I am someone who has touched based with the SG hiphop scene. So I think I should share my thoughts in this...
I used to think that Rap is Crap too. So it was with more of an intention to shock when I joined a rap competition organised by Beats Society called Platform 6 (got top 5). That's pretty much how I got into the scene.
From the very first rap gig that I actually caught thereafter, I realised that rap is actually a style of poetry to a rhythm (much like Slam Poetry).
Seriously, the kind of stuff that the best in SG has to offer are mindblowing. It was then that I realised hiphop music has a lot more to offer than I first thought. So I stayed in the scene just to learn the ropes and technicalities. I learned about the essence of rhymes and things like "multies" and "flow". I learned how to write with depth. I also learned how to perform without a band backing you up; to BE the band essentially.
There is a lot of things that hiphop can teach the rock scene. Lyrics for example. I can safely say that I cannot think of any famous rap-rock artists out there who can hold a candle next to the lyrical competence of some of the people we have here in Singapore, and that is an unbias opinion. The real rap-rock lyricists I can think of are Zach D from RATM and Mike Shinoda of LP/Fort Minor, and these two guys come from a rap/hiphop background to begin with.
These are also the people who are slouched over the PC or Mac over a beat or a loop, listening to their stuff over budget "monitor speakers" that most of the people would just term off as "crap". But, when you are not incomed by the thousands you will realised that your ONLY resources are "crap" stuff, so you just have to make do with them.
Ok, so maybe about 80% of the people in the hiphop scene are subpar. But there are two note worthy rap collectives that I personally know that can boast quality (three if you count Beats Society, but they are more inclined to the commercial end of things). They are:
- Divine Aura (though they are no longer as active. I learned how to write better because of them).
- XS.1 collective (recently out with an album. Lyricists and poets, through and through).
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I would like to say this as well:
Maybe cos it's just a matter of different tastes, so I think this is more a personal frustration. But I am rather disappointed by the apathy that each genre show over the other. I keep telling my hiphop peers to just look out for a gig in the "rock scene" that claims to take in any genre and just steal the stage, and prove their worth.
Also, it is through a rock environment that you can really learn how to excite and constantly push yourself to think of ways to encapsulate proper showmanship. Not having a band doesn't mean you have to be boring. But it forces you to stay interesting.
Unfortunately, noone bothered.They are just too afraid that they will be booed for being "hiphop". And I can understand the fear. Cos when you mention the word "hiphop", the idea of blingblings and baggy pants, gangs and guns, and words like "n****r" and "b***h" comes to mind. It doesn't help that every now and then I see people posting about hiphop being crap and stuff on this very forum.
I am also watching so many rock bands incorporating rap into their music, but many of them are not really learning or studying about the technicalities and essence of a good rap lyrics. Simply cos they don't listen to rap to begin with. Again, here is an example of staying ignorant cos you are misinformed about the genre and scene and just don't have the desire to go back to the roots of what makes rap good.
To me if you are true supporter of local music, you give support and pave the way to LOCAL MUSIC, irregardless of genre.
To sum up my frustation on this, I like to quote from a song by X'Scapists (who is from the XS.1 Collective). It's called "Trajik Kingdom":
"We put our hearts and our minds from the pen to the paper.
But nobody gives a s**t so we turned into vapour.
We put our words and our verse from the mic to the speaker
But nobody's listening so we turned into vapour."
My cents added up to a million.
