What is it with all of these so-so rock bands thinking it is cool to incorporate elements of hip-hop into their songs and videos. Sure it is wonderful that hip-hop is really being accepted as a culture and that the tenets are recognized as true art, but come on. Back in 1986 when Run-D.M.C. and Aerosmith collaborated on "Walk This Way" this idea was revolutionary. I have yet to see any other rock acts that can pull it off, or they are slipping from my memory. Anyway, when mixing genres, care must be taken in order for it to come off as a real effort.
Rock bands borrowing from hip-hop probably wouldn't bother me that much if I liked the songs or if it was done as a tasteful homage to the art form, but the new videos from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and All Time Low are just plain tacky. Who wants to see Anthony Kiedis with an iced out grill and second rate video-ho's dancing around the band. There is even a scene where Kiedis is getting his hair braided a la Snoop Dogg. If the intent was to make me laugh, it worked, but it makes hip-hop seem hokey and it appears more like a Weird Al parody than a real song. In the case of All Time Low, an underage band singing about popping champagne in a song that sounds very emo, they decide to borrow the cheapest elements of hip-hop for their video. It ends up looking like some kind of a disaster, like hip-hop purged on the set of an emo fantasy. Perhaps these bands should stick to what they know and not denigrate hip-hop. As someone who takes her hip-hop very seriously, man, it's just plain annoying to see.
1 comment:
It's a stereotype parody of hip-hop and how the culture appears in media. But I guess if it's your life I can see how it'd be harder to laugh about it. They didn't mean any harm :P
Jezpez
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