UPDATE: "You sure have a lot to say without knowing enough," was the reply from @REVIVEmusic (the Twitter account for The Revivalist) to this article (they have since apologized). I'm sorry, guys. I guess every time I mention your site I need to go back through all my beliefs that what you are doing is necessary, important, and exhilarating for a fan of jazz, hip-hop and live music, just so you won't jump down my throat.
Listen. I watch your videos (all of them!), I read your articles and interviews. Yes, I'm critical sometimes - that doesn't mean I'm belittling your mission (I am a critic, after all!). Honestly, when I have something critical to say, I say it with the hope that my subject can put that criticism in context - the context of support and constructiveness that I've tried to foster here at Rehearsing The Blues.
That said, I wrote this article quickly and with some emotion behind it. Reading over the passages where I mention The Revivalist, I see that as the article progressed, I started using your site as a kind of figurehead for something it really doesn't represent. I've tried to remedy that here. Thank you for bringing that to my attention, albeit in a roundabout and less-than-polite way.
Nevertheless, my criticism of the overall polarization of the intelligent critical commentary surrounding rap stands as stated here, and that includes you in both senses: firstly, everyone at The Revivalist is smart about what they listen to, and you contribute to that intelligent commentary; but secondly, the nature of your mission and focus places it at one end of a spectrum of commentary. It isn't a bad thing, that's just how it is. This article is stating the need for a middle ground, a site or critic not limited by a focus such as "live music in NYC." You guys have that scene covered. I'm not asking you to change. I'm asking someone else to add to the overall discourse.
So thank you, The Revivalist, for reading and letting me know, in your own way, that you read Rehearsing The Blues. This is my way of letting you know I read your stuff, too, and that you get me thinking - not always in happy ways, but always in meaningful and important ways. Thank you.
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Shad is a name that should appear much more often in articles and analyses of hip-hop today. The Canadian, Kenyan-born rapper (full name Shadrach Kabango) has three official albums to his name, the most recent of which, TSOL, was released on October 10th, 2010. He tours the United States and Canada, he's won (but more often almost won) a few awards in Canada, and I can almost guarantee you've never heard of him.