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Old 07.10.2013, 07:51 PM   #562
Severian
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You west coast fellas (in truth, geographically speaking at least, I'm one of you, so no insult intended) seem to be way too wrapped up in things like cadence, and also... Cadence.

Seriously, one of the reasons I took to easy coast hip hop like Wu and Jay Z was that it was NOT so clipped and articulated and full of vocal gymnastics. I think the over emphasis on that kind of thing really made the difference between "rap" and "hip hop." The west coast rap scene (and the Cleveland rap scene, I guess) made vocal delivery so important that it left no room for sloppiness, fun, or non-fabricated personality.

I have a hard time listening to anyone who works sounds like they're working on sounding a certain way. I love the Chronic, Doggystyle, and Straight Outta Compton, but for me, it's all about sneaking You're right that Jay Z is not the rap technician that any of LA's major players were. I thought he was retarded when he came up, and I didn't understand how anyone could enjoy his music. I don't think I was entirely convinced until the Black Album, actually. But Jay raps with very little prevention for such a notoriously pretentious guy... He's smarter than he sounds, and when I realized how much of his lyrics were made up on the spot, or with little to no preparation, I started paying attention.

That's not to say that Wu Tang doesn't have cadence down. They do, and always have. They're truly skilled rappers, but they let themselves spazz out, improvise, and have fun. Also, both artists have the ability to rap about things other than guns and physical prowess. East Coasters used samples for more than just beats. They also used vocals for more than melody, and as a whole, have always been more loose lipped and humorous than their coastal counterparts.

Except for Biggie, who just loaded up his lungs with pure fucking hate and screamed it into the mic. Still, that was personality. The voice spoke for itself and didn't need any adjustments. I think this cadence issue is really behind my preference for Big, Jay, and above all Wu Tang, to the Ice Cube and Dre and the rest. I guess the sloppiness, the throwback samples, and the honesty and imperfection of the vocal delivery feels closer to punk to me. Or maybe it's like post punk... Like Wire to the West Coast's Sex Pistols.
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