On “Genius” and the Notion That Art Happens Without Work
Busting the Romantic Poets' Idea of Originality and Genius
Both Michelangelo and Mozart are recognized today as geniuses, just as they were recognized as geniuses in their own the time. One parallel among these two geniuses is how self-aware they were about the “work” that went into the “mastery” of their art. Another parallel is that both men deflected the recognition of genius. Michelangelo and Mozart resented the idea that their work was given to them, or that it came “easy” to them.
Inside the world of sample-based hip hop/rap music, we recognize that beatmaking giants like Marley Marl, DJ Premier, RZA, Dr. Dre, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, J Dilla, and Alchemist mastered their art only after lots of work and “frequent and diligent study” of the masters in hip hop/rap music production. Many of those looking at the art of sampling from the outside often hold the misconception that sampling is “easy.” But it’s not “easy” to create feeling within art. It’s not easy to sculpt life-changing songs from small pieces of other songs, pieces that are, in many cases, not even 2 seconds long. It’s not easy to create soundtracks to people’s lives much in the way countless sample-based hip hop/rap songs have done. Classic art — and here I’m referring to all art that stands the test of time, i.e. continues to move and enlighten people — is not the work of happenstance and simple parlor tricks, it’s the culmination of the processes of learning and mastering what the artist has learned.
The Romantic poets copped out of this responsibility because they found themselves stuck between two master classes of poets: Those who came before them and the new writers who were quickly emerging around them. So the Romantic poets used originality — their warped idea of originality — as a defense mechanism. They twisted the concept of originality to preserve their status in society and to cope with their own creative anxiety and fear of emerging competition.
There is a similar parallel at play with traditional musicians and sample-based hip hop/rap musicians. For years now, many within the hip hop/rap music beatmaking community have referred to non-sampled based beats as “original.” Ergo, sample-based beats lack “originality.” Ergo, sample-based beats lack creativity. Ergo, sample-based musicians are not “real” musicians. But these value judgments are terribly misplaced. And as Michelangelo once said, “Why do You Send Fools To judge My Work?”
