While drinking my birthday bottle of Lucky 13 the other night, the Chubb Rock classic above suddenly came over loud-and-clear on the latest WeFunk show. It reminded me how this heavyset artist rarely disappoints, especially when cuts from his golden age waft across the sonic transom. But perhaps what’s most impressive about Rock is his dedication to making music a lifelong pursuit, rather than a youthful cash-in:
To me, the whole thing is being creative. There are many writers out there who are not really that familiar with hip hop who can come up with a fly chorus, can come up with lyrics that can pass, and they can even sell a million records. But I’m thinking that, in music, you wanna be like Paul McCartney. You know? That’s what I’m into. I saw his birthday on TV, thirty-something years of doing music. You ain’t gonna do thirty-something years of music on gimmicks.
Granted, McCartney has his $1.07 billion fortune to get him through the stretches of creative fallowness. And the good folks in GWAR might offer a sharp counterpoint to Rock’s claims regarding the limited power of gimmickry.
scottstev // Sep 24, 2010 at 11:19 am
Thanks for the shoutout to Richmond’s own GWAR. From what I understand, they’ve rotated members quite a few times, so they are a good example of Theseus’ Ship, with the outlandish costumes serving as a point of continuity. Not to be missed (though I did this year) is the annual GWAR B QUE held at the Pit.
Brendan I. Koerner // Sep 24, 2010 at 11:28 am
@scottstev: Do you have a GWAR-B-QUE 2010 tattoo, at least?:
http://www.gwarbq.com/images/stories/tattoos/4.jpg
scottstev // Sep 24, 2010 at 11:45 am
Sadly no, most of my impulse purchases involve electronics and music. Though I am impressed someone could plop down and get a permanent button souvenir from the hipster equivalent of a company picnic.
Captured Shadow // Sep 24, 2010 at 12:19 pm
And nice to see my hometown newspaper’s music blog has a choice photo of GWAR