Fresh for your holiday travel nightmares, Champale’s 11th episode brought with it yet another milestone: it was our first Christmas special. Along with Special Guest David Drake (of So Many Shrimp, the FADER, and Pitchfork), Marko and Willy cuddled up next to the hearth, sipped pink malt-flavored cocoa and discussed the pitfall-fraught world of online rap criticism. How does one go about describing a beat, in the English language? What is the use of describing a beat? And, furthermore, has the Internet fostered a critical atmosphere that rewards pedantry over a “good ear”? If so, is there an alternative — a way of translating the visceral experience of listening to good rap music into prose?
After this lighthearted discussion, our hosts move on to Christmas raps and consider how rappers fit themselves into, or rebel against, a form of music that is cynical to the core, little else than a lubricant for the wheels of commerce. How do the two work together, or is Christmas rap inherently subversive?
Won’t you come caroling with us?
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Tracklist:
Cocaine Mafia (Pat, Juice, French) - Do It
Ya Fam Ace - All I Have
Husalah - Cake Boss
Dirty Boyz - All I Want For Christmas
Chance the Rapper ft. Alex Wiley - Merry Christmas
Andre Nickatina - Rumpumpumpum
Master P - Hi fo’ Xmas
Indo G - Santa’s Ho House
Crew X - Santa Rap
Quad City DJ’s - Whachugot4Xmas
Big week. Not only did I write about bay area hip-hop with some other rap bloggers here, and about Rick Ross’ best verses of 2011 here; I also finished up a short week of Fader posts and wrote about overlooked mixtapes of the year with Jeff Weiss for Pitchfork. I also traveled to NYC and kicked it with Will Staley & Marko for the latest Champale podcast (Linked above).
reblogging myself
