3dkurls-blog

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3D KURLS - DREAMFLIGHT (prod. Hidden Oasis & 3D KURLS)

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808s & Heartbreaks: The Future of Mainstream Hip-Hop

In one of the 2000+ Facebook meme groups I am a member of, someone asked what the future of hip-hop would be. Right now, if you turn on the radio, the sound is clear: triplet flows, stuttering trap hi-hats, melodic auto-tune, and horror-movie esque Nexus riffs. I immediately had an answer, but I knew people were gonna hate it: the future of hip-hop is emo.  Emo hip-hop is not by any means new, and the definition is purely relative. The earlier emotionally heavy lyrical workings of Joe Budden can be categorized as “Emo Rap” just as easily as Lil Uzi Vert could be. But when I refer to “Emo Rap,” my definition is a little more straightforward: the combination of conventional hip-hop drums with rock/emo instrumentation and sad sung/rap lyrics. There are three artists in particular I’d like to single out, those being Post Malone, Lil Peep, and XXXTentacion. Post Malone has positioned himself as the Kid Rock of the 2010′s, seemingly ready to switch up to country or alternative rock once the trend of mainstream trap dies down. However, unlike Kid Rock, Post Malone is an incredible singer, has a great ear for melodies, and has an unconventional knack for fusing traditional rock instrumentation with hip-hop flavorings. Just take a peek at his Beerbongs and Bentleys album, which assaults your eardrums with just as many trap snares as it does electric guitars. Post Malone is arguably the most prominent of many artists who are bringing the still appealing aspects of rock and roll into the next generation of artists. The other is Lil Peep.  Although Peep spent a short time on this Earth, his unique fusion of pop punk and trap was stylistically unique, sampling everyone from Hot Topic favorites like Brand New and Avenged Sevenfold to indie darlings like Giles Corey and The Microphones. The only significant artist to compare him to is BONES, who, even then, doesn’t compare in terms of dedication and development related to this style. Peep even took it a step further on his debut album Come Over When You’re Sober Part 1, using original guitar and bass instrumentation over programmed trap beats. Peep’s influence can be seen far across the soundwaves of the internet, with artists like Lil Xan, nothing, nowhere, and Lil Lotus cutting off pieces of Peep’s aesthetic and repurposing them within their own sound. With emo rappers only becoming more prominent, I don’t see Peep’s influence going anytime soon.  Although it may be hard to separate art from the artist in the case of XXXTentacion, it cannot be ignored that he still delivered a chart topping album in the form of ?, despite receiving virtually no press from any major music outlets. X has switched from his screaming-distorted-808-borderline-punk style to the type of lo-fi emo that serves as the perfect soundtrack to a sad AMV in 2018. If you thought his breakout track “Look At Me” was big, get a load of “Sad!” which peaked at #9 on Billboard. X prides himself on dabbling in multiple styles, but it seems his emo tinged songs are bringing him the most success. While Peep and Post seem to blur the definition between rapper and singer, X makes a clear distinction in his music, and opens the doors for future hip-hop artists to explore multiple genres while still being able to mesh with mainstream rap.  There is another side of emo hip-hop that I have not yet discussed. Equally inspired by Metal as it is Memphis, artists such as Ghostemane, $uicideboy$, and Scarlxrd are leading the underground in more aggressive and hardcore hip-hop. If there’s anything else you want me to talk about or analyze (from any genre, not just hip-hop) feel free to fill my inbox with some love.  - 3D

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The Oddity of Modern Eminem

In April of 2018, Eminem closed out both weekends of Coachella, following two epic and critically acclaimed performances from Beyoncé. Beyoncé was meant to play in 2017, but due to her pregnancy with THE TWINS™, she was forced to postpone her set. It seems clear Beyoncé asked to play on Saturday for whatever reason (similar to how Paul McCartney only appears to play on the Friday of any festival appears), leaving Coachella scrambling to find a headliner massive enough to close out the festival. 2017 would have been perfect, with Sunday-night closer Kendrick Lamar at the highest point in his career to date, debuting his now pulitzer-prize winning DAMN live after releasing it the Friday of the fest. His ascendance from the bottom of the line-up to bona fide headliner status was a true spectacle, one that could easily equal Beyoncé’s in terms of star power and hype. Instead, Coachella booked the most popular rapper from 2003 who had just released the worst album of his career. Now, my issue with Eminem is not about Eminem himself. Yes, there have been thousands of articles regarding his privilege as a white man in hip-hop (which, to Eminem’s credit, he was quick to address) and about how some of “edgier” lyrics have either aged poorly or are considered embarrassing by modern standards. These topics have been debated since he became relevant in the late 90′s, and are still being debated long after his relevancy has declined. But I find that the biggest issue with Eminem still being mentioned today lies within his favorite lyrical topic: himself. If you were around in the early 2000′s, you remember the controversy Eminem created. The Slim Shady LP, his major label debut, created the mythos of Eminem the rapper, showing us a man who truly doesn’t give a fuck, talking about killing his ex-wife, his mother, celebrities, and anyone else who gets in his way. To his credit, he was more versatile in this era, switching from serious songs about living in poverty (”Rock Bottom”) to tracks about giving people too much mushrooms (”My Fault”). The shitstorm this album created in the media definitely granted Eminem to talk about his personal experiences: his newfound celebrity status, the boycotts centered around him, and the fact that, despite his best intentions, he became one of the pop stars he loathed so dearly. But now that Eminem is not the king of the rap game (or, for that matter, the music world in general) it doesn’t make much sense as to why anybody would give a shit.  “The Real Slim Shady” is about how everyone is trying to act like Eminem. Won’t the Real Slim Shady please stand up? Haha! Yes! “The Way I Am” is about how Eminem is uncomfortable with being the biggest star in the world. Don’t ask for this madman’s autograph, he’s eating, woah! “Without Me” is literally about how everybody won’t stop discussing Eminem (this must mean he’s disgusting). “Stan” is about how Eminem’s star status has grown so large, that his fans are literally going crazy over him. Wow, what a popular guy! And, yeah, the dude still has a sizeable fanbase. I’m still a little surprised when I see an Eminem fan pop up in a hip-hop discussion with a folder full of “LIL WAYNE SUX!!!111 LOL” memes that have been stale since the day they were created. Even his deeper cuts, like “Criminal” and “White America” tend to discuss the audacity of Eminem as a celebrity. And bars in songs like “Kill You” relate to him being given the Rolling Stone cover.

At this point I feel it’s important to confess something: I still love Eminem. seeing him at Lollapalooza in 2011 is still one of the top 3 shows I’ve ever been to (the other two are Kanye on the Yeezus tour and Fatboy Slim at Ultra in 2012). I know every word to “Without Me,” “Stan,” “The Real Slim Shady,” as is the case with every other angry white boy from that era. I am still in love with his cartoonish flows and awful beat selections, his horribly dated references to people like Fred Durst and Tom Green, every bar and rhyme fills my soul with joy. But out of his contemporaries, Eminem was by far the most short sighted. Song like “Song Cry” and “Gold Digger” have aged amazingly, because they understand that the rapper does not have to be the center of attention at all times. Sometimes, being in control of the mic is enough, the freedom to be able to express yourself in anyway you please is part of the experience. Eminem wouldn’t get this concept until 2010′s “Love The Way You Lie,” a song that finally places Eminem in the shoes of a character that was not Eminem. And it was a hit! A tremendous comeback after albums like “Encore” and “Relapse” (technically this comeback was made with “Not Afraid,” but I’m totally okay with pretending this song never happened if you are).

Hip-hop is an interesting genre in that it’s artists seemingly break the 4th wall, talking about themselves and real life events in relation to the listener and the world around them, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that the songs will date themselves if removed from their point of reference. Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy contains a number of songs that allude to his 2009 controversy at VMA’s, but never address it directly, instead making songs like “Gorgeous,” which contains the chorus “No more chances if you blow this, you bogus I will never ever let you live this down, down, down.” If you were around during the controversy this line becomes an instant connection, but without it, the song still stands as a statement on being forgiven for mistakes. Beyoncé and Jay-Z both made super personal albums about their relationship (Lemonade and 4:44 respectively) but the albums still stand on their own removed from the storyline that was woven around it. Kendrick Lamar’s albums are definitely about his own personal experiences, but Kendrick also understands the need for his songs to transcend himself, creating albums like To Pimp a Butterfly about the black experience, not necessarily Kendrick’s black experience. Even Drake, who is does not always receive the lyrical recognition he deserves (ghost writers aside), is able to craft personal stories that are  still immediately relatable, which is what turned albums like Take Care into modern hip-hop classics.

At one point during his Coachella set, Eminem takes the time to read some mean tweets, with Jimmy Kimmel appearing on screen to introduce his own popular segment. Eminem proceeds to read one that asks “ Remember when Eminem was actually dope?” Eminem is quick to respond: “He kinda has a point. Coachella, can I take you back to a time when I was actually good?” Eminem’s modern presence can almost entirely be owed to nostalgia, a novelty that slowly fades with each passing second. It’s good that Eminem is self aware about his place in the modern music climate, but it’s also heartbreaking. As his contemporaries see new phases and heights in their careers (Kanye, Jay-Z, and Gucci Mane are all currently thriving in the current rap climate), it looks as though The Real Slim Shady may have finally sat down.

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ROCK & ROLL IS DEAD [RANT 1 OF 1000]

And there’s nothing you can do about it.  Well, let me clarify. Rock music isn’t dead. There’s definitely still rock music out there, otherwise, we wouldn’t all be sitting around complaining about Imagine Dragons. But the idea that rock music is the almighty, be-all-end-all genre has been destroyed.  People seem to forget that when hip-hop was in its early days, after disco and funk, the rock crates were being dug through. And not just groups like the Beastie Boys; people always seem to forget that Run DMC had session musicians doing solos and laying down riffs for them, they very rarely sampled. LL Cool J was put power cords in to strengthen songs like “Rock The Bells.” There was no real “hip-hop” scene back then, rap had to find its way through rock and pop music. But when the DJs were the ones making the sounds come to life, and rappers were controlling the crowd, people started realizing a few things. They realized they don’t need to cry anymore if they can’t find a drummer, guitarist, bassist, or keyboardist, you can program things, you can sample, you can make due to make your voice heard. 

Imagine if Public Enemy didn’t use sampling. Imagine is KANYE didn’t use sampling. What kind of fucking world would that be? Not the timeline I would want to live in. So many riffs and rhythms and melodies get reused with conventional instruments, why the fuck shouldn’t we sample, especially when The Bomb Squad and the Dust Brothers were crafting advanced sound collages that were both technically inspiring and dance floor ready? We don’t need “conventional” instruments. This has been the case since Raymond Scott figured out how to make “Lightworks,” but it took a few decades for people to really figure it out.  Name me one guitarist that was doing anything as interesting as Skrillex was in 2011. Give me a rock lyricist who was saying what Kendrick Lamar was saying. Tough, right? It’s not really the fault of rock artists. I mean, it sort of is, but that’s not what I’m getting at. When you listen to rock music, listen to how it’s mixed. The drums and bass buried behind a brutal lead guitar and vocals mixed to match the lead. But people wanted to move, and no matter how dancey your LCD Soundsystem records are, the ones where the drums and bass are mixed louder than the lead melody were the ones on the floor, or better yet, the ones where the bass WAS the lead melody. In hip-hop now, the drums and bass combine, with the bass basically being an extension of the kick. The vocals are the standard vocals AND the guitar, especially in melodic artists like Future, Young Thug, and Lil Yachty. They’re aggressive, they’re singing, you can hear their raw power, but their melodies carry them and draw you in. I’m gonna talk more about this, probably in a way that’s a little more concentrated or organized, but I needed to get this out in the universe. The Rock Age is dead, long live this wild and wonderful new age of music that we should all feel lucky to experience.

- 3D