Thoughts On: Pinata

Recommended Listening: Deeper, Shitsville, Robes

So just a short aside today one of my favorite animators, Monty Oum, passed away over the weekend. I am completely aware that only 3 people (if that) reading this will know who that is but I was considering not putting up a Thoughts On just because when I think too much I cannot bring my self to write anything that isn't super introspective and mildly depressing. But Monty had a legendary work ethic and it would be dishonorable to not put out content in remembrance of him, he would demand the opposite.

Alright back to the music. Pinata is another (and hopefully the last) of the the greatest hits I missed in 2014. Coming out in the earlier half of 2014 this album is another collab that lead to a modern classic. The collaborators this time are Indiana rapper Freddie Gibbs and one of the most acclaimed producers in hip-hop Madlib. Sound familiar? There seems to be a trend of older hardcore rappers working directly with great veteran producers to make a fantastic album out of nowhere. However these two have been at it since 2011, releasing a string of EP's consisting of songs that would later appear and laid the foundation for a neo-gangster rap album that feels like it is one of lost gems of the late 90's-00's. I do not use the term “lost gem” lightly, the only reason I was able to find this album is via browsing so many top pf 2014 lists and the hip-hop heads subreddit and seeing multiple people claiming this as the best thing to come out all year (a bold claim considering its March Release). So with my interest sparked I went to look up more info on the album and was instantly intrigued by the album cover and concept. Freddie described it as “A gangster blaxploitation film on wax” with Madlibs commenting on the human element of his producing to compliment Gibbs style. These two gentlemen have experience in the musical field of course, but this albums strikes a personal cord with me and hits on all the reasons why I hold hip-hop as such a universal music genre.

So what is the deal? What is Pinata and why should you care? Well do you remember memories of sitting in the backseat of your mothers car as she blasts soul music and sings along, hitting every note and smiling the whole way? If not that is a mute point and I digress, but to a lot of my fellow African-American readers I am sure this sounds at least a bit familiar. Our culture has always thrived on music, from slave hymns to Blues to Jazz to Soul to Funk and now Hip-Hop. This album is a reflection of a man who has grown up listening to an older era of music yet also leads a very cliché movie like gangster lifestyle. Its narratives often involve explicit tales of sexual encounters, drugs, and violence. Sounds like the typical negative depiction of rap, but as you open your mind and start to listen to the lyrics more and more you hear stories of heart break, a song dedicated to Gibbs favorite wing restaurant, to hometown pride, and family conflict. This is a man bearing his sole song after so to tell a story of a classic gangster. I am talking Adidas jumpsuit, Cadillac, gold chain, cruising on a sunday afternoon gangster. In a sense this whole album is a send up to a particular kind of neighborhood and a particular culture and if you do not get it then it just seems like an amazing album with fast lyrics and melodic instrumentation and production. However if you get it, it clicks as a dark reminder black culte and also a beautiful homage to soulful tunes. Just about every song opens up with a melodic intro and smooth drops that transition into Freddie's 2 pac-esque lyrics and guest appearances. Most Songs flow into each as if they are meant to be experienced in one sitting whilst others have skits at the end of them meant to comment on the lifestyle being portrayed in the music.

To get into specific this is the kind of album that should have come out of the “Golden Age” of hip-hop. This along with classics like Illmatic, Liquid Swords, Me against the world, etc. This album does not mean to succeed off it's nostalgia factor but I cannot help but think how ground breaking this would have been 20 years ago. This is the kind of style you can see rappers like Kendrick and Logic drawing inspiration from, when people say they are trying to make an old school song they are trying to make this sound. All the while in songs like “Higher” and “Shame” (to name a few) the duo bust out this golden sound so easily it seems effortless. In sounds like “Deeper” you get to hear how a drug dealer loses out on his girl when he goes off to prison and how he deals with her having a kid with another man. In “Harolds” Gibbs slings the story of mischief he would get into all while using a chicken restaurant as a focal point in a sort of reminder of younger times. It is just amazing how out its time this album is, and kind of disappointing that many people will mark it off as a rip off of a golden sound when in reality these two are just masters of a craft that we have not seen in awhile.

 This album reminds of walking downstairs on Sundays and listening to soul music as my mom made breakfast, of long car rides and smooth R&B playing throughout, of my father and his love for old school rap, and of a type of sound that the brings you back to the grand days of West Cost rap. I hope these two put out more work and pave more of a road for hip-hop duos to be creative and use melodic production as not only a backdrop but a common theme through out the whole back drop. This album feels like a missing link between the golden and modern ages of hip-hop and is an instant classic in my eyes. Next week I will be talking about Joey Bada$$' new album and how that plays off of the old East Coast sounds to make something new, but this is different entirely. I recommended you all: Listen to this album soon so you can experience what I have and get as lost in the beautiful as I was. Freddie Gibbs and Madlib should feel proud for making what is undoubtedly one of the most unique and overall best albums from 2014 that I did not get to hear in time.