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MUS 360 Exam 3 Review Guide: Materials from November 13th through December 4th
Swing Down, Sweet Chariot: G-Funk
Be familiar with the general aesthetics of G-Funk. Specifically the emphasis on fidelity, lyrics, use of synthesizers and how samples are used.
While Dr. Dre is often credited with popularizing G-Funk, who was the producer who pioneered that style and often was behind the scenes of a lot of that music?
Be familiar with Dr. Dre's production techniques described in class and in Williams's chapter, “Jeep Beats.” How and WHY did Dr. Dre use “replays” or interpolate (there are 2 main reasons: 1) has to do with money and 2) has to do with sonic control over the sample).
Be familiar with “Gin and Juice.” Why is the the epitome of G-Funk sound? What are some of the lyrical topics in the song that come up in Williams's chapter (specifically related to car culture in Southern Cali).
While Kendrick Lamar's “King Kunta” has the G-Funk sound and has a very G-Funk music video. How does he appropriate G-Funk aesthetics to make a socially conscious song and statement (i.e. how/ why do you think he “sampled” g-funk culture but to say something?)?
In Williams's chapter he talks about how G-Funk and NYC Boom Bap Rap had different aesthetics that related to the different ways that people used transportation in LA and NYC. Be familiar with this argument and how geographically based music aesthetics related transportation within a region (LA=Cars; NYC=Subways/mass transit).
Have a general understanding of P-Funk. Be familiar with the use of synths in P-Funk and how that influenced G-Funk?
While G-Funk sampled from or interpolated P-Funk sound, what else did G-Funk sample from P-Funk (hint: it has to do with the party ya'll, the culture, the lyrics, etc.).
Given Williams's discussion about the how regional transportation influences musical aesthetics, what are some of the ways in which transportation influenced P-Funk's aesthetics?
Name the synthesizer that was popularized in P-Funk and also used by G-Funk producers.
Have some awareness of Ice Cube's cover of “One Nation Under a Groove” as well as how it exemplifies George Clinton's relationship to hip hop (does he support it and how?).
Keepin’ it Real: ’90s Boom Bap Rap:
Be familiar with the general aesthetics of 90s East Coast boom bap rap.
What is authenticity? According to McLeod, why is authenticity talked about in hip hop music and what is the function of authenticity claims within the music?
Be familiar with McLeod's 6 semantic dimensions (I think just understand them and what they mean and apply them and don't memorize them)...it's pretty simple: 1) social-psychological (staying true/following mass trends); 2) racial (black/white); 3) political economic (the underground/commercial); 4) gender-sexual (hard/soft); 5) social locational (street/suburbs); and 6) cultural (referring to HIP HOP culture, thus the old school/mainstream). Likely what I will do is present you with a lyric or two and ask you to identify the discursive dimensions in the lyric. It will be pretty apparent what dimension is being expressed.
Please note some of the “the threats” to NYC/East Coast hip hop, specifically with NYC being the birthplace of hip hop. Given this, why was NYC/ East Coast rap so centered on authenticity from 93-96?
What were some of the aesthetics employed on the Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)? (i.e., southern soul samples, kung-fu film clips, humorous violent lyrics, etc.)? How did this album bring back prominence to NYC/East coast rap at the time (aka the “East Coast Renaissance” with albums like Illmatic, Ready to Die, The Infamous, etc.)?
Be aware of the themes explored in: “C.R.E.A.M.,” “Time's Up,” “Come Clean,” “Mass Appeal,” and “Shook Ones Pt.II”. Just sort of understand that “C.R.E.A.M.” is a hustler's tale, “Mass Appeal” is about selling out and going commercial, etc.
Have familiarity with what and HOW Common explores authenticity and the evolution of hip hop/rap music in “I Use to Love H.E.R.”. How does he specifically address gangsta rap/g-funk and commercialization?
How is authenticity addressed in the music video for “What they Do”?
Femcees and Gender Politics
Be familiar with the aesthetic characteristics of female rappers. How does feminism play into the themes of the music? How could presenting themselves as sexual subjects be a form of feminism esp. within hip hop/rap music?
While femcees were visible in the early hip hop days and rap through the mid-1980s, what happened after that? And, why do you think women were and still are marginalized (not only as artists, but in lyrics and songs)?
Familiarize yourself with Keyes's 4 archetypes/roles that female rappers find themselves in when entering the rap industry. What are the two other archetypes I presented. Be able to apply these in examples and be familiar with the characteristics of each type. Know some femcees who represent each archetype. Likely I will present you with a list of songs/videos and ask you to identify the archetype performed by the artists.
Be very familiar with the lyrical and visual aesthetics of Queen Latifah's “Ladies First.” Why does she start the video off presenting images of proud and historically important black females? Why does Latifah present herself as a leader in this video? How is oppression explored as intersectional in the video?
What is the theme of the song/video for “U.N.I.T.Y.”? How does and what's the significance of Latifah reclaiming the words “bitch” and “hoe” (hint: think to gangsta rap lyrics and how those lyrics were reflected in culture)?
How does Salt-n-Pepa play with stereotypes of sexuality and sexual desire in “Shoop”?
How does the Sista with Attitude reclaim the term “bitch”?
Be specifically familiar with the Queen Bee archetype and how it inverts many of the themes and topics of gangsta rap and hardcore NY rap from the time.
Be familiarly with themes and topics exemplified in the Lesbian/Queer archetype. What does the black lesbian struggle against and thus show in their lyrics?
What's the significance of Queen Pen's “Girlfriend”?
Hi! My Name Is (what?): Racial Authenticity and Cultural Appropriation
Be familiar with, know examples of, and be able to apply Hess's three positions that white rappers have adopted to deal with questions of racial authenticity.
Why was Vanilla Ice labeled an imitator and cultural appropriator? And, why would he lie and try and associate himself with the streets?
Be familiar with the parody of Vanilla Ice I showed you.
If 3rd Bass took the immersive approach, why do you think they would be quick to call out Vanilla Ice in “Pop Goes the Weasel” (hint: to distance themselves from him)?
According to Kajikawa's article, Eminem rearticulated race and used parody of whiteness to pre-empt criticism of cultural appropriation. How did Eminem rearticulate race and how did he separate himself from whiteness?
Why was Eminem's Infinite an example of immersion and what type of sound was Eminem copying on this album?
Be very familiar with how Eminem used “inversion” on the “My Name Is” video. What were some of the parodies of whiteness exemplified in the video?
Why does Eminem present himself as white trash and how does he use his class identity to his advantage? (think of other examples, for instance, the clip from 8 Mile)?
In Jin's “Learn Chinese” he plays up racial difference in both the lyrics and the video. How does he do this and how does he deal with issues of racial authenticity in regards to Hess (hint: he's in the immersion zone but also does play with race in a non-ironic way...proud about being Chinese)?
How or does Rich Brian use parody and inversion in his video/song “Dat $tick”? Would Hess label him as imitative (answer, likely yes, regardless of the “irony” in his imitation).
Dumbfounded's “Safe” is a pretty strong critique of what? And, how does he use parody and irony in his critique of racial representation? How is this similar and different to Eminem's use of parody?
Be familiar with the significance of Mellow Man Ace and his song “Menitrosa”?
How does Kid Frost deal with ethnicity and race in “La Raza”? In general, a lot of Latin or Hispanic rap songs/artists deal with brown pride; how is this exemplified in “La Raza” (both song and video)?
DJ Battles, Pinoy Influence and the Scratch Documentary
Have some familiarity with the Filipino American population as well as how the Bay Area Mobile DJ scene influenced turntablism/DJ battles/scratching (this is mostly from the Wang chapter/slides).
What is turntablism and a turntablist?
What was the significance of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz (ISP) showing how DJs could act as a band? How did we see this in the clip from X-Men vs. ISP, specifically with ISP (ie. one hand drums, one scratches in horn and guitar licks, one on lead scratch, one on a bassline, etc.)?
Why were Invisibl Skratch Piklz so influential? Note that the group not only brought new DJ techniques to the culture, they helped make and brand technologies that allowed for DJ techniques to advance, and they influenced a whole generation of hip hop/scratch DJs who came out of the 1990s (and, importantly, were heroes to many Filipino Americans and Asians who wanted to be a part of hip hop).
What are some of the key elements and aesthetic priorities of the DJ battles? Be familiar with examples of body tricks and beat juggling.
What is a beat juggle, and what are the two characteristics needed for an effective juggle in a battle? How do we see this in Babu's “Blind Alley” juggle?
Think a bit about gender and why turntablism is such a male-dominated practice. Thus, why is Kuttin Kandi's 98 performance significant?
The point of body tricks is to showcase how the body can be used to manipulate records or the crossfader. While Roc Raida's 1995 routine is a bit sloppy he is rather musical with it. Just be familiar with this and his use of body tricks in this routine.
Be familiar with what I call the greatest 6 minutes in DJ battle history (hey, a lot of people agree, but it's the DJ Craze 1998 USA DMC Final routine). Why do you think I would make such a claim, esp. when you compare Craze's routine to some of the others (He uses very complex juggles, body tricks, wordplay, etc. in a very musical routine)?
J Dilla Saved My Life
Be familiar with Dilla's general aesthetics and techniques. And, in general, how did Dilla “humanize” his MPC?
By not using quantization, how did this make Dilla's beats unique (you want to know what quantization is, too)?
What were the two instruments that Dilla utilized? How was his use of the Minimoog different than in G-funk (hint: he used it for the low end and G-funk mainly exploited its high pitch sounds)?
How did Slum Village's “Fall in Love” exemplify Dilla's low end texture? What element of Dilla's aesthetic is exemplified in “E=MC2” (hint: a “loosely” programmed bassline played on a Minimoog)?
What two Dilla produced songs exemplify his creativity and proficiency in chopping?
On “Don't Cry” Dilla let's most of The Escorts's song play unaltered before his chopping/flipping comes in?
Why was even Pete Rock impressed with Dilla's chops on the production on Black Star's “Little Brother”?
Have some familiarity with the aesthetics of the old and the new rap and hip hop music. Note that these are just often priorities in the eras; that is, in previous eras not biting has been a huge priority in the culture/music, but is less of a priority now. Just think about these, specifically when considering mass trends.
Songs/Breaks you should be able to HEAR and know (some I played in class and were not assigned, but they are linked in the power point slides)!
DJ Quik - “Tonite”
Ohio Players - “Funky Worm” (sample, :46 seconds in)
Kid Frost - “La Raza”
Mobb Deep - “Shook Ones Part II”
Bahamadia – “True Honey Buns”
Parliament – “Mothership Connection”(sample, 5:32-5:59)
Queen Latifah – “Ladies First”
O.C. - “Time's Up”
Jeru the Damaja - “Come Clean”
J Dilla - “E=MC2”
Gap Mangione - “Diana in the Autumn Wind”
Snoop Dogg - “Gin and Juice”
Slum Village - “Fall In Love”
Eminem - “Never Too Far”
Jin - “Learn Chinese”
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