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Alex Ludovico - Earl Manigault (right-click to d/l)
The first time I ever heard Alex Ludovico, back around the start of 2007 when he was performing under the name "Ill Eagle the Anti-Rapper," he was unlike any other artist in hip hop at the time. He eschewed the standard rapper dress code in favor of a cross between emo and skate punk fashion, with only a bit of incidental bling coming from a lip piercing, he rapped over club and electronica style beats and his lyrics, when not focused on tales of intoxicated debauchery, were filled with a level of introspection rarely found outside of country music. This was right around the tail end of the minstrels and mixtapes era, when the scene was split between Willy Wonka style absurdity and generic Kay Slay sponsored street rap recorded by MySpace gangsters, and Ludovico's style placed him well out on the fringe of what was considered "hip hop."
Fast forward four years, and what was once fringe is now decidedly more centrist. Mainstream rappers like Lil Wayne, not to mention one hit wonders like the Shop Boys, have found commercial success by adopting various aspects of the content and style that made Ludovico so different from everyone else at the time of his debut. This is, of course, nothing new in hip hop, or virtually any other aspect of our culture for that matter, as the originators and early adopters often achieve less success than those who follow them. For every Grandmaster Flash there's a DJ Hollywood, for every Zuckerberg there's a Winkelvoss (or two), and for every Rafer Alston (or Kobe Bryant, to quote Ludovico's song) there's an Earl Manigault.
Ludo voices his frustrations with his current lack of mainstream recognition over the beat made famous by Jay-Z and Big L's seven minute freestyle, concerned that he may find himself in Big L's position - an emcee who got respect from the true heads but who never had a chance to see anything close to the $250 million deals that Jay's been handed - or becoming an Earl Manigault of the music game, a man who's legend grew ever larger even as lesser players earned Big League paychecks. Ludo's always had an emo streak in him, though, and things are never quite as bad as his songs would have you believe. The kid's still younger than most rappers in the game, and, most importantly, he can rap circles around just about any emcee out there. Here's hoping his decision to go back to school isn't any indication that he's giving up on his dreams because, as much as I love everything he's put out so far, he still has yet to have his double dunk moment.
2/28/2011 9:00:00 PM posted by Fresh