Boom Bap Is Universal, No Matter The Language
SoulKast’s Album Trailer, Featuring DJ Premier, Reinforces Boom Bap’s Status Around The World
| By AMIR SAID (SA’ID) |
Hip hop/rap music is one of the world’s most inclusive cultures. And I’ve long maintained that the beatmaking tradition—within the broader hip hop/rap tradition—is the most inclusive music culture in the world today. And there is perhaps no other beatmaking style and sound more recognizable and more powerful than what is affectionately known by beatmakers and rappers alike as “boom bap.”
As the premium for boom bap has waned stateside, in recent years, the status of boom bap has skyrocketed around the globe. From the UK to Japan; from Australia to Germany; boom bap still stands out as the most popular beatmaking sound and hip hop/rap music aesthetic. And in France, the reverence for boom bap is only rivaled by those pockets in the United State that still hold the style and sound in high esteem.
Earlier this year, I wrote about a show in France that featured DJ Premier, Just Blaze, and The Alchemist (DJ Premier, Just Blaze, and the Alchemist Rock Paris). In the video, the sheer love and respect for boom bap is on full display (a sight that still conjures up the feeling of being ashamed, when you consider the press and *love* some other hip hop/rap music styles now enjoy in the U.S.). And with French rapper SoulKast’s trailer for his new music project, which drops October 29 (www.soulkast.fr), I’m again reminded of how heavy the French rep authentic boom bap, and just how universal boom bap really is, no matter the language.
For educational purposes…
Teaser SOULKAST Feat. DJ PREMIER
