I’ve never liked rap that much. I don’t have anything against the genre, it just never resonated with me. Other than buying an MC Hammer tape in 1990, my exposure to hip-hop has been limited to what has been thrown at me on the radio and whatever my roommate is listening to at the time. I’m the annoying guy at the party who casually slips a Beatles song into the Kazaa playlist in between Eminem and 50 Cent. Usually I get caught, and people stop dancing and start staring at me as if I have just killed someone. Oh, you want something more modern, how about Radiohead? Yeah, I guess that’s not really party music. I might try Stevie Wonder a little later. No? James Brown? Come on, he’s the freakin’ Godfather of Soul, isn’t that a good compromise? Fine, you can put on that damn song about liking big butts again for the 50th straight weekend; I give up.
Although my appreciation for appropriate party tunes might be lacking, I do enjoy good live music. Attending concerts is one of my favorite things to do in the world (right up there with sleeping and criticizing people), so when my friend’s brother’s hip-hop group, Oddjobs, was set to make a stop on their national tour at the Black Cat last Saturday night, I was pumped to see them. Oddjobs, a group of twenty-something Minneapolis natives whose prominence has been rising fast over the past few years in the hip-hop community, was one of the opening acts for Atmosphere, which I learned is underground rap’s biggest name. I donned the most thuggish-looking articles of clothing in my wardrobe-a green hooded sweatshirt and Old Navy blue jeans-and was ready to go.
The first thing I noticed when we entered was the general make-up of the crowd. At the shows I’m accustomed to seeing, the average attendee is a college-aged, hemp-wearing, veggie burrito-eating, hackysack-playing, offensive-smelling pacifist who would apologize profusely for “harshing your mellow” if he were to inadvertently step on your foot. But this was the hip-hop world, and I was expecting to be among big men with shaved heads who would kick my ass if I looked at them the wrong way. Not so, however, for there were clearly more fake IDs than real gangstas at the Black Cat on this night.
When the lights finally went down and Oddjobs came out, the crowd had already swelled to near capacity-an odd, yet refreshing occurrence for an opening act. From what I’ve been told, it is very difficult to effectively translate hip-hop to a live setting. Traditionally, rap artists spend much more of their time working on lyrics and beats in the studio than they do on perfecting their road show. It was clear from the beginning, however, that Oddjobs was an exception to this general rule. The three MCs and two DJs came out with an immediate energy that kept everyone in the crowd engaged and dancing up a storm. Before I knew it, I too was putting my hands in the air and waving them like I just didn’t care. While the show was devoid of ripping guitar riffs and intricately harmonized vocals, it was bursting with what is by far the most important element of any concert, intensity. The sweat dripping off all of the MCs faces and the veins popping out of their necks showed that these guys were passionate about their songs and the quality of their performance, and that made me feel the same way.
Not only were these guys talented performers, they were also true musicians. Their beats were funky and original, and more importantly, their lyrics were cool. While holding true to their rap roots, Oddjobs’ words mostly lacked the kind of in-your-face-I’m-the-best-man-that’s-ever-lived attitude that’s always turned me off from rap music. And when some of their lyrics occasionally did contain that brash element, it was somehow clear that they weren’t taking themselves too seriously. While the members of Oddjobs would probably cite certain rappers from the past as being their primary influences, from my own perspective, their rhymes surprisingly reminded me of some of my favorite all-time rock ‘n roll lyricists. They used the weird imagery of the Bob Dylan school, the bizarre humor that Frank Zappa perfected, and told engaging stories like Robert Hunter. Those comparisons might be a bit of a stretch, and hip-hop is definitely a completely different animal than anything that came before it, but Oddjobs showed me that good music is good music, regardless of what genre it falls under.
Call me a musical snob if you will, but I honestly believe that the last few years in popular music have been the most boring and uninventive overall since the beginning of rock ‘n roll. The incredible rise of hip-hop’s popularity shows that it ain’t going anywhere, which is fine with me. I just hope that groups like Oddjobs, who make up for in talent what they may lack in bling-bling, have a future in the mainstream arena.
Scott Conroy is a junior in the College. He likes to keep it real.
