Rapfornication’s Reading List
A note from editor norm: writing what we feel and see and listen to is a great thing to be able to do. to articulate your thoughts that make sense to not just you but all of us is a fucking talent, pardon my french. But what we do with our written words is give voice to our thoughts on conversations that are being had or have happened. So this year every alternative week we here at RF base camp are going to put together some pieces from the internet that we read and thought would be cool to share from other sites and blogs that publish good content that made us stop and think. Because reading is the tits fam :)
1.How Freelancers Pay Rent: A Commoner’s Perspective by Ngoan'a Nts'oana
https://ntsoana.wordpress.com/2017/02/06/iwrite-how-freelancers-pay-rent-a-commoners-perspective/
From inside: “Do Not Settle. Isn’t the desire to not lead a mediocre life why you chose this path initially? Act like it then. Stop saying yes to slavish working conditions and little pay. Voice your dissatisfaction well ahead of time. Ask questions, especially where money is involved because motherfuckers can get shadeee!”
Read this if: If you’re a young up and coming but not altogether sure of how person. If you feel that you’re close to cracking this life hack but also feel that there are far too many compromises to that you are making. These are some words that provide a bit of guidance to the often self-admitted ambitious but clueless folk.
2. Art as Resistance: Sadie Barnette Turns Father’s Black Panther FBI File into a Social Narrative. By Hannah Morris.
http://saintheron.com/news/art-as-resistance-sadie-barnette-turns-fathers-black-panther-fbi-file-into-a-social-narrative/
From inside : “A perturbed family tree, these files allowed Sadie to build her own portrait of her father. “I’m so honored that my dad trusted me to tell this story. I was taught very early the significance of dedicating your life to something bigger than yourself. In one way, I feel this story does that.”
Read this if: If you’re interested about the intersection where art and black identity often meet when black artists have but themselves to bare. And if you’re interested in how the dialogue is continuously reshaping itself, not just about militancy but also about family, love and loss.
3. Meet Cool & Dre, The Miami Producers With The Keys To Longevity
http://www.thefader.com/2017/02/07/cool-and-dre-grammy-nomination-all-the-way-up-interview
From Inside: “Cool: One night, we were sitting in the parking lot of Taco Bell, and Dre was like, “Maybe it isn’t god’s plan for this group. Maybe the plan is for me and you to do this.” From that point on, we took the production seriously. We ended up moving back to Miami and diving into the production. It was 3 and 4 beats at a time, $200 here, $300 there, working with local artists in Miami and making a name for ourselves.”
Read this if: If you’re a fan of the stories that are often left unheard or that don’t carry as much rockstar glamour of the super stars. This is the story about what of hip hop’s greatest partnerships. It not only is the story of them but also the story of how hip hop evolved through them. If you’re more into producers and their styles then this might be right up your alley.
4. Migos' Wild World: One Night in the Studio With 'Bad and Boujee' Trio By Jonah Weiner
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/bad-and-boujee-inside-atlanta-rap-trio-migos-wild-world-w465205
From inside: “They spent much of their childhood in the same small house, raised in the northern Atlanta suburbs of Gwinnett County by Quavo's mother. "She was the father figure," says Offset. "She knew how to raise you as a man, tell you how niggas is. 'Homes right there is this.' 'This nigga right there is this – watch out.'" They all call her Mama and love her dearly. "She had a house full of niggas playing games, shoes off, eating all the food, and it's hard times – but she never complained," says Quavo.
Takeoff loved professional wrestling as a kid, and the three transformed a backyard trampoline into a makeshift ring. Quavo was alone in his love for "the National Geographic Channel," Offset recalls. "I used to cuss this nigga ass out 'cause he'd come into the room at 10:00 and wanted to watch the whales and the motherfucking ocean."
Read this if: If you’re interested in a very raw and intimate understanding not only of how Migos came to be but also what is it in totality that the trio come with. From their values, their faults, their creative process and their individuality. This is the feature that got the group in trouble for homophobic statements about iLoveMakonnen's sexual orientation, (which they have since made a public apology for, read here: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/migos-we-have-no-problem-with-anyones-sexual-preference-w465938)
5. Separating the Artist From Their Art by by Mercia Tucker
http://theplugmag.co/2017/01/09/separating-the-artist-from-their-art/
From inside: “the process is so self-exploratory that it seems difficult to imagine that the words dancing on the pages, that took flight to a progression of keys or the thumping of 808s, aren’t a representation of the artist at his core. And because the art itself is so untarnished, so perfect in its presentation and interpretation, people often see it as an incarnation of the artist and project that same perfection onto him. How could such amazing work be the product of a broken person?”
Read this if: This particular ironic placing of this article aside, read this if as a listener you are conflicted where the line stands between an artist and the music they make is blurry for you. If you have been struggling to understand when and where is the correct place to have the moral highground comes in and read this if you feel some sort of guilt for enjoying a well put together album by an artist found guilty for charges related to sexual assault. It won’t give you an answer but it does ease you into that very uncomfortable conversation we all are stuck having right now.
6. Of Resistance and Romance | Jazz as Heritage by Vuyiswa Xekatwane
http://10and5.com/2017/02/08/of-resistence-and-romance-jazz-as-heritage/
From Inside: “South African jazz is a marvelous dichotomy, it is resistant and romantic, full of tension and full of freedom, intentional yet improvised…the centre and the edge, all at once. Beyond auditoriums and academia, jazz became a street thing, a Black thing. It was no longer a discovery, it was a recollection, a very real and integral part of my upbringing as kid who grew up in a township. Jazz is documentary, is guidance, is heritage”.
Read this if: You are in love with when writers personalize and share their love of music, inserting themselves in its narrative whilst not overpowering the topic at hand. Read this if you’re a jazz lover and are curious about the role that jazz played in the history of South Africa. Also read this if you want to brush up on your Jazz knowledge.
7. Atlanta's R&B Underground Is Pushing to Make a New Pop Sound in Trap’s Capital by Xavier BLK
https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/atlantas-randb-underground-is-pushing-to-make-a-new-pop-sound-in-traps-capital?utm_source=noiseytwitterus
From inside: “Yet while you may be hard pressed to find any new Atlanta-based R&B acts charting on Billboard, there are a select few finding grassroots success in the digital age. A new strand of Atlanta's R&B DNA has emerged. These artists are no longer are coming out of the industry's "How to Make an R&B star" manual. They are DIY rebels. They are punk skater kids with soul. They are shelved label signees who took matters into their own hands.”
Read this if: You’re not afraid of being a fan alone. This is easy to see as just a co-sign of new artists and easy to dismiss as just another publication trying to be on top of something that they most probably are jumping the gun with. Rather this is about the fight of a sound trying to grow at a time when it’s so much easier to just sound like what’s hot and expected. These are kids from Atlanta that don’t want you to take them just some dread haired no shirt wearing trap niggas. It’s about different types of a homogenized identity. If you’re into those narratives and keen on some new music this will make a good read for you.