3 gentlemen of hip-hop

As Bob Dylan sang many years ago, times are a-changing. And I add so are the sounds. And in the case of three important releases of recent months, it is the sound of hip-hop that is undergoing lots of revisions. Angry and aggressive until only a year or two ago, it has turned smooth, sleek, emotional and is now more romantic R&B, think Babyface, and not anymore the street poetry that Russell Simmons or Eminem envisioned in their respective times.

You will find these changes in various degrees in 808s & Heartbreak by Kanye West; Freedom by Akon; and Year of the Gentleman by Ne-Yo. These albums by three of the biggest names in hip-hop have been getting a beating from purists who think that these guys have sold out. All smooth and no grit, they say. There might be some truth to that. But on the other hand, I do not hear listeners or buyers complaining and neither are the artists or their producers. The fact is these CDs have opened a new and I must say, larger market for hip-hop music. They are all commercially appealing and therefore selling big.

Kanye is broken-hearted. Must be because of the death of his mother last year. Must be because of a love relationship that ended. Whatever the reason was, it has sent him off to an exploration trip to other types of music. As a result 808s & Heartbreak has a very different sound from his previous releases. It is actually his most pop album and quite a treat for somebody like me who finds it difficult to relate to hip-hop tunes.

That is perhaps why I say that from what I recall of Graduation and his other CDs, this must be Kanye’s best. No studio acrobatics here. He has neat melodies set against spare instrumentation dominated by drums and bass. Singingwise he is no Babyface but he sounds like he feels every word. Writingwise this must be his most personal work ever with wounds and scars all laid bare. The result is very moving.

Take the poetry of Heartless, the first single. The coldest story ever told/ somewhere far along this road/ he lost his soul/ how could you be so heartless. Nice. Other cuts are Say You Will; Welcome to Heartbreak featuring Kid Cudi; Amazing feat. Young Jeezy; Love Lockdown; Paranoid; Robocop; Street Lights; Bad News; See You in My Nightmare feat. Lil’ Wayne; and Coldest Winter.

In contrast to Kanye, Akon is jubilant about his life today and this has resulted in an album full of inspiring songs with anthemic refrains. Check out his Freedom, which closes the set. It is more gospel than hip-hop. He also has interesting stories to tell and parents will be glad to know that he has cleaned up his lyrics. No advisory needed here. What he maintains from his past works is the beat, driving and insistent and absolutely danceable.

Akon has always had strong melodies in his songs and he has certainly collected a lot of radio-friendly ones for Freedom. The first winner from the lot is Right Now (Na Na Na), which has gone big with Pinoy buyers. This one might just end up on the Most Addictive Song list. Follow this up with Beautiful, Troublemaker and Keep You Much Longer and you won’t be able to get the kids off the floor. Now if you want something slower and perhaps sexier, there is Be With You.

Ne-Yo’s music has always had a sleek, commercial vibe and Year of the Gentleman is no different. The contemporary R&B feel is stronger than ever. And because Ne-Yo likes to present himself as a gentleman, girls will surely go a-melting with all the sweet talk he does here. It is also interesting to find him approaching love songs with a modern perspective on relationships.

Ne-Yo eschews the macho stance hip-hop artists usually take and confidently says that girls can and do get the upper hand at times. Single, Fade into the Background, Back to What You Know and Miss Independent are the best examples of this type of writing. He still likes to move. So there are Closer and Nobody and for the romantic he really dishes out a great love song in Why Does She Stay.