How HIP-HOP was honed

THE HISTORY OF hip-hop was under the tuneful microscope in Manila earlier this month as the subject of study chosen for the inaugural edition of MTV Music Evolution, a concert backed up by an impressive light-and-sound system held at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park. More than 22,000 fans swarmed in to see top acts from both home and abroad.
The sounds got rolling in the late afternoon with a DJ barrage of old-school hip-hop. The show itself kicked off at 6.30 with one of the Philippines’ best rappers, Gloc-9, who took the crowd through an intense five-song set with a neon-lit skyline serving as the backdrop. The peak came with “Sirena”, followed by “Stars and Sun”, an inspiring tribute to the country’s late master rapper, Francis M.
Next up was the hottest current hip-hop act, Abra, joined onstage by his crew, the Lyrically Deranged Poets, for a solid and energetic demonstration of jaw-dropping wordplay.
A warm welcome greeted Filipino-born American rapper Apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas, who got the crowd jumping in ecstasy with “Bebot”, “I Got a Feeling” and “The Apl Song”. The 40-year-old called local songstress Jessica Reynoso onstage to help him out with “Be” and then capped off his homecoming with “I Gotta Feeling” and “Where is the Love?”, joined by Abra and Loonie.
Time now for DJ Cash Money and a generous injection of new-school hip-hop, disbursed from an illuminated, geometric booth at centre stage. His fantastic mixes got the mob ready for Billboard Hot 100 conqueror YG, who arrived with his West Coast style and back-up squad of DJ Goofy 500 and Slim 400. They did a lively 15-song medley that included YG’s hits “My Hitta”, “Don’t Tell Em”, “Who Do U Love” and “I Just Wanna Party”.
Grammy-award-winning Naughty by Nature closed the proceedings with en excursion through a hip-hop time warp aboard their most famous tracks, like “OPP”, “Hip Hop Hooray”, “Uptown”, “Craziest” and “Feel Me Flow” that mashed-up old and new school.
The trio – Treach, Vin Rock and DJ Kay Gee – showed some love for the fans by sporting custom-made T-shirts bearing the slogan “Filipino by Nature”, praising boxing champ Manny Pacquiao and paying tribute to Francis M with a rendition of his “Kaleidescope World”.
Treach, a drink in hand, also offered a toast to the late Tupac Shakur, pouring some of the potion on his arm-tattoo rendering of Tupac, as if evoking the hip-hop spirit that carries on through every fresh generation.
All the musicians assembled onstage for the finale, bathed in a breathtaking explosion of confetti. “This is history in the making!” Naughty by Nature proclaimed.

Careful of the cash flow
 RAPPERS TREACH and Vin Rock of Grammy-winning East Coast hip-hop trio Naughty by Nature made time for a brief interview prior to their debut show in Southeast Asia.

WHAT’S YOUR VIEW ON HIP-HOP WITH EDM (ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC) FLAIR?
Treach: It’s an evolution. A lot of people complain about today’s music, but music is supposed to evolve. If you don’t evolve, you lose it to everybody else.

IN TERMS OF A MESSAGE, WHAT’S THE NEW HIP-HOP TRYING TO GET ACROSS?
Treach: A lot of the lyrics right now back home are more about the party vibe in the clubs – especially in strip clubs – which we think are the products of spoiled kids. When we came up in the ’80s hip-hop spoke of the struggle in the streets and social and economical issues, and we could use some of that in hip-hop today.

IS HIP-HOP SLOWLY DYING?
Vin Rock: If you mean the foundation of hip-hop that talks about the struggles in the street, that kind of music is still out there. But now with the corporations fully invested in hip-hop, you only hear five or six artists like that on the radio, so you might think that’s it.
If you’re a real music-lover and dig into the Internet, there are tons of talents that are socially conscious. If you leave it to the corporations, you would think hip-hop is dead, but in reality it’s still alive and kicking.

HOW DO YOU SEE THE CHANGES IN THE INDUSTRY?
Vin Rock: When we came up there were so many independent labels, and you had so many different artists that had their own sound, but right now it’s a squeeze, like a bottleneck. There’s no A&R guy [artist-and-repertoire scout] going out and signing new artists. It’s just a few clicks and they’re signing new artists into their labels, so basically you get the same sound and the same vibe. The selecting process should be more open to get more creativity. Many artists out there don’t get recognised.
Treach: People blame the artists, but it also falls on the corporations, which are the record companies. Now they just sign people off the Internet, no more going out digging. Back then you had to get out and make a name for yourself for the A&Rs to notice. Now they got rid of A&R and they don’t develop artists anymore. They’re like, “Why don’t you develop yourself, and once you break yourself we’ll throw a couple of dollars into you.”
Vin Rock: Another reason behind this is the lack of physical content – cassettes, CDs and vinyl for the most part – which helps finance the development of new artists. When we came out with “OPP” we had maxi-cassettes for $6. You sell two million copies and you have $12 million before you even put out your album. Today it’s 99-cent mp3s on iTunes. They take 30 cents and you’re only working with 70 cents. And with all the streaming going on, it really cripples the record labels. They don’t have the funds they used to and it’s damnation all around.

HOW WOULD YOU ADVISE ASPIRING ARTISTS TRYING TO MAKE IT IN THE SCENE?
Treach: Write your own music. Build your own brand. Take care of all your own business. Get your music out there and give the people what they want. And remember to follow your heart. You can’t take music-lovers for granted. If you’re there just to cash a quick cheque, it’s not going to work. People can see through you.

INTO YOUR HOME, BOY
The whole show was recorded as part of “MTV World Stage” and will be broadcast at 6pm tomorrow to an audience of more than 750 million households in 160 countries.
For more details, check out www.Facebook.com/MTVAsia.