Kid CuDi and Emo Hip Hop

In the hyper masculine, oversexed, misogynistic popular hip hop culture it is rare that we encounter an introverted, self conscious artist that can get radio play. Enter KiD CuDi, a 25-year-old Cleveland native with a different approach to hip hop.

"I gotta terminate the hate spread the positive/without bein wack or cheesy to the little
kids/ So I curse like a sailor and I smoke weed/ I am exactly who in all the rappers kids be"

CuDi, born Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, has only released a mixtape and his debut album Man On The Moon: The End of The Day and has already worked with artists such as Kanye West and Common who is the narrator throughout Cudders album. With such connections this early in his career one must ask what makes him so special?
CuDi has tapped into a new realm of hip hop that is starting to emerge in the mainstream: Emo. For the longest time a stranglehold has been put on mainstream hip hop that seems to deny some essential emotional outlets. A lot of popular artists out right now are finding new ways to talk about old themes which consist primarily of sex, pride and money. Money is what you have as well as what you are constantly in pursuit of. Sex being the only type of contact given to the oposite sex. It would appear that for the most part one is not allowed to view a woman as equal. Then we have pride which consists of a lot of "anything you can do I can do better" talk and only truly honoring your comrads who are the only people in your life that you have love for, would fight for and would die for.
The most interesting thing about this division of emotional outlets is it causes a conflict of interest psychologically. If you are not allowed to express emotional connection and identification with the opposite sex when you identify as straight but simultaniously cannot seek sexual connection with those who you are emotionally tied to (because we all know that most of hip hop is not too friendly to the homosexual lifestyle) you are never fulfilled when trying to establish a human connection.
I know, I know "where is all this going?" CuDi is a member of this new emo hip hop movement that appears to be expressing the effects of such an emotionally segregated lifestyle. He is constantly expressing his feelings of seclusion and misunderstanding on the part of those around him and although there is still misogyny in the verses there is this longing for that real connection as expressed in CuDi's popular single 'Day N Night',
"The pain is deep/ A silent sleeper you won't hear a peep (peep)/ The girl he wants don't seem to want him too/ it seems the feelings that she had are through (through)"
Every track is wreaking of marijuana and loneliness yet there is always a process in his songs. He starts out very pessimistic and ends optimistically believing that no matter what he can get passed all obstacles with or without help. Such is also the process of his entire album. Beginning with In My Dreams where he identifies that in his head everything is perfect but quickly sobering up in the second track, Soundrack to My Life where he reveals that he felt alone in his own house and mentions having to cope with losing his father. The bulk of the rest of the album consists of hills and valleys of of emotional expression but ultimately ends with the optimistic Up Up And Away, a wake-and-bake themed pop track where CuDi expresses his hope and dissmisle of any haters that might speak ill of him, "I'll be up up and away/ Up up and away cause/ they gon judge me anyway/ so whatever"
KiD CuDi even identifies his smoking as a means of coping with his feelings of alienation.
"Only things that calm me down; pussy and some Cali tree/ And I get both never truly satisfied/ I am happy that's just the saddest lie".
Other artists that are also exploring this new form of hip hop are Drake and Kanye West. Drake in his nonchalant track "Successful" and Kanye in the entirity of his love it or hate it fourth album 808s and Heartbreak. This new emo Hip Hop has even brought on some backlash from one of hip hops biggest names, Jay-Z through his first release from his most recent album The Blueprint 3 entitled D.O.A. or Death Of Autotune,
"All your lack of agression/ Pull your skirt back down grow a set, men/ Nigga this shit violent/ This is death of autotune, moment of silence"
But even this response from Jay-Z seems more tactical than honest. Jigga features CuDi, Drake and Kanye on his latest album in spite of his own alleged views, which suggests a very tactical business move which puts him on both sides of the arguement, getting play from both the lovers and haters of this new sound. And all of that sounds like quite an endoresment and acknowledgement of the power of this Emo Hip Hop.
It seems Kid CuDi can lay to rest some of his fears of being alienated. Though he continiously reminds us that no one understands him it seems quite apparent that he has become one of the loneliest people everyone wants to know.

The Big Lebowski

If you have not yet done it please do yourself the honor picking up a copy of The Big Lebowski. The cult classic by the Cohen brothers is comprised of all of your favorite parts from their later more popular works. Every perfectly timed joke, perfectly framed shot, and perfect little twist got their origins with this film.
After Jeffery "The Dude" Lebowski is the victim of a mistaken identity breaking and entering incident hilarity ensues. From carpet pissers, to severed toes, to "nice marmots" this movie is a creatively crafted, self referential masterpiece.

Hospice

A complaint about popular music today is that it's devoid of actual experience or true emotion. Or perhaps the emotions themselves are petty and melodramatic. In surrendering to the confines of the mainstream you often destroy the meaning of creation which is the experience of human emotion itself. For those of you who long for that meaning in your ipods and on your radios I give you Hospice by The Antlers.
Hospice is a journey into the love and loss of vocalist and guitarist Peter Silberman as he takes you through his experience loving someone and losing them to cancer. The album isn't just a usual collection of songs with absolutely no connection to each other, it's someone completely opening up and allowing the listener to witness what someone can go through mentally and emotionally when faced with mortality through the inevitable death of someone they care about. While some may find the premise "too depressing" with the current pop culture obsession with "emo"music why not try listening to a story of real life emotion that's actually worth being heard.

"We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival" ~ Winston Churchill

Community

The term "hyperreality", as defined by wikipedia "characterizes the inabilty of consciousness to distinguish reality from fantasy". This term seems to be the key ingredient in entertaining television today. With reality TV being a prime example of hyperreality, how do the writers fight back? Presenting Community, a brand new comedy on NBC about life at a Community College. The plot centers around seven characters from very different backgrounds and the odd situations which inevitably draw them together. The characters are as follows:
We have Jeff who is a formal attorney who apparently had fudged his degree and after having been found out is forced to go back to college and earn it. He always tries to find the easy way out of situations but somehow manages to have the moral fortitude to, at the last minute, turn selfless for the sake of people who, at all other times, he seems to loathe. He is the main focus of the seven, sarcastic and supposedly charming, he is played by Joel McHale, host of The Soup on the E! channel.
Playing his love interest Britta, a blunt, strong willed, young woman, is Gillian Jacobs. Britta seems to be the conscience of the group. She constantly denies Jeffs advances but of course occasionally displays symptoms of hidden attraction(although sometimes they don't seem to fit the character but a needed stimulant to keep the viewers hopes for a future relationship afloat).
Then we have Pierce, played by Chevy Chase. Pierce is old, self absorbed, fickle, ignorant and a slew of other adjectives that perhaps also relate to the star himself. Pierce strives for acceptance in the group but mainly acceptance from Jeff. In multiple episodes it's been more than hinted at that Pierce only really cares about Jeff, screaming in one episode after having a nervous breakdown, "Is Jeff out there? He's the only one who can help!"
Then we have Abed who is the oddest character(if such things can be measured) played by Danny Pudi. Abed's biggest gimmick is breaking the fourth wall. Already in the first season he himself referenced his own characters gimmick as getting old and needing a rest for an episode. His gimmick, however seems to be what the show is heavily leaning on.
Next we have Troy played by Donald Glover. Troy is a dumb Jock with dilusions of granduer about his high school days. although his character has some very funny moments (an end-of-the-show riff between him and Danny is a running gag) he seems to be one of the weaker characters on the show which is a shame to anyone who has ever seen any of his work for Derrick Comedy, a sketch comedy group whose videos can be easily found on youtube.
Then there is the Shirley Bennett, played by Yvette Nicole Brown. Shirley is a often giddy, christian, sweet older woman who loves things such as gossip, making her constantly ease drop on others conversations. Best episode: When her and Jeff become close over talking behind the back of Brittas new interest(if you don't laugh at the small nipples you must be dead inside).
And finally we have Alispn Brie who plays Annie. Annie gradutated from the same school as Troy and is secretely in love with him. She was a good student until an incident which gave her the nickname "little Annie Adderall" took her out of school for a while and now she must fight it out in community college.
Community seems to be the answer to this hyperreality boom. While reality tv thrusts in your face the oxymoronical idea of watching reality on television, Community constantly reminds you that you are watching characters on a show. The latest installement centers around the gang finding out that Abed has been making films about the group based on their characteristics, dictating their futures with the best part of this joke in the first three minutes of the episode while watching the character based on him, Pierce, after chuckling at his stupidity, asks "Who's that old guy?" and somehow the joke works. The show manages to make you laugh at it as it's watching and laughing at itself. Community, in spite of all assumptions about students who go to community college, works. How's that for a hyperreality check.

District 9 starts off very strong, filmed mockumentary style, giving us news clips and talking heads as a means of providing back story: The alien spacecraft appeared over Johannesburg around 30 years ago. After no attempt by the aliens to contact the humans, they took it upon themselves to make first contact. After breaching the hukk of the ship they find the aliens starving to death. A decision is made to relocate them to an are just outside of Johannesburg. Now the save haven for these marooned aliens has turned into an internment camp. Locals want the aliens moved out of fear. Finally the govenrment decides to relocate them to further outside of town and now must serve eviction notices to all the aliens inhabitants. Enter Wikus van der Merwe, our clueless protaganist put in charge of serving these aliens. Whilst performing this task, Wilkus stumbles upon what appears to be the only alien who has properly addapted to the present situation, citing laws that should protect him when Wilkus tries to evict him. Wilkus accidently comes in contact with some alien chemical that eventually starts to turn him into an alien. He then becomes the target of both the military and the Nigerian pirates who seek to find the secret to alien weaponry which is inoperable by humans.
Now, this movie has many good aspects to it. The special effects are done tastefully and not over the top(save maybe the last big action sequence). Wilkus is a well rounded character. You love him at times and hate him at times(I may have spent more time hating). It practically beats you over the head with its paralleling of the treatment of these aliens to apartheid in South Africa not to mention treatment of refugees and illegal aliens. This is achieved by of course the title referencing District 6 in Cape Town and the talking head descriptions and feelings towards the aliens complete with an alien racial slur, "prawn" based on the aliens resemblance to shrimp.
Then there are the "Nigerians". The reason for the quotes is that is how these Nigerian hustlers are reffered to in the movie, as simply "the Nigerians". Now that would not be problematic if it wasn't for the specifics of this group who have set up shop in the alien camp, cheating the aliens out of weaponry and alien technology for cans of cat food which the aliens have become obsessed with. These "Nigerians" not only are ruthless gangsters who hustle these aliens, sometimes killing them for the fun of it or giving them use of Nigerian prostitutes, they are heavy into witchcraft, causing their crime boss to sometimes eat aliens. And of course when he gets wind of Wilkus' transformation of course he has found he next conquest. With all of these horrific qualities these characters are reffered to as simply "the Nigerians". The characters come across as stereotypes. These characters have no redeeming qualities and seem to only be put in the movie as eventual collateral damage. The audience is supposed to feel relief as our hero uses alien weaponry to literally explode the head of the Nigerian crime boss. It's no wonder the film has been banned in Nigeria. Nigeria's Information Minister Dora Akunyili is quoted as saying "We feel very bad about this because the film clearly denigrated Nigeria's image by portraying us as if we are cannibals, we are criminals." With all of it's apparent messages about the treatment of those who are considered "others" District 9 seems only to swallow its own tail.

Blacksummers' Night Not So Hot

Immediately after the first five seconds of the first cut, Bad Habits you are sure that you're listening to Maxwell. The soulful crooner returns from an eight year hiatus and surprisingly not much has changed. This is not to say that Maxwell's previous albums needed improvement. Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite is of course a classic with memorable tracks such as Sumthin' Sumthin' and Whenever Wherever Whatever. But Where there are memorable tracks there are forgetful ones and BlackSummer's Night seems to be composed almost completely of such tracks. With lines such as "you come out of nowhere/dissappear and reappear/Houdini would be proud" it seems that Maxwell, although keeping his classic sound, has forgotten the depth. Not that there aren't any gems on the album. The first single Pretty Wings as well as Playing Possum hint at Maxwell's former lyrical perfection but on the whole the album leaves you almost wishing he'd waited another year. Now I am under the impression that this album is the first part of a three part series that Maxwell is releasing. I can only hope that this was the only a taste of what is to come. But as it stands by itself I would just wait for the second release and burn a friends copy of the former just so you can have the whole collection.