The Abstract Element Just another fish in the ocean of design.

RecArt – Blu

If you haven't already then Blu's definitely an artist you need to checkout. Course it depends on what kinda music you're into, but if you want some throwback hip-hop then look no further. Blu's also got some great work with Exile, but his mixtape work is pretty good to great too. The material's from a few years back (new material's apparently coming out) but it's still in the timeline of the degradation of hip hop in most public audiences and thus refreshing to listen to.

Clockwise from 12 O'Clock - Classy Man, MyBoyBlu, GloryUs, Vanity

Making a difference

As a kid like most I was listening to pop beats, yes even the bubble gum pop of the 90's but forever and always I always had a great deal of interest in the genres of rock and hip-hop. Growing up in Sri Lanka means you're kind of limited when it comes to music from the West, now the latest trend and most popular genre for teens/young adults look to be seen as out of the box is rock/metal music, the whole army of youth wear Metallica t-shirts and grunge fashions are the emo's/hipsters of Sri Lanka or at least among those in the middle and upper class, some just listen to it cause it's what their friends do and inside them they don't want to be looped into what they perceive as the mainstream culture of pop, rnb and pop-hop/gangster rap.

I myself got into rock music at around 10-11, it started off with the more mainstream hard rock and soft rock bands and as puberty hit so did the emotions and I got into music that had more angst and more loudness. I did still listen to a wide variety of bands from soft rockers Dave Matthews Band and Coldplay to 90's punk bands such as Weezer, grunge sounds of Pearl Jam and Nirvana to the nu metal sounds of Limp Bizkit and to the hardcore like Killswitch Engage (some will clasisify them differently). It was mostly that from 13-16, after that things changed as I lost my taste for angst and music became more politically, poetic and socially relevant, bands like Rage Against the Machine, Deftones and Smashing Pumpkins became bands whose material I could relate to and whose lyrics proved fascinating for a upper-middle class kid such as myself.

But as I grew my musical interests did so too and from about 19 my interest in hip-hop music greatly expanded, I mean I always liked hip-hop music and while rarely played and heard of in Sri Lanka my memory always echoed the sounds of The Pharcyde's classi Passing Me By and Pete Rock and CL Smooth's legendary cut T.R.O.Y. (They Reminisce Over You). In Sri Lanka the hip-hop/rap music (if you can even refer it to as that) on the radio is generally gangster rap, the local kids that try and become rappers are largely influenced by the whole West Coast scene and the likes of Tupac and Biggie (who kinda started the retardation of hip-hop, although I know opinions vary greatly on this), a few and a very few credit Rakim and as of now most associated hip-hop music with the crap that is G-Unit (and other clones) and the appalling Southern gangster crunk that while I have no issue with when it comes to being party music (since it's mostly profanity laced, with an over sexualisation of women and record company thug talk aka brainless) the unfortunate part is when it's rotated at home and people use it to pan hip-hop (and embed stereotypes of Africans/Blacks) when it shouldn't be associated with it in the first place.

I can't find fault with them at the same time, Eminem was the rapper I most listened to as a teen (he isn't all that bad) and while the echoes of those mentioned above went through my head I never had the chance to get that back as it would be impossible to find The Bizarre Ride or anything besides Tupac, Biggie etc etc records. I'm not sure what changed in me, I mean I still enjoy RATM, Deftones and the Pumpkins but I don't listen to them as often as I did, they aren't my primaries.

My journey into hip-hop music and learning more about it as mentioned started at about 19, mostly influenced thanks to The Fugees (who were played on Sri Lankan radio and thankfully generally known) and the collab track with ATCQ, John Forte and Busta Rhymes (Rumble in the Jungle). It just stuck in my ear and with my political interest ever increasing (as it does with most young adults) listening to the insights fascinated me, the wordplay and the lyrics were something I didn't associate with hip-hop that much besides a select few artists I listened to as a teen. Funny part was I heard The Fugees all the way back when I was 7 year's old, I couldn't stand Ready or Not when it came out then but now that track is something I cite as one of those tracks that influenced me to dig deeper into hip-hop.

Anyway, as time passed I got more and more into it, and to my luck I managed to hear Passing Me By and T.R.O.Y yet again (credit to Pandora for providing music), it brought a sense of euphoria and memories as those tracks were always embedded in my head since I first heard them. From there I went from one artist to another, and my fascination grew after seeing the amazing diversity of artists in hip-hop music and how unfortunate it was that in the general population the music has been taken to the gutter.

I couldn't get enough of the mix of jazz beats and lyrics that didn't just talk about the views of street life but were global in it's content, from humourous tracks such as The Pharcyde's Ya Mama, to the discussion of the word nigger on ATCQ's Sucka Nigga, to the chill back of The Digable Planets Rebirth of Slick to the more bizarre and metaphoric from the likes of Cannibal Ox. This was the kind of music I wish I had access to way earlier on in my life, but such was not to be.

Now I'm at a stage where I've lost interest in new music and anything that's played on radio, I know as a Sri Lankan I've segregated myself cause most of my friends from back there have no idea who Eyedea and Abilities are or even who De La Soul is (unless they happened to listen to the Gorillaz's). I was an odd ball even back in school although it wouldn't be as much a given now the growth of rock music, but if I were to start a talk about hip-hop music in Sri Lanka right about now people would be at a serious what the? situation. It's sad to see Sri Lankans try be gangsters and try emulate that, but such is the case everywhere these days.

I'm not sure what I'll be listening to in another 5 year's, I might just be chilling back to flat out Jazz, but with hiphop I kind of found a great blend of me as a person in that it has chill back, political and social content, bizarrerisms/humour and an overall open world that talks to me alot, again I still love the melancholy and metaphorisms of the Deftones and Pumpkins but the days where I could sit down and blast a headphone with hardcore is pretty much gone.

I've probably confused and tripped over myself many a time while writting my "summarised" history of music. I'll just end it by giving homage to 5 tracks that have inspired, influenced and motivated me in different ways and at different periods in my life.

Dave Matthews Band - Crash Into Me
It probably crosses pop/soft rock but to this day this is a song that I can keep on loop, as a teenager you're always going to have that one "romantic" track, this prolly mine although it's use of metaphors is what I do enjoy. This track is definitely not specific to any particular girl lol but I'd listen to this back then and get all sappy.

Deftones - Change (In The House of Flies)
It's not my fav Deftones track but it's the first one I heard, I saw it on MTV and from that day I was hooked. To this day I enjoy them, they don't have lengthy lyrical structures but what's great about them is Chino Moreno's lyrics are open to one's own decipher. In terms of this track it was a total change to the more grunge, punk and hardcore stuff I was listening to so it had an instant impact on me and I still have a listen to it.

Pete Rock and CL Smooth - T.R.O.Y (They Reminsce Over You)
When I first heard it as a kid the reason I remember this track was due to it's absolutely brilliant beat, the jazzy hooks were delightful even to my young brain. It's now a hip-hop classic and I'm so glad to have rediscovered it as late as I did, a track of reflection and dedication it's something so many can relate to if you dig yourself into the lyrics, it doesn't over complicated things and is the kind of quintessential hip-hop track where the combination of relaxation and social thoughts are mixed into one.

The Fugees feat ATCQ, Busta Rhymes and John Forte - Rumble in The Jungle
I don't listen to as often and it's not even a track I'd consider classic or a fav, but it was important in getting me into hip-hop. I already knew the Fugees but by digging into A Tribe Called Quest (ATCQ) it led from one thing to another and set up a major pathway so in that way it did influence me heaps.

People Under The Stairs - We'll Be There
It doesn't have amazing lyrics and is a relatively unknown track (PUTS didn't do music videos until their most recent album), but like PR and CL's TROY the beat on this gave me feelings of euphoria. PUTS was one of the first tracks I heard on my Pandora station (sadly stopped now in Australia), like Rumble in The Jungle it pushed me to dig deeper into the genre. It's also a good starting point as it's not something overtly political (this can throw most people off) and it's content is very chilled back and mostly dedication to the culture of hip-hop in its lyrical presence. I still play this, and the beat is perhaps my favourite beat of all time.

Sure I have plenty of other songs that influenced me, of late perhaps the artist I've connected with the most is Eyedea (and his collaboration with DJ Abilities), as an artist his lyrical content probably echoes closest to me among any and all musicians I've listened to but unlike those above he isn't a reason I got into a whole sub-culture/genre of music. I would also be lying if I didn't credit the likes of Michael Jackson, James Brown, Fatboy Slim and other artists who've also had a big impact on me musically and even as a person and developing my outlook on music cultures.

I end it there. I do apologise for typo's in advance but felt kinda inspired to write something today that was more about me than about design and development.