WE GOT THE JAZZ

The landscape of hip-hop in the early 90s was rapidly changing. The African-American civil rights generation introduced a multiplicity of class positions. Before the civil rights movement, money was secondary to race. However, after the movement, African-Americans who had money could live the life how and where they pleased. Throughout the 80s, Reagan's "trickle down" theory left lower class minorities impoverished and disenfranchised. As a result, the Reagan administration created a growing gap which largely pushed the lower class further down the ranks. This separation of classes within the greater African-American community provided for a significant change in musical style. The street culture which spawned from impoverished communities such as Brooklyn, or Bedford-Stuyvestant gave rise to the gangsta rap genre, which was largely focused on hustling drugs, gang culture, prostitution, and pure animosity and frustration for the higher powers which placed them in such a situation.

On the other hand, there existed an alternate genre of hip-hop, composed of the middle class, referred to as conscious hip-hop. This genre focused on political consciousness, positivism and afro-centricity, and was largely critical of the gangsta-rap culture. Conscious hip-hoppers berated the gangsta-rappers, claiming the genre was a bandwagon, that they were invested in image over lyricism, and that it was a means to project grief and negativity back onto the culture.


The group A Tribe Called Quest was the most prominent of the conscious hip-hop genre throughout the 90s (such as groups like De La Soul, Public Enemy, the Roots etc.). Although gangsta-rap was gaining immense popularity, conscious hip-hoppers focused more on advancing their particular genre, and experimenting with different techniques, lyrical and musical styles, etc.


The most significant of these advancements is certainly A Tribe Called Quest's incorporation of not only samples of early African-American jazz music, but also a jazz musician himself. Ron Carter, and African-American jazz double-bassist was hired for the recording of the group's 2nd album, The Low End Theory. Ron Carter, whose 50 year career had lined him up with artists like Miles Davis, is historically the most influential jazz artist of the conscious hip-hop genre because of his creative collaboration with the group. He plays bass on the track "Verses from the Abstract" and at the end of the song, Q-Tip gives him a shout out. The song, "Jazz (We've Got)" samples early 60s jazz artist, Lucky Thompson's "Green Dolphin Street." The album cover for the single of that track emulated the famous Blue Note Records logo style, a prominent EMI label producing strictly jazz music.

The function of jazz in hip-hop music has been defined by A Tribe Called Quest. It serves to fuse African-American music from the past with that of the present-providing for a musical conversation of multiple genres within one. Hip-hop was certainly the dominant form of popular music in the 90s, just as jazz was in the 20s and 30s. Jazz-infusied hip-hop pays tribute to the former genre and reinvigorates and advances the latter. Ron Carter's appearance on The Low End Theory is indicative of expansion and experimentation of the genre due to supremely creative ideals, production methods, and above all, collaboration.

CRUDE INTELLECTUALS

Above all, voice is the most important tool of the bloggers trade. The purpose of a blog is to in fact voice the opinions and thoughts of its author, and to do this in such a way that is distinct and fluent. A master of voice is a master of not only blogging, but also of his own writing style and prose. Who would want to read a blog that was as dry as some course reader textbook? A blog functions to relieve its reader from the formality of otherwise everyday reading (whether it be the newspaper, a novel, magazine etc.).


Followers and bloggers alike find comfort in knowing there is someone behind the words, and the more explicit that fact becomes, the more enjoyable the blog. The tastiest voice arrives at a balance between crude humor (by means of wordplay, references, hyperbole etc.) and a maintenance of professional credibility (by means of referencing, detailed information, experience in the field, linking, and the ability to control the tone of the blog). A master blogger fuses polar opposite ends of the writing style spectrum to communicate meaning to his reader. This is what makes blogging so unique- that it musters a kind of crude intellectualism.


Blogging for the sake of blogging degrades the medium—although it is often treated this way. Some blog to vent—as a means of coping or channeling thoughts for personal reasons—which is totally reasonable, and can be a valuable means of maintaining sanity. The other hand, which includes most bloggers, there are the authors who intend to impose their vision, thoughts, experiences, voice upon the reader, which is something all readers must willingly accept.


I searched for a blog that might share similarities with mine, and arrived at one which concerns reviews of recent live performances of popular independent music and the culture that is characterized by such music. The blog is titled “The Grizzly Life” and is evidence of an avid music fan and concertgoer. The author links his blog to his Flickr account to provide visual support for his posts. Not only is this blogger particularly informative, mentioning album release dates, upcoming shows, special appearances and events (such as Haiti fundraisers), but also is he an exceptional photographer—providing generous coverage of his concert-going. The blog is largely visual, a component which certainly contributes to the voice of the author.


His prose is more formal that most blogs I have encountered but he manages to add his own flavor respectfully and with manners. In this case, the subject matter is what appeals to me, as opposed to the voice. “The Grizzly Life” is evident of a blog which attracts readers who want to know the facts about their area of interest, as opposed to those who look to follow a specific voice or personality behind the words. Here, the bloggers voice becomes secondary and submissive with respect to the subject matter. However, it certainly would be possible to incorporate a distinct voice to this type of subject matter, but it is likely that the subject matter would lack in depth (or for instance the photographic coverage of live concerts) due to its functioning accommodation of such attitude. If the voice is the focus, the subject matter is affected. The master blogger, however, once again masters to find a balance in the voice-content dichotomy (just as he must balance the crude and intellectual). “The Grizzly Life” is a prime example of the multifunctionality of the medium.