Friends,

Around a year or so ago, I stumbled across one of the very best pieces of video content of any style or format I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. The depth of analysis, critical thinking and logical reasoning blew me away, and I can only hope that this incredibly high standard of integrity and dedication becomes the norm amongst creators globally (wishful thinking, I know).

The gentleman at heart of this work of art goes by the name 1Dime. 1Dime is a video creator, podcaster and recently published author who is passionate about the societies we live in, delving into topics ranging from politics, economics, philosophy, history and many more. He also happens to be a huge Hip-hop fan. So after going through his incredible work, I simply had to track him down and get some of his thoughts on the Bars Of Wisdom newsletter.

I certainly had a blast talking to him, so buckle up and enjoy this exchange where we literally chop it up about anything and everything you could imagine. Its a good one!

But anyway, let’s get back to business…

Q: Firstly, tell us who you are, what you do and what keeps you busy.

1D: My name is Tony Chamas, AKA 1Dime. I run the YouTube channel called "1Dime" and the podcast “1Dime Radio,” which focuses on various socio-cultural topics and draws from the fields of philosophy, critical theory, history, politics, economics, and sociology. On the main 1Dime channel, I mainly do video essays, mini-documentaries, and some YouTube shorts and on the 1Dime Radio podcast, I talk about similar topics in greater depth with guests and also talk about some more niche subjects.  My content generally could be classified as experimental “edutainment.” Each video serves as both an educational analysis of a different topic and a novel artistic experiment at the same time. Aside from making videos, I am about to finish grad school and am an aspiring political theorist. Aside from that, I work, socialize, eat, sleep, and try to enjoy the small pleasures of life worth cherishing. 

Q: I was introduced to your work by coming across “The Culture Industry: How Capitalism Ruins Hip Hop”. It’s a fantastic watch and extremely well put together. I think you did a great job from a conceptual standpoint and made every minute of this video captivating. Can you talk us through what inspired you to make it and how you feel about the information you’ve conveyed? Was there something specific that resulted in you wanting to get this message specifically around Hip-hop out to viewers and beyond?

1D: I have always been a Hip-hop head, and am deeply immersed in the world of theory and philosophy. Rarely do I see people who are simultaneously interested in both things, even though many leftists listen to Hip-hop, and historically Hip-hop has been one of the more politically rebellious genres. I made my video on the Culture Industry with a certain audience and message in mind. Many Hip-hop heads and music critics/reviewers have complained that “real Hip-hop is dead” and that it has been overtaken by mind-numbing “mumble rap.” Although I do not actually believe “Hip-hop is dead”, as there are plenty of great Hip-hop acts still making music, especially in the underground, I understand their sentiment when it comes to the commercialisation of Hip-hop and the decline of lyrical and instrumental dynamism as the genre has become more part of mainstream pop culture. In my video, I wanted to show how this trend is reflective of a broader tendency that takes place in popular music and popular entertainment in general in capitalist society.

Q: Describe your journey and relationship with Hip-hop, both as a musical genre and a culture. What kind of impact does it have on areas of your life, and does it influence your content (beyond the “Culture Industry…”) at all as well?

1D: I have been a fan of Hip-hop since I was a kid in the early 2000s. Probably the first Hip-hop song I heard was Eminem’s “My Name is,” and since then I was hooked. However, I became a lot more knowledgeable about underground Hip-hop and explored the classics of 90s Hip-hop when I was in high school and throughout university. Hip-hop helped me get through life. I made my days working office jobs a little less boring by making a conscious effort to listen to a brand-new record each week. I would listen through the entire discographies of respected rappers from the 80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s, and underground acts from the current generation. I would find a rapper or group and listen to their entire body of work, or their most critically acclaimed albums at the very least. I am naturally a very curious person. I get an excess of joy from discovering new things. The way I accumulated my knowledge about Hip-hop is similar to how I learned theory and philosophy. I would look at those who were veterans when it came to understanding the field and checked out the things they recommended.

Like many people who watch YouTube, the first music reviewer I stumbled upon was Anthony Fantano (TheNeedleDrop) which is where I first got introduced to a lot of more contemporary underground acts such as Danny Brown. But I was mostly into a YouTube channel called “Dead End Hip-Hop” (DEHH) comprised of 4 dudes who were quite knowledgeable about Hip-hop and talked about albums in a funny but insightful way. I especially like Myke C Town and Ken from DEHH. I discovered some of my favourite Hip-hop acts from them, such as Atmosphere, Common, Lupe Fiasco (who I had heard of but not explored in depth), Ka, Billy Woods, Roc Marciano, El-P and Killer Mike, and Kool Keith. Although music enjoyment is subjective, I never quite bought the view that music tastes are all relative. Some people have a more defined taste than others and have far more references to compare with. If someone has listened to 1000 Hip-hop albums from different eras versus someone who listened to just 20 albums (or if any albums at all) from what is popular right now, the person with more reference points will have a greater breadth of knowledge and probably a stronger taste. How do you differentiate what music is high quality and unique versus what is low effort and standardised if one does not listen to a wide variety of albums? So even though everyone is entitled to their opinion, I  will always take the opinion of someone who is more well-versed in the genre more seriously, even though I don’t have to agree with it. So that’s how I discovered a lot of Hip-hop acts and explored its history. 

As for how Hip-hop has influenced my life and content, I find that it has impacted me personally in three ways. First, I have always been a verbal person (which is not surprising given that I basically talk and write for a living), and Hip-hop, at its best, is among the most sophisticated genres when it comes to lyricism and storytelling. Sometimes listening to great lyricists like Andre 3000, MF Doom, and Lupe Fiasco inspires me to write.

Second, Hip-hop has always been a very abrasive genre that least succumbs to political incorrectness. Sometimes that is to its detriment. We all know the problems of misogyny and homophobia in Hip-hop. But one has to respect that compared to genres, rappers tend to be the most honest about the most primal egoic desires, many of which we are socialised into having but don’t admit to others. Desires as wanting to have sex with the most attractive people, money, fame, and the power to actualise one’s will.  These are all very shallow desires, but in capitalist society, we are programmed to desire many of these things and there is a difference between people who truly realise that such things won’t ever satisfy you, and those who secretly do desire these things but repress their desires and pretend to be morally righteous.

In a certain sense, Hip-hop has a very Nietzschean spirit to it. Rappers are most transparent when it comes to revealing their “Will To Power” so to speak, and are not stopped by society’s moral norms and mannerisms that encourage people to pretend to be “civil” on the surface. However, there are different ways in which rappers express their will to actualise their egoic desires. Some rappers are clever and creative in doing so, and some are more vulgar and tasteless. Jay-Z for instance, I think is probably the best braggadocious rapper of all time. He never had a deep political message or much emotional vulnerability compared to someone like 2Pac, but he still has an outstanding catalogue and is a GOAT contender. Way before he wifed up Beyonce and became a billionaire, Jay-Z since his first albums, found clever ways to brag about finessing his way up the system’s social hierarchy, using double entendres, similes and creative metaphors in his raps. His bourgeois antics aside, those who are fans of Jay-Z’s work know that Hov is an immaculate lyricist who consistently puts out great albums. The Michael Jordan of Hip-hop.

Third and lastly, Hip-hop tends to have the most revolutionary spirit compared to many genres, or at least it used to. While no art form is inherently “revolutionary” politically speaking, acts like KRS One, Public Enemy, Immortal Technique, and 2Pac have songs that contain politically rebellious messages that you would rarely see in other musical genres. I don’t think Hip-hop has to be politically “woke” for it to be good. In fact, there is plenty of corny pseudo-political rap out there. However, the political character of many Hip-hop acts are even more radical when you think about the time in which “conscious” Hip-hop was at its best: the 1990s. The 1990s was the “end of history” decade in which Soviet communism was officially defeated, and liberal capitalism was considered to be the best possible system humanity could achieve, a belief that started to become challenged again after the 2008 economic crash. While upper-class white people were celebrating the “end of history” in the 90s, Hip-hop expressed the bleak reality of working-class black Americans who faced poverty, gentrification, and police brutality. So yeah, Hip-hop has a transgressive aspect to it and many lyrically talented rappers were able to reflect realities not captured by the spectacle of mainstream television in America. Hip-hop, I believe, is also a fundamentally working-class genre, or at least it used it be. Hip-hop began with not the most expensive production, a low barrier for entry, and producers relied on the creative use of sampling to make new unique instrumentals out of the old. Of course, this became harder as record labels cracked down on sampling through copyright laws, but when you think about it, what makes Hip-hop unique as a genre is that it is a rebellious expression of the unheard. 

Q: I’m curious to know which one of your passions came first, and whether these interests in politics, economics, or history lead to you being a fan of Hip-hop, or vice versa? Furthermore, did one of these domains shape or influence your internal rationale in one another? What do you think is the glue that holds them all together?

1D: I definitely got into Hip-hop first. As I mentioned, I was into it since I was a kid probably since I was about 2 years old. No joke. Though I didn’t become a “Hip-hop head” properly speaking until I was in high school at around 15-16 and became a more mature connoisseur after I explored the history of Hip-hop (the 90s and 80s acts) more thoroughly when I was between 18- 22. I was into philosophy since I was in high school, roughly 17. I truly became “politicised” when I was around 17-18 as I would argue for policies like Universal Basic Services, healthcare, education, affordable housing, the right to a job… etc.  You know, what should be common sense shit. That stuff ain’t necessarily “socialist,” but I had a high school teacher at the time who would jokingly always call me “the socialist’ because I advocated such ideas. So I was like “ok well, if this stuff is socialist, then I guess I am a socialist.” Before that, I was just vaguely on what was considered the “left” in the mainstream political scene. My family was always vaguely “liberal” and anti-imperialist as half of my family is Lebanese. Shoutout to the Palestinians fighting for their freedom against the apartheid settler colonialism perpetuated by the far-right Israeli state. Palestinians need their Hip-hop. It was not until the insurgency of the 2016 Bernie Sanders campaign for the Democratic nomination that I started to discover what is called “radical theory” (Marx, Marxists, critical theorists… etc.). As we know,  Bernie Sanders was narrowly defeated by Hillary Clinton in what appeared at the time to be a heavily manipulated electoral process marked by voter restrictions, immense corporate funding for Hillary Clinton, and a massive propaganda campaign ushered in by the mainstream corporate media against Bernie Sanders. Facing this reality, I became disillusioned with the myth of US “democracy,” and after learning the history of how many countries in Europe got their social programs (which was by having a strong labour movement and communist/socialist movements that scared the state into compromising with the people), I became more open minded to forms of socialist/communist politics. Obviously, the past existing forms of socialism were not ideal and were products of very harsh economic conditions that had to defend against the vicious imperialist forces trying to destabilise them. But at the very least, I figured that if we had radical communist movements in North America, it would make something like social democracy appear less radical in comparison, as it has existed in many European countries and is more or less the form of politics embodied by Bernie Sanders, who laughably gets depicted as a “communist” by the corporate media. There has historically been plenty of people in the arts who have espoused socialist/communist sympathies, and in fact many of them were purged for that during McCarthyism/ the Second Red Scare. Yet by the the 80s and 90s, communism as a force was basically dead and artists who openly expressed any anti-capitalist sympathies were few and far between. Hip-hop was one of the few exceptions when it came to anti-establishment sentiments at the time. Not only did you have the acts like 2Pac that I mentioned earlier, but you had Nas openly praising Fidel Castro on his track “Ghetto Prisoners”, though as we know, and as I have shown in detail in my Culture Industry video, Hip-hop was soon absorbed into the capitalist system and most of the remaining artists with quasi “radical” politics were confined to the underground.  

Q: One of the reasons I’ve found you so informative and great to learn from is due to your analysis being so thorough. When you lay out details and intricacies of the subjects you explore, it becomes easy to follow and feel your patterns of thought. So, with that said, how would you describe your work’s mission, especially as you cover a wide range of topics?

1D: My work’s mission is threefold. On the one hand, I am constantly reading and trying to understand the realities of the world as accurately as I can. Through my videos, I like to communicate the key lessons and important bits of information that I have extracted which I believe can help people understand a certain issue or provide nuance surrounding a particular debate. On the other hand, by illuminating crucial realities that are repressed or obfuscated by the prevailing ideology and established common sense, I seek to encourage people to think about moving towards a better society than what exists. This might sound vague and like Sway in the Morning; I don’t have the answers, but as Marx notoriously said: “The philosophers have mainly interpreted the world. The point, however, is to change it.” I don’t have the answers, but I have a few ideas on what needs to change and how.

There are many people far more knowledgeable than me who have studied such questions, and the best I can do is look at their work and try to convey the important bits to a general audience. Ideology and different political “camps” are inevitable when it comes to politics, but I tend to avoid committing myself to a single political label/ideology for now. 1 - because “left” has only recently started to be reborn in the US and Canada (where I live) and 2 - there is no single organized socialist force that has enough momentum yet to constitute a serious political opposition, so limiting oneself to political sects right now is mostly pointless. Adopting an overly specific ideological label, especially as an academic or YouTuber, can significantly limit one’s intellectual creativity and open-mindedness because one feels they have to live up to a certain “brand” they have adopted and they have to avoid “going against the line” of their fellow partisans.

To reiterate, for now, the purposes of my channel are to examine certain phenomena/issues ( understand reality as such)  to the best of my ability and to then convey what I believe is most important to a wider audience. Of course, my work will contain my biases and some prescriptions of what I think is a general way forward (or which paths are incorrect), but generally I hope to get my viewers to think for themselves, and use it to think about how to combat the established system, why they are combating it, and how they want to change it. But to do so, one first has to try to understand what they are trying to combat.  In order to do so, history and philosophy are the most powerful tools. History contains the knowledge and events that contextualise how things have occurred the way they have. Context is everything and knowledge of the past can radically change the way you view many issues and assumptions we take for granted. But philosophy adds another dimension to this. To use Plato’s metaphor of the allegory of the cave,  studying history is like exploring what lies outside of the cave and how it got there while philosophy is like the glasses you put on that can help you see what you are exploring. Philosophies and theories are the lenses that can broaden or narrow out what you see. The more lenses you have to explore the world with, the more you can truly understand and deconstruct what you are seeing. Philosophy can give us the tools that can teach us how to think and the vocabulary to make sense of the information/phenomena we have internalised. But without studying history, one won’t have much information to actually think about using their philosophical lenses. It goes both ways. If one is a history encyclopedia but does not have many philosophical lenses, one may know what events lead to a phenomenon and how they take place,  but not why they take place and how we might interpret them. 

Q: Per your channel and profile descriptions, you aim to counter one-dimensional thought. Talk us through how you define this - the process and challenges that come with it - especially online, where we are oversaturated and overwhelmed with opinions, facts, misinformation, and many other hurdles. Do you see certain sections of society, or subject matters suffering more so than others? 

1D: Well there is a general way that I like to describe “one dimensional thought” and then there is the way the philosopher Herbert Marcuse defines the term in his book “One Dimensional Man” which has heavily influenced my thinking. I think of it in a similar way. “One Dimensional Thought” can be described as the opposite of “dialectical” thinking.  Dialectical thinking refers to thinking through the contradictions of reality. Reality as such is complex and filled with contradictions, and ideology serves to hide such contradictions by giving people a closed system of thinking that narrows what we can see and gives us pre-established answers to the phenomena of the world. For instance,  one dimensional thought reduces what should be contestable ideas and terms into one dimensional buzzwords synonymous with the corresponding set of operations it serves in the existing system. For example, “democracy” is taken to just mean voting in elections for one shades of elites for another. “Freedom” is taken to just mean freedom to consume and to say things. You would be surprised how so many teachers and even academics conduct studies and write books using such terms without even questioning their established meanings. The inability to think beyond the dominant systems of thinking provided to us by given society characterises one dimensional thinking. Often people who think they are “free thinkers” against the “establishment” do so using the ideological goggles they inherited form the system’s closed marketplace of ideologies. Take Kanye West for example. Artistic genius, but a total idiot politically. He boasts about being a “free thinker” breaking free from the “democratic plantation” yet what does he choose instead? The republican plantation is lead by one of the establishment’s wealthiest beneficiaries: Donald Trump. This tendency is common with many people who enter politics without any lenses. They get swept up into the spectacle of liberal-conservative politics, which represents the two main heads of the capitalist system. One Dimensional thinking makes people take the most basic things for granted and stick to a mode of thinking that robotically programs them to reproduce their roles and functions for the dominant socio-economic mode of production: capitalism. Where they are either an owner of capital or a wage slave. And the people up on the hierarchy are just as programmed as the people at the bottom. People lately have been both worried and excited about the trend of AI and machine learning replacing various forms of human labour. But what I think this trend really says more about us humans than the robots. If robots are capable of replacing humans in areas that are considered “intellectual labour” - journalism and writing for instance - then what does that say about how the evolution of humans? Is it really so so much that robots are are becoming as intelligent as humans or are humans becoming as one-dimensional as robots? The singularity to fear,  I think, is the robotisation of humanity. We already live in a planet of the robots. 

Q: I’d be interested to know who your favourite notable figures are, given the areas of interest you have and in relation to the work you create off the back of it. Who do you deem to be significantly important people in these domains, regardless of your own personal sentiments towards them?

1D: Well there is a lot. I am influenced by a wide array of thinkers, so I will mention the most important ones. Probably the most important is Karl Marx, as he was the first to pioneer a rigorous study of capitalism and lay the seeds to a vision as to how to change it. I am far from an orthodox Marxist, but in terms of the way I view the world, I could be characterized as a heterodox Marxist. Marxism, which includes not only Marx and Engels but the many key theorists who have developed the Marxist tradition such as Antonio Gramsci and Lenin. Aside from the political Marxist cannon, I am heavily influenced by thinkers like Herbert Marcuse, Slavoj Zizek, Jean Baudrillard and an American thinker named Sheldon Wolin, who has one of the best books on the American political matrix (Titled Democracy INC: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism). When it comes to the music industry, there is obviously Theodor Adorno whose writings on the “culture industry” and popular music I discussed in my video on Hip-hop. I tend to be drawn most to interdisciplinary thinkers who incorporate a mix of philosophy, psychoanalysis and sociology into their works. In terms of pure philosophy, I have been quite influenced by Nietzsche’s philosophy for a long time, even though his politics are somewhat at odds with mine. If you want some recommendations of publicly left intellectuals who are more accessible and have a lot of great interviews on YouTube, I suggest checking out Michael Parenti, Yanis Varoufakis, Richard Wolff, and Cornel West of course. Everybody already knows Noam Chomsky, who is still an OG despite my many disagreements with him, so I figured I would mention the others. 

Q: Overall, are you optimistic and more positive with the future of Hip-hop, politics and other facets of the world which you keep a close eye on?

1D: To be honest, based on the way things are going now, not really. But you never know. As I mentioned in my video on Hip-hop, there was a resurgence of creative Hip-hop into the mainstream between 2011-2015 (what I call the third golden generation of Hip-hop) when TDE (Kendrick, Ab Soul etc), Odd Future (Tyler The Creator Earl Sweatshirt, Vince Staples), Pro Era (Joey Badass’s crew), A$AP Rocky, Mac Miller, Danny Brown, J Cole, and a bunch of others got quite big off the internet. Many of those dudes, with the exception of J Cole and Kendrick,  mainly got big through the internet. So that could happen again, but I think streaming really destroyed the incentives for Hip-hop and not only has the bar for lyricism in rap been quite low recently, but production has also become super standardized and boring in my opinion. Producers are less creative and rely more on the same loud 808s instead of creative sampling. That said, there is still plenty of gems to be found in the underground scene of Hip-hop. The internet is saturated with millions of people trying to be rappers, but beneath the sewage there are some hidden treasures. There are still many  great acts making music today such as Run The Jewels, Danny Brown, Mick Jenkins, Quelle Chris, Jean Grae, Rapsody, Billy Woods, Earl Sweatshirt, JPEG Mafia, Ka, Freddie Gibbs, Roc Marciano, and Griselda (Benny the Butcher, Conway, Westside Gun). There are probably more I am forgetting. Of course Kendrick Lamar is still going strong in the mainstream and is easily the GOAT of this generation. 

Q: As this is a Hip-hop newsletter, we must ask the customary question around who you have on rotation and featuring regularly whenever you plug in to some music. Anybody who has caught your eye recently? Somebody who you frequently listen to, past or present? What can we expect when 1Dime gets the aux?

1D: Oh Man. Ok well the rappers I have on repeat the most are probably Common, Lupe Fiasco, Atmosphere, Pusha T/The Clipse, Jay-Z, The Game, Nas, Pac, Big, Outkast, Danny Brown, Kid Cudi, Ye’s first 6 albums, MF Doom, Kool Keith, Immortal Technique, Little Brother, Blu, Dead Prez, Royce da 5'9, Talib Kweli, Mos Def and The Roots. If you forced me to pick my top 3 favourite it would probably be Common, Jay-Z, and Lupe. As for who caught my eye recently, not much to be honest. I think Griselda are among the best up and coming rappers, but I can’t say its recent as I was an early fan of their music before Eminem and Jay-Z tried to sign them. Denzel Curry is another rapper rapper who is relatively “new” who I think is quite good. There are also a bunch of “bump in the whip” rappers who I don’t consider that good but I really enjoy their music such as 21 Savage, Future and Drake. Drizzy is basically a pop star more than a rapper in my opinion, but as far as mainstream standardised music goes, he has got some dope bangers. I think he went really downhill after his 5th album, but his stuff can be enjoyable. I don’t hate all standardised music, and I still enjoy some fast food music in the sense that one might enjoy McDonalds from time to time. As long as that is not all you are consuming and know there is better stuff out there. 

Q: Finally, would you like to sign off with any parting words?

1D: Yeah sure. I reckon Hip-hop heads would find my Culture Industry video very interesting, even if they may or may not agree with all of it. To those who are also curious to explore how further into how our political and economic matrix works, I recommend checking out my other videos. You can find my links here:

• My YouTube Channel (1Dime):  www.youtube.com/@1Dimee

• My Podcast 1Dime Radio (on all podcast Platforms): www.youtube.com/@1DimeRadio

• My Twitter: twitter.com/1DimeOfficial - @1DimeOfficial

• Patreon: www.patreon.com/OneDime/posts

Happy Monday, and for the UK folks, happy Bank Holiday.

I can only apologise for an extended period of inactivity. It wasn’t in my plans to not publish any work for circa four months, but I appreciate the fact that subscriptions and viewership have not taken a hit as a result of that. I am still striving to find the perfect balance between doing something cool on the side of juggling day-to-day commitments, and I am truly humbled that you all stick around regardless.

But anyway, let’s get back to business…

Artificial intelligence is the buzzword of 2023. In the world of hip-hop, it became a hot topic and cause for concern when viral posts showed the extent of AI’s ability to manipulate artists’ voices to create fake covers of tracks, or even in some instances, produce “original songs”. What then followed was discourse around the state of play in music and other art forms, whether it was a sign of the end, or a simple shrug of the shoulders. The answer lies somewhere in the middle, with overlaps from the AI/hip-hop subject matter into other disciplines concerning this vast Venn diagram.

Hip-hop turned 50 years old this month, which means I’ve been an obsessive fan and follower for over half of it’s existence. I recall when I had the pleasure of interviewing the guys over at My Type Of Hype last year, where the OG E-Major said “Hip Hop is a culture, not just a genre, it is 50 years old which means it has history”. It’s with that in mind that I felt compelled to think out loud on this topic of AI/hip-hop, and try to make sense of what it really means for hip-hop now and in future. As somebody who happens to work in tech, where my current day-to-day involves being part of a team building an AI/machine learning product, my curiosity between the two subjects peaked. But as I mulled over my thoughts, I also realised that this isn’t the first time hip-hop has faced threats to its existence.

With AI, in short; I don’t think hip-hop or the art of rap need worry about being “replaced” by machines, as is the case with music and the arts overall. I think most, if not all efforts for this will be challenged, rejected or deemed null. Ultimately, I believe this is just another entry into the pile of get-rich-quick - or in this age, get-attention-quick - schemes of culture vultures, cosplayers and manipulators of hot trends that wish to initialise their first steps into 15 minutes (if that) of fame. Using the viral tweet I linked above in the opening paragraph is a prime example. One quick advanced search on X from the account @rpnickson showed him mention “rap” or “hip-hop” less than 5 times in total over the entirety of his time tweeting ever. As for “music”, that only came up alongside web3 and NFT subjects on a handful of occasions. Yet he suddenly goes viral when “The music industry is forever changed”, using one of the most popular hip-hop artists from past and present to deliver his example and farm interactions. Surface level shit by a grifter from top to bottom if I’ve ever seen one.

Furthermore, another example came in the form of a Drake and The Weeknd deepfake collab, which journalist Joe Cocarelli discussed and broke down in his interview with The New York Times; a very interesting listen (or read, should you prefer the transcript). Joe and I are on the same page, but I’d like to scratch this surface a little bit deeper with some tech context too. A problem we have at work with our AI/ML project is data, and specifically the amount of rich, real data we have at our disposal to build models from. An AI model to make music, or a genre of music specifically, would arguably have to use the entirety of a genre’s historical collection in order to “predict” and “learn” how to make a song of that genre or style in question to stand any chance of producing notable results. These models need data sets in the tens of thousands and above to work well by most reasonable measures. But with every artist having their own unique perspective, its hard to say if the model would spit out something streamlined, and effectively, anything of substance or quality. In the case of hip-hop, it would hypothetically be extremely scattered and disjointed, with so many different styles, cadences, personalities and other traits displayed by rappers in their music.

In addition, it would be even more difficult to do this with a specific artist - lets say Jay-Z - because there isn’t enough data. Jay-Z has 13 albums plus features, collabs and remixes. We’re talking in the region of perhaps 200-300 or so pieces of data to use and reference. It sounds like a lot, but in the world of AI/ML, its not enough to build something sturdy or strong enough to perform to some level of expectation. Even sticking with the Kanye West example from our aforementioned viral post, would a model based on his first 3 albums have predicted the drastic shift in sound and direction from him to create 808s & Heartbreak? Edge cases are always the most difficult to capture. These things would prove even more challenging to artists with smaller discographies and catalogues. Human creativity and unpredictability still wields its influence in these instances.

“But the question AI raises is, do we even need that connection?

Do we just want something that sounds pleasant enough in the background? Oh, that sounds like Drake, or that sounds like Bob Dylan. Or do we need to know that this is coming from the depths of their soul and from their lungs and their heart? Maybe we do or maybe we don’t. But as AI keeps coming in music and in other art forms, we’re all going to have to answer that question for ourselves.”

- Joe Cocarelli, NYT Music Culture Reporter

There’s also financial elements at play here too, and unfortunately, cost-cutting can cloud the judgements far and wide, even with our very own pioneers and legends. In essence, we’ve seen many onslaughts and threats to hip-hop’s purity before, internally and externally. Listeners need to take a stance with what they want too. I’ve mentioned in previous articles that consumers share an equal burden in terms of the state of play. There is, of course, some cause for concern for artistic quality and integrity, but some might argue that this ship has long sailed with no turning back. Is the entrance of AI, tech/tech bro culture and any associated expansions a by-product of hip-hop’s barriers being down for too long? Is this even the main thing hip-hop artists and the community needs to fear the most, considering the long standing differences between musicians and their labels? There are certainly some self-inflicted wounds, but there’s a lot more fish to fry than what we’ve seen in 2023. AI might need to wait in line.

Equally, it’s not coincidence to see this AI issue propped up in what can only be categorised as a fast-food era, with troubles brewing away from beyond the low vibration music as well. Journalism, fandom and everything else seems to be lost in some social media infused, gossip-ragged battle for attention and its becoming tiresome to say the least. The focus has quite clearly shifted from the art to the product. Visuals, cults and shock factor define the trajectory more than bars, beats and message. Typical, leach-like, opportunistic behaviour in Silicon Valley fashion. Nothing to see here, perhaps.

But fear not friends, because despite these threats, I’m optimistic that neither of them have enough to materialise into a sustainable enemy. Moreso, the points raised here are designed more to make yourselves think. To think twice about headlines, to think twice about the town criers spreading these updates and trends, to take a step back and assess what’s in front of you. Hip-hop has always taught us to stay woke (the real definition), to use our third eye, and to cut the grass low and expose the snakes. I’m fairly confident everything will be alright, so long as we exercise our judgement and remember the bars of wisdom from our favourite philosophers.

Before I sign off, here’s some recommended reading and viewing on the topics discussed in this article:

• https://www.morningbrew.com/daily/stories/2023/07/21/the-true-story-of-oppenheimer?mbcid=32155714.1344693&mid=2d0e95eb814131e5b294f2e1c2424b1d&utm_campaign=mb&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=morning_brew

• https://www.morningbrew.com/daily/stories/2023/07/21/chatgpt-seems-to-be-getting-dumber?mbcid=32159845.1186422&mid=2d0e95eb814131e5b294f2e1c2424b1d&utm_campaign=mb&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=morning_brew

• https://www.morningbrew.com/daily/stories/2023/05/16/ai-is-in-its-regulation-era?cid=31505854.1212391&mid=2d0e95eb814131e5b294f2e1c2424b1d&utm_campaign=mb&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=morning_brew

• https://www.wired.com/2014/01/geoffrey-hinton-deep-learning/?utm_brand=wired&mbid=social_twitter&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

• https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/artificial-intelligence-silicon-valley/

• https://www.ft.com/content/7ca8e38d-8ecf-4de2-870d-9bd0a2476147

• https://hiphopdx.com/news/blu-exile-below-heavens-album-no-money-anniversary

• https://hiphopdx.com/news/nas-older-rappers-follow-blueprint

• https://www.passionweiss.com/2022/12/01/boldy-james-interview-mr-ten08-new-album/

• https://www.okayplayer.com/originals/roc-marciano-reloaded-album.html

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p0dj6ysm/fight-the-power-how-hip-hop-changed-the-world

Do yourself justice, utilise your mind.

WhosAria

For this month’s newsletter, I had the privilege of talking to Mister U, a London based DJ with many hustles to his name. He’s one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met, let alone interviewed, and there’s a lot of knowledge and wisdom to be gained from this edition.

But anyway, let’s get back to business…

Q: Can we start with an introduction? Tell us about yourself and all things Mister U.

MU: “Where do I start? I’m an old man already! I was born and raised in West London – my father is from Hong Kong and my mother is from Malaysia. I’ve spent plenty of time in those two places, plus I lived in Manchester for a bit. I was into music from an early age, initially I was influenced by my older brother – he was a big music guy and was always listening to something. He introduced Michael Jackson to me by showing me the Thriller video – it scared the shit out of me, but at the same time I was captivated by MJ and what he did in that. That started my journey into R&B music – the ‘Dangerous’ album got me into New Jack Swing hard, and from there I moved onto Hip-Hop, and then Soul.

Moving into my teens I fell in with some real music lovers at school – we would hit all the record stores every Saturday and buy different albums and share them amongst each other to save money. Then at university I got a reputation as the go to guy for new music and for mixtapes, not mixing in the DJ sense but people would ask me for compilations of tunes.

After I graduated I started getting into club promotions – I was hitting clubs every week and became well known on the South East Asian scene. The 00s was a big time – there were loads of students coming over from Hong Kong, China, Malaysia etc, plus there was already a big community in London. I ran my own company with a couple of friends, and also worked for other promotions. We booked massive clubs with 3000+ capacities like SEOne and The Coronet (now closed), and sold them out consistently. It was a wild time – I would be selling hundreds of tickets on my own and the phone was constantly ringing!

I ran clubs for around 3 years before I realised that I knew the music as well as, if not better than a lot of the DJs I was working with. This is no sleight on those guys though – they were incredible DJs and pioneers for SEA artists in this country, but my knowledge was definitely not inferior. So I got one of my crew, a DJ called IC5 to give me a quick lesson on beat matching before we opened the club. It was so brief that he doesn’t even remember doing it! But I took that knowledge and started building on it. I would get to venues early and practise on the decks before we opened, and then I started to do opening sets myself. I knew so many people on the scene from my promoting that people started calling me to be a main DJ for their events too, and off I went. The next major event came through IC5 again – he was given a spot on a pirate station in West London called Juice FM. It was near where I lived, so he called me and asked me to join him. Eventually I took over the show myself, and then I got known on the pirate radio scene. I’ve been on three other black-owned radio stations since then, and I’ve recently moved to the biggest one, LWR, where I host a show on their RELOAD channel every Tuesday night from 10-midnight.”

Q: There’s a lot to unpack with you; your work, content, ventures, and passions are an intriguing mix. Can you recall what came first? Did of any of these overlap with one another? Was one a catalyst into other avenues or the decisions you made around what you do, or what you love?

MU: “Music was definitely the first passion. I was spending my pocket money on music when I was 8 years old! By the time I left for University I had over 200 albums and just as many singles. I even insured my CD collection as part of my student accommodation insurance. My mum used to rinse me for it, saying that I was wasting my money, but I built my DJ career on that collection, so I ended up having the last laugh.

I love sport as well, specifically football and basketball. I would say there’s a big crossover between sport and music in general, but basketball is probably the clearest evidence of it. Back in the 90s the NBA released their own mixtapes – they would put together videos of compilations and then commission Hip-Hop and R&B artists to make songs as the background music. You can find them on YouTube, and I even have the NBA Jam Session CD. It’s still a great listen!

There’s also a love of film that I developed from my father. He idolised Bruce Lee and would put on his films all the time. Then I started getting into martial arts cinema – it became one of the few links that I had to my own culture and language. Growing up in the 80s was a tough time for a child of an immigrant family, and watching those films gave me a sense of who I was and where I came from. I carry on my love for that with the Fighting Spirit Film Festival.”

Q: I’ve obviously had the pleasure of meeting you personally, so I could sense your love of music from the way you talked about your journey into DJing, not to mention your excellent knowledge of R&B, Soul and Hip-Hop. How would you describe your own relationship with music? Both in terms of your own taste and choices, and everything beyond that? What’s it like for a DJ trying to strike a balance between creating your own moods and feelings for the listener, versus what their demands might be? How do you find the connection, and if you don’t, what’s the best way to deal with it or solve it?

MU: “I think anyone who loves music has a similar relationship with music that I do. It can make your mood, or fit your mood, it can reflect your innermost thoughts, and give you an outlet to release whatever you’re holding inside, both good and bad.

Being a curator of music changes things completely though. To be a great DJ you can’t just love music, you need to understand it too. You must have the same approach as a musician because you need to be able to manipulate songs in different ways. Listening to music is a skill all by itself and needs to be trained appropriately. There are many different layers to it, and I could write a whole dissertation on it, but I’ll try and use a couple of simple concepts.

Firstly, a DJ needs to understand the technical aspects of music. This isn’t the same as learning to play an instrument, reading sheet music, or writing songs. When I listen to anything now, I don’t care what genre it is, or who’s singing it, I just care about how well the song is constructed, and what it makes feel when I’m listening to it. What is the tone of the song – is it beautiful, is it bouncy, is it calm? Does it have rhythm? I identify those things and then I can use that to decide what kind of sets I can put a song into, or what kind of listeners would like that song.

Secondly you need to put all your prejudices aside. While it sounds simple, it’s a very difficult thing for people. For example, I can bet that nearly all the of people reading this blog will say that music was better back in the day. That is completely and utterly false – music isn’t better or worse than it was however many years ago, it’s just different. Understanding this will completely change your perception of how you listen to music – having an emotional attachment to a song will make you treat other songs differently.

For my last concept I’ll defer to the legendary producer Quincy Jones. He said music needs to be interesting, and when asked to provide an example from his body of work to demonstrate that, he chose ‘Baby Be Mine’ by Michael Jackson. When you listen to the song it’s a lot easier to understand what he means – the song is constantly changing throughout. There’s lots of different elements to it – the twanging guitar riffs, the horns that only come in on the second bridge, the synths in the chorus, the percussion that only shows up on the second chorus, and of course, MJ’s vocals. That principle is something that completely drives how I listen to music now – and of course, a song can be interesting in different ways.

Since I play out, but also on radio, I have to remember all these things when I’m listening to music, and when I’m playing music. When I’m playing out, all my personal feelings are put aside because the crowd doesn’t give a crap whether I like a song or not, they want what they will like and they want to be taken on a musical journey that they will enjoy. I’ve seen many a DJ fall by the wayside because they were too intent on playing what they liked, and ignored how the dancefloor was responding to them. I think my background in club promotion served me very well when I transitioned to DJing, I could already read crowds and feel the vibe of the club, so that made life a lot easier for me.

Radio is different because listeners have different intentions. Radio listeners are more willing to be challenged and want to discover new music. Also, radio listeners are not face to face with you, which means you don’t have to be as scared of them!”

Q: Alongside yourself, I follow a couple of other DJs online as well. I have a cousin who used to get busy on the turntables back in the day too, so I’ve always been in awe of the skills needed to be a great DJ; to command an audience and, essentially, dictate and be responsible for their capacity to enjoy themselves in that given moment. Especially in hip-hop, the DJ is a crucial, borderline sacred role in the culture. How do you see the role of the DJ now? It feels like their presence is few and far between nowadays. In the past, you’d hear regular shot outs to DJs in songs, or heavy involvement in mixtape production and distribution. Maybe I am wrong, so it’d be great to know your thoughts as somebody in the trenches, so to speak.

MU: “Honestly, the appreciation of a great DJ is virtually gone now. There’s many reasons for this, but I guess one of the main reasons is the rise of streaming platforms and the shift to mp3. When I first started out, the main source of new music would be the DJ in a club, or on radio, and that was because of accessibility. Labels would be giving DJs pre-releases so that they could build hype for the track before the actual release. That isn’t required anymore because everyone, no matter where they are, can listen to a track on a streaming platform as soon as it drops.

The other part of this is that the importance of radio is heavily diminished because of streaming. A good example from back in 2000 is Shaggy’s biggest hit ‘It Wasn’t Me’. It initially flopped on release, but then a radio DJ in Hawaii picked it up and started playing it, and then it took off from there. That just wouldn’t happen now.

I would say there’s only one genre now where the DJ is still appreciated, which is Electronic Dance Music (EDM). The EDM scene is the largest party scene in music now, which means that talented EDM DJs can command huge sums of money and a massive fanbase. However, good DJs need to also be producers to keep their names out there, and that isn’t a thing that all of them can do. Also, that scene is also very reliant on the image it projects – glitz, glamour, and all the trappings that go along with it – meaning that celebrities like Paris Hilton can headline major clubs despite having zero experience and virtually no knowledge of music. So you have this weird juxtaposition of big name DJs and celebrities, and everyone who doesn’t fall into one of those categories just gets ignored. It’s also meant that clubbing has become image focused rather than music focused, which again has obvious impacts on the DJs.

Honestly, the people that suffer most are the club DJs who go out there for residencies and smash it every night, only to be dropped because club managers don’t understand the value of the DJ anymore, and just focus on trying to keep their nights as bling as possible. I know loads of amazing DJs who just can’t settle on long term residencies because some boneheaded manager doesn’t realise that the DJ is the one keeping people in the club, not the sparklers on the champagne bottles, or the expensive VIP booths.”

Q: So has the art of DJing lost its appeal nowadays? Have people started to underappreciate it as a role and the artform itself? And is this a problem across music in general, based on your experiences and interactions with others? I think about some of the memes born out of the likes of David Guetta, and how a lot of “influencers” try their hand at this by providing an incredibly simplified, dumbed down DJ service, so it would be interesting to know your feelings towards this as a follow up to the previous question.

MU: “I think there’s still a good appreciation for the artform but it’s become more specialised. It’s a time where there’s tons of subcultures with really loyal fans, and music is no different from that. Mainstream chart music will always have its followers, but it’s possible for an independent artist to build a really strong fanbase and gig regularly – the same could be said for DJs.

It’s great that something like the Red Bull Thre3style exists and is a high profile music event – whatever your feelings are about Red Bull it’s undeniable that they’re contributing to keeping turntablism alive, and giving it a worldwide presence.

One of the things that has really changed the game is the rise of digital DJing, which has made the art far more accessible at a much lower cost. What people always forget is that even though it’s more accessible, that doesn’t mean it’s easier. Picking up a guitar doesn’t mean you’ll turn into Jimi Hendrix, and buying a DJ controller won’t turn you into Jazzy Jeff. People still need to put in the work and learn the craft. Influencer culture means that anyone can go out there and do something and make money but they never earn respect. No one thinks Jake Paul is a good boxer, they’re just playing along because of the show. If people enjoy that, then what does it matter to me? They’re not the people I want to appeal to.”

Q: As far as the music and cultures go for the aforementioned genres, what was it like growing up in London trying to get up-to-date and in the know for artists and different pockets of sounds? I ask this because, having gone through a lot of your Podomatic archives, you cover a lot of sub-genres within Hip-Hop, R&B… etc. Was there a particular movement that grabbed your attention?

MU: “Growing up in London was great because it was so multi-cultural, I had friends from all walks of life and was exposed to loads of different music. However, back in the 80s and 90s minorities gravitated towards each other, so the focus for a lot of us was in the black music scene, since it was growing so massively. I went through the Hip-Hop phase, the R&B phase, then discovered Soul, it was exciting times. I was purely a consumer though – I didn’t roll with any artists and I wasn’t in the dance scene either, so I don’t think I was fully immersed in any particular culture.

I would say the most memorable time was when Garage came out. Clubs were already dying out, but Garage revived the scene in a massive way, and drove the UK music scene in a way that no other genre was able to. It was so edgy, so raw, and importantly, the music was fun. In my 17 years of spinning I can still say that even now, no genre gets a crowd going quite like Garage does.

Something more recent is the comeback of R&B and Soul in the UK. It feels like another golden era for the UK.

My upbringing meant that my tastes are extremely varied – as I said earlier any good DJ should be able to understand what good music is, regardless of the genre, and that means I can enjoy a ton of different music. It’s a great life!”

Q: Let’s switch it up to talk about your song writing exploits. Can you detail what that process is like, and how your DJing and/or music fandom contributes to what you’re trying to do creatively in that department, but also the kind of influence you’d like to have on people collaborating with you? Do other domains of music force you to make extra considerations, or is it a case of compartmentalising this section creativity and it existing separately to your other areas?

MU: “It's been an interesting journey so far. It’s something I was always interested in, but I don’t think I have a particular talent for music writing. I tried to learn guitar when I was younger, but I wasn’t particularly good at it, and once I discovered DJing I stopped completely, since I was so much better on the decks.

I got involved in song writing completely by accident – I was doing a private gig for a friend’s 40^th birthday, and there was a woman who was also hired to sing there. We got talking and she took my contact details, and then a couple of weeks later she called me to ask my opinion on some music she had written. So we met up and I listened to it, and I told her straight that I didn’t like her music, and explained why. With most artists, you’d get a punch in the face for doing that, but she liked my honesty, and then asked me what she could do to improve. After that conversation she asked me to mentor her. At first, I started out more like an A&R – I made her listen to loads more music, helped her to develop a style, and then really pushed to figure out what kind of music she wanted to write. Then she started to bring songs to me, and we would do quality control together. I would pick out things that I thought should be changed, and suggest different arrangements etc, and then it eventually became part of the song writing and producing process.

I still don’t write any music, but every song she writes doesn’t get finalised until I have worked on it as well. So when you ask how my DJ life has fed into this – because I have that knowledge of what makes a song good, and knowledge of so many different genres and artists, the way I listen to music and understand it is completely different from her as a singer-songwriter, so my perspective is very useful because it helps her refine her ideas into something accessible. If you listen to her most popular song, Escape, you can tell it’s very different to the music that I play, but that doesn’t matter to me.”

Q: Are there other avenues that interest you where you’d like to test your song writing or DJing abilities? If so, why these specifically? And do you think it’s best to try different things or double down on your specialist areas?

"MU: “At the moment I’m more focused on DJing, but that’s mostly because I haven’t met another artist who I think I could work with. I’ve been DJing for 17 years now and I’m at that stage where I’d rather focus on music that I like and want to play, rather than pandering to a promoter or a commercial audience.

My current focus is to promote more Soul music – there’s been a huge revival in Soul music in the past few years and I think there’s a lot of artists out there who are getting a decent amount of streams, but it doesn’t feel like anyone apart from myself is playing their music anywhere else. I wanted to get these songs into a more public setting, so I’ve recently set up a new night in partnership with Root 25 where I’ll be doing a regular Soul Fridays. That should be starting up again around May time, so keep an eye on the socials for that.”

Q: For sure. As this is a Hip-Hop newsletter, lets change the focus to this now, as I know its another thing that you’re equally as passionate about. Let’s imagine you were given a blank notepad or journal where you had to document all things Hip-Hop related. The music, the culture, the impact it had on you and your life, what it means to you, positive and negative effects personally and overall. Do you think there’d be a theme and commonality that could summarise all of this? Would this be in line with your expectations you may have once had in the past, versus where it is now?

MU: “Funnily enough, the first ever CD I owned was Snoop Dogg’s ‘Doggystyle’. Don’t ask me how I managed to get my hands on it, since I was way underage, but it was the first Hip-Hop album I ever listened to, and it blew my mind. I was barely in my teens and I couldn’t even conceive that there was music that was so raw, so daring, and so real. Then the whole 2Pac and Biggie thing happened, and I was in. What I loved about Hip-Hop back then is that it represented life in a way that no other music could. There were songs about basketball, love, war, gangs – what other genre can claim that kind of range? If was mad I could listen to ‘Straight Outta Compton’, if I wanted to chill I could throw on ‘This DJ’, if I had a crush then ‘Hey Lover’ would be the place to go. I had a friend that passed and Notorious B.I.G had my back with ‘Miss U’.

A commonality that I think a lot of Hip-Hop fans share is that we all know it’s a music that represents. Which is a beautiful thing – you can hear Hip-Hop from all over the world and it will represent the place where it came from. Japan kept the underground scene alive back in the 00s with producers like Nujabes and DJ Deckstream and the music they came out with was so fresh and had so many Japanese influences – to this day their impact is still evident in modern artists. Hip-Hop constantly morphs and changes, for better or worse, and that’s why I love it.”

Q: Indeed. Can you walk us through the Fighting Spirit Film Festival? You’ve built this martial arts films platform from scratch and I’d love to know about the motivation behind this passion. Furthermore, there is of course some cross over between hip-hop and martial arts, with the Wu-Tang being the most prominent example, so could you maybe talk about these two entities’ existence and roles they play with one another and in your personal life?

MU: “Firstly, I want to make it clear that the founder of the festival is the amazing Soo Cole, who is an inspiration to us all. I joined after the first year as the Assistant Director and it’s been one hell of a journey. What attracted me to it wasn’t just my love of martial arts film, it was the vision that Soo had. She wanted to build an event that represented the principles of martial arts too. It wasn’t just about showing films – she wanted to inspire people through those films, promote martial arts culture, and support people making those films. It sounds like a grand vision, but we’re 8 years down the line and still growing, despite receiving very little funding.

We have two events a year; a half day event in Birmingham, and our main festival in London which is an entire weekend. We have a partnership with Picturehouse Cinema, support from industry legends like Cynthia Rothrock and Scott Adkins, and last year, for the first time, we were able to convince some established UK film companies to come on board and support us as well. It isn’t just down to me; we have a core team that has worked with us since 2017 and we all share that same passion for martial arts and film.

Honestly, despite the Wu Tang Clan’s prominence, I had never fully realised the crossover between Hip-Hop and Martial Arts. I had always wondered why Kung Fu films were so popular with the black community, but I only found out the history behind it thanks to this interesting video put together by Josh Toussaint-Strauss, ‘Why Do So Many Black People Love Kung Fu Movies?’. It filled in a lot of the blanks for me, and I was so interested by this that I ended up organising an online seminar during lockdown called ‘The Cultural Impact of Martial Arts Film’ with the afore-mentioned Josh and a few other guests who were also heavily influenced by Martial Arts Film.

Hip Hop for life, Kung Fu for life!”

Q: Finally, can you tell us about some of your favourite artists, albums and films to tie all of this together for our readers before we sign off?

MU: “It would take me too long to break this down so here’s a small list.

Classic albums:

Brown Sugar – D’Angelo

Dummy – Portishead

Rhythm Nation 1814 – Janet Jackson

Thriller – Michael Jackson

Things Fall Apart – The Roots

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill – Lauryn Hill

II – Boyz II Men

Ready To Die – Notorious B.I.G

The Magnificent – DJ Jazzy Jeff

Urban Hang Suite – Maxwell

Thug Life: Volume 1 – 2Pac

More recent albums:

Unpolished - Malia

Mother – Cleo Sol

Boys & Girls Mixtape – edbl

DLUXLIFE – Charlie Taft

Y5 – Yuna

Love Me/Love Me Not – HONNE

Run Home Slow – The Teskey Brothers

S:INEMA – SAAY

KISS – THREE1989

Ology - Gallant

Black Materia: The Remake – Mega Ran

Films:

Drunken Master 2

Castle In The Sky

Back To The Future

White Men Can’t Jump

Terminator 2

Once Upon A Time In China 2

A Better Tomorrow 2

Big Trouble In Little China

Wheels On Meals

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Dodgeball

Airplane

The God Of Cookery

Q: Any final thoughts and comments you’d like to put out there before we finish?

MU: “You can find me on Twitter or Instagram @MisterUDJ – I have a regular Tuesday night radio show on LWR Reload from 10pm to midnight BST, or there’s my archive with mixtapes and old shows. If you have any love for action movies then please come and check out the Fighting Spirit Film Festival and say hello!”

Start a Substack

Nassim Taleb is one of my favourite writers. For me, he strikes a complete balance of objective thinking by combining his expert knowledge of statistics, analysis of real-world (corporate) experiences and enlightened old-country practices. The perfect trifecta in some ways; theory, experience and wisdom. This is summarised perfectly by the title of his most recent book - and arguably his trademark phrase - “Skin In The Game”.

Whether its in his writing or when he’s expressing his views, you can pull him up on many things where he’d most certainly have the receipt or an alibi that checks out. His consistency in his beliefs, moral compass and stances on general matters are what I find to be very admirable traits. The key message from Taleb’s work is to operate through life in a robust, durable and rational manner. I highly recommend anybody to dig through his catalogue.

When dwelling upon these principles and mental frameworks, I couldn’t help but draw comparisons between Taleb and J. Cole. To me, Cole stands out as an artist who embodies Talebian schools of thought to a tee. He’s embarked on a journey of character growth that has built him a practically bullet-proof reputation across the board. While his lyricism and production talents are well known and celebrated, J. Cole has also shown himself to be an astute leader who takes accountability for his actions. Mr. Cole and Mr. Taleb have more in common than meets the eye.

Dollar And A Dream / Skin In The Game

“What is Skin in the Game? The phrase is often mistaken for one-sided incentives: the promise of a bonus will make someone work harder for you. For the central attribute is symmetry: the balancing of incentives and disincentives, people should also penalized if something for which they are responsible goes wrong and hurts others: he or she who wants a share of the benefits needs to also share some of the risks.”

“My argument is that there is a more essential aspect: filtering and the facilitation of evolution. Skin in the game –as a filter –is the central pillar for the organic functioning of systems, whether humans or natural. Unless consequential decisions are taken by people who pay for the consequences, the world would vulnerable to total systemic collapse.”

- Nassim Taleb on “Skin In The Game”

As he was finding his feet with his sound and style, J. Cole provided a more than solid return with his mixtape run. “The Come Up”, “The Warm Up” and “Friday Night Lights” are projects that sit atop of the late-2000s’ peak of the blog era. Cole regularly referred to himself as a phenom for good reason, as he displayed his talents flawlessly across these EPs. Although he was delivering on expectations that were continually growing, there’s always a fine line between self-confidence and arrogance. But like Nassim Taleb, Cole had the skin in the game to back his boisterous self-esteem.

There are a number of memorable tracks and moments from Cole’s ascent that could be referenced here, but “Dollar And A Dream” was perhaps where he laid his marker for most fans. It is a song that perfectly captures the feeling of J. Cole’s journey searching for legitimacy in the rap game as a representative from his native North Carolina. This sentiment can be felt elsewhere from his early catalogue too, but “Dollar And A Dream” was the catalyst, the glue. It ultimately inspired parts II and III later down the line in his discography, and the name of a 2013, $1 tour. J. Cole’s venture into the unknown, which includes enrolling into NYU just to obtain student loan money to cover studio time, or merely having a solitary dollar to his name at one point, is the type of skin in the game that would have Nassim Taleb applauding.

Antifragile

Some things benefit from shocks; they thrive and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness, disorder, and stressors and love adventure, risk, and uncertainty. Yet, in spite of the ubiquity of the phenomenon, there is no word for the exact opposite of fragile. Let us call it antifragile. Antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better.

- Prologue from Antifragile

Unfortunately for J. Cole, as great an artist as he was and still is, you cannot be immune from the harsh realities of mother nature and evolution. The plight of the mixtape rapper trying to translate a grassroots fanbase and following into commercial success is a guilt-edge sword that has unforgivably sliced its way through countless hip-hop artists. The transition from classic mixtape(s) to quality albums is not a linear process with a like-for-like relationship.

Cole’s albums performed well by most metrics. Sales produced healthy figures, and he continued living up to his billing as a lyrical MC striking the balance between legacy hip-hop criteria and grabbing modern listeners’ attention. But there are a fair few corners who would also point out that an A+ plus talent was making B- projects. His first studio album, “Cole World: The Sideline Story” had songs that were very easy on the ear, but Cole was in second gear at best throughout it. Was he stifled? Held back? Its hard to tell. For what its worth, “Born Sinner” was an improvement that felt more like Cole going back to basics and showing us more glimpses of his powers, but the gargantuan shadows of his mixtapes still eclipsed our hero at his impasse.

All was not bleak however. Ultimately, art resonates with people in different ways, and luckily for Cole, regardless of his artistic output’s reception, he had set himself straight. Ownership of his own record label - “Dreamville Records” - plus being a part of Jay-Z’s “Roc Nation” roster indicated that he is as much of realist as he was an idealist. Form is temporary, class is permanent. J. Cole put the groundwork in to sustain his Talebian methods to weather any storm. Reputation is to be guarded and Cole’s anti-fragility would come in handy as he searched for the right formula to create a top-tier, modern great hip-hop album.

Black Swan (… Sort Of)

“History repeats itself and that's just how it goes,
Same way that these rappers always bite each other's flows,
Same thing that my n**** Elvis did with Rock 'n Roll,
Justin Timberlake, Eminem and then Macklemore,
While silly n***** argue over who gon' snatch the crown,
Look around my n**** - white people have snatched the sound,
This year I'll probably go to the awards dappered down,
Watch Iggy win a Grammy as I try to crack a smile,
I'm just playing - but all good jokes contain true shit,
Same rope you climb up on, they'll hang you with…”

- J. Cole on “Fire Squad”

Whether or not the safety net of not being completely dependant on his own projects allowed him to approach future works in a better mental space is possibly my own speculation, but I can’t ignore the fact that it was third time lucky for J. Cole upon the release of “2014 Forest Hills Drive”. Here, Cole’s levelling up was clear to see for us all. Self-produced, no features and a platinum plaque; the kind of folklore and climax that his mixtapes suggested he’d live through. He became the statistical anomaly, the special one, the black swan, and proof was in the pudding. Cole dropped the gimmicks and went for hard-hitting truths in his music. He didn’t bite his tongue and ensured his thoughts, feelings and everything in between was felt at full throttle. He took full responsibility and won, collecting all of the Talebian infinity stones en route. Indeed, this was a high-impact, unprobeable event (at least from an industry standpoint).

This album can maybe be seen as a turning point for J. Cole. It feels like there is a pre-2014 and post-2014 J. Cole that we can compare and contrast. Dreamville Records has grown and expanded under his tutelage, boasting a strong array of talent that he mentors through their careers. He continues to put his thoughts on wide range of issues, be it social activism or the state of hip-hop, and he’s never one to back down from a challenge; a stint in professional basketball is most certainly homage to that. His passion for music remains stern too, as he collects scalps on feature appearances and experimenting with different styles in other bodies of work too.

“If I'm betting on myself then I completely double down,
If you hated on a n**** please don't greet me with a pound
I be staying out the way but if the beef do come around,
Could put a M right on your head - you Luigi brother now,
Trace my steps all in this game - you could see we cover ground,
Back and forth from NC to New York when Jeezy had the crown…”

- J. Cole on “9 5 . s o u t h”

They are both critical thinkers with expertise in their niche domain which they’ve been considerably successful in. They both preach being authentic in their own styles; Cole wants his listeners to be true to themselves whilst Taleb tells readers to be honest. They’ve both followed their own narrative and avoided hypocrisy. It is perhaps these key traits that have allowed them to be accomplished and triumphant in the disarray of the modern, digitalised world. J. Cole is hip-hop’s Nassim Taleb.

Do yourself justice, utilise your mind.

WhosAria

A Word On The Artist

I see J. Cole as one of the leaders and figureheads in his generation of hip-hop. Having lived through his mixtape era, witnessing his rise and seeing him live on a number of occasions, its dope to see where he’s ended up and how he’s largely been successful with the same formula over time. For me, he has a very consistent discography with some extremely enjoyable (and nostalgic) high points. Bars Of Wisdom is always checking for a Cole World.

This month’s newsletter is a repost from my latest contribution to Arriver.

But anyway, let’s get back to business…

How do you profile what is unknown? How do you report without any leads? How do you put a puzzle together with barely any pieces at your disposal?

CASisDEAD is one of the most gifted wordsmiths to come out of the UK. Quality, not quantity, is his game, and his limited catalogue contains truly imperious displays of lyricism. You can feel the tenacity in his voice through his graphic verses, where he wrestles with bleak topics and the challenging realities of his life, word for word, bar for bar. At a time where the machine churns out repetitive beats to accompany the same iterations of uninspired, social media driven, lazy and ceaseless subject matters, CAS stands tall as an authentic, straight-from-the-source champion of real rap and a worthy commentator of everyday folks’ tough realities. One can’t help but feel a sense of warmth seeing him unfazed by the circus antics of the BBC’s go-to clown for all things “uRbAn” music.

In terms of stone cold facts, what we know about CAS is few and far between. The term “underground” is banded about a lot, but if it were to be used for anybody, CAS is front and centre. CAS was born in September 1986. He is of English and Ghanaian heritage. Regardless of the lack of concrete sources, CAS articulates his life growing up in the early days of his music, where he recorded under the name Castro Saint from 2005-2007. His lyrics covered his life growing up in Tottenham, selling drugs and dealing with the arduous circumstances of youths in London’s hazardous, inner-city surroundings.

Despite an ambiguous profile, his high level of artistry was visible from the moment his distinctive voice laced a track. His fans - who may either recall, or have thoroughly dug through the archives - will point to early performances on “C from T” and “Drugs” as a strong base which CAS built his styles and lyrical prowess off. This was to be short and sweet however. 2007 marked the year he would take a hiatus. Appearances on tracks were infrequent at best, before a stunning return in 2012. CAS was born and had arrived, before a full transition into CASisDEAD 18 months later.

If his come up story about life in the streets appears to be typical and similar to other artists in his domain, then to say this new lease of life was an act of levelling up would be quite the understatement. Reasons for his break are up for debate, with shaky sources at best. But it adds to CAS’s urban folklore no doubt. Whatever the explanation is, its hard to deny that it lead him to cooking up a sensational concoction of quintessential British Rap and Grime excellence. Songs such as “T.R.O.N.” and “Leon Best” displayed CAS’ versatility on the mic and in the studio. This would be the catalyst for CAS to release his mixtape “The Number 23”. A collection of songs that CAS seemingly just had in the vault and put out together, listeners can find themselves lost in the aura of electronic instrumentals inspired by Synthpop, Grime and even a bit of Jazz. The high octave beats reminiscent of the 80s are supplemented by CAS trudging through them with dark, harsh stories of addiction, womanising and sadistic tales present in the disparities of life for Britons, particularly Londoners. Bittersweet. Rummage around Youtube for these tracks and scroll through the comments; these are more than just a masterful array of songs. Fans’ appreciation tells you all you need to know about what the artistic endeavours and integrity of CASisDEAD means to the people. Just as the UK music scene was taking off on a more global, international front, CAS was the voice of those metaphorically left behind. The new, sexy and glamourised packaging of Grime left its soul in the UK, whilst CAS continued to fight the good fight as a supremely equipped one-man army.

In the years since, CAS has picked and chosen when to put his mind to work. He not only writes his music, but creates and directs the accompanying videos too. CAS is a visionary in every sense of the word, describing his creative journey as starting with developing the videos’ visual stories in his mind, then proceeding to arrange the practical details of the video’s staging; props, lighting and anything else to accompany it. He perceives himself to be, in equal measure, both a visual artist and a director as much as a rapper. Rightfully so. He captures the essence of his juxtapositions and conflicts from his life and our own, both sonically and optically, before beaming them into our conscience via his eclectic music.

A 6 track EP titled “Commercial 2” from 2015 might arguably be CAS’s magnum opus. He hand selected beats from Glass Candy, Kavinsky and Miami Vice’s soundtrack, all quite natural and brilliant choices once you familiarise yourself with his game. The EP would be released on cassette only, but CAS himself had to intervene to address bootleggers. A re-release with extra clarity to his fans that the versions they purchased were indeed legitimate - such was the demand and hype - was further proof of CAS’ grip on fans’ interest, curiosity and loyalty. At this point, CAS was in full control of his destiny and played the game on his terms exclusively. The scene and his contemporaries were enjoying the rewards of a more financially stable UK music ecosystem, but deep down they all wanted to have some of CAS’ action. Complete independence and an unmatched stratosphere of authentic creativity. A display of firm identity, no doubt.

“See what CAS does, even if it sold a million records you’d still have to call it underground. Because it’s different. And he’s not playing by any rules.”

- Tricky

Since then, we’ve been able to enjoy CAS’s work in a few a singles spread out over the years, with some features cropping up too. His most notable works as far as the mainstream goes can be found on Giggs’s 2016 “Landlord” album, where CAS contributes his excellent verses on “501 Hollow & Heston” and “Lyrical Combat”; both highlights from a revered project by another member of the UK’s crème de la crème. His 2017 single “Pat Earrings” would also feature on the Top Boy soundtrack as well. After all, CAS is as London as it gets. CAS was active as recently as last year, with his latest single, “Traction Control”, where he pushed his boundaries again with a more smooth, relaxed tone of delivery to convey his typically sharp wordplays and storytelling.

We now return to the puzzle, still with barely any leads. But for CASisDEAD, in spite of being a man with very little documentation to trace, his art certainly speaks volumes in it’s absence. His disillusionment with society and the ins and outs of the world. His double edged, at times disturbing character that rears its head when he talks about womanising or substance abuse. His love-hate relationship with the drugs he both sells and indulges in. The upbeat music that accompanies the downbeat, sombre and troublesome subject matters. His disdain for spineless politicians who spew empty words, whilst he orates in the open for the masses while still covering up his identity. Even his stage name and the football team he supports - the black and white of Newcastle United - all point to the complex lifestyle, a duality of an individual with thought-provoking outlooks on life. The Londoner has grown up within a vibrant, buzzing culture which is hosted by the greyest of skies and ruled by an uninspired state. Ultimately, we cannot decrypt the man behind the mask, perhaps intentional or a result of everything mentioned prior. Can we blame him?

“Can't resist, park it with the park assist,
Know what my department is, narcotics, pharmacist,
Farming shit, crop of Stardawg, have to harvest it,
Pile of chicks when I split this shit, it's just parlour tricks,
So they say I got the gift, but don't know how to harness it,
See, I'm laughing cos I'm in that Targa with the harnesses,
Bit of wood trim, wonder if I'll have to varnish it,
N***** starting shit, try taint your name and tarnish it,
Now these kids spit, don't believe in even half of it,
Talking about the strip, little pricks don't know the half of it,
Soft as Häagen-Dazs, hark at him, he ain't barking it,
This gang shit's gone pop now, that's how they market it, it's targeted,
No Lagerfeld, I'm on a lager tip,
Yard look like a tip, Yard Sale Pizza boy would like a tip,
Told him to invest in SIS, it's took a dip,
But don't snitch, it's insidеr trading, you'll get me nicked,
Architеct, they copy, I don't miss a trick,
Narcissist, light the track up, yeah, I'm an arsonist,
Arseholes, middle-class moaning about how hard it is,
Never seen the trap, they don't know how rough the carpet is,
Too much arms house, n***** armed who need a armistice,
Body armour like the army now cos no one uses fists,
Used to lump you up, coco on your head look like a cist,
You know what this is…”

- CASisDEAD verse from “Park Assist”

It’s not lost on me that he was a go-to for somebody like Giggs, or Netflix, to seek his involvement on projects designed to display the finest of a multi-faceted London and UK to shores beyond our own. It’s also not lost on me that, CASisDEAD, an artist synonymous with the narration and critique of the street life, kicked the ball into action for many of the verbose gimmicks that the Drill scene now calls standard. The mask, the narco-stories and every other trivialised characteristic, while very real, feel tied to his very symbolic criticisms. But where one is made to sell with the accompaniment of corporate sponsorship, the other is meant to make you feel something in your gut. CAS’s eerie depictions of his reality can range from dystopian to Dickensian in a matter of syllables, but each word contributes to the masterpiece of his portraits depicting our existence. His ferocity in recent works may not be as palpable as they were a few years ago, so maybe now is the time for CAS to brew an antidote against the monsters that fail to bite half as hard he does? We wait.

As the year draws to an end, I’d like to thank you all for your subscriptions, support and for sharing my work. I’ve had some good numbers come in on my pieces and it’s been very humbling, especially as I had a period of inactivity from summer to autumn.

Have a fantastic festive period and new year. I look forward to continuing with you all in 2023.

But anyway, let’s get back to business…

The UK music scene was always big here at home. Culturally, our mindset was one of resistance to following or reacting off American trends. Sure, influences and ideas were felt, but on this side of the pond, we looked up to and placed high value on our own, whilst acknowledging that our friends across the Atlantic’s superior ability to dominate worldwide markets more frequently was never due to lack of quality on our end.

Examples can be seen with Garage, Funky House, Britpop, Dubstep or Drum & Bass. Significant followings, built on niche movements and sounds, that ultimately were unable to tap into the mainstream on larger scales, hence their ceilings for growth. Grime however seems to have bucked that trend. It may not be as widely circulated now, or met with the same euphoria as the early 2000s, where bluetooth/infared transfers of pirate radio bangers were traded and passed on like Pokemon cards on steroids, but the artform itself is still going strong, with it’s influence and relevance living and breathing to this very day. It’s grandchild is currently flourishing as an overlap between itself, Afrobeats, Bashment and Rap/Hip-hop; the modern Afroswing sound in UK music has reverberated on our charts for a few years now. Nobody is a better custodian for this period of British music history than J Hus.

J Hus has broken the simulation and risen above the matrix. He stands toe-to-toe with any heavyweight in the arena. His quality of output is exceptional. But his formula is intriguing. He’s been able to achieve this without having to play the same games as his competitors. He doesn’t spend too much time on social media, he’s seldom involved in (regular) promotional work, and with one or two exceptions, he doesn’t drop teasers or throwaways in between or outside of his two studio albums.

His fans continue to demand more. His albums were released over two years apart. While there were small hints and suggestions that he might make it a trifecta at various points since “Big Conspiracy” dropped in early 2020, we go into the third year of what seems to be another hiatus. A period in jail contributed to the downtime, but since the success of his debut “Common Sense”, Hus hasn’t plugged the gap between releases like listeners want or expect. Of course, when you release projects of the calibre he has, you can expect wettened appetites to thirst for more.

But beyond his ability to find the right patterns for his flows, harmonise accordingly alongside distinct, melodic instrumentals and spark our thoughts with his narrations, it was (and is) Hus’s comfort in his own identity that is the key to his success. It’s one thing to be good, but to be good and be yourself is the difference maker in all of this. Whether he stumbled across this formula by calculation, coincidence or even something that just organically blossomed and came naturally to him, J Hus put the most obvious weapon at his disposal into play; his Gambian and African lineage,.

“How you gonna run the world? You can't even run your life,
I'm Destiny's Child, every day I survive,
No time to plan, I had to improvise,
If you was real, you would recognize…”

If the UK wants to feel the vibes, soul and spirit of African-inspired music to be present in our scene, then the best, most authentic way to package and deliver this union is to pump your chest out and show the strength of character that embodies all of these superlatives in your art. Why provide crumbs and nuggets of flavour when you can serve an entire entrée? This is exactly what separated Hus from the crowd, and although it may come across as an obvious strategy, to double down and bet on yourself as an individual in an industry where everybody wants to exert their influence on your precious work, is a seismic feat of success and character. Hustla clearly has a mammoth sense of pride in himself and his ancestry. Best of all, this firm, noble and uncompromisable position directly contributed to his success.

Its the twang of his accent that’s synonymous in his delivery - from bars and punchlines, to phrases to hooks. It’s how he lets the autotune add an extra layer of musical patterns to propel his sounds into a cosmic supernova. Its the marriage of London slangs; each word rooted in varying native lingos formed in the capital’s fusion of cultures. J Hus seamlessly delivers his identity and lifestyle to listeners with full force and without any cherry picking. His musical relationship with producer Jae5 in particular comes cross as telepathic, in tune with one another as they seek to be inspired by what they’ve learnt from and by their home regions, topped up with a healthy sprinkle of quintessential London flavour. It’s music, and logic, that transcends, with the ability to be be loved and appreciated in any domain, any region. We’re just lucky its at our very own doorstep and draw inspiration from.

Do yourself justice, utilise your mind.

WhosAria

A Word On The Song/Artist

J Hus is a modern day superstar and an artist that the UK needs to cherish here, now and in future. “Common Sense” rightfully caused shockwaves upon it’s release, but for me, “Big Conspiracy” showed a different side and new level to Hus’ talents and artistry. It showed that he’s certainly no gimmick, hot trend or one-album wonder. There are lethal weapons in his arsenal that will forge a strong career and highly coveted catalogue of exquisite music. He’s got the star power, a certain pull and an arrogance that you need in order to let your work do the talking. He showed he can get busy on verses that are more in depth and complex on it’s subject matter, to go alongside his more flamboyant, easy on the ear, era-defining anthems that made the world notice him prior to his sophomore release. I, amongst many, await with anticipation and fascination as to what he will serve up in his next instalment, whenever that will be.

A consistent trait amongst hip-hop’s players - fans, artists, champions and everything else beyond and in between - is a fundamental stance of reasoning and rationale. Think of sayings like “All that glitters isn’t gold” or “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer”. The messages conveyed in these famous quotes advise you to stay alert, pay attention and always be prepared, because life has a mysterious way of throwing surprises at every juncture. This is a school of thought that’s been present in human history across all cultures and domains. In the world of hip-hop, this lesson and mindset is preached through the phrase “keeping it real”.

Authenticity is the ultimate human goal and fascination. To be that one-of-a-kind maverick who enters the game of life and takes it by storm in their own unique way. Blaze a trail like no person has before you and leave a mark that lasts forever. Hip-hop has taught us (or at least, tried to, and in some instances pleaded) that keeping it real stands you a good chance to scale your heights with total freedom. This way of thinking is something that hip-hopers in any domain - the music, the b-boying, the graffitiing, the reporting (the proper ones and not your two dime vultures) - all strive to abide by in some capacity.

You can argue that sharp increases in social tribes, personality cults and overall, gung-ho individualism means there’s need for a standard of keeping it real more than ever before. Or perhaps there isn’t, because not everybody is going to be, or trying to be a trailblazer. In previous articles where I’ve touched on the current societal climate, I’ve alluded to the collective responsibility, and blame, on both creators, consumers and those at the forefront and background of where we find ourselves in today’s zeitgeist. The world runs on capitalism after all, so demand will play a big role in everything around us. The way I see it, it’s the people who bear the brunt of keeping it real more so than influential figureheads, who will have some involvement or agenda overlapping with the machine regardless of how likeable and authentic they may seem.

I’ll use Elon Musk’s buyout of Twitter as a real world example that is far beyond the the world of hip-hop that required me to put all of these concepts around keeping it real into practice. This specific course of events acts as a good case study that requires audiences from any viewpoint to consider many nuggets of information altogether in order to reach their own conclusions, as opposed to surface level headlines, soundbites and buzzwords that play on peoples’ emotions.

Musk has an army of staunch, and at times, radical followers and supporters. He’s incredibly influential. As far as the world’s news and media circulation goes, he’s a hot commodity for all things engagement, hype and attention. He’s obviously well connected and can have a significant say in how his image is portrayed, should he choose to exercise this. His words are praised and torn apart in equal measure from all corners. He does some brilliant things and some stupid things. It’s difficult to figure him out.

This makes establishing what side he’s really on quite challenging. This isn’t the first time either. In the past, he’s been very blunt in how much he opposes a lot of socialist and left wing ideologies, yet Tesla and SpaceX have benefited massively from government funding and tax breaks. It’s fine to align yourself to political and socioeconomic schools of thought, but to then profit from the same thing you’re supposedly against is dishonest. I don’t think that’s keeping it real, but then again he is also quite the infamous troll. Maybe the game of Twitter back and forth is too good to turn down, but arguably someone in his situation should know better.

Musk’s more recent crusades have been around the topic of freedom of speech. This was a catalyst for his Twitter buyout which has been quite a circus. First he was buying it, then he wasn’t, then he was, then he wasn’t again, before he eventually became the owner of the world’s favourite social media app. While I have no doubt he is probably trying to implement and innovate areas of the app (he is a businessman after all), what he’s choosing to put on display and air out in public makes for bizarre reading and following. From bans and reinstatements, coupled with his previous antics aimed at his detractors, one can be forgiven for being sceptical around his real, true intentions, and who he’s really trying to serve in this current venture. This becomes a more important question after his recent jibes at “wokeism” as well - a dog whistle issue at best.

Ultimately, I don’t really know what Elon Musk is trying to do and where his loyalties lie. In all honesty, I don’t particularly care either. My main concern is that the public is setting itself up to be duped yet again by the lowest hanging fruit or common denominator that is obviously designed to divide and play on emotions. Hopefully we can all keep it real and not bite, so these things run their natural course and fizzle out organically. This isn’t the only area where this is an issue, but its the most current and high profile one, which can have ripple affects across different domains.

Do yourself justice, utilise your mind.

WhosAria

You may recall from a previous article that I have taken up a role as contributing editor for Arriver, a new music platform aimed at shedding light on those who you don’t see coming.

As I was inactive for a number of reasons throughout the summer, I thought I’d send out 2 newsletters this month, with the first being my latest piece on Arrival where I wrote about Black Coffee.

I had the pleasure of seeing the man himself live and in the flesh at his Hi Ibiza closing party at the end of September. So it felt natural to pen some thoughts and profile him as well. Not to mention a pretty clean shot of him doing what he does best.

But anyway, let’s get back to business…

How do we define success? Is it through a financial lens or one of integrity? Is it through joy or through pain? Is it measured by the love we get at home or away from it? Does success have a limit? Should we seek it in the midst of our journeys or let it come naturally? Must we suffer at it’s expense?

On Saturday 1st October, I braced myself for a performance I was thoroughly looking forward to. I had spent the day with friends soaking up the sun, dining on fresh seafood and taking a dip in some of the clearest, purest waters on this side of the Earth. It was my penultimate day in Ibiza; a calm before a storm, gearing up for what was set to be a very exciting evening that would last into the early hours of the next morning.

Black Coffee has (not for the first time) been the resident DJ at Hi Ibiza this past summer, so it was easy to see why he was able to strut so effortlessly onto the stage. It’s been a home away from home for a man who’s had to acclimatise to living out of a suitcase for large portions of his professional life, particularly over the last couple of years. The crowd awaited in differing states of intoxication; some natural, from a sense of complete euphoria and anticipation, others self-inflicted with man-made assistance. But the end goal was shared amongst everybody present: to experience a maestro of House music ignite spiritual like unity and ecstasy.

His background makes his music all the more fascinating. Nkosinathi Innocent Maphumulo is a product of very unique circumstances and surroundings. Having grown up with his grandmother a mere thirty kilometres away from Nelson Mandela’s hometown, it was her radio that would engage him in music. Sounds varying from soul, jazz and native elements of his motherland would lead him to joining the choir before he pursued music academically.

“As soon as I got into that space I knew I needed to make a career out of it… That was the defining moment.”

- Black Coffee on studying music in college

In keeping true to his words, Black Coffee went full steam ahead to achieve his goals. Hardship presented itself along the way, in the form of dropping out, teaming up with peers and then eventually deciding to go it alone. A serious injury to his left arm caused him to temporarily DJ one-handed, but it was a challenge he bypassed nevertheless. Strength was instilled with him in his surroundings, be it from the prominent figures in his country that came before him, to the charged atmosphere of the youth who strived for a better future, in a country with monumental levels of potential.

Indeed, it is perhaps the work of a poet who could instigate the direction and philosophy of Black Coffee’s musical gift and the pursuit that went with it. His music would bring calming senses whilst exploring new combinations to supplement his selection of influences, sounds and vibes. He doubles down on this with the graceful way he carries himself; perhaps a key element in his ability to break barriers and work with an incredibly diverse range of collaborators.

His big break came when being selected for Red Bull’s Music Academy in 2003. As the saying goes, there was no turning back. He would release his self-titled debut album with far less sophisticated equipment than his peers, but Black Coffee competed pound for pound in spite of this. He’d carve a lane out for himself by incorporating tribal elements, native instrumentation and vocal heavy tracks, eventually becoming an influential figure in South Africa’s Amapiano scene.

“This is precisely why he is largely an acquired taste in many parts of Africa. However, there is evidently a great deal of courage, consistency and conviction in his craft which has paid off handsomely. House music was welcomed by South African youth on the cusp of political liberation. Somehow it chimed with their longings for freedom, emotional release and creative experimentation. They had no existing rule book and dance music provided them with a powerful imaginative blueprint that supported their understandable optimism.”

Black Coffee would also prove to have a good level of business acumen too, as his debut release came under his own Soulistic Music record label. As he continued to grow, so did his opportunities, and before he knew it, he was in high demand worldwide as much as he was locally. Everything was falling into place. The humble beginnings of his rare sound suddenly became a hot, global commodity in the House scene.

With more attention and spotlight, Black Coffee became everybody’s favourite DJ, and more commercial acts would soon seek him out. For some, this could be a bit of a tight rope, or even a poisoned chalice. But Black Coffee’s bread and butter was and still is to bring influences from different corners of the world together. He stands before us as a top billing DJ, who’s name is synonymous with a good time and electric atmospheres. Whether you’re late for his Arrival or one of the early ones, the point is that you’re here, on a ride to House’s summit.

The list of notable co-signs in the industry is as envious as it is glamourous. The cultural waves he started has his noticeable fingerprints all over it, and continues to expanded despite him seeking newer horizons. As we revisit the questions around how we define success, it’s hard to consider Black Coffee anything but. A self-made pioneer who instilled passion and energy into the world through his music. Everybody wants you when you’re at the top.

When a certain “DJ” (whom I will purposefully not quote or namedrop) spewed some moronic words, the hip-hop community came together and strongly condemned not only him, but the social media driven culture of shallow, materialistic and empty desires to present yourself in a certain way. Not to mention using shock tactics to promote engagement, regardless of the crossfires it may cause.

Usually, when you see something stupid online, the right thing to do is to ignore it, because reactions, no matter what the sentiment, is the name of the game nowadays. However, there are times where it’s good to nib problematic things at the bud, which the living legend LL Cool J did very well.

Further condemnation also came from the likes of KRS-One, Slim Thug, MC Shan and many others too. I guess the troll got what he wanted, but some things can’t be allowed to slide and need to be called out. My analysis lead me to think: in bending over backwards to try and champion individualism, have we now reached a stage where we afford too much respect and benefit of doubt to folks before they even warrant or earn it? When I think of other disciplines - tech, business, sociology - in addition to hip-hop, one can’t seem to ignore the disdain on show for people, institutions and communities that laid the path for us today.

Maybe this entire episode was harder to take as it happened merely a week after a list of lyricists of the year were announced, with very few actual lyricists shortlisted? Not to mention ignoring a whole host of artists who have dropped stellar projects over the past 12 months.

In the modern era of music, accolades and award shows aren’t meant to mean much per se. Hip-hop fans certainly know this all too well. But they provide an interesting insight into how and what the industry values or sees. Understanding how the machine operates is handy. As good as Jay-Z is, do his 3 or 4 features in the last 12 months hold greater value than artists who have dropped multiple catalogues in the same period? Frankly, it feels like the selection panel just wanted to get a bunch of names together and get this whole thing over with. As The Facemob said above, how those names were brought to their attention is another problem area, but that’s another argument for another day (check the whole interview out here). Yet another reminder that validation should never be an artist’s aim. Lets also not forget that meaningless sales figures and fake love are not what defines talent, integrity or greatness.

Generational divides are part of the fabric of every culture and movement. Shifts in thinking, philosophy and basic needs change with the times and realities we face. Hip-hop seems to be at a crossroads though. It’s hard to say why, but it’s popularity and position at the forefront of modern-day culture, for better or worst, means that its problems, threats and tribulations will be very similar, if not the same, as other parts of society.

Perhaps this divide was even more clear when it was announced that a record label decided to sign an artificially generated and intelligent rap “artist”? This is still something I’m mad about all these weeks later. I was, and still am, at a loss for words over the whole ordeal. Morally, ethically and rationally, I cannot understand how or why something like this was pursued, let alone signed off. Then again, I expect nothing less from unwanted tech involvement in something that didn’t need any kind of tech input in the first place.

Social media. Streaming. Marketing analytics around views and throughput. Bots and stream farms. NFTs. Metaverse. Tech’s grandiose plan to influence and put its fingers in every single pie possible has done more damage than good as far as music goes. But while those things can be seen as some kind of expected or natural introduction into the industry (as mentioned, hip-hop is not immune from the same fates that other areas of life have been hit by), an AI artist leaves a particularly bitter taste in fans’ mouths.

I say this as somebody whose day job is in the technology sector, and this is a point I cannot stress enough: tech should not be defining or providing answers to challenges in any industry. It is the people in the industries themselves who, when trying to work around a pain point, should use their domain expertise to solve their own problem. Should that crossover and require technology to aid or deliver it, then so be it, but these things need to be done organically by those who face the challenges. Otherwise, every professional sector or service you can think of will have their own AI rapper-like fiasco. That is, a tech driven solution to a tech fantasised scenario that wasn’t never a problem.

Ultimately, the people spoke. The backlash and bad PR pushed all these decisions, conversations and discourse in the favour of those of us who hold the values of hip-hop (and in many ways, life) dear. It wasn’t doom and gloom by any stretch, there are still inconsistencies and blips in the current hip-hop climate that most of us would like to see ironed out.

But it looks like the spirit of this great genre and artform is alive and well, so may we continue to resist all things whack that go against the grain of this magnificent creation we love.

Do yourself justice, utilise your mind.

WhosAria

Due to a conflicting schedule and a planned holiday, there won’t be a newsletter for July. We’ll see you again in August for the next edition.

But anyway, let’s get back to business…

The Wu-Tang Clan are a dominant centrepiece in the history and advancement of hip-hop. The Clan have given us numerous legendary MCs (a lot which wouldn’t look out of place in any “top 10” list), an iconic sound and style courtesy of The RZA’s production, and a vast catalogue of culturally significant contributions; fashion, video games, documentaries and a whole load of other content that can become too long to list. Their diversified portfolio of fine art has inspired people from all walks of life, creating a truly unique legacy.

“See the logo? A monument in hip-hop,
Carved out in the giant landscape of broken rocks,
Whether heard in herb spots, jukebox or malt shops,
Uncut live, drop eighty-five in one shot,
Spotlight hits the metal mic, majority stare,
Heard the Wu snare, while my iris cut down the glare,
Walk a road the great length you find too long to measure,
My Clan'll make me rhyme like D. Banner under pressure,
No surprise, double disc touched five,
Those elements kept environments colonised,
With the high flying death-defying flow like the rebel,
Right there, but you're one light year from my level…”

GZA on Wu Banga 101, from Ghostface Killah’s Supreme Clientele album

The group’s reach has transcended beyond hip-hop’s spheres. A quick Google search recently showed me just how alive and kicking the Wu’s brand is to this day, three decades into their supernova status. A particular highlight for me was seeing that they even manage to inspire chefs in their area of expertise.

A recurring theme in the Bars Of Wisdom newsletter (which is partially by design from yours truly) is that the artists with firm principles, who have a vision to execute by any means, tend to reap additional benefits alongside their musical ventures. My articles on 50 Cent and Skepta in particular highlight this. The Wu-Tang Clan, and Method Man are no different.

On the track “Shadowboxin’” from The GZA’s debut album, “Liquid Swords”, he and Method Man go toe to toe on one of the highlights in a stacked classic album. A soothing beat and a mellow flow from both provide the ultimate hip-hop capsule to lay back into and absorb. But for me, listening to this song retrospectively made me think about something, and it wasn’t any of the lyrics in the verses. Before he took off, Method Man warms himself up as his 16 looms, making a claim that seems fairly easy to ignore at first, but in hindsight proved to be a portal into his outlook on both his lifestyle overall and with his affinity to hip-hop.

“Pledge allegiance to the hip-hop”

Method Man on the intro “Shadowboxin’”

Hearing that back now and seeing what not only he himself, but all of the Wu-Tang Clan have done in their careers since makes for interesting analysis. They’ve all pursued their own avenues whilst keeping music as the bedrock of everything that brings their respective individual ventures together. Of course, disagreements and difficulties amongst the group are no secret, but in the end we seem to find ourselves at a place where the Clan is, by and large, at peace. They cut a more than happy group, who count on one-another in the present day. This was, at least according to their “Of Mics And Men” documentary, very apparent, with an overwhelming sense of positivity and growth, breezing past the small intricacies that may have resulted in heated exchanges back in their youthful days.

Method Man in particular seemed in great spirits. The freestyle aside, Meth has been engrained in a personal challenge he set himself in the previous decade, where he attempts to cut out profanities from his lyrics. For a man so immersed in the craft, with such a virtuoso level of skillset, he continues to push the boundaries for himself at a stage in his career where he could very easily bank on his influence and coast into the sunset. It’s something we see only the true elite do in their domains; push themselves further when comfort could easily be obtained. Think about how Lebron James spends over $1million on his diet and conditioning to stay fit as he edges closer to age 40, or how legendary pop producer David Foster has been trying his hand at breaking into Broadway past the age of 70. These are mindsets to be applauded, and Method Man is no different.

In the end, it all comes full circle. Method Man burst onto the scene as a major cog in the Wu-Tang machine. The GZA’s masterpiece was a perfect place for Meth to pledge allegiance and match his older comrade on a track. After doing solo albums, more group work and establishing himself as an actor, the same pledge he took to an artform and culture fuelled his desire to continue getting more out of himself. And like he said in the clip above:

“I still write my rhymes to impress these dudes here”

For me, this is the beauty of hip-hop.

Do yourself justice, utilise your mind.

WhosAria

A Word On The Song/Artist

Perhaps the most infamous member of The Wu, Method Man has always held the admiration and adulation of fans and peers. In my personal opinion, his best output has come alongside his comrades when recording Wu-Tang projects (not to mention his hall of fame verse on Biggie’s “The What”), but his solo discography is nothing to be messed with. Meth has been and can get busy at any moment. Not only does he hold a special place in my personal favourite hip-hop artists, he was also my favourite character to play with in Def Jam Vendetta. Salute to the one and only, not a gentle man, but The Method Man. Well and truly accepted around these parts.

I have “Shadowboxin” included in my “Vibes x The Lounge” collab playlist which you can listen to on Apple or Spotify alongside other playlists. Like, follow and share my profiles/playlists to stay up-to-date with all of my current and future playlist collections.

So while the association between Pusha T and “coke rap” is usually a tongue in cheek reference amongst fans to categorise his main subject matter, at times it can go down the slippery slope of stereotyping or dumbing down his artistry. As a supporter of Pusha T and hip-hop overall, I wouldn’t want to see his (or any other MC’s) skills and the music be taken for granted as some kind of caricature. Hip-hop deserves better.

In a time where hip-hop is so accessible and firmly under the mainstream spotlight, the floor is open for more listeners to opine on artists and the genre. As a result, the foundational knowledge, understanding and context of hip-hop - which the majority of it’s passionate followers possess - can get lost on many others. The tweet post below, from Variety magazine’s review of Pusha T’s most recent album “It’s Almost Dry” (yes, you read that right) provides the best example.

I’m not trying to single this piece or writer out, because I saw many similar takes across the internet in the aftermath of King Push’s latest release. For the record, I think it’s a well written article which gives due praise to the project for the most part. I’ve also been involved in conversations with friends regarding Pusha T where this narrative has been put to me as well. But given this is coming from a high profile outlet that isn’t known for anything hip-hop specific or focused, it’s a primary example of that context being lost. I feel it can provide a good case study to the main points I’d like to raise.

N.B. I myself have no issue with the phrase “coke rap” as long as it’s not used as a blanket term in a derogatory manner that’s dismissive of the music’s substance.

Firstly, listening to artists like Pusha T, Roc Marciano or anybody else synonymous with their commentary around the drug game and the lifestyle associated with it is absolutely fine. Part of the intended allure of music is to entertain listeners and provide escapism. As with every single form of entertainment, crime sells and most certainly pays. Remain entertained and enjoy yourselves. Hip-hop is not immune to supply and demand.

Furthermore, drugs and crime being the main subject matter does not mean there is no wisdom or depth on offer, as Variety’s headline would suggest. In fact, I would argue quite the opposite. To narrate and deliver insights into a very delicate, high stakes environment where every moment is lived on the edge requires a masterful execution of one’s craft, something Pusha T has been doing for well over 20 years through his music. If you can watch The Godfather and marvel at Don Vito Corleone’s ability to remain calm, composed and never lose sight of the most important principles in life - such as family, honour and respect - in the face of all out war and uncertainty, then you can most certainly draw similar emotions and inspiration from Pusha T when he details the intricacies of how to take the lead in negotiations, weave out the fake charlatans from your life and to be assertive with your personality to get what you want. Cocaine being talked about or referenced doesn’t mean the message begins and ends there, as Pusha T himself discusses in the Youtube clip below. In his case, it’s like a metaphorical north star that allows him to emphasise his demeanour and overall philosophy towards life. It’s what makes his art so gripping; to have a subject matter so far and detached from what a lot of his listeners are used to, yet make it feel very much in reach and relatable on their shared principles and concepts. Wizardry.

The article also discusses how the absence of vulnerability in “It’s Almost Dry” is indicative of some kind of artistic ceiling. This is something I strongly reject. Displaying vulnerability and emotions should only be done if the creator themselves is in that space, otherwise it loses authenticity. But clearly, this was not befitting of this project, and that’s fine. This body of work has a clear concept: King Push is cut from a different cloth. The album title itself, alongside track names like “Diet Coke” and “Scrape It Off The Top” paints a clear message. With it’s cocaine laced symbolisms, Pusha T feels that his product is pure and he intends to keep you hooked on it, so that you never consider going back to his feeble competitors.

Using this absence of vulnerability as a measuring stick of Pusha T’s development and progression as an artist couldn’t be more wrong, considering he has displayed vulnerabilities and introspective thoughts through his “coke raps” in previous outings. “Sunshine”, “S.N.I.T.C.H.”, “Pain” and his feature on Anderson .Paak’s “Brother’s Keeper” are a few off the top of my head, and this is precisely why I wanted to write this piece to raise these points. If Pusha T wants to be vulnerable, that’s great. Contrary to popular belief, hip-hop has and continues to celebrate artist’s emotional journeys. Songs around love interests, bereavements and everyday struggles are some of the most iconic songs to grace fans’ ears. The key thing is how it’s packaged and delivered, which goes back to context. DMX (RIP) and Radiohead are two artists that address personal pain in their music frequently, but I’d imagine that said pain (or vulnerability) would largely be more associated to the legendary band more so than the legendary rapper. The same would probably go for Billie Eilish and YoungBoy NBA. This is why I think fans should be careful when they use “coke rap” as a go-to description. It can come across as a throwaway term that either doesn’t paint the full picture of an artist’s talent and effort, or leads to an agenda that suggests there’s a limit of innovation in their work. Confirmation bias at it’s worst.

As I write this piece, Young Thug is currently sat in a jail cell on RICO charges. The grounds of his arrest were that his lyrics imply he is majorly involved in high level criminal activity. It blows my mind that lyrics in a song can spark law enforcement’s curiosity into creating or pursuing a case. Whatever people’s opinions might be on this matter, I can say with certainty and confidence that somebody like Nancy Sinatra didn’t have to bat an eyelid or have a shred of concern when she sung “Bang Bang”. Perhaps as I grow older, I start to align with the “oldheads” of yesteryear more with some gatekeeping tendencies and complaints, but I can’t help but feel like little things such as the “coke rap” label can lead to problems down the line for artists. I suppose the conclusion to take from my ramblings is to always read the room. Words can be manipulated and hip-hop has always been a treasure chest that people have fought tooth and nail to get their hands on and tailor it to the needs of those who need it the least. But whether I’m on to something, or I’m just a grumpy overthinker, that’s for you to decide.

Do yourself justice, utilise your mind.

WhosAria

A Word On The Artist

Pusha is one of my favourite artists because he displays a consistency in his work that many are envious of. One of a handful of musicians who’s work I will instantly listen to when there’s new material out. I’d put my neck on the line and say that I don’t recall hearing a bad or subpar verse from him throughout my years of fandom. I respect his talents immensely. I’ve enjoyed all of his solo projects, from mixtapes to albums, and his most recent showing adds more quality to an already stacked catalogue, both as a solo artist and in a group. For me, “It’s Almost Dry” was a good listen, but personally it falls short of “Daytona” and “My Name Is My Name” in particular, which are still a level or two above it. However, this shouldn’t discredit this most recent effort, one that has a lot of highs and solid returns for a man who knows how to give his audience what they want. No bullshit, no compromise, just good and great music to enjoy, which is all that matters at the end of the day. Hail King Push.

I’m happy to announce my partnership and collaboration with Arriver, a brand new music platform “for those you don’t see coming”. I will be an editor and have regular features as a columnist writing about up-and-coming artists.

You can find my first article for the platform here, where I explore the rise of Yeat. Will he be able to translate his early hype into longevity and success? Check out my piece to find out my thoughts and more. Enjoy!

Also, keep an eye out on your inbox’s for this month’s newsletter over the coming weeks.

Do yourself justice, utilise your mind.

WhosAria

It gives me great pleasure to have my second ever Q&A with the E-Major and Slack, the creators and hosts of the Man Knows Hip Hop Podcast.

These two guys have been on my radar for quite some time, and it’s been a pleasure to follow and interact with their hip-hop related tweets and content. I’m excited to share this Q&A with you all, containing gems and insight from them both.

Many thanks for their time and participation.

But anyway, let’s get back to business…

Q: Let’s start with an introduction to yourselves, your backgrounds, and what the work you’re both currently doing is all about. Can you tell us how and why Man Knows Hip Hop was created, what the lightbulb moment was that made you two want to pursue this project and move forward with creating this podcast?

EM: “My name is Easton, I was born and raised in Tottenham, North London. I’m 41 years old and in love with hip-hop. Well, I’m in love with music on a whole but hip-hop is my biggest love when it comes to music. From a young age - with my big sister, friends in school, college and social circles, colleagues at work - I have always loved discussing hip-hop. So when the thought of a podcast came to mind, I definitely entertained it. I was thinking about doing a podcast, but I wanted to do it with someone I respected and had good hip-hop conversations with previously. I thought of asking Slack when one day he messaged me and said that a friend of his, who had a platform called ‘Man Knows Football’ asked if he would be interested in heading up a similar platform called ‘Man Knows Hip Hop’ which would be dedicated to rap discussions. Slack liked the idea, but like me, he preferred the idea of doing it with a co-host, so he reached out to me at that point which, for me, confirmed it was meant to be.”

S: “Slack aka Jigs to my friends, Caribbean origin born in London, been a hip-hop fan for over 30 years. MKHH started from a guy on Twitter reaching out because ‘I know my stuff’ and asking if I wanted to start a pod with that name. I reached out to Easton who was also thinking to start a pod, he was up for it so we started recording after coming up with a few ideas. We just wanted to create something that fellow hip-hop heads would appreciate.”

Q: Describe your respective journeys and relationship with hip-hop as a musical genre and culture. I’m curious to know what it was like for you both as Londoners absorbing it all throughout the years. Are your bonds with hip-hop the exact same today as they were in earlier stages of your lives, or have you developed different insights and attachments throughout different stages?

EM: “I was introduced to hip-hop by my big sister who was obsessed with the culture. In the late 80s before I was even 10 years old I was hearing both American and UK classics. Once I was introduced to it, I fell in love with it for myself and would listen to her collection regularly until I was about 12yrs old and started using my own pocket money to start building my own collection. I was hugely impacted by the sound, the fashion, the slang, the live shows, and the culture on a whole, which was fresh, new, exciting and different, in a lot of ways, to what we were experiencing here in the UK. My parents are Jamaican, so I had a nice variation of cultural impact. My bond with hip-hop has not changed and I honestly don’t believe it ever will. As an adult with much more responsibilities it will always have a different impact on me than the way it did when I was a teenager for example, but the bond is lifelong. I found that it grew with me, and I would discover new artists, sounds and content for each mood and stage of my life.”

S: “I started listening to hip-hop in the late 80’s as a very young boy. My dad would play a lot of Gil Scott Heron and Public Enemy. My uncle got me onto De La Soul and I was in love with it ever since. The culture is very similar to reggae/ragga/dancehall which is a close cousin of hip-hop - this is what my mum and aunties would play around the house so it was an easy transition. Growing up I became more entrenched along with my lil crew in high school. I would buy everything with my allowance. I bought west coast, east coast and southern hip-hop, didn’t discriminate, I wanted it all. The culture over here is very reminiscent of New York. We had the sneaker culture, fashion, Graffiti/tagging and freestyle Thursdays. Some artists are shocked when they come here and realise some parts are so reflective of where they grew up. I loved the aesthetic, the language, the excellence of the top MCs, how clever they were with the wordplay and metaphors, the producers making new music out of something completely different. I was fascinated by it all and fully lived the culture, I still do. Hip-hop is more than music to me. I have definitely developed a tinge of dislike for hip-hop at a couple times in my life, I didn’t like the direction it was heading, mainstream was messy and horrible, it still is today. I’m older now so I look for substance and music that makes me feel something, but there is something for everyone.”

Q: Where do you see and feel influences from hip-hop in your day-to-day lives? I feel like you both embody the spirit of hip-hop so well, so it’d be interesting to know how your passions for hip-hop transcend into your everyday routine and general way of life.

EM: “First and foremost, I would have to say It would be the consumption of the music, I can’t go a day without listening to hip-hop and that has been the same for the last 30 years of my life, so for every occasion there is a song or lyric that usually comes to mind. I believe hip-hop is a whole culture in and of itself, it’s a way of life, from the expression of fashion and the way you dress, the way you talk and the impact it has on your life. Hip hop is an identity, a voice and a meaning. The comradery when you meet a co-worker or someone you’ve never even spoken to before and find out your both hip-hop fans and the discussions that follow. I’m very passionate about the culture and seeing it thrive.”

S: “The way I speak, the way I dress, my sense of humour all has a hip-hop influence”

Q: You’re both very opinionated and have a lot of knowledge to share. What do you want your platforms to do for yourselves, for others and for hip-hop overall?

EM: “As a lover of hip-hop I absolutely love discussing it and having respectful debates about it. In my younger years the conversations were less respectful and definitely more heated. My hope for the platform is that it creates a space to discuss this beautiful genre of ours, openly and honestly, even when the opinions are not popular. I hope that the platform will introduce or re-introduce artists or albums to the listener while sparking nostalgia and also providing info at the same time. I love when we get messages from a listener thanking us for introducing them to a specific album or artist. We also aim to shine light on upcoming artists who keep the culture alive.”

S: “We just want our platform to be somewhere that people who love hip-hop culture as much as us can go and hear us chop it up just as we would do in the barbershop or social clubs. They can agree, disagree or be put onto music they may have missed or forgotten about.”

Q: Man Knows Hip Hop is currently still in its early stages, but you’ve touched on a good range of subjects in such a short time – album reviews, celebrating careers of artists and general discussion points. You’ve had interesting guests on too. Walk us through the process for your podcast, how you both stay on your toes and up to date to spark your creative outputs.

EM: “From the start, Slack and I agreed that we wanted the episodes to be as unscripted as possible and more of a general discussion type thing, like the type of discussions and conversations we would have had back in school or college. We obviously decide on the topic and some key points prior to recording but we aim to keep it as free flowing as possible, we also inform any guests we have on of this. In regard to staying up to date it’s not a task or a challenge as we are genuine supporters and investors in the culture so it’s a natural thing to know what’s happening to a degree. Even things like discussions and interactions with people we talk to on and off social media bring new situations to light, just as it did before social media existed, just in a different form.”

S: “As a creative process we just decide on a topic and discuss just as we do in real life, no editing, no second takes. We want to keep it organic. Guests are chosen depending on the topic and we’ve been lucky to have great guests who have added their twist to their respective episodes.”

Q: You’ve discussed the differences in the generational divide between fans and artists on several occasions. Do you aim to help bridge this gap? Is this even possible to do? What do you think a modern hip-hop fan can do to ensure they’re grasping the art and culture in the right way, and not consume repackaged, recycled content in the age of social media echo chambers and clout chasing?

EM: “I definitely believe the gap can be bridged, I even wrote a blog on this called ‘Hip-Hop’s Civil War’ but what is needed first and foremost is a desire to bridge that gap. Hip Hop is a culture, not just a genre, it is 50 years old which means it has history. Just like anything else we can be a part of, an understanding of its conception will lead to an appreciation of the architects of this thing we all claim to love. To keep it simple, I think modern hip-hop fans, who actually want to understand the culture and not just be casual fans, should take some time and understand the history and conception of the culture. But I think it’s equally important for older heads to not just shut down on anything modern but to understand the current sound and why certain things are the way they are while helping the newer generation appreciate the blueprint. I often discuss modern hip-hop with my kids and allow them to show me music from their era, but they also know a lot about and enjoy music from my era.”

S: “I’m always open to bridging the gap between generations if they are genuinely in love with the culture. Most don’t want to look back and that’s ok, as long as they respect what came before what they’re hearing now. The culture has become very diluted and scattered, it would take a big effort to bring that back. In the age of social media it’s more difficult than ever to hold peoples attention, everyone wants a microwave meal and NOW.”

Q: One thing I can’t ignore whenever I tune in is your excellent rapport as a dynamic duo. I recall Slack saying that when the opportunity to do the podcast presented itself, he insisted on E-Major being involved. I feel like this a really dope aspect of your podcast, because the most prominent podcasters/media personalities work individually. Do you think this element of comradery is missing in hip-hop journalism and content? Was this something you guys thought about when strategising the work?

EM: “I think both the individual aspect and the team aspect can work well when the chemistry is right, just as it can be horrible to watch if the chemistry isn’t right. I wouldn’t say the element of comradery is missing, as its present in a lot of platforms but what I would say is more focus needs to be on WHO you collaborate with rather than on just collaborating. The reason I didn’t have to give teaming up with Slack much thought is because we had many interactions and discussions in the past so I knew his style and preference, he’s open with his opinion and even though we share the same opinion on things, our opinion on a lot of things differ also but the chemistry was right and the respect is present.”

S: “Yes comradeship is missing in hip-hop. The crews, clans, posses and cliques are no longer in existence, grown men are backstabbing each other all the time, dwarf rappers are shooting at women, it’s a very different time and hip-hop was MUCH better when there were groups and labels and crews. And the same in the journalism and content aspect of the culture. Everyone is for themselves.”

Q: You are both fathers, so I’d love to know what kind of role (if any) hip-hop plays towards this?

EM: “A couple things I’d say is that my kids are used to hearing hip-hop around the house and me listening to hip-hop, so it’s become a part of our lives. The other thing I’d say is that there are a lot of examples in hip-hop where fathers are not present which is an all-too-common reality so I ensure my presence is felt in my children’s life at all times, especially in regards to my son learning how to navigate through life and my daughters understanding how they should be treated by a man and self-worth.”

S: “I’ve ensured my boys were surrounded by hip-hop culture from the womb, they had no option but to be hip-hop heads.”

Q: I feel like you guys are very objective analysts. You both give praise where it’s due but also do not hold back from criticising when it’s called for – they are always fair assessments as far as I’m concerned. You could argue that this type of honesty is a risky game, but it can also be rewarding. Is it something you’ve both had to think about and dwell on? Do you enjoy the pressure, responsibility and accountability that comes with this?

EM: “This goes back to what I was saying about the nature of our podcast, those natural and genuine discussions we would have if no cameras were watching. We always aim to be open, honest, and real at all times, if we love something we will say that, if we don’t, we say that also but with as much respect as possible. This is not something we dwell on or think about, it comes natural due to the nature of our podcast. We add a little humour of course but we keep it honest. Due to this we have been asked to review/listen to new projects from some artists and we do the exact same thing in these cases, we keep it real respectfully. And we are always grateful that an artist will ask our opinion.”

S: “I’m just me, I like what I like and don’t like what I don’t like. I don’t let media or Twitter deter me from how I feel about something. I like to joke around so I’ll often post jokes about a rapper that people will see as inflammatory. I find it hilarious how angry people get to defend someone they don’t know. I accept full responsibility and accountability for my tweets.”

Q: Tell us about your names/tags and where their origins lie?

EM: “The name of the podcast was given to us by the creator of ‘Man Knows Football’, but my name is just a play on my nick name, 90% of my friends/family call me ‘E’ so I just threw on the ‘Major’ as a nod to my love of music.”

S: “My nickname was born at a young age because my government name initials sounds similar to Jay-Z, that then got broken down into Jigs which I’ve been known as since about 16 years old.”

Q: I’ve picked up some sound bites during Man Knows Hip Hop episodes that would suggest you’ve both dabbled in working the music industry at some point in the past. Are you able to expand on your respective involvements? Furthermore, does what you know affect your breakdown and consumption of hip-hop as a fan or commentator as far as the podcast goes?

EM: “Like most hip-hop fans at some point, I tried my hand at rapping for a few years and was pretty good at it! My godfather is a music producer and manager, so I spent a lot of time in and around his studio in London along with other studios. I personally know a few professional music artists and DJs, so I’ve always been surrounded by both sides of the music. Other than that, it’s mainly my consumption, investment, and overall love of hip-hop that I tap into for the podcast.”

S: “I worked for a label for some time and was receiving promos and all that good stuff in the 90s, it was a great time. What I’ve learned through the years has maybe tainted my view as the industry is dirty, a lot of artists are caricatures and that’s made it become the biggest genre in the world. I never thought that was possible as a kid listening to what was ‘this thing of ours’. You see what has happened to a lot of artists through the years and it’s not the easiest career to have.”

Q: Can you share some thoughts on the current scene and general ecosystem of hip-hop, from commercial to underground and everything in between? Where do you stand on the quality that’s available, the talent on display and if the landscape is in a healthy state or not?

EM: “Contrary to belief I actually think hip-hop is in a very good place right now. The underground and independent scene is on fire, its profitable, its supported, its authentic and it’s gaining more and more momentum. I’m not one of these heads that only think underground hip-hop is good - if its dope its dope, I don’t care if its underground or commercial, but I definitely believe it’s the underground/independent scene that is keeping hip-hop alive. Personally, I’m not a fan of the current sound of a lot of commercial hip-hop at the moment but it annoys me when people say hip-hop is dead because its not dead at all, in fact it’s very much alive and if you know where to look, you will most definitely find anything that your taste desires. Many of the now legends my generation grew up on were not initially appreciated by the generation before them, but things grow, evolve and branch out, so change is inevitable and to be honest, its needed for survival. But the wonderful thing is that there will always be those who have not strayed too far from the blueprint. My point is, whatever you want from hip-hop, you can find.”

S: “I think the mainstream and the underground are both suffering from similar diseases… copycats! Hip-hop used to be about more than copying everyone else, now we have so many acts that sound alike, look alike, talk alike, rap alike and it’s hard to differentiate. I don’t think that’s healthy, I was inspired by rappers who dared to be different, say jungs that regular people wouldn’t say on a record. It used to be the music of the streets but it feels too safe now, less rebellious and much more conforming. There’s 200,000 rappers now and most of them want to sound like everybody else, it’s the lowest hanging fruit of music because everybody now feels that rapping is easy when it used to be the opposite. It can come back but I’m not sure it will.”

Q: Tell us about some your favourite artists from hip-hop and beyond during your younger years and now? Has there been a change or progression in what moves you and what you seek?

EM: “There has definitely been a change in what moves me and what I seek, nostalgia and past favourites will always play a huge part in what and who I enjoy listening to today, but I love when music is relatable. I want to see and hear growth and situations I can relate to. I go to concerts and hip-hop shows regularly but not general clubbing so songs about being in the club popping bottles are boring to me, that was 15 years ago for me. My life is different now so if its relatable and sounds good too, I’m more than likely going to enjoy it a lot more. Obviously this isn’t always the case, for example I gladly throw on a Pusha T album but I’m not on the streets selling cocaine! But I’m sure you get my point.”

S: “B.I.G. is my favourite ever rapper for many reasons. I also love Phonte, Wu, D’Angelo, Nas, Busta and Redman. I listen to a lot of reggae and Neo Soul music when I’m not listening to hip-hop. There hasn’t been much change, I still listen for wit, charisma, originality and sheer talent.”

Q: Who’s in heavy rotation now or in general for you both, and who’ve you come across that we should keep an eye on over the coming years – new, unsigned, or even just enjoying a late bloom/renaissance.

EM: “There are certain MCs who remain in heavy rotation for me and have done since the 90s, these are the likes of Mobb Deep, Heltah Skeltah, LOX, Jay-Z, Nas, Scarface, 2Pac, Wu-Tang, Redman, Outkast, DMX and many more from that era and the 00s. But a few who I have been listening to a lot over the last few years are Eto, 38 Spesh, Flee Lord, Conway The Machine, Benny The Butcher, RJ Payne, Che Noir, Freddie Gibbs, Dark Lo, Rome Streetz and Hus Kingpin. In regards to who I think you should keep an eye on over the coming years, I’d say IAMGAWD and Backwoods Sweetie immediately come to mind but there are so many others.”

S: “I’m listening to Conway a lot and artists like Foreign Exchange, Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin. I really like Naps N Dreds, Blackwood Sweetie and IAMGAWD as far as Indy artists. Nas’ renaissance has been great to witness, I’m not the biggest fan of Hit Boy’s sound but it’s great to see Nas find a pocket he feels comfortable in and just dropping music when he feels like it, no pressure and still killing it.”

Q: Where would you like to see yourselves and MKHH being in the short term and long term?

EM: “Short term: just continue to have fun with the podcast, informing and entertaining listeners and having some dope guests on the show too. Long term: It would be a dream to have a platform like this being my full-time focus, to expand in other areas of media and really help to keep the culture thriving giving ear and focus to the consumer, the underground artists and celebrating those who are still with us.”

S: “I’d just love to see people saying they enjoy our show and our pages and catching new artists, albums they might’ve missed and just generally enjoying and sharing the discussions. We’ll see where it grows to we’ve already had some really great interactions and opportunities from the show but we’re enjoying making it, the interactions have been so positive. And we appreciate that greatly.”

Q: Any final thoughts and comments you’d like to put out there before we wrap it up?

EM: “First of all, thank you for this interview and thank you to everyone who has supported the MKHH podcast since we launched. Every view, every subscription, every share, every liked video and comment, we appreciate you. If you haven’t seen our work yet just type Man Knows Hip Hop into YouTube and Twitter to check us out. This is all for the love for the culture. Peace.”

S: “Just keep checking us out at MKHH and @slacksupremacy. Thank you for the interview.”

I started Bars Of Wisdom because I wanted to break down my favourite thing in the world on an intellectual level that I felt it deserved. I will do and continue to do as such, but with a little extra variety going forward.

I will try to provide a mix of the articles that you’ve been used to in the first 15 pieces, sprinkled with collaborations in the forms of the Q&As, longer reads and some branching out into other areas of culture. Changes to the content can be detailed here.

However, rest assured, hip-hop will always be the go-to and catalyst for all forms of content here at Bars Of Wisdom.

See you next month, and until then…

Do yourself justice, utilise your mind.

WhosAria

Dr. Dre certainly fits this bill and has had his fair share of these experiences throughout his career, particularly as a recording artist. As a pioneer and spearhead of hip-hop’s musical expansiveness, let’s just say that the standards he’s held to are a little bit more tricky to appease than others. To be frank, we’ve become accustomed to his excellence.

As Dr. Dre elevated onto the stage to perform at the Super Bowl half time show on February 13th, I watched on with many thoughts and emotions going through my head. Of course, there was excitement, interest and nostalgia at the forefront. But as the performances from himself, long time confidants and trusted collaborators took shape in his own backyard, it occurred to me that this is somewhat of a full circle moment for Dr. Dre.

February 2022 suddenly contains parallels to the 90s, a decade that was rewarding and unforgiving in equal measure for Dr. Dre. He left NWA on notoriously bad terms with Eazy-E early on in the decade before releasing his first solo album, “The Chronic”, a quintessential classic. The years that followed saw Dre take the charts by storm, producing for Snoop Dogg and other artists, mainly on the newly formed Death Row Records. This also resulted in him being heavily embroiled in the East Coast-West Coast feuds and controversies. Legal battles followed Dre around too, alongside personal and professional losses which were added to his struggles. He would eventually leave Death Row over very real concerns around the label.

Dr. Dre formed Aftermath Records as he seeked pastures new, but things hadn’t gotten to that much of a good start by his own standards. The main highlight however was signing Eminem, which of course was a move that comfortably paid off. Nevertheless, Dre was facing challenges in his new tenure as an executive. So when his second album, the immaculate “2001” came out in 1999, the pressure to deliver was very much on, considering he hadn’t put a solo album together for 7 years. But Dre stood strong and weathered the storm to remind the world just who the fuck he was and what makes him great.

“Y'all know me, still the same OG but I been low-key, Hated on by most these ****** with no cheese, no deals and no G's, No wheels and no keys, no boats, no snowmobiles and no skis, Mad at me 'cause I can finally afford to provide my family with groceries, Got a crib with a studio and it's all full of tracks, To add to the wall full of plaques, Hanging up in the office in back of my house like trophies, Did y'all think I'ma let my dough freeze? Ho, please, You better bow down on both knees, Who you think taught you to smoke trees? Who you think brought you the oldies? Eazy-E's, Ice Cube's, and D.O.C.'s, The Snoop D-O-double-G's, and the group that said "Motherfuck the police!", Gave you a tape full of dope beats to bump when you stroll through in your hood, And when your album sales weren't doing too good, who's the Doctor they told you to go see? Y'all better listen up closely, all you ****** that said that I turned pop or The Firm flopped, Y'all are the reason that Dre ain't been getting no sleep, So fuck y'all, all of y'all, if y'all don't like me, blow me, Y'all are gonna keep fucking around with me and turn me back to the old me… ”

It’s crazy to think that a man with Dr. Dre’s proof of work had his skills questioned. But high pressure environments breed ruthlessness and you’re only as good your most recent showing - this all goes back to being really good at what you do. Dr. Dre is an amazingly gifted musician and artist with astonishing talent. He was the problem solver that made a difference. He defined eras and sub-genres that are still revered 30+ years later. He launches and resurrects careers. Like he said, he’s the doctor you go to see during pivotal moments.

So it’s no surprise that the NFL turned to him to mend bridges, improve their overall image, further immortalise their crown jewel and grandest event. They turned to Dr. Dre - who is in the midst of another hiatus, again with media attention around his personal life/legal battles and dealing with more recent grievances - to prescribe the antidote to re-energise fans and viewers of the sport which hasn’t covered itself in glory over the past few years.

Does this mean that we can expect Deto- you know what, nevermind.

Do yourself justice, utilise your mind.

WhosAria

A Word On The Song/Artist

Dr. Dre’s contributions to hip-hop speaks for itself. It’s hard to understate how impactful and pioneering his legacy is and will continue to be. His role in G-Funk and Gangsta Rap, alongside his production credits for some of the greatest artists and albums that are now household names, is staggering.

He is a once in a lifetime musician which hip-hop must cherish, but also acknowledge that there are distasteful elements of his character that he should continue to be held accountable for in a reasonable manner.

“Forgot About Dre” is a song that can get any setting off it’s feet. As with the rest of the 2001 album and Dre’s catalogue, it’s sonically flawless from start to finish, and as lyrically crisp as any other great pieces of hip-hop from it’s time and beyond.

This is the first of what I hope to be many Q&A sessions with talented, objective and brilliant people in the world of hip-hop and beyond.

I first came across Def Goldbloom and his channel a few months back and before I knew it, I had watched his entire channel in one sit without even blinking. I was so impressed that I made it a mission to find out more and share his insights with you all.

I’d like to thank him for his time and collaboration.

But anyway, let’s get back to business…

Q: Firstly, tell us about yourself, your Youtube channel and all the content you produce. How did you get into this and what’s the inspiration behind it?

DG: “I started this Youtube channel about 9 months ago, but I’ve been telling myself and other people about it for almost 5 years. I love watching video essays, but I found that there was a lack of creators making content about the kind of hip-hop that I liked most. I spent a long time waiting for the right video idea, or until I learned how to edit better, but eventually I got tired of waiting and realized that I needed a place to express myself creatively.”

Q: Describe your journey and relationship with hip-hop, both as a musical genre and a culture. What kind of impact does it have on your life daily and overall? Why do you think this art form has resulted in sparking your own creativity and output?

DG: “I wasn’t raised in a household that listened to hip-hop so I grew up listening to oldies like Frank Sinatra and The Drifters. It wasn’t until I got my first iPod that I realized I needed more to listen to and I went and downloaded everything on my older brother's iTunes. Without having any knowledge of modern hip-hop styles and trends, I suddenly acquired the taste of my brother, and I became a 13 year old in 2010 listening to A Tribe Called Quest, Biggie, and Binary Star. I’m not sure what it was exactly that I fell in love with about the art form but I couldn’t stop diving deeper into the genre. I’m sort of an obsessive person, so when I get into something, I make it my mission to learn everything about it. I spent the next decade of my life realizing that this music is my favorite thing in the world. I never had the musical talent to rap or make beats but in college I realized that I had a passion for video editing. Since I started this channel I feel a real kinship with the artists that I’ve loved for so many years. I view my videos as a sort of sampling, piecing together visuals and audio to relay the best product to the viewer. Its my hope that my videos are able to become a companion piece to albums and artists that I love and not just a channel where I talk about music.”

Q: Your videos have focused on a great variety of artists that stretch across hip-hop’s spectrum and tastebuds. Are you somebody that levitates towards a particular sound and style, or do you just let an artist take you through a journey first, before assessing your thoughts and analysis of their work? I’m curious to know what aspects resonate with you as a fan, and what aspects resonate with you as a content creator. Is there an overlap in this process?

DG: “I try to have an appreciation for all forms of hip-hop, but my ears always gravitate towards the classics. Anything with a jazzy beat and a soul sample is guaranteed to catch my ear. With that being said, I love all types of rap, there's definitely artists in every corner of the genre that I love. The one thing that I respect most in an artist is versatility. As a fan it always would resonate with me when an artist would try something different on every album. That’s what made me fall in love with the music of Blu and Kanye who are probably my 2 favorite artists ever. As a creator my interest in these types of artists has only grown stronger. If an artist uses a variety of sounds and styles then they are much more interesting to talk about. And I try to involve this approach in my videos as well. I don’t want to settle into a specific video style when I find one that works, I want to keep pushing myself to try new things and get better as a creator.”

Q: Your video on Mach Homey was exceptional. Can you talk about him and his music from your perspective for a bit? For starters, what is it about Mach that grabs your attention? And what was the approach to creating something so in depth around somebody so enigmatic and lowkey? Was Mach a particularly good case study for your content?

DG: “I immediately gravitated to Mach-Hommy because he reminded me so much of the feeling I got when I was discovering hip-hop back in the day. There’s nothing like discovering an artist you love and then going back to hear all of their catalog, and I was at a point where I feared I might never have that again. Obviously there will always be more artists to discover and music to hear, but there was a certain magic wth the 90’s rappers who originally got me into hip-hop that I hadn’t felt in a long time. When I discovered Mach it was like I unlocked a new world of music. I was late to the game, first hearing of him in 2019, so learning that he had almost 20 albums that I got to experience for the first time was extraordinary. And the mystique around him was definitely fascinating. Everything from the mask, to the difficulty of finding his music, to his excessive use of the word Dump, it all was intriguing and backed up the music as something that I needed to know more about.”

Q: Describe the process behind making this video and your other work. Do you find that with some projects and personnel, it’s easier for the work to fall into place? I’m interested to know how much work goes into these, because you go into a lot of depth – it’d be great to know what goes through your mind when critically thinking about these things.

DG: “I have a long list of video ideas in my phone, I pretty much listen to music all day and ideas for videos are always coming to me. But the hard part for every video is writing the script. I’ve had a lot of videos that I was planning on making after my very first video, but I just never found the right motivation for the script. I can’t really explain it, sometimes the words come to me and sometimes they don’t, but every video relies completely on having an interesting script. There’s a fine line between making an informative but interesting video and just listing off facts and sounding like a wikipedia page. A lot of my videos require a lot of research, but every video is made because I’m passionate about the topic. A lot of my motivation to write is to have an outlet to talk about things that I love. In real like I may never be able to talk about the greatness of Blu or Mach-Hommy, but here I’m able to put it all out there.”

Q: What do you enjoy about your hip-hop based ventures and fandom the most?

DG: “Since I started this channel and before this when I joined hip-hop twitter, it feels like I’ve found a community of like minded people who all share a deep love for the same art, it’s awesome. As I said earlier there aren’t many people in my day to day life that I can talk about this stuff with, so it’s been a great experience. Through this community I’ve discovered so many incredible rappers and producers that I probably never would have heard of. And it goes the other way too, there’s nothing that feels better than putting someone on to a new artist that they’ve never heard of. A few people have reached out to me and told me that they showed my Mach-Hommy video to a friend in order to teach them about him, which is so dope to me. I’m so hyped I get to help spread the word of dope hip-hop through my videos, that’s what my channel is all about.”

Q: What do the words Identity, Lifestyle and Logic mean to you respectively? What part does hip-hop play in these areas of your own life (if any)?

DG: “This is a very interesting question to me because I feel like my Identity and my Lifestyle are very different. I’m a suburban kid who works a boring 9 to 5, but while I work I have my earphones in listening to Gang Starr or The Pharcyde. I Identify as someone who lives, breathes and sleeps hip-hop and music, but my lifestyle doesnt really reflect that, which is something that I want to change. There were times in my life where hip-hop was more intertwined with my lifestyle, I used to be an intern at Hot 97 in New York so I literally was living “Where Hip-Hop Lives”. I hope that someday I can build my Youtube channel into something that can get my lifestyle more involved in hip-hop culture and I think I’m on that pace. I’m not sure exactly what that will look like, but as long as I keep making content that’s authentic to me and to hip-hop then I hope I can bridge that gap more.”

Q: Based on what I see from your work, you’re extremely thoughtful, analytical and objective in your breakdown of music. Is this a default approach, or is it something where you need to set time aside to really listen to a project, or an artist’s collections and fully grasp it?

DG: “This definitely is my default approach, my whole life I’ve been the type of person to research everything about a particular movie or show that I’m into, and the same goes for music. When creating my videos, while I am naturally driven to have a full understanding of the topic, its also motivated by doing the music justice. There aren’t a lot of videos on most of the artists and topics that I choose, so if I am the definitive voice of information on that topic, I want to make sure that I am not half assing it. When I first started my channel I was trying to do 1 video a week, but that ended up leaving them feeling rushed and unfinished. Specifically when I got to my video on the Alchemist, it was a 5 minute video trying to talk about an over 30 year career. It was at that point that I realized that if I wanted to be proud of my work, I would need to go deeper and provide more of a full story for the viewers.”

Q: What do you want your work to do for yourself, for others and for hip-hop overall? Where will we see Def Goldbloom in the short term (say, this time next year) and beyond in the long term?

DG: “This channel is really my creative outlet, during quarantine I found myself needing a way to express myself outside of the mundanity of my everyday life. Through these videos I’ve been able to make art that I hope can be a companion piece to the music I love so much. My sort of mission whenever I make a video is that I want to make something that I would want to watch. So I hope that theres people out there that I can scratch a similar itch for. In a year from now my main thing is I just want to be better at making these videos. I try to get a little better with every one but I’m still far from where I want to be. In the long term I have high hopes. I’ve gotten so much joy out of this channel and the wonderful people that I’ve met since I’ve started creating. I hope that someday I will be able to do something in this vein for a career, whether or not that means creating content as Def Goldbloom on Youtube full time, or making videos of some kind in the industry remains to be seen.”

Q: Lastly, tell us what Def Goldbloom has on repeat right now, and who features heavily whenever you hit a play button?

DG: “Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Al.Divino, Mach-Hommy, Count Bass D, Chris Crack, and of course Blu as always.”

Q: Any final words you'd like to say?

DG: “First I’d like to thank you for asking me to be a part of this, it really means a lot. Besides that, make sure you check out my channel, https://youtube.com/defgoldbloom I have a whole lot of videos planned for 2022 that I’m very excited about so I hope you all come along for the ride with me.”

Mach-Hommy is an artist and a showman. He’s put every ounce of his inventiveness to work in order to create, distribute and brand his art. He enjoyed a fruitful year in 2021, but it was the product of years of building. As always, people see the success, but the grind often goes unnoticed. In Mach-Hommy’s case though, the grind is arguably more headline-worthy than the fruits of his labour - which is impressive in itself given the sheer quality of his “Pray For Haiti” album and other bodies of work in his stacked catalogue. Not one to rest on his laurels, he followed up with a second brilliant project in 2021 too, titled “Balens Cho”.

For this piece, having an insight or background into Mach’s journey is a must. I consume hip-hop related content far and wide in my spare time, so believe me when I say you will not find a better analysis or explanation than this short video on Youtube produced by Def Goldbloom.

The reason I described Mach as a showman should now be quite clear to see. Mach has complete control over his work and how he choses to deliver it to his audiences - whether small or large scale, niche or to the masses. His anonymity and inconspicuousness in the modern age is impressive and fascinating. At a time where everybody is throwing their hats into rings, Mach-Hommy lurks in the shadows before picking his moments to strike. When he does, it’s a full-blown barrage of hip-hop mastery.

Mach-Hommy’s creative capacity and vision to create an abstract world parallel to his stage persona/alter ego is a staggering display of genius and flair. We’ve seen this brilliant execution with other acts too, namely MF DOOM’s villainous adventures and The Wu-Tang Clan’s cosmic, warrior-like and superhero themed excursions, but Mach-Hommy has upped it a notch. He’s mastered the art of overlapping his own reality with ours, which is evident in his ability to monetise his entire operation through his pricing strategy and supply-chain logistics. It’s not that everybody wants a piece of Mach, but those that do fight tooth and nail to be part of his expansion.

[Usually, I would post parts/chunks of lyrics from the song that includes the headline, but Mach-Hommy is known for not wanting his lyrics to be published for reading - see here for details. So I will respect the artist’s wishes.]

For Mach-Hommy, middle-ground simply cannot exist. He can’t release mediocrity with the security of knowing he can bounce-back with more corporate sponsored studio time and a plethora of features on speed-dial or an email away. He releases supreme quality with the constant threat of a piano hovering over his head, ready to drop at any moment. Is it madness, or even insanity, that he’s the one dangling it over himself? If anything, it’s what symbolises the beauty of his journey the most and why his bar of wisdom paints his approach to hip-hop so vividly.

When you really care, you put the pressure on yourself to go that extra mile. Manifesting desired outcomes are a product of setting high standards or expectations of yourself. This is Mach’s sense of identity. His savviness in his mic-skills are matched by his business acumen and marketing wizardry, which stretch far beyond his mystery and enigma. From a man who accompanies his release with a trust fund set-up to donate the profits of his own sweat back to his people, you can see why he likens spitting his verses or dropping mastermind projects to staring down the barrel of a loaded gun, as he so eloquently raps.

Mach-Hommy means business. He means change. He ‘s a different kettle of fish with the sole purpose of helping his fellow countrymen through times of desperation. He found a way to propel his message and cause without having to come up short. When it all concludes, he can look back on a journey that scored a full house on the table that secured his 1000 true fans, enriched himself and left a legacy to inspire the next generation. Every creator in the world can learn from the wisdom of Mach-Hommy. And if you can’t grasp it? Your loss.

“The artist should never try to be popular. Rather the public should be more artistic.”

Oscar Wilde

Do yourself justice, utilise your mind.

WhosAria

PS. I am excited to share that on next week’s edition of Bars Of Wisdom, I’ll be sharing a Q&A with Def Goldbloom, the creator of the sensational Youtube video linked earlier. We’ll talk all things hip-hop, Mach-Hommy, his content and more.

A Word On The Song/Artist

I can’t say I’ve dug deep into Mach Hommy’s catalogue to the same extent as my man Def Goldbloom did above, but I can most certainly say that I am equally as impressed and blown away every time I tune in to hear what the man has to say. Simply put, the minute I heard this song, and in particular this line, I knew I was going to write about it. The underground scene is experiencing a renaissance at the moment, and Mach-Hommy is an artist (and person in general) at the forefront you should know about. Make no mistake, “Pray For Haiti” will be seen as a very important project in years to come, musically and beyond. Mach is on a path to artistic and moral greatness.

As this is the final post of the year, Happy Holidays and have a great New Year.

See you in 2022 for more articles and more content!

But anyway, let’s get back to business…

The music industry has always been about managing the conflict between artists and business. The current climate of the business side can leave much to be desired for some. Streams are the focus. Social media platforms are the number one strategy for creating a buzz - it’s a core component of any artist’s marketing. It’s easy to understand why fans and listeners alike have become disenfranchised. Interests in beefs and feuds (synthetic or otherwise), or varying sources of controversy and gossip seem to have trumped your traditional billing of talent from yesteryear. Labels aren’t stupid of course, there’s no such thing as bad publicity after all. Indeed, strong cases can be made for artists having their creativity stifled and being locked in golden handcuffs.

This phenomena is further exacerbated in the world of hip-hop, as what was once a niche genre has now catapulted far and wide into areas of the mainstream that even The Notorious B.I.G. himself couldn’t have predicted. Hip-hop (and it’s sub-genres) has borne the brunt of this industry-wide “problem” and subsequent criticisms, with both fair and unfair accusations. These range from being called an oversaturated market, lacking in originality and constantly being labelled inauthentic.

Hip-hop having it’s integrity as an art form questioned is nothing new per se. “Thug Music”, “Gang Culture”, “Misogynistic”; Hip-hop has overcome generalised accusations rooted in hostility, ignorance and just plain old hating on many an occasion, past and present. Only time will tell if “Mumble Rap” joins these as yet another soundbite in a long line of plots to downplay a powerful force in music and culture. Of course, some valid criticisms prove true. Many current artists produce sub-par music with a very obvious shelf-life and are unable to cut it at the top. They tend to dwindle away in their natural course (Cole tried to warn you), but not every contributor should be painted with the same brush. As with everything else in life, the strong will survive and cream will rise to the top.

The artists that last will, as always, be the ones who hit the sweet spot of maintaining their artistic integrity whilst accepting that they need their work to be marketable, which brings me on to Lil Baby. He has been the man of the moment in hip-hop for the past couple of years or so, with 2021 being no exception. With 9 projects to his name in the space of 5 years and counting, both as a solo artist or collaboratively, Lil Baby seems to have entered the race at 100mph without even looking at his brake pedals yet - he probably has no idea where they’re located. Whether he’s dropping solo work, collaborating with his regular confidants or hopping on features, he produces solid verses and hooks that yield a level of consistency many have fallen short of.

His flow is magnetic, his distinct delivery is intoxicating and his confidence has no limit. Quite simply, he makes hot songs in bulk. He is a rap superstar who’s rousing a generation of fans with his hunger to grow and make music that’s symbolic of his time. At 27 years of age, he’s featured on every single mainstream album of note at the start of this decade. The likes of Kanye West, J. Cole, Drake and Polo G have sought his input and expertise in the past 2 years alone to supplement his already impressive catalogue and track record. But there’s method to Lil Baby’s madness, and it’s clear to see why he is such a hot commodity that attracts so much attention.

Lil Baby has bet on himself and gone all in, and you can draw many parallels between his movements and that of a successful entrepreneur. In his lyrics, he regularly explores themes of hardship, breaking out of poverty and dealing with his fame as it scales. His debut album, “Harder Than Ever”, off the back of his mixtape furore, captures this ascent throughout. Lil Baby appears to realise he’s carving a lane for himself and doubles down throughout the project. His song “Fit In” is a sombre reflection of such where he shows his range on the microphone and in the studio. Lil Baby appears to be on board with the current climate, whether by design or by coincidence.

“I'm only getting in where I fit in,

This is a two-seater you cannot sit in…”

He may not be a wordsmith with his lyrics in the mould of predecessors from older eras, but Lil Baby knows how to put his style of song together with ease and get his message across. He’s a hustler on a mission, and this resonates across the board in multiple walks of life. His music is fast paced when it needs to be, and reflective on other occasions. This adaptability to satisfy stakeholders from all corners - fans, listeners, executives or otherwise - will keep in him high in demand (case in point, his “Hurricane” verse off DONDA - who’d have thought he could do gospel rap too?).

The music industry was and always will be a business first, something I’ve discussed from both perspectives in two of my previous articles linked below. But the way I see it, whatever the free market asks of him, Lil Baby duly obliges and gives you a guaranteed product that provides a solid output and return. Like he says, he’s only going in where he fits in. Just like any successful entrepreneur, he is a businessman with a goal who doesn’t settle or compromise on his winning formula. In that sense, he keeps his artistic integrity intact, as he satisfies his own ambition and anybody who joins forces with him.

Bars Of Wisdom

008: "She Thinking Phillipe, I'm Thinking Wingstop..."

Friends, Due to a very busy personal schedule, I was only able to deliver one article last month. I will be doing my best to ensure this is a one-off, but shit happens sometimes. But anyway, let’s get back to business…

Read more

5 years ago · WhosAria

Bars Of Wisdom

009: "I Don't Need To Turn Myself Into A Parody, I Don't Do The Shit You Do For Popularity..."

Lauryn Hill embodies the spirit of an artist throughout every inch and fibre of her being. Of all the lists of superlatives one could use to describe her stratospheric talents, the one that I would like to go for today is… Cryptic. Lauryn Hill has a poetic ability to say so much with so little and make her words open to interpretation. The result? An en…

Read more

5 years ago · WhosAria

It’s a shame that those who are “the best” don’t necessarily make it or have the recognition for their talents as such, and we’d like to think that this will improve sooner rather than later. But then again, what industry in the world offers pure meritocracy anyway? Is it a music problem, or is it just how the world works? Is it the music industry that specifically needs changing, or is it people, culture and the system? Talent and ability will find ways to shine, albeit with more abstract approaches, but Lil Baby seems to have found the remedy for these uncertainties in true entrepreneurial fashion, applying a methodical product-market fit that even my boys down at Rational VC would be proud of!

Do yourself justice, utilise your mind.

WhosAria

A Word On The Song/Artist

I like Lil Baby’s music. It’s to be appreciated for what it is. I think he unfairly gets thrown into the same bag as other artists, which goes back to what was said in this post’s third paragraph. Nevertheless, if I’m kicking back for a night in, getting pumped for the gym or just keeping something energetic playing in the background of a long drive, he’s an artist I turn to in order to satisfy multiple requirements or moods. He’s got hits and a lot of gems scattered across his work, and while he may have lapses of inconsistencies or songs that were a bad match, I place him at the positive tail end of current, active artists. He’s no slouch lyrically either, and knows how to make his product sound and feel good. “Fit In” is a track that gives me a lot of replay value, and although his first album had some songs that didn’t work, this was one of the highlights reminiscent of the formulas that made his mixtape catalogue enjoyable.

I have “Fit In” included in my “WhosAria Presents… The Lounge - The Hip-Hop Lounge Music Playlist: Vol. 2” playlist which you can listen to on Apple or Spotify alongside other volumes and concept playlists. Like, follow and share my profiles/playlists to stay up-to-date with all of my current and future playlist collections.

You may recall from my About page that I intend for this newsletter to branch out from time to time and break down life lessons from mediums other than hip-hop too. Well, this is the first edition doing as such.

I hope that you will all find the same value (or more) in these type of newsletter posts like you do from the lyrics used in past and future articles.

But anyway, let’s get back to business…

The Wire is brilliant. The show is a masterpiece from start to finish. There isn’t much I can say that hasn’t been said about it’s influence and overall quality already. I first watched all of season 1 a number of years ago, before following up with randomly scattered episodes from the remaining seasons over the course of a 1-2 year period. I absolutely loved it at the time, but appreciated that it was a must to watch it all again in chronological order. I recently decided to do this, watching the series from start to finish, uninterrupted in it’s intended sequence. My motivation to do so was mainly out of curiosity and entertainment, but also to piece it all together through the lens of a now adult viewpoint.

Magnificent. Genius. Monumental. Even better than I remembered it. The Wire is a mirror to the reality of so many lives that the common person has no idea about and is a hugely important piece of television that I implore people to watch if they haven’t done so already. In fact, even if you have, watch it again, and again, and again every few years or so. The show is so spectacularly layered that it behoves you to absorb it retrospectively as the world continues to change whilst the same societal issues remain constant. HBO don’t miss.

I’d like to bring a scene from season 1, episode 5 to your collective attention. D’Angelo Barksdale and his new flame Donette go out for a high end dinner on a crisp Baltimore evening. Without giving too much away to those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of seeing The Wire yet, the backdrop is as follows:

• D’Angelo Barksdale, nephew to kingpin Avon Barksdale, has been acquitted of a murder charge

• D’Angelo has been assigned to a low-level territory to carry out his hustling duties on behalf of his uncle’s network

• Due to the environment D’Angelo finds himself working in and interacting with, he cuts a somewhat disenfranchised figure who is not at total ease with every day life

• There are multiple instances and moments where D’Angelo demonstrates his intelligence and competence - he has untapped potential being wasted away in a life of crime

• D’Angelo has multiple encounters with police officers, which leads his uncle Avon to warn him that there may be a snitch in his ranks, adding more fuel to the fire of his overall unrest toward the life he leads

• The dinner scene:

In summary, D’Angelo appears to be experiencing some form of imposter syndrome. He becomes aware that he’s too good to be patrolling low rise dealings, experiencing one too many unpleasant encounters with societies’ forgotten. On the other hand, when he tries to place himself in more rewarding surroundings, he questions his own validity, which is only compounded when he doesn’t pick up the normal mannerisms in said domain. This is a primary reason why I feel those of you who have watched The Wire before, should absolutely watch it again, because these paradox’s are all too familiar in other avenues of life.

I am purposefully going to steer clear of going into this topic in detail, as I do not see myself as somebody with enough experience or knowledge of dealing with, seeing or addressing these type of feelings. What I do know is that, amongst my generation (millennials, people in their 20s/30s right now), this seems to be a very regular feeling and a barrier people wish to overcome in order to level up in some capacity; professionally, socially or personally. There are a lot of articles and literature available to use as an example, but this very quick summary by Forbes is a decent round up.

Of course, the finer details of D'Angelo Barksdale’s emotions are much more sensitive, but cinema, music and art act as a window into the real world. What I take away from this scene is that, much like many topics of conversation now, there are parallels between modern societies’ uncertainties around everyday life, regardless of the specificity of the factors people are dealing with. Human thoughts and concerns remain the same in all areas, as we can see with D’Angelo, who is experiencing very relatable problems such as:

• What is my purpose?

• Am I really happy?

• Is the money worth it?

• Am I truly free?

"Don't Nobody Give A Damn About You Or Your Story. You Got Money, You Get To Be Whatever You Say You Are..."

Whether Donette’s intention was to uplift him by shining a light on the positive aspects of his life (in this case, the financial rewards) or to dismiss his problems by referencing said financial wellbeing is for the viewer to decide. But we’ve seen this type of narrative and overall taboo around mental health, our relationship with money and misunderstanding of privileges play out all too often - think “shut up and dribble”.

In the social media age, having a following and the ability to influence magnifies this concept and disconnect more so, in my opinion. Whether by design or coincidence, if you’re able to manipulate the algorithms in your favour and “juke the stats” (see another The Wire reference below), you can literally be whoever you want to display yourself as, whether it fits into your comfort zone or not.

We joke about trader scams, random rises in cults of personality (especially of far-right and far-left political figures), self-proclaimed models, cryptocurrency opportunists and so forth, but with enough following and a community vouching for the specific content people put out, who’s to say they can’t be whatever they say they are? Clout is currency after all in the 21st century. You’re one rebrand away from being a politician, freedom fighter or financial expert with no questions asked. It’s no surprise that the feeling of identity has been lost, or at least put on the backburner for folks.

By now, we are all very aware of how technology has caused great joy and pain simultaneously. For every bit of knowledge we can grab, there’s a plethora of misinformation ready to intercept. For every loved one we connect with, there’s a chancer looking to play on those said emotions for their own personal gain. The mental health issues spawned from incessant, fabricated interactions are well known, and D’Angelo’s plight, although focused more around money, is almost a like for like situation. Material things, or labels, that can vanish in the blink of an eye at any given moment, are not the sole determinant of a healthy, rewarding lifestyle. It giveth and it taketh in equal measure.

So to round off, I’d like to revisit my second paragraph again, where I encourage you, the reader, to watch this show and any other grand piece of art or creative expression/outlet with your full attention repeatedly. I really meant it. Your attention is currently up for grabs at every corner you turn to, so ignore the cheap, quick plays and dedicate some time to consume thought-provoking, authentic content regardless of device or platform.

Do yourself justice, utilise your mind.

WhosAria

Both photos used in this piece are by Paul Schiraldi.

He was a complex man with even more complex thoughts and ideas. Prodigy possessed and displayed a steel and resilience in his life, music and how he interacted with the world around him that was to be admired. Perhaps he was an overthinker attempting to homogenise his feelings into more formal proposals, or he was an inquisitive student of life searching for connections and meaning to the world we live in through trial and error. Regardless, he was able to stimulate minds across the world with his profound ability to communicate, be it through his raps or otherwise.

With Havoc, he formed a group that is etched in hip-hop royalty for as long as the world spins. As a solo artist, he showed charisma and personality in abundance to carry projects and songs on his own. Away from his notepad, he wrote books, open letters and had plans to bring movies and documentaries to life onto our screens. Prodigy was a polymath whose talents shined away from the microphone as well. Unfortunately, he passed away before he was able to complete the entirety of his goals. His music however continues to live forever.

The strength of Prodigy’s character, the depth of his analytical thoughts and overall mental toughness were visible traits in his rhymes from the moment he burst on to the hip-hop scene. Mobb Deep flew out of the traps with their hardcore, rugged and murky songs that penetrated listeners’ receptors from the first second. Street life, dark times of living impoverished and the challenges to survive were constant themes they explored. In their second album in particular, the classic “The Infamous”, Mobb Deep were able to perfectly capture their rise through the desperate circumstances they faced whilst continuing to bring an artistic edge to their music, both production-wise and lyrically.

Prodigy was no stranger to articulating his opinions around politics, sociology and general knowledge/understanding too, whether controversially or not. He continued in this vein, focusing especially on conspiracy theories around governments and mass media - “Illuminati want my mind, soul and my body” being one of his most iconic soundbites. This subject would ultimately be the focus of his creative output during his final days too, as he was reportedly working on a documentary/musical around the topic. Prodigy was never afraid to voice his opinion despite the sensitivity of the material at hand; in fact, in true Prodigy fashion, he’d double down on these thoughts and would maintain his beliefs. While I personally do not agree with Prodigy’s conclusions around these matters, I have full admiration for how he always looked forward and seized opportunities and dialogue regardless of risk and any opposition. This is none more evident than how Prodigy started off his verse in “Survival Of The Fittest” - a song that is quintessentially Mobb Deep and personifies the golden era of hip-hop.

“There's a war going on outside no man is safe from,

You could run, but you can't hide forever…”

This particular Bar Of Wisdom holds so much weight and value. For starters, it is exactly the type of outlook and narrative we expect to hear from Prodigy; it just makes it that little bit more powerful to be the very first thing he says on the track. But what I find most inspiring is that Prodigy developed and maintained this viewpoint on his lifestyle even when the chips were truly down. Whether it was with Havoc, his own solo material or features and collaborations, you can’t help but feel that it was all on the line for him with every verse he laid. This proved true for him as he was battling through sickle cell anaemia whilst still dedicating his energy towards his craft, making a difference and taking a firm stance through his art. It goes back to his steel, resilience, strength of mind and character. He moved full steam ahead despite the many wars he encountered in life.

Prodigy’s mindset, logic and philosophy for life are key transferrable lesson fans or the general public can takeaway. Most importantly though is, as stated in his wisdom, “you can run but you can’t hide forever”. Here was a man who was aware he was on borrowed time due to his health conditions but still made every moment, every ounce of his energy used be counted. He is somebody who, in the face of uphill battles growing up and becoming a man, decided and succeeded in taking matters into his own hands. He is somebody who voiced his feelings about the way the world works in public, open for all to engage and and give feedback on. Prodigy was fearless and would seek approval from nobody but himself. When somebody has this kind of character, regardless of differences in opinions and findings, you simply have to give them their due respect - it’s what they’ve earnt and rightfully commanded. I can’t help but feel that this needs to resonate now more than ever in the midst of culture wars, tribalism and cults of personality being a regular, everyday fixture in the modern, digitised world.

Do yourself justice, utilise your mind.

WhosAria

A Word On The Song/Artist

Havoc’s use of guitar riffs throughout “The Infamous” was exceptional, with the beats for “Shook Ones Part II” and for this song, “Survival Of The Fittest” being standouts. Mobb Deep’s prime cannot be ignored and have been regular nominees when discussing the peaks of hip-hop in the 90s (and in general of course). The legendary duo made timeless songs and projects together despite their ups and downs, and Prodigy’s impact individually adds more greatness to the legend of Mobb Deep. May he rest in power.