The CAB - Bad (by TheCabVEVO)
One Day You Will Find Her And She Will Be The Path To A Better Future…
Tongue Tied - GROUPLOVE [official video] (by grouplovemusic)
Summer is coming now
We all like to think of ourselves as some sort of acerbic, snarky, anti-everything-what-everyone-else-likes Daria type.
When the truth is we’ve all being guilty of getting caught up in the hype around a certain someone, or becoming infatuated with a trend. Even though 2011 wasn’t the year the guitar band returned to prominence (we’ll past on The Vaccines and Yuck thanks NME) there were trends and hypes. Amongst many things, it was the year everyone started saying ‘swag’, Lana Del Rey became the blogosphere’s latest wet dream and a legion of female rappers rose out of the woodwork.
So stop trying to emulate Daria, and join us as we look back on the trends and hypes of 2011.Trend: Collectives
It certainly was the year to be a gangbanger.
Whether it was a group of friends tearing up the music industry’s rulebook or two guys in touch with their feelings, it was all about the collectives. Here are some who caught our eye this year:+ OVOXO: is the partnership of Toronto born and bred rapper Drake and singer/songwriter Abel Tesfaye a.k.a The Weeknd. Both create startling a R&B/Hip-Hop hybrid with an alternative leaning, the lyrics smack of regret, it’s a little self-indulgent, relatable and yet utterly captivating all at the same time.
+ White Girl Mob: is an all white girl trio of aspiring artists fronted by Oakland CA basic-bitch hating rapper Kreayshawn once her track ‘Gucci Gucci’ blew up.
Besides her, there are two other members these being Lil Debbie - the mob’s dj and clothes designer and V-Nasty - but unlike Kreayshawn she’s yet to release a mixtape and has a liking for overusing the ‘N Word’.+ Odd Future: You must of heard of this rowdy lot by now. Group of LA skater kids who took the hip hop world by storm earlier this year with their unforgiving and unapologetic lyrical approach to topics such as rape and homosexuality.
Tyler, The Creator is the leader although it’s also produced other potential hip hop stars in the making like producer Syd The Kid, and teen rapper Earl Sweatshirt.+ Taylor Gang: is the name Wiz Khalifa gives to his hardcore fans. He claims it to be ‘a family, a movement and a statement’. The name originates from Wiz and his followers penchant for wearing Chuck Taylors back at Taylor Allderdice high school.
Hype: James Blake
While the name post-dubstep is a somewhat questionable term, James Blake’s association with the newly-created tag is understandable. Bit by bit, it’s starting to feel like people are building on the promises Burial’s Untrue created way back in 07’ - achieving the wrongly-assumed impossible - injecting emotion into electronic music . While many were discussing how great it was to be ‘up in da club’, Blake’s self-titled debut revelled in it’s own introspection. With tracks like ‘Wilhelm Scream’ he bemoaned how lost he was, creating a stirring, beguiling, forward-sounding surroundings for these tales of woe to be told in. Retrospectively, it’s fucking hilarious that Blake’s name was being said in the same sentence as Jessie J’s, it was clear from the get-go that Blake wasn’t going to spend 2011 dominating the higher regions of the top 40. Instead he spent the year proving he was a true, uncompromising artist, and one that was here to stay.
Trend: Alternative R&B
There’s only so much mediocrity and vacuous coasting-along a genre can endure, until a person or a group of people fight back and spin said genre on it’s head. Enter The Weeknd, AlunaGeorge, Creep, Frank Ocean and Drake all responsible for proving that there’s still life in R&B yet. And man had R&B being festering in it’s own blandness before these guys came along, up until then R&B was fixated with synths and obligatory dubstep breakdowns, and the days of Aaliyah, TLC and Timblaland seemed like a very distant memory. Whether it was by covering the smooth, easy-listening aesthetics of R&B in a druggy, hazed atmosphere, using inventive samples from other genres or just getting rid of those dreaded synths - 2011 felt like the year R&B was finally on the road to recovery.
Hype: Tyler, The Creator
Tyler Okonma a.k.a Tyler, The Creator was poised to be rap’s next big thing, but after the collective shrug-of-the-shoulders his much hyped official debut Goblin kind of seemed like the year of Tyler was no longer upon us. ‘Yonkers’ with it’s contradictive, wordplay and beastly delivery was a double-edged sword. It created the hype that let Tyler & Co do whatever shit they wanted to do, create their own record label etc, yet on the other hand when push came to shove it was of too high of a calibre to surpass. However, counting him as a victim of the hype may be too premature, he’s set to release a new album called Wolf next May and with him saying ‘talking about rape and cutting up bodies doesn’t interest me anymore’ we may be in store for something special real soon.
Trend: Post-Dubstep
Post-genres come at a time when it appears the main genre may be starting to wane, losing vitality and sell out for commercial rewards. Post-genres basically give people a final chance to jump the ship before shit starts to hit the fan. And before Skrillex (the shit) hits dubstep (the fan) Post-dubstep looks to be the final chance for people to escape. Nah just kidding, but in all seriousness, this was the year that the sub-genre came into its own, fantastic debuts were released that reaffirmed the subgenre as something that was worthy of having its own name. Things were truly taken to the next level when producer/dj Jamie XX created a genre classic by remixing Gil Scott-Heron’s We’re New Here, and the genre’s creator, Burial, returned with 7 new cuts. And unlike it’s mother, Post-Dubstep doesn’t seem like it will take long to be fully assimilated by the mainstream, on his opus ‘Take Care’ Drake rapped over two of the genre’s stellar songs - ‘Wildfire’ and ‘I’ll Take Care Of You’, and if Jai Paul ever decides to follow up his killer ‘BTSTU’ it could have its first big popstar.
We, we, we so excited to say the least.
Hype: Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey has gone from blogosphere’s wet dream to being bombarded with accusations of being unauthentic and fake in what seems a matter of seconds. She’s received the amount of hype A&R people would kill for yet she’s barely being around 6 months. Whatever your stance on her is that’s pretty impressive. She’s topped song-of-the-year lists, won awards from established publications and made the boys drool and the girls go green with envy. And it’s all off one song called Video Games. Her rough-around-the-edges hollywood glamour image and sultry dark pop in this past year has put her in a much-coveted state of equilibrium. Hip enough to cover NME but accessible enough to be added to Radio 2’s playlist. Sounds simple but pulling it off ain’t. Her debut album is out next year, and the way things are going I wouldn’t be surprised if this time next year I’m discussing her as ‘one of the hypes of 2012’.
Trend: Female Rappers
For what seems like forever each year has been known, as ‘the year of the women’ with female artists gaining a lot more attention than their male counterparts. However, one part of the music world appeared to be a relatively oestrogen-free zone, well at least that was the case until 2011 happened. Tired off seeing hot-blooded males dominate hip hop with their masculine misogynistic tales, a legion of female rappers arrived this year. Commercially Nicki Minaj has undoubtedly paved the way, but underground it’s anyone’s game. Each girl appeared with their own vibe and aesthetic, yet each appeared to be as flithy as the last. While it was only Lil’ Kim and Missy Elliot reppin’ the badge of girl power for many years, now thanks to the internet, mainly youtube, the number of women doing hip hop has increased. Iggy Azalea popped out with viral hit ‘Pu$$y’, Kreayshawn strolled in with sing-a-long ‘Gucci Gucci’ and Azealia Banks shut the building down with ‘212’. And while they may not of produced viral hits like the aforementioned, other girls like V-Nasty and Dominique Young Unique widened the field and added variety.
Whether this trend will last and survive the transition into pop culture is another thing.
Hype: Sicko Cell
Sicko Cell was a track so good it made people go out of their way to find out who the creator was of said track. Even though it was clear he didn’t want to be found. As soon as Oneman dropped it, debate was rife around who was responsible for it’s irresistible hook: ‘I’m the information// Co-caine Powder’. Boddika, Jamie XX, Burial and Ramadanman were all names that were speculated. Turns out it was the crafty devil Joy Orbison who was behind the Boiler Room staple. The mystery would of remained unsolved if it wasn’t for the addition of B-Side Knock,Knock (people already knew he was behind that). Whether it would of gained as much hype as it did without the mystery, we will never know, either way a banger is a banger, and this my friends is a banger.
Trend: Swag
I don’t care who owns up, whether it be Keri Hilson, Willow Smith or OFWGKTA, but someone’s got to be responsible for the ubiquity of this word. This word being: Swag. For those who are still bewildered as to what swag is, well swag is basically the way he or she presents himself, it’s their appearance, their style etc. It’s the modern equivalent for the 70’s word ‘Mojo’. And you couldn’t listen to a rap album or song without hearing whose swag was the dopest, or who had the most swag. It did the unthinkable - fuelled hip hop with even more braggadocio.By Antonio Rowe
