Aspiring to Authentic Authenticity.
This is the third and final part of the article in which I explore examples where the voice is employed in the musical mix more as narrator or commentator than a singer.
All of the examples in part one and part two of this article would undoubtedly claim to be authentic. ‘In Smiling in Slow Motion‘ (see part one) its authenticity was grounded in the environment it was recorded in and by the words of the deceased narrator. The dub poets and hip hop artists of part two could claim their authenticity arises from their words reflecting their directly (or vicariously) lived experience of the communities in which they were born or lived.
But is authenticity the label on the bottle? Or is it the contents inside? Does all hip-hop have to assume a US East Coast or West Coast ‘gangsta’ persona to be recognised? Some of the artists above demonstrate that this is not necessary. But yet as the examples below show the streets of the Bronx and Compton have a big influence.
The young Irish rap duo Versatile seem to revel in their own personal ‘gangsta’ style. Their hip hop authenticity and growing following seems to be grounded in a hybrid quasi US ‘gansta’ accent mixed with their Irish brogue seasoned with more than a dash of invective in their controversial and at times inflammatory lyrics and scenes of drug taking in their promotional videos? Echoes of the Sex Pistols and other early Punk examples perhaps? They represent the other end of spectrum from the social consciousness rappers and dub poets. I suspect they are far more organised and creative than the apparent anarchy and dysfunction they portray. Their market currently appears to be angry young men. Plus de change? But it will be interesting to see if, and how, their talent develops.
Now consider the case of the rappers Silibil N’ Brains an apparent Californian rap duo on the cusp of greatness who were actually a clever invention by a couple of Scottish rappers who had found their celtic brogue was a major impediment to being taken seriously by the music industry of the time. Once they adopted their US street personas, however, the contracts and financial rewards started to flow. Until they were uncovered. Their story is told in ‘Hip-hop, lies, and the ultimate prize‘ a two part audio documentary in the BBC World Service’s Outlook series of extraordinary stories about people’s lives.
Finally, here is an example of something that feels to me to be genuinely authentic. It’s back to NPR’s Tiny Desk concerts. This time to consider Tiny Desk Meets SXSW: Yard Act. This isn’t rap but, yet, what are best described as ‘narrations’ by the vocalist James Smith of the Leeds band Yard Act, mesh perfectly with the instrumentation. Like hip-hop, the narrative style of verbalisation rather than singing is being employed by this UK artist as the delivery vehicle for his social commentary and storytelling. Here the northern English accent becomes an integral part of the message and its authenticity. That sits far more comfortably with me than attempting to assume a standard music industry or faux genre identity.
Yard Act has echoes of the late Ian Drury and the Blockheads perhaps? Drury’s unique brand of lyrical poetry showed that the spoken word could be as musical as any song, and sometimes a more potent way of conveying a message.
