Bagdizzle fo' Shizzle

Newsweek writes about the Iraq-stationed rap group 4th25. Rap is a populist, DIY genre like blues, garage, and folk that non-celebs can take a crack at w/basic equipment. (Jazz and Blues are often lumped together by the uninitiated, even though Jazz has many more connections to classical, orchestrated music than the Blues do. The lone guitar is the primary vehicle for Mississippi Delta music; Ever try to lug a piano around from farm to farm?)

Eventually the Man will get his hands on guys like these (and probably suck the life out of them or else find guys who are more camera-ready) but until then, it will be interesting to see how the phenomenon of combat rap evolves among U.S. troops in war zones. Michael Eric Dyson and Cornel West will sometimes over-academize hip-hop culture and vice-versa, but they are the guys whose comments I would like to read after they research this.