The Spectrum interviewed Dr. West before his Friday night speech at The Center for the Arts in Buffalo, NY.
They discussed various topics including Obama, Dr. West's childhood and modern-day Hip Hop. Check the Hip Hop part below:
The Spectrum: Now I’m an old school hip-hop guy, and I know you’re big on that stuff and have even been mentioned in Lupe Fiasco songs. I’m kind of skeptical of modern hip-hop, pop kind of stuff. What’s your view of all of the stuff on the radio?
Dr. West: Guys like Talib Kweli and Lupe Fiasco rap messages and have something to say. Now Jay-Z is on the radio and he’s talented, but he’s just not at the level he use to be at on Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint. The genius is still there, but there’s no more motivation.
The Spectrum: Do you think those artists that are on the radio rap about limited messages are providing bad role models to young African Americans?
Dr.West: They’re not spiritually deep. I’m a libertarian, people have the right to make noise, but there’s a lack of diversity of voices on the radio. Every generation has some music that’s questionable and not overly sophisticated.
Unfortunately, the radio is so systematic. When I was making my album, they said if I made a catchy and booty-shaking single, they’d play it. But that’s not what music should be about, especially the popular songs on the radio.
Click HERE to read the full interview!
This is a dope interview.
ReplyDeleteVery insightful.
I think that if there were more insightful recording artists within Hip-Hop, like Lupe, Talib Kweli, Nas, Common, Kanye and others, that the genre will evolve into something new and exciting.
Musically-speaking, I'm very worried about the way Hip-Hop is evolving, however.
That's what I been saying after Black Album... with the exception of American Gangster which had motivation behind it, but Kingdom Come and BP3 didnt
ReplyDeleteWale's Attention Deficit album is extremely different. He has a message too, a good one. He sorta reminds me of Lupe.
ReplyDeleteFunny thing. Dr. West mentioned being a libertarian. Just a year ago he was advocating a totally different ideology.
ReplyDeleteI can promise you Dr. West intentionally mentioned that for a reason. If more people were aware of libertarianism, you'd understand why Obama is no different than Bush. When people see things from Left-Right(Republican-Democrat), it is an ideology that is easily overlooked, but more and more people are becoming aware of that, and it is now the 3rd largest party in America.
Skeptical yet? Politics isn't as complicated as people believe. Just a few minutes of concentration and a little research and it all becomes more clear.
Even Lupe has been pushing it, although he may not be aware of it.
I didn't make these posts for nothing either. If I didn't believe it was something simply overlooked I wouldn't have taken the time to write it all out. Now that Dr. West has mentioned it in this entry although I feel much more comfortable explaining it.
ReplyDeleteWell on a lighter note, I think that picture is mad funny, look how similar Mr. West and Lupe look like, they're practically twins! 30 years from Lupe is definitely going to look just like him..just look at this mock picture I spent the past 4 minutes making -
ReplyDeletehttp://i45.tinypic.com/2vamb88.jpg
haha lol. I know all of you see don't lie.
hahaha, I was there...I amagzed how this blog can get any Lupe info quick...BTW, I find it interesting that Dr. West spoke about Lu in the school magazine but did not mention him during the speech...He actually spoke about Kweli and Jay but not Lu which forced me to scratch my head...But whatever, the speech was GOOD !
ReplyDeleteA good read. The Lupe Fiasco comment was just a bonus.
ReplyDeleteI heard Dr. West speak at Spelman's Commencement last year and he's just so inspiring. My friend met him at the airport and talked to him and said he's so cool and down to earth. Definitely one of the best black role model we have today.