Hip-Hop's Next Wave

By CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY

Don't call it alternative hip-hop. Don't call it neo-rap or jazz-rap or anything that would separate it from itself. What it is, straight up, is hip-hop. Call it underground hip-hop, if you have to; call it the Next Wave, if you need a name; but whatever you call it, it's already arrived.

Three acts--the Roots, Q-Tip and Mos Def--are at the front of hip-hop's new movement. All three have recently come out with accomplished albums. And all three are creating hip-hop that's more personal, political and spiritual than the bulk of what passes for Top-40 rap today. These are young acts but experienced: Q-Tip, 29, is a former member of A Tribe Called Quest and is releasing his first solo effort. Mos Def, 25, has performed with Talib Kweli as the duo Black Star. And the Roots has five albums under its belt; its members have now honed their skills and are ready for prime time.

These Next Wavers fill a void; while rappers and rap-influenced rock groups have been taking hold of the top of the charts as of late, there's a numbing sameness to a lot of the hip-hop that's being pushed on radio and MTV. The music, rather than "keeping it real," seems more interested in catering to suburban stereotypes of urban life: Look kids, isn't DMX scary?!? Certainly there are great hip-hoppers out there--Lauryn Hill and Nas to name two--but as record labels jump on the rap bandwagon, the disposable acts are piling up. As two female performers, Bahamadia and Rah Digga, observe on a recent duet, "Mediocre rappers gettin' all this play/While the underground rappers stay around the way."

Now, it has to be said, when most people listen to rap, it's the music that makes the initial impact, not the meaning. Unless you've got more bite than DMX, unless you've got more bounce than Juvenile, people don't want to hear it. Nobody wants to listen to rap just 'cause its supposed to be good for you--this ain't broccoli. The Philadelphia-based group the Roots is worth listening to not just because of the message--the members are fierce champions of artistic expression--but precisely because of the music. This is not just the best band in hip-hop, it's also one of the best bands in rap or rock, and the group's new concert album, The Roots Come Alive (MCA), proves it.

The Roots is one of the few bands in hip-hop that actually is a band. Its seven-person lineup consists of drummer Ahmir ("?uestlove") Thompson (his nickname is pronounced "Questlove"), lead rapper Tariq ("Black Thought") Trotter, keyboardist Kamal Gray, bassist Leonard ("Hub") Hubbard, "human beatbox" Kyle ("Scratch") Jones, vocal percussionist Rozell ("Rahzel") Brown (who imitates turntables and other sounds using his voice) and Malik ("Malik B") Abdul-Bassit (who rarely tours).

The group thrives on spontaneity, sometimes inviting audience members onstage to join in freestyle raps. Such improv energy fuels the new album, and the songs take unexpected twists and turns. Thompson's playing is particularly sharp; he's confident enough to play loose. "One of our fears going in was, 'This is a live album; we can't use studio trickery!'" says Thompson. "But in the end, the songs with mistakes and flaws were the ones that touched us the most, and those are the ones we ended up using." The rough edges give this CD a fresh, honest feel.

Musical and lyrical honesty has always been a core hip-hop value--then again, so has exaggeration. On one hand, rappers want to keep their music true to life. On the other, boasting and roasting are also part of the tradition. Lately, exaggeration has ruled. It's often hard to find real experience in the cartoonish raps of many gangsta rappers. Q-Tip, on his new album, Amplified (Arista), brings back the honesty--but doesn't cut back on the fun. This is a party album about picking up chicks (Vivrant Thing), cruising the streets (Let's Ride) and dancing in clubs (Breathe & Stop). "I look at a track like a lady I'm about to get into a relationship with," says Q-Tip. "I let the music guide me and take me wherever."

What makes Amplified noteworthy is the fact that it is ultimately reflective about its playfulness. The CD's unlisted final track, Do It, See It, Be It, contains a heartfelt message. "The song says you can be who you want to be," says Q-Tip. "Just see your goal." Q-Tip raps about growing up in Queens, the breakup of A Tribe Called Quest and his embrace of Islam. He admits his partyin' ways don't always conform to Islamic values, but he's constantly striving to better himself, and at least in his mind, it's the effort that really matters.

On the CD Black on Both Sides (Rawkus), Mos Def's cultural concerns reveal themselves in every number. The opener, Fear Not of Man, delivers a manifesto: "We are hip-hop. Me, you, everybody... So the next time you ask where hip-hop is going, ask yourself: Where am I going?" On the song Mr. Nigga, Mos Def raps along with Q-Tip about the myriad indignities faced by young blacks at the hands of policemen, waiters and others, even when the young black men in question are rich and successful. "Even if it's never said and lips stay sealed," he raps about his antagonists, "their actions reveal how they really feel." On another track, he questions the size of the defense budget.

The Next Wave is also getting screen time. Q-Tip is set to star in a film for New Line, which he co-wrote, titled Prison Song. He describes it as a "hip-hop opera" that explores the pressures of the penal system. Mos Def and the Roots' Thompson have roles in Spike Lee's Bamboozled, a film that satirizes television. The Roots' Black Thought has a starring role in Brooklyn Babylon, the forthcoming film by Marc Levin, director of the edgy Slam.

Underground rap may soon have an impact on television too. MTV is developing a sketch-comedy series based on Lyricist Lounge, a showcase founded in New York City in 1991 by Anthony Marshall and Danny Castro as a place for unsigned rap artists to display their skills. The founders have since taken their open-mike show on tour and released a compilation album of highlights (Mos Def and Q-Tip make guest-star appearances).

What's compelling about these acts is that they are not overtly focused on chart topping. "Follow your heart/And not mankind," Q-Tip raps on Do It, See It, Be It. Eclecticism is seen as a virtue. The Roots is working on a cover of Bob Dylan's 1976 song Hurricane, a protest anthem about Rubin ("Hurricane") Carter, a black boxer sentenced to die for a crime he didn't commit. The song is scheduled to appear on the sound track to the Denzel Washington film The Hurricane. Mos Def is also contributing material to the album.

On Dec. 11 and 12, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Roots will perform Prince's classic album 1999 in its entirety. It's another interesting turn by a band that lets its flaws show, keeps things loose, lets the chips fall where they may. On the Roots song The Next Movement, Black Thought raps, "Before it all come together/Things fall apart." The next movement is here.