Your Favorite Rapper’s Favorite Band: The Kids These Days Edition Posted by Lucas G. on 03/21/13 | Filed under Opinion, Kids These Days, Favorite Rappers Favorite Band

A Note From Nathan S.: No genre has borrowed, sampled and been influenced by other genres more than hip-hop, yet hip-hop heads often ironically refuse to listen to anything outside or rap. So the homie Lucas and I have created the "Your Favorite Rapper's Favorite Band" series as a way of highlighting how connected some pretty distinctly non-hip-hop bands are to some of your favorite rap.

For the latest edition, Lucas takes a look at Kids These Days. Enjoy...

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For the last few entries of "Your Favorite Rapper’s Favorite Band", I have highlighted a non-hip-hop band that has hip-hop roots or connections. This week, I thought I would flip the script a little and show you a hip-hop group that has some indie connections; Chicago’s, Kids These Days.

For those unfamiliar with KTD, you better hurry up and get hip to the game because this band is going places…fast. This seven member band composed of kids basically fresh out of high school have been one of the more marquee names that have emerged from the #Savemoney crew, which includes Chance The Rapper and Kami De Chukwu.

The band has grown quite the reputation for putting a killer live show and wowing with their eclectic style fusing rock with soul, hip-hop, jazz, blues, and pretty much everything in between. Each member of the band has vital role to play in creating this sound. Whether it is frontman/emcee Vic Mensa dousing the instrumentals with passionate flows, Nico Segal, the groups resident trumpeter, adding a jazz element, or the crashing drums of Greg Landfair, each member has a vital role in adding a different genre to their sound. Not hurting things is the raspy vocals of Liam Cunningham mixed with the group’s lone woman, Macie Stewart who has a comforting, velvety sound but still has the power to captivate atop the often-frenzied instrumentals. Their style caught on fast and the group has garnered some serious attention since they dropped their second project, "Traphouse Rock", back in September of 2012. The name alone is a perfect metaphor for their sound; they have a gritty, edgy hip-hop sound (much like some trap cuts) but it is fused perfectly with some strong rock elements.

Before we get into the album, and its copious rock/indie samples, it is important to note that Jeff Tweedy helped produce the album and had a strong influence on the bands eclectic sampling. For hip-hop heads the name Jeff Tweedy might not ring out like Pharrell or Timbaland, but Tweedy has some serious clout in the non hip-hop world, and not just for his production work. Tweedy is the frontman and guitarist for Wilco, an indie staple that also hails from the Chi. Wilco has been around for nearly 20 years, dropping countless albums and even winning a grammy or two along the way. In an in-depth look at the group, (https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/wilco/biography) Rolling Stone called Wilco “one of America's most adored bands” and discussed their diverse sound, which pulls from different genres, a quality Tweedy passed on to KTD.

You can hear the diverse sound in some of Wilco’s most successful, cuts like 1997’s "Outtasite (Outta Mind)", the bands most successful song that reached number 22 on the US chart.



The group has a strong rock influence, but is by no means only a rock band. Tweedy’s pained vocals add a grungy influence to the cleaner, almost folk-y instrumentals, and, while the riff may scream 90’s rock the upbeat drums and the slight chiming give it a little more energy than grunge 90’s cut.

For more insight into their genre bending sound take a listen to 2009’s, I’ll Fight, my personal favorite from Wilco. This cut features Tweedy’s grainy vocals, only a little softer than normal with an elegantly dark vibe. The instrumentation is exception, pulling from country, folk, blues to form a poignant, heart-felt instrumental.



Tweedy’s ability to pull many sounds together is what gives Kids These Days their edge, like Wilco, they can draw from different styles, often much more extreme than Wilco as they have a strong hip-hop foundation, and are able to do so flawlessly. Take a listen to "L'Afrique", it literally sounds like three different songs, but somehow, the group is able to mesh it all together. Props to Vic who has the flexibility to spit over something seemingly unrappable; also note the dope sample of D’Angelo (not a non hip-hop sample, but still dope).



Tweedy did not produce the whole album, but his indie roots heavily influenced the groups sampling. KTD sampled several different rock/indie tracks that to the untrained, hip-hop ear, might have gone overlooked, but are pretty remarkable considering how different they are. First, take a listen to "GHETTO", my personal favorite effort off "Traphouse Rock".



The first minute and a half of the song features Vic’s grungy flow atop a strained guitar instrumental;. Even for hop-hoppers, the instrumental should be familiar as it comes from one of the most recognizable riffs possibly ever, Nirvana’s "Smell Like Teen Spirit".



The group then transitions into a slick little breakdown based on Curtis Mayfield’s "Move On Up". Blending Nirvana and Curtis Mayfield all why forming your own original sound is not an easy thing to do and it takes a special group of musicians to do it, and Kids These Days are just that. Seriously, transitioning from Nirvana to Curtis Mayfield in a matter of seconds while still managing to be cohesive is unlike anything I have heard.



It doesn’t stop there, on the very next song, "Doo-Wah", the group uses another indie sample, but the result is a much softer sound than "GHETTO".



Here, “Where Is My Mind?” by The Pixies, who like Wilco, are one of the more popular indie bands around, is the foundation for this smooth cut:



Some might be troubled by their reliance on samples, but in my humble opinion, KTD does a wonderful job of making the song their own. Thanks to their live instrumentation they give the song a totally different feel than the original. Those not familiar with The Pixies, might recognize the cut from the end of "Fight Club".

Don’t watch this if you haven’t seen "Fight Club", and if you haven’t seen "Fight Club" I simply don’t know what you are doing with your life



While this next is the last sample I am going to cover, it is certainly not the last sample the group uses. Their other, hip-hop friendly samples include Mobb Deep and James Brown, but I am going to make you listen to the album to find them. They even have a few more indie songs you may recognize like a horn section on "Bud Billiken", drawn from Radioheads ever famous, "Creep".

"On Who Do U Luv", the group takes Arcade Fire’s "My Body Is a Cage" and gives it a jolt of energy. Not to knock the original (see below), but it feels a little lifeless; KTD rectifies that adding a youthful exuberance to it.




I have heard some critique the band, saying it is too much sampling and not enough music, and while I can understand why one might say that, if you really listen the band makes the songs their won. They don’t rely heavily on the samples, but use it as a jumping off point for their own original instrumentals. I think it also adds to the live appeal. Take "Who Do U Luv" for example, KTD spin on the dreary cut is a joy to hear live ( I know from experience).

Listening to them take on these famous cuts, makes me feel like I am at a live concert. If a group did this live everyone would be into, but because its an album, somehow it becomes a negative? I think that’s bulls**t; they aren’t just playing it note for note, but presenting a familiar sound in a whole new different light with a hip-hop foundation and to me that is as original as original can be. Kids These Days, with a little help from Tweedy, have already mastered the art of sampling. Not only is it fun to listen not, but it makes me excited for the future, I cant wait to hear what they will sample next and am eager to hear them challenge traditional genres structures, making us all more well rounded music heads in the process.

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See Also:  Your Favorite Rapper’s Favorite Band: The Fitz & The Tantrums Edition
See Also:  Kids These Days Get Brought Down To Size (Literally) In Their Dope “Doo Wah” Video