Jokers In Trousers

Around the time that Blueprint 3 came out, Jay-Z was spotted at a Grizzly Bear concert and it became news because black people don't listen to Grizzly Bear.  When asked about it afterward, Jay-Z had some rather poignant things to say about the state of hip-hop.  Essentially, he believed that hip-hop had lost the pioneering spirit that had driven it through the late 80's and 90's.  This spirit, he argued, had been adopted by indie rock and he saw in bands like Grizzly Bear everything hip-hop had been and should be again if it is ever to reattain a semblance of artistic relevance. 

I've been listening to hip-hop a long time and I'm with Jay-Z.  There is something dramatically wrong with modern hip-hop because everyone, including Jay, is absorbed with what he needs to be instead of what he is.  Consequently, even geniuses (!) like Kanye West have their lyrics mired with generic shit.  For about 8 months, 3-4 years ago, Lil Wayne almost singlehandedly changed all this but then he sold a milli in a week, made a rock record, got arrested and will never be the same.  It all just feels like a role, a persona, to be fulfilled.  This says nothing about the talent of the individuals involved but, rather, the perception of what is being created.  As a hip-hop fan all I can see is what it is supposed to be which is tiresome.  I'd like to be hit with something free of associations and reference points.  This happens all the time with indie rock (provided I check my jaded hipster cynicism) but rap hasn't done it in a long time.

In any case, 2 days ago I stumbled on this group of teenage girls from Florida that rap under the same Jokers In Trousers and have listened to their EP about 100 times since then.  On their last.fm page one of the girls indirectly asked me how I could possibly listen to so much of their drunken joke.  Frankly, I was taken aback by the question since I had no answer.  On the one hand they have much going for them.  Their beat selection is impeccable (Fabolous and DOOM, awesome), there is a Cracker Barrel reference, they are pretty fucking funny and, I suspect, are much better rappers than they think.  On the other hand, its pretty fucking brutal.  There's a love song to Marty McFly.  Enough said.  All told there is some charm but no reason that I should be listening to it so obsessively.

But then I remembered what Jay-Z had said about the state of hip-hop and I realized why this was so fucking swag.  These girls have no reference point.  They're just rapping.  Its not about anything and, more importantly, its not supposed to be about anything.  There were no shout-outs, no references (Tyler and Lil B don't count) and, most importantly, no cliches.  They just sat down, got drunk and made music.  It is exactly the kind of think Jay-Z was alluding to.  Hip-hop where the music comes before the image and the idea.  This is why the absolute worst part of the EP is the dude on k/trev.  He's not a bad rapper but he's a high school boy singing about his dick.  Its exactly what he should be doing which means its fucking redundant.  He doesn't belong alongside these girls because he's thinking too much about the fact that he's a rapper instead of just rapping. 

Am I thinking too much about this?  Probably.  But for the past couple of days I've seen hope for hip-hop.  Not because these girls can change the game but because there are still people putting hip-hop before rap.