Making waves in stagnating waters

I am a huge fan of nearly all things hip hop. This being said I am very much the observer of this world which people may suggest a middle class white guy can't really relate to. This sentiment is true in a sense, however race, creed, upbringing or any other sociological factor cannot prevent me from appreciating good music from within the genre or the talents (or lack of) of the people involved in creating it. And it is this that leads me on to my first published good thing: A$AP Rocky.

A$AP Rocky's debut album went No. 1 on the Billboard charts and met a great deal of critical acclaim from within the industry, but it did something more important than that. It deviated from the new normal. Don't get me wrong, I am no music critic or rapper in the making, but the last year or so has produced very little in terms of interesting or innovative rap music. Kanye tried to mix things up with "Cruel Summer" but ended up with a weird sounding record that was hard to classify as hip hop at all. YMCMB have been dominating single releases with Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj et al releasing tracks on almost a constant conveyor belt but it all so sounds similar. Auto tune, pop hooks, money, guns and in the case of Lil Wayne (especially on IANAHB2) girls is all we get to hear.

Enter "Long.Live.A$AP". By no means the next conscious rapper, nor is he attempting to resurrect the 'gangster rap' glories of Tupac, Snoop and Dre. He is offering something new and exciting. Signed to Polo Grounds record label and working with a whole host of different producers A$AP seems to have greater freedom to create rather than fall in line with what is expected of him. With some interesting use of instrumentals rather than over use of R&B hooks and a confident and assured style this album has real potential to put a bit of competition back into the rap scene and may shake some of the complacency out of the established artists.

If the track below "1 Train" is anything to go by we can expect to see a whole new wave of rappers emerging and this can surely only be a very Good Thing.

http://youtu.be/nU4OIAYwo5g