Re: Is DJ Krush considered trip hop?

Scott Tennent (feesh@asu.edu)
Mon, 25 May 1998 01:12:36 -0700 (MST)


not going to reprint the whole "how dare we categorize" debate since it's gone
on forever (not just that one email but several messages over many years it
seems)

here's the case: the original post asked a question: is dj krush hip hop.
it added: if you're one of those people who insist on bringing up the
categorization debate, don't answer. just tell me is he's trip hop.

so here we go: his first coupl albums, which were instrumental mostly and much
jazzier, I would consider trip hop, as in the "trip hop" sound defined by DJ
Shadow and Mo 'Wax (please note I am not saying he ever sounded like Shadow,
but rather that he fits the overall "Mo'wax" sound that SHadow sparked--the
sound that is bigger than Shadow).
He is not the sort of trip ho that is defined by the sound Tricky and
Portishead created. Why people call both of these sounds trip hop, I'll never
know.

His later two albums, Meiso and Milight, are Hip Hop, not trip hop. He became
a lot more minimal and used a lot more MCing.

His latest album, Ki Oku, is Acid Jazz. Instrumental, jazz trumpet with dance
beats.

This is not the be all end all of categorization, so if any one wants to
correct me, please do. If all you want to say is categorizations are
bullshit and that they should be done away with, please don't say a word. What
better way to not categorize than to not speak at all? If that's the message
we want to get across, why did anyonme reply to the original post? Wouldn't
this person have figured it out? had no one posted, she/he would have said
"hey, no one answered, guess I'll have to figure it out myself" or maybe
"well, maybe that's not an important question". But since we've chosen to
address the question, we might as well anser the question asked rather than
question the question.

scott