ct5holy-blog asked: Do you think rap will ever produce an analog to the singer-songwriters of the 70s and 80s like Tom Waits and James Taylor? I think rap has some auteurs (DOOM, Diamond D) but those guys have not breached the mass consciousness. Kanye would be the closest thing but I think his liner notes have always been full of co-production/writing credits (except maybe "808s"?). Are the masses even open to the idea of a guy telling stories/sharing his worldview over his own simple but accessible beats?
I don’t completely understand this question. If you’re asking about rappers who produce their own beats and tell stories/share their worldview then you should check out Breaking Atoms by Main Source. Large Professor made all the beats and raps, which deal with a lot of emotional shit pertaining to relationships, racism, etc. in a pretty smart fashion. (There are two Canadian DJs in the group too but I don’t think they actually did anything at all.) Alternately check out DJ Quik’s Trauma which is more about raw, unchecked emotions. Or if simplicity/sparseness of the production is your principle concern then maybe try Ka’s The Night’s Gambit or Roc Marciano’s Marcberg. And does Pimp C count? Because he should. Beatmaking is beside the point really. All rapping is writing and at a certain level writing is an inherently auteurist form.
Oh my god. If you click through, this Q+A ends with the most devastating (well, for today at least) assessment of Tom Waits and James Taylor.