Saturday, August 5, 2017

gold on black

One thing I really like about Migos' "Bad and Boujee" is the synesthetic consonance between the beat and the fashions in the video, particularly Offset's gold chains on black shirt. The dark background of the shirt evokes the track's bed of sustained sub-bass; the gold evokes the sparse melodic elements floating on top of the beat. Similarly, the epic winter landscape scenery, the luxurious furs, and, again, the jewelry in the "T-Shirt" video work wonderfully with the deep reverb on the vocals and the slow, spacious instrumental melodies. (I never knew I wanted gold-framed round glasses before seeing that video...)

Side note: I'm a big fan of the staccato flow in Takeoff's refrain in "T-Shirt" and lots of other contemporary rap, i.e. syllables on just the first and second 16th notes of each quarter note. I think it's the percussiveness and syncopation that attract me to it. I'm curious about how long it's been around and where it started. (Did Triple Six invent it, as with so many other stylistic innovations?) I was delighted to hear Charli XCX use it in a pop-singing context in "Boys". Has it been used much in (non-rap) pop before? Leave a comment if you know of other instances of it in sung vocals or if you have an idea about the origin of the flow.

Been a while since the last post, eh? Maybe I'll try to update once a week and keep it short and simple like this. No promises though!