The New Nu Metal ? NYU Local

2012 has been a year in which hip-hop artists such as El-P, Death Grips, Odd Future, and Cities Aviv have embraced more abrasive and aggressive sounds. Born out of genres such as punk, noise, metal and industrial, these sounds are at odds with the original roots and foundations of hip-hop: jazz, R&B, funk and Kraftwerk-era electronic music.

Instead of grooving, bouncing, or flowing, this new style clangs, bangs, grinds. Although the artists listed above are more on the ?indie? side of the music industry, their current endeavors are reminiscent of a very mainstream phenomenon that was flourishing ten years ago.?

The early 2000s saw the heyday of bands like Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park and Korn, who fused the metal, hip-hop and industrial genres into a surprisingly popular bastard child called nu metal. Fortunately, nu metal faded from the mainstream?faster than you can say ?Bawitaba,? and these bands either became U2 wannabes or Skrillex collaborators, or continued playing their old style to an increasingly small enclave of dedicated fans.

For people who were fans of metal and rap, but not nu-metal, the question of ?why did this suck so much?? begged asking. A blogger named DeadSun set out to answer just that in a 2005 article entitled ?Nu Metal: Where Did it Go Wrong?? He/she locates the genre?s epicenter at the release of Faith No More?s ?Epic,? a song that DeadSun said became ?the model prototype of what more than a few AR label recruiters were looking to tap.? But contrary to Faith No More?s avant-garde nature, these labels in question focused less on the cutting edge of this genre-mashing experiment and more on bringing the ?most transparent gimmicks associated with mainstream hip hop culture? to the world of aggressive rock music.

The result was a several-years-long perfect storm when?Korn sold fourteen million copies of an album, Limp Bizkit?s violent set at Woodstock ?99 earned them N.W.A.-style infamy with parents, and Linkin Park won a Grammy. By the end of this wacky ride, people were pretty fed up with nu metal. As The Guardian?s Trevor Baker phrased it best in 2008: ?Its place in history is only assured by the fact that it?s probably the most despised form of music ever.? But Baker did not believe that nothing substantial had been achieved by the genre.

In the same article, which is entitled ?Why it?s worth celebrating nu-metal?s anniversary,? he located the genre?s unprecedented barrier-breaking as a success, believing that Korn and Limp Bizkit cross-pollenated ?urban music? and rock more than any of their ?critically acceptable counterparts.? Sometimes, ugly experiments are necessary for innovation.

Flash forward to last year, when Zach Hill (a phenomenally talented drummer who has played in hardcore bands, mathcore bands, and a number of other outfits whose genre tags usually end with ?core?) announced that he was working on a hip-hop project with a rapper named MC Ride. This duo would form Death Grips and release a debut, Exmillitary, that was met by coos of critical admiration, including?The New Yorker?s?Sasha Frere-Jones.

Although arguably more influenced by punk music than metal, Death Grips gave the world what it had not had since nu metal: hip-hop concerts with mosh pits. At the same time, some hooligans from L.A. were achieving the same thing by different means. Odd Future?s early music was not necessarily influenced by any genre of aggressive rock, but its?attitude and shows certainly were.

Now that we?re at least a year and a half removed from the beginning of the whole kids-windmilling-at-shows-while-wearing-Supreme-hats thing, and the Odd Future hype machine has begun to sputter, it?s safe to say that despite the omnipresent comings and goings of internet buzz, something innovative is actually happening here. Forward-thinking hip-hop artists are embracing distortion, electric guitars, and screaming as means to vent anger.

Veteran producer and rapper EL-P released Cancer 4 Cure earlier this year, an album that features more guitar shredding than Radiohead?s most recent one, Memphis newbie Cities Aviv put out a blown-out song this March that sounds like it was produced by the Jesus and Mary Chain, hardcore punks Trash Talk signed to Odd Future?s label and released a song featuring harsh, raspy vocals by two of OF?s rappers, and Death Grips have taken the music world by storm with two fantastically brutal releases in 2012.

Although not as trendy and hashtag-championed as trap music, another emergent phenomenon in hip-hop, aggro-rap is getting exactly what nu metal didn?t: love from critics. EL-P and Death Grips? albums are sure to top some year-end lists, and you can bet that the same AR label recruiters who jizzed their pants when they heard Faith No More will take notice (if they still have jobs).

Hopefully this time, the music won?t get diluted by its potential for commercialization, which may be possible due to its connection with punk?s anti-corporate stance. Death Grips, though, did sign to major-label Epic, and subsequently offered them a big fuck you (or did they?). Or maybe aggro-rap will go the same ?underground clubs to pop charts? route as dubstep and in a few years Britney Spears, in her umpteenth comeback attempt, will shave her head again, rap shouted lyrics, and dive into a mosh pit full of 16 year old boys. Probably not though. Oh dear God, I hope not.

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Source: http://nyulocal.com/entertainment/2012/10/24/the-new-nu-metal/

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