tumblr rapper kitty pryde

the kreayshawn bit on the 2 Chains song is really awful.

has she dropped any guest verse that wasn't?

that was the first one I'd heard.

yeah same here, i'm just wondering if she's even had any other chances to shit the bed for 16 bars yet

well, lil wayne liked it enough to do his own version of it

it got radio play nationally

on rap radio, i mean

"Right after I landed in LAX, I ran into my ex and he looked a little vexed. I said 'Is there a problem?' 'Yes. California hates you bitch why would you bother?' I just came for the fries with the carne asada, and to prove I can go a lot harder than Gucci Gucci Louis Louis Fendi Fendi Prada."

That Kreayshawn shout-out is telling, because Kitty Pryde is basically the much sharper, self-aware, suburban high school version of Kreayshawn.

“I don't think I'm following in her footsteps or anything, but the same kind of thing is happening, like 'Oh she's cute, this makes me laugh. It's not good, but it's funny.' You send the link to your friends, and then it's a big joke. Which is good, that's what I wanted. But I want people to laugh with me, not laugh at me.”

its easier to be self aware about something that has already happened

i think the point is that KP is more self-aware in general, not just aware of kreayshawn. i think i agree, in that KP seems to be framing herself in her narratives, looking at the persona she creates from the outside and laughing at it. there's a self-mocking tone to the whole thing.

'self awareness' is exactly whats gross about this, tho, its based on weird insecurity of dealing w/ rap as a white girl rather than just ~being herself~ & competing on a level playing field w/ others

its based on weird insecurity of dealing w/ rap as a white girl rather than just ~being herself~ & competing on a level playing field w/ others

Yeah, because rap critics are all about judging white teenage girl rappers by the same objective criteria they'd judge teenaged black male rappers. It's her insecurity that's creating the context here. OK.

i hate on black male rappers all the time too! what are you even talking about?

that sounds bad out of context probably. i hate on rappers of ~any color~ all the time. white rappers have to deal w the added fact of being outsiders to a culture, certainly, but there are ways to do that that arent gross

i like kreay's lack of self consciousness about it, like, she just wanted to compete w/ other rappers period rather than emphasizing her difference so that ppl can say stuff like, oh shes part of 'internet tumblr culture' so why would she be compared to rapper?

rapperS

that's all well and good, but self-consciousness is a legit and honest-seeming part of the persona that KP is projecting. a lot of teenagers do feel self-conscious abt their place in the world, and the fact that she works from within that gives her voice a lot of its authenticity. she's not putting on a rapper style. she's just being herself, insecurities and all.

i don't care if a girl rapper is black, green, purple, blue, white or orange

as long as she brings a new perspective to rap music and is ironically self-aware of her persona i will go to bat for her on ilx

that's all well and good, but self-consciousness is a legit and honest-seeming part of the persona that KP is projecting. a lot of teenagers do feel self-conscious abt their place in the world, and the fact that she works from within that gives her voice a lot of its authenticity. she's not putting on a rapper style. she's just being herself, insecurities and all.

― The term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to (contenderizer), Wednesday, May 16, 2012 4:33 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

& this is why putting 'teenagers' on a weird pedestal is weird, b/c they often have dumb, even if honest, ideas about life

fair enough. i'm not obsessed with teen-ness, but i do have a fondness for the in-situ bildungsroman that the late great was snarking at upthread.

and pop is heavily paved with dumb ideas about life, honest or not

so is the road to hell

!!!

so good art only expresses noble/intelligent/productive ideas now, it can't reflect other things?

exactly, i like the first couple beastie boys albums largely because they're so full of dumb ideas

'self awareness' is exactly whats gross about this, tho, its based on weird insecurity of dealing w/ rap as a white girl rather than just ~being herself~ & competing on a level playing field w/ others

a suburban-seeming middle class white girl being insecure about an identity as rapper -- wow, that is just so weird!

kitty pryde vs childish gambino

^hell fyi

so good art only expresses noble/intelligent/productive ideas now, it can't reflect other things?

― Chris S

apollonian ideal get into it

backlash agianst dionysus begins HERE

:)

http://bestof.provocateuse.com/images/photos/jamie_bamber_97@.jpg

could def get into this apollonian ideal

the beastie boys dont seem self conscious at all

no, they have different dumb ideas (most involving beer and hooahs)

you sure you're not confusing apollo and adonis?

xxp

sorry for nerd lolz - that's a pic of "Apollo" from Battlestar Galactica

lol, i've never seen BG, but i figured due to ruggedized bunk beds (suitable for spacefaring)

kitty pryde vs childish gambino

― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Wednesday, May 16, 2012 3:06 PM Bookmark

kitty pryde

a suburban-seeming middle class white girl being insecure about an identity as rapper -- wow, that is just so weird!

lol

Deej otm imho

dunno if I count as a "hip hop head" but Kreayshawn's one hit was way better than these three that's for damn sure

agreed

Both Kreayshawn and Kitty Pryde get a hype-bounce from their points of difference vis a vis other rap but I don't think you can conflate those points of difference.

I think where Deej's distinction holds true - and leaving aside what one thinks about the quality of the music in question - is that writing about kitty pryde already has - and I suspect nearly always will - slide into writing about tumblr culture etc. etc. whereas while Kreayshawn has profited from the same dynamics a writer trying to present her music as being about those dynamics would struggle to do so credibly.

We need to distinguish between internet culture as facilitating content and internet culture as the subject of content: at this point even the most scare-quote "real" scenes disseminate a lot of new material - and hence new developments - through youtube et. al. but this doesn't make all of them the same. Of course these things are heavily intertwined, but we can at least talk in terms of degrees.

Whiney's hypothetical lazy writer scanning the web for content to talk up isn't lazy because he's scanning the web - at this point I think we all do that. What might make him lazy is the extent to which his writing simply becomes a kind of recitation of the process of absorbing content and what that content seems to express at its surface level. I am wary of over-celebrating a traditional "work the beat" ethic in journalism because it can easily end up being just as lazy, but I would at least concede that the internet makes it possible to be lazier than ever before, at a critical rather than physical level.

None of this is kitty pryde's fault but at the same time her music seems to invite that reaction. Again, I think an enormous part of this is down to the backing music which positions her much more than the use of teengirl speak does.

I think an enormous part of this is down to the backing music which positions her much more than the use of teengirl speak does.

yes!

Like, I've hardly been incensed by contenderizer wanting to defend this stuff b/c I suspect I feel about the same level of not-really-sure-what-I-think ambivalence, but I instinctively reject the idea that kitty pryde turns people off b/c she is alien - when it's clear that kp has already considered and decided to target adult audiences looking for yet another form of pop culture as distancing ironic-yet-sincere celebration of youth. The upshot of her being self-aware (and, I suspect, just plain smart) is that the music itself does all the "framing" heavy lifting so that writers don't have to.

Congratulations to her, really. OTOH I think ILX is unusual in that a lot of the antipathy towards artists stems from the presentiment of how much bad writing it is likely to inspire.

target adult audiences looking for yet another form of pop culture as distancing ironic-yet-sincere celebration of youth

I am not in this target market

is this like 30-something dudes that watch that Lena Dunham show?

tim i've never seen you incensed on ilm, your sang froid in the face of bs is legendary

OTOH I think ILX is unusual in that a lot of the antipathy towards artists stems from the presentiment of how much bad writing it is likely to inspire.

haha, so otm

yeah, i think i'm sort of outside the bubble wr2 the reactions tim is talking about, mostly because i don't have any strong response to the way the backing tracks position KP's rapping. i have no positive or negative opinions on "cloud rap" (or w/e) and its appeal to hipsters. i think of the tracks as sort of second rate, but a good general choice of foils for KP's voice and persona.

in defending her, i'm only talking about her voice, style and lyrics.