Joe Budden, Freeway, and the enduring authority of street rap
By CHRIS FARAONE | November 17, 2008
BEAT AND POTATOES: Budden is proof that there’s an everlasting market for grounded raps about the goings on in Everyhood America. |
Some hip-hop acts are guaranteed to draw heads around here. Boston juggernauts like Slaine and Akrobatik pack substantial spots. The same goes for whatever fad-heavy phenomenon is atop the game, whether it's Virginia blow rappers Clipse or the decadently clad Cool Kids. Throwback legends like Slick Rick and KRS-1 have enough devotees to lure crowds; so do indie staples Slug and Aesop Rock, both of whom are known to sell out in advance.But through every trend — from hipster-hop and conscious rap to crunk and bling-bap — lyrically cunning, insightful street rap prevails. This is an easy point to prove: despite the frequent departures into materialistic territory, beneath every kingpin's style is a hardcore edge. Jay-Z first emerged as that guy who "stayed in beef and slept with a tech"; Nas was "the type of nigga who be pissin' in your elevator." Even the Game, who has no doubt marketed himself through a number of beef and ego-driven gimmicks, brings timeless ghetto rhymes that could pass for Golden Era material.
Although few Jay and Nas contemporaries have reached the proverbial penthouse, the top dogs are not the only ones who bank off hood tales and tribulations. This weekend two distinct but similarly veined urban griots will likely swell Boston's largest independent venues. At the Middle East on Friday, New Jersey blacktop legend Joe Budden headlines his Halfway House release party. The next night, at Harpers Ferry, Philly crime rapper Freeway will bring esteemed gutter-riffic game. Much like AZ and Cormega in recent sets, both Freeway and Budden are expected to draw a colorful cross-section, city cats who relate to them and respectfully voyeuristic suburbanites.
"Hip-hop that dictates reality will always be around," says Boston rap promoter Edu Leedz. "It might not always be as popular as the current commercial trends, but it will have more stability in the long run because the fans live and die by it." DJ Statik Selektah, who frequently collaborates with Freeway and a host of other exalted roughnecks including Jadakiss and M.O.P., adds: "Guys like Freeway and Joe Budden don't need radio or television because what they do represents real life. It's past being a trend — it's like listening to a sermon in church. It's more than rap music. It's a lifestyle."
Budden is proof that there's an everlasting market for grounded raps about the goings on in Everyhood America. Once a Def Jam golden child, he's endured the kind of setbacks that spotlight MCs often bump into. His homonymous debut dropped in 2003, and it went gold thanks to the tough-minded, Grammy-nominated club banger "Pump It Up." But when Jay-Z took control of Def Jam the next year and pushed funds into cheese-pop territory with the likes of Ne-Yo and Rihanna, Budden slipped through the budget and landed on the shelf. Still, he retained fans through mixtapes and performances.
Related:
Rebirth of a prince, Philly busters, What rhymes with Barack?, More 
- Rebirth of a prince
I recently took the Greyhound to Montreal for a RZA concert.
- Philly busters
Jedi Mind Tricks frontman Vinnie Paz instructed me to meet him at a barren studio beneath a highway overpass in South Philly, where they were at work on their latest, A History of Violence (now out on Babygrande).
- What rhymes with Barack?
The story of underground hip-hop these days often seems like the inverse of Barack Obama’s story.
- Review: Akon | Freedom
Back in April 2007, R&B singer and rapper Akon dry-humped a 15-year-old girl on stage, an incident that led to some overblown criticism in the conservative media.
- Present perfect
For some hip-hop heads, artists like Mickey Factz represent everything that reeks in rap. Between his bypassing the rugged underground, blowing up on-line, and occasionally kicking Kanye-esque arrogance, he's an easy target for so-called purists.
- Beef stakes
In quality, record sales, and image, hip-hop has taken a savage beating in the past half-decade.
- The Big Hurt: We floss econo
You might recall a slew of ominous articles in 2007 proclaiming that hip-hop was through. Sales were way down, and the culprits were clear: jewelry, violence, and naughty dancing.
- Due Dilla-gence
Extraordinarily missed Detroit beat stylist J Dilla (a/k/a Jay Dee) was righteously benevolent.
- Shuko + DJ Dutchmaster | The Foundation
It was inevitable that some of hip-hop's next great producers would come from Europe.
- Marco Polo and Torae | Double Barrel
Duck Down has reached beyond its Brooklyn-grounded rap roots in recent years, signing such acts as Kidz in the Hall and Boston's Special Teamz.
- Slideshow: Easy Star All-Stars at the Middle East downstairs
Easy Star All-Stars at the Middle East downstairs
- Less
Topics:
Music Features
, Entertainment, Harpers Ferry, Middle East Downstairs, More
, Entertainment, Harpers Ferry, Middle East Downstairs, Def Jam, FREEWAY, FREEWAY, Hip-Hop and Rap, Music, Underground Hip-Hop, Hardcore Rap, Less
