The Home Row Keyed – March 13, 2012
Posted by Chul Gugich
So admittedly this column has not become the bastion of ideas that I originally hoped it would be. It’s now running dangerously close to what I feared it might: a mish-mash of haphazardly curated videos and downloads (albeit of still good quality) that you’ve probably already seen elsewhere; so for that I apologize.
Still, reclining somewhere in the wasteland of my Google Docs are the still sighing carcasses of half-baked ideas that will hopefully see the light of day. Winter is nearly over and so is the hibernation of cognizant thought. Here’s to the promise of Spring!
“Cool and Calm” – Dumbfoundead
Dumbfoundead is a Korean rapper from Los Angeles who bucks racial trends while trending heavily on Twitter these days. My favorite part of the “Cool and Calm” clip is when he’s up in the bathroom, dime doing her nails nearby, and Dumb rocking a black leather jacket like a slanty-eyed version of the Fonz (I’m Asian so I can say these things). Sure he plays women, drinks too much and dismisses his girl’s needs like yesterday’s RSS feeds, but at least it sounds like he knows he’s bad. Society doesn’t believe Asians like this exist, so you should bear witness.
Big K.R.I.T. has a tendency to view his past through the soft-focus of nostalgia, his future in stark hi-definition, and his present through dirt-and sweat-stained Ray Bans. It’s more of the same on his latest mixtape, 4evaNaDay, supposedly the last freebie before his “official” Def Jam debut, Live from the Underground. The King is at his best when fully reclined, reminiscing over cars on the soulful, hazy “Me And My Old School,” or shouting out the “have nots” on the low-end testing “Down & Out.” Big K.R.I.T. is treading the tenuous line between underground rap savior and on-the-verge commercial kingpin. Here’s hoping he can have it both ways.
“Of The Soul” – Mac Miller (featuring Posdnuous and Raekwon)
In which Mac Miller locks down verses from two rap legends, simultaneously ending all arguments in dorm rooms across America on whether the Pittsburgh pint-sized is “real enough” or not. Bonus points: Raekwon calls Mac his “n-gga” and lamps in Whistler with a bubblegoose on. What is it with Rae and Canada these days, anyway?
