Hey, it’s October again.
Normally, this is when I post an ancient clip of “Ghouls Night Out,” “Horror Business” or – wait for it – “Halloween” and assert that October belongs to the Misfits, but I thought I’d mix it up, this time.
Time was when I used to more enthusiastically keep up with all things Hip-Hop. I mean, while I’ll always be a rock guy, I was geniunely invested in select artists like Public Enemy, Beastie Boys (although one could argue their music transcends simply hip-hop), some aspects of Wu-Tang Clan, LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, DMX, Ice-T, A Tribe Called Quest and lower-tier acts Das EFX, New Kingdom, Mystikal, Digital Underground, Funkdoobiest and a clutch of others.
But, to my mind, some of the more adventurous stuff seemed to fall by the wayside and get ignored when the era of Bad Boy, Death Row, No Limit and all that stuff seemed to rise to the top. Suffice to say, while I still love certain tracks by Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, I was kinda lukewarm on Eminem and absolutely never gave much of a damn about the Notorious B.I.G. et al. I just kinda stopped caring.
But Hip-Hop continued to ascend. When I worked at MTV News in the mid-2000's, it was steadily replacing all things rock and pop as the dominant genre of pop culture, a status it largely still holds today.
Given where I currently work, I’m still versed in the names, in not the music, of contemporary Hip-Hop, but I honestly cannot say I’m particularly moved by any of it. While I liked one or two of his early singles, I have no time for Kanye West in any capacity. I enjoyed some of Jay-Z’s earlier singles, but cannot fathom why some consider him the greatest rapper alive. I liked a few Childish Gambino songs, but haven’t kept up. I respect Kendrick Lamarr’s accomplishments, but don’t particuarly enjoy his music. I don’t give a single crap about Drake. I find Ice Spice, Meghan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat and all of that stuff to be rather profoundly depressing and unlistenble garbage. People keep informing me of the greatness of SZA, but what little I’ve heard has bored me to tears. I've yet to be impressed by the music of anyone who prefaces their name with a "Lil," apart from, maybe, Lil Jon.
I’m relatively certain, however, that there is great, cutting-edge Hip-Hop that’s exciting and moving the genre forward, but I’m just not hearing it. I liked the last Run the Jewels record, at least.
But then I heard this band called … inexplicably … clipping.
On the genuinely unlikely label of Sup-Pop (the indie who brought us all things Grunge, in the early `90s), comes this enigmatic and grim trio (pictured above) whose music is dense, disturbing, dark, complicated and intriguing.
I’d heard something of theirs a while ago that really grabbed me by the lapels, but I never got the name of the track. I recently stumbled upon this track below – already from five years ago (where was I?), and I think it’s pretty amazing. Beyond the lyrical dexterity, the `80’s-horror-alluding production completely hooked me in (think Carpenter’s score to “Halloween,” which this video unmissably pays homage to). I think it’s pretty gripping.
I sent it to my colleague Jeff – way more versed in Hip-Hop than yours truly – and he said it was terrible, dated and – god forbid – corny. I beg to differ. I think it’s awesome.
What do YOU think?
Happy October.
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