"I'm a nerd and musician."
Charles Hamilton is the anti-hero of XXL's "Freshman Class Of Hip Hop". He doesn't play nice and he isn't built to get along with people. The whole "Freshman Class" metaphor works perfectly- where Charles Hamilton sits at his lunch table, and the nine other guys are a cliq across the cafeteria. Actually, at this point, Charles is eating lunch in the bathroom.
Bloggers have found every and any reason to turn on Hamilton, finding new excuses to dismiss what they're not accustomed to.
In an industry where even the show-openers have their hype-men shouting "I'M THE GREATEST"- why would Charles' ego be an issue to people? Rap is filled from top to bottom with outspoken, conceited, over-confident narcissists. Charles is a "soap opera" rapper, keeping listeners and blog-readers consistently intrigued. He's the WWF in 1997, losing the ratings war but providing the greatest product of entertainment.
He hasn't even released his first proper album, and C.H. has already set the standard in hip-hop as the greatest rapping.
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Pride.
In order to be a great rapper, it is necessary that you be embarrassed to be a rapper. Hip hop is in a rebuilding phase, and anybody who does youtube videos with Soulja Boy, rather than youtube disses of Soulja Boy, cannot top the list. There have been cats who've dipped their toes in this water, trashing auto-tune or writing entire tracks about the subject... but these phonies can be spotted hugging T-Pain just a couple internet clicks away. If Charles had his finger on the "drown hip hop" button, he'd push it.
Charles frequently refers to himself as a musician, avoiding that derogatory-in-the-2000s term "rapper"- whether it be in his music ("I'm not a rapper / I'm just a musician" - C.H. Just A Musician and "I'm something like a rapper / But kinda not" - C.H. Twitter 16) or in any of dozens of videos found on youtube.
The true potential of Charles Hamilton can be heard in "Sat(t)ellite" (The Pink Lavalamp) and "Stir Of Echoes or Sleeping Beauty" (Sonic The Hamilton)- it's in these tracks where Charles stops calling himself a musician, and really becomes one.
[x] Charles Hamilton
[ ] Anyone Else
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Originality.
"Sonic The Hamilton"? "Super sonic philosophy"? Hard-ass city-folk who blog from their public library can call it "nerdy" and "soft"- but so does Charles, and he says it with a pink tie on.
Charles sings his own hooks, using a vocal style completely unheard in hip hop.
A perfect example of his originality can be found in "Every Charles Hamilton's Ex-Girlfriend's Worst Nightmare". Not only does this mixtape act as a script for his entire life of failed relationships, but it does so with real names and an entire disappointment in one's self. The kid sacrifices himself for his creative work in every way. "I don't rap / I just blog on beat".
While the competition is touting their "swag" (the silliest new term in music), Charles has an entire track spotlighting his lack of "swag". While industry hopefuls and commercial giants alike are bragging about their money, Charles is wearing an outfit that costs less than his headphones. He can still be found recording music at his high school's studio. Even his self-produced MTV Cribs shows a mostly rap-clicheless lifestyle.
[X] - Charles Hamilton
[ ] - Anyone else.
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Sampling.
Charles Hamilton SAMPLED MICROSOFT. There was actually a few opening lines for this category that would've been equally effective. Here's the set:
Charles Hamilton SAMPLED MICROSOFT.
Charles Hamilton SAMPLED CHARLIE BROWN.
Charles Hamilton SAMPLED VINCE MCMAHON.
Charles Hamilton SAMPLED MODEST MOUSE
Charles Hamilton SAMPLED BLACK SPADE. (haha)
It can continue as far as Mortal Kombat characters and Jim Carey movies and Steve Urkel and entire Sonic The Hedgehog zones, but I think the point has been made. The most important part of the point is that he (for the most part) does his own sampling, not ashamed to use another rapper's voice to drive a song.
[X] - Charles Hamilton
[ ] - Anyone Else
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Lyrical Ability.
Here we go, something tangible. Well, not really. Hip hop is full of ghostwriters ("They pray to a ghost because they really can't write" - C.H. Beetlejuice), existing almost as a Jedi-Padawan cycle... where young rappers can only break in by handing up their best work.
There are freestyle "cyphers" and "battles" online where Charles allegedly loses. If you're telling me the following stuttering, grown-up Rugrats character outperformed C.H., then you're in company with people who spell "you" like "u"..
"Sonic The Hedgehog [pause] you cant fuck with me dog"
vs
"I leave hearses dead."
Charles has chocked up a portion of his hate to people not understanding his rhymes- an argument cemented by the pages of ridiculous comments to the above video. C.H.'s Blondie/Rapture line is a prime example. People want to hear about how best you are at being the best- references, phrasing and melody have become secondary.
[X] - Charles Hamilton
[ ] - Anyone Else
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He won't get the girl, he gets punched by the girl he settled for, and he believes God is a girl.
He drops a lot of names that he never seems to really associate with- Eminem was featured on a track that was Charles and a robot, and the ghost of a dead rapper executive produced Charles' ever-allusive first album.
While some people use all of this to fuel a phoney hatred, any reasonable person can credit it as pure inspiration- a stargazing kid getting thrust rapidly up to the stars.
Charles may be missing a mentor (see Kid Cudi's Kanye West, Drake's Lil Wayne), or a quality controller, but this is a g.o.o.d. thing. As a result of him making such an impact on his own (via the internet), we get the real C.H.
And if he ultimately fails, it will only make him greater--
providing the perfect backdrop for rap's Shadow.
