New York, NY (April 30, 2008) – It being the last day of Yo! MTV Raps Month on the aforementioned channel, the Sucker Free Blog released its Top 9 Videos.
Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock – “It Takes Two” (aha check the comments by Ed Lover)
Eric B. and the god Rakim Allah – “Microphone Fiend”
New York, NY (April 30, 2008) – I believe this footage is from the Nokia Theater the other night.
The Studio Version - aha peep the gold rope!!
New York, NY (April 30, 2008) – Woo-Hah!!! This one is all over the web today and for good reason. Busta sounds rejuvenated and fresh on the track and the video is a return to the energy he broke in with. Gone is the gangster façade Vibe hung around his neck earlier this month (I spoke about that here), and for all intents and purposes, this song represents a departure from the normal Bussa Buss stuff we’ve heard in recent years. Hip-hop!!
New York, NY (April 30, 2008) – A few vids for you as the circus around “Rising Down” begins to build (hopefully off of the web). Apparently Def Jam hasn’t supported the project as well as promised, though… First two conveniently spotted at OnSmash, the third via Nah Right.
David Banner feat. The Roots – Live at Sirius w/ Green Lantern
The Roots feat. Styles P “Rising Down” - Live at Sirius w/ Green Lantern
Black Thought Freestyle On Rap City
New York, NY (April 30, 2008) – Indie legends Atmosphere have been making the rounds to all the blogs with the release of their fifth studio album “When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold,” and sat down with DX’s J-23 for another interesting turn.
If you weren’t aware, some basic science on the group: “Atmosphere is an American hip hop duo from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The members are rapper Slug (born Sean Daley, September 7, 1972) and DJ/producer Ant (born Anthony Davis). Active in various forms since 1993, they are one of the most commercially successful and long-lived independent hip-hop acts.” Word.
From my own experience, Slug’s content shifts from self-loathing, to intense storytelling, to introspective discovery, to comedic relief usually in a matter of two bars; Ant typically uses a soulful, chopped/sampled sound reminiscent of DJ Premier or Pete Rock, but with an almost middle-American/heartland-flair that gives the duo’s music a regional appeal while still staying true to the jazz or blues records he lifted the sample from. On “Lemons,” though, they opted to have musicians come in and replay all the samples, another departure in their ever-evolving music catalog (think the indie/underground version of Outkast). Shit’s hard.
Here’s an excerpt:
DX: I’ve been to a lot of your shows and you have a pretty young fan base, especially considering the type of music that you make. Does the age of your audience enter your thought process when you are making records?
Slug: No, no. In fact, I think that not so much the making of this album, but the minute we finished it and I knew we had to start the other cycles, I actually started thinking, ‘how do I start translating what I’m doing to a 35 year old soccer mom, single dad.’ Cause you know, I’m going to be 36 this year. Everyone I went to high school with, they don’t even listen to music the same way anymore. They play it in their car on their way to work. When they’re at home, they don’t play records, they watch TV. You know what I mean?
So how do I make what I’m doing - because my perspective and my reality is that of a 35 year old – how do I make what I’m doing relevant to a 35 year old also, you know? And without pandering to it, ’cause I don’t want to exclude the kids but I’ve so many issues standing on stage in front of a bunch of kids singing along and I’m wondering mid-song, "How the fuck can they be relating to what I’m saying right now?" Mind you, thank God they do. Thank God anyone does.
Realistically, I feel confident enough to believe I’ve got some good things to say that kids maybe could fucking benefit from hearing. You know? But how long before my records turn into, "Wear your seatbelt," "Wear a helmet," "Eat your vegetables," you know? "Brush your teeth."
For more on Atmosphere, peep Okayplayer’s interview with them here. And be sure to visit the OKP archive here.
New York, NY (April 26, 2008) – Great read from HipHopDX writer Mina Jasarevic
… Most are familiar with the humble beginnings of the mixtape, especially its origins within the hungry underground in an era in which tapes created by deejays were sold on the streets, jam-packed with creative freestyles, beat blends and a mix of Hip Hop and R&B. Many of the times deejays would record their own club or house party sets and bring it to the streets for anywhere from $10 to $130. Hip Hop fans ran home to play their favorite deejay’s tape in as the house speakers equally blasted the latest compilation, attracting both the kids next door and the cops down the block. The origins of the mixtape are creative, innovative and overall, groundbreaking. The tape emerged as a way to allow the artist to not only recite to the streets, but also share his/her craft with anyone willing to listen. The tape unified people through a common thread – music – and set the bar in a competitive art of rhyme, produced by the streets, for the streets, to be judged, by the streets.
As the mixtape game continues to flourish throughout the late ’80s and mid-’90s, in the last decade or so changes developed in the making, marketing and movement of the tape. Labels got involved – for better or for worse – as the circuit began to flood with new deejays, young rappers and sponsors and promoters. Its orientation changed, the focus shifting from the feature of tape’s content to its featured artist. And let’s not forget about the mixtape being used as a platform for beef, most notably between Jay-Z and Nas, and most recently, between Fat Joe and 50 Cent. So how much has the tape changed in the past decade, and how much has it stayed the same? In the following exclusive, HipHopDX breaks down the tape’s movement. Oh, and we got a nice blend of mixtape deejays to share their thoughts including DJ Kid Capri, DJ Doo Wop and DJ Lennox, as well as rappers who are well into the mixtape circuit, Tek from Smif N Wessun and Ali Vegas.”
For more, click here.
New York, NY (April 26, 2008) – EPMD is set to drop a new album, “We Mean Business,” and are using it as a vehicle to launch their new label, EP Records. From Allhiphop.com:
…The new venture is a business reunion of sorts, after a well-documented business feud between Sermon and Smith broke the group up in 1993, with Smith launching The Hit Squad, while Sermon formed his group Def Squad.
"We’re not out here to conform to radio or worry about who’s digging it," Erick Sermon told AllHipHop.com. "The core fans are going to speak up and they’re liking it and that’s all who we care about."
Could be good for music, both the album and the label. What’s your favorite joint produced by Eric… Eric Serrrrr-mon?
New York, NY (April 26, 2008) – Watch as they discuss Lupe’s chain game, Soulja Boy and “Hip-Hop Saved My Life.” Peep.
New York, NY (April 24, 2008) – Still my fav dude off the head. Spotted at Nahright.
New York, NY (April 24, 2008) – Mariah Carey touched her body all the way up the Billboard 200 this week, leaning heavily on her lead single to claim #1 with an astounding 463,000 copies of her latest, “E=MC2.” Choc full of radio hits and marking a return to her diva form, “E” tied Carey with Madonna and Janet Jackson for the second-most #1 debuts by a female artist, her sixth. Still waiting on news of a tour.
UK beauty Leona Lewis drops to second this week, experiencing a 54% decrease in sales of “Spirit,” her debut record. The Simon Cowell prodigy has moved 300,200 copies in two weeks, however, and owns the distinction of being the first British female solo artist to top the Billboard 200. And she’s smokin hot.
Def Jam’s Rick “Boss” Ross found himself (still doing him, of course) out of the Top 10 this week, moving 26,700 copies of “Trilla,” good for #11. His total stands at 443,100. Danity Kane also dropped out of the Top 10, sliding to #14 with 23,000 copies sold, good for a total of 422,300. And while she received some pretty bad news about her voice this week, Jordin Sparks sees her self-titled album continue to rise up the charts on the strength of her Billboard 100 #3 hit “No Air” with Chris Brown. She’s at #16 this week in album sales. Gnarls Barkley rounds out the Top 20 this sales period, registering 19,800 copies of “Odd Couple,” actually up seven spots. After four weeks and the release of the album in reverse (they’re artists, they do what they want), the duo has sold 121,200 copies.
Next week, look out for the god Prodigy of Mobb Deep, Tiffany Evans and Raven Symone to find their place on the charts. P dropped like eight videos this week, it will be interesting to see if his arrest, busy couple months and heavy Internet buzz translate to big sales. Til then…
New York, NY (April 23, 2008) – Be an extra in the upcoming Biggie flick “Notorious.” An excerpt:
…”Fans of the Notorious B.I.G. in NYC will be given a chance to participate in Notorious, the upcoming biopic about the Brooklyn rapper’s life.
On April 24th and 25th, the film’s creators, working with California-based company Be In A Movie, will recreate a concert scene to be used in flick, giving fans the opportunity to be in the crowd.
The scene in question is a 1994 concert during which Biggie, played by Brooklyn rapper Jamal "Gravy" Woolard, is presented with his first Gold plaque.”
Allhiphop.com has the rest of the story.
New York, NY (April 23, 2008) – Can’t wait to cop this next week. Black Thought kills it here, Wale does OK. The chick is the real star though… hopefully radio bites on this one.
New York, NY (April 23, 2008) – Bang Bang Boogie, comprised of Lord Tariq, S-One, Hocus, Mysonne & Cuban Link, were up at Shade 45 the other day and ripped it. Again, who actually freestyles these days I don’t know, but the shit was fire. Peep the vid, and then if you’re into it download the mp3 of their “Bangout” joint here, a diss towards Fat Joe (endorsed, of course, by Curtis).
New York, NY (April 23, 2008) – KRS-One, Illinois State Representatives John Fritchey (D-11th) and David Miller (D-29th) got together in Chicago for the Stop The Violence Conference. Self-construct. From Nahright via Fake Shore Drive.
New York, NY (April 23, 2008) – My new favorite West Coast artists.
New York, NY (April 23, 2008) – Interesting interview with N.E.R.D. below. Here’s the link to the full audio.
New York, NY (April 21, 2008) – Yahoo! Music writer Rob O’Connor clearly doesn’t know what the fuck he’s talking about with his latest List of The Day. Here he waxes idiotic about some of the worst to touch a mic. Granted, he’s on point with a few of them… but even if Will Smith is for the children and Bubba Sparxxx hasn’t lived up to the potential… are they really up there with Fred Durst? Read up on your hip-hop history before you insult the Fresh Prince, man.
New York, NY (April 21, 2008) – Hip-hop in the White House. NY Times Op-Ed mouthpiece Maureen Dowd was feelin like a pimp and jotted down some thoughts about Obama brushing off his shoulder after the most recent debate in Philly with Billary. She keeps the endorsement in check, opting instead to shed some light on how hip-hop might influence this election more than people think. Read:
…It had to be the first time in history that a presidential candidate had a hip-hop moment.
Barack Obama, who says he listens to Jay-Z along with his “old school guy” favorites like Earth, Wind & Fire and the Temptations, alluded to the rapper’s 2003 hit “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” on Thursday to sweep away concerns about his pugnacity.
After conceding that the Philly debate was tough, he brushed the imaginary lint of Hillary, George and Charlie from his shoulders, in a wordless reference to Jay-Z’s lyrics in his anthem about not letting anyone crimp your ride as you cruise from the bottom to the top: “Got some, dirt on my shoulder, could you brush it off for me.”
Eh, I thought Schwarzenegger’s girlie man/economy line was funnier.
New York, NY (April 21, 2008) – I’ll be checkin for this one. Question: Who do you think Pun would be working with today if he were still with us? I would pray for a collaboration with Eminem and Pharoahe Monch. They could rap together over barking dogs and it would be dope. RIP…
New York, NY (April 21, 2008) – Min. Paul Scott penned this exceptional essay for Thug Life Army, a Tupac Shakur tribute site. In it, he takes a look at the years from 1988 – 1992 and tries to understand the fundamental issues that prevented “the revolution” conscious hip-hop promised from ever really taking shape.
I would like ya’ll to read this article, and then listen to the new Nas track “Be A N*gger Too” found here. Listen to what Nas is saying and then recall what you read from Scott. Nas speaks with a kind of round-about approach, bringing the listener what they are used to hearing but delivering it in an almost tongue-in-cheek way; Scott uses a more finite tone in dissecting what happened and what needs to happen. What you have are two people with the same message speaking about it in different ways, a positive footnote for hip-hop. But the question hanging in the air needs an answer: “What are they asking us to do?”
An excerpt from Scott’s essay:
…”The main and possibly the most destructive difference between the conscious movement of 1988- 1992 and today is the "dumbing down" of black culture in an attempt to capture the "gangsta market." Therefore, the over reliance on gangsta themes and the glorification of the "thug/nigga" concept has made the current direction of Hip Hop more European than African. The fact is often ignored that anyone who chooses to conceptualize himself as a "nigga" can never pose a serious threat to the power structure because embedded in the "nigga" concept is a psychological dog collar that prevents the wearer from ever biting his master, despite how loud he may bark.”
In the essay, Scott suggests that hip-hop culture has been influenced by its music and not the other way around, a point I alluded to the other day. By latching onto the music’s message, the culture has allowed itself to sink into a rut that is incongruent with the true themes the revolutionary, “conscious” emcees spoke about. Reading Scott’s article, you begin to fully understand how and why the culture changed, but he, along with Nas, leave the interpretation open about how to go about fixing it.
Nas is asking you to embrace the term, which will in essence, kill it’s meaning. He seeks to end the negativity associated with the term by exposing the fact that there’s dirt on ALL of our hands for it’s existence (i.e. that we all bear some responsibility for racism and the degradation of our culture at large through the perpetuation of the word – amongst other things). Scott, on the other hand, is asking that we look inside the culture itself, to the person, and move beyond the term’s current associations to redefine hip-hop again by understanding the origin of it’s spirit.
At the end of the day, I think that’s all conscious rap ever really tried to do – present situations in a certain light, to energize people to feel good enough about themselves to change their current situation. Gangsta rap, to that end, is akin to premeditated cultural suicide. To put it in terms that might make a little more sense, think of this conscious rap vs. gangsta rap/true school vs. new school argument like the 6 o’clock evening news: Conscious hip-hop makes the news of the culture, gangsta rap merely reports the sensationalized sound bites; one is proactive, the other reactive. I’d say the only action taken by gangster rap is to prevent the news from being heard, thus creating a culture and voice around that program, so to speak.
But… how much do we all hate when the media creates the news for us?
Check out Nas Live in Syracuse and get hype for this record -