Crystal Smith’s “Dropping Elements On The One” is a new column for Hot Stepz magazines most popular celebrity interviewer. Crystal Smith is used to expanding our horizons with indepth and sometimes emotion stirring interviews with many of todays top fashion, stage, and screen celebs, as well as artists from many different genres. Crystals tastes have always been eclectic. Whether she is discussing Jamaican art trends or a new musical or even the highlights of New Yorks Fashion week Crystal never dissappoints her fans. Speaking to the Editor of Hot Stepz Magazine Crystal had this to say about her new column “ELEMENTS”
“I’m no rap artist or singer; I don’t produce, direct, or recruit upcoming artists. So at this point, you’re thinking….”So why are you reviewing hip hop songs?” Simple….I am a writer who is absolutely in love with hip-hop!
Most of my childhood and teenage years had the backdrop of hip-hop. My brother and I used to come home from school, do our homework and chores quickly, just to sit down in front of the TV from 5-6 to watch Yo! MTV Raps! (80′s babies would know what I’m talking’ about). When an ill’ rap or R&B song would come out, I would rush to Strawberries, the old name of the record store that is now called FYI in downtown Boston, Ma to pick it up. If I loved a song too much, I would write down the lyrics word for word and memorize…only to show off later in front of my friends like I was a professional singer or rapper. Hip-hop has always been a part of my life….taught me many lessons…from teaching me that ladies come first to wiping that “dirt” off your shoulder. Hip-hop, regardless of whether it showed a negative or positive aspect of life, was still about life, everyday life. From first love to lost love; from struggle in poverty to the good life. Never before has there been a genre in the music industry that brought a diversity of people together. True, we all came from a distinct past, but when that certain rap or R&B song came on…ALL ACROSS THE WORLD SAME SONG!!!
What are the elements that make a great rap song to me? Here is my list:
1. Hot Beat: A beat that pulls you in immediately. To this day, one of the all-time favorite beats is from Clipse, Grindin in where the beat that sound like an open and shut jail cell bars, Pharrell’s tough-thrashing, and the Clipse’s ill lyrical skill. How hot was that?! This beat is an example of instant head bopping, hands clapping, finger clapping, and 2-stepping. This element is a must; lack this element, the experience and lyrical skills of the artist are in vain.
2. Full Experience: The song got to have substance; you got to tell me a story, whether it’s comedic, euphoric, or the worst experience of your life. The song’s lyric has got to pull me in. Sometimes, the song doesn’t really have to be serious. For example, Will Smith’s classic, “Parents just don’t understand”, that song was funny and yet true for every preteen and/or teenager on and across the border. Tell the truth, if you’ve never seen the video of Slick Rick’s Children’s Story, you would’ve still imagined it just thru his words? That’s what I’m talking about! An artist pulls me in from the beat….and keeps me there thru the experience aka storytelling.
3. Respect for The Art/Talent: If you’re an avid listener or hip-hop, you can feel thru the music the artist’s love and respect for their art. You can hear in the sound of their bars, the timing of each lyric complimenting the beat played, and the clever picking of words to use in storytelling. Just as a painter knows his paints and a dancer know his moves, a true artist will instinctively know his music. In this category, I ask the questions such as does the artist have his own unique style or voice? Does the artist tempo compliment the beat and overall song?
I review hip-hop because I love it; the lifestyle, the culture, and most of all, the art. You may not agree with all of my reviews, and after a few of them, you may possibly decide to dislike me….though I doubt that very much…lol! But at least you know the 3 elements I go by; and that is how I will grade each song. A song can have a big up’s in the Beat category; but not necessarily on the full experience category (1/3, 2/3, 3/3).
