Rap makes its move into mainstream music
Hip hop hysteria has engulfed this coun
try, and where is it seen more these days than
pop music? Rap has taken America by the
throat, dressed it, moved its booty and told
it how to think. Some see this movement as
just another fad, but with rap’s proliferation
into mainstream music, critics are being
forced to take notice.
Rap in pop music is a fairly new occur
rence. Only for about five years have we had
rap on the radio nationwide. Run-DMC first
broke the barrier in 1987 with its collabora
tion with Aerosmith on “Walk This Way.”
For the first time, rap was being heard on
every pop music station in America.
America couldn’t ignore rap- It wouldn’t
r-■'----- --—
go away. It kept eating at the pop music
machine, trying to become an integral piece.
Tone-Loc went on to prove that other
rappers could push the right buttons. So a
steady drum beat and a sampled guitar riff
kept “Wild Thing” on everyone’s lips.
Then came the bum rush. It was a fashion
to listen to rap, buy rap and dress like
rappers, either in a fly B-boy style or like a
rough “gangsta.”
The fashion and the fad pushed several
rappers over the top to pop superstardom,
call sellouts and others give credit (well, no
one gives credit to Vanilla Ice).
They became; bigger than selling
11 *
millions of albums, exciting the teeny
bopping masses and enraging hard-core rap
purists. With world tours, dolls and Saturday
morning cartoons, these soda pop rappers
seemed to be the future of pop music, if not
rap.
Thankfully, pop-rap music has moved
foreword into new styles: the play ful style of
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, the hard
core edge of LL Cool J and Naughty by
Nature, the soft style of P.M. Dawn, the
ragamuffirFinfluenced style of DAS EFX and
the “backwards” style of Kris Kross.
This diversity gives hope for the future
quality of rap. But rap has done more than
enter the pop music field of play^It has
integrated into other genres of music.
Technotronic and C+C Music Factory brought
rap into their house music. R & B artists such
as Janet Jackson use rappers as a new
dimension to their records.
So even if rap were to lose its following
in pop music, we would still see its influence
in R & B and house, and rappers would still
be in business.
Is rap music the future of pop music?
Well, it’s the now of pop music. On|y time
will tell the fate of rap, but with current
trends the way they are, it doesn’t look like
rap will die any time soon.
—Greg Schick is a rap fan and Diversions contribu
tor.
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Experiences
Just $10.
Ride all the rides on the Midway of the
Nebraska State Fair for just $10.
Seven Special Days on the Midway.
Friday, Sept. 4
Tuesday, Sept. 8
Wednesday, Sept. 9
Thursday, Sept. 10
Friday, Sept. 11
Saturday, Sept. 12
Sunday, Sept. 13
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6 p.m.- midnight
Noon - 5 p.m.
4 p.m.- midnight
THE NEBRASKA STATE FAIR
FAIRLY BURSTING WITH FUN!
September 4-13 / Lincoln
Al Schaben/DN
Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chill Peppers
["jHi’wflYHoiii books*" !
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Irish, Scottish Music, and Soundtracks on CD A Tape
STRANGE BOOKS...
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Phenomena. Aura A Chakras, Crystals, Recovery, Healing, Yoga, I
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Prospenty, Right livelihood. Writing, Women's Issues, Relation
I ships. Men's Issues, Meditation, Psychology, Native American, a
Dreams, Angels, Magic, Kahbala, UFO's, Ghosts A More.
ODDITIES & CURIOSITIES...
Tibetan Bowls, Crystal Bowls, Rainslicks, Wind Chimes, Bulk A
Packaged Exotic Incense, Candles, Stone Spheres, Crystals A
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I 1 spes A Some Other Cool Stuff I
I THIS NO-HURL GUARANTEE...
If your mind is a little open A you're not completely mental, stop in I
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Memory of Elvis
alive and young
Even as fads come and go, we
still have Elvis. When staid George
Bush invokes His name for shame
less politics, we know Elvis is more
than a mere phenomenon.
Elvis is our rock ‘n’ roll deity.
The spirit of Elvis still moves us,
even as we understand that the
mortal Elvis could hardly move His
own bowels near the end of His
life; such a mess was Elvis with His
ruined body, riddled by His vices
and destroyed by the fame that
made Him great.
As if to compensate for our own
silliness, we, through popular cul
ture, revere Elvis, yet mock Him at
the same time.
In cheap tabloids, we see that
Elvis has been sighted alive — a
second coming of the rock ‘n’ roll
Jesus.
And yet, He usually is spotted
doing something extraordinarily
ordinary.
Elvis’ latest and most significant
sighting was at the movie, “Honey
moon in Vegas,” where he ap
peared in the guise of imitators of
the King.
Through all His impersonators,
See ELVIS on 11
TRACKING ‘OB-SCURE’ SOUNDS
Search for eccentric escapes categories, fascism’
LISTEN TO ROCK ‘N’ ROLL? (OR THEY
ONLY LISTEN TO RAP OR JAZZ OR CLASSI
CAL...) AS A MUSICIAN, I FIND THE IDEA
OF EXCLUSIVITY IN MUSICAL PREFER
ENCE A TYPE OF PERSONAL FASCISM.
JOHN CAGE, A GREAT MUSICIAN/PER
SON WHOJUSTDIED, THOUGHT OFMUSIC
AS ANYTHING A PERSON MIGHT HEAR:
TRAFFIC NOISE, ANIMAL SOUNDS, ERIK
SATIE PIANO PIECES . . . ANYTHING
AUDIBLE COULD BE MUSIC.
SOM ETI M ES WH EN I TALK WITH PEOP LE
ABOUT MUSIC, ALL THEY SEEM TO KNOW
ABOUT IS ROCK: ALTERNATIVE, INDUS
TRIAL, FUNK, HARDCORE, RAVE, ACID
HOUSE AND RAP (THIS LIST COULD GO
ON FOR QUITE A WHILE STILL.)
PEOPLE I TALK WITH AT THE SCHOOL
OF MUSIC, ON THE OTHER HAND, KNOW
ABOUTSONATAALLEGRO FORM,CANON/
FUGUE, LIEDER, THE TRISTAN CHORD,
IMPRESSIONISM, FREE ATONALITY . . .
(THIS LIST COULD BE EVEN LONGER.)
WHEN I TRY TO TALK WITH EITHER OF
THESE GROUPS OF PEOPLE ABOUT MU
SIC FROM THE FRINGE... THIRD-STREAM
JAZZ, ETHNIC MUSIC, ELECTRONIC MU
SIC, FREE IMPROVISATION, ETC ... I
ENCOUNTER INDIFFERENCE, SOMETIMES
SCORN (THAT RHYMES WITH JOHN ZORN.)
THE POINT I AM TRYING TO MAKE IS
THAT THERE IS A LOT OF GREAT MUSIC
OUT THERE THAT ISN’T HEARD ENOUGH.
BEFORE YOU DIAL THAT 800 NUMBER
FOR THE NEW K-TEL RELEASE OR GO OUT
TO PICKLES OR TWISTERS TO BUY THE
MOST OBSCURE/ALTERNATIVE, PSYCHE
PUNK, ACID-NOISE CD., TRY CHECKING
OUT YOUR ‘FREE’ SOURCES FOR SOME
MUSIC YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD BE
FORE.
GOOD PLACES ARETHE LOW-END FRE
QUENCIES ON THE FM DIAL. THE PUBLIC
LIBRARY HAS SOME GEMS IN ALL TYPES
OF MUSIC, AND THE LISTENING BOOTHS
IN WESTBROOK’S MUSIC LIBRARY GIVE
YOUACCESSTOMORETHAN10,000TITLES
(AND THEY ARE NOT ALL CLASSICAL EI
THER.)
— Nick Wilson is a music major and Diversions
contributor.
Raves gain popularity
Techno, rave or house — it has
been the mainstay of almost all
European dance music for more
than two years now—and its rising
popularity could be what kills it.
For the electronically based
techno bands, a chart rating is the
end of favor with club DJs who will
no longer play the record as it has
lost its hard-core appeal.
Hard-core appeal is very impor
tant to the average raver. Rave be
gan as a reaction to the lack of
innovation in the music industry
and thrived on remaining outside
the corporation music world.
Another aspect of this is the
culture that has grown up around
rave music, The place to hear rave
music is at outdoor raves, where up
to 10,000 ravers meet to dance the
night away.
Raves are big-business events.
Tickets frequently cost $40or more.
Because raves are illegal, gather
ings organizers divulge the location
only at the last minute, via a re
corded phone message.
Inside a rave there are attractions
such as fairground rides and an
assortment of top DJs and bands
who pump out the techno music.
Ravers do not dance in couples,
but in rows — all facing the stage
like a pagan ritual, with lasers re
placing sun worship. The dancing
is an energetic business, making
use of the feet and the arms that fly
in circling, jerky motions.
The dress fashion that has grown
up around rave works around the
practicalities of dancing. Crew cuts,
baggy trousers, loose topsandsports
boots are standard.
Rave is also associated with drug
usage, particularly thestimulant Ec
stasy. Proponents of the drug insist
it is less harmful than alcohol. How
ever, the drug raises the body’s
temperature. This, combined with
hours of vigorous dancing, has
caused a small number of ravers to
die from heat exhaustion.
Other illegal drugs associated
with rave are amphetamines, LSD,
cocaine and Special K
I L A\K
Alcohol is generally absent from
rave events as it impairs motor
mechanisms and dulls the effects of
other drugs.
Not surprisingly, drug use has
given rave culture a certain notori
ety. Techno bands feed off this.
Song titles and band names with
the word ecstasy or “E” in them are
fast becoming a cliche
Rave, like all music trends, will
undoubtedly pass, but already in its
short existence, rave has made one
fundamental difference to the mu
sic business. Small bands in Europe
have stopped looking to the major
labels for support and instead re
lease limited editions of their songs
direct to the DJs. Only if the song
catches on in the clubs does it then
go on general release.
Rave is now becoming popular
on the East and West coasts of
America. Perhaps here too it will
rock the foundations of the music
industry.
— Matthew Grant is our token
European and a Diversions contribu
tor.
Lisa Pytlik/DN
1 227 NORTH 9TH STREET. BASEMENT LEVEL
LINCOLN. N.E. 68508 PHONE (402) 438-3808
PRESENTS
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