RAP

I write this post conscious of the fact that Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' "Welcome to the Heist" album being my first exposure to rap is somewhat lame. I know it reeks of mainstream culture, white privilege and whatnot. I won't even dwell on the fact that I'm listening to this album about a year late, except to note that coming late into popular trends seems to be my own brand of reverse hipsterdom. Or maybe that's just an excuse. Anyway.

I've never been someone who listens to rap. Mostly, because I didn't know where to start. I take my musical consumption rather seriously, and I didn't want to turn myself off from the genre as a whole by listening to the wrong stuff. And I never stumbled into it of my own accord, until now.

I have to admit that I am a sucker for 1) men who are very conscious of their own failings 2) well-written lyrics (maybe I'm betraying my ignorance again by using this term, but I don't know what else to call them. You know what I mean.) 3) Honesty and authenticity in telling your own story.

I like Macklemore for the same reason that I like Taylor Swift. He writes from his own experience, drawing directly from what he knows, and not apologizing for it. I wouldn't expect the stories coming from the two of them to be the same, anymore than I would expect that from any two people in the world. This miniature exposure to the world of RAP (which I hope will grow and become more legitimate) reminds me of something I believe lies at the core of ART: tell your story, (whether it is yours or someone else's), with as much presence and direct honesty as you can. What is beautiful is authentic, and vice versa. By beautiful I don't necessarily mean elegant, or pleasing. Pain and anger and disappointment can be beautiful, so long as they are real. ART is what serves as the vehicle for these expressions.