this helps me understand music better. he's singing about the natural disaster at New Orleans and how the rescue workers were surprised to find a woman wandering around in the flooded streets- expecting everyone was dead. ("oh- oh my god! where have you been? how have you survived this long?" "Where I been? Where you been?!") he ends on an interesting note. "Don't talk about it. Be about it" but he had just spent three minutes criticizing the actions of the President. like, what exactly has mos def done besides talking about it? I mean, not many rappers also do well in the movies, but that's still talk. unless he means talking about taking a stand; that makes more sense. his music mainly expresses a state of mind than a particular message. I understand what he's saying, he speaks clearly enough. I understand the references, but mainly I hear a state of mind. when the man feels crushed or anxious, I hear it. I can tell when he's had a good day before the recording or not. he speaks his mind without words- but maybe that's just me. I've been known to assume.
When he did Tell the Truth with Immortal Technique, he sang the chorus. now that I listen to it again, Tech's voice sounds rather tinny, like a computer mic or something. Eh. anyway, in Mos Def's voice you can hear the emotion of what he's expressing. "Man, you hear this bullshit they be talkin'. Every day man, it's like these motherfuckers is just like professional liers; you know what I'm saying; listen!" you can hear what he means even if you didn't understand the words. if you only spoke mandarin and knew the general subject, you'd understand his position. Open your Eyes by Immortal Technique basically lays down the emotional history of American History. living on that creative edge really gives you a way to see beyond what people say. if you don't care about the same things as everyone else, you're free to develop your own style.
but mainstream music depends entirely on fringe music. without fringe music, mainstream would never develop into anything worth hearing. it would just replay over and over the same song for the rest of eternity. it's most obvious in the movie industry. you have key staples in film; a few include the natural disaster theme (deep impact, day after tomorrow, waterworld, twister), the wacky comedy (meet the fockers, duck soup, airplane, young frankenstein, pink panther), superhero (die hard, inception, lord of the rings, terminator), romance drama/comedy (dirty dancing, gone with the wind, how to lose a guy in 10 days, sweet home alabama)... it just replays over and over. same theme, same characters, slightly different roles (one is spike, the other, max). then, you have the brainsplitting movies like the matrix (which still went on to make thousands of spinnoffs! and NOW we have an animated movie series! and a cartoon! and a little neo doll!) that seriously give you something to think about. the Coen brothers are simply in another league.
actors are trained to act a specific way so it's hard to tell what they're really feeling. it's a sign of a good actor that throws themselves into the roll completely. most commonly is in comedy, I think. in music, of course, bills must be paid, so perhaps when Lil Wayne needs cash he'll wake up, take out his bedazzled retainer and say "yeeeeaaahhh" a couple times into the mic beside his bed and sell it. they go on and on about the most trivial and destructive behaviors like inhibition and a shallow cheapness. that's why they have to dress themselves in such attire and sing about how rich they are. it's the only way for them to disguise themselves as worthy to pay attention to. (I do kind of like eminem though) Lil Wayne in the music video for Got Money, runs through a bank and jumps around on tables. the crowd doesn't start dancing, they just stare at him like he's crazy. he throws cash around and the crowd blatantly ignores him for the cash. the only time you see a party scene is with an elaborately dressed t-pain, which is obviously in his head. what a nutter.
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