theology of hip-hop: questions.

i got halfway through this post on friday morning, but then i deleted it because it wasn't taking form the way i wanted it to. but when my bro CDoubleDizz over at justbeingchristian.com posts on the theology of kanye's "jesus walks" just three days later...well, i just can't help myself.

i grew up in suburban kansas city. most of you know this. if not, welcome to my blog. when i was young, i thought hip-hop was evil. i based this on the fact that rap used cuss words and was nothing but the sex-drugs-cash trifecta. i decided that DC Talk was a better route - meet rap halfway, i guess. wouldn't want to fill my mind with unholy filth. i have an inkling that this thought process was (and would still be) supported by the church i grew up in and am now employed by. this isn't a dog on my church - but more a truth about the western suburban church in general: act like life is perfect. don't doubt God. hide your sins, etc. the church isn't a place for hip-hop.

i supposed this may be partially true - guys like snoop dogg and soulja boy likely have very little to say regarding theology, faith and spirituality - but a strong collection of the rap/hip-hop artists have a great deal to say. it's honest, and that honesty makes the christian world uncomfortable. but if we were as honest as the rappers out there, i think we'd would realize that the hip-hop community has just as much (dare i say more) to say about life and theology than the white suburban culture that i've been raised in.

where does rap and hip-hop come from? it comes from the ghettos and the public housing systems - well, at least the honest stuff does. it comes from the 12 year old drug hustlers who have dreams of getting out of life they've been handed. it comes from the kids who didn't have a shot at "the good life" that i was raised in.

they're telling their story.
and their story is what frames their theology.

it's no wonder the suburban church struggles with concepts like "hope" and "mourning" and "doubt" - our theology has been framed by simplicity and ease, comfort and shelter. we avoid the challenging questions and speak in generalities like "Jesus help me to trust you more." we don't ask questions like...

"Jesus, why was there another earthquake in Japan last week?"
or
"Jesus, why was i born into an upper middle-class home and not into a slum in india?"
or
"Jesus, why do so many people have to suffer so greatly?"
or
"Jesus, why don't my parents love each other anymore?"
or
"Jesus, if you're so great, why couldn't you heal my friend's dad?"
or
"Jesus, why don't i even remotely feel your presence?"

and even when we ask these questions, we give answers like, "well, we live in a fallen world," or "we don't understand God's plan," and immediately extinguish a legitimately terrific theological question. a question that we ought to wrestle with, but instead we can forget about because of the ease of the culture that defines our theology.

hip-hop does not forget about these questions. why? because it can't.

the artists and musicians that feed hip-hop culture has defined their theology in a culture that isn't allowed to ignore those questions because they live it. it is their story. the people of Japan aren't allowed to ignore the answer to the "why was there another earthquake?" question. if someone from the Indian slums asked me, "why was i born here and not where you were born?" and i answered, "we just don't understand God's plan," then i would hope they would slap me. cause the next question would be "so God's plan involves me growing up on pennies a day?"

hip-hop is a voice for the oppressed, for the less-fortunate, for the marginalized.
it's a voice for the people who never had a chance at a different life.
it's a voice for the individuals who wrestle with the toughest of questions.

hip-hop is truer theology than most people realize - or maybe better phrased, than most people allow themselves to realize.

listen: The Roots - Dear God 2.0

-apc.

REVIEW: kanye west - my beautiful dark twisted fantasy.

every review i read is telling me this album is phenomenal. rolling stone gives it the often-talked-about-rarely-seen 5/5 stars. PMA blog gives it a 95/100. consider me confused.

maybe i'm just selfish and want kanye circa 2007. maybe i just throw my guard up when someone (kanye) messes with near-perfection (Graduation). there has to be something off about how i'm approaching this album, because this album certainly doesn't warrant phrases like, "It's kanye's best album" (rolling stone), or "It’s Kanye’s most complex and complete release and one of the most consistently impressive hip hop albums in recent years" (PMA).

so is it me? or is it them? something is just off.

the album is good. i will admit that, but it is certainly not "consistently impressive", nor is it "the best". its better than 808s, and that about it. individual songs can potentially compete with some off kanye's previous 4 albums, but this album ought to be viewed as a complete album rather than a collection of individual tracks. that makes it a bit dicey for me.

don't get me wrong though, there are bright spots: Dark Fantasy is a perfect lead track - the sampling draws you in and you catch your head bobbing to the back beat almost immediately. the aptly titled "Power" makes me feel like i'm about to take over the world in slow motion. it's chanting, clapping Afromerica sample puts off a dynamite underdog uprising vibe. pretty sure it has already been adopted as the team entrance music in 40% of NFL stadiums. "All of the Lights" is truly brilliant. it flows beautifully from "Power" and continues the world-domination feel.

but there are also spots where i think, "who in the world thinks this sounds remotely appealing?" tracks like "Monster" and "So Appalled" make up a dismal heart to the album. if the beginning of the album is beautiful, then this is certainly the dark and twisted portion of the album. "Monster" may give me nightmares, and "So Appalled" may never make it past five in my itunes play count.

this album stands as a whole, and i respect that a great deal. i also respect the fact that kanye pulls samples from rad old school tracks (smokey robinson, cold grits, the mojo men), but he also tosses in artists i've never even heard of on nearly every track. both of these bits, now that i think about it, revert back to his College Dropout and Late Registration days. i was spoiled with MJ and Daft Punk samples on Graduation, but he seems to have found a certain aspect of his roots while transforming them into something new and musically forward...even if i don't really care for where he's progressing at certain times.

maybe the most impressive sample on the album is the use of the original "Soul Makossa" track that is probably better known (at least by me) as a Michael Jackson reference. he throws it down as the backtrack in the Bon Iver collaboration that winds the album down to a close. the shortest track on the album (a whopping 4:17), it leads with an Imogen Heap vocoder feel that builds to an and 808-heavy Soul Makossa beat that i dig quite a bit (though its possible that he wins me over simply with the blending of the sample and the "mamakusa" line in the first verse).

it starts and finishes strong (though i can't help but be bummed out by the track 2 Kid Cudi collab - i tried, but i'm just not a Cudi fan). ultimately, save for a few songs that do anything but get me excited, the album is solid as a whole. though if i had to weigh the songs i love versus the songs i hate, it'd be an even split.

i respect the album (which i certainly did not expect to). the samples i thought were gone are present and are, truthfully, very strong. and i can ALMOST understand how this album passed with flying colors according to so many. depending on the moment - i both love it and hate it, but honestly - despite a handful of tracks i find TERRIBLE - kanye has again proven that he truly is a genius. insane? that too, but he utilizes his insanity relatively well.

ugh. i hate that i just said all that.

overall, the album is good. but not great. certainly not as good as others have claimed it to be. but as kanye says in his 35-minute film "Runaway" - "first thing in this world baby, don't pay attention to anything you see in the news." it's not a 5/5 or a 95.

i give it a 78.

-apc.

somewhat immediate thoughts on the 2009 VMAs.

okay. so i first started writing about the VMAs in my facebook status, but then i started getting carried away and started writing paragraphs in the tiny little "What's on your mind?" box and decided i ought to just write it on my blog.

there are a few things that need to be addressed in regards to the VMAs. ready break:

number 1: kanye west is a jack hole. i mean, we were all thinking it 'ye - taylor swift is a no-talent clown who has somehow made it big in a questionable genre (in the VMAs eyes...also my eyes) - but you didn't have to go and throw her under the bus in front of the entire nation. she's 19 bro. just cause she makes millions of dollars she may or may not deserve doesn't mean you have to destroy her self esteem for years to come. do i agree that beyonce's video was better (and that this dude's was even better), but that's low. even for you.

number 2: empire state of mind is the best track jay-z has released since the black album. kingdom come and american gangster...not hov's greatest work. not that they weren't dece - they were - but blueprint 3 is the first album since 2003 that i've really been stunned by. more about BP3 in another post probably - for now, it is suffice to say that he and alicia keys'* performance in the VMAs tonight was absolutely bonkers. i literally jumped out of my bed and started pumping my fist before jay even uttered a syllable. i had a lump in my throat the entire performance. good grief.

* - again...possessive names ending in "S"...possessive of "keys"? keys's? keys'? keyses? this language is so stupid.

number 3: beyonce is a robot. when i consider each of the following - her voice, her body, and her dance moves - this is the only solution i can ever arrive at. no real person should be capable of being...that. she is powerful and, like her husband, absolutely killed it when she performed "all the single ladies (put a ring on it)". i mean seriously. she has to be a robot. i challenge you to derive a better conclusion. until i hear one i will continue to believe that jay-z is married to a machine.

number 4: the grammy for best hip hop album of 2035 goes to: shawn carter, JR!!! i'm telling you, if beyonce is indeed a human being and is capable of reproduction, and she and jay-z have a couple kiddos - you better believe that my offspring will be obsessed with anything and everything they do. you wait and see. those kids are destined for greatness. there is nothing they could do to screw it up.

number 5: lady gaga is a freak. also her performance was lip synced for sure. sounded pretty tight though. i have a history of liking freaks as long as they put out good music. the verdict is still out on LG.

number 6: the michael jackson tribute was perfect. oh my goodness. the most synced and beautifully immitated dance routine i've ever witnessed. music videos are impressive - MJ's especially - but they're still videos. you can take 5- 10- 20 takes before you get the perfect choreograph sequence down, but to watch the sequence perfectly matched live on stage?! brilliant. absolutely brilliant. and when janet -ahem- busts out of the background! i literally gasped and clapped. i don't think a better tribute could've been done...maybe if they played more quincy jones tracks. but that's just me getting greedy.

okay. i think that pretty much covers all my immediate thoughts. just had to get it all out of my system before i went to sleep. otherwise my heart would be racing and i'd toss and turn all night. but now i can go to bed in peace. except that 'all the single ladies' is rolling through my head. worth it.

best VMAs i can remember: kanye made a fool of himself, MJ was honored, and the shawn carter family have totally got some chops. definitely some chops indeed.

-ap.

quick thoughts on popular music.

here are a handful of thoughts i've had regarding music in the last week or so. don't feel obligated to watch ALL the videos i link to - but you should at least watch the first 10-20 seconds of the video linked in point #4...ready break.

#1. i wish amy winehouse wasn't such a sideshow. she actually makes terrific music and the more i listen to it the more her repulsive life fades out of my mind. she ought to focus on making more music cause then she'd have a lot more fans and a lot less critics/people who think she's a freak. which she is. but MJ's kinda a freak too and helloooo.

#2. last night i dabbled more with itunes genius and was awarded with easily my greatest victory to date: joss stone - what were we thinking. here are tracks 1-13:

and the list of fantastic tracks continued for multiple hours of audio enjoyment. sometimes genius can be disappointing and frustrating. other times it can be extremely rewarding. this was one of those times.

#3. i wish kanye wasn't such a boring interview. the guy is just so awkward and uncomfortable to listen to talk. he's quite the artist, but i think my buddy jon stated it best when he refered to kanye west as a "terrible human". that is not to say that he's morally terrible - he's just bad at being a normal human. pretty good description i think. proof here and here.

#4. the more i hear beyonce's "single ladies (put a ring on it)" the more i like it. the first 15 or so times i heard it - hated it. i thought it was annoying and obnoxious and redundant and blah blah blah. but the 16th time...yessss. also check out this sweet clip my friend rachel showed me...so hilarious. so so so wrong.

#5. lastly, i have decided that gnarls barkley makes the most fantastic music videos on the planet. i could write an entire post about this...probably will sometime. so i'll leave it at that for now.

-ap.

808's and Heartbreak.

i've been toying with adding the "check out these interesting links that i've stumbled upon" gadget to my side bar, but i didn't really think there was a whole lot truly worthy of it until now.

if you'll take a gander...
KANYE WEST IS RELEASING HIS NEW ALBUM DECEMBER 16.

-ap.

okay. i'll update.

a few pointers about me that may be interesting to read:

1. i've started apartment hunting for places in kansas city for next summer. yes, it may be a bit premature, but i'm more looking for areas rather than actual apartment complexes. i want to move downtown. like in the city or just outside. i want my suburban mindset to be challenged and i want to be among those in poverty.

2. i've been listening to a lot of bobby bland and al green which is an interesting juxtaposition. the latter sings about love and how great it is and the former sings about how much he's been burned by women and is so bitter about it. i think i lean more toward bobby. i've been offsetting these two with john mayer and ben folds who sing about both and make everything seem more balanced. and akon too.

3. books i'm reading: gone tomorrow: the hidden life of trash, something beautiful for God, and the audacity of hope. i'm farthest in obama's book (almost done with it), and i've just started the other two. i haven't really gained a whole lot of new insight from obama's book but i have confirmed a lot of the thoughts i had about him already. he and i share at least one opinion: there is extreme inequality in this nation and something needs to be done about it.

4. okay, this one isn't about me. aaron rodgers is a stud. i completely understand why the packers wouldn't want brett favre back (although brett favre wasn't too shabby for the jets yesterday). aaron rodgers also looks very much like ryan from the office (season 4).

5. this shirt came in the mail a few days ago:

also, watch kanye's VMA performance: love lockdown.

6. seirra nevada pale ale is officially my favorite beer. it can join ranks with vanilla coke, red bull, white cherry freezoni, and guatemalan coffee as my favorite of a certain beverage type. (soda, energy drinks, slushes, and coffee respectively.)

-ap.

Kanye West - Good Morning

-ap.

new coldplay.

kanye posted a new coldplay song on his blog.
check it out here: violet hill.
album comes out june 17th.

-ap.

glow in the dark tour.

kanye west's "glow in the dark" tour started wednesday in seattle. i'm currently jealous of every last individual who found themselves in the KeyArena for the opener. here's the review from the seattle times.

"so now imma be takin' no days off, til my spaceship takes off."
sorry mr. west, but its been officially launched.
should read:
"so imma be spittin' every day, no matter what the lyrics of 'Spaceship' say."

and with that one phrase i have quickly posted my most creative post to date.

-ap.

pic jacked from kanye's blog.
i don't see kanye being one to object to more publicity.

the evolution of 'heart of the city'.

where did this come from? who would've thought that at the end of the day i'd be hooked on bobby "blue" bland? well, dear readers, let me tell you how it happened...

september 11, 2001. while most conversations surrounding this exact date are dismal and depressing, there is one bright spot: the blueprint. jay-z released (what i think) is his best album. some may argue the black album (i think thats the only other contender, though i have a soft spot for kingdom come), but my top vote goes to the blueprint. my all-time favorite jay-z track, "heart of the city (aint no love)" resides on the heart of the album. it's amazing how one track can change your musical perspective. this song is a perfect example.

i discovered at a much later date - we'll say a year or so ago - that it was produced by mr. kanye west. it's no wonder i love it. this has caused me to dabble in his other produced work (common, john legend, talib kweli, pharrell, selected jay tracks). turns out, if kanye produced it, i basically love it to bits*. i had never really understood the concept of a producer before this song. what a revolutionary moment.

however, there was more. this song was much more than just a sick beat kanye came up with and threw behind something s. carter spit out - the thing i think i liked MOST about this song was the sample that kanye used (sample is an extremely loose term here - there is so much sampled here that you could basically consider it a remix). so a while after i started researching everything kanye had produced, i started checking out all the samples he'd used. both on his own albums and on the other tracks with other artist he'd with whom he had collaborated. being a limewire enthusiast at the time (this is about 6 months ago now - soon after kanye released graduation), i promptly downloaded "aint no love in the heart of the city" by bobby "blue" bland. aaaaaaand boom goes the dynamite**.

at the time i didnt know what i'd uncovered. since the 'remix' had relied so heavily on the sample, it wasn't really a shock that i liked it, but i had no idea that it was just the tip of the iceberg. i've been sitting here for months with a bobby bland track; i never thought to dive deeper. it was like i'd been holding an unopened Wonka Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight with a golden ticket waiting inside forever. this evening, jon managed to open that fudge bar from across the pond***.

around 7:18 pm CST (2:18 pm CET) i was sent the full album. oh. my. goodness. my musical mind has just transcended the genres to which it was previously attuned. suddenly i'm hooked on a blues artist from the 50s, 60s and 70s. suddenly i want to make a trip to 18th and Vine in downtown kc. i want to hit up the blue room. i want to tour the negro league hall of fame. i want to sit in a smokey lounge and soak in an hour and a half blues set that only consists of one song. i want to understand this genre of music that i've somehow missed.

and if that wasn't exciting enough - get this - i cashed in a border's gift card for joe posnanski's book The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America (more to come on this incredible book/man - everyone can learn a thing or two from buck o'neil). but this book totally encompasses the same time period, music, and overall idea. in a chapter early in the book, posnanski writes about what 18th and vine (the location of the negro leagues hall of fame) was really like back in the days of blues. back when every bar and lounge in the jazz district was exploding with heartfelt, soul-filled blues. apparently after the bars would close up, the bands would just move it out into the street, and the different players from the different establishments would compete, collaborate, steal each other's sounds, listen to each other, tweak their own sounds and wouldn't charge a penny. what a scene.

anyway. now that i'm on my 11th trip through dreamer i feel like i've got a decent grasp on how great this sound is. bobby sings about jilted love mostly. which is beautiful for so many reasons, but most of all, i think, because it can encompass a dozen different emotions which quickly can be turned into an album with so much contrasting emotion its hard to handle at times. sorrow, confusion, anger, glimmers of hope, disgust, jealousy and mistrust. killer piano, passionate brass and saxophone, and some serious electric guitar all they're mixed and matched with varying tempos and so much vocal emotion that you can't help but wonder why the h adam paul cooper hasn't dabbled in it before now. what a schmuck.

and why, pray tell, do people no longer dress like bobby b? where can i find a shirt like that? hawt. that nearly puts justin timberlake to shame...eh.

-ap.

* - what a queer phrase. not queer meaning peculiar. see definition 2.
** - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W45DRy7M1no
*** - referring to the atlantic ocean. apparently.

open letter to kanye west.

mr. kanye west -

i'm writing you in a desperate attempt to improve the world of college basketball. last night the ncaa tournament ended and, as always, cbs played the annual "one shining moment" video montage. i'm not sure if you are familiar with it - most people have turned their television off by the time it airs anyway - but it is the cheesiest segment i've ever experienced in all my life. apparently it is a tradition. it began back in 1987 and apparently the public went bonkers. i'm not necessarily sure why they insist on the tradition today. its pitifully boring. the worst part is the lyric "you're a shooting star" - guaranteed that more than 90% of the montages incorporated one of the best in college basketball shooting a slow motion jump shot during that phrase. he is a shooting star. what a feeble pun. it takes a bunch of ballers and makes them look more like baller-inas.

however, i believe you, kanye, can single-handedly do something about it. sample copious amounts of the song, add a beat, throw down some family-appropriate lyrics and send it into cbs. there are so many lines you can sample for choruses and there's a legit piano going that you could mess around with. like you did with laura nyro on graduation (the glory). just make it a little more energetic and amped instead of leaving it sounding like i should be watching frolicking* unicorns. heck, call up john legend to hammer it down on the keys if you want, or i bet common would jump at the chance to help you out for a verse. or consequence. or mos def. or chris martin. or jay. (this contradicts the "single-handedly" i referenced earlier, but its your prerogative, kanye.)

it is painfully sad to watch incredible athletes perform to such a cornball song. its even more painful knowing that it is going to happen again next year. and the year after that. 21 years of this nonsense is plenty. please help me out here man. you've got a year to work your magic. ready break.

expectantly,
adam paul cooper

* - sick.

kanye west - reebok - s. carter series.

yes, i realize i just posted about brokenness and how our needs get in the way of needing Christ.
but that doesnt mean these aren't super tight.
if anyone wants to get me a belated bday present...

-ap.

homecoming ft. chris martin.

this might as well be a commercial for the city of chicago.
but then again, when i put out my third album all i'm going to do is rep kc.
hopefully chris martin's silhouette will be playing piano and singing in mine too.
awesome video though. love the fireworks at lakc michigan.

i want to go. maybe sometime soon.
or maybe when i graduate college.
perhaps forever.

-ap.

david sides - kanye west medley.

i was on youtube messing around just now and discovered david sides.

the guy plays everything by ear. he takes popular radio songs (of artists that ar conveniently some of my favorites - chris brown, kanye west, coldplay, justin timberlake, timbaland/one republic) and plays them to perfection on the piano.

here's his medley of kanye's last cd, graduation. it is pretty much unreal. all by ear and it sounds like i'm listening to the actual cd. i'm in awe really. i'm getting excited for it and moving around like i've got 'graduation' on right now in my earbuds. just give this a listen. if you dont follow kanye, or only recognize parts of this medley, i encourage you to check out his myspace.

actually. i'm going to throw this down...check out his myspace or ELSE.
yep. i said it.



www.myspace.com/davidsides

-ap.

graduation.

so kanye's new cd is legit. different than college dropout and late reg, but still great.

other than stronger - which i'll basically ignore for this review - its play count on itunes was 63 BEFORE i got the cd...so its not even considered as part of the cd to me - but anyway - there were obviously a few standout tracks for me: flashing lights, homecoming, good life - but - as is the case with most cds i listen to - songs just keep impressing me.

the only songs on the cd that i haven't enjoyed much are big brother and drunk and hot girls. i'm big time disappointed in big brother - it's kanye's thank you to jay-z basically. telling him all about how great he is and how much kanye looks up to him. a solid idea i guess...but it just doesnt impress me at all. which is sad. cause i doubt s carter was all that grateful. eh. debatable.
drunk and hot girls is crappy for obvious reasons.

the rest of the cd (11 other tracks) i'm suuuuuuuper pumped about.

my initial favorite was homecoming. featuring chris martin from coldplay. one of my dearest friends has turned me into a rather large coldplay fan. actually. i'm still my normal size...i just really liek coldplay. but anyway. this track has some seriously fun piano which, when joined by KW and CM, is probably one of the greatest sounds ever. but its almost too catchy - i love it now, but only in moderation. i may have burnt myself out on it. oh well.

i can listen to the first 7 tracks straight through without stopping. thats the sign of a great cd. and if it wasn't for drunk and hot girls - i'd make it all the way from 1-12 without stopping i think.

i guess if i had to rate it....11/13 songs are great....so thats a 4.23/5. but thats if i give every single song a 0/5 or a 5/5. so lets do this right.

good morning 5/5
champion 5/5
stronger 5/5
i wonder 5/5
good life 5/5
can't tell me nothing 5/5
barry bonds 4/5
drunk and hot girls 0/5
flashing lights 5/5
everything i am 3/5
the glory 4/5
homecoming 5/5
big brother 1/5

totaling......52/65

which is 4 out of 5.
love it.

-ap.

ps. down with curtis.

kanye countdown.

2 weeks til Graduation.

kanye is insane.

this is just ridiculous:

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