Why does where you're from matter?

I notice this a lot especially with rappers

they all gotta 'rep where dey from'

Music is a very universal language.

Just because you're from Japan doens't mean you can't make something that sounds Middle Eastern or Western (albeit not genuine)

or vice-versa

I don't get it really.

kinda the same deal with people who are "proud to be an american" or "proud to be mexican" - it's not like you earned it, or there was anything to it other than a random congruence of biology and geography.

carlin used to rant about it, and he was right, as per usual.

  On 1/22/2010 at 5:21 AM, Fishtank said:

I notice this a lot especially with rappers

they all gotta 'rep where dey from'

Lack of anything intelligent to say. So they say "yeah I'm from here, don't fuk wit me. I got dawgs and shit".

choose your rap wisely

    Quote

It's not where you're from, not where you at, it's where you're going.

Because the culture you grew up in will shape your personality and therefore your creative output and entire outlook on life. Even cultural microclimates such as which side of a large city can shape your basic expectations of what creative output or music should involve.

Also, especially in the States, stating your hood contains quite a good deal of background information such as class, race, affiliations, etc. All these things shape your identity and of course your identity shapes the music that you make - (even or especially when your music is a reaction against that identity)

  On 1/22/2010 at 10:50 AM, Masonic Boom said:

Because the culture you grew up in will shape your personality and therefore your creative output and entire outlook on life. Even cultural microclimates such as which side of a large city can shape your basic expectations of what creative output or music should involve.

 

Also, especially in the States, stating your hood contains quite a good deal of background information such as class, race, affiliations, etc. All these things shape your identity and of course your identity shapes the music that you make - (even or especially when your music is a reaction against that identity)

You're not helping with the hate here...

  On 1/22/2010 at 10:50 AM, Masonic Boom said:

Because the culture you grew up in will shape your personality and therefore your creative output and entire outlook on life. Even cultural microclimates such as which side of a large city can shape your basic expectations of what creative output or music should involve.

 

Also, especially in the States, stating your hood contains quite a good deal of background information such as class, race, affiliations, etc. All these things shape your identity and of course your identity shapes the music that you make - (even or especially when your music is a reaction against that identity)

what if you moved around a lot and had no microclimate to draw influence from

I don't think creative output should be limited to personal accounts or outside influence

  On 1/22/2010 at 1:37 PM, Fishtank said:

  On 1/22/2010 at 10:50 AM, Masonic Boom said:

Because the culture you grew up in will shape your personality and therefore your creative output and entire outlook on life. Even cultural microclimates such as which side of a large city can shape your basic expectations of what creative output or music should involve.

 

Also, especially in the States, stating your hood contains quite a good deal of background information such as class, race, affiliations, etc. All these things shape your identity and of course your identity shapes the music that you make - (even or especially when your music is a reaction against that identity)

what if you moved around a lot and had no microclimate to draw influence from

That's possibly the most interesting question of all.

Heck, I mean, I lived on 3 continents by the time I was 10! and yet the mere fact that I moved around a lot has itself left its imprint on me, and the way that perceive/experience things, and the way that I express myself. The lack of something (i.e. a strong sense of place or cultural identity) can be as important an influence as the presence of something. And, also, I can't deny that the various cultures I've lived in *have* left an imprint on me, even if it was an imprint of "Get me out of here, I never want to be like that!"

    Quote

I don't think creative output should be limited to personal accounts or outside influence

I don't think it's a question of limiting one's creative output. It's more a convenient tag for others to use to pigeonhole an artist. (That's problematic in itself - but then again, I also have a problem with the whole concept of Genre, which people equally use to pigeonhole artists.)

But I do think that the experiences one has had shape one, and in a way, almost shape what it is possible for you to even conceive of.

In your own example - sure, just because you live in Japan doesn't mean you can't create Western sounding music. But you'd have to have some conception - or experience - of what "Western" music *sounds* like, in order to make it.

I can't suddenly decide one day that I want to make "Balinese" music despite the fact I've never been to Bali or heard any music from that country. That'd be absurd. I could imagine, which might be an interesting experiment in itself (have you ever tried to create music within a specific genre without even hearing that genre, and going simply by what you read about that genre? it's actually kind of a fun experiment.)

  On 1/22/2010 at 5:21 AM, Fishtank said:

I notice this a lot especially with rappers

they all gotta 'rep where dey from'

 

Music is a very universal language.

Just because you're from Japan doens't mean you can't make something that sounds Middle Eastern or Western (albeit not genuine)

or vice-versa

 

I don't get it really.

Eric B would agree. I am sure you know the tune. I wouldn't really worry about it too much. Rap music would be a bit boring if it only came from the South Bronx. It would never evolve otherwise.

that the thing i enjoy about hip hop. there's different styles from different locations. i may not like them all, but they're doin' their thing and i can differentiate upon listening... now go on back to your cat loving, hipster hating, movie critiquing ways watmm!

i think this is becoming more and more irrelevant as communication between places expands, because then we can be influenced through a variety of things from all over the world, not just in our little cultural bubble.

like, i definitely don't think that the fact i live in florida has any influence at all on the music i make. i'm not shitting out florida breaks, no. i actually am interested in electro, mostly german/french/italian stuff.

One thing I've found interesting is that I tend to prefer hip hop when it's not in English, mostly because most hip hop artists these days sound fucking annoying. Also I can't help but be put off by the douche baggish content in lyrics sometimes - so it helps to not understand them and just enjoy the rhythmic qualities!

  On 1/22/2010 at 4:56 PM, Hoodie said:

i think this is becoming more and more irrelevant as communication between places expands, because then we can be influenced through a variety of things from all over the world, not just in our little cultural bubble.

 

like, i definitely don't think that the fact i live in florida has any influence at all on the music i make. i'm not shitting out florida breaks, no. i actually am interested in electro, mostly german/french/italian stuff.

I do kinda wonder how the internet affects this... how you can be living anywhere in the world and be connected almost instantly with culture from a completely different part of the world. It kinda scares me a bit, thinking that music will become so homogenised into this kind of nightmare Pitchfork vision of the future.

But at the same time local culture isn't just about music - it's about all kinds of preconceptions. A lot of things people take for granted as being "that's just the way it is" when, if you've moved around a lot, you can see that these things are totally culturally based and vary completely.

And even if you hate your local music scene, at the same time, you can be influenced by it in trying to react against it. (I think so much of mine own taste, and the stuff that I made in the late 80s and early 90s was really me hating NY where I was living and nostalgia for being back in London. And the music that I made was really a reaction against what I was hearing around me.)

It's called representin/reppin/straight outta etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mItSJJzERQ&feature=related

Here is MC Sniffy from Ireland. He be doin' his thang.

I think rap and hip hop is fairly universally shit myself, East Coast, West Coast, or even Sniffy from my own country. A complete load of bollix. Though in fairness to Sniff, if I didn't know he was Irish I might have guessed, he sure don't speak like he straight outta Compton...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MrQtOoQRpc

Where it's fuckin at

You can be at anywhere but only from one place

vagina

so all rappers should rap about vagina

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H7dxtPXLSQ

Nigga I'm New York

  On 1/23/2010 at 12:39 AM, Fishtank said:

You can be at anywhere but only from one place

vagina

Not to get all medical on you, but it would be pretty darn uncomfortable if babies grew in your vagina.

Uterus/womb is the correct answer to this question.

I could understand, though, how you could get them mixed up, if you've never actually experienced one.

lol

  On 1/23/2010 at 9:23 AM, Masonic Boom said:

  On 1/23/2010 at 12:39 AM, Fishtank said:

You can be at anywhere but only from one place

vagina

 

Not to get all medical on you, but it would be pretty darn uncomfortable if babies grew in your vagina.

 

Uterus/womb is the correct answer to this question.

 

I could understand, though, how you could get them mixed up, if you've never actually experienced one.

look, your body grows and matures in the womb but you COME OUT OF the vagina

thus you come from a vagina

OR I could debunk that and say you come from sperm and egg because that would be more accurate

OR I could debunk that and say you come from a mutual attraction from two people

OR I could say you came from a stork and it would be just as relevant

  On 1/23/2010 at 3:19 PM, Fishtank said:

  On 1/23/2010 at 9:23 AM, Masonic Boom said:

  On 1/23/2010 at 12:39 AM, Fishtank said:

You can be at anywhere but only from one place

vagina

 

Not to get all medical on you, but it would be pretty darn uncomfortable if babies grew in your vagina.

 

Uterus/womb is the correct answer to this question.

 

I could understand, though, how you could get them mixed up, if you've never actually experienced one.

 

look, your body grows and matures in the womb but you COME OUT OF the vagina

thus you come from a vagina

 

OR I could debunk that and say you come from sperm and ovum because that would be more accurate

OR I could debunk that and say you come from a mutual attraction from two people

OR I could say you came from a stork and it would be just as relevant

where you're from is a pretty strong reference point to a lot of things innit?

It CAN mean something, but when people use the "this is where I'm from" shit in their music, it's usually really misrepresented.