Urban Inspiration

Hip-Hop

A lonely street corner occupies the spirits of one man thumping a bucket’s foundation. His fingertip’s charisma produces danceable rhythmic familiarity. His laughter transmits a welcoming embrace. A trumpet blasts with every passing cab’s interrupting horn. Converging street lanes and participating cars conduct the inspiring sirens. The subway shakes the abrasive concrete with low-end moans. A bass line emerges with every scheduled stop. Releasing steam creates the on-stage atmosphere typically reproduced by pyrotechnicians or spirited amateurs. The civilians in the city live their lives at 120 beats per minute. Caffeine fueled schedules dictate the breaks and the hooks. Priorities take precedence, but the beat never stops.

I believe that inspiring sounds are not only found in previous compositions, but also from the environments in which we live. Hip-hop is not only a lyrical consciousness prepared to address social injustice; it is also a direct representation of the physical world in which the spark of inspiration is ignited. Muscle memory mixed with memory recall can be a derivative of the encasing atmosphere unto which we emerged. The finalized product in every situation is a recollection and a representation of recalled instances. Therefore, those with which we interact will ultimately end up in the midst of our inspired creation.

The upbeat tempo of the city mixed with a crashing and screaming urban symphony make for the heart pounding rhythms found in a concrete jungle’s prisoner’s production. Subtract the lyrics from your favorite Big Apple rapper. Listen to the drums with your entire body. Listen for the hi-hat's squealing breaks or the snare drum’s clicking revolver. Prepare yourself to stop short of a fleeting taxicab’s zooming sound. He will alert you with an all-brass jazz ensemble. Know that when you listen to music, you’re not just listening to music. You’re allowing yourself to feel the inspiration of another mind in another culture. You’re cognitively transporting yourself into the cavernous space of another soul’s depths. Embrace that gift with every ounce of respect you’d give to your own inspiration, because for the moment, it is.

 - My thoughts about rock and metal coming next