rfi crunk and bling bling

An Atlanta hip-hop idiom that seeped its way into national slang, crunk -- or commonly, get crunk -- roughly decodes as the state of being elevated in spirit or enthusiasm; that is, of being cranked up (drug connotations notwithstanding). While its root, crank, is itself a fine example of Old-English severity, crunk goes it one better by mutating from a weak verb (one with suffix added, as in dance/danced) to a strong verb (with an internal vowel change, as in swim/swum). That the new word now rhymes with drunk doesn't hurt either, making crunk not only severe and strong, but earning a bacchanalian shade as well. All in all, it's a truly marvelous specimen of the visceral impact a Germanic-rooted word can have in our modern language: Just say it to yourself a few times -- it's downright nasty.

Though the term undoubtedly germinated among influential insiders long before it reached most of our ears, crunk first entered the national hip-hop discourse around 1998, when it appeared in the chorus of OutKast's breakthrough pop hit, "Rosa Parks" ("We the type of people make the club get crunk"). The rest would be linguistic history, except that OutKast are by no means the beginning nor the end of crunk.

Of course, OutKast can easily claim some degree of crunkdom. In fact, they have a certain knack at adding new glory to already punchy Germanic words -- turning ineffable stink into planetary Stankonia. Still, their degree of crunkness is less than pure. They are, after all, the group that souped-up a Latinate root (music) to create something called Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. There's something much more refined and studied about OutKast that tempers their crunkness. They're part crunk, sure, but they're at least as much cultivated and classical.

http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/2001-08-29/vibes_feature.html

Bling: http://drivenbyboredom.com/bling/dumbasses1.jpg

Let's get one thing sorted: Top Billin are good straight-up fun. There are no pretensions here. They operate under the previously underground hip-hop genre of "crunk". It's currently undergoing a bit of a revival, especially within the hipster-electro scene (namely Diplo and Crookers). You may have heard me refer to this crunk sound in other posts? Or b-more (baltimore)? Or, confusingly, I refer to both in the same phrase (crunky b-more) for no apparent reason - except that I have no other adjectives left at my disposal, so I just repeat the similar ones hoping you won't notice they both have almost identical meanings. ..I most recently posted a crunky remix of Daft Punk's 'Robot Rock', that layers those rocky booming synths with some b-more bounce. Crunk describes the clappy, bouncy drum sounds repeated throughout these tracks. The likes of Young buk, 8Ball & MJG, Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, Lil Scrappy, Oobie, Ying Yang Twins and YoungBloodz pioneered the movement in the 90's, and crunk really broke into the mainstream in 2000, abundantly with Lil Jon's material. The drum patterns created are a repetitive, almost primitive, slapping-and-clapping type of drum beat, with an undeniable energy.

But crunk has also come to characterise a different, more dancefloor-friendly version of Hip-Hop. Yes, I hear you all saying that Hip-Hop is dancefloor friendly. Hip Hop is a dance genre (and, after all, electro descends from early Hip-Hop beats). But its not dancefloor friendly for people like me; who can't stand the bump-and-grind thing, and, more importantly, can't actually dance properly. I like to go to a club and hear big-boom tunes blasting out beats that enable you to dance like a true moron. You bounce your head (often in an overly savage thrusting motion, that you don't realise looks that ridiculous until some inconsiderate bastard-of-a-friend records you on their video phone), pummel the air with your hands, and jump up and down like your having an epileptic fit. Repetitive, looped vocals help too: you can then shout the lyrics out while your throwing shapes and stupid rave moves (and since the vocals are so repetitive you can pretend like you know the words too). In short - without trying to sound too try-hard - I like to rave rather than dance à la R'n'B. Crunk also cuts out all the long-winded lyrics that you can't really be bothered to dissect in the rave/clubbing atmosophere. Crunk has this clubb-y, rave-orientated feel to it - it loops the dirty, most obscene (or just downright catchy) vocal snippets, that then fit perfectly alongside the bouncy drum-patterns. Yeahhh, bounce like your a moron from '92.

im white btw

(crunky b-more)

http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2005/08/25/PH2005082502052.jpghttp://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2005/08/25/PH2005082502052.jpghttp://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2005/08/25/PH2005082502052.jpg

b-more (baltimore)

i want to be annoyed that you posted this on ILM instead of my 77 lollertronix thread, but man, this thread is a great find

http://ppelectro.blogspot.com/2008/04/just-when-you-thought-it-was-safe-in.html

When it comes to Hip-Hop I'm no expert. But I know what I like. I want upbeat tunes, a retro vibe, more than just a vocal hook to keep me interested and a bit of bounce. I like the electro-tinged beats of the Wiseguys, the jazzy and scratchy style of A Tribe Called Quest, the hip hop mash-ups of The Rub, the in-your-face politics of Public Enemy and the chipper old school sound of DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince. I like it old school and I like it sunny.

http://www.youtube.com/user/pelskilad

^^^his Youtube page

taking sides: A Tribe Called Quest vs. The Rub

Having been incarcerated at home for the rest of the academic year (after a near-fatal car accident), i have taken it upon myself to spread my infinite knowledge of pretentious electronic music. The genre is already dispersed and scrutinized by vast throngs of scenester bloggers.The difference with this blog? I will only post the best music - none of the 'throw-away' fashionista rubbish clogging up so many blogs. Oh...and you can call me...Pelski.

jazzy and scratchy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=879nvY39lTA

His missus/sister is pretty hot

http://bp3.blogger.com/_9YtcsDmnbD8/SBJDeE37FsI/AAAAAAAAAhc/GWos1LEL_TQ/s400/just+when+you+thought+it+was+safe+in+the+club.gif

'To Protect And Entertain' featurs the vocals of Murs rapping about a nightlife scene. Word is Busy P and Murs wanted the line to go as follows: "Scenesters, Hipsters, Sneakers, You Can Call Me Pelski Wannabes". But it turned out to be a bit of a mouthful - oh, and it doesn't really rhyme with "smog" either ... so "blogs" had to suffice. The original of this track was nothing special (though I have to say I do like that one lyric), and the much anticipated Busy P tune sat alongside similar such mediocrity on the anticlimax that was Ed Rec Vol III.

vast thongs of internet bloggers

Over the last six months, I've posted predominantly indie-electro, distorted bangers, gnarled electro-tech and fidgety tunes with wonky basslines. I've displayed a beset fixation on the likes of the Black Ghosts, Fake Blood, Switch, LA Riots, Justice and Does It Offend You, Yeah?. I like vocal based remixes, distorted bangers and gnarly basslines - and I hear you say it's all getting a little samey? Call me old-fashioned, narrow-minded, stuck in a rut, monotonous or unadventurous - though I'd prefer you to call me Pelski - but I generally stick to a certain vein of dance music. However, a couple of artists are currently producing the type of music that I usually look down my nose at. Drum and Bass, Heavy Bass, Breakcore, and the similarly grimier sides of dance music have always seemed monotonous to me: uninviting and unimaginative. But the likes of Drop The Lime, Si Begg and Pirate Soundsystem are artists who really command some attention and manage to draw on all aspect of dance music - be it modern electro or old school breakz.

xp perpetua?

But the likes of Drop The Lime,

ugh, accidentally saw these dudes @ some club and had the worst time ever

me: wtf @ youtube spanking channel
ddrake: havent seen
me: does every soulpatch cratedigger have some patrinesque fetish?

http://o.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=920676494

Music
The Libertines, Babyshambles, Bromheads Jacket, The Holloways, The View, The Sunshine Underground, The Automatic, Dirty Pretty Things, Larrikin Love, Arcade Fire, Jamie T, Shout Out Louds, Be Your Own PET, The On Offs, Soulwax, Mylo, The New Pornographers, The Paddingtons, The Undertones, The Fratellis, The Maccabees, The Flaming Lips, The Young Knives, The Strokes, Hot Chip, Klaxons, ShitDisco, Datarock, Architecture In Helsinki among others,

me: does every soulpatch cratedigger have some patrinesque fetish?

-- some dude, Thursday, July 31, 2008 11:16 AM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

what's yours?

shaving my chin