Don't know why I didn't think to share this with y'all earlier, but last October down at the University of Oregon me and the homies were presented with the incredible chance to catch a guest lecture by Thes One in the relatively new "Hip Hop History" class. None of us were actually enrolled in the class (though one took the class the previous year), but of course we couldn't pass up the opportunity. So anyways, it was f**king DOPE.... Especially for 18 and 19 year old kids like us who didn't get to experience first-hand the rise of Hip Hop, and weren't even in the class.
Thes essentially boiled Hip Hop down to two basic concepts: destruction and re-appropriation. Pretty great simplification, imo. Topics covered included a short history of drum machines and samplers, mpc's vs sp's, how he got his name, among other things. It's been a while since I listened to it. Again, a pretty simplified history, as this was a college lecture and only about 80 minutes, but it was awesome to hear Thes' opinions and philosophies, as well as the added bonus of the thesaurus name story and some cracks at phil collins and will.i.am.
Oh, and the homie recorded it all on his iPhone. Check it out: http://www.mediafire.com/?1iud33hscwk7e7c
