In the words of the late ODB, “Shame on a nigga”. Shame on the over critical Hip Hop purist attacking what’s been categorized as mumble rap attempting to belittle its offerings by calling it anything other than art. The music composed by the youth has always garnered attention from disgruntled naysayers who have no connection to the current stream other than through condemning youth music. “Mumble rap” has become a euphuism for “bullshit” amongst stagnated qausi-participants in our culture, vilifying Hip Hops evolution in attempt to control its growth, and we see you, we’re not having it. Mumble rap under non-bias analyzation and study has been legitimately appraised by DIGGGERS as “Obstreperous Hop”. “Obstreperous” meaning “noisy and difficult to control” in conjunction with “Hop” is a middle finger to anyone who thinks “Trap”, Hip Hop’s prodigal child is willing to release its spot at the helm of influence on the genre and its audience. The mumble has been present from the start of culture but has been perfected over the past few years through “Trap” by rebellious emcees that refuse to adhere to fake rules designed to portray them as less than brilliant. “Do you fools listen to music or do you just scheme through it”… ~HOV Mumbles, splutters, and other indiscernible vocals were cemented in Hip Hop during its beginning through the early emcees desire to formulate unique call and response routines. The “Oh ah, oh ah ah’s” present during the cultures genesis have no meaning and are nothing more than mnemonically intended stanzas created to galvanize attendees of park jams. But park jams are obsolete in the strip club era, and technology has surpassed us needing to rig light poles for power. In fact we have become the power source for which the world derives its social sustainability yet those who should be proud of such an accomplishment would like to confine it to their ideal of what the genre should be. This aint 95 and we don’t fuck with Startac’s, this iPhone allows me access to more music than the cassettes you stuffed down the pockets of baggy jeans, so let that old shit go. The mumble is an emotional footprint left by its creator as a trail for fans to find the feeling stored in music, where emcees once were descriptive through words the contemporary artist uses sound as a snapshot to convey emotion, and doing so they are able to release music in a rapid rate needed to accommodate to the fluctuation of human emotion. I guess you forgot about Das Efx take on “real Hip Hop”; looking back if they were out today they too would be considered “mumble rap” with their “iggity” style and other lines that flat out didn’t make any sense and no different then say a lil uzi who’s crafting hits and thriving in the current market. Nostalgia is a hell of drug and a lot of these self-proclaimed music analysts are abusing the shit. Even when Onyx slammed alluring heads through high intensity and violent shows .We enjoyed and praised the music even in spite of Onyx inconsistencies both in musical output and character they’re still dubbed “real hip hop”. Presently XXXtentacion has managed to garner those same accolades but while remaining unnoticed by most outlets. We feel good and the music is just a friend when the throwback plays and its Biz Markie. His carefree character that exuded playfulness is the reason we turned the music up but this somehow gets misconstrued and deemed immaturity when Yachty decides he just wants to have fun with his music. I spy cognitive dissonance in these bloggers and their inability to recognize greatness in the present moment. Don’t let time and space fool you, some of the stars you admired have long since burned out. I challenge those with an opinion to acknowledge what’s in your presence. Learn to enjoy what your eyes can see even when you may not actually understand the lyrics. The James Brown samples we once loved injected the mumble in the DNA of Hip Hop. Brown is an artist notable for his grunts and indistinct vocal coruscations that encapsulated momentary feelings that words would likely garble but he’s now deceased and sampling declined due to price gouging and over regulation. The music is now digital and our Future is programmed and conveyed using repetitive murmurs that exert feelings stronger than the sum of words. The mumble is a veil of sorts, employed by artist to preserve the mystery of artistic inspiration when presenting it publicly preventing its revelation to casual listeners while concomitantly rewarding aficionados. Listener’s see with there ears and its clear most of these bloggers are just wifi and empty opinions but DIGGGERS know everything. ….in Trap we trust.
-Matthew Carroll