polyphony.

50

so, i was in tower records last night, after leaving school.

i spend a little time in the books and magazines section, then i head over to the hip hop section. a little kid, no more than 12 or 13, is at the listening station, engrossed in the sounds of some album. i check, and to my surprise (not), it was 50 cent. now, i've been hating on 50, nonplussed as to how he could possibly sell so many albums with a weak product.

so, after the kid leaves, i step to the listening station and don the headphones, and for the first time, give "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" a listen.

i see why it sold so many albums now.

honestly, i still don't see what's so dope about the "In The Club" beat. "Wanksta" is mediocre at best. but overall, it's a well put together album, and 50 cent's flow is actually pretty dope. he's got mic charisma, and rhymes with emotion (yeah, you gotta hear the album to understand it). he's a respectable mc.

but the words, man, the words!

the 1st week numbers he did, something ridiculous like 800k, kept popping into my mind as i heard every song promote death and murder. if he wasn't talking about somebody watching
"their brains pop out of they skull" from his bullets he's using the sound of a gun cocking as the snare in a beat. i mean, duke is just reckless with his subject matter. i feel like c. delores tucker, but whatever. millions of folks, mindless drones that they already are, getting forcefed this ruthless view towards life: it just seems kinda scary. you could put dirty baby diapers over a neptunes beat and cats would be like, "yo, dirty diapers is the sh*t!!!"

even gangsterism, arguably, has a place in hip-hop- it certainly holds strong position in hip-hop's history- but wow.

calm that down a taste.

anyway, guess what?

i'm getting crafty with the beats, man. samples just jump out at me these days. i had alexis throw one of my joints on repeat! it's like, everyday i learn something new about putting a beat together. i'm not even good yet, but i can feel the progress each day- and i have the desire to work through my mistakes, make an OK beat better. i burned a couple of my joints on cd, and i play them in my headphones. the song with the bill evans sample is worthy walking around downtown to.

i cannot wait until this semester is over. i've had it with school for the moment. i just want to concentrate on music right now.