The 37th Chamber 09.26.09: Two Years On...

Posted by Patrick Robinson on 09.26.2009

This week, a small rant on why Kid Cudi's success means good things for 2010 and celebrating two years with 411Mania!

As you read this, I will be on a plane! Or possibly have landed, I have no idea what time the flight lands…suppose I should actually read the flight time schedule as opposed to leaving it on my suitcase.

Anyway, enough rambling, I have an ass-load of work still to do so let's get started.

Reader Feedback

Please note, I am not in charge of which comments are approved on the site



"Cop that Cuban Linx. Album of the year, period."

There's really not much else to top it at this point in my opinion unless Detox comes out and blows us away. Then again, Relapse 2 could be awesome as well. If it features all the rumored tracks we've been hearing about, it certainly has the potential to be incredible. If Em leaves that strange accent behind, I'm sure the album is going to be good, if not great.

"Kanye was obviously a publicity stunt. I still think MTV was behind it all, even though they say it's not a work, it totally reeks like one."

Precisely. If MTV was game enough to pull a stunt like the Bruno/Eminem thing which I have to say, is probably a lot more embarrassing that having your acceptance speech interrupted. I mean a man's ass in your face? That just ruins your day.

I'm not sure as to who would be behind it, but I DO have a feeling that perhaps Taylor Swift wasn't in on it. Kanye probably got a heavy hint from someone to do something outlandish, took the ball and ran with it.

"Also big ups to MOP for straightening out the error with Kil. Awesome to see that people can handle shit like men these days."

It really doesn't happen enough. These days, it's so damn easy to find a lawyer and bring a lawsuit against them, and the majority of the time, the person being sued comes out with "I had no idea there was a problem, but we're looking into it". I think most people are more content with going for money, than trying to maintain a positive work relationship and using a TELEPHONE to call someone to try and sort things out. It's not as if the telephone is dead technology now is it?

"London > Nivea, London looks damn fine in the picture."

Oh yes indeed.

"Snoop's album may be the first quality release from Death Row since 7 Day Theory. Looks very old school, which is a great thing."

I'm definitely happy with how things are being handled at Death Row at the moment. They seem very content to leave things as they are, apart from re-mastering the tracks so the best sound quality is available to us. Nothing worse than "UNHEARD, UNRELEASED MATERIAL!" actually being something ripped off an old cassette and sounding like it was recorded in a tin cup.

"Have fun in Jap land. Take pictures and shit. Also get some J-Rap, some Dabo or King Giddra and do a review. I know Dabo is good stuff, King G is decent, but I don't know much else about the scene there. Would be kind of cool to hear your thoughts.

Be safe, though, most of all." - spacefight

Thanks mate; I'm definitely going photo crazy whilst I'm there and hopefully not going to spend my entire trip money in the first week. I'm going to have to bring a calculator along to see if the item on sale is actually cheap compared to what I'd pay in Australia hahaha

I actually found a couple of tracks from a movie that were Japanese rap and it was pretty good. I have no idea what's being said apart from the odd word or two, but it has a very definite rhythm and flow to it. As a writer for a music website, I would be crap if I didn't check out the local market on a holiday I think.


This is needed one more time I think

"How Lauren London allowed herself to get pregnant by f-ing Lil' Wayne I will never understand. Lauren is absolutely GORGEOUS and knowing she slept with a troll like Wayne kind of diminishes her hotness in my view. Don't get me wrong, I like Wayne, but he's not exactly on the handsome side of things. Let's just all pray that the baby looks more like Lauren."

Yeah Wayne isn't exactly the best looking guy around. Perhaps this is one of those cases where they were both drunk, Wayne was singing with the auto-tune and Lauren London thought she'd have to go to EXTREME MEASURES to get him to be quiet. Hmm, sounds like the script to a bad porno.

"Nivea is pretty hot too, but she is NOT having a good pregnancy. She looks like a freakin' Walrus. Obviously women gain weight during pregnancy, but she literally looks like 3 times bigger than she used to be. I wouldn't be surprised if she had triplets because that would at least explain why she's so damn huge. Or she's just hitting the buffet way too hard."

Some women really don't go well after pregnancy whereas others like Jessica Alba bounce back looking just as good as they did before. Then again, a friend of a friend of mine was pregnant and I seriously couldn't sit in the same car as her. She was too big for the front seats and I for some reason, always got stuck in the back and she basically took over at least three quarters of the back seat leaving me a small pocket of air next to a window that wouldn't open. Once I got my own car I considered adding the "No Pregnant women" to my list of car rules but I figured there would be a fair amount of backlash if I was to do that.



"Glad to see M.O.P. do the right thing and give that up-and-coming producer the credit that he deserves. There's a lot of artists out there who would jack it and swear to God that it's theirs and have their lawyers put the rightful owner through so much litigation that they would just give up. I gotta pick up that Foundation album."

Oh it's ridiculous. The whole Lil Wayne and Gillie Da Kid of who was writing the rhymes was stupid and really didn't get Gillie anywhere after Wayne annihilated the mixtape scene through sheer force of numbers. Then there's constant beat thievery such as a stolen bass line or whatever. It's funny, but when sampling was legal in the sense that you didn't have to pay royalties or get permission etc. people were more likely to credit someone. Now that you have to pay royalties, it's a very hush hush business.

"I read your reviews for Cudi and Jay and I agree with you for the most part. I wasn't impressed with Cudi's album at first, but after a few more listens, I really started to like it. If people come into it looking for a straight-up rap album, they will be disappointed. But as a hip-hop/alternative record, it's fantastic.

Great column as always Patrick, have a safe trip." - Monty

Thanks Monty, I've been listening to Cudi's album quite a bit lately and it's probably second to Raekwon this year on my Best Of list. I didn't actually have much of an idea what to expect from it, and I think that no-expectations (as opposed to low-expectations) probably allowed me to listen to the album more openly. Perhaps I was a little overzealous with Jay's rating in the end, but I honestly wouldn't drop it any lower than an 8.5 as I really enjoyed it.

"Great article, as always. Glad to see someone saw through the "smoke and mirrors" of the biggest "worked shoot" since Vince Russo's days in WCW. Personally, Kanye may have committed career suicide with his stunt, in more ways than one.

He's become the new punchline of the internet, and he's not really going to be taken seriously after this has all settled. It's sad, but he had it coming, it was just a matter of when."

Hahaha I've seen so many sites pop up with images of Kanye such as here and here. That second one in particular was funny for me because I studied Physics at school hahaha.

I'm interested to see how Kanye comes back and if this will affect his record sales in the future. I'm certain that even if Kanye takes 2 years to release an album, people will bring it up as the probable reason as to WHY it's taken him 2 years to release the album.

"BTW, your reviews of Cuban Linx II, Man on The Moon and Foundation were spot on. Can't wait to hear all 3 of those albums in the next month."

I'm starting to get pissed off by the fact that I've been in about 4 different shops and still haven't been able to find any of those albums. I'm in the city to collect some money on Friday (I'm writing this Wednesday night my time if it sounds confusing) so HOPEFULLY one of the two big stores there will have those albums. I should possibly hold off buying them considering that close to $5,000 has walked out of my bank account this week in various forms to various people.

"Enjoy your vacation and try and see if you can find some Japanese hip-hop, it would make an interesting read, if you know what I'm sayin'." - nastrodamus

I'm definitely going to see if I can find someone who speaks enough English to understand what I'm babbling on about. From past experiences, I've learned NOT to open a conversation with ‘hello' or ‘excuse me' in the language of the country you are in. The person you are talking to immediately assumes you know the language and BAM! Five minutes later you're left wondering what the hell happened with a dog in your hands…which is what happened to me in France.



"Lil Wayne should NEVER sponsor condoms. Dude is like 26 with almost 4 children" - Guest#5671

Hahaha, rappers in general shouldn't sponsor condoms! Mos Def supposedly has quite a few children running around, the late ODB was also famous for fathering quite a few children. There's someone else I'm forgetting too who has a number of children…may come to me later.

"Distant Relatives
Attention: Deficit
Relapse 2
Lasers

yeah the later part of 09 is looking AMAZING" - Guest#5930

Ah Lupe! I keep forgetting about Lupe's album, shame on me, mainly because I thought it wasn't coming out until next year. Must have been someone else's album that got pushed back and I got confused with. Wale's album got pushed back as well, but he gave us a reason so he gets a pass. Eminem is certainly one to watch and the Nas/Damian Marley collaboration will be quality too. I'm going out on a limb here and saying that 2009 is the best year for hip-hop since 2005 and before that, probably 2001!

"What the hell does rant mean?" - Peter Griffin

Not sure exactly, but I think it has something to do with America's foreign policy and Beowulf having relations on a battlefield somewhere, but I could be wrong.

"I'm waiting for the day that Latino and Arizona born rappers make a wave in Hip-Hop. Oh and btw rappers need to start wearing bandannas and baggy clothes not fuckin skinny jeans and shit god I wish rappers would dress like that again, they look cooler." - Fuckwhiners

The skinny jean look is definitely over and shouldn't be brought up again by anyone unless they intend on making a "D.O.A." style track about them. Not sure if the bandanas and baggy clothes look is the best way to go as the mainstream media immediately labels as them as thugs or hooligans, but a nice balance between that and say the throwback jersey look.

"Can somebody please review Tanya Morgan - Brooklynati... album of 09" - Luke

"co-sign Luke, idk about album of the year but highly enjoyable..." - Joe

Ok, when I get back, I'll give it a listen. I won't write up a review in the usual sense, but I'll be sure to do a special on it here in The 37th Chamber.

"A couple questions:

How did Blueprint 3 get a 9? Yes it had great production but Jay-Z literally BRAGGED the whole album. He said almost nothing thought worthy. I know Jay has never been a rapper to get real deep but at least he's had Song Cry and Moment of Clarity or even Beach Chair in the past as Jay-Z from this heart.

I also noticed that Jay-Z is so rich it's nearly impossible to relate to him. He eats quail (I didn't even know that was eatable) he's on yachts and shit. I don't mind him bragging about that shit cause that's what made him famous but 15 tracks of "this is how good I am"? WTF?"

HE'S ON A BOAT MUTHERFUCKER! Ha anyway, I gave Blueprint 3 a 9 because I felt that the production was backed up by some of the best lyricism that Jay has brought to the table in years. It WAS bragging for the most part, but there's a difference between say, 50 Cent who simply says "I'm rich bitch, recognize!" and Jay who comes out with a line like "Please follow the leader, so Eric B we are, Microphone fiend it's the return of the god, Peace God". Speaking of 50, on "A Star Is Born" - "50 came through, like hurricanes do. I thought I finished his ass at Summer Jam too". That's a reference to "It's Hot", which Jay debuted at Summer Jam if my history is correct, featuring the now famous "I'm about a dollar, what the fuck is 50 Cents". It's that type of bragging where you can back it up with lyrics that make it worth listening in my opinion.

"And with Raekwon's album, how did that get a 9? He rapped about crimes he didn't commit. This shit ain't 95 the dude is almost 40 and still acting like a fuckin 18 year old? Talk about no growth"

The BIG difference is that Rae's not rapping as if he did it, he's rapping, much like he did on Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, the original, as part of a Mafia boss, hence the term ‘Mafioso rap' which spawned Reasonable Doubt and Biggie's Life After Death in the following years. The sequel is just a continuation of the original in every sense of the word as Rae picked up his old Mafioso character, dusted it off and brought it back to the forefront of rap again.

There's a difference between making a concept album and saying something in character, as opposed to simply saying "yeah I do all this on a daily basis". Another example is Jay's American Gangster album. Jay sure as hell isn't selling drugs anymore, but as part of a character, he made an album around that concept. I'm pretty sure if someone saw Jay-Z selling drugs; they'd turn him in and cop an enormous reward.

Mafia bosses come in all ages but are mostly on the older side of things, just watch The Godfather and you'll see what I mean so age shouldn't play a part in it in this case.

"And while some people keep saying Kid Cudi's album wasn't "real hip hop". It IS hip hop albeit not in its traditional sense. And that deserve its accolades because that IS a real album. More real than a lot of rappers (i.e. Jeezy, Officer Pig Ross etc.) that scream real on every track to feel accepted."

Ha there's nothing worse than artists who try and tell you that they're REALLY REAL which is why the track on Blueprint 3 pissed me off. Jeezy is one of the worst perpetrators along with Mark II of trying to say what's real and what's not. Is ANYTHING really real anymore? Unless I see someone with my own eyes, holding two forms of Government ID, a cop and their grandmother to confirm their identification doing something, I won't be happy.

Yes that's shamelessly stolen.

"By no means am I saying BP3 or OB4CL2 are bad albums, but they should have gotten 8 or 8.5 tops."

I'm glad you still see them as good albums and its all opinions at the end of the day. Thank you for expressing yours without using horribly formatted CHUNKS OF TEXT calling me an idiot or suggesting I'm a fan of a certain type of music like people were doing on the Cam'Ron review. Seriously, someone got that I was a Soulja Boy fan out of that review…people need to check their eyesight I think.

I like the discussions, it promotes different opinions, a different perspective to music and it's the best way for hip-hop to grow, thanks again Bob!



"And when did Hip Hop become a fashion statement? For a genre known for its sexist ways, I find Hip Hop to be very gay at times. Fashion, "no homo", hatin on women, loving their n*****. I just don't get it" - My Name is Bob

Hahaha that's pretty true now that I think about it. Add to that almost every rapper's fascination with taking their shirt off at some point in their career. Hip-hop has been about fashion for a long time though. From the days of Run-D.M.C. rocking the Adidas clothing and shoes, to Rakim and Eric B. rocking the big-ass gold chains to the Wu-Tang clothing line, whilst it may not be a fashion statement as such, fashion has played a huge part in hip-hop, just not in the same sense as it does in other genres I think.

The Mini Rant

HAHAHA oh I'm an idiot. I was prepared to write this small piece on how I am now officially into my THIRD YEAR of writing for 411Mania but I realized that anniversary happened…last week. Somehow I've had it in my head that I started writing for the site on the 25th of September in 2007, but it turns out my very first article went live on the 19th of September 2007. Anyway, I would like to quickly take the time to thank some people who have helped me along the way.

CJ

CJ is a long time reader who has been hooking me up with hard to find mixtapes and other releases, which have had somewhat questionable advances floating around, with the actual CD version. He's also gotten me onto some totally new artists I probably wouldn't have ever experienced otherwise such as Lyrics Born, Vakill, Reef The Lost Cauze and Eternia to name a few. He's been an unbelievable help in expanding my hip-hop listening scope and for that, thank you!

Damien

Damien actually holds the distinction of being the very first person to send me feedback on one of my columns and is probably one of my longest readers. I chat to him on Facebook* about upcoming releases and he is extremely kind enough to give me a prod when an album drops that I may be waiting on. I'm also extremely jealous because he manages to get out to a lot of the shows here. One day when I decide to go postal and punch my teacher in the face and therefore get kicked out of college, I'll be able to join him at a show one day hahaha. As someone who's been along for the ride for a long time, thank you!

*If anyone wants to add me, just search for Patrick Robinson or actually, 411Mania brings me up and I'm the only Patrick Robinson writing for the site to the best of my knowledge hahaha, just make sure you add a note that you're a 411 reader otherwise I'll have no idea where I know you from and be confused)

Jeremy

Jeremy is another reader who's been around since 2007 and has sent me links from time to time on underground artists that I have never heard of. He got me into Cannibal Ox (eventually, my fault, I'm very slow) and once I listened to The Cold Vein I kicked myself for not listening to it sooner due to its extremely 36 Chambers vibe throughout. He also comments a lot from week to week and for his patience and dedication, thank you!

Joe

Each summer Joe has hooked me up with an album of work that he's worked on as a side project and they're excellent listens and a great way to relax after a long day as they've had a very nice peaceful vibe to them. He also agrees with a lot of my sentiments so that's good too! Anyway, I'm looking forward to anything else he decides to send my way, thank you Joe!

Kurruption and Ramirez

I disagree with these guys on a lot of points, but we always keep it civil and they generate a ton of discussion which is great for the column and for me. They've been an excellent heads up on various West Coast happenings since 2008 and always give me a genuine and long laugh with their comments on T.I. and Lil Wayne and for that, which is ESPECIALLY useful after a shitty day in class, thank you both!

Also, props once again for the Nick Carey nickname hahaha

SYC

SYC is another of my longtime readers from 2007 who has given me a lot of insight into a Canadian artist called Classified who, if it wasn't for him, probably would have thought was actually a hip-hop artist but rather a band of some sort based on the name. He's also an old-school Run-D.M.C. fan and often gets a lot of artists coming his way for shows too which makes me think I should pack up and move to America or Canada one day to actually get a decent chance of seeing artists I love live. Thanks for reading all this time!

Jesuszilla son of Godzilla

What more can I say other than Jesuszilla has an epic username and also a fantastic grasp of hip-hop and what makes it so enjoyable. With his weekly discography run downs we've always had a lot to talk about and I'm amazed somewhat that I agree with him 95% of the time on his judgments on the albums. Not because his opinions are crazy, but rather I'M actually hard pressed to find ANYONE who agrees with me usually, so it's excellent to find someone who mirrors my love for different types of hip-hop. Because of him, I've been able to go back and listen to some of the CDs he's mentioned in his posts which I might not have otherwise done, thank you!

Just a quick note, but I had a HORRIBLE thought that I'm assuming everyone reading is male. Based on the usernames and the fact that I don't think I have many…if any female readers. If there are any female readers out there or anyone mentioned before and after this is actually female and I have assumed otherwise, I'm sorry! Or as I will most likely be saying a lot over the next few weeks, Gomen Nasai!

The Rapper's Rapper

Always gives good insight into my comments and often touches on points I may not have previously thought of or overlooked and also often agrees with me hahaha. He also appreciates my extremely strange sense of humor which makes writing said strange humor a little easier, thank you!

Ok, I'm actually running out of time due to the fact that I still need to pack. At this point during the acceptance speech, the music has probably been playing for about 5 minutes already, so speed run!

Regulars

Dab (a firm believer that hip-hop is ALIVE and doing well if you know where to look!), nastrodamus (always, ALWAYS has good insight into the business side and practical side, such as the remix topic a few weeks back), Fuckwhiners (for providing great discussion points and having one of the best names on the site), Da Mic (for being a fellow Spongebob fan hahaha), RED (although we do disagree on Cassie's hotness factor, I know he loves it when I go after Mark II), Decisions, Decisions (for being an excellent father by educating his children on GOOD MUSIC), Bobby McKay (a newer hip-hop fan, but one that is taking the time to listen to the Classics and gain an appreciation for them, wish there were more like you out there!), Sam! (I look forward to your comments because you almost always have an excellent jab at any artist making an ass out of themselves), AlaskanHero (knows his history, if I ever pose a question I'm too lazy to search Wiki or I doubt the reliability of my iTunes, he's got an answer waiting for me!), spacefight (not sure how long you've been reading for, but I hope you keep coming back!), Brian Griffin (for always appreciating the ladies), Justin (the resident lawyer of The 37th Chamber and Hip-Hop Herald and definitely knows his stuff when it comes to my postulating on legal proceedings…or Lil Wayne making an ass out of himself in the court of law), bobert (haven't seen him for a while, but he always gave me something good to discuss) and finally Javier, my friend and brother who always gives me excellent hip-hop debates in real life.

Of course, thanks to the entire 411 family as well, in particular Michael James and Weng, two fellow music writers whose work you should definitely check out and Len Archibald who writes in the movie zone, but posted here for a while as The 8th Samurai (took me a while, but I eventually worked it out…damn I'm slow).

You're the best readers on the site as I think 99% of the feedback I get is positive or constructive in its critical nature to which you have NO IDEA how it makes writing the column each week so much easier when I'm dealing with civil and well formatted comments. Thank you all!

I KNOW I'm forgetting some people, please, please forgive me but thank you all for coming and reading the Hip-Hop Herald and 37th Chamber each week. I might not have made it to this third year without you so here's to more good times, more laughs, more discussions and most importantly, MORE HIP-HOP!

But that's not exactly a musical rant now is it, so here it is:

The fact that Kid Cudi sold as well as he did, more than 100,000 in his first week of sales is a positive indication that there ARE people out there willing to buy hip-hop albums that transcend the norm. You can hardly call Man On The Moon a ‘normal' hip-hop album, although what is these days, so it's been the best news I've heard this week that an artist who makes songs of that nature can see commercial success.

As I've said many times, commercial success doesn't mean anything when it comes to quality, but I like to see the sales figures each week as it's encouraging to see your favorite artists do well on the commercial side of things. A lot of rappers claim that they don't care if they sell or not, but honestly, I think that deep down, all of them care a bit in some way. Whether it's to avoid being dropped by the label for not being able to sell more than Kevin Federline, or to make enough money to buy a new car or apartment (even a moderate affair and not a $7 million ridiculous mansion like Scott Storch) or simply because it's their CAREER, I think that an artist who says they don't care at all about sales is lying to themselves or isn't worried about being dropped/going broke anytime soon. Lucky them.

Kid Cudi's success though gives me hope for artists such as Lupe Fiasco and Wale being able to make an impact this year. With the amount of quality releases we've seen in September alone and throughout this year, I think that hip-hop is starting to make its comeback to the mainstream. People are getting sick of artist's who can't make an actual album to save themselves and are refocusing their attention on the artist's who put out a finished and polished product.

Whilst I joked about the rebirth of hip-hop with a Lil Wayne picture, I can now safely say that I think it's going to be in the best position possible come January 1st 2010 that it has been since the beginning of 2006 after the wave of quality 05 releases.

The Signoff

This officially marks the end of the columns that I'll be able to respond to Reader Feedback for the next few weeks. I've got columns in the system that will appear through the magic of the internet (and the staff) over the next few weeks, and now that I have confirmed I WILL have a laptop in Japan, I'll see if I can organize Internet to try and respond to some of the comments whilst I'm over there.

But for now, I shall catch you LIVE in 3 weeks!