Have you seen this incredible skit on hip hop V hip hop from comedians Key and Peele? I loved every second of the video, and minus some in-the-middle examples, thought they perfectly portrayed the two sides of hip hop perfectly and summed them up.
On one hand, ‘Da Struggle’ comes in with his serious look and demeanor, talking about politics and trouble for single mothers. ‘Bling Blenzy’ jumps in, decked out in full bling and with animated hair and clothing, singing about…well, to put it a bit eloquently, his obsession with certain female body parts. He injects his nonsense so much into Da Struggle’s music, that he is forced to walk off the set, while Bling Blenzy keeps going, singing about the same subject.
This, friends, is how I often feel about hip hop today. When I meet someone and they tell me hip hop or rap is their favorite genre of music, I now automatically skip my few seconds of elation and desire to bond, and quickly ask a skepticism-imposed question of ‘wait, what artists specifically?’. The answers usually justify my pessimism, and more often than not, are more like the fictional Bling Benzy-style artists rather than those similar to Da Struggle. I won’t name names, cause that is not what this post (rant) is about. There are lots of different styles of music out there, but I worry one day garbage-hop is going to be the only option people associate with this incredibly rich genre.
So when, after asking the question again with my eyebrows raised, someone replied with ‘new artists like Kay Kumar, have you heard of him?’ I was a bit dumbfounded, and no, I had not heard of Kay Kumar, hailing from Birmingham, UK. Not knowing what to expect, I searched his YouTube (not knowing who an artist or band is really destroys my ego!) and gave a few songs a listen, and had ‘Suicidal Thoughts’ on repeat while taking the heavy message in.
On top of appreciating this rapper’s unique music style, he also had a way with words, and when you repeat a song to hear exactly what someone is singing out, you know it is good.
Turns out, it was a good time to discover Kumar, as his debut video for his single SVDS will be released December 3rd, and his work so far is making him an artist to keep your eye on. I will too, and hope that this important genre gets the revitalization it so desperately needs.
