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How I Review by The Great Hart
After the
Abbot wrote his criteria, I felt obligated to let the legions
of 10rc fans know what criteria I use to review albums.
I read what the Abbot
had to say about rap music in general and I couldn't disagree more.
The first thing I hear when I turn on a rap is the words. I love
the words. I analyze every line in every song I listen to. I see
rap music (in general) as a possible legitimate expression of black
people about topics that affect to them. I don't think it's all
real, I'm not a naïve ass. When I say that, I am thinking of a few
artists that I dig. Of course Silkk the Shocker has probably never
even seen a blunt, and of course you have to draw that line.
I am intrigued by the
wordplay, the rhyming, and most of all: the meaning. I love rappers
who are interested in modern racism, the responsibility of the black
elite class, and ideas of ghetto life. I evaluate the source and
take the raps for what they're worth. I want to learn from everything
I do. I love to pick out the black history references in the rap
music. For instance (while this isn't strictly rap) The Miseducation
of Lauryn Hill is a play on a book by Carter G. Woodson (father
of black history) called The Miseducation of the Negro. If
you knew that I give you props.
While I like my rap with
a side of social conscience I do not mind the blind violence and
sexism that seems to run rampant through rap music. Although, it
has to be done well. A song like "No Surrender" by Bone (while
one could argue it has a noble, desperate undertone) is essentially
violence for the sake of violence. I love the song because it was
done well. I disagree with violence done poorly. If you have to
make a song that's strictly violent and hard core do it up right.
Drugs in rap music is
another issue that I waver on. While we all expect that rap music
will contain copious weed references I disapprove of encouragement
of any other drug. In the documentary Rhyme and Reason Ice
T makes a good point when he says that rap music doesn't and shouldn't
glorify crack. Snoop Dogg on his recent Testimony also stresses
that weed is the alternative to crack. While I'm not necessarily
buying into this 100% there is some credence to it. Therefore I
accept weed references, but I will condemn any rapper who wants
to tell the public at large that coke is a good idea.
After those paragraphs
it's pretty clear that I am a lyric guy. The beat is cool, but all
beats sound at least somewhat cool to me. You will rarely ever hear
me mention a cool beat because they don't stand out that much to
me. With a few exceptions I like songs that have lyrics that I like.
I try not to be overly
serious in my tastes. I like a lot of rappers. I'd rather see a
Cash Money Records act than one that tries to make a statement with
nothing to say. If you run out of stuff to say, it's time to go.
I have no interest in rappers like Ja Rule that have nothing to
say and strain their vocal cords saying it.
To sum up, I like good
songs. Anyone saying they don't like hit songs is a poser. I love
"Nuthin; but a G Thing" and if say you don't then you're a liar.
It's cool to find hidden gems but I like songs that are well done
and ideally have something to say. If an album sounds the same all
the way through, I probably won't like it. I need the album to catch
me. I want it to speak to me. I want to be amazed and get things
out of it. I want to be talking about the album to my friends the
next day. It's not about style or beats for me; it's about substance.
Later
-
GreatHart 
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