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Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous
I've decided THIS is the signature track from PWOWR.. I read some reviews, Priest is to underground for mainstream, its not rap in the conventional sense, and its not jewelz in the hood sense, it is the middle centered by pure wisdom. I've listen to music by a lot of very wise men, who drop a lot of ancient wisdom on their records, but Killah Priest is on a war path against the Devil on this record..
If you're a hater of radiohead then its kanye, if your a hater of kanye then its the Kastz..
My vote is that radiohead=outkast but its an almost pretentious comparison, personally I think radiohead is radiohead and outkast it outkast. further, I don't think radiohead are as necesarily groundbreaking or genre defining as their critical acclaim, however, I also adore radiohead, period. As to Outkast, I would argue that they are indeed impacting to hip-hop in huge way, the way radiohead is said to have changed music. I can agree that Kanye West is big, but I don't know if influential or redefining is exactly appropriate in this case. There aren't a bunch of Kanye sounding rappers or beatz out there, he is original in that regard. However there is a difference between being big and being influential. I suppose in this regard, radiohead isn't influential either, there aren't exactly a dozen radiohead sounding bands out there over the past 20 years. I can't speak for British music though, dear God help us, Glice what do you say? |
No offense, but you're way off on both accounts. There ARE a ton of Kanye-influenced rappers out there, retreading the new-wave-positive-tip soul sound Kanye's first two albums defined. In addition, there is a whole slew of rappers who are stepping on Post-Graduation Kanye's heels, trying to pull of genre melding game changing chart-topper concept albums and "fuck you" self makeovers.
Examples of the former:
J. Cole
TREE
Big Sean
Drake
Examples of the Latter:
Wale
Kendrick (only in terms of his scope broadening, and the fact that he undertook conscious concept hip hop album that was a major critical and commercial success)
Some other rappers ... Fuck I don't know. This takes more balls, so.. Y'know.)
Aaaand Drake!
Seriously though, everybody is benefitting from something Kanye's done. He brought rap out of its coma like a shot of narcan and adrenaline to an OD victim.
Also, there were tons of Radiohead lookalikes around the beginning of the 00's. Both in Britain and in America. In fact, there were so many of them that it was hard to keep track, and "Next Radiohead" became as common a speculation for new bands (usually bland, castrated, traditional rock, MOR douchebags more influenced by Bush's sound and Blur's look) as "Next Nirvana" was back in the 90's.
Remember Travis? Starsailor? Elbow? Muse? Granddaddy?
Coldplay? Yeah, that one should ring a bell.
Anyway, each was as forgettable as the last, and I've forgotten more than I remember. Radiohead hadn't even fully become Radiohead yet, and already we were looking for the "next" one.
Outkast has very few imitators as obvious as Kanye and Radiohead, but I think you're probably right that Outkast was to rap what Radiohead was to rock in the early '00s. Something new, even though both bands were already seasoned and in the middle-late eras of their respective careers.
Kanye comes from a slightly different timeline, and is different from both in that rather than expanding on a sound until it was unrecognizable and fresh, Kanye has been flipping 180's for three albums straight on his own, and peppering them with his side projects (Watch the throne, Cruel Summer). Radiohead and Outkast took their sounds to the sonic left, and then pushed them in that direction, but that's really only ONE sonic turnaround. Kanye's already been through three or four distinct and unique stages as an artist, each one a step into completely new territory.
Anyway...