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The Week In Blogging 4/30/07 · by Rafi Kam
In the middle of the week Dallas hit me up on IM and told me to post my top 25 album list already. Suspecting that I might be taking too much time thinking about it, as I tend to with everything else in life, he added something like that “Just do it. It doesn’t mean anything. Nobody will hold you to it – you can change your list tomorrow.”
While I appreciate this attempt to turn procrastinating Rafi into productive Rafi, nothing could have sealed the fact that I wasn’t going to do a top 25 list more than seeing the words: “It doesn’t mean anything.”
At a time when work is kicking my ass, side work is kicking my ass, family life is kicking my ass, Oh Word is kicking my ass… I just couldn’t get past that feeling that I’ve had since the week before when this escape into nostalgia and hip-hop’s 5th element (making lists) was first suggested – that it just doesn’t mean anything.
Best of luck to Jeff and Joey in compiling all these top 25s from all over the internets and if I were the type to drink on a Sunday night I’d raise my glass and say “here’s to pretending it means something.”
Other happenings this week:
Questlove had a very shitty time at the Buffalo airport
NYOIL’s debut album Hood Treason came out. Anyone here cop it? I plan to this week.
Here’s why you need an enemy.
Kelefa Sanneh wrote a quality piece on the anti-hip-hop noise going on. For reasons I can’t figure out HR then threw bile at Sanneh and Joey jumped on board as well. Cheers to Ian for pointing out in the comments of the Straight Bangin post the ludicrousness of the argument being put forth. It’s equally narrow to judge a critic by how closely their musical tastes conform to your own as it is to judge them by race. That’s how things would be in a world where people get the treatment they deserve but when paid critics are being taken on by unpaid critics, deserve’s got nothing to do with it.
Brandon decides we have the technology to rebuild Late Registration. Faster. Stronger. I liked LR a lot but it does have plenty to skip.
Frere Jones argues that if you don’t dig Wayne maybe you fear his sex appeal or you have a problem with anyone that doesn’t rap like Nas. Great. Two more reasons for me to go to a therapist.
Save Internet Radio, save the cheerleader.
Ethan Brown has a big problem with the Stop Snitching bullshit.
Steinski stays political on your ass.
jimi izrael dropped two good posts on the whole imus fallout here and here.
Comments for "The Week In Blogging 4/30/07"
no mention of the noz billy sunday beef?
— yow Apr 30, 08:14 AM
meh
— rafi Apr 30, 08:48 AM
rap blogging is like wrestling.
looks like noz’s last post was taken down anyway.
if you want to read into it, this post has an implicit pro-noz bend because as i thought of the kelefa sanneh backlash, i kept thinking of a damning line noz made in the comments at xxl to our own sacha:
“I try to attack ideas, not people.”
— rafi Apr 30, 09:22 AM
Good lookin’ on the SOULcrates link.
— Bless 1 Apr 30, 11:33 AM
I attack people. They’re more fun to piss off than ideas.
Off topic, no love for that Jimi Izrael article?
— Sach Apr 30, 03:30 PM
why the sudden need for top 25s? did i miss a memo?
— khal Apr 30, 04:12 PM
good point sach
i forgot the jimi izrael article because it never showed up in my feed reader. something about his feeds that google reader doesn’t seem to like. i’ll add it now.
— Rafi Apr 30, 04:31 PM
No one agrees with any critic all the time.
I’m not into Jeezy nor am I that into the Roots or Little Brother.
But Kelefa’s article and his reviews are hip-hop apologism.
He loves EVERYTHING. And he euphemisms everything. Camron is a brilliant rapper and he calls lots of albums classic.
Joey said it better than I will, as to why this guy is as bad as Breihan.
— Start Snitching Apr 30, 10:41 PM