In Death, We Are All the Same

We smirked a little when we saw that the Times had juxtaposed the obituaries of renowned author and critic Elizabeth Hardwick and Pimp C, the seminal hip-hop artist. Could two people be more different?, we thought. But when we looked a little closer at the defining facts of their lives, we realized that actually, Pimp C and Elizabeth Hardwick are kind of the same! Well, they're not unalike. For instance: They Had Straightforward Styles That Helped Them Define Their Genres • Hardwick was "credited with expanding the possibilities of the literary essay, through her intimate tone and forceful logic." • Pimp C "helped define Southern hip-hop, with his thoughtful but unapologetic rhymes about Southern street life." They Represented an Era • Hardwick and her husband, Robert Lowell, were, along with some other authors, "among the last of an era of rambunctious intellectuals." • Pimp C, along with his UGK bandmate, became "godfathers of the Houston hip-hop scene." They Rubbed Shoulders With Legends • On her "nightly searches for good jazz in the clubs on West 52nd Street," Hardwick "got to know, among others, Billie Holiday." • Pimp C and UGK's "biggest moment came in 2000, when Jay-Z invited both rappers to contribute rhymes to 'Big Pimpin,' one of his biggest hits."

Posted 12/05/07 in Daily Intel : Obit

Tags: elizabeth hardwick, obit, pimp c