, style, and music. they are truly some unique shit and this is precisely why they are on Warner Brothers while the rest are stuck in the atl hipster “scene”. holler bitch
October 25th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
I think hip-ster hop is in need of a revampment.
I approach it extremely warily, because of the lyrical “Bleh-hehh” of it. I’m barely an adult, so its not like i’m some old fat complaining about the change in hip-hop. I embrace change…but this is rediculous. The fashion part of it is amazing, i love it, but the music is like..uhh WTF? Most Subcultures of hip-hop generate because they have something to say to the world. I sont know about this one. I CANT tolerate The Cool kidz, or Kid Sister…
And i can dig only SOME of Hollyweerd and Kidz in the hall.
what do you think?
waterfallz1023@yahoo.com