Today’s best hip-hop sounds

While there are hip-hop artists whom I admire and some hip-hop recordings that I like, I still see this type of music as totally alien to Filipinos. I think of hip-hop as a kind of melting pot of American music. For it to be fully understood and I must say also enjoyed, one has to have an understanding of its language and of the urban milieu where it originated and continues to flourish.  Therefore, unlike rock or soul, whose roots can be traced back to early Western music, hip-hop is difficult for other cultures, and that includes Filipinos, to assimilate. 

There have been a few successful Pinoy efforts in the past. FrancisM through a strong nationalistic message and the use of native instruments and Andrew E. by rapping with double-entendre humor. Recent times have seen the arrival of only one, Gloc-9, a social commentator and poet of the streets. Maybe in a decade or two, we will have another. But until then, I will just enjoy the hip-hop music that I like as an interesting part of American pop culture. 

The Marshall Mathers 2 LP by Eminem produced by Dr. Dre and Rick Rubin. I will not recommend this for kids but if you appreciate hip-hop that thinks, you should check this out. The language is very strong and the stories very violent but this must be Eminem’s best album ever. A clever and I must say also, seamless sequel to his acclaimed The Marshall Mathers LP, the beats are fresh and the word play, phenomenal. 

I do not agree with most of what he says but this guy’s writing is way over the top. While other rappers are boasting of their sexual escapades and of the labels they were, Eminem, who is now approaching middle-age, remains the philosopher. Still on an existentialist bent, he is in search of answers to life as he lives it. Standouts are Bad Guy, Parking Lot, Rap God and the collabs like The Monster featuring Rihanna, Headlights feat. Nate Ruess of fun and from the Deluxe Bonus disc Beautiful Pain feat. Sia. 

Magna Carta Holy Grail by Jay-Z. It must be hard being Jay-Z, the most successful, most popular hip-hop star in the world who is married to the beautiful Beyoncé. Because of this, he is expected to live up to the media hype or be even better. This is the problem with his latest release. I hear of people making comparisons with American Gangster or Watch The Throne and of looking for a single like Empire State Of Mind, when there isn’t any. This is most unfair. Magna Carta Holy Grail should be appreciated for what it is, another enjoyable effort by Jay-Z.

What the album has going for it are: Holy Grail, the Grammy-winning collaboration featuring a sophisticated Justin Timberlake; the swaggering Picasso Baby; Tom Ford, a tribute to the famous designer with trendy talk and a commercial hook; and Oceans, featuring Frank Ocean which is the album’s best and strongest cut and is also socially relevant. I grant that the varied contents do not measure up to the level of Jay-Z’s earlier work. But the beats are infectious, the poetry fluid and the production absolutely outstanding.

Willpower by will.i.am. How does one follow up on something as successful as The Black Eyed Peas’ The Beginning album? In the case of BEP member and ace producer will.i.am, the next move is to release his fourth solo effort. And it is not just any album. Titled Willpower, it is a collection of assorted music types.  Think pop, soul, R&B, hip-hop, fusion and electronic dance music and you will have a good idea about what will.i.am concocted this time. I am sure that this combination does not sit well with diehard hip hoppers but will.i.am is on the road to something new that should expand the genre.

And because, he is also the music producer who has worked with Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Timberlake and other big names, his Willpower features a star-studded list of featured performers. Get a hold of this line-up: This Is Love feat. Dutch pop star Eva Simons; Scream And Shout feat. Britney Spears; Let’s Go feat. Chris Brown; Getting Dumb feat. apl.de.ap and Korean girl group 2ne1; Freshly feat. Juicy; ; #that Power feat. Justin Bieber; Fall Down feat. Miley Cyrus; Love Bullets feat. Skylar Grey; Far Away From Home feat. Nicole Scherzinger; and Ghetto Ghetto feat. kid rapper Baby Kaely. All these in one album, plus some solo tracks by will.i.am. So much to like here.

Here are three titles by three of hip-hop’s most important stars that no hip-hop fan should be without. Each one has made the top of the Billboard hit list, either as an album or a single. Each one boasts of major pop artists as guest performers. And best of all each one is of superb quality production. The layering and the mixing for these albums are utterly unbelievable. Improvements in these areas of production are among hip-hop music’s major contributions to the field of recording but still what we have here are some of the best and most imaginative touches ever. Listen and learn.