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The Talented Ten: On Rhymes That Break the Mainstream Sound Barrier
by Maya Smorodinsky
Like most Russian immigrant dads, mine was always curious, but
condescending about why I preferred “noise” to “real music.” defending
hip-hop quickly became as much about standing behind a movement of
dissent as it was about explaining why I felt the beats so strongly.
From the infamous Biggy Smalls, to my recent discovery of the
Perceptionists and their anti-war song “Memorial Day,” hip-hop has
become a space for condemning social ills and rewriting dominant
misconceptions.
Unfortunately, today’s hip-hop has been hijacked by an insular
community of high-profile producers and record labels, and any
political hip-hop must submit to their non-underground tactics to get
an audience. How then can genuine hip-hop artists break through in this
commodified era of music creation? The Sky Beneath crew has one answer.
The label, which features five MCs, two vocalists, and three
producers/DJs, from Seattle, New York, and abroad, has produced an
explosive album with particular resonance among the disillusioned youth
counter-culture.
Their independent album harbors a variety of musical styles; each
song has it’s own particular flavor, intertwining reggae, Cuban jazz,
rap, hip-hop, and other rocking beats. In their track “Cubano,” their
lyrical styles are set against a Latin tempo, rapping about their own
distinctive and progressive visions, as well as “on the subject of
suspect warmongers.” Later tracks, such as “MLK Day” and “Police
Brutality” have a more melancholy, incisive tone, directly speaking to
contemporary issues.
As many of my favorite hip-hop albums, this one also features an
interlude: several seconds of intense, spoken wisdom. Track five
addresses how hip-hop originated in the Black and Latino communities in
the United States, but has become an international phenomenon. Even
Prague, with its notable lack of diversity, has an underground reggae
scene, though the Czech MCs are mostly white guys with dreads who sing
in deep Jamaican accents. Whether or not these packed reggae bars are a
fleeting fad or some manifestation of trans-national solidarity is up
for interpretation; the point is that hip-hop is felt, strongly, across
all kinds of borders.
The Sky Beneath’s most recent album is powerful and refreshing,
but their concept is not necessarily new. Instead, in a very Sky
Beneath-esque manner, the crew has built upon generations of hip-hop
innovators (their influences include Mos Def and De La Soul) and
they’ve collaborated to form a unique and outspoken set of rhythmic
masterpieces. The sounds and beats of hip-hop are not singular, and
this album fights hard to reveal that multiplicity and to infuse a
robust sense of social justice into the hip-hop scene. |
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Northwest US