Totally co-sign what Watz is saying. There's so much diversity in this country, most of it MAD ORIGINAL, that i fail to really see the relevance of this thread. Are we saying we should create an original sound and all conform to it ? Well then pick a sound and get a petition going so we can all subscriber to it.Like it's been said, Zuluboy's sound is mad original , Pro-kid is now mixing "kwaito" cla**ics with hip-hop, HHP and Tuks sound mad original to me, TUMI,etc,etc,so where's the problem ? Is it cos they are not doing the kinda music WE like, or what WE think should be an "original sound" that we dismiss them ? hmmmm.
And yes, these are MC's , but they dictate to their producers how they wanna come through,so for me , that's mad originality on both the MC's and producer's part.
Personally, I believe it's all this 'I'm an MC' shit that's making the music stale.
So being an MC is what's dragging hip-hop down ? Sort of like someone saying I'm a guitarist, would that be making Rock n Roll stale right ? Should we just throw out the basics of what defines us as a music genre in favor of innovation ? And still call it hip-hop ? U know what they say about a house without a foundation.
I read the latest Hype and came across 3 articles (including JR) where people are on some "i've moved past hip-hop, im trying to be a musician,bla,bla".
Go ahead folks. Be musicians. It's like being a hip-hop artist, your not a musician in the first place. So dude's wanna be a Gary Burton, or a Chick Corea or a Miles Davis all of a sudden. Good for you man. Just don't label it hip-hop cos it aint. It's just a little figment of your imagination thinking u the next big thing in the world of music.
Thing is these cats haven't even conquered the "hip-hop market" yet. It's exactly that failure that makes them want move into other forms of music, thinking they gonna get their shine that way. BIG BIG FAIL.
I really liked what K'naan said in his HYPE interview. He doesn't go into Studio thinking "i have to incorporate African sounds into my music". It's just comes to him. It's in him. It's who he is. That's being a musician. Music is not thought out and strategized, it comes from the soul. So do you.
And all this talk of "people living in the past" is really getting old. Nobody accuses other cats who like Electro and incorporate it into their music of that, even when that influence is clearly outta Planet Rock. Who cares ? As long as it sounds good.
OB4CL was probably the dopest album this year and it could have come out in the 90's and still got major props. Good music is good music, period.
Hate to make these examples cos they aint really mu cup of tea, but Mafikizolo took that old Sophia Town sound and people loved it. Kwela Tebza did the same thing. Lots of cats still make that "vocal house music" and people still love it. Jimmy Dludlu still does his "Gerge Benson Impersonations" and still highly successful. Kalawa can still make that 90's sounding Kwaito with Trompies and people still go nuts.