Genres, styles and hip-hop....oh my!

The type of music I'm into at the moment always depends on the kind of mood I’m in. I don't necessarily mean that it changes from day-to-day, but more like what 'stage' I'm in for that part of my life. I go through many stages /moods /feelings for genres of music throughout the course of a year. I'd probably say I go through this transition an average of five times every 12 months.

Think of it like the rollercoaster of life. Sometimes in life, there is nothing that can get you down, you want to be outside, the sun is shining, and you can't possibly understand how somebody can't turn a frown upside down. Then there are those other times when you can’t possibly understand how people could be happy and you want to punch them ‘cause they are so damn smiley.

Music isn’t quite as extreme as that metaphor, but there are times when certain types of music, like soul or down-tempo or acoustic, are the only thing I want to listen to, and everything else just doesn’t ‘do it’ for me like what I’m craving.

Don’t get me wrong, I still have that genre of music that overshadows the other stuff, mainly because I know more about it, I make an effort to expose myself to as much as I can, and I simply enjoy the style all together.

The genre of music that I love a little more than everything else is hip hop. It’s hard for me to actually write that, ‘cause I don’t like being limited to one style of music, by any means, but it’s true. I have a greater knowledge of it, I can hold my own when it comes to discussing it, and I LOVE to expose and enlighten people to it when they think they hate it. Also, hip-hop has so many different layers to it…you can love it for the lyrical complexity, the topics that are discussed, the production (i.e. the beats), if it makes you dance, the consistency, the range, and how it can incorporate other genres of music.

Hip-hop is a multifaceted genre of music. There are MCs, producers, and groups who meet these layers and they, in themselves, create subgenres that are endless. I know, I know, rock, electronica, soul, jazz, and all other genres have subgenres that seem to do the same, but it seems when people hear of ‘hip-hop’, they assume it’s ‘rap’. When they assume it’s ‘rap’, they assume it’s all the same. These people have argued endlessly about the kind of music they listen to and like so many different styles, yet they refuse to listen to rap…’cause they “get enough of Eminem and Snoop from the radio, and it all sounds the same”. The conversation usually ends with a refusal to listen on their part.

My initial reason for this post was to introduce my love of music as a ‘stage-system’, where I go through different genres at different times. I wanted to express that on the top of my list is hip-hop, followed closely by pretty much everything else. I want to write this blog as a testament to my diversity, yet I’m finding that I’m into the hip-hop stage as of late. Here are my other musical passions…in terms of style and genre:

- I love electronica music. DJ Shadow is one of my hero’s and if I could create music, he would be my inspiration.

- I love old soul music like Marvin Gaye and Al Green

- I love new soul music (neo-soul?) like Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and Zap Mama

- I love some r&b too, like John Legend and D’Angelo

- I love indie-rock….too many to even begin to describe and the ‘subgenres’ are too extensive to even throw a name out

- Experimental music? Yeah! Give me some! I like it all!

- Jazz? Ooooooh goodness. I love Jazz…I could listen to Nina Simone ALL day and still want more. Vocal jazz to instrumental jazz…there are so many kinds that I love

- Blues? Yup…it’s nice too

- Folk? Hell yeah. Jack Johnson has the talent that I wish I had

- I even love piano-driven folk singers…Sarah Slean? If I had the opportunity and she accepted my proposal? I would marry her in a second. Same goes for Fiona Apple.

- Classical? You bet’cha. If I hear some piano and violin in that bitch, I’m putty.

- I even enjoy some mainstream bands…there are some reasons why some bands and artists have mass appeal

You know what kind of music is able to incorporate all these styles? Hip-hop. It’s all there. Jazz style, electronica style, folk-or-rock style (sometimes the production can have a great guitar…and it works!), r&b, soul, blues…it can have it all.

My other point is that I love almost all kinds of music. I’m not really into country and celtic music very much…although I do enjoy singing that song that starts out, “Blame it on my roots, I showed up in boots”, by Garth Brooks. I can't believe that I just wrote that.

Damn. I really meant to write about my favourite hip-hop albums and look what spewed out. Next time my friends, next time.