A sloppy nerd’s approach to explaining the glory behind The Rap Phenomenon known as Kodak Black.
It’s been a while now since I stopped, and I should say I've overcome the habit of over-intellectualizing and over-thinking my approach to art, music and culture. This goes along with an unapologetic dismissal of a "numbers approach to art/music" that the likes of Spotify have been promoting and pushing recently.
You see, art is not a numbers game. Sport is!!
Though this approach has its merits, and I certainly still do read the numbers and analysis of culture and so on to be informed, it must be said: what makes this or that artist DOPE ain’t in them numbers, that's certain! And we all know it.
vote here
The people have spoken, not Spotify!
This dismissal of intellectualisation and a numeric approach to culture is probably the main reason why Jay was dethroned by Kodak Black, and I opened up to more wavy and viby joints out there.
N E V E V E R T H E L E S S
I’m still a nerd—sloppy, but a nerd nevertheless 🥷🏾💀. Hence, I thought a more detailed, or should I say logical, explanation as to what makes the awesomeness behind this dude people call Yak. Especially if we consider the whole "shift in Hip-Hop real estate" that’s about to happen... thank you who? Thank you Kung Fu Kenny... 🥷🏾😅🙌🏾
As Metro Boomin’ said, "if you pick a side, you better stick to it."
So, as a true student of the game, preparing for what is gearing up to be the greatest Civil War in Rap history (in my eyes, the stakes this time around are bigger than the West vs East battle in the 90s), I decided it’s time to state—or should I say, re-state and rationalize—the pick of my champion, Kodak Black!
Some of you might already know the criteria I abide by when it comes to assessing art, and more specifically, rap music is:
Authenticity
Flow
Replay Value
Relatability
Wit
Get the here
"PROJECT BABY." That’s the name of Yak’s first big success. Well, as far as authenticity goes, I guess this title says it all. Kodak Black is exactly what you or anyone else would imagine a PROJECT BABY to be—a crazy bastard with PAIN written all over him and his bars. We had the 90s and 00s rappers describing them projects, right? Well, here are the kids of those projects at the mic, literally!!
Indeed, authenticity is surely one of the most, if not the most important aspect of Hip-Hop. As we all know, Hip-Hop, traditionally, has been defined as a musical expression of street culture. So, if you ain’t from the streets? What are you representing, right? This has been disputed over the years, but let's be honest, it still holds ground to this day. If you ask me, that’s the reason why Rock Music as a genre died… It simply lost connection with street culture…
Don’t want this to be a sort of ode to how great and awesome Kodak is as an MC, though he deserves all the extra adulation just for the mere fact of attempting to balance "cultural injustice" with such talent (I must repeat, Yakovsky is the most UNDERRATED rapper of all time). I reckon that’s exactly what Kendrick attempted to do when he invited Yak for a spin on that BIG STEPPAS album (should add I’m still mind-blown by the Hebrew Israelite connection between these two greats, but that’s a separate topic for another day, I guess)…
OR it’s just the flow. It surely is…
Writing this, I’m on my "second curation" of Kodak’s immense discography (over 500 tracks, of which approximately 80% are more than SOLID—this is truly impressive if you consider that Kodak is just 26 years old and he spent most of his career in prison…). And it is going through this second tour that it struck me that MOS DEF is dethroned as well (he’s been a sort of staple when it comes to flow and all that, for me). On GOD, if there ever was a complete MC, it should be YAK. You see, the flow on this dude is what we call "VERSATILE," and it’s on his featured tracks that you really start picking this up. Let me explain: whenever you hear Travis Scott on another artist’s track, you immediately get that this is a Travis Scott flow, which may or may not fit the flow of the track, but it’s aiiight, cuz it’s still Travis and we forgive him this lack of ability to adapt to the flow of the track. He can’t be a jack of all trades, right? The same goes for other greats such as Nas, Snoop, and so on—they are ultimately what they are, and we love them for that.
H O W E V E R
If you take dudes like Jay Z, Mos Def, and I would add Kodak, you start getting that Flexi-Flow, if I can say so… Just go through their work, the voice is distinct, but the flow switches as you jump from track to track or album to album. With Yak, this goes to another level…
You see, Kanye didn’t only bring auto-tune to the genre, he also brought a requirement of be able to sing and be melodic with them bars!!
Drake and even to some extent Kendrick Lamar got that, and we got ourselves the vibiest era of Hip-Hop to date. Even the days of A TRIBE CALLED QUEST seem less of a wave than the soulful and vibe-potent ambience our brothers got going on on the stage these days, right?
However, let’s be honest, Kendrick is not much of a singer, and Drake is not much of a rapper… And in my opinion, this is exactly where the genius of a guy like Kodak, and to a lesser extent Ye (Kanye West is really not that consistent with them bars, lets be honest), lies. Indeed, the level of flow switching exhibited by Yakovsky is unprecedented… Again, just go through THE PLAYLIST I’m shaping, and you can all judge for yourselves. It’s truly outstanding.
I could continue telling you about all the coolness of Yak in this or that aspect of Hip-Hop. But I would rather share some kind of generational observation I have about Rap music as a whole. See, the thing is, I’m a nerd. I guess most of you might have noticed this by now. And it so happens I’ve been immersed in this Hip-Hop culture from the tender age of 6. Saying all that to say that somehow, somewhere I’ve been, like many others, a first-hand witness to all the turns and twists of the genre. A real adept of them bars and a true scholar of the genre. And there’s one funny conclusion I’ve come to as time has passed and we have gone through B.I.G, Jay Z, MF Doom, Kanye West, Eminem, and Drake. The genre has been changing and evolving over the years and sometimes even wandering in the realm of pop and so on. However, one thing stays constant and unchangeable no matter what year or trend we're in, and that’s THE BARS!!!
Ultimately, the bars or the poetry are actually the bottom line of all this Rap Shit, if you ask me. It can be melodic, vibey, dumbed down, mumbling, conscious, or whatever, but it’s about the bars, their delivery, and I should say, both the objective and subjective appreciation of these…
My approach has always been an elitist one when it comes to rap and lyrics. Illmatic set the bar for me (and billions of others, of course), and that bar has pretty much been it for me till recently. It has always been all about double, triple layering of lyrics; relevance to culture and wit. Most naturally, an MC like Jay Z checks all the boxes in this regard, and he is rightfully mentioned and regarded as a king of New York and is in almost every decent top list out there, as he was and still is in mine…
H O W E V E R
We're discussing art/rap/poetry, correct? And when we do so, we simply cannot ignore the subjective aspect of appreciation. Recently, I've reached a personal conclusion that all that matters is "the feel," not the technicality. I first had this impression when Eminem emerged on the scene. As we all know, he is undoubtedly one of the top three technically perfect MCs, alongside Jay Z and Busta Rhymes. However, unlike Jay and Busta, the vibe just wasn't there for me when it came to Eminem.
"The feel" concept began with Madlib over Dr. Dre, a somewhat messy reconnection with the basics. A simple beat, a basic set of bars, and a brother gets his audio fix. Now, the manner in which these beats and bars are delivered is up to the listener; after all, tastes do differ. It just so happens that throughout life, I transitioned from a snobbish intellectual connoisseur to a reconnection with my inner vibe, if I may say so... surely because of various life events and so on... we all know how that personal journey to taste unfolds.
Bars + Kodak = My Soul Brother….. it used to be Kanye West, the slave to fame…
