Daily Discussion Thread 12/17/2018 - HipHop | HipHop Channel

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Daily Discussion Thread 12/17/2018 - HipHop

Daily Discussion Thread 12/17/2018 - HipHop

Daily Discussion Thread 12/17/2018

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 06:00 AM PST

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Album of the Year 2018 #15: Cardi B - Invasion of Privacy

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 03:06 PM PST

Artist: Cardi B

Album: Invasion of Privacy

Release Date: April 5, 2018

Label: Atlantic

Background

Like most of popheads, my spirit animal is a suburban white twink, so I had no idea who Cardi B was pre-Bodak. [I originally wrote this for popheads but tbh it applies here too]. But if you were alive in 2018, you certainly know her now. One of Cardi's biggest strengths is that her music is an autobiography, a 100% authentic depiction of her. If you have listened to her music, you know her - but in case you haven't, I'll run through the basics real quick.

Born and raised in the Bronx, Cardi grew up with modest means. Eventually, she became a stripper to make ends meet when she was only 19. She grew a sizable social media following using her trademark outsized personality while sharing her stripper life. She became a reality star on Love & Hip Hop: New York, and used that as a platform for a music career by 2016. In 2017, she broke records with her mainstream debut "Bodak Yellow." In 2018, she only grew more successful with the release of her debut album, while her volatile relationship with Offset and her subsequent pregnancy garnered her even more media attention.

Review

"Look,"

Cardi begins, admonishing.

"They gave a bitch two options: stripping or lose."

The first ten seconds of Invasion of Privacy serves as a perfect reminder of the traits that led to Cardi's stardom - her blunt honesty, the unapologetic attitude, her humble beginnings, and her storytelling ability. Cardi says it best herself; she's a "real bitch, only thing fake is the boobs."

The first track of the album, "Get Up 10," sets the stage for Invasion of Privacy and properly introduces Cardi B. It is essentially a victory song for Cardi, summarizing both her life story as well as showcasing her penchant for catchy one-liners and aggressive flow. Even when the song isn't original, as evidenced by the credited Meek Mill influence as well as her many co-writers, Cardi makes it distinctly her own by being Cardi and selling her story, letting her personality and charisma shine through.

Backed by a haunting piano instrumental (interpolated from Meek Mills' "Dreams and Nightmares"), she starts by reminiscing about her early years and her struggle to make ends meet. She's neither ashamed nor afraid of her stripper past ("I ain't telling y'all to do it, I'm just telling my story"), effectively taking what has historically been a misogynistic insult and turning it into one of her greatest selling points. An airhorn plays while the beat drops, and all of a sudden Cardi is on the offensive. She spits out some of her signature one-liners, answers her doubters, and threatens her haters that she'll smack them "and the bitch that they act like" - all in seemingly the same breath. She even does a bit of foreshadowing ("Ima put a Louboutin where her neck at!"). She concludes by repeating the source of the song's title, an inspirational little mantra - "Knock me down 9 times but I get up 10."

"Get Up 10" is empowering, as is most of Invasion of Privacy. The most empowering song of the album is, of course, "Bodak Yellow." I won't spend too much time discussing this song because you've all heard it, and there are millions of thinkpieces online already that do a better job dissecting it better than I ever could. What I, and most people, admire about the song is Cardi's unabashed delivery, how she celebrates herself without any fear. There isn't a hint of hesitation as she raps, even when she discusses some of her biggest insecurities, such as her "fucked up teeth" or how she had to "dance" for money. You know she's on top of her game without her ever having to say it.

A common theme for the album is female empowerment. Cardi broke numerous records as a woman in a genre historically dominated by men, and Invasion of Privacy is a reflection of this and succeeds because of it. On "Bickenhead," Cardi plays around with the idea of a "chickenhead," which Wikipedia is telling me is a slang term for women who give blowjobs for money. Like "Get Up 10" and "Bodak Yellow," Cardi is taking a historically misogynistic term and turning it on its head, while also giving us endlessly hilarious and quotable one-liners like "Got it from my mama and you don't know where your daddy at."

"I Do" follows the same vein, giving us cleverly amusing lines like "Leave his texts on read, leave his balls on blue" that shift the power in the relationship to the woman. "If he can make you richer then he can make you cum," Cardi raps, with a noticeable smirk that you don't need to see to know it's there. Songs like "Money Bag" and "She Bad" equate men with money and other materialistic goods. Sure, Cardi loves them both, but she uses them so she can satisfy herself, first and foremost.

The album also takes a page out of Beyonce's Lemonade and uses vulnerability as a form of empowerment. "Ring" hints at Cardi's fear of infidelity, but "Thru Your Phone" and "Be Careful" are the songs where Cardi really pours her heart out. These songs highlight Cardi's tumultuous relationship with fellow rapper Offset, which has also led to her well-publicized pregnancy. [Just two days before this writeup, Cardi broke up with Offset.]

"Thru Your Phone" starts off hilarious enough: "I just wanna call your mama and let her know that she raised a bitch." However, Cardi wastes no time going on the offensive, threatening to expose the side chick's nudes on Instagram on the first verse before escalating to putting bleach in Offset's cereal in the second verse - and if that doesn't work, stabbing him in his sleep. Cardi doesn't portray herself in the most positive light on the song, but that only proves again her realness and honesty, as well as a sense of self-awareness. Haven't we been driven crazy by love? The instrumental and her delivery complement the complexity of her feelings: she sounds borderline incoherent as she's angrily contemplating murder, but quietly pensive in the chorus when she lets the hurt and the sadness sink in.

"Be Careful" expands on her relationship even more, divulging details that are far too personal to sift through and analyze. My favorite one, though, is how his cheating has started to affect her own self worth: "You got me trippin, you got me lookin in the mirror different, thinkin' I'm flawed because you inconsistent." Notably, this is the only song on the album where Cardi's signature aggressive flow is completely absent. The song also discusses relationship dynamics from a uniquely female perspective, which I won't discuss too much since I can't relate, but it's important to consider as a common theme in Invasion of Privacy.

Invasion of Privacy has one notable weakness, and it's the features. It's not that the features are bad. On the contrary, they sometimes upstage Cardi on her own song, but that's the problem. "Best Life," with its gospel influences, sounds more like a Chance song than a Cardi song, and even with Cardi's self-reflective lyrics, she was more convincing on "Get Up 10" and "Bodak Yellow." Likewise, Kehlani's pop hook practically runs away with "Ring," reducing Cardi to sounding like a feature on her own song. Invasion of Privacy's strongest allure is Cardi herself and her ability to sell her story, making it odd that the album contains as many features as it does.

I can't fault Cardi for exploring new genres, or using features as a way to experiment. Invasion of Privacy has its weaker tracks, but they never once feel like filler because of the album's diverse soundscape. Cardi successfully connects to her dominican roots in the Latin-infused trap track "I Like It," with the help of Bad Bunny and J. Balvin. Her foray into combining rap and balladry are particularly insightful. And, needless to say, Cardi knows her way around a trap beat. Even if her attempts at using gospel influences ("Best Life") or R&B pop ("Ring") aren't entirely convincing, they don't feel like failures either.

Invasion of Privacy is a great album in its own right, but it also serves as a vehicle for Cardi to solidify herself as the superstar that she is. Give it to another rapper, and this collection of songs would fall flat. It's not only Cardi's story that sells the album, but her humor and her confidence. She delivers lines like "They call me Cardi B, I run this shit like Cardi O" with undeniable energy, while still giving songs like "Be Careful" the emotional heft that they need. She's honest, hilarious, empowering, fierce, vulnerable, human, and above all, she is Cardi B.

A Star is Born

I see a lot of people here claiming that Cardi will be a fad, forgotten by the time 2020 rolls around. I have to laugh. The thing about Cardi B is that her brand is about being the underdog. She succeeds precisely because people thought she couldn't, because she had to claw her way up herself. People forget that she got to where she is today by first mastering the social media game, knowing how to cultivate a fanbase and getting people to listen. To become a pop star, the public needs to know who you are - not just your name and your songs, but your life and your ideals. They need someone to deify. Invasion of Privacy is so distinctly Cardi, allowing any listener that falls in love with the album to fall in love with her story, her sense of humor, her boldness and her insecurities (and vice versa). She has successfully woven herself into this generation's zeitgest, and that's something that won't go away.

I remember walking into work one day and seeing a group of my coworkers huddled in a circle, discussing Cardi's baby bump on SNL. I remember how I was driving in Ocean City, MD (a trashy little beach town) and hearing "Bartier Cardi" blaring from the car next to me. Curious, I looked over and saw some skinny tan white girl, the type to have been a horse girl in middle school and have a new car gifted to them on her 16th birthday. It was at that moment that I knew Cardi will stick around.

If there is one thing I learned in 2018, it's that Cardi B cannot be underestimated. So go on, hate and doubt. Say she's too loud, she's too "ratchet." That she uses too many writers, that she doesn't have enough talent. But don't be surprised when another one of her catchy one-liners becomes truth: "I like proving ni***s wrong, I do what they say I can't."

Some Questions:

  1. What is your favorite song from the album?
  2. What do you want to see from Cardi B in the future?
  3. How do you feel about Cardi's brand of feminism, especially considering her background?
  4. Most quotable line from the album?
  5. Some people like to separate the artist from the music. With Cardi, I find it nearly impossible. Do you think the autobiographical nature of Cardi's music will help or hurt her in the future?
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I made a post a few months ago about Travis Scott saying he would design a high school’s senior class t-shirt. It seems Travis made good on that promise and designed a shirt for them.

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 01:37 PM PST

My original post linking his tweet

Direct link to Travis' tweet

Travis' Instagram story

I just think it's really cool that Travis stayed true to what he said months earlier and designed a unique shirt for this class. Travis is really for the kids.

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Tyler, The Creator and A$AP Rocky bullying each other for 6 minutes straight

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 02:56 PM PST

[FRESH] Denzel Curry - Behind Bars Freestyle (ZeZe Remix)

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 03:15 PM PST

A$AP Rocky Deepest Interview: Being Homeless, Losing His Father & Overcoming times

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 05:26 AM PST

Travis Scott announces leg 2 of Astroworld tour

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 03:34 PM PST

link to tweet

ASTROWORLD TOUR LEG 2 ON SALE THIS THURSDAY 10AM LOCAL TIME AMEX PRESALE TOMORROW FAN/MERCH PRESALE WEDNESDAY

Dates:

1/25 - Vancouver, BC

1/27 - Portland, OR

1/29 - Tacoma, WA

2/4 - San Diego, CA

2/6 - Las Vegas, NV

2/8 - Los Angeles, CA

2/11 - Tulsa, OK

2/13 - Houston, TX

2/17 - Kansas City, KS

2/18 - St. Louis, MO

2/20 - Indianapolis, IN

2/21 - Chicago, IL

2/22 - Milwaukee, WI

2/24 - Columbus, OH

2/26 - State College, PA

2/28 - Buffalo, NY

3/2 - New York, NY (Madison Square Garden)

3/3 - Brooklyn, NY (Barclays Center)

3/5 - Montreal, QC

3/7 - Toronto, ON

3/9 - Hartford, CT

3/12 - Washington DC

3/14 - Jacksonville, FL

3/15 - Orlando, FL

3/17 - Tampa, FL

3/20 - Nashville, TN

3/22 - Atlanta, GA

3/24 - Charlotte, NC

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Kid Cudi joins Willow and Jada Smith at Red Table Talk to discuss his mental health problems and battle with addiction

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 10:54 AM PST

Kanye West/GOOD Music - Champions (ft. Gucci Mane, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, Travis Scott, Quavo, Yo Gotti & Desiigner

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 08:42 AM PST

[FRESH] 'Friday Night Dance Party' Danny Brown new 23 track EP

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 12:22 PM PST

Injury Reserve post a picture on Instagram teasing the new self titled album

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 05:15 PM PST

The screenshot from their Insta.

Any of you guys excited? Any particular expectations for the album now that they got signed to a label?

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I have a hypothesis that Travis Scott’s Stargazing is a roller coaster. Literally. One of the producers of this song indirectly confirmed it to me. What do you think of this concept?

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 06:36 PM PST

To begin with, I want to note that Stargazing seems to be a special song for Travis. It pre-sounded at concerts before the official release of the album, in rapper's Instagram Stories and, more importantly, it sounds in Astroworld's trailer and located on the first place in the tracklist.

Astroworld - Official Trailer

I have every reason to believe that Travis Scott and his team of star producers conceived through this music to deftly convey to the listener feelings of visiting a roller coaster. First, watch this short video of the attraction «Ultra Twister» from the former Houston amusement park filmed in 1999 and let's roll!

Ultra Twister Roller Coaster POV Six Flags Astroworld 1999 Complete On-Ride Houston TX

Rise

In the first part of the track, the attraction mechanism slowly moves the trolley with a listener on the peak of the hill. While Trav is rapping about psychedelics, his daughter and Ellen DeGeneres, the beat on the background moves like a stumbling march with deep 808's, monotonous hi-hats and with a slight touch of distortion. And the music subconsciously suggests not to go along with it, but rather roll slowly, which is directly influenced by the first and periodically repeating line:

Rollin', rollin', rollin', got me stargazin'.

Closer to the middle of the track, our trolley brakes, as it has almost reached the highest point of the hill. We're looking down from this dizzy height, and we're intercepting the breath from the view that has opened to us, which convey ephemeral female singing and piano keys. Only the sounds of the mechanism that lifts the carriage and a looped squeak remind us of the reality. Distant children's screams anticipate a fast descent. The trolley reaches its climax at the moment of the micro-pause in the interval between 2:45 and 2:46 seconds of the track and then abruptly breaks down.

​

Descent

The second part of Stargazing noticeably accelerates us. We are rolling down the rails, the tempo of the composition increases, pumped by a vortex melody, and with it Travis Scott appears to wake up. Without any repeating lines, the rapper jumps on the melody with the sober words:

Ok, I been up for some days, I ain't got time to lay.

Right after that the artist invites us to his past, remembering his promise to return amusement park back to kids:

If I take you to my past you will be traumatized
Got a thousand kids outside that's tryna come alive
'99, took AstroWorld, it had to relocate
Told the dogs I'd bring it back, it was a seal of faith

Did Stargazing with the previous clip of roller coaster's complete on-ride fit into a single picture in your head? The structure of this song literally copies the route of this roller coaster. This hypothesis is supported by such evidence as different dynamics of the first lyrics and melodies of each of the parts, the sounds of an attraction mechanism and the exclamations of its visitors in the middle of the track and, finally, Travis's promise to return destroyed Astroworld back.

By the way, it can be exactly former attraction «Ultra Twister» from the video above. Imagine that you are a beatmaker from Houston who wants to dedicate an album to favorite amusement park. What will you do to immerse the listener in this nostalgic atmosphere? Most likely you'll look for field records as samples witch you may find if you'll search videos on Youtube by request "six flags astroworld". What do we get at the output? Several documentary videos with voice-over text and than – «Ultra Twister Roller Coaster POV Six Flags Astroworld 1999 Complete On-Ride Houston TX» that makes the viewer a witness of the taken away attraction. Perfect, isn't it? Consider the wrong year of closing the park in the lyrics (its 2005, not 1999) but coinciding with the title of exactly this video and a similar "field" sample in the middle of the track on slowed down and pitched two-second passage from 2:34 to 2:36 of attraction's on-ride.

​

https://i.redd.it/6nsqvbxj4y421.jpg

I don't know whether Stargazing was really designed like this or whether it's all just a coincidence and a game of imagination. Of course each listener can have their own interpretation, and this is mine. I have only the last question left. It's lit, isn't it?

PS. Initially, I published this hypothesis as part of my album review on the Russian-language site Kanobu.ru about pop culture, but it's audience is skeptical of rap music, so it passed by everyone. At the same time, in August, I was looking for confirmation of my guess from people who worked on the song. I DMed to Travis and all the producers of the track, but only one of them responded to my messages – Bkorn. By his response, I mean his 'like' under my message. Decide for yourself whether this can be considered a confirmation of my hypothesis, or it means nothing at all. At least he read my messages and did not call them stupid :)

https://i.redd.it/y6r28y8t6y421.jpg

PSS. I'm interested to read your opinion about it. Maybe someone already wrote something similar, and I don't even know about it, since about 4 months have passed. At first I published this text on the same subreddit, but my post immediately got into spam and none of the moderators answered me. I'll try to do it again. Just in case, I warn you that this is my first publication in English :)

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LIL PUMP Blasted for Mocking ASIANS, Rapping "Ching Chong" on a new song

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 11:07 AM PST

IC3PEAK, an experimental pop/hip-hop duo from Russia have had over 10 of their shows either cancelled or almost cancelled since November by Russian authorities, forced to play in secret locations and face threats and problems with police at every show. (Screenshots with more details inside)

Posted: 16 Dec 2018 11:55 PM PST

Kool A.D., Formerly of Das Racist, Accused of Sexual Assault by Four Women

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 10:02 AM PST

Rakim freestyling in the 80’s

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 08:47 AM PST

Reese’s Puffs Rappers - Peanut Butter Chocolate Flavor

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 12:46 PM PST

J.I.D and BJ the Chicago Kid perform "Skrawberries" live (Jimmy Fallon)

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 02:08 PM PST

J.I.D – Westbrook (feat. A$AP Ferg)

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 05:12 PM PST

A$AP ROCKY X TYLER THE CREATOR - POTATO SALAD

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 03:22 PM PST

[FRESH] Lil Jon featuring Kool-Aid Man - All I Really Want For Christmas (Official Music Video)

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 07:50 AM PST

Tracklist and Pre-Order for “War in my Pen” by MIKE (December 21)

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 10:23 AM PST

[FRESH] Earl Sweatshirt - Veins (OG Version)

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 11:47 AM PST

[FRESH] The Black Eyed Peas ft. Nas - BACK 2 HIPHOP

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 07:31 PM PST

Rhythm Roulette: Joji | Mass Appeal

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 11:41 AM PST

Nipsey Hussle On Why 'Victory Lap' Is the Best Rap Album Of 2018: It's 'What Our Genre Sounds Like at Its Best'

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 08:48 AM PST

Eric Andre - Hot Chicken (Rough Child Remix)

Posted: 17 Dec 2018 02:35 PM PST
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