But when they mention that the West Coast was on top, it's only to set the stage as to why Biggie became the savior of New York Hip Hop. They even admit that New York was struggling trying to reinvent themselves after their short-lived Afro-Centric movement burned bright and died quickly. As an example, in episode 8, they spend the entire episode talking about the rise of Nas, Wu-Tang, and Biggie at a time when West Coast Hip Hop was CLEANING UP on the charts. Some better than others but imitators nonetheless. Houston, LA, Seattle, St Lou, Atlanta, Miami, Charlotte.they're all just imitators. East coast hip hop culturalists and journalists will never miss an opportunity to make every other hip hop epicenter seem like a pale comparison of NY, just a bunch of people who appropriated the culture from the true artists in the five boroughs. Hell even the episode they did on the Bay Area kept insisting on how they owed their roots to New York. The Evolution Of NEW YORK Hip Hop (and a smattering of other Hip-Hop hubs as long as they're not LA) This series is now 8 episodes deep and yet only ONE episode gives attention to LA. Just call it what it is for a change, please. This show is a fantastic look at Hip Hop with the same character flaw suffered by every bit of media on the subject - the prevailing thought that all roads lead back to New York. This was an essential lesson in hip-hop 101 that has no substitute at this time. It is still a seminal work that has paved the way for even broader endeavors. There's only so much you can cover anyway and I know they tried to hit the highlights. Even with those absences I was impressed. I also would have liked to see hip-hop's first entry into movies as I remember Krush Groove, Breakin' and Beat Street. Those like KRS One, Fat Boys, Doug E Fresh, Whodini, Salt-N-Pepa, Slick Rick and more. I was slightly disappointed that some-what I consider pioneers-were not mentioned. It was somewhat nostalgic for me because many of the artists mentioned and interviewed were artists I enjoyed as a kid. I think anyone that has a serious interest in hip-hop should watch this documentary. It was amazing to hear about a music style that blossomed in the 80's but can really be traced to a time period well before that. I was floored to hear about how he started and what he started with. He was a scientist when it came to mixing and spinning two turntables. What he did for hip-hop was nothing short of wizardry. What cannot be overlooked is the contribution of Grandmaster Flash. They started with the underground parties of Kool Herc and progressed through the timeline from there stopping at the contributions of Afrika Bambata, The Furious Five, The Sugarhill Gang, Run DMC and others. The team that put this together went back to the genesis: Bronx, New York. So to see this four part tribute to its origins was just magnificent. In fact, I remember trying to "scratch" on my mom's record player because of hip-hop. My earliest memories were Run DMC, Kurtis Blow and the Beastie Boys. Hip-hop was my life growing up, as it was the life of so many around me. But there's also the dirty south and so many more things, that as a rap fan you may have heard about or are at least interesting enough for those who did not live back then to experience now. You can feel the love through the screen Edit 2: even more seasons and maybe no end in sight? I wouldn't mind, because the quality is there and the interviewer as someone in the game himself, knows what he talks and asks others about! Even if the Biggie and Pac thing has to be condensed it finally gets spoken about to here. In-Depth and a lot of interviews and background information. And while I didn't expect one to come (2 years after the initial season was made), it is as good as one would imagine. So while this may not be definitive and you may not find your favorite artist in this, it is one of the best looks inside and beyond Hip Hop Edit: Just watched the second season. It's more broad in that way, which it has to be, because if covers not just one style. There are quite a few artists who get to say how it was for them and there is a lot of trivia shared. And it's really nice that the whole thing has a time-line and starts from the beginning, going towards the the newer age of hip hop. It's not just an evolution, but also a revolution at times. Though even that running time cannot cover everything, it does cover really interesting points in the history of how this became a cultural phenomenon. So if you are here for the longer run (it's almost 3 hours long, split into 4 episodes), you are in for a treat. I imagine it still is good, but hopefully some people who mixed those two up, will not confuse others. The movie played at some festivals and has a condensed view. Some have mistaken the movie that was compiled and cut together from this series as the actual series.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |