Scribe, Nas and Kanye
I almost got tickets to see them all on Saturday night. Visa were having a 2 for 1 sale, which made the tickets only $70 each, and my friend E said she was free and could come, but when I went to buy the tickets the 2 for 1 sale had gone :( and I don't think I can shell out $140 and ask my friend E to do the same. Sucks though, because I love them all...
Scribe
NZ Hip Hop artist who first came to my attention when he released "Stand Up" off his "The Crusader" album. The way he rolls his "r's" is awesome, and come to think of it he could be the reason I put "hella" in front of words. I recently bought his next album "Rhyme Book" in which I think he sounds like Jay Z. That could just be me though, and my limited hip hop knowledge. There is this awesome song on it called "My Shit" which you have to play hella loud in your car.
I honestly am a fairly new fan of Nas. I has heard some of his stuff, but didn't really pay attention to him until I saw this on rage one day:
and of course
K West
So my main reason for not going to see Kanye is that I've already seen him three times before. Twice he rocked, the other he was opening for U2, and no one cared and it was a little sad. YES, I've heard that the glow in the dark tour is amazing, and YES i know he has two great supports as just mentioned, but i'm tryna talk myself out of it OK?
Which brings me to something I've been meaning to blog about for a while:
Now I know Kanye has talked about the fact its not a hip hop album, but a new genre, his "pop art". But that still doesn't explain it.
Every time I tell someone I like Kanye, they go "He is so up himself". To which I reply, "What hip hop artist isn't". But this is the thing that is so unhinging and strange about this album. He is insecure. He is scared, self doubting and questions himself, which can be heard in "Welcome to Heartbreak":
Which is why I think sales are so low. Pop stars are supposed to have the good life, like he raps about on graduation.My friend showed me pictures of his kids,
And all I could show him were pictures of my cribs.
He said his daughter got a brand-new report card,
And all I got was a brand-new sportscar.
Everyone works hard through their lives to realise their dreams. But Kanye, in one quick swoop has told us that dreams aren't worth it.
Now what confuses me is that Kanye knows he is a pop star. He buys into pop culture, and blatantly says that he is an icon for this generation. So shouldn't he realise that his personal feeling that he channels so well in this album unhinge the very thing that makes him a celebrity. We are supposed to be envious of them. Look up to them. He practically says he would be better off being one of us, and I think thats what weirds me out the most in this album.
Musically, it all sounds very similiar. There are parts of it that I find interesting, the beginning of Robocop makes me think of a Bjork song, but mostly I think of some eighties synth album, which leaves me uninspired and feeling quite numb. I think its a good side project, but I'm guessing that he will either never release an album again, or go back to the hip hop that made him great. (I say never make an album again mostly because of the final track "Pinochio Story".
So anyway, this is me convincing myself not to go. Not doing a very good job, am I?
Comments
This is a really, really good post.