The other day, a Philadelphia-based emcee/producer and I were discussing the extensive malleability of hip hop. Unlike most pop genres, hip hop has an uncanny tolerance that allows its producers to imbibe other styles and genres with ease, while still retaining an authentic footprint. Generally, extensive genre-hopping is often criticized as unfocused or pretentious — in hip hop it is not only encouraged, but also wildly successful both commercially and artistically.
“Big Pimpin’” beautifully demonstrates this phenomenon. Jay-Z’s lyrics dance and skirt around a melody originally composed by Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdi, while Timbaland’s production adds little additional instrumentation. A slithering synth-line and a few extra rhythmic flourishes, maybe, but the strings and flutes leading the track remain unaltered.
Somehow it remains hip hop. And it’s not an isolated incident. Producers frequently snap up elements of soul, latin, jazz, classical, rock, reggae, and myriad other genres, yet the end result is always indisputably within the genre. Very few boundaries separate the clash of styles — there are no borders to define the rules of influence. Somehow, the hip hop community has bred some of the most innovative and eclectic production of the late 20th century while barely setting a template beyond the ubiquitous backbeat. It’s wild. It’s free. It’s… well, what is it?
