Kamaiyah's 'A Good Day In The Ghetto' Is That Perfect Summer Weather Slap

 

The Bay Area rap scene has been lacking for a decade-plus, let's be real. Indeed, hyphy had its relatively short stint in the Billboard spotlight. But once people started to get tired of running alongside their driverless cars, there wasn't anything to replace it.  Fortunately, artists like IAMSU! and his HBK gang; as well as the rise in internet popularity of Lil B and the continued relevance of legacy rappers like E-40 and Too $hort have made sure that the general public didn't forget about Northern California and it's, ahem, "unique" brand of hip-hop music.
   
    Unique in the best way possible. Since it's 1990's heyday, the major cities of the Bay Area have produced some of the most creative, diverse rap music available; as well as paving the way for how that music is distributed outside of major label influence (for the most part). And the most-productive city on the Bay Area map was and still is Oakland. Since the late-70's, when hip-hop music first started to trickle out of the South Bronx and across the nation, Oakland has been putting in work. It was a prime breeding ground for new musical talent due to several factors. There was a sudden influx of fast cash due to the burgeoning sales of narcotics, specifically heroin. East Oakland's Felix Mitchell and his M.O.B. Crew were pioneering that trade while a young Todd Shaw aka Too $hort observed it all. Then wrote it all down into rhymes, recorded some tracks, and sold the cassettes back to the very dealers that inspired his rhymes. Times changed, as did the drugs being sold and the way music was created - but the very hustle remains. Street-influenced raps over some super funky, bass-heavy rhythms and drum patterns.  

   And these days, nobody is doing that better than newcomer female rapper Kamaiyah. She's apart of what's simply being called "New Oakland". Cats like the already-mentioned IAMSU! and HBK Gang are apart of this generation. As is Nef the Pharaoh and (kinda) J.Stalin. Now, adding some much-needed female perspective to the mix is Kamaiyah with her debut mixtape 'A Good Day In The Ghetto'. And it's fucking awesome.

  Per the title, Kamaiyah's debut is basically a loosely-conceptualized mixtape about exactly that - having a damn good day in the ghetto. It's perfect summer weather music. Kamaiyah takes us through HER good day in the Oakland neighborhood she calls home...which means basically a lot of drinking, (no) smoking, and bragging and boasting while checkin' out the fellas. And most-times out-flossing those same dudes her own damn self. AGDITG is basically a 90's throwback of the highest caliber. It reminded me of listening to classics like In A Major Way, People's Instinctive Travels..., and Doggystyle, 100% (track #14, 'Freaky Freak' is practically a remake of 'Doggy Dog World'). That type of album you throw-on when your going to the summer cook-out, or maybe just cruisin' down Broadway in your drop-top on a sunny Sunday afternon. The 90's references are abundant. As is Bay-Area-centric slang and music. 'One Love', one of AGDITG's finishing and stand-out tracks, is obviously referring to the E-40 classic '1 Luv' (as is the track's production). Kamaiyah comfortably borrows an eeriely effective Cash Money flow from 9-8 on tracks such as 'Mo Money Mo Problems' and 'How Does It Feel'. On other joints like 'Come Back', Kamaiyah plays with 90's R&B instead.

It's impressive how she's able to move back-and-forth between styles so effortlessly. And more-so, how Kamaiyah is able to so effortlessly create a musical brand that harkens back to a more golden-era of rap music; yet sound updated and current at the same damn time. More than anything, 'AGDITG' is just damn FUN. Kamaiyah has brought back that hip-hop dance party-type joy and innocence from a bygone era, mixed with that Oakland grime subject matter that comes with living in the Town, gave it a funky-ass soundtrack, and updated it all for millennials everywhere. And I can't wait to see what she has in store next.

Livin' That High (Jet) Life With Curren$y

This is the type of music where if you didn't have a joint rolled and lit, with a pair of headphones on full blast, well you just ain't doing it right. "It" is Curren$y and his music...no, his movement....that the young New Orleans native has cultivated for over half a decade now. That movement is "Jet Life", named as such after the new-school slang term for joints,"paper planes", that Curren$y and fellow rap brethren Wiz Khalifa helped popularize at the end of the aughts in 2009. Back then, Wiz Khalifa and Curren$y both seemed destined for Top 40 Billboard Charts greatness - but were still broke. On 'Canal Street Chronicles', Curren$y shares a short story from those days; a lazy afternoon when they had "only $300 for an ounce of Sour Diesel...so we went in the couch...came up with like...$12...went and got us some orange chicken, chicken fried rice, two cans of soda...." Spitta describes to the listeners, in an almost longing way. Like he kinda misses those innocent days when he and Wiz were still lesser-known rappers on the rise; just trying to scrounge up enough dough for some dank, drank, and grub. But, let's be real; Curren$y doesn't miss those days THAT much. A little after that infamous trip to "Dragon Palace...Golden Dragon...Golden Palace...some little Chinese spot by my broke ass apartment", both Curren$y and Wiz would explode onto the scene in ways that probably even they couldn't imagine.

     Spitta and Wiz were unofficially dubbed "hip-hop's Cheech-and-Chong" combo; even tho each rapper had his own individual career path set-out for them. Wiz with his Taylor Gang imprint, Curren$y has Jet Life. But while Wiz's fanbase of "Taylors" continued to swell until they burst through to stratospheric Billboard 200 heights, Curren$y's jet planes stayed grounded. Actually, they went straight underground. Wiz broke-through with the #1 Billboard single 'Black & Yellow'; releasing the debut album 'Rolling Papers' a few months later to strong sales and success. But Wiz kinda changed-up his style a little bit to do so. Granted, Wiz Khalifa's style already leaned heavily towards the sounds of pop music, so when he included producers outside the usual Rostrum Records wheelhouse such as Scandinavian super producers' Stargate for 'Black & Yellow', it seemed natural. Curren$y, on the other hand, decided to create tracks with lesser-known producers of the "internet popular" ilk. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. If you listen to Curren$y's discography from his 'It Ain't A Mixtape' beginnings, to current major studio albums - you can actually hear his and thus, the Jet Life crew's signature sound develop and it's pretty awesome. The atmospheric, spacey bleeps and bloops, mixed-in with heavy bass chord rhythms and Curren$y's muscle cars and modern New Orleans player, purple hazed-out lyrics spit over a syrupy-slow-yet-saucy-flow. All created, mostly, on modern, internet/computer-heavy production software such as Fruity Loops andRecord Pro Tools. 

      It's an amazing thing, listening (and watching) to Curren$y as he perfects his flow and image over time. But it's only possible due to his (and rap brethren Wiz Khalifa's) monstrous work ethic. Curren$y developed it as a young up-and-comer in the New Orleans rap game, which was dominated at the time by two powerhouse labels - Cash Money Records and No Limit Records. Well, Curren$y would be signed to them both eventually. It was at Cash Money Records where Curren$y really honed his craft, and the process of creating it; by watching his label boss Lil Wayne cook. Wayne had signed Curren$y for the same reason Master P had in his earlier days, and that's because young Shante Scott Franklin had lots of untapped potential. 

      Some people just carry themselves different than others. This is true everywhere in the world, in all types of subgroups...and the rap game isn't any different. There's the rappers that are content signing to a label; making music with other people's money. They release maybe one or two mixtapes. They don't hit the ground running...and are easily weeded out. Well game recognize game, and Lil Wayne - a hard-working rapper with bigger dreams and vision than simply having a successful solo career - saw Curren$y wanted the same. Unfortunately, Young Money Records isn't where this musical revolution would be televised. 

      Curren$y was on his way to being big, it's just that his movement was more of a slow bubble than his BFF Wiz Khalifa's breakthrough. But there was a segment of the hip-hop listening public that wasn't being properly represented. Wiz Khalifa had scratched the surface, getting his start with the support of this subgroup before changing his product to be more pop-music friendly for the masses. But Curren$y didn't (or couldn't) produce a "Black & Yellow"; so he set his aim 100% on this subgroup of young adult, suburban skateboarding and weed-smoking (usually) males. And he went straight for their jugular. 

     Jet Life Records is "weed-friendly" music to it's core. It's very roots are in the now-cottage industry of "stoner rap music" made specifically for the ganja-friendly crowd. It helps that this music is usually mellow, good vibes rap-music that strays far away from the typical popular rap music tropes of gangster imagery and violence. Not here, not now, and not probably ever again. Gangster music (as discussed in my earlier post about 'white-boys who love Drake'...) is pretty-much dead. It will survive in it's own subgenre form, but it's days as Billboard Top 40 single material is pretty much over outside of select artists like Future. But Future is a definite modern version of popular gangster rapper following the example of Lil Wayne, who pretty much turned the traditional gangster rap image on it's head in his solo-career smashing run; and that is of a gun-toting rapper who also wears skinny jeans, high-fashion, and pops mollies and gets the feels. It's all about the vibe these days, y'all. 

     Now, Curren$y falls somewhere in-between that modern gangster rap image produced by his former label boss and that of, say, professional skate Stevie Williams. Curren$y likes his weed, women, fast cars, Jordans, and french bulldogs and *might* also have a gun on his lap while driving around in that Motown muscle car. Curren$y isn't thugged-out...he's slick. He provides a musical outlet for suburban white kids who like to collect sneakers and smoke lots and lots of weed. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Jet life, jet life.... /slow, syrupy Curren$y voice 

Guwop's Ninth Life: Will Radric Davis Ruin Gucci Mane's Revitalized Career Before It Can Even Begin??

The Trap God is fucked. If he goes back to jail, Gucci will not recover. Not just legally, but career momentum-wise. Gucci has had musical peaks like this before - but now it's more of a Lil B, Internet underground-built type of momentum that bubbled and spilled over into the mainstream by-way-of underground "edge"-seeking celebs such as Drake. Yes, THAT Aubrey Drake Graham just dedicated an entire OVO Sound Radio podcast to the Zone 6 veteran. The same dude who just hit a BILLION VIEWS on stream networks for his latest album, 'Views'. Yes, Gucci has (re)arrived. But can he hold onto this massive amount of momentum? Guwop's work ethic points to yes. It's what's kept him in the game this long, with this many hits to the vest on his chest. Luckily, Gucci's made sure his catalog is Teflon in terms of sheer volume. Gucci Mane released about an mixtape a month while incarcerated for the past several years.

      I remember just like it was yesterday when the whole BRRRReakdown occurred. I thought it was a definite wrap, for real. (Career) curtains. Gucci had (both literally and figuratively) dodged bullets before; but this time he was out here calling out mega-stars (Nicki Minaj) and claiming Minaj slept her way to the top (how original, Gucc) and actually attempting to sell-off his lucrative BSM catalog and even individual artist contacts. I'm still not sure if Young Scooter is on the roster (he is). But worse than Gucci's Twitter tirade was the simple fact that he was a felon found to be in possession of a firearm while also brandishing said firearm in an East Atlanta shopping mall. Probably high on cough syrup. And there-in lies the root of (most of) Gucci's problems. His heavy narcotic addiction. 

      Everyone likes to minimize using cough syrup to get loaded - those same people think that prescription painkillers can't lead to heroin. But go turn-on CNN or MSNBC lately and you'll see just how innocent those painkillers turned-out to be for our nations'  young adults right now (spoiler: we're in an opiate/heroin epidemic). Cough syrup gets such a minimal amount of cautious care because, well, everyone and their mother (who's probably the one who gave you a spoonful in your youth) has used it. But we've used spoonfuls. Gucci Mane was drinking entire pints of this stuff (short answer: your not even supposed to be able to get an Rx for a pint of syrup). Plus, he was drinking them in a single day's time. It's basically heroin-type euphoria mixed with mental confusion/erratic behavior from the high levels of promethazine (no, Gucci wasn't getting white-boy-wasted on Robotussin, y'all) in a doubled-up styrofoam cup.      

      While Gucci was locked/up in the ATL, an amazing thing happened. An aspiring rapper that Gucci had helped foster the career of, signed to his label, and who looked/up to Gucci as the mentor and rap father-figure he was - blew the FUCK up in the mainstream. That rapper was Young Thug. Nobody could've guessed Thugger's extremely non/sequitur rap-style and garbled, mumbled lyrics would catch fire - but they did in the summer of 2014 with the monster single 'Lifestyle' by Rich Gang. Though the single was credited to Rich Gang, the obvious stars were Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan. Rich Gang is Birdman's creation, tho. And due to Young Thug's success, Birdman naturally wanted a piece of the action. But Birdman was sadly mistaken. For such is the respect that Thugger has for Gucci, that he claimed BSM at every possible chance and even claimed to call Gucci once a day in jail, at least. 

    Such is the mystery of Gucci Mane. The enigma. He's like a street baller that's as good as Jordan, but never got his NBA chance due to his cocaine addiction. You don't need to believe me, just look at the numbers. The history of choosing newcomer rappers on the path to success that just needed that little extra push. And Gucci provided. Time and time again. He also went to prison. Time and time again. Usually, this would be so much more than cause for alarm; jail has straight ruined lesser rappers' careers. But this isn't a lesser rapper. This is Gucci Mane. The same Gucci Mane who successfully shot his way out of a brazen armed robbery attempt on his life. Then BEAT the murder charge. The same Gucci Mane who went to war with Young Jeezy and the goddamn Black Mafia Family and lived to tell the tale. And not from a wheelchair or breathing through a freakin' tube. Gucci was able to, and continues to succeed, due to that impeccable work ethic; mixed-in with a few solid cats who assist Gucci with his internet following, mastering tracks, promotion, etc. But even a cat only has nine lives. And Gucci might be on his last. But now, in June 2016, Gucci looks better than ever. He's physically great; the Pillsbury D-Boy tummy is gone. Mentally, he seems to be in a better space as well. No erratic behavior or brandishing firearms....yet. It's only been a few days though. Obviously, we still have a few months' wait to see if this sticks. Maybe years. But as long as Gucci Mane sticks to the 12-step (and general life) mantra of one-day-at-a-time, he'll be just fine.