Cole World VS King Kunta
Rap
First and foremost, there’s been a long standing debate about who the best Mcee or rapper is/was or ever was. Since the beginning, the art of rap has always been based on who has the best rhymes, flow,story-telling, finesse and delivery.
In an interview with Ice-T, one of the forefathers of the game Big Daddy Kane addresses the difference between rappers and MCees. According to Kane if you can rhyme cat with hat, you’re a “rapper” but an “MCee“ is someone with the ability to excite the crowd with a story and an immaculate delivery whilst rhyming.
With evolution comes change, and to some, change isn’t welcome because it means new, watered-down and or different. From the days of Grand master Caz to recent times, Hip hop as a culture has crossed borders and continents and it is now entrenched in the life of young people all over the world. So it only makes sense that the sound of rap would be moulded and fused into the different languages and ethnic groups of all 4 corners of the globe. Ushering a completely different sub-genre from what started in the Bronx, New York as “RAP” almost 3-4 decades ago.
A few nights ago, we were treated to the 58th Annual Grammy awards. To most “heads”, these academy awards don’t reflect the state of hip hop or the fundamentals rap was built on.
Cole World VS King Kunta
I’ve listened to ‘2014 Forest Hills Drive’, with all its goose bump and hair-raising story format and touch points. I must admit I feel some type of way about award shows; I always have. The fact that we, the public don’t really know who makes the final decision leaves a bad taste in my mouth. These indiscretions are the very slow poison that kills the creativity and an artists’ ability to deliver sound and beautifully crafted pieces of music.
I don’t know if I want to congratulate Kendrick for finally being recognized by the Grammy’s with their certificate of validation. I mean “To Pimp A Butterfly” was a phenomenal piece of work, but who’s to say that ‘Good Kid MAAd City’ wasn’t?
So, who deserved best rap album, Cole or Kendrick? To pit these two minds against each other is both a sin and ironically a ‘culture’ of rap music. Revered MCees must go head to head and spar lyrically against one another to enhance the craft, keeping that competitive spirit oiled and harnessed.
I am a hip hop fan and an aficionado, having listened extensively to both albums for over a year now. Cole’s story is both touching and nostalgic. It is an iteration of being true to yourself, no matter who you work with or what stage you are at in your life.
Kendrick on the other hand addresses social ills that are faced by African Americans through the tone of a Compton bred boy. Who has bared witness and experienced all kinds of racial injustices from police brutality to the failing education system in black communities across the states.
One of the most vocal and open social media platforms; Twitter, was on fire again a full day after the Grammy’s. The activists were enraged sighting J.Cole as a viable contender for ‘Best Rap Album’, if anything at all. I agree completely but I sensed a bit subtle narcissism from Jermaine Cole in his album which made it, a generic rap story “I am, I will”.
Kendrick took a backseat from making this project about himself having done so in his previous body of work. If you listen to the instrumentals of #TPAB the fusion of Jazz and Blues into informative and confrontational poetry without losing the relevance and attention of the intended recipient is flawless and between the 2, Kdot deserves that award.
Where does this leave J.Cole’s brilliant work? In our iPods and back up hard drives I guess. Both these albums deserve all the glory and success they are enjoying. Maybe we need to take a stroll on 2014 Forest Hills Drive, To Pimp A Butterfly.