This isn’t even a thread to “complain” or hate on Jay....I’m just trying to understand where hip-hop stands today on this concept.
So ere’body knows about that old video called “Swagger Jacker”, where Cam had somebody splice audio of rap lyrics from various artists with audio from Jay-Z pretty much saying the same lyrics:
Jay has always dismissed this as “paying homage to Big”, though.
Now, here is that “lost” Jay-Z video from his interview on Shade 45…..go to the 6:00 – 7:23 mark and listen to what he says about the Swagger Jacker song:
It went from “paying homage” to “everybody does it, it’s like sampling.” In his words, “I don’t do things differently than anybody else, I just do them better……it’s hip-hop, that’s what we do, we sample.”
And that's pretty much the PREVAILING sentiment these days.
I know it’s 2015 and certain tenets of hip-hop no longer apply (e.g., writing your own rhymes), but I never thought biting would be one of those tenets to be dismantled. Like, that always seemed like the most basic of principles in rap - don't take other people's shyt.
Mebbe hip-hop has moved into that same realm as other forms of music, where enough of an appreciation for it has been fostered to where "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"?
But hell even THEN, like with a “cover” song, you do the WHOLE SONG, for the most part. You don’t just take a certain part of it.
I dunno...
So ere’body knows about that old video called “Swagger Jacker”, where Cam had somebody splice audio of rap lyrics from various artists with audio from Jay-Z pretty much saying the same lyrics:
Jay has always dismissed this as “paying homage to Big”, though.
Now, here is that “lost” Jay-Z video from his interview on Shade 45…..go to the 6:00 – 7:23 mark and listen to what he says about the Swagger Jacker song:
It went from “paying homage” to “everybody does it, it’s like sampling.” In his words, “I don’t do things differently than anybody else, I just do them better……it’s hip-hop, that’s what we do, we sample.”
And that's pretty much the PREVAILING sentiment these days.
I know it’s 2015 and certain tenets of hip-hop no longer apply (e.g., writing your own rhymes), but I never thought biting would be one of those tenets to be dismantled. Like, that always seemed like the most basic of principles in rap - don't take other people's shyt.
Mebbe hip-hop has moved into that same realm as other forms of music, where enough of an appreciation for it has been fostered to where "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"?
But hell even THEN, like with a “cover” song, you do the WHOLE SONG, for the most part. You don’t just take a certain part of it.
I dunno...
