In the last two days, I've read about
freak folk in the NY Times (as epitomized by Devendra Banhart) and
crunk in The Guardian (some hip-hop subgenre out of the South beloved by Paris Hilton and Korn...).
First off -- what?
Any other major musical developments that seem to be passing me by?
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Crunk, from the Guardian:
According to the movement's main man though, Atlanta producer and artist, Lil Jon, the explanation is much more visceral. "You can feel real crunk in your soul," he states. "It's high-energy rap music strictly designed for the clubs. It makes you wild out," says the musician who has singlehandedly crafted three US number ones this year alone, including Usher's worldwide hit, Yeah. His own album, Crunk Juice, as part of Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz sits directly behind Eminem and Destiny's Child in this week's Billboard chart, selling 363,000 copies in its first week. "It's a lot of energy, like black punk-rock music."