gangstagrass

what does dobro, banjo, steel guitar, hillbilly yodeling, and fiddle have to do with urban beatz, gangsta rap and prodigious use of the n-word?

well not much if we are knowledgeable of the context and culture of appalachian bluegrass and urban gangstarap respectively. but if - while appreciating both - we can recognize these categories to be only arbitrary - the idea of any "real" or absolute walls between the two fall away. that is, while genres are not true - i think the music of gangstagrass is. (more on my take of arbitrary vs. true)

(download gangstagrass free - you might need a meal or two before it finishes downloading)

while it is important to appreciate the context, culture and story of genres (styles), i think there is a huge difference between (particularly the integrity of) recycling old ideas/formulas just because thats the way its always been done (or worse because it sells); and respecting the heritage and stories of the past, but creating something new with integrity that reflects your story, or a new story, or a new take on an old story.

(as a groove-challenged caucasian i can do those links better with bluegrass than i can with the gangsta / urban side of things).

while listening to gangstagrass - its is difficult to conjure up the circumstances by which this music would've emerged organically. there is a convergence of elements here that don't correlate to anything we know about (earth's) history: black urban america doesn't use acoustic instruments - and the downward spiral of urban decay and drum machine beatz has no meaning where there is little infrastructure.

still - after listening, we might begin to consider that a dobro can sound as badass as a drive by shooting... and we might start to think that rappers have a thing or two to learn from the machine gun timing of an olde timey auctioneer (track 15). and we might even begin to see commonalities in these respective stories: that the hard times in urban america and the hard times in rural appalachia are both born of pain and truth and expressed in sounds that resonate - with each other.

and thats the magic - i think - when an appreciation, mutual respect and a bridging happen.

so anway - i could be talkin about anything - but last night i was talkin with some friends about rethinking worship & arts & integrity & church & tradition & respecting historic christian modalities...