Shiny Suit Theory

I'll have to admit, I have become super jaded about having any prospect for me to enjoy any new rap or hip hop that comes out.  Like good, listening hip hop. Not party-hop, not cocaine-hop, just good (they don't even have to be life altering) solid rhymes over gritty beats.  And what makes it even harder, that in the 90s and early 2000's there were countless hip hop acts that were overlooked that are still being uncovered and revitalized and replayed for the crowd today.  So any new artist has to overcome and compete with music that was made fifteen or twenty years ago by guys who aren't even rapping anymore.  Go to any "hip hop" party, the DJ is always playing the same jam.



So here we are in 2010 and we're still trying to milk the same teat that has been feeding us for the past three decades.  And what do we have to show for it? A few good rappers, an even smaller number of great rappers and one or two monolithic figures whom despite our criticisms and association with pop music can ultimately do no wrong.  Who am I talking about? Kanye West and Jay Z. That's it. But then you have what seems to be a miracle, an occurrence that seems to be a decade or two late but somehow right in the nick of time: Jay Electronica.



Shiny Suit Theory, a new track with Jay Z is another strong breath of air from an otherwise stagnant genre.    Hov was channeling the year 1996 in that rhyme and Jay Electronica was doing what he does: raising the bar already set so high.  Just when I saw the perfect opportunity to give hip hop a rest for a while, I got pulled right back in.