Hip-hop after the mid-'90s has never ever appealed to me. Ever. MF DOOM is an exception, a big exception at that, and I also really enjoy the Odd Future guys (an opinion piece on them will be posted tomorrow) but other than that, it looks to me like hip-hop has plummeted into a well of cliches and boring predictability; lazy flows, cringe-inducing lyrics and a dull and boring image of gold chains and wealth without much substance to back it up. Seriously, just look at these fucking mixtape covers! (here and here) And yes, I do realize that the bling and bravado is all part of the definitive hip-hop aesthetic, and it would be wrong for those elements, as tired out as they are, to disappear from hip-hop entirely. The thing is, I just wish modern hip-hop could be filled with more innovators and less traditionalists, basically, more people "zigging" and less people "zagging". DOOM (who's album Vaudeville Villain I reviewed here) is one of those "ziggers" with his esoteric oddball rhymes, avoidance of generic rap topics, and penchant for bypassing catchy hooks almost entirely. But I digress. Recently, a relatively new rapper came to my attention who has garnered great praise with his last two albums, and even hard-to-please critics Anthony Fantano and Pitchfork Media gave his latest, good kid m.A.A.d. city, very high scores (both of them gave the album a 9 out of 10.) And of course, the young rapper I am speaking of is Kendrick Lamar.
