During a recent “Happy Hour” livestream event – entitled ‘Hip-Hop Deconstructed’ – we invited a true pioneer of hip-hop to discuss the genre’s exciting present, promising future, and technical nuances.
Happy Hour Special Guest — Murs
With nearly 40 solo and collaborative releases to his credit, Murs is widely regarded as one of hip-hop’s most innovative and creative voices. In addition to embarking on more than a few international tours and collaborating with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, and will.i.am, the Los Angeles native secured a Guinness World Record after rapping for a staggering 26 consecutive hours.
The discussion was moderated by Songtradr CXO, Victoria Wiltshire.
A Rapper’s Journey
Towards the Happy Hour’s beginning, Murs described how he first became interested in hip-hop. Notably, the “Blunt and a Ho” rapper’s journey to the forefront of the genre began in grade school, as he recalled presenting Frankie Smith’s “Double Dutch Bus” to his kindergarten classmates during show-and-tell.
Shortly thereafter, Murs began to closely follow prominent hip-hop acts, citing Eazy‑E and LL Cool J as key professional influences in his youth due to the content and style of their music as well as the images they cultivated.
“When I saw LL Cool J – who’s a rapper, an old school rapper, you might know him as a sitcom star – when he was 17, 18, he put out these albums, he had the Kangol, he was so cool, but he was so New York. He might as well have been Hulk Hogan to me, except for he was black, so I identified,” said the regular Twitch streamer.
Addressing the impact of Eazy‑E’s music, Murs summed up the strong effect that in-song references to Compton – and the multimillion-dollar successes of the underlying works – had on his desire to pursue a career as an artist.
Developing Creative Vision from Unique Experiences
“He ignited something in me,” Murs said of Eazy‑E. “He was saying things that never were said.”
And in this vein, Murs set out to also say things that hadn’t yet been said in hip-hop – meaning that he emphasized originality from the outset, developing a creative vision based upon his unique experiences while still respecting the genre’s tenets.
“They [early hip-hop artists] broke ground, and radio didn’t want to play them. And now people are saying those type of things to get on the radio,” said Murs. “There’s no revolutionary aspect to it, and I think that’s the essence of hip-hop culture, is rebellion. So for me being rebellious was talking about comic books or, you know, just enunciating.”
“I was one of the first rappers to make a song about skateboarding, if not the first,” he continued. “Or playing Pokémon, or things like that. While mixed in with my authentic street stories and everything, I made sure to tell both sides.”
Building upon the points, the I’m the Rapper, He’s the Christian artist didn’t hesitate to respond when asked by Wiltshire what makes great hip-hop.
“Authenticity, to me”
“I recently released a video that’s basically saying, ‘Fuck cocaine rap.’ Cus there’s so many rappers rapping about selling cocaine – there can’t be that much cocaine to be sold if you’re all selling it. But I think there’s a place for it if you really sold cocaine.”
And according to the “H‑U-S-T-L‑E” singer, even music that he finds personally reprehensible (like “hick-hop”) can be classified as hip-hop so long as it comes from an authentic creator and an authentic space.
“Because hip-hop is a platform for the disenfranchised, for the unheard,” said Murs. “And if you’re really living it [hick-hop] – as ignorant as that is – I’d be the same kind of asshole that told Eazy‑E he couldn’t say what was on his mind.”
Murs has applied his authenticity-driven definition to contemporary artists, determining that while some of these individuals rap, they aren’t part of the hip-hop community. Similarly, Murs signaled that one doesn’t need to rap to craft hip-hop.
“When you get into manufactured personas, I believe it’s pop. I don’t believe that some artists on the radio are hip-hop. Even though they are rapping, it doesn’t make it hip-hop. … So you can rap and not be hip-hop at this point, and you can not rap and still be hip-hop to me. There’s a fine line.”
In the end, it’s up to true hip-hop artists – those who’re already established and those who’re looking for their big break – to determine what they want to say and communicate these sentiments in the most authentic possible fashion. Doing so is, admittedly, easier said than done, but as Murs has demonstrated time and time again, the task is far from impossible.
Fans can catch the full replay of the Songtradr Happy Hour on YouTube. The next edition of Songtradr Happy Hour – scheduled for Thursday, October 1st – will welcome leading celebrity stylists and photographers to discuss how they’ve crafted superstar images for some of the biggest names in music. Join us on Facebook Live.
Watch the full panel discussion:
Watch other Songtradr Happy Hour Sessions in full:
- Touring’s Out. Now What?
- Power Songwriting for Sync Placement
- Up Close and Personal with Hit Filmmaker Jon Turteltaub
- Pitching Yourself to the Industry
- Music for Gaming: What’s Working + What’s Ahead
- Balancing Branding with Artistry
- Music Through the Ages: Soundtrack or Catalyst for Change?
- How to Make Money with Your Music: Monetization Tips for Indie Artists
- Music Supervisor Roundtable: How the Music & Media Business Has Been Impacted by COVID-19
The content of this post was adapted from an article written by Paul Resnikoff and Dylan Smith, originally published in Digital Music News, as a broader partnership with Songtradr.
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