Rogge Report - Short Update and Billy Woods Glaze

I got a new website built! It’s not all that much right now, but it’s a cool little hub for all of my stuff. As I work on more projects I will populate it more. (It doesn’t look all that great on mobile right now but I’m working on it.)

You can check it out: https://rmrogge.neocities.org/

I’m working on it! It’s been a little bit tough as I struggle to get a hold of routine and reach an understanding of where to lead my life, but I am still dedicated to continue writing; and I still believe this is a good avenue to write in.

I’m still getting a hang of what I am to write about, there will certainly be more independent music and film coverage to come; and there will also be more personal writing but it’s a more challenging thing to manage. I may explore other avenues, but as of right now I feel as if underground art and my own experiences are the only thing my perspective would lend to me writing informatively about.

I have two very special Rogge Reports for December planned that I hope to be fun little annual issues. The first one will be an announcement of a cinematic surprise that will theme a lot of the writing I do next year, and the second one will be wholly dedicated to the music released this year.

I haven’t made anything professionally written, but here are my thoughts on the medium of visual album after watching the incredible new billy woods visual album five times:

Montage and hip-hop are perfectly made for each other. Clips of short messages built into patterns to demonstrate an experience. An experience is not something that can be as eloquently explained to another through more traditional communication methods like writing or speaking. The experience consists of the emotionality of the moment, but also consists of what is uniquely summoned from the perspective of the individual, the sensations that arise from our recollection of the past. Although it can be hard to pin down in words, it can be more accurately expressed through the accompaniment of colors, pictures, and sounds. 

Unlike any other visual album I've seen, the visual component of gowillog really feels like a continuation of the explanation provided by the music, filling out a stronger picture of the tones that ring out; rather than a competing interpretation of the same idea (something that could be held as a standalone project.) 

I appreciate seeing the images billy latches onto as he lives through these moments, and find it valuable in connecting with the musical art. The use of archive film footage makes sense to me in this context. I feel as if I am able to directly connect with the images he has made connections to his real experiences with, thus better understanding his perspective.

billy woods brings us a project entirely in love with both hip-hop and horror film. Misery wrapped as hip-hop wrapped as horror. A horror film absolutely infatuated with a hip-hop that's absolutely infatuated with misery.

I feel like woods' artistic output really is pushing boundaries, and I'm so fraught with appreciation for the labors of love he provides us.

Maybe it's just 12:16AM and I'm sleep deprived glazing...

Thank you for reading! Have a good fortnight!

Here is a Humble Bundle Steam code for whoever reads here first:

M3ZYZ-738VH-7YTXX