The Kobayashi Maru(e)

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emaciatedwildebeest:

XV (feat. Kristina Rose) - “U.F.C.”

What I appreciate about the Kansan emcee XV is that he’s a dude who’s not afraid to be himself on the mic. Call him a nerd, call him a backpacker, call him anti-hood, whatever, he couldn’t care less. He’ll still rap about things like playing X-Box, comic books, good movies, and finding some pretty ladies who are into the same things.  He’s a pretty down to earth guy, one with a lot of talent and solid work ethic (he’s released about 15 or so mixtapes in the last five years).

Now let me start with the caveat that I haven’t heard enough XV to form an opinion on him directly, nor am I trying to clown the author of this post. I just want to spin off of this comment to talk about how people process music and rationalize taste. Aww here it go: Why are the above traits alone enough for us to praise a rapper? 

It sounds like XV might make a good friend or acquaintance but as an entertainer I’m not necessarily seeing it. Speaking from the perpective of a regular guy, the whole premise of regular guy rap  is lost on me. If my life were all about gaming and comic books I’d want entertainment that is about the opposite. I’m pretty sure this is why people don’t often play Xbox games or read comic books about regular guys who play Xbox games and read comic books.

But I’m from the tail end of an era where the most interesting rappers had larger than life personalities. And that largeness extends in any and every direction(||): intense religious zealots, drug kingpins, suave ladies men, political ideologues, dudes who threw parties that were beyond worldly comprehension every night of their life, tin foil hat wearing weirdos, and so on. I mean Wu-Tang were into comic books and kung fu flicks too but they blew those casual nerdy pursuits out into a bugged mythology that fascinated listeners well beyond the point where they’d just be like ”o it might be fun to hang out and watch Enter The Dragon with U-God.” It’s a matter of extremes. I’d sooner fuck with a deep end Star Trek Fan Club Spock ears D&D playing Oscar Wao type uber-nerd rapper than an average to slightly awkward dude who plays a lot of Halo. Or at least give me an average guy rapper who is smart and creative enough to place himself in fantastical situations.

Don’t get me wrong, a hugely talented emcee could certainly make something out of the regular guy perspective. (I’m racking my brain to think of a good example right now but it must have happened a few times.) But then at that point he would cease to be a regular guy and turn into a regular guy who can rap his fucking ass off. There the selling point becomes “hey check out this boring guy who raps great” and not the “hey check out this chill bro who wears shoes and smokes weed just like we do” line that kids on the internet constantly use to prop up so many mediocre and lifeless emcees. (And, no, pretty talented shouldn’t be enough to cut it. We need to demand mind blowing, life changing, grand talents.)

I worry that some listeners are using boring rap as a coping device to gloss over their own boringness. If you can’t break out of your mediocrity, own it. And then find someone greater than mediocre to keep you entertained. Just because you’re boring doesn’t mean you have to be bored. - Pretty Toney Robbins

Noz brilliantly explains why I can’t fuck with XV as much as I want to.