It seems such an obvious course of action. Why in 2022 it has it not been done already. For Bob Dylan’s master tapes to be given to the top Hip Hop Producers, for them to put his voice on their beats. Not merely as a cynical ploy to resell a back catalogue in the way the C.D. revolution did for vinyl. (The cheaper to produce C.D. suddenly and unexplainibly increasing in price from the vinyl version.) No such cynical ploy, but rather as a genuine oppurtunity to reinvigorate the consciencious form of rap more prevailent in the 1990’s over the Blaxploitation, Uncle Tom GANSTA rap which seeks to represent the black population of the west as criminal enthusiasts with prospects for pimping in the pursuit of objectification of naked females and expensive vehicles.
“Is Bob Dylan Hip Hop’s Godfather” – Rolling Stone magazine March 30th 2010
"Everybody knows I'm not a folk singer" Bob Dylan Playboy magazine 1966
“…….you say I’m a pimp”
Duquesne Whistle
WRITTEN BY: BOB DYLAN
The question of Dylans relationship to Rap & Hip Hop is such an obvious question that browsing articals almost reads literally. Is Bob Dylan Raps “Godfather?”,”Grandfather?”,”Big Brother?”. Lauded as a ‘saviour’ kind of figure for folk music he rejected the notion of being a folk artist at all.
The notion that folk music would ever need or produce a saviour figure is anti-thetical. Folk music is the expression of a common cultural experience. The heaving moan of hard lived truths. Any cynical realist understands there are no expert sigher’s, moaner’s or wailer’s. Only those with a need to.
Alternately Rap on the other hand is in dire need of saving. Conspiritorial claims have been made over the years repeatedly at the CIA’s involvement with Hip Hop, suggesting government agencies have encouraged the most destructive and criminal elements in order to keep the black population in a reduced state. Whether it is the push of the CIA or the pull of white teenage suburbia fantasizing about blackness The abundant “Uncle Tom” nature of performative stereotypes is prolific as commented on by Spike Lee in films such as Bamboozled / Do The Right Thing / Inside Man.
“Elvis was a hero to most but he never meant shit to me” Chuck D – Fight the Power.
Fight The Power The anthemic track that breaks the 4th wall in Spike lee’s movie ‘Do The Right Thing’ As both theme tune and in-story catalyst. Ossie Davis the actor who played the character ‘Da Mayor’ in the film actually introduced Bob Dylan to the stage in 1963 when Bob Dylan opened for Dr Martin Luther King who gave his ‘I Have A Dream Speech’ At the same event. As if to comment on the relevance Elvis did cover one of Dylan’s songs.
Actor Ossie Davis & Spike Lee
1963 Dylan takes the stage introduced by Ossie Davis before MLK's 'I have a dream speech'
It is unlikely that any artist in modern music is as esteemed as Bob Dylan by the greatness of peers who have covered his songs. Younger, lesser talents do it purely to add weight and meaning to thier own work (Ed Sheeran, Miley Cyrus.)
but we should ask not
… what Bob can do for us.
Ask
…what a redo can do for Bob.
If Sussan Vega’s Tom’s Diner & Eminems Stan featuring Dido are mainstream examples of the possibilities merging folk acoustics with hip hop there are dozens of briliant underground artist who have done the same.
Dylan has been caught on tape red handed straight up rapping. upon hearing the words of “MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT” LL cool J commented “Everyone should listen to Bob Dylan” Dylan also rapped on Kurtis Blows ‘Street Rock’.
It may be possible that some misplaced sense of legacy protection / preservation / safeguarding is at play by the publishers of the catalogue.
Cue the curious case of Matisyahu.
Matisyahu a Jewish orthodox raga rapper. A first look it comes across as a spoof akin to a catholic nun playing thrash metal. Yet Matisyahu’s ‘King without a Crown’ youtube music video has 44 million views. The music is well produced in a Bob Marley one drop style and yet something is rotten in the kingdom of Denmark. There is no hope of claiming cultural misappropriation as all of the Zion based Jah worship in Reggae is already origined in the old testament. Somehow it feels entirely unnatural in an opposite way to the Chilli Peppers covers of Stevie Wonder and Dylan which feel completely natural. Not that the man is without talent yet Matisyahu’s hassidic take on reggae seems contrived to make the ‘orthodox’ cool with ‘rebel music’. A complete contradiction. Perhaps Rastafari can reinvigorate a sense of naturalism in worship for the practitioners of Judaic orthodoxy, congratulations and more power to them if that is the case but it doesn’t do much new innovatively. The secular Dylan has much more parity and relevance for a crossover type project.
A double fantasy of this project would include not only lifting his vocals onto beats but also a sibbling album of covers in a urban style. Several times Dylan has been dragged into proximity such as with The Red Hot Chilli Pepper’s version of Subteranean Homesick Blues & Boombox version of who killed Davy Moore
Another reason to insinuate Bob Dylans catalogue into the realm of urban rhyme is to create some nuance in the multi dimensional aspects of jewishness in media and black entertainment conversation. “Kanye” or “Ye” West controversially entered into this conversation in late 2022 with his widely reported statements about Jewish financial intrests in black entertainment. Perhaps we can ask “Y” when Ye reduces to one letter finally. Untill then we might assume that for a footwear designer of his Yeezy brand he had really stuck his foot in it, for some transiently ironic footware promotion stunt.
his is not the first voice raise in this concern. “proffesor griff” of Public Enemy famous made similar acusitory observations.
“Fucking Jews”, Kholardi – Norwegian Iranian rapper.
“I cant hang with a Jew”, Bissy Owa – Belgian rapper.
“I hate Jews more than Nazis”, Ismo – Dutch Moslem rapper
Talk about Jewish finance cartels are not typically delivered with nuance and care yet the simpatico attained with the black struggle by genuinely conscientious artists of Jewish background should not be understated.
Paul Simon, a folksey songwriter with a Jewish background had caused outrage by going against Artists Against Apartied and their boycott by producing his Gracelands project whisch submereged his folk sensibilities in the rhythms of the South African continent. Two different approaches to the same situation. Paul Simon could have been accused of being a money grabbing Jew for breaching the boycott although that would be a strange critisism to level at another Anti-Apartied actor like Rock Against Racism the “I aint gonna rock Sun city” track serves as a reminder of the system that was in place. Ultimately Simon’s project has a deeper impact culturally bringing some of the finest musical activist talents Miriam Mekeba and Hugh Masekela, who campaigned within S.Africa to free Nelson mandela, to the western market. Paul Simon’s accomplishments previous to this included the song ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ an epic revist and unique take on an old gospel spiritual, non linear musical form. The song is to traditional gospel what delta blues is to 12 bar blues. Simon must have a deep appreciation for black american music to create such a song. Simon like Dylan A folk baladeer with a 1960’s Hayday took great risks personally and professionally in his support and activisim for black issues. What a travesty for artists such like these to be lumped in with some aprehension of a preditory Jewish mob element.
Bob Dylans pedigree as a pro black activist is renowned. His songs sung by Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder, Jimi Hendrix. Written for the injustly incarcerated such as world boxing champion Rubin ”Hurricane” Carter.
Tom Wilson a black man producing black acts, also produced Dylan’s early succesfull recordings and provides some insight.
I didn’t even particularly like folk music,” Wilson said in an interview with Melody Maker in 1976. “I’d been recording Sun Ra and Coltrane, and I thought folk music was for the dumb guys. This guy played like the dumb guys. But then these words came out. I was flabbergasted. I said to Albert Grossman, who was in the studio, ‘If you put some background to this you might have a white Ray Charles with a message.’”
In 2010 Dylan was awarded the medal of freedom by Barrack Obama and gave a concert at the white house. A shrewd political move on Obama’s part to insinuate himself in the civil rights classical liberaism of the 1960’s whilst only two years young into his presidency. Six years later at the end of two terms it would be difficult to see the former Chicago lawyer in an anti-war freedom of information, kind of light. Even though his presidency is the obvious ultimate result of the 1960’s civil rights movement.
Bob Dylan born Robert Zimmerman’s decision to change his last name is partly hiding his Jewish identity. He felt that he would not be easily accepted singing about traditional working class sufferance like his hero Woody Guthrie. As with many performers and entertainers a name change may occur for many different reasons. Whilst a black performer would never be able to make thier race indistiguishible by a name change, it speaks to the complex nature of the diaspora. What rapper ever used their birth name ? What ever was being obsfucated it certainly was not human rights for blacks.
Elitism is by its nature not the proclivity of the majority within any group.
What better cruxible to reboot consciencious rap and address some of the collateral race issues.
Reboot
Rebob
ya dont stop ya dont stop ya dont stop
