Back in ’93, who’d have thought that the guy who made “Creep” would turn out to be one of the most forward-thinking artists of the next decade and a half?
Anyway, for my money, “The Eraser” brought Yorke back to accessibility after the art-rock freakout qualities of Radiohead’s “Amnesiac” and “Hail to the Thief”. Not to say it was necessarily pop friendly (nothing that comes out of the Radiohead camp is), but “Eraser” was certainly easier to listen to than anything his band had made since “Kid A”.
The album’s title track is sort of druggy, sort of spooky. Yorke sings (well, actually, he kinda mumbles) in that pinched falsetto over a gurgling electronic beat garnished with piano. “The more you erase me/The more that I appear”…just sounds ominous in that “Every breath you take/I’ll be watching you” kinda way, the song has a little freak-out breakdown towards the end, and the result (like the rest of the album) is a slightly offbeat but quite enjoyable listening experience.
Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco and Pharrell Williams (as CRS or Child Rebel Soldier) heavily sampled “The Eraser” for “Us Placers”, which wasn’t released as a single. If it was, however, it would have placed on this list. So, let’s just throw that in as a bonus. Neither of the songs has an official video, but thanks to YouTube and some very creative minds, check out unofficial clips for both songs.
Grammy has had an interesting relationship with hip-hop over the years. They didn’t institute a rap category until 1988, and for those first few years, it seemed like the rap categories were some kind of joke. They went to safe-rap artists like Young MC and DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, while unquestionably more talented artists like Public Enemy went winless. Hell, I’m not sure if Ice Cube, an undisputed hip-hop legend, has ever even been NOMINATED for one of those statues.
Over the past years, Grammy’s reputation has gotten better, although it could be argued that they still play it safe to an extent. Eminem, Kanye West and OutKast have almost completely ruled the rap category this decade, with Jay-Z swooping in for a few trophies along the way. This year’s nominees don’t offer anything embarrassing, but I wonder if seeing the same names over and over is an indication of Grammy’s unwillingness to look beyond the status quo or an indication of how much hip-hop fuckin’ sucks these days.
Anyway, here are the nominees in the rap categories
Best Rap Solo Performance
Roc Boys (And The Winner Is)…(Jay-Z)/ A Milli (Lil Wayne)/Paris, Tokyo
(Lupe Fiasco) / N.i.*.*.e.r. (The Slave And The Master)(Nas)/Sexual Eruption
(Snoop Dogg)
Will Win: Jay-Z
Should Win: Jay-Z
WTF?: After the kind of year T.I. had, where the hell is he?
All five nominees in this category are pretty solid. However, Nas’s track is a political hot potato, which should be enough for it to not win. Snoop’s song is more singing than rapping (as good as it is), and Lupe Fiasco, despite a Grammy win already, isn’t well known enough to take this one home. There’s the possibility that Wayne could walk away with this in light of having the biggest selling album of the year, but I go with Jay-Z, due to his previous Grammy success (one of his five trophies is in this category for “99 Problemsâ€) and because his song’s the best of the five nominees.
Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group
Royal Flush (Big Boi Featuring Raekwon And Andre 3000)/ Swagga Like Us (Jay-Z & T.I. Featuring Kanye West & Lil Wayne)/ Mr. Carter (Lil Wayne Featuring Jay-Z)/ Wish You Would (Ludacris Featuring T.I.)/ Put On (Young Jeezy Featuring Kanye West)
Will Win: “Swagga Like Usâ€
Should Win: This category sucks
WTF: The Roots (previous Grammy winners) made a great record, and they’re actually a rap GROUP as opposed to a superstar collaboration. Where are they?
Despite the fact that all four artists on the song are nominated elsewhere in the SAME category, or maybe because of it, this one’s a no-brainer for the “Swagga†camp. The fact that they’re performing on the show seals the deal. The only other song that has a snowflake’s chance in hell is “Mr. Carterâ€. The Big Boi and Ludacris songs aren’t especially well-known, and while “Put On†was the biggest hit, I just can’t see Young Jeezy winning a Grammy.
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
American Boy (Estelle Featuring Kanye West)/ Low (Flo Rida Featuring T-Pain)/ Green Light (John Legend & Andre 3000)/ Got Money
(Lil Wayne Featuring T-Pain)/ Superstar (Lupe Fiasco Featuring Matthew Santos)
Will Win: “American Boyâ€
Should Win: “Green Lightâ€
WTF?: T-Pain gets nominated twice. Sigh.
Well, the good thing about seeing T-Pain twice in this category is that he’ll more than likely cancel himself out, leaving three songs with a legitimate chance of winning (despite “Low†being the year’s biggest single, I can’t imagine anyone giving Flo-Rida a Grammy). Lupe’s song feels like it’s been out for 10 years already, so people have already forgotten. The Grammy folks love John Legend AND Andre 3000, so there’s a chance that the deserving “Green Light†could sneak in, but I pick “American Boyâ€, which is the only song in this category nominated in one of the 4 major categories (Song of the Year).
Best Rap Song
Lollipop: D. Carter, S. Garrett, D. Harrison, J. Scheffer & R. Zamor, songwriters (Lil Wayne Featuring Static Major)/ Low: Tramar Dillard, M. Humphrey, Faheem Najm, Korey Roberson & Howard Simmons, songwriters (Flo Rida Featuring T-Pain) Sexual Eruption:Calvin Broadus, S. Lovejoy & D. Stewart, songwriters (Snoop Dogg)/ Superstar:Lupe Fiasco & Soundtrakk, songwriters (Lupe Fiasco Featuring Matthew Santos)/ Swagga Like Us: Jeff Bhaskev, D. Carter, S. Carter, Clifford Harris, Plain Pat & Kanye West, songwriters (M. Arulpragasam, N. Headon, M. Jones, J. Mellor, T. Pentz & P. Simonon, songwriters) (Jay-Z & T.I. Featuring Kanye West & Lil Wayne)
Will Win: “Lollipopâ€
Should Win:â€Superstarâ€
This is a songwriter’s award, so while it would be nice to see M.I.A. and the members of The Clash win a Grammy (“Swagga Like Us†samples a line from M.I.A.’s smash “Paper Planesâ€, which gets its’ musical bed from The Clash’s “Straight to Hellâ€), the fact is that all of the performers except T.I. give subpar lyrical performances. Wait? Since when does that matter at the Grammy Awards? In this case, I pick Lil’ Wayne to win in this category, because the biggest hit usually wins, and “Low†is automatically disqualified because, again, no one’s voting for Flo-Rida. Lupe’s “Superstar†(and T.I.’s verse from “Swaggaâ€) are the only legitimately solid lyrical accomplishments in this category, however. “Swagga†could sneak past and win this. Either way. Lil’ Wayne is going home with something in this category.
Best Rap Album
American Gangster (Jay-Z)/ Tha Carter III (Lil Wayne)/ The Cool (Lupe Fiasco)/ Nas (Nas)/ Paper Trail (T.I.)
Will Win: Lil Wayne
Should Win: Pick’em
WTF: Again, The Roots should have been represented here. They wouldn’t have won, but they should have been in the category.
With five solid entries in this category, it’s difficult to pick a winner. Or is it? Nas’s album, despite the album title controversy, flew under the radar and Fiasco’s relative anonymity will be his downfall. I should (and will) pick Lil Wayne to win because his album was the most popular in the category (and is the only one nominated in one of the Big 4, with his nod for Album of the Year), but T.I. is the it guy right now and the Grammy folks might want to pick the artist that’s freshest in their minds. He could sneak this one out, as could Jay-Z, as the elder statesman and a previous winner in this category (for “Hard Knock Lifeâ€). “American Gangster†got quite solid reviews (reasoning beyond me), so that could push it over the top.
Whoever wins which category, I say Lil Wayne brings home a lot of trophies regardless.
The End Of Lupe?
According to Billboard.com, Lupe Fiasco has stated before that his last album could be his next and that he will name it LupEND. And he even explained that END would mean everywhere, nowhere and down here. I thought END simply meant END.
Big Boi Promises 3 Times The Outkast
Big Boi promised a solo album for each he and Andre 3000 as well as an Outkast album before the year is over based on an article on MTV.com. That’s great news except release dates are so tricky that when you wet the appetite of fans, it’s easy to disappoint when something happens and the albums get pushed back. But that’s not even the best part of the article. Big Boi says that his album will be called Sir Lucious Leftfoot: The Son of Chico Dusty. I guess Speakerboxxx 2: Da Return was taken.
Suge Knight Blames Kanye
It’s quite odd to me that Suge Knight is suing Kanye West if this SOHH article is correct. He was harmed at a party that Kanye hosted before the 2005 VMAs. He’s suing Kanye for the price of the diamond earring that he lost after being shot in the leg. Well, then Tupac’s estate should be able to sue Suge Knight since Pac was shot and killed in his car right? Eh, it’s not even important to bring up the past. But I just find it so frustratingly odd when things like this come out. Suge Knight isn’t really newsworthy, but then again, this ain’t necessarily the news.
Grammy has had an interesting relationship with hip-hop over the years. They didn’t institute a rap category until 1988, and for those first few years, it seemed like the rap categories were some kind of joke. They went to safe-rap artists like Young MC and DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, while unquestionably more talented artists like Public Enemy went winless. Hell, I’m not sure if Ice Cube, an undisputed hip-hop legend, has ever even been NOMINATED for one of those statues.
