Saul Williams – a True Rap Pioneer
Saul Williams, born in Newburgh, New York in 1974, is an American rap artist, writer and actor known for his eclectic blend of poetry and hip-hop. He is also known for his role as Ray Joshua in the independent film 'Slam', which won the Grand Jury Prize for a Dramatic Film at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival.
Unlike most mainstream rap artists, who at least claim to have lived a former life of sin before turning to rap, Saul entered the world of music after pursuing an academic career. After graduating from Morehouse College with a B.A. in Philosophy, Williams went on obtain a Master's Degree in acting from New York University. While at NYU he found himself at the centre of the New York cafe poetry scene, where he would hone his poetry reading skills and in 1996 he won the title of Nuyorican Poets Cafe's Grand Slam Champion. Fame on the spoken-word circuit led him onto the lead role in the 1998 feature film 'Slam', and eventually to blend his oratory skills with his love of rap music.
After releasing a string of EPs, he released his debut album, 'Amethyst Rock Star', produced by Rick Rubin, to critical acclaim in 2001. Labelled everything from prog-hop to aggressive, urban chanting, Williams breathed fresh air into an increasingly stale and clichéd genre. After touring in support of the album, he released his eponymous follow-up in 2004, which attracted attention of Nine Inch Nails front man, Trent Reznor, who would select Williams to be NIN’s support band while touring Europe on the 2005 'With Teeth' tour. He also supported the Mars Volta and played Lollapalooza in 2006, bringing his music to a wider audience.
His friendship with Trent Reznor led to an agreement that Reznor would produce Williams' next album, 'The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!' Released last November, it is only available at niggytardust.com, where users can download mid-quality mp3s (192 kbps) of the album for free, or, if they choose to, pay $5 via credit card to support Williams directly and choose between mid-quality mp3s, high-quality mp3s (320 kbps) and lossless FLAC files.
Reznor posted on the Nine Inch Nails homepage that as of the beginning of this year, close to 155,000 people had downloaded the record, and of those, 28,322, or just over 18% had chosen to pay for it. Out of those paying, 3220 chose mid-quality mp3s, 19,764 chose high-quality mp3s and 5338 chose FLAC.
Though these figures aren’t enough to warrant a Platinum certification, the business model gives fans an impetus to do the right thing by giving them a hassle-free way to show support for Williams, with no restrictions like DRM placed on the music, and as such, it can be seen as a success, especially considering his last album sold 33,897 copies in the three years since its release.
Whether this way of releasing music will become a trend is yet to be seen, but the fact is that more people have listened to Saul than ever before, and hopefully this year will see him receive the mainstream recognition he rightly deserves.
Andrew Regan is an online, freelance author from Scotland. He is a keen rugby player and enjoys travelling.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Saul Williams – a True Rap Pioneer