New York in the 70s and 80s.

 I'm infatuated with New York City in the 70s and 80s. I saw footage the other day that rekindled my infatuation. It was of businesses somewhere Downtown or Midtown Manhattan. What was remarkable about the storefronts is they had a very dusty, homegrown look to it. These streets, that are probably jam packed with upscale shopping or chain stores today, once had Mom and Pop businesses, in gritty stone tenements, with old furniture, hand-made signs and fluorescent lighting.  Looking at the footage of the decayed neighborhoods in the Bronx, you see the vibrancy that still exists on some blocks. How can someplace be so vacated, yet so vibrant? You also see the people and businesses keeping the neighborhood alive as they can, young people expressing themselves with this new colorful culture of Hip Hop. There's a certain innocence through adversity that is unique to that time period. 

Check out this cool montage of the Bronx in the 70's and 80's:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5zqGiLPbW8&t=350s

If you have a few hours to spare, check out the classic Hip Hop movie, Beat Street, (now Free on youtube). Watching this now is like watching a time capsule of a lost civilization: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWF-MraGWZQ

Chicago thoughts

You know there's some strange magic going on in Chicago, when Hyde Park ain't in the South Side. What is it, it's own independent acting jurisdiction? Washington DC? Lesotho? Then again, they're about to build that Future-Khemet looking Obama building. Chicago is a very "Had it's hands in many things" city. We revolutionized the art of city building, with the skyscraper. Who knows what the unsaid impact of the White City at the World's Columbian exposition was on Chicagoan Walt Disney, whose theme park blueprints went on to create urban, fantasy-land planning, now seen in lifestyle centers across the USA.

The 3 Intricacies of Flow

The heavily nerded worded breakdown of the 3 intricacies of Flow in Hip Hop. 

Flow is the technique used by the MC to rap over the beat. 

 With flow one has to consider: 

1 The Harmony: In Hip Hop, you hear the term "Cadence" for this aspect of music. There's an underlying tone, a melody to everyone's flow. How much is the artist in tandem with the underlying music in the track? Is the tone off? If the track changes, say, with the introduction, or dropout of a musical instrument, is it accompanied by a change in the approach of the artist? 

2 The Rhythm: The way in which the artist chooses to consistently ride (or not ride) the beat and find pockets in the beat. The term stacatto flow comes up often with fast-paced lyricists such as Twista or Eminem. There's also examples of Jazz triplet flows, most famously used by Notorious B.I.G, who could weave his way in and out the beat, throwing heavy punches as he stepped. One can think of their voice as a percussive instrument. Does one hit every rhythmic interval like the thud of a large steel beam, or like the quick slap followed by a smack of a good boxing combination, or does it acheive it in a rubbery, light, bouncy way? 

3 The Delivery: Delivery in many ways can be more important than rhythm in Hip Hop. Is the delivery showing how confident and passionate the artist is about what they're presenting? Many famous songs have portions that are off rhythm a bit, but the MC who is on it is so powerful in their delivery, it's overlooked. One can choose to rap with a soft, whispery tone with aggression like Snoop, with a hard-edge, gruff, shout like DMX, or with a sharp forwardness like Drake. Does one slur their words in dialect for authenticity, or go out their way over-pronounce words for comedic effect, or vice-versa? Does one use emotion or not? 

 Stuff to consider before rapping. Peace!