This blog post is going to assume that you saw the film 'Bamboozled' by Spike Lee. I'm going to operate on that assumption for the entirety of this post so as not to derail the main train of thought. If you haven't seen the film .... shame on you.
DC author Bill Campbell wrote a book called 'Koontown Killing Kaper'. I haven't finished the book yet, so we'll get into that at a later time. I've actually been talking to Mr. Campbell for a couple of weeks now and we'll have a formal sit down and discussion for your viewing pleasure in the near future. For now, we're going to dig into the 'Koontown Killing Kaper' official soundtrack.
Campbell, often "regusted" with the images and sounds of Black popular culture reinforcing negative stereotypes, decided to satirize the themes. The story of Genevieve Noire is told and how she saves Koontown from vampire crack babies who are killing all the town's rappers.
Yes, you read that properly.
The soundtrack is a wonderfully irreverent collection of brief songs supporting the satire. With titles like, "Bulletproof Prius Music" and "Crackbaby Beats" it's easy to get the gist of how the music compliments the book. I was particularly impressed with the depth of the concepts. The classic soul samples allude to Blaxploitation films of yesteryear and the artists offer up verses that not only mock popular Rap artists but also challenge them lyrically. From the totally absurd "The Nigga Song" to the weighted "The Ballad of Night and Grey" the team manages to balance the serious with the ridiculous magically. 'Koontown Killing Kaper' truly is a brilliant project.
Check the stream below and SUPPORT this very important project! I'll tell you like Bill Campbell told me; "If you ain't Koonin', you ain't tryin'!"
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