Edd’s MANtra: The New Kids
Late winter is usually the dead season for new music. Typically the big acts release their albums before Christmas and everyone takes it slow until spring. That three-month window is the perfect time for a new artist to emerge, without the fear of being overshadowed by the heavyweights.
I’ve seen a few new videos pop up lately from underground rappers looking to make it big. Will they be the next Lil Wayne or the next Lil Cease? You decide.
Asher Roth, “I Love College”
Come on, admit it. You saw this guy and immediately said “who is this little boy trying to be like Eminem?” Unlike someone like Bubba Sparxxx, who is unfairly compared to Em based on skin tone, Asher actually sounds a lot like Eminem. A LOT. But his flow and subject matters are completely different, so maybe he has a chance to break out.
I rarely watch videos, but I’ve seen “I Love College” about 15 times in the past two weeks, all on MTV. You know, that channel that used to play music. Anyway, this song itself is OK – his flow is a little too lazy but the wordplay is solid. It definitely has a chance of catching on the with the college kids. There’s potential here.
Charles Hamilton, “Brooklyn Girls”
Hamilton received a little Internet buzz last year for a cat fight with Soulja Boy. Ugh, I won’t hold that against him. He tries to come off as a less nerdy Lupe Fiasco, but he’s still pretty geeky. But patterning himself off of Lupe isn’t a bad idea.
“Brooklyn Girls” is one of those “the girls in my city look better than the ones in your city” songs. Geez, rappers will find anything to fight about. I’m pretty partial to this song, though, in spite of Hamilton’s droning flow. He sounds like one of those kids in grade school that had to go to the speech therapist twice a week. He’s definitely going to have to work on that. And playa, get a haircut!
B.o.B., I’ll Be In The Sky
Let’s see, horrible wardrobe, off-key singing, obsession with aliens, this guy reminds me of someone, I just can’t put my finger on whom…
Oh yeah, him.
It’s no secret from whom B.o.B. finds inspiration. Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery but “I’ll Be In The Sky” seems to be pushing it. It’s definitely going into “biting” territory. Not feeling this one – it sounds like something from Idlewild. but I’m sure Andre 3000 fans will like it..
What do you think of the new breed?
I’m mad I couldn’t comment on this at work the other day, my computer sux..anywho..My listening to hip-hop is still pretty limited, but from what I can tell the new kids have a shot. They’re at least trying. But none of these guys particularly inspire me, especially b.o.b. who bit so hard off of andre 3000 I couldn’t even get into it. The Brooklyn Girls song is kinda funny to me, because the whole Harlem vs. BK thing is real here and many of the girls between the two boroughs are very different. I’d take Lupe over Charles Hamilton anyday, but folks here luv him, so oh well. There’s a lot of new kids out there and Colin Munroe and Mickey Factz are pretty cool too. I also just heard this dude yesterday, Cobe Obeah, really cool.