Music Forum / The Death of Revolution

As my music taste grows and changes, I find myself stepping away from the underground hip hop genre that I once loved. As an underground rapper, this pains me quite a bit. If I don't listen or really enjoy this music, how can I go on to make music in this genre. Thus, I have decided to basically end my short lived career in this music, but first I want to complete one last album, one last project. The album is titled The Death of Revolution and is pretty much a squeal to anything I have ever done before. The name comes from the idea that this is going to be my last album, thus Revolution (my rap alias) is dying. As cliche and immature as it sounds a large inspiration for this album is my recent breakup with my girlfriend and simply problems I see in the society I have been raised in. What sets this album apart from my other works is that I have written all the music by hand in school during my classes as opposed to on the computer at home while listening to other music. I have noticed that this has brought some changes in my style. Not much has been done for the album yet, but I really wanted to take this opportunity to share some snippets of lyrics from various songs from the album. Ideally working on this album will help me recover some interest in the genre thus rekindling my music making

Reintroduction
I used to be that goofy kid walking the halls talking loud
But that’s an era of my life of which I’ll never be proud
But now I’ve been reformed, revised, and revived
Forget that goofy façade and all the times that I lied
About who I wanna be instead of being who I am
That wasn’t the real Ryan but more of a scam
People took me as a joke and they were not mistaken
Didn’t recognize the fool that I had always been makin
Of myself every time I would open my mouth
I’d dumb out because I had nothing to talk about
But instead all I wanted was some major attention
Started 7th grade with my first in-school suspension
From there it all went straight down hill
I wouldn’t sit still when friends told me to chill
I doubted them and I thought that I knew what was best
But instead I quickly turned myself into a mess
Now I sit in my room, alone with no friends
Writing pointless rhymes down, I gotta be cleansed
From this image that’s like a plague or a curse
But first, recognize that it all seems to get worst
Never been loved, hope this bubble will burst
Dignity has been killed and placed in a hearse
Don’t try to deny that I’m a good looking guy
But by acting like this, love never could fly
Now I ask everyone to let me start anew
Reincarnated to girls and the guys of my crew
That old way of acting has been left far behind
Buried in my mind, in a place you cannot find
I Murdered R.Wheelz and I shot him in the head
But most people in my life can’t even tell that he’s dead
R.Wheelz has passed away but here’s the resolution
Let me reintroduce myself, I’m Revolution

Untitled
There once was a girl who was pretty and plain
She was 5'6 and her name was Jane
Preppy as it gets, J. Crew, Sperry, and Uggs
She smoked a little marijuana, wasn't big on the drugs
Senior years prom queen, she was adored by her peers
But that was just a facade to cover up her tears
She was daddy's little princess, a real family girl
But she only loved because he gave her the world
Weeknights she was so lonely as she sat in her room
Studying from her textbooks, hoping the next day would come soon
In her classes consumed, she was a straight A student
She thought societies pressures only made her more prudent
On the weekend, she always blends with her friends
Drinking throughout the night as the sunlight dims
These were the best years of her life she thought in her mind
Too afraid to look inside because of what she might find

Although everyone agreed she was beyond lovely
The truth is that inside poor Jane was quite ugly
Because deep in heart Jane was fuelled by greed
Thriving off of success and the fame she would need
She emotionally bleeds, or should I said bled
Stepping on the dreams of others so she could get ahead

Untitled Winter Rap
She is the sun shining through the haze
but I am stuck in the shadows and have been there for days
And its a cold winter, in these shadows I freeze
"God please, let me escape" I pray from my knees
Snow covers the trees, so cold I can see my own breath
Frostbite consumes me, can't tell apart my right from left
Because my bodies the manifestation of my love and emotion
But this sadow I am in feels deeper than the Ocean
I find myself crawling and climbing, whatever it takes
Stranded in this winder my hand trembles and shakes
So close to the sunlight but still far behind
But I continue to climb since I work against time
Becuaseif I don't escape before dark I am dead
Put my hand on a rock that is embedded over my head

The Road
I knew of a this guy who took a drive through the dark
Had so many problems in his heart I don’t know where I should start
Wanted to escape this world that brought so much pain
Drove as fast as he could weaving in between lanes
Left the town started down State Route 62
Wanted to leave it behind, his girl and guys of his crew
Cuz he realized none of those things turned to fruition
Had been wishin’ things would be better, escape was his mission
All he wanted to do was run away and leave it all behind
A fugitive of love, running without a sin or a crime
I sit and I rhyme about my dear friend’s journey
To a place so far away there is no point in returning
Questioned what he’d been learning: society’s pressures
Couldn’t make a change cuz it required drastic measures
He wanted to find a place where he could unload
So he picked up the speed and kept on down the road

[Chorus]
On The road of life, the road life, don’t know where I’m going
On The road of life, the road of life, tell me who’s controlling
On The road of life, the road of life, don’t know where it leads me
On The road of life, the road of life, maybe there somebody needs me

So he kept down the road with no real destination
His phone rang, he through it out the window; no hesitation
His girl was on the other end; she was more like a friend
Trying to ask him to stop, hoping to make an amend
Deep inside she knew that it was too late for that
She had pushed him to a point of no turning back
Paranoia consumed her, hadn’t heard from him in days
She’s officially becoming plagued for her shallow ways

I have a few others too that I have started but there not far enough along to share. Also, I have pages of scrapped rhymes that just sow me brainstorming with different ideas and flows but also they are not worth showing. I will leave you with an excerpt from a piece that I started writing today:

"Love was murdered on the 17th of April
Thus my outlook of this world is simply morbid and hateful"

wow man.
i'm not too big on this style of music, but i definitely respect it. [well, the good kind with actual lyrics that are heartfelt and that make sense.]

i like a lot of the imagery that you use, as it portrays what you are trying to get across very nicely.

do you have any of these recorded?

You know, I'm glad you decided to post this here because I understand where you're coming from and in many ways I've felt the same way about music lately. I started listening to underground hip-hop a few years ago -- well, probably like 5 or 6 years now -- after Nate and iris introduced me to some artists they were into and I was initially impressed with the emotional power that style of music was capable of. I went to a Mos Def show and he ended by playing "There Is a Way" which is more of a mantra than a song and he got the whole crowd to sing along with it. I also remember going to see the movie Dave Chappelle's Block Party and thinking that the idea of community and coming together to share our problems and overcome them was really the essence of what music is really about. But as time goes on I get more and more discouraged that music is actually capable of sparking the dramatic types of changes some of us are hoping for...

It seems to me that the vast majority of music out there is commerce not art. It exists only to generate revenue and if you look beneath the surface to the actual lyrical/emotional content of the music, it's completely void. I don't think it always used to be that way or that it necessarily has to be that way, but we've introduced in the 20th century the means to produce and sell recorded music and it's changed what was initially only a temporary experiential art into a commercial one. There's a movie out there right now called "Exit Through the Gift Shop" which is a kind of documentary about the street art phenomenon which was put together by Banksy -- probably the most well-known artist of that style -- and it really brings up the question of what happens to the integrity of art once it becomes commercialized. Street Art was by nature a temporary experiential art -- it would last only a few days and you had to be there to witness it. But once publicity spread and people started to buy pieces in art shows and auctions for tens of thousands of dollars, all of a sudden street art became a style and there were flocks of copycats. For the most part, the people who take advantage of the commercial explosion are the copycats not the original innovators. The people who make art for the love of it, for the thrill of personal expression, those people are pushed aside by the imitators who are interested only in the commerce and mass-produce what was once authentic expression into oblivion.

Which brings me back to music. If there is some integrity in playing music or producing music it's in the way it brings people together or celebrates life or calls attention to serious problems in our society which often go overlooked. But with so many voices out there, maybe we're just fooling ourselves to think that what we have to say is actually worth a damn. That's what's kindof appalling to me about the whole internet blog/social networking phenomenon. It's like everyone is so focused on putting their own opinions out there that we don't even listen to each other anymore. Or you get 30 seconds and if you don't catch their attention by then, they're on to the next site -- the next blast of information whatever that happens to be.

It's clear to me from what you've posted here that you're definitely a talented guy. And if you're actually writing all your music yourself even more so. You're not just throwing words out there, there's a logical through line and a point behind it. That's not easy to do. Especially when you're speaking from the heart instead of the head. But I know as someone who writes music that you probably hope that people are going to care enough to take the time to listen to you. And not just put it on their ipod and half-listen while they're waiting for the bus or something, but actually take the time to sit down and listen to where you're coming from and who you are. And honestly, I just don't know if that actually happens anymore. What free downloads have done to music more than anything else I think is to make it disposable -- essentially worthless. And that really hurts musicians. Because instead of people coming together to share in an experience and give you their full attention what it comes down to now is a huge whitewash of noise that you can tap into whenever you feel like it and then throw it out with the trash when something new comes along...

But anyway I'm not trying to discourage you further. Mostly I'm just trying to share what I've been thinking about because it seems like you're in a similar situation. I think what you're doing is valuable. And I hope you press through and get this finished. I don't know that there's a place for something like this in the vast black hole that is the music industry right now. Maybe that's just my own discouragement talking. But I hope that eventually there will be. And there are still people out there who pay for music and treasure music and make time in their lives to really listen. Those people are out there. I'm one of them. And when the music industry implodes completely it's the people who do it for the love and for the need to express themselves that will be left standing. Maybe in the end the 'revolution' if there is such a thing is what happens inside of us when we stop trying to fit the world into our picture of what it should be and instead just concentrate on being authentic to who we are and who we want to be.

Thanks for the feedback, In:Cities and Coaster Ed. In:Cities, I am glad you like my work and the imagery I use. Of these lyrics that I posted i only recorded Reintroduction, but the current version I have sounds kind of choppy and faded so I am going to rerecord an album cut of it. Coaster Ed I definitely agree with what your saying about how it will be tough for me to find a spot in the music world with this type of message as opposed to trying to fit in with a more mainstream sound. Even at my school there are a few other rappers who have gained more popularity than me not because of their lyricism (which is pretty awful) but because they give people what people want to hear which is this upbeat, mainstream, auto-tuned, poser rap. This is something I have understood and accepted. To be honest, I have gotten to the point I don't even care how popular my music is and how many people listen to what I have to say. I have realized that music as an outlet for me to express how I feel and discover personal happiness. Also, I do write all my own lyrics, but i do not produce my own instrumentals.

With that said I would like to share the full verse of the quote I had at the bottom of my last post in this topic:

Love Is Dead
Love was murdered on the 17th of April
Thus my outlook of this world is simply morbid and hateful
Some say since love wasn't religious it will burn in hell
Too bad the bitch that killed it wont get to learn in jail
Because the homicide of love was a capital offense
A week on deathrow, execution, no suspense.
My flow is tense, heart left as cold as late December
She slit loves throat, took the knife, began to dismember
Its hard to remember, all the details of that night
But ever since then the feeling within me just isn't right
Because when the cops first arrived in front of house
The murderer ran out quickly with blood all over her blouse
The smell of death crept under the cracks of the door
They cringed at the body parts all over the floor
Everything in the kitchen was covered in red
It as been said nothing will be the same with love now dead