Vikings & Beekeepers

My brother-in-law and I were recently discussing the fact that we can no longer bring ourselves to listen to most of the albums from the Definitive Jux label. Back in the early part of the decade, artists like Aesop Rock, Cannibal Ox and El-P were the biggest names in underground hip hop with their complex lyrics and bleak production. Whenever a new album by any of the Def Jux crew was released, critics fell over themselves heaping praise on their albums and deriding commercial hip hop for being, well, too commercial. Nowadays, those “classics” are now collecting dust on our CD shelves, and likely on the CD shelves across the globe. The reason for the demise of the Def Jux posse? No hooks.

Rap music without hooks is like David Spade without Chris Farley, Kraft Dinner without ketchup, Fred without Barney. That is, no fun. Now, music doesn’t necessarily have to be fun, I have a fair share of bleak, hookless albums that I love, but there’s a different standard in hip hop. I can’t sing along to the verses (unless I’m incredibly comfortable with the song) so there needs to be a strong, singable chorus to appeal to the casual fan. The Def Jux gang had undeniable flow and some sharp, on-the-point rhymes, but throw their albums on in a car and the party’s over.

Young Jeezy, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. He’s all hook, no substance. And ironically enough, I could listen to his stuff all day. Young Jeezy is like that SNL skit where a rap hype man puts out a solo album full of “Yeeaaahs” and “Whats” and “Daaaamns” and no actual rapping. Jeezy is all about ad-libs, he emphasizes the moments in between the rapping, not the actual rapping itself. It’s mostly stupid, but damned if it ain’t catchy and hella fun.

This week’s track, “Go Getta” (from 2006’s The Inspiration: Thug Motivation 102), is even more hook-filled than most of Jeezy’s other material in that it includes R. Kelly on the hook. If Jeezy is the king of all hook hip hop, than R. Kelly is the King of Kings. Kelly sings every line of every song like it’s a chorus. Kelly can turn a description of the mating life of the slug into the most bangingest club jam this side of “Umbrella.”

The combination of Jeezy and Kelly makes for a coke rap club anthem that’s catchier than scabies. The biggest surprise is that Jeezy actually sneaks in some worthwhile and hilarious verses (“Enemy of the state / They been calling me Will Smith / That thing on my side, you can call that Jada”) before Kelly takes it home with the slippery, pitch perfect chorus about trap rap’s finest. I guarantee you’ll be singing along before the song’s end. But don’t sing to loud, you’ll miss the harmony on the song’s final chorus. Young Jeezy and R. Kelly: Lords of the car jammer.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 11th, 2007 at 11:54 am and is filed under Classic Songs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.