Progress and Influences

I'm slowly but steadily making progress toward defining a complete and approved thesis proposal. I've said it before, but man, it is FRUSTRATING. My professor had a great sentiment about the process; how as designers we become so attached to our precious ideas as if they are children, and to suggest major changes or even abandoning them completely elicits unbridled fear and denial. I know that exploring all possibilities is necessary to the growth and development of my thesis, but I'm a sentimental person. When I come up with an idea that took days or weeks or even months to generate, the thought of changing any aspect of it saddens me deeply. But at the same time, it's also exciting to take it in a completely and wildly different direction just for the sake of exploration...which is what I'm trying to do now. It's scary but exhilarating. And now that I have a date for my gallery show, that excitement feels even more palpable. Now, to just finalize what I'm trying to say...

In the meantime, I've been researching away. I finally received my copy of "The Book of Hip Hop Cover Art" and it is fantastic. I can already tell it's going to be a great resource. Here's a great quote from the "Beat Biters" chapter: "Hip hop isn't alone in borrowing from other musical genres and popular culture, but it does do it so exceptionally well...it's a music that was born in the real world, and it continues to exist there, feeding off it constantly". (Andrew Emery)

As I've conducted my research, the inevitability of my own personal reflections worming their way in has begun to surface. What can I say, I'm passionate about this subject. I was not always a hip-hop fan. I grew up listening to my parents' music, a mix of my dad's unapologetic rock albums (Aerosmith's Nine Lives, Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA, The Rolling Stone's Some Girls, to name a few) and my mom's 1960s throwback albums (The Beatles' With the Beatles, The Supremes & Jackson 5's respective Greatest Hits albums). Hip-hop wasn't on their radar, and I never grew up hearing it except for the occasional Tupac song on the radio as my mom drove me to school before she quickly changed the station. After a few unfortunate awkward pre-teen years where I abandoned my respectable musical roots for a few genres that won't be mentioned, I settled into a highly creative and introspective period of time around when I was 16 where I was listening to a lot of Dark Side of the Moon and Led Zeppelin II and, coincidentally, taking a "Computer Graphics" class for the first time. The only hip-hop I was hearing at the time was what my friends were listening to on the way to football games; Lil Jon & the Eastside Boyz, Pitbull, Twista, etc. It wasn't my style, but I would bob my head and dance with them when they were blasting it from their CD players.

I wish I could remember the exact way it happened, whether it was on the radio, or some TV commercial, anything; however, I just can't remember what it was all those years ago that brought me awareness of this incredible album:

(1994, Sony Music Entertainment)

While I can't remember how exactly I discovered it, I do know the pivotal song that drew me in was "The World is Yours". It was a form of hip-hop that was so unlike the bass-heavy, obnoxious beats of my friends' albums. That gentle piano hook offset by those simple, steady beats combined with Nas' steady raps and real lyricism drew me in instantly. It was a sudden gateway into a world that dripped with respect, realism, and incredible confidence. No, I wasn't living in New York and living the lifestyle he was rapping about, but I could relate to and respect the talent and the ostensibly good music.   I loved the way it made me feel when I listened to it, like I could take on anything, and like I was a part of something legendary as well. Since then, I've listened to a LOT of albums from several time periods, but there's nothing like hearing this album and remembering the excitement and curiosity that I first experienced stumbling upon it.