WU TANG CLAN MY FAVORITE RAP GROUP OF ALL TIME

I heard from some old school fans that Wu-Tang Clan is heavily inspired by X-Clan. Anyway why Wu-Tang Clan is my favorite rap group of all time can be explained. In the nineties when I was crazy about the west coast hip hop culture. The east coast struck with a live influence of the Shaolin martial arts and the five percent teachings. This gave me a whole another meaning and this was a major turn point to my flavor of rap music.

The affiliation with Shaolin martial arts meant discipline and control of the mind, body and soul. The Wu tang clan members could explain the game of chess like it was a sword fight. I interpret this like free style rapping off top of the head. Although I never practiced this art. Untill couple of months ago. I happen to get hang of it within 3 months. It is really a challenge. I do not practice this art no more it is no more challenging when you master the art of free styling of top of the head. The sample ‘Game of chess is like a sword fight’ This was the most memorable sample of the debut album of Wu-tang clan. The whole concept knowledge wisdom and understanding is put in a bright light and explained through parables and metaphors with rhymes on beats by Wu-Tang Clan. It is my own habit to appreciate the debut albums more than the follow ups. In Wu-Tang Clans case it is the also like that. Wu tang clan set trend with their wally shoes, hoodies and the PLO style. I think except for Masta Killa and GZA all the Wu members got their own style which is unique. If I have to pick my favorite Wu Member it would be a tough choice because they can not be compared with one and another. I think the rhyme style of Reakwon is the nicest. Because this is typical New York ghetto slang. He can tell a story without exaggerating and without emphasizing the drama of the people of the ghetto's. It is very realistic and has much flavor.

The debut album contain samples from the Shoalin movies and even from a Jackie Chan movie. The beats are mega tough and only Wu-Tang Members are able to rhyme over those beats. This album contains hip hop classics like 'Can it be all so simple man'. This song is laced with dope piano loops and the base line is deeper than the Ocean it self. Above all the solo projects of the Wu-Tang clan members I appreciate the whole clan's work more. They form a chemistry which is never heard before in the history of the hip hop culture. RZA is multi talented person with much preciseness and he knows what fans want to hear. One of the most influential rappers of the Wu-Tang Clan is Killah Priest. Although was not featured on the most Wu-Tang albums, but his solo debut album is truly an underground classic. The productions are tight and the vocals are deep. For me the most memorable line is 'Watch hell freeze over....'.

Wu-Tang Clan has gave birth to other groups which are spin offs such as Killa Army, Sunz of Men, Royal Fam, Gravediggaz, American Cream Team and Theodore Unit as far as I know. These groups are all a great contribution to the hip hop culture. The second album of the Wu-Tang Clan is not so raw as the first one because there were too much synthesizer beats on it. However the song 'It is yours' contains a beat which is dope as uncut raw stuff.

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WHAT DOES HIP HOP FASHION GOT TO DO WITH THE HIP HOP CULTURE?

I think hip hop music is the ultimate lifestyle for the youth of the inner city to the sub urbs. I think all that fashion does not got to do anything with the lifestyle of a hip hop fan. I have never been a fan of the fashion part of he hip hop culture. I think having a pair of Timberlands does not make me more or less hip hop then wearing 20 Dollar Dunlop shoes.

It is more of the essence of the hip hop culture what I am after not the glitter and glamour. I think it is great for the artist who set up their own clothing lines and become well known entrepreneurs like Tommy Hilfiger or Armani. But I am glad to have the newest album out rather than having the newest Air Force ones. This fashion aspect is something of a media hype and sometimes I think it is like following the heard like a sheep to wear the latest fashion. Psychologically speaking maybe it got to be something of a inferiority complex to follow the latest fashion. Those who feel the need to dress like the stars they are afraid to be left out. The way I set trend is not even not to kept up by the stars. I wore my printed T-shirts outside the sweater back in 1993. It took 8 years Jay-Z to dress this way. So I think I am not a follower of these fashion trends, but rather a trend setter. No matter how much money I get I still would not follow the fashion trends in the hip hop music.

I worked at a street ware store back in 1997 and I could ware the latest fashion from Fubu, Pelle Pelle or Tommy Hilfiger. Even the not-hip hop fans were wearing these brands to belong with the heard. This really can not impress me. I worked to make money to buy the latest album not for the fashion issues. Because Flava Flave was wearing a clock on his chain does mean I am going to where a clock. Or if LL Cool J wears FuBu doesn't mean that I have to dress in FuBu. I think the fashion stuff is all media hype and it really does not got to do anything with the hip hop culture.

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UNCLE TOM OR BENEDICT ARNORLD?

I think hip hop music fans are an minority, I see these people as select few who are chosen to hear the truth. I think most rebellion rappers are enslaved to major labels by signing deals to work for petty cash relatively speaking. The major companies like Sony and other white owned music labels are making big cake and while rappers end up in war and blessed and cursed with a slice of the pie and messed up life style of materialism and most of all drug abuse

These rappers such as NWA is a group that end up in war with each other. I can remember that NWA was together and they called Ice Cube Benedict Arnold. This assault was kind of a weak one, because after years it seems to be Dr.Dre. I can say that he feels like we got a give chance to the minorities in the society, but signing a white rapper is the most Uncle Tom move ever in the history of rap music. I think rap music is something of the minorities in the whole world. And rappers like Eminem is only a minority in rap music and not a minority in the racist wealthy countries. And rap music is not a white music stream and there are plenty other chances for white kids to succeed in and they are the most economically fortunate ones and there are plenty of kids who do have way better skills than Eminem they are not having a chance in the hip hop music business, because the white owned labels are looking for the light skin puppy to sell the most records and the kids who do have the skills are taking their own weight up and set their own labels and become moguls in the game of rap music although not succesful they do not become the next Bill Gates or who ever. I consider these rappers as the true ones. And the thorough ones.

In Dr.Dre's case I think he is a sellout signing a white rapper. I think this was a commercial move, because this was the chance for mediocre majority to buy a mediocre artist. I think Eminem is not an extraordinary rapper with much impressive skills. I think his music is just another Elvis clone rap stuff. I am waiting till the next rhyme prophet comes to deliver the message. Not a another Primus Fan coming to act like he has worn his cousins second hand clothes and lived off food coupons and had to do dirt to get his money up and get his name known. What Eminem has to rap about is how he got drunk at the prom night and acting funny with his rhymes and brag about how bad he is. This is something for the punk fans than for the supreme order of the hip hop fans. That even Nas has worked with Eminem is a major disappointment for me. Who through up his fist do not work with artist with such a minimalistic skills and a corny persona.

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DOES HIP HOP MUSIC ALIENATE?

I red few years ago an article that hip hop music alienate the youth from the society. I think this can not be true, because hip hop community is a society. It can be true that people can lose the sense of reality, when they are in touch with an art and they are living for that art and willing to do anything to keep that art authentic and preserve it from the vultures who are willing to destroy it and abuse it for their own wealth.

So far as the alienation consider, when it comes to the hip hop music no one can alienate me from this culture. I am an one man movement and although my budget is not large I still can contribute to the hip hop culture in other ways than buying albums daily. I think my mother thinks that hip hop is another name for having sex. She wonder why I call my blog hiphopfanatic.com. I feel quite alienated from the society there are no people who I can relate to. Only I can relate to are the rappers, because they are born into the dirt just like me. If you know hunger you will feel the struggle. And born into a racist society people judge you by the background and racial ethnicity can cost you lots of hair and health. I have been chasing a dream having a job and live like the working class people. This is not even possible, when the cocky white kids at your work call me a Ni**er in my face and gossip about me behind my back, gossiping is a habit that every society got to deal with, but throwing racial terms at your dome can hurt my soul. The bosses are looking for someone to do the dirty job. I am really a humble kid, that is my nature. I can not seems to take all the racial terms all the way long from the cocky Caucasians.

I feel like I'd rather be alienated than being a modern house slave for this society who thinks that I only deserve the minimum wage. In my case I know some people who gets alienated in the hip hop culture, since they have no friends. These kinds of people always needs someone around them to show them the way. I never had that kind of cousin or brothers to show me the way. That way I feel that I failed comparing the mediocre standers the majority set. I made lots of mistakes like skipping classes and even passing my math exams drunk. I never knew how to choose the right friends, if they were hip hop fans I was willing to hang out with them. Some kids I knew they only were after the money and their older cousin or brother were cooking for them and they ran studios from houses. I feel like these studio rappers were the alienated ones, they never come out hanging and getting drunk in public with the regular kids like us. They truly got the house slave mentality and they never felt how much stressful it gets and how it feels one of your friends throw him self front of the train. These studio gangstas only know happy times. They do not know what it is like to grow up with no family around you.

And then you have these upper class brothers talking black supremacy, while their label owner is white. They never talked to a kid from the ghetto and they do not have the spine to set up their own labels to make a start of their career. Once this reminds me of the song of Gravediggaz song '12 Jewels'. It said the "old man from Sudan didn't knew the basic principles of the economy". Being your own boss that is the major economical achievement is about. Working for the white man and calling your self black activists and pumping your fist is just lack of awareness and political consciousness. In this modern society rappers are almost doomed to sell their soul to the labels, when a rappers is hungry he will be easily convinced by the A&R's and other record label people. I think the true potential of a socially, economically and politically aware artists does not where the money is running, but where the hearts of the hip hop fans are running. That is preserving of the hip hop culture as an authentic culture and reminding the fans what the true purpose of the hip hop culture is about, which is peace, love and unity. With these three keywords there is no alienation possible for the hip hop fans not even the majority alienates them.

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What I like about hip hop music.

I like almost about everything in the hip hop culture, this is the lifestyle and having dreams and the most important one being able to reach it. I think I have it all, because of rap music, of course not the money and the fame, but the true essence. That is able to express my feelings and being able to say what ever I like.

I am aware that sometimes it can hurt people, but I think it is good to hear the truth. If I think someone is too blunt, I say that. If I think if someone is too funny I say that. I am ware that I can not say everything what is on my mind, because saying the wrong thing can cause a huge conflict. It might cause a riot that is why I think these types of matters are deep hidden rules, that is how I see it. You might think this is only something for the Christian rappers, but there are ways to get the stuff said and done. I do not prefer a blunt tone or rude ways, I like subtle and deep and abstract poetic rhyme styles. I think it is easy to be negative and rude. A way to tell a story on the microphone it needs more than a comic book story to get the point across. I think telling a actual facts even through parables like Jesus is more closer to the reality than to rhyme like the life is a whole cartoon. I think rap music can contain a whole prophecy. Hip hop music is most close to my reality. Which are hunger, poverty and much more social factors. I think this has being my fate. Who can change it, only I can change this reality into a dream and this dream into a reality in the future. That means that I am not underprivileged. Now that I am on my own I realize there is a way.

I think the word love for something can solve the problem, before you learn to love someone. When I was seven I found a gray feather, I saw kids around me looking like. Now that is the world's eight wonder. I think they couldn't appreciate that feather like me. I thought the feather was wonderful, holding this feather is like feeling that you have wings. Just like learning to look towards the sun with your naked eyes. Those are few of the moments I can never forget. That is starting to love things. I think love for someone is a whole another story.

Anyway hip hop music is a thing I love because of it is allure and it is falls and rises, the failure in the hip hop culture is the violence, the massive bloodbaths and even fist fights at freestyle battles. This is not the school I am from. I think that alcohol and drug abuse is a major problem in the hip hop culture. There are few rappers who do not promote these kinds of things. I think the most rappers use getting high as a gimmick to show how bad they are. I remember few of the cats I knew back in the days swore that they can rhyme better when they were tipsy or what ever.
I heard them recording a track dead sober, then I knew what state they sound better, the tipsy or sober one? Some rappers are invited to promote famous beer brands. These are the issues what famous rappers deal with and say yes and amen to the commercial entities who want even a more blown up name.

Through the growth of the hip hop culture to a mainstream music genre only created more expansion of the wealth of the rappers. I think even actors are turning rappers and vice a verse. I think some of the actors who pick up rapping turned into a total flop. It lacks soul only a good sample can save them from the clutches of the critics. They can not put their whole soul into rapping like acting. Rapper who gets things mixed up they never be able to master non of the arts. This is sad this way a whole market will be created for mediocre rappers to enter. There will be a mediocre market who are willing to buy this type of rap music.

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WHY I THINK RAP MUSIC IS A NECESSITY

I know there are people who do not recognize rap music as a music genre. This is top notch bogus if you ask me. Rap music is the most revolutionary music genre there is even punk musicians with their out-of-the-box thinking mind state, could not get the point across like the rappers.

Rap music is great, because we can use the freedom of speech to get our point across and the rappers can explain their opinion through poetry why they agree with something or why they do not. I think today’s youth can not afford to skip rap music as part of the hip hop culture. If you want to call your self a cultivated music lover than having knowledge of all kinds of music is needed. This ain't me I rather call my self master of one trade and I would avoid to the other music genres to become the cultivated hip hop fan, rather then loving other kinds of music. Why I think rap music is a necessity for today’s youth is it contains a source of entertainment, but also a source of education, enlightment, truth, lies, emotion and basically all the facts if you dealing with live.
There are some rappers coming with clichés, but there are rappers who can rap a story, how the things are nowadays and what needs to be done to reach a better state of mind or better social situation for the people. Rap music deals with ideologies. There are rappers who come with new ideas for the change of the people. Why it is important to deal with equality and peace and love. Rap music is needed to let the world to know what the people in the ghettos are going through, why the things are the way they are right now, hip hop is a culture and rap music is the voice of the ghetto youth let the world know what have to be done to change the ghetto kids future for better.

Rap music seems to be a way to get money, but this is really hard work and need dedication to reach a level to offer a source of information plus entertainment to the people. I am fan of lots of hip hop sub genres. I am not only listening to the positive messages, but also to the negative messages, why these rappers are expressing this kinds of messages. The song of 50 cent 'Many Men' explains it all why rappers are in danger. This can be a cause for some rappers to be negative.

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CHECK THIS OUT- THE HIP HOP CULTURAL EDUTAINMENT

This era of the rap music is the most influential time of the hip hop music. If you Miss the early old school rap then this a documentry you a must see. This time was all about 'do not believe the hype and burn Hollywood burn'. During these times are the most rebellion rappers are born and groups like Public Enemy, Ice T and NWA were the ones who were dominating the charts. These rappers gained major attention both the east and west coast were coming up and mainly west coast was dominating thanks to the G-Funk formula, which made a broad audience to enter the world of hip hop music.

I was into west coast raps, because I got a tape from a classmate this was the only rap music I knew and I really didn't knew anything about the origin of rap music or the hip hop culture. I felt great having jerry curls in the summer and rocking a army suits in the winter. I felt like I am part of something great, which is rap music. Later on I got in touch with kids, who were more into rap music from the old school and they introduced me to more depths and insightful rap music, which contains more lyrical quality and less melodic, sometimes depressive, but rap music more closer to the roots of the hip hop culture. I learn to understand that there are fun parts of the rap game. And that rap music is about unity and equality. There were rappers like Grand Puba, Kool G Rap and Rakim who dropped a wise guy raps with wisdom to enlighten the sleepers. What I like the most about Rakim's music is that he is out to bless the mic with knowledge and rappers like Kool G Rap was dropping more hardcore raps with street poetry. The more black power stuff was kicked by the Brand Nubian. Along with Sadat X and the rest of the crew Grand Puba dropped crazy hot joints like 'God's must be crazy'.

This is around late eighties to the mid nineties, these rappers remain my idols therefore, they should get statues in the world capitals for setting trends and keeping up the tradition of the Afrika Bambata and Grand Master flash and the furious five. This hip hop culture is not just a sub-culture any more, but big mainstream art form. Even the R&B and what? even country acts like Texas has done songs with Method Man, not this types of collabos add much value to the hip hop culture, but sure does add value to the pop culture and this types of collaborations shows that hip hop music is becoming a part of the pop culture. That is important, I heard some people say keep hip hop music underground. There is still a stream of rap music, which is underground and only those, who seek for it will find it, but I am glad that rap music is major this is great way to eat for the kids, who put their heart and soul into making music which is accessible for a wide audience.

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