I've been
putting this one off. J-Xile is local, which makes me want to be supportive,
but I have a natural aversion to rap, and having clicked a few times, I was
quickly turned off.
I decided
to quit putting it off, and I thought it was just going to be my most negative
review in a while, but as luck would have it, De La Soul recently had a
promotion where you could download their music, and I have been listening to
them recently, which reminds me that I don't automatically hate rap.
Also, one
reason my rule is to listen to the content at least three times is that you
don't hear everything the first time, and an appreciation can build up. So, I
do hate him less now than I did Monday, but I still do not like him, and in
going over why that is I will be writing in general about rap as well as
specifically about J-Xile.
One of my
first objections was that all of the tracks sounded the same. That is a common
first listen issue, and sure enough, I now know that is not exactly true. "Spitten
My Game" and "We Out Here" do some different things, and there
is some variety. Overall though, the sound is depressed and monotonous. It's
like the generic background for some movie or television spot that wants to
convey you are in the hood. I think there's some Coolio influence.
I was also
put off by the profanity. I usually don't mention this, partly because I know I
am rare in caring about it, and it is very common, but also I know that there
is often a point to it. For this, it felt repetitive and pointless. My first
thought was that the language was lazy.
Then there
is the photo. J-Xile is a white guy, and there is a small part of me that
unfairly thinks "poser" with that, but that's not fair, and also, I
do like the Beastie Boys, and I don't like Eminem, but I know that he raps well
(and with a lot of profanity). Knowing all of that, it still wasn't sitting
right with me, and I started to focus on the facial expression.
The eyes
look dead. There is not an angry snarl, or a cocky sneer, or any expression at
all. So I think what eventually go to me was the lack of passion. This is
music. There should be something alive to it. And that is just one picture, but
it pops up multiple times. If it is not an accurate presentation, get a new
one, or at least take down this one.
That's kind
of where it all makes sense for me. If there was passionate intensity and
commitment to getting it right, then no one should be thinking lazy or
monotonous or pointless. So I think the answer in this case is to start caring
about something and let that infuse the life and the music.
In terms of
the actual performance of the words and beats, there is nothing wrong with
them, but they're not doing anything. And I fully admit that this is not my preferred
area, so for someone who is really into hip-hop this might sound good. I think
it's deficient, but not hopeless.
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