"Like Cochran...you'll never keep me boxed in"

Take A Ride
Written by K. Billy

I hate boxes. I really do.

Why? Well, they represent a sense of confinement, a kind of encapsulation. Boxes are meant to contain. So, that being said, I abhor boxes whether they be of the cardboard variety or on the U.S. census.

This is especially true when it comes to music, even more so when it comes to hip-hop. I’ll never be one to admit that I was always a hip-hop fan. I didn’t really start following it until the 6th grade; the year that “Crossroads” came out. That alone should tell you where I come from as it pertains to this genre. Bone Thugs at their core could be called hip-hop, but they could also be called a rather neat fusion of gospel and R&B with some old school scat influences. Having that as my benchmark, I find it easy to see why I am so psyched about Kanye West’s latest project “808’s and Heartbreak.”

I’ve heard quite few people talk about the tracks he’s released (officially and unofficially) so far and the reception is quite mixed with very little middle ground. It’ll either be his worst album or his best, depending on your point of view. Personally, if one is going to put hip-hop in it’s own box of lyrics + bass heavy beat = dope hip-hop, then one will probably be disappointed, at least from the tracks I’ve heard (“Paranoid” and “Street Lights” come to mind). However, if one is willing to accept that, at this point in his career, Mr. West is attempting to build something bigger than hip-hop in it’s traditional sense, then “808’s” is a much easier pill to swallow, especially if you look at his progression from “College Dropout” to “Graduation.”

In a time when formulas are so rampant and artists tend to be afraid to just try something new, what I’ve been hearing from ‘Ye, while not always “dope” is always refreshing to my senses. Yet, you are reading the opinion of someone who has on his play list The Doors, Fall Out Boy, OutKast, Jay-Z, M.I.A. and Johnny Cash in that order. I’ve always preferred it when artists went away from the norm and tended to like it when no one else was really digging what said artist was releasing. Kanye, from what I have heard, is beginning to make a sort of “world-hop,” incorporating styles from the electronica heavy songs of UK pop, tribal drums and lilting rhythms from the streets of South Africa and Madonna-esque dance pop into his “brand” of hip-hop, which is what his has become.

I’ll reiterate, if you’ve been paying attention, you could kind of see this album coming, especially considering the terribly daunting circumstances that led up to his performance of “Love Lockdown” at the 2008 MTV VMA’s. There are some who would stand pat in their affirmation that “his music is not hip-hop anymore.” But, then didn’t hip-hop start as a raw expression of emotional struggle and mental despair? Listening to the lyrics of “Heartless” and “Street Lights,” it sounds to me like that’s exactly what Kanye West is doing.

I’ll never fault anyone for disliking any music. Hell, the first Jay-Z album I bought was In My Lifetime, Vol. 2. My musical tastes really run all across the spectrum. However, it certainly becomes rather tiring to opine for “classics” and ignore the dope new stuff that’s being put out. I love The Cool Kids for their bare-bones, snare-heavy beats and smooth 80’s flow, but I also dig Kid Cudi hard (pause) for his desire to move in and around the musical spectrum. His is the type of music that truly blends genres.

So, on November 24th, I will be purchasing “808’s and Heartbreak” and I can’t wait. It’s a musical journey that I am eager to embark on.

Besides, I’m almost positive there will be no box to check off in an attempt to categorize it.

K. Billy