Intellectual Hip Hop Commentary

2004-07-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Looking at my ClockLink. It's about that time...

2004-07-27T20:03:00.000-07:00

ClockLink.com, y'all...

Would you think this DJ had a felony?

2004-07-27T19:32:00.000-07:00

By the way, her name is DJ Lady Tribe. Read her interview with Baller Status here.

Keep your privates protected with d_skins.

2004-07-26T13:15:00.000-07:00

Well not your privates-privates, but your private collection of CDs. Just like condoms protect you from VDs, d_skins protect your CDs from scratches. Unlike condoms, you can leave them on the CD whether or not you are playing them...

Watch this commercial.(Windows Media or QuickTime)

It works on CDs, DVDs and video games.

Reading is fun to the mental...

2004-07-26T06:49:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting angle on Hip-Hop literature. Black Artemis wrote a book entitled Explicit Content that looks into the lives of two females emcees, Cassie and Leila. One is all about the fame, the other is strictly about the lyrics. All it takes is one good (meaning bad) record company to split them apart.

You can download the first chapter, and pre-order it if you like it. It's due to hit the stores on August 3, 2004.

Black Artemis also has a FAQ section that is pretty interesting also.

Wecome Back! I know you like that...

2004-07-24T07:33:00.000-07:00

Long time no see!

I followed by boy O-Dub's advice and actually landed a job writing for a (meager) living.

That's cool, but it's kind of like being a vegetarian eating at McDonald's all the time...not really what I want.

Let's eat, shall we?

Masta Ace is retiring to cultivate his M3 Record label.

MC Eiht (Experienced In Hard Thumping) was a year or two away from the "where are they now?" discussion as a permanent resident. (Where is Spice 1?) MC Eiht, I always want to put that "g" in there, recently got a new label and a solo album on the way. I made that sound like "he just got married and got a baby on the way"...

Main Flow is back at it in a solo style and fashion. The album Hip-Hopulation is dropping towards the end of next month. While you're at NobodySmiling.com, check out the fact that Lil' Mo is signing to Cash Money! Move over Hot Boys (Turk and BG excluded), here come Hot Girl!

Excuse me for a second as I get international. Nana King, married to Nana Queen, is going back to his Hip-Hop roots with the new Wanted Death or Alive album. (Have you ever heard of Ras Diddy? Sounds interesting...)

Let me be the first to say: They (the powers that be) are setting up Tim McGraw like they did Elvis. Y'all remember that country song that NWA did way back when? Well, they trying to get the hip-hop/country precedent to Tim McGraw for his tour. The nerve!

Holler atcha boy. Hip-Hop Blogs are here to stay. Hip Hip News at its finest!

Hip-Hop, but it's "hip" related... Durex has been appointed official supplier of condoms and lubricants for the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, this year. (Next year, KY Jelly might sponsor a little something, something...)

This is my 100th post!

2004-06-12T21:42:00.000-07:00

I haven't been on the scene for a while because...who cares? I'm back with a vengence.

I know y'all ain't ready for this website.
It's called Music Plasma. It's "the musical visual search engine", and it does wild things with ANY band name you put into it.

Hit me back and let me know of some of the wild connections it has made. I've spent hours going through it.

(Guess your number is wild, too.)

These fake Pimp Cups should get you "pimp-smacked up"...

And you thought it was only a cuss word. And don't tell me not to go there, unless you have been...(Not Work Safe, until you fully understand what's going on.)

Is J-Lo Hip-Hop since she did that song with Jah Rule? What about the one with R. Kelly? Well, here are the Jennifer Lopez (or is it Jennifer Anthony?) Mark Anthony wedding pictures.

In one last note, here is a web-page that highlights albums that have come under heavy censorship. Hip-Hop is definitely represented with NWA, Ice Cube, Ice-T (Body Count), 2 Live Crew, and the Coup.

The Thug Life Army has Tupac's back...

2004-05-22T11:36:00.000-07:00

The Thug Life Army in on a mission to keep Tupac's Legacy Alive. They recently started the "Anti- Tupac Autopsy Photo Campaign" which is designed to keep the leaked photos off the web out of respect for the fallen rapper and his mother.

Instead, they want sites that have a true desire for representing for Tupac to upload a button onto their site.

"Not a Tupac site but still support the stand taken here? Join the list and show your respect for Tupac. Any site is able to join this list as long as they truely rep and show respect for Tupac and his estate."

If you don't know, now you know...

2004-05-22T11:23:00.000-07:00

I came across an international Hip-Hop magazine while trolling around the web today.

FEED Magazine is based in Canada, but is distributed to the U.S. and worldwide.

As of this post, Issue #9, Music: The New Cotton, in on the shelves.

It's full of intellectual hip-hop commentary if I might saw so myself...

WTF, New York? WTF, Hot 97? WTF in general...

2004-05-18T17:19:00.000-07:00

Sado-Masochism and Hip-Hop have finally crossed right where I can see them.

Hot 97 got this contest called Smackfest 2004 where two contestant go smack for smack.

The rules are:
No wind-up/foot movement.
Must be open-hand.
No eye/ear contact.
Can't move non-smacking hand away from your back. (Like the pivot foot in basketball.)
No bleeding.
First to give-up, loses.

Ouch! Here it is for your sadistic pleasure...
Day 1 (Windows - Real Media)
Day 2 (Windows - Real Media)
Day 3 (Windows - Real Media)
Day 4 (Windows - Real Media)
Day 5 (Windows - Real Media)
Day 6 (Windows - Real Media)
Day 7 (Windows - Real Media)

(It kinda defeats the point to win the tickets to the Summerfest 2004 Concert and your ears are ringing before you got there. Google got some related links full of hilarious commentary.) (Spotted at Attu sees all. Warning: not safe for work)

Go to this page for more cool Hot 97 exclusives like the Mason call-in interview plus some more goodies.

JD owns a vodka that will help him keep Janet!

2004-05-14T21:45:00.000-07:00

Jermaine Dupri caught me totally of guard with this one!

He owns a vodka company, 3Vodka. The vodka is distilled from soy bean, contains zero carbs, and is endorsed by the American Vegetarian Association!

This is one of those moments where I have a flashback of when I was watching CB-4 way back when. I was sitting in front of the TV with the feeling that, "Although this is a movie, weird stuff like this is about to happen like this in the future." The future is now ladies and gentlemen, the future is now... (spotted at The Different Kitchen)

Franz Ferdinand goes blow for blow with Eminem's security guard!

2004-05-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

I'm not totally familiar with Franz Ferdinand, but a lot of blogs I read make them out to be like God or something.

Well, they got into an official altercation with Eminem's bodyguard. How gangsta is that?

(I hope Em don't up and end his/their career...y'all know he's been on a roll lately.) (spotted at body glitter is sooo five years ago)

White men can jump and...

2004-05-13T06:46:00.000-07:00

white girls do get crunk! (spotted at Catchdubs.com)

Some weird links...

2004-05-11T15:17:00.000-07:00

Gollum of LOTR raps.

Watch these cartoon characters SHAKE IT!

Check out the rap in this Zelda commercial.

There is another poetry genre in the makings: Gangster Haikus.

Wiggaz...

2004-05-11T15:10:00.000-07:00

Why shouldn't they have a website?

Some people skateboard, and...

2004-05-11T14:58:00.000-07:00

Some people skateball!

The Streetcarver: literally the BMW of skateboards.

How you like that?

Some people go too far...

2004-05-11T14:52:00.000-07:00

This website is dedicated to two people that black comedians have a field day on. You know those people who shouldn't get interviewed by the news?

Meet Bubb Rubb & Lil Sis. This site is so funny that it's not funny...

Wooo wooo!

Kanye West...gotta love him.

2004-05-09T17:40:00.000-07:00

Well, not really. But I came across this song he did over the beat he did for Lil' Kim. The moral of this 1 minute 42 seconds is: Cash don't rule everything in the land of trading and bartering...if you know what I mean. (spotted at Phorilla)

Halle Berry fans STAND UP!

2004-05-09T17:16:00.000-07:00

I remember that there was a scandal about who was going to be Cat Woman in some lame Batman movie a while back. Not to worry...

The beautiful Halle Berry is going to lend her "talents" to the character and give it something we can feel. It opens on July 23, 2004.(spotted at blackfilm.com)

A quick synopsis: Halle Berry is going to give a new meaning to the phrase "Cat got your tongue?"

Do yourself a favor, and view the trailer. (These are in Hi-Res or Super Hi-Res where available: Real Player - Quicktime - Windows Media)

News Brief

2004-05-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

Y'all won't see it coming, and I won't get the credit for predicting it, but... One day across the pond, Hova is going to be Knighted like Elton John . (Feelin' that rhyme, ain'tcha! He can use it if he wants to, I got more...)

I wish I got feedback like this on the things I post. But then again, maybe I don't...

Haven't most of us grown out of our Source/XXL/Rap Pages magazine reading days? Described by its Editor-In-Chief (sounds threatening, don't it?) as being "the Hip-Hop Newsweek", this new mag might be right up our Ave.

You go to a club, you hear shots, unfortunately someone dies, the club closes and opens under a new name. (Repeat.) It's kind of sad that I'm becoming more and more desensitized by this, but I feel like violence in Hip-Hop is the reflection of its environment and not the other way around.

Like father, like son... Gives a whole new meaning to "spitting image".

See... The auto industry is about to attempt to take the fun out of pimpin' your ride. (Does that make your ride a ho? Hmmm.)

Hip-Hop from the "Dirty, Dirty" is finally getting a proper documentary. (I just hope they wearing clean draws.)

Here is some more weird stuff I've come across...

2004-05-06T11:55:00.000-07:00

I love to see the influence that Hip-Hop and Black people have on what you can find on the internet. With that being the case, here is some links of interest:

Did you know Dave Chappelle has a skate-boarding video game? It's called Skate Bored. I couldn't get it to work, so I don't know how good it is...

This Michael Jackson Soundboard is hilarious. What's even more funny is the fact that someone used it to do prank calls!

You all know what happens when a person who beat-boxes and the other person plays the harmonica, right? Click here to find out!

Here's another Human Beat Box. It's 6 minutes long, but the last two minutes is worth it!

Who said they wanted some Mashups? Oh... Well, here are some anyway.
1) 'A SLIM McSHADY' Eminem / Wings Without Me / Silly Love Songs.
2) 'TURN OUT THE LIGHT SLAVE AND GIMME SOME RHYTHM' Nelly Furtado / Grace Jones Turn Out The Light / Slave To The Rhythm
3) 'GIRLS DON'T STOP TIL THEY GET ENOUGH' The Beach Boys / Michael Jackson California Girls / Don't Stop Til You Get Enough
(spotted at Go Home Productions)

Check out this flash music video for The Coup's song Ride The Fence. (spotted at Black Moustache)

Just what I wanted for Christmas: The Beastie Boys Action Figures!

Got any friends who think they got lyrical skills, but really don't? Point them to the Rhymerator...

What do you get when you mix Super Mario with "booty music"? Mack Daddy Mario is something you have to see for yourself...

He's from the East Coast, Faaaaar East Coast. Check out these Y2Khai videos by this "One Loc'ed Out Asian".

The next time you feel a little "outside of the rap circles", read these "proper translations" to get a better understanding of the rap songs you listen to. (spotted at Something Awful)

Y'all remember Sho Nuff from that movie with Bruce Lee Roy? Well, this isn't exactly him, but it's funny anyway.

Here's a parody of Ludacriss' song "Stand Up" entitled "Fall Down" by 50 Bent.

Check out this 2Pac album cover by Gregory Manchess. It's from a series called "The Greatest Album Covers That Never Were". 100 of the "greatest" artists produce album covers for their favorite artists. Here one for Snoop by Larry Vigon. See the entire gallery by clicking here.

Check out this flash video for Schooly D's song "Hoochie" .

And last, but not least...how does he do it?

Finally some Hip-Hop News in my neck of the woods...

2004-05-05T10:07:00.000-07:00

Young Buck is seriously putting Nashville on the map. Everybody might not be proud of that fact, but Straight Outta Cahville is going to blow simply because of the recognition the 50 Cent/G Unit machine generates. Hopefully Young Buck's lyrical prowess will carry this outing to its own destiny.

Well, Young Buck did his video shoot in the part of Nashville the locals call, "Out South". (As opposed to "Out North".) [Note: I hope this is the only time you see Young Buck's picture next to Janet Reno's. In any other setting, it would spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E!]

I heard on the radio that Young Buck was doing a Video Shoot Afterparty/Lloyd Banks Birthday Party at the Boots Reverb club on Nashville's Printers Alley. It was talked about in context of the fact that gun violence (two hours after G Unit left) left one dead and another wounded. A guy got tossed out of the club earlier that night and came back to shoot the dude he was arguing with. Although it had nothing to do with the parties, it got linked and actually caused the owner to not want to have another R&B (of all things!) event there. Sad, but true.

What tripped me out was the radio personality saying things to the effect of, "Why y'all have to do that at Buck's party? He was nice enough to bring some famous people to Nasville, and y'all thank him like this? That's wrong! If you got beef, either leave it at home or stay home!" I'm thinking, "Like the people who would do something like this are listening and taking heed. Like people don't get shot in the hood everyday. G Unit wasn't even around, and it had nothing to do with them anyway. Basicly, the problem is much deeper than this isolated event, so address that or shut up."

What's your take on this situation or one like this?

Snoop's got a new Hip-Hop Boxing Game coming out!

2004-05-05T04:10:00.000-07:00

Yes, you've heard it right.

Sony Pictures Mobile is developing a boxing game where Snoop is the main opponent. Picture Mike Tyson's Punch Out with Snoop as Tyson.

With a neck as long and as skinny as his, I can't really see him being a formidable boxer. But if True Crimes is any indication, you don't stand a chance.

(Full story here.)

Sick humor at its sickest...

2004-05-05T04:07:00.000-07:00

This website is so into itself, it's almost believable:

MC Hawking's Crib.

At least I hope this dude isn't into rap. Once you learn a little more about Stephen Hawking, you'll see what I mean...

What's up with Snickers?

2004-04-29T16:11:00.000-07:00

Every since Snickers came out with an Snickers Almond, I've been dying to buy a King Size Snickers Almond!

But noooooo. . .they want to make a King Size Snicker Hazelnut! What? Who is Hazel? And why would I eat her nuts?! (Seriously though, I've never seen the regular sized one in the stores, let alone the King Size one.)

Man, I'm P-Oed! Back to the Hip-Hop related links! (Makes me want to go and have a Snickers Cocktail, or something...)

Kanye West "2 Words Video

2004-04-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

Check it out!

Is it hot or not?

This is F-U-N-N-Y!

2004-04-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

The Lil Jon Soundboard, as narrated by David Chappelle. (Spotted at Pop Life)

Okaaaaay, so Rakim

2004-04-29T10:06:00.000-07:00

got arrested at the Ghostface Concert on something about child support...

Did y'all forget about this?

Michael Jackson and children is one issue, but...

2004-04-29T09:19:00.000-07:00

Michael Jackson's Thriller video and Legos is a different kind of funny...

Does this Lego version do the classic original justice? You decide!

While you're at it...check out Lego Lario Land.

(Spotted at Legos Goes To Hollywood)

Your favorite fighting game characters do a cover of...

2004-04-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

Hey Ya by Andre 3000! (Spotted at Global Conspiracy)

It's a classic!

Watch this video...

2004-04-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

Jadakiss featuring Nate Dogg, "Time's Up". (Spotted at Rap Dirt)

Is it hot or not?

Whatcha really know 'bout the Durty Soooouth!

2004-04-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

You have to read Hick-Hop: Hip-Hop Meets the Hollow to truly understand songs by Delivery and The Kuntry Killaz like: Hillbilly Gangstas, Country Boys Can't Survive (obviously inspired by 2Pac), and the ubiquitous Pimpin' On Pennies.

But if you want to keep it really real, listen to Untitled and Untitled 2 collabos by renowned mountain music fiddler Dirk Powell and Virginia Hip-Hop artist DanjaMowf (here's a piece of his lyrical flow). I'm feeling those two untitled joints! Now that's durty, durty...

(Spotted at the NPR website)

Check out the X Plastaz: Representing the Massai from Tanzania, Africa.

2004-04-27T13:03:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to broaden you Hip-Hop horizons, I'm going to feature some more African Hip-Hop in this post.

This go around check out Tazanian Hip-Hoppers X Plastaz. This six member collective in comprised of three brothers, a traditional swahili singer, and two younger siblings. They are representing Massai Hip-Hop to the fullest!

Msimu kwa msimu is their latest video. (Real Player or Windows Media Player)

Aha! is a close as you can get to traditional Massai culture without going there! Peep the storyline in this video. (Real Player)

Ushanta reached the top of Tanzanian video charts back in January 2003. (DSL or Modem)

Bamiza is a song recorded live in '97 that later became a video in 2000. Rough rugged and raw!

I want to also take a listen to two songs that are a product of an exchange program that span Tanzania (X Plastas) to South Africa (Mr Devious & EJ) to Holland (2Tall & Skate the Great). Bicoastal? Try International!

Y'all aint ready for Day in the Life!

Then I gotta hit you with the Round Table!

In the U.S., rappers from more rural areas tend to emulate the city rappers' bling-bling, and few of the mainstream rappers from the big cities (NY, LA, CHI, ATL, etc.) got enough bling for everybody. What I like about international Hip-Hop is that most of it is still used for social commentary. Kind of like The Message back in the day, many international hip-hoppers are telling it how they see it.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that...

2004-04-25T15:12:00.000-07:00

First off, read Professa RAP's Working Hip-Hop Chronology compiled by Russell A. Potter, Ph.D. It's an interesting time-line because is shows the progression of African-American music from 1920 to 1993. Sure there is much more to our music than what's in the time line, but it's an interesting read none-the-less. I wish it would continue after 1993 because it makes it look like Hip-Hop stopped progressing after Dre's Chronic album-maybe it did... After you read it, take this quiz:

1) What year did Afrika Bambaataa DJ his first party? Where was it?

2) What year was the first black-owned radio station founded? What was it's name? Who founded it?

3) Who were "The Prisonaires"?

4) Name the artists and song that became the first west coast rap on wax.

5) How does "the Signifying Monkey" bridge the gap between ancient African storytelling and Hip-Hop?

Hip-Hop is more than a fad, it is a culmination of African-American cultural history and is influenced by much more than just "Black people". From the early recordings of blues to the emergence of Jamaican musical styles to the improvements and changes of technology to the people who dared to bend the rules, Hip-Hop is a musical phenomenon that will hopefully look at it's current state of disarray as a learning experience. (Spotted at Seditionists.org)

Next, it's great to be young and/or old enough to appreciate these Hip-Hop Icons do what they do best. (Spotted at Global Hip-Hop)

Here's an interesting read about how Hip-Hop Entrepreneurs can't stop, won't stop. It's one thing to loaf on somebody else's job, but when it's your own creation, you got to do it big. Check out what they said about Devin Lazerine of Rap-Up.com. (Spotted at Entrepreneur Magazine)

Here is another web page that about Hip-Hop history. It's more focused on the culture and aspects of Hip-Hop than its place in American History. No quiz this time... (Spotted at JahSonic. There's an interesting blog there, too.)

Too bad this is what you get when you mix Philly's 76ers with one of my favorite music genres: "Hip Hop". The doo-rag makes this mascot offically comical to me. Maybe it's just me over-rationalizing, but shouldn't a hare (rabbit) be able to dunk without a trampoline? I couldn't talk about Philly's mascots without mentioning the Philly Phanatic, now could I? (Spotted at NBA.com)

How come nobody told me about...

2004-04-22T22:00:00.001-07:00

Soul Plane?

Starring Kevin Hart, Tom Arnold, D.L. Hughley, Method Man, Monique, And Snoop Dogg. It's like Snoop Doggy Fizzle Televizzle meets Airplane: The Movie.

(Spotted at Blunts, B-Movies, and Dreams)

Got potential...

Taking comedy to a "whole nuther" extreme is the Wayan Brothers' (Marlon and Shawn) movie White Chicks. (I'll just let you watch the trailer for yourself...)

(Spotted at Blunts, B-Movies, and Dreams)

Hobbits and Hip-Hop...

2004-04-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

Not a good mix. (kontrabandcontent.com)

Synopsis: Beastie Boys meets Lords of the Rings.

Hip-Hop has made it back to the origin of music.

2004-04-22T18:39:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to cover this aspect of Hip-Hop for a while now. Hip-Hop in America has many musical influences. It's foundation is the blending of many different styles, but we have long since gottem away from that. The originator, whatever part of the U.S. they camed from, didn't have this Hip-Hop stereotype/limitation to live up to. They were able to blend R&B, Rock, Classical, House Disco, you name it...

The origins of music always lead people back to Africa. Even the people who hate Africans and African-Americans either have to confess or blatantly lie about the influence Africa's many cultures had on rhytms and musical styles.

Hip-Hop is the latest and greatest form of music, and Africa has been taking it and reworking it into the fabric of it's culture. When I travelled around Senegal and Gambia between '98 and '03, I saw Hip-Hop quickly take over reggae and the dominant form of non-traditional music.

Although a few people were trying to live up to the fake image of American rappers, most rappers were musicians who actually saw Hip-Hop as a form of social experession. I remember listening to the unedited versions of 2Pac singles on the radio and thinking, "That's what I'm talking about...music the way the rapper did it." Hearing "Dear Mama" and "Hail Mary" in the context of Africa was powerful.

The spot to see is AfricanHipHop.com.

Read about Jazzman Olofin from Lagos, Nigeria.

Check out Charlie Dark's musical revolution Blacktronica. He's taken music in the direction it should have stayed in since Hip-Hop inception. It's his way of saying, "Thanks, but No Thanks" to the way the music industry in America/"Great Britian" has tried to pidgeon-hole black people.

Here's a video for PNB's (Pensée Negre Brute) Rappel

Guess what? There's a lot more to Hip-Hop than what's going on in our neck of the woods...

Check this out...

2004-04-21T22:00:00.000-07:00

This guy would beat Jabari on that Dance Dance Revolution video game he likes to play...

With one leg! (Literally) (spotted at kontrabandcontent.co.uk)

Where are they now?

2004-04-21T18:33:00.000-07:00

Y'all remember watching the Alvin and the Chipmunks cartoon early Saturday mornings? I remember getting giddy listening to the theme song (no homo) and settling down to see what my boys were going to get into this time...

Back then I didn't think it was too weird that they were actually able to talk to David, but I didn't think nothing of Jon talking to Garfield. (But it was weird that Garfield could understand him, but Jon couldn't understand Garfield, but I guess you need telepathy for that...I digress.)

I'm pretty sure that Alvin and the Chipmunks may have died in some alley a couple of years ago, but here is their gangsta rap biography. (I'm going out on a limb and saying that this is pretty good...in a scary way.)

Do you have your "Eye Bling" yet?

2004-04-19T22:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't see this being a inner-city "black thing".

I can see somebody laying the mack down already:

Dude: "Damn, baby! Let me holler at you for a second!"
Chick: "What you want?"
Dude: "You got diamonds in your eyes...and-"
Chick: "That's a heart."
Dude: "What?! Yeah, whatever... Can I-"
Chick: "See? Look right here..."
Dude: "Daaaaaamn. That's nasty! What the f**k wrong with you?"

Next girl:
Dude: "You got hearts in you eyes...and-"
Chick: "That's a sty fool! See? Look right here..."
Dude: "Daaaaaamn. That's nasty! What the f**k wrong with you?"

(Well it made me laugh...)

Celebrity-Cash Anyone?

2004-04-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

This is the ONLY way a black person will be on any American currency!

Read about it here.

They know they should have put 2Pac on the 2 Dollar Bill...

Online Hip Hop Games

2004-04-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

Hip-Hip Q-Bert is just what is sounds like. The Old School viedo game background music reminds me when I used to play 40 hours of Nintendo a week-end.

You saw it coming...

2004-04-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

Derek Watkins, aka Farnsworth Bentley, has a website.

Mr-Bentley.com

With the thugged out direction Hip Hop has been taking in pop culture lately, I guess we need Mr. Bentley to balance that none-sense out. I know, two wrongs don't make a right, but... Ok, there is no buts to this one.

When I watched the cartoon, it reminded me of a bad dream where everything was familiar. I was waiting for the part where somebody's head exploded or something to make me jump in my seat. (No I'm not on any prescription drugs...)

When everybody is carrying around high-priced umbrellas, I'll know that Hip Hop is metamorphasising into a new music genre. Dissertation on beats, huh?

Y'all ain't ready, but I got to do it to you anyway!

2004-04-12T10:09:00.000-07:00

I'm laughing as I post this. The funny stuff in in the bold font.

You remember when I did the post on bastard pop right? Just scroll down a little or look in the archives. You gotta see these video/cartoons from Liquid Generation.

What if Saddam Hussein was Andre 3000 in the Hey Ya video? I swear you'll be singing Hey Allah at least once after peeping this. On a related note, check out this Super Bowl Half-time Show featuring Michael Jackson, J-Lo, Britney Spears, and Saddam covering Eminem's Lose Yourself.

What if the cast from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy did their rendition of 50 Cent's P.I.M.P.? (I already warned you that you weren't ready!)

Bonus: (Not Safe For Work...unless you are the boss.)

Two words: Whose BaDonkaDonk? 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5

And (for a little balance) for the ladies I present: Whose Crotch? What blog said we don't deal with gender? I do... (OK, maybe that was said in poor taste. I'm sorry.)

Here is what I like to call the "Plenty of Tig Ol' Bitties", Uncensored, Uncut version of 50 Cent's P.I.M.P video. So don't lose your job, your spouse, or grow your kids up too fast off of this one. Real Audio: Lo - Mid - Hi Windows Media: Lo - Mid - Hi

Happy Easter from Intellectual Hip Hop Commentary and...

2004-04-11T17:54:00.000-07:00

Easter B!

You know you gangsta when you buy your kids the...

2004-04-08T11:43:00.000-07:00

Gangsta Rap Coloring Book.

Aye Jay Morano owns(?) Janky Industries and produced this coloring book featuring 18 pages featuring Snoop, Eazy E, and Schooly D, among others.

Yes, you can get it at WalMart.com...

He's also made a connect-the-dots book for Indie Rock.

Deep. (spotted at: Extra-Medium.net)

Riddle me this... Paris Hilton Does Hip-Hop?

2004-04-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

Update (4-07-04): I noticed a lot of people were coming to this site from google by searching "gizzelle won g" and similar searches: "won g featuring gizzelle", "paris hilton in hip hop video", etc., etc.

So I started wondering: "Exactly who is this Gizzelle chick?" Her name is actually "Gizelle" (with one "z"), and she had a hit single last year called"Falling for You". I've never heard it. Here is another (bad) picture of what she looks like...

Here is the original post, already in progress:

I had some major insomnia last night, so I happened to catch something that didn't seem real at first.

On BET Uncut, which I didn't know came on on Friday mornings, featured a video by this wack rapper named Won-G featuring this funny-looking singer named Gizzelle.

What threw me for a loop is the fact that the main video ho was none other than Paris Hilton! I mean she in it trying to dance, and look sexy, and... whatever she does. He even got to lay in the bed with her and put his hand on her ass!

If anybody could get me some more information on this video, it would be greatly appreciated. If dude don't blow up on this, he simply wasted her time...

Which makes me wonder: Why was she in this video? Did she owe him a favor? Did she lose a bet? Does he have a bribe hanging over her head? Hmmm... I say that because I'm prety sure that she could have been in any prominent artist's video in any genre of music with the controversy and notoriety she has following her now.

(This dude beat me to blogging about it, and there's also a mention of this coupling here.)

Jay-Z vs. Prince: Stop Playing!

2004-04-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

I know you've been anxiously following my Jay-Z remix posts, right?

Jay-Z is one the best who ever did it, and Prince...is Prince. (What?)

Somebody has pulled something together for the Jay-Z fans who like Prince and the Prince fans who like Jay-Z and those fans who love them both.

The Purple Album.

I you love me, and I know you do, please answer these three questions for me:

1) Who did this?

2) What songs did they use for the different mixes?

3) Why do you say you love me and then play with my emotions like this? (Humor, people... Have a sense of one...)

Holla back!

Random Hip-Hop Memory: Half-Baked Conspiracy Theory - The Show Lyrics

2004-04-04T17:30:00.000-07:00

Do you remember when Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew came out with The Show in '85?

Of course you do... Well on the way in to work tonight I had an unexplained flashback. *the scene blurs into the flashback*

I was about 11 and it was the summer of '86. (We still get music late in the South!) I was at my grandmother's house in Winona, MS with about 5 or 6 of my cousins. The two oldest ones were about 15-16, and they were in a heated discussion with the rest of us. I'm going to call them John and James to protect the ignorant. Here is an exerpt of our conversation already in progress:

John: Yeah, y'all shouldn't be listenin' to dat song!
James: Yeah, it's duh Devuh's music! Dey worshippin' da Devuhhh!
John: See, dat song is 'bout how dey got fed up wit' God 'n went straight into de arms of de Devil...
James: *wide-eyed with his neck poked out* Dey sold their souls to da Devuhhh!
(Everybody's getting spooked.)
John: Let me tell 'em, let me tell 'em now! You see, money is de root of all e-vuh...
James: Yup! *still wide-eyed*
John: *focusing on individuals* When you get a whole buncha money like dat, what happens?
(Everybody searching for answers.)
James: You spend it!
John: *focusing on individuals* 'N what else?
(Everybody's looking around searching for answers.)
James: You get pussy!
(Everybody's scrambling ready to run out the room!)
John: Boy! Where Grandma at? Maaaan, how you gonna say dat out loud like dat?!
James: *blank expression*
John: Anyway... You end up wantin' more and more. But God isn't 'bout worldly possessions. Dat's when de Devuh come and-
James: *pointing his finger* Snatch y-
John: Shut up! Snatch you up wit' him. See, y'all know how they be like, "Oh, oh, oh my GOD! Did you get it? Oh, oh, oh my GOD! Did you get it?", right? (Everybody knodding.) Well, dat's dem askin' God for riches. 'N when God didn't provide dat to dem, dey went straight to de Devuhhh!
(Everybody spooked again.)
James: 'N den dey-
John: *punching James in the shoulder* Dang, James! You done said enough now! Anyway, y'all heard dat man say, "6 minutes, 6 minutes, 6 minutes Doug E. Fresh you're on", right? (Everybody like, "Yeah...") Well, that's 6-6-6 the mark o' da Devuhhh! That's how they sliiiiid dat in dere!

I heard dat, I mean that, before I actually had the chance to break down the song. But back then all you had to say was "The Devil" in the right tone of voice and everybody would be shook. It's like when we used to scared of Bloody Mary. (When was the last time you said that three times in front of a mirror with the lights off? You still scared...)

Anybody else got overheard some stupid conspriacy theories about Hip-Hop? Drop me a comment.

50 Cent vs. 50 Shekel (Yes, you read it right...)

2004-04-02T19:52:00.000-08:00

Roughly a year ago in blogger days I posted something about the MC Hammer impersonating MC Kommier. If you missed it, please do yourself a favor and check out these two posts.

Well, 50 Cent might be a little shook by this 50 Shekel guy. I mean, I've never heard 50 try to dis him or anything... I can see the mixtape now: G-Unit vs. Jew-Unit, Kings of New York.

50 Shekel felt he needed to continue the legacy of 2 Live Crew's counterparts, you guessed it, the 2 Live Jews.

Once you see a live performance of "In the Shul" (56k or DSL), you'll understand why 50 Cent doesn't have the heart to dis him...

Simply put, this boychick is a mensh whose shpiel is more than shmooze. His shtick is a mitzvah to his chevra that makes his Jew-Unit move like when they shuckle to the daven in the shul.

Have you heard of Bastard Pop?

2004-04-02T14:37:00.000-08:00

I was trolling around the Tofu Hut and noticed something that sounded interesting: The 50 Cent/Devo "Whipsta". It's what you get when you mix 50 Cent's Wansta with Devo's Whip It. Listen to it and try to imagine 50 Cent dressed like Devo with some glasses with tape on the bridge of the nose doing the stiffest rendition of Wansta. That would have made him a wanksta!

That got my curiosity juices flowing, so I took a trip to the DinBot blog...

He's part of a remix culture that makes music called: bootlegs, mashups, or bastard pop. You know, take a accapella from here and an instrumental from there and wallah. Wired magazine breaks it down for you in this article.

Here's another one that I hated to love: Bathroom Grammar. Imagine, if you will, Nelly rapping the lyrics to Country Grammar while the English Beat back him with the Mirror In The Bathroom instrumental. I tried not to like it, really I did...really. I can see the video now. Nelly running through the Australian Outback while the English Beat is hunting him down in a beat-up Jeep. He runs up on his aboriginal crew and everybody rocks out by the fire in the middle of the night... Yeah...

Oh! I got some Bastard Pop videos for you, too! (Yaaaaay!) Check out Fool's Gold (From the Block). Light on the L.O.X, heavy on the J-Lo and Rock (I'm not familiar with the band). It's a wild orgy with Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck providing the visuals, L.O.X. with the support, and that rock band doing what they do best... If this came on MTV back in the day, I would have been on it!

Update: Ian at Notes from a Different Kitchen provided me with this info:

"The band is the Stones Roses, a much beloved psychadelic britpop band at the nexus of the madchester, "baggy" indie rock-acid house music explosion in early 90's Britain." (Joey Pinkney: I had to read this a few times to soak all that in! Damn!)

"The band imploded after protracted legal problems with their record label and the disappointment that followed the release of their long-delayed and higly anticipated sophomore album." (Joey Pinkney: explode is to "blowing up" as implode is to ___?)

Then there's Take Me Out (For a Milkshake). Once again, I'm not up on my rock like I used to be when I watched MTV in the early '80s, but we all know Kelis. Kinda creepy... I wonder what Nas has to say about her moonlighting?

Speaking of creepy... You know how bad dreams have a way of bringing a lot of bad stuff from your memory together?

Videos courtesy of Thriftshop XL.

Don't throw stones if you live in a glass house...

2004-03-30T21:30:00.000-08:00

Y'all remember my post about that short video clip called Tokyo Breakfast?

Well, I didn't know David Chappelle had something very similar to Tokyo Breakfast in one of the episodes of the David Chappelle Show. (I should have known, though...)

It's a skit called The Niggar Family.

Tokyo Breafast is like a Toyota Camry to The Niggar Family's Lexus ES300. Same concept, one is "more refined" than the other one. I say that because David Chappelle incorporated more irony and satire into the humor of his clip.

But there is one thing that is said about comedy: it is funny when there is a foundation of truth in it... And I'll just leave that at that.

Japanese Hip Hop: Revisited

2004-03-28T17:37:00.000-08:00

I've learned a lot about Hip Hop as it relates to Japan, but I'm sure there's plenty more to learn. Maybe I'll get to go there one day...who knows?

Anyway, I've found a lot of additional information about Hip Hop in Japan that you might find interesting.

Some guy named Kozo Okumra has compiled a tremendous amount of information on Japanese Hip Hop that is easily accessible to English speaking Americans. He looks at the history in terms of dancing. It hasn't been updated since '97, but it's still a good study.

In a previous post, I was talking about how Hip Hop started with the showing of the movie Wild Style. Okumra goes a little further back in time and explains how "soul dancing" (introduced by shows like Soul Train in the '70s) primed Japan for the urban street culture being produced by African-Americans. Then came the movie, Flashdance, which had some Hip Hop Dance elements. So by the time Wild Style came out, the Japanese youth were already hungry in what was happening.

He also explains that the Japanese youth had a hard time understanding what was being said by Hip Hop artists, and they began to emulate what they saw. That would explain this.

4clubbers.net has a feature on J-Hop that is pretty interesting. It gives the history on Hip Hop artists in Japan such as DJ Krush, DJ Kensei, DJ Honda, De La Ken, DJ Beat and the Illimatic Buddha MC's. It focuses on two of Japan's top DJs: DJ Krush and DJ Honda. Here's a DJ Krush Interview.

Alecia McKenzie wrote an interesting article on how record labels have caught wind of the popularity of Hip Hop in Japan and are staking their claims on some of Japan's prominent artists. She mentions the jazz influenced Loop Junktion, "Japan's Missy Elliot" Ai, and Rip Slyme (the first to go platinum in Japan in that genre).

The Sample Kings has a collection of pictures from their foray out East of which these are my two favorite **not safe for work**. (I know, I know, that's not Hip Hop, but OUCH!)

Curtis Harmin wrote an article entitled Japanese Hip-Hop that answered a question that I had. Are there any Black People in Japan doing Hip Hop? Harmin talks about the first Black-owned club called CLEOS that sounds like a description of every Hip Hop club I've been to-except for the fact it's in Tokyo... Sex, fights, and Hip Hop. What a mix. This club created a divide in the Japanese Hip Hop community because the locals couldn't handle the rawness (if you let Harmin tell it).

Here's a DJ Curtis Harmin interview. (So that's how you get to DJ in Japan...I'm jealous!)

Key-Kool is like a correspondant giving an in-dept on-the-scene-view of what's happening in Japan's Hip Hop community.

All bombhiphop.com articles came from here.

When I read this article, I thought that the same could be said of suburbanites of any color here in the U.S. You know the deal, got all the Hip Hop gear and no knowledge of Hip Hop's origins...

Have you ever heard of Osric University ("Where a student becomes a scholar"). It is "a unique non-accredited degree-granting institution that conducts nearly all courses via the internet". Why did I mention it? Because it offers a class in Japanese Hip Hop Studies, of course!

And last, but not least, we all know that Pimpin Ain't Easy, but for 16,000 yen (under $152!), it can be...

NWA: Nigga Within Asia

2004-03-27T05:43:00.000-08:00

Check out this video clip of Chinese actors making fun of Japanese culture and its affinity for America's Hip Hop Culture: Tokyo Breakfast. (Thanks to Kevin at Global Pop Conspiracy) The word of the day around the breakfast table is the ubiquitous nigga. (clip courtesy of SuperHonda.com by way of a ClubZone.com forum) From what I can gather research-wise, it's actually a pilot for a T.V. show that never made it air back in 2000. I also heard that "it was put together by Mike Maguire and Tom Kuntz (real name?!) who used to be directors and writers for MTV. Now they're big names and doing video production work with the famous Spike Jonze." (Cult of the Dead Cow)

This is a perfect example of how Hip Hop can be used out of context. Although it's exaggerated, it definitely shows the negative effects of the Second Blackploitation Period were going through right now.

Did dude really have to come in with a box of 40s at the end? (Don't answer that...)

Japanese Hip Hop

2004-03-26T20:41:00.000-08:00

In an attempt to be thorough, let me not jump into Japanese Hip Hop with two feet... (Here's an interesting article on Japanese Hip Hop.)

Ian Condry has done some extensive research on Japanese Hip Hop, and he has compile an extremely informative body of facts.

The movie Wild Style hit theatres in Japan in 1983. Some of the breakdancers in the movie promoted the movie by performing in in Tokyo department stores. Shortly after young people in Japan began breaking in Tokyo's Yoyogi Park. Crazy-A was one of the first breakers Now as the leader of Rock Steady Crew Japan, he organizes the annual "B-Boy Park" which happens every August, and draws upwards of 10,000 fans and dozens of groups.

DJs were the next stage for Japanese Hip Hop, and they became prominent by 1985. MCs were the last to come about because of nuances in the use of English as opposed to Japanese. By the late 80s, MCs like Tinnie Punx, Ito Seiko, Vibrastone (led by Chikada Haruo), and Takagi Kan ushered in the completion of Hip Hop as a form of music in Japan.

Nowadays, Japanese Hip Hop draws from its American predecessor, but also stays true to its culture. Todays MCs include: Rhymester, King Giddra (including Zeebra and K Dub Shine, who also have solo albums), Scha Dara Parr, DJ Krush, Tha Blue Herb, Dabo (and other performers with Def Jam Japan).

In a previous post, I mentioned how rappers on Def Jam Japan were imitating the Second Blackploitation Period now being experienced in America. But check out how Kohei Japan explains who he is in contrast to his American counterparts in this Quicktime movie clip of his third verse in the song Hungry Strut.

In 1995, King Giddra came out with Bullet of Truth. This song is a throwback to the socially conscious lyrics of Hip Hop's beginning in the inner-cities of America. Check out this Quicktime movie of a verse that exposes the negative aspects of society. Also of interest would be King Giddra's take on America's 9/11 and it's parallel to the Atomic bombing in 1945. Check out this Quicktime movie.

Hip Hop Trivia Bonus: This song "Ue o Muite Arukoo" sang by Sakamoto Kyuu was a huge hit in Japan in 1961, but it also is the only Japanese song (to date) to reach #1 on the U.S. Billboard music charts in 1963. What rappers have used this melody and for what songs?

(all movie clips courtesy of Ian Condry)

The Bubble Sisters: Blackface in Korea?

2004-03-25T04:41:00.000-08:00

Hashim pointed me to JSmooth's experience with hearing the N word while listening to some Korean rap. Actor/Pop Singer Edison Chen had a guest rapper named MC Yan from LMF (Lazy Motherfuckaz). The group has dis-banded, but MC Yan still got his own line of toys!

Anyway, MC Yan ended his verse with: "..and you better recognize! Niggaaaaas!!". As I read through the comments, it became apparent that the word nigger/nigga does not carry the same weight outside of black culture. A perfect example is the 10 or more white people who thought they were cool enough to say something like, "That nigga's crazy!" or "What's up, nigga?!" or my favorite "That's my nigga!" (Talk about fights...) It holds true in America as it does abroad, the image that is put out there is the one that is untilized.

Then I came across the Bubble Sisters article in KX-Gen.com. Talk about a train-wreck waiting to happen... Four Korean girls in blackface. Here are some pictures I found at, of all places, PimpDaddySupreme.com. (That's a whole other issue... *sigh*) Here's a video from the Bubble Sisters. (spotted at the Urban Box Office)

Olalekan Waheed Temidire, a Nigerian-Canadian who is teaching English in Seoul, South Korea, wrote a very insightful piece about the double standard of racism in Korea in relation to the Bubble Sisters, African American stereotypes in Korean culture, and Korean stereotypes in American culture.

Hm.

Check out Def Jam Japan's listing of "Hot Videos"

2004-03-24T11:30:00.000-08:00

Def Jam Japan... When you go through the Japanese and English selections, you begin to see how our Second Blaxploitation Period (the current state of Hip Hop) is now influencing how others.

Same cars, same concept, same hos...even the same songs! The only difference: a different race. This reminds me of the spanish-language television channel where everyone is roughly the same color - the lightest skinned people in the country.

Don't get me wrong, I've never been to Japan, but...

Their culture is much different from ours and that has drawn the younger people in Japan to mimic American popular culture. Back in the day, they did rock and roll with the Grease-like image. Nowadays, the young people are doing Hip Hop with an East Coast flavor. Once I figured out that Def Jam Japan started in 2000, it made more sense that it was a caricature of what some deem The Death of Hip Hop.

If you are half-way curious or have a sense of humor when it comes to bad translations, use this tool to translate the pages to see what's really going on.

Stay tuned because I'm going to delve a little deeper into Japanese Hip Hop for the next few posts.

Don't fade to Black just yet...

2004-03-22T11:46:00.000-08:00

Remember way back when I covered the first rash of Jay-Z remixes? (You don't? Shame...on you.) Well there's a new rash in town!

Thanks to the Jay Z Construction Set, people with musical abilities ranging from excellent to non-existent are able to be DJ Danger Mouse (light on the Danger, and heavier on the Mouse). It's been getting tons of attention lately.

The download is about 630+ MB and includes the following: nine different variations on the Black Album, over 1200 clip art images, and a couple hundred meg of classic samples and breaks. There's even an offer for the CD-ROM on the website.

The beauty of this project is the fact that it was pulled together from free resources that can be found in different places on the internet. This is a double-edge sword. While some people my terrific music...others make stuff that is simply terrifying!

Straight out of Tajikistan (I've never heard of it either...) comes the Magenta Project. The first song (Threat) almost made me leave, but here are the standouts from this project: Encore, Moment of Clarity, December 4th (kind of sounds like when you're driving between two radio stations), Dust Off Your Shoulder (sounds like Jay doing an 80s wrestling theme song), and What More Can I Say. (Courtesy of SoundClick.com)

I'm really feeling this DJ Snicka dude! It's hard to believe he's using the Jay-Z Construction Set to do this... Check out his snippets for: Change Clothes, PSA (Pimpin' Suckas Allday!), Moment of Clarity (what if Jay was MC Eiht?), Allure, Who You Wit [Bonus] (what if Jay was Loon?). (Courtesy of Snicka.com)

This dude named Mike (which is also his DJ name) mixed Jay-Z with Weezer's Blue Album, hence Jay-Zeezer: the Black and Blue Album! It's the classic case of a white boy that had no idea of what Hip Hop was, read something, and dabbled with the music and fell in love. This is actually a pretty interesting project. So far he got songs for: December 4th/Say it Ain't So, Change Clothes/The World Has Turned & Left, Threat/Undone The Sweater Song, Allure/In the Garage, My 1st Song/My Name is Jonas. This set of songs reminds me of that movie White Man's Burden. If white people were black and black people were white, then maybe it would turn out like this. But then again, some black dude would probably be mixing Eminem with Living Colour.

DJ Merlin from Soul Arc came with The Gold and Purple Album and a head-knocking version of Dirt Off Your Shoulder!

Some dude that calls himself "Freed" on the Get Your Bootleg On forum board should be shot for this rendition of Lucifer! It's almost like satanic spoken word.

But if you ever wonder who would win a musical battle between Jay-Z and Kenny G take a listen and you be the judge. I got my money on Jay, but maybe I'm biased. Here's an attempt to explain why this even exists.

So if you ever wanted to be the Neptunes or Timbaland or Dre or just plain silly, download this and make something of yourself.

Check out Lloyd Banks video for Smile...

2004-03-22T07:06:00.000-08:00

Windows Media or Real Media?

Two quick notes:
1) Will 50 be starting all of G-Unit's videos like this? (Hope not...)

2) This has got to be the hardest Lloyd in the history of people named Lloyd! (Hmmmmm...)

The Death of a Soldiers... (Part 1)

2004-03-21T08:27:00.000-08:00

No, I'm not talking about the soldiers in Iraq. I'll leave the military/political stuff for someone else's blog.

This is about the death of two soldiers in Hip Hop. One in the United States, the other in Africa. Neither one is fully embraced and claimed in the Hip Hop culture.

James Tapp, aka Soulja Slim, was gunned down in front of the house he bought for his mother. No CNN, BET, MTV week-long coverage, just a few mentions here and there... Even the article I site is more concerned with the cost of funerals than the violence of the death. (But it is filled with some interesting statistics...) (courtesy of The Times-Picayune) Here's another article that mentions the death of Soulja Slim in the context of the new trend of having memorial t-shirts made the day people die.

Here are some articles and a video covering Soulja Slim's death.

Y'all musta forgot...about Lamar!

2004-03-21T08:26:00.000-08:00

There has been much debate and controversy as to which rappers are gay in the Hip Hop community.

Although Caushun is "officially" known as the first "gay rapper", Lamar Latrell (Larry B. Scott) has been "out" and about for a long time - 1984!

Y'all better recognize!

(Clip courtesy of Too Much Sexy)

Tell me this video clip isn't real!

2004-03-18T17:18:00.000-08:00

I'm serious!

I would think that Rakim Allah was on crack, but...when a crackhead's teeth bling, they are encrusted with what he call "butter" in the hood! (I counted them for you, he said man 29 times!)

You know how that guy on bum fights got "BUMFIGHTS" tattooed on his forehead? Rakim got his mouth grilled out by that company.

Is he still God Body, or is he Gold Body?

I thought the dentist I wrote about was a shock to my system! How did GoldTeethUSA.com pull this one off?! They got Rakim hostage!

FREE RA-KIM! FREE RA-KIM! (Who got the shirts?)

(He probably hasn't did that album because of this hostage thing...Dre? You got the dough, pay them suckas!)

Did somebody say, "Where can I find a record deal?"

2004-03-17T13:18:00.000-08:00

I came across this site called "NY Where You At .com" that may (and most likely will not) get you that deal you know you deserve.

Your problem:
You can't get your product to the right people...

Their solution:
Send them your wack-I mean-banging tracks and 1) they will let you know where you stand, 2) they will shop you if they think they can profit-I mean-get you signed...

Feedback time:
Only 4-6 weeks...

Your cost:
3 songs, your best picture, and $10 ($5 for producers)...
(plus 2% of whatever deal you happen to get)

Bonus:
Every 6 months you might be one of 12 MCs that will get to be on there $5 mixtape (actually $4.95 or $11.95 outside the US)!

Before you trip up on your untied Tims strings you should know:
1) you should copyright your work before you give it out to people and
2) hustling your music for money works a lot better than getting hustled for your music and your money.

If anyone gets signed like this, let me know. I'm not saying that it can't done, I'm just a little skeptical.

Even Da Band got hustled...and they were on national TV! Remember when they were sitting in that room about to smack Sara for not signing their life away-I mean-that contract quick enough?

This can't be real...

2004-03-17T11:13:00.000-08:00

As you go through the site, you almost wonder, "Why do people go this far in cracking jokes on Black people and their gold teeth?"

The Gold & Diamonds link damn near made me mad because I know people who kind of look like some of these cartoons.

Then the Photos link had picture that looked like somebody went to the club and took pictures in front of a cartoon brick background and a carboard cut out of some white dude. (Why is my man cutting a cake?!)

(I got down to the bottom of that page and thought, "They got some Master P stuff on it, too. This is funny!)

I started thinking, "They threw the Links page to really make it seem real."

The Location page looked like something off of Jay Leno...

I learned something new today at the Travel page: The John Wayne Airport!

I started thinking, "These guys are too old to be pulling off a prank like this. This must be their dads or something..."

I started laughing at the woman with one leg bigger than the other on the Additional Services page...

"This can't be real..." That's what I said as I was laughing to my self until I saw the link the read: "Please click here to visit the main - Cunning Dental Web Site"

Hold up!

That was real and so is this guy! So is his office! (scroll down)

There are 9 dentists in Montclair, California. He's one...

(spotted at: d/blog right about here)

The 213 is back in effect!

2004-03-15T09:27:00.000-08:00

Before the 562 area code in Long Beach, CA, was "the 562", it was "the 213".

Before Snoop, Warren G (not the former president), and Nate Dogg became famous in their own rights, they were "the 213".

Now they are getting back together to reform the group and release an album on TVT entitled "The Hard Way". (That's a throw back the the Blackploitation movie Three the Hard Way.)

Is this a sign that all of their careers are on a down-swing?

Ruff Ryder's Jin featuring Kanye West called 'I Gota Love'

2004-03-15T08:42:00.002-08:00

Just click on the title link and take a peep at the new Jin/Kanye banger. (Holla-Front Forum by way of Rapdirt)

I haven't heard it yet. I'm still at work.

Let me know what you think. Leave a comment (or two).

Don't call it a Comeback...for Pharcyde.

2004-03-15T04:45:00.000-08:00

Pharcyde is coming back. This time around it's only a duo - Imani Wilcox and Romye "Brown" Robinson. Derrick "Fatlip" Stewart and Tre "Slimkid" Hardson left to pursue solo careers. (They're doing an OakTown 357 with the line up. Remember Juicy Gotcha Crazy?)

Along with growth comes change, so don't expect the new album, "Humbolt Beginnings", to be like any of the previous offerings.

Somethings telling me this isn't going to take the world by storm like when they came out with Passing Me By... (article courtesy of Summit Daily News)

Have you heard these songs?

2004-03-14T19:12:00.001-08:00

I like hearing stuff everybody isn't up on. I call it the "OHD Factor" (the On His/Her Dick Factor).

Now, let me define the term I've created for something many people experience. The OHD Factor is based on a ratio: how much you like a song/artist divided by how many other people like that same song/artists.

When the factor is high, you up on something everybody around you isn't. That makes you like that song/artist even more. At this point the ratio is considered to be high.

Once too many people, or even the wrong person, also likes that same artists the ratio starts to get low. No, not Lil' Jon and the Eastside Boyz low. Low as in "out of whack". It is at this point too many people are On His/Her Dick!

Let me share a few songs with you while the OHD factor is still high for me. Why, you may ask, are you sharing this to me? Good question. Short answer: Sharing goes with the territory of being a blogger.

My first selection will be from a rapper known as Rezenebe Nhoj. (That's John Ebenezer spelled backwards...yeah.) He got this song called Suge Shot Pac. (courtesy of SoundClick) I like it because of what he saying and his flow. Plus it's nice and short...

Next up is this dude, Fokissed. I'm going to tell you like this: Any dude that can pull off sounding like 50 Cent, Snoop, and L.L. is pretty impressive. I thought it was funny that, for a white guy, he didn't pull of Eminem very well. Check out You Must Be Mistaken by clicking here. (courtesy of SoundClick)

No, these are not Hip Hop classics, but I like the creativity.

Good point, Snoop...

2004-03-13T11:06:00.000-08:00

I'll step out on a limb and say that Snoop summed up the sentiment of most Black actors/actresses and ALL rappers with the first sentence of this article:

"Snoop Dogg says a rapper knows he's made it as an actor when he's alive at the end of the picture." (Canada's National Post)

We all know how the Black characters always manage to die within the first 15-20 minutes of a movie.

Along with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, Snoop is going to be Huggy Bear in the new Starsky & Hutch movie.

Has anybody died quicker than Q-Tip in Poetic Justice.

Not your average Hip Hop event...

2004-03-13T10:13:00.000-08:00

Hip-Hop Against Racist War is a newly formed group of Hip Hop activists in Durham, NC.

Their purpose is to use Hip Hop to expose the hidden agendas behind warfare.

They are holding a festival in downtown Durham at the Blue Coffee Company "featuring a cypher lounge, a DJ showcase, breakdancing, an open mike and other local and regional acts, including Grupo Capoeira Brasil".

This festival is a part of a series of events leading up to the World Still Says No to War rally and march near Fort Bragg in Fayetteville.

It's not many times where media coverage is given to the non-violent, yet activist nature of Hip Hop. The most you hear about "North Cakalaka" is "born and raised up, pull your shirt off..." (you know the rest).

A proud moment in the life of Intellectual Hip Hop Commentary...

2004-03-11T19:28:00.000-08:00

I don't know how long this will last (especially since I'm conceited enough to post it), but...

I am the only page that pops up when you put this into google.com:

Stacey Dash's dress + Kanye West video

Don't hate, Congratulate!

Sex in the Rap City

2004-03-11T18:52:00.000-08:00

No, Free still hasn't put that whip appeal on AJ! (Free like, "Shiiiiiii...")

[WARNING!! These links may or may not be appropriate to open while at work, while around your children/spouse/parents, or people who are prone to read behind your shoulder! The Adult links have been marked with a ***]

There has been a lot of intercourse between Hip Hop and Porn lately. I'm just here to flesh it out...

Lil' Jon and the East Side Boyz ***signed a deal with Video Team to produce "Lil' Jon and the East Side Boyz American Sex Series."

"The fresh music brings people who are primarily fans of hip-hop to the adult genre," said ***Christian Mann, president of ***Video Team. (That can't be his real name! Ha!)

50 Cent was at the ***Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas. He was ***promoting the deal him and G-Unit and ***Digital Sin inked for the interactive CD Groupie Luv that will allow the viewer to select partners, sexual positions, camera angles, even the dispositions of the women ("naughty" or "nice").

Then there's the new Hip Hop/Porn magazine ***Fish 'n' Grits which is like the love-child of The Source and ***Black Tail.

Did somebody say ***Playboy TV? They have several Hip Hop/Porn shows in the oven.

The first to come was ***Buckwild back in January. To quote the article in this posts' title-link: "The show features mainstream stars like OutKast, Snoop Dogg, Nelly and Busta Rhymes cavorting with a frisky troupe of women called ***the Buckwild Girls, who seem to fall out of their clothes whenever a camera approaches."

The Undisputed DoggFather of Hip Hop/Porn is...(damn, I gave that one away didn't I?)...none other than "the Snoop".

His ***Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle was the best selling porno in 2001 AND the first porno to ever make the Billboard music video sales chart.

The sequel, ***Snoop Dogg's Hustlaz: Diary of a Pimp, became the best selling porno of 2003.

In the words of his pimp-I mean business partner-Larry Flynt (of the ***Hustler empire): "It's been very lucrative for Snoop and us." (I bet it has Larry...I bet it has.)

My question is: Who's really the Pimp, the Player, the Hustler...the industry or the rapper? (It definitely is not the "actresses".)

I've been sitting on this post for a couple of day, but I need to drop it before it gets too old. Hip Hop Logic has a post that points out how well HipHopMucic.com's post dissects the real Hip Hop/Porn connection (plus it has some great comments).

If you have been away from civilization for the past 25 year you need to...

2004-03-11T16:47:00.000-08:00

Check out the new 4 CD release by Hip-O Records/UMe, The Hip Hop Box. (release date: 4-20-04)

This article by Rap News Direct breaks down everything about the CD from the essays included in the CD to history of compiling the songs for the CD to who's going to be on each of the CDs.

Hip-O Records also released The Funk Box in 2000 and The Reggae Box in 2001.

50 Cent: Lesbians Up, Gay Men Down!

2004-03-11T16:30:00.000-08:00

An MTV article spilled the beans in the 50 Cent/Playboy Magazine article in the April issue coming out tomorrow, March, 12, 2004.

He surprises no one with his sincere opinions on homosexuality:

Gay men, no! Gay women, yes!

The shocker is him admitting that his late mother is bisexual.

Not shocking in the sense of, "Oh noooo!" Shocking in the sense of, "For real?!"

Hip Hop Cops: Guilty until proven innocent...

2004-03-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

The Media has finally admitted what Hip Hop insiders have known for years - Hip Hop Cops keep their eye on rappers. (MSNBC article)

The officers of Miami and Miami Beach claim they are protecting rappers from what happened to Tupac and Biggie. (from Mr. Blunt) Rappers and critics know that this is simply racism by another name...

Hip Hop artists such as P. Diddy, DMX, Ja Rule and 50 Cent are under heavy surveillance. To quote the MSNBC article: "Officers in Miami and Miami Beach have photographed rappers and their entourages at Miami International Airport and staked out hotels, video shoots and nightclubs, amassing 6-inch-thick dossiers on rappers and their associates with arrest records in New York state."

Nova Southeastern University law professor and constitutional law expert Bruce Rogow is quoted as saying, "This kind of conduct shows insensitivity to constitutional limitations. It also implicates racial stereotyping."

Former Fat Boys member Prince Markie D hosts a Hip Hop radio show in South Florida's 103.5 FM.

His statement sums it up the best: "There's only a small percentage of rappers that have been involved in criminal activity," Markie D said. "If a police officer is patrolling the neighborhood, making sure everything is safe, that's one thing; but if they're sitting outside your house, just assuming, that's a problem. I don't break any laws and I don't expect them to look at me like I'm gonna break a law."

I got a feeling this will get worse before it gets better.

In related news, Peter Berg is producing and directing a movie about Hip Hop Cops. (from SOHH.com) Peter Berg did "The Rundown" and "The Great White Hype". Hip-Hop Cop's writer, Eric Eason, had this to say about the making of the movie: ""Everybody involved is off the record, because if they reveal themselves, they'll put themselves in the position of possibly losing their jobs. It definitely encompasses the hip-hop world, but it gets into the NYPD and City Hall."

What do you think about the concept of Hip Hop Cops - the movie or the actual police officers?

Bear with me...Part II: MC Hammer vs. MC Kommier

2004-03-10T19:39:00.000-08:00
(Tell me that title wouldn't make for an interesting mix tape?!)

My boy Damien from the VatoBlog sent me a link of this page translated into this page.

Although the translation is terrible, you get to see the similarities of the two album covers side by side. (What's the funniest line in the translation?)

There is a comparison of MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" to MC Kommier's "KENTAIKI" in a 21 second audio file.

You also get a comparison of MC Hammer's "Here comes the Hammer" to MC Kommier's...you guessed it..."Here comes the Kommier" in a 22 second audio file! (Make me want to buy the CD. Anybody know how to hook that up?)

Basically, MC Kommier is to MC Hammer as Weird Al Yankovic is to just about every pop artist.

Check this poster out.

I still need somebody to let me know what the social significance of these songs are...

Bear with me...

2004-03-10T06:01:00.000-08:00

MC Hammer. (from LAUCH: Music on Yahoo)

We all know his history. (from Iceberg Radio)

We all know his impact on EVERY rapper that came after him in the United States. (Insert joke here.)

Now...I'm not accusing you of buying this album, but there's enough of them floating around that you have seen this album cover before. (from Amazon)

But what in the H - E - Double - Hockey Sticks is this? (from the BLACK blog)

The person who can tell me will get to be a guest blogger and post the explanation on this blog! (I know, it's the chance of a life time...)

Is this as funny to you as it was to me? Leave a comment.

Have you heard of these sites?

2004-03-08T10:17:00.000-08:00
This is not the normal subject matter for this blog, but I came across some interesting websites based on the word ghetto fabulous.

Once they caught my attention, they got me curious to the point where I had to speak on them.

I know most people have come across the term "ghetto fabulous". If not, click here while the rest of us continue...

The first site we will visit is: ghettofabulous.com

Have you ever been to hotornot.com? (There's also a "Hot or Not?" for blogs.)

Well, ghettofabulous.com is like a "ghetto fabulous" Hot or Not. A perfect blend of pimp suits, video hoes, terrible fashion, and dudes who think they are cute.

You get to vote on whether or not each picture is one of four choices: ghetto, fabulous, ghettofabulous, or none. Then you are told what everyone else voted by percentage. Interesting.

(Holla at me when you see that "pregant prom dress" or the "helicopter hair-do". Damn!)

On a related note, there is also site like ghettofabulous.com called Rap Hunnies where you vote on the videho caliber of different females. You can also comment on individual pictures. (If you want I good laugh check out their "bottom 10 hunnies". Ha!)

Next up is: ghetto-fabulous.com

It's a Black soap opera set in Harlem updated on the...you guessed it... first and fiftenth of the month.

Started back in 2001 by Timothy "Dise" Thompson, the website was a way for him to tell a story based on his life. (Don't we all live in one soap opera or another?)

Trace magazine gave it a review, and the Source did also.

Right now it's on Episode 40, so you got a lot of catching up to do... But after reading the guestbook, it looks like he hasn't updated it in a while.

(Each episode has its own music, and it scared the hell out me the first time because I wasn't expecting it. Plus I had my speakers turned up way too loud.)

Check them out and let me know what you think.

Same roots, different branch...

2004-03-06T11:41:00.000-08:00

It turns out that there is more to Hip Hop in Canada than Kardinal Official.

Many of the Natives, America's equivalent to "Native Americans", go through the same issues of racism, poverty, disenfranchisement, etc., on their reservations that Black Americans experience in "the ghetto".

Just as Hip Hop gave the Black youth a voice, it is now becoming a powerful tool for the Native youth in Canada.

Groups like Alberta's War Party, Winnipeg's Slangblossom and Ontario's Tru Rez Crue are so popular that Manitoba's aboriginal radio station, NCI, has doubled the airtime it devotes to its hip hop show, Rez Nation.

To quote the article: "The music has gained so much legitimacy in the native community, the Aboriginal Music Awards have even added a category for rap and hip hop."

I just hope they don't go the way of the current Hip Hop: from being a true voice of the under-represented, to mis-representing what's really going on.

Holler if you feel me. (Or even if you don't...)

What a deal!

2004-03-05T14:05:00.000-08:00

IF this rumor is true...

Roc-a-fella has inked a deal with Interscope and also got Kanye West an imprint called Very Good Music and are about to throw not only Common but Pharoah Monche on that imprint!?

Whoa!

Check This Out...

2004-03-05T07:34:00.000-08:00

The new Kanye West video for all falls down featuring Dame Dash's cousin Stacey Dash.

What do you think?

This is how Puffy should have done Da Band!

2004-03-05T06:08:00.000-08:00

Missy Elliot is doing a reality show where 15 hopefuls will COMPETE for the chance at being the star.

The "Missy Elliot Project" has been picked up by UPN will start selecting the cast Sunday in Los Angeles, followed by casting sessions in Chicago (3/10), New York (3/12), Atlanta (3/15), Dallas (3/17) and Arlington, Va (3/19).

(Here is the "eligibility requirements", the "scout sheet", and the "application".)

She's looking for who are basically her (a singer, a rapper, a dancer and all-around entertainer).

If y'all watched Da Band and heard that attempt at an album, you already know that deep down Puffy is kicking himself about the fact that he had to keep all those knuckleheads (and Sara) together.

The show definitely kept my interest, but the music it spawned doesn't. However, it was called Da Band and not Da Individual...so it is what it is.

(Did y'all know that another group on BadBoy dissed Da Band? You got to listen to the song!)

Missy's show should be a lot better. (Has anyone seen Da Band 2?)

Hip Hop Divas 101

2004-03-05T04:55:00.000-08:00

When Wanda Dee the Goddess did it back '89, she got booed. (Did you know she was in Beat Street and later joined KLF?) [Watch Out: You Might Not Be Ready For This Link. You have been warned. Go to the Bio when you get your eyes back!]

When Lil' Kim does it in '04, she gets empowered. (I think Wanda is 10X more sexier than Kim!)

To celebrate Women's History Month, veteran B-girl Aiko and the women behind the 5th Element are presenting a female rap showcase for an all-ages audience Saturday, March 6, 2004, at MACLA.

The showcase will cover the power and politics of being female in the history of Hip Hop. There will also be performances by Persia and the Mamaz, Realistikk, the Floor Angels Beta and Candy and DJ Eternal.

Read this video review...

2004-03-04T23:02:00.000-08:00

If you've seen the videos and know a little something about the artists, tell me this isn't funny.

I actually caught myself laughing out loud a couple of times.

I know it not the "news-news", but sometimes the "real news" isn't either...

Let me know what you think about this Gossiping Bitches review.

You'll never see this on BET...

2004-03-04T22:37:00.000-08:00

Taalam Acey, 2000 Grand Slam Champion, lays down the problematic nature of what Hip Hop has turned into.

He paints the perfect picture of how Hip Hop has become like the child left to raise itself.

I take that back, it's more like letting someone else trick and decieve your child and now everybody wants to talk about the adult that your child has grown into.

Background music is provided by Dead Prez's Hip Hop. Although the video clips will take you down memory lane, Acey's words won't let you sugar-coat the lies these images support.

(At some points, I didn't know if I should let his words dominate some of my favorite videos, but the truth is the truth, and it wasn't really "all good" then-or now...)

If you like that selection, check out the other video snippets of the Guerilla News Network.

Kurtis Blow does a little Q&A

2004-03-04T12:39:00.000-08:00

Kurtis Blow is one of the founders, not of Hip Hop, but of Hip Hop's mainstream success in American Pop Music. This article made for a very interesting Q&A from an Old School pioneer on New School Hip Hop.

He was the first one to go Gold back in 1980 with The Breaks . Although it pales in comparison to the multiplatinum expectations that we have today, he did it when almost everybody dissed Hip Hop.

Nowadays, he's doing a radio show called Backspin for SIRIUS Satellite Radio, working on a rap documentary, and still performing.

Even his son, Kurtis Blow Jr. (KBJ), is going to be laying it down.

Here is another interesting article about Kurtis Blow.

Life does more than imitate Art for this Rapper...

2004-03-04T11:22:00.000-08:00

You may or may not have heard of a rapper named "Tiz", but a glimpse of his life will soon be open for the world to see.

On March 8, 2004 at 9 p.m., the Sundance Channel will premier a documentary of his life entitled Black Picket Fence.

The article mentions that the film is so successful because "captures a world that has come to seem like a caricature in much of hip-hop today."

Although this is a serious documentary, it has all the elements of what "being Black in the 'Hood" seems like to those on the outside looking in.

You got the 'Hood, Brooklyn. Then there's "Tiz" (Tislam Milliner), the aspiring rapper. His baby momma, I'easha, who attempted to O.D. on painkillers shortly before she got pregnant. You got Tiz's boy, Mel, who just got back from doing 2 years behind bars. What would a rapper be without his manager? Billy Dee fills that position like Tiz is the Second Coming-not Nas, but Jesus...

Add some freestyles, a couple of battles, and the cold, hard street and the movie has everything. I might sound a little cynical about the documentary, but I would love to see it. It seems like it would be extremely interesting.

If you happen to have the Sundance Channel, post a comment and let me know how it is. (I didn't know that the Sundance Film Festival had a channel.)

Talib Kweli is set to shine at the WinterFest 2004

2004-03-04T10:48:00.000-08:00

Talib Kweli is one of the featured performers, along with Rock Bands Switchfoot and Louis XIV, and the University of Carolina San Diego's Winterfest 2004. The concert is tomorrow, March 5, 2004. Tim Spulecki
gives a good overview of Kweli's relevance in Hip Hop music.

Shake It!

2004-03-03T14:06:00.000-08:00
It would have been wack if OutKast would have followed Grand Puba and his Tommy Hillfiger situation.

Y'all heard Andre 3000 command the girls to "Shake it like a Polaroid picture!" in the Grammy-winning "Hey Ya". Polaroid is now going from nothing to something almost overnight. (They still had to add that shaking the new Polaroid pictures would actually damage the picture...who cares? Shut up and sell your picture-paper.)

Polaroid's advertising company, Euro RSCG MVBMS Partners, saw the potential cash involved and set up a deal with OutKast to carry cameras at the Grammy Awards, New Year's Eve performances, on Saturday Night Live and at the Vibe Awards on Viacom's UPN. (Yeah, Polaroid knew what's up...) Although they are getting exposure to a new mainstream demographic, I'm pretty sure that this isn't the first time Hip Hop and Polaroids have met...

I don't know how Hip Hop artists, in the day of entreprenuers, would promote products without getting paid first. When Run-DMC did it with "My Adidas", the game was new and the stakes didn't look that high. (But they quickly got wise...so did Adidas! Nowadays look at Jay-Z, 50 Cent, and Reebok.) But it's idiotic for P. Diddy and Busta Rhymes, being the luminaries they are, to make something like "Pass the Courvoisier Part II" not expect to get paid. According to the trade journal Beverage Network, Courvoisier saw a 20% increase in profits, and Puff and Busta saw 0% of that. Yeah...sounds about right.

Lil' Scrappy had to rep his name...

2004-03-01T17:06:00.000-08:00
but you know how the Boys in Blue roll.

Lil' Scrappy's performance in Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, FL took a turn for the worse when he didn't follow the police instruction.

Basically, he wasn't supposed to take off his shirt or curse. So he took off his shirt and dove into the crowd, and all hell broke lose.

Check out the video footage of the event to get Lil' Scrappy's side of the story.

It looks like...

2004-03-01T15:21:00.000-08:00
Lil' Kim needs a Lil' Trim.

Lil' Kim is showing a little more than love to a crowd at a live PA at Canal Room in New York.. She definitely brought her make-up and her lucky camel toe.

(What language is that first article in? I'd like to read the translation.)

Pastor Troy: THOU SHALT NOT LIE!

2004-02-29T18:07:00.000-08:00
What was this man thinking?

So Pastor Troy, aka Micah Levar, is cruising down the high way in Fayetteville, GA, in his Ford F-650, and gets stopped by the cops. A couple of police dogs later, they find some weed.

Doggonit!

So he gives a false name when question about the wacky tobacky. But wouldn't you know it, people are driving by screaming out "Pastor Troy, Pastor Troy..." (I guess this is a time where fame can be a bit...pesky.)

A little more searching in the truck yeilded his CD (I wonder which one?), so he had to admit his real name and get two charges: one for the weed and the other for the fake name.

(And each of the two bodyguards got a charge for the weed and concealed weopons.)

I wonder if he'll make a song about this one? He should include that fake name or make it an alias (since he can't use it for il-legal purposes anymore).

He's not the only Pastor Troy making the news recently...

Cast your vote DJ J Fantastic of Kannaland...

2004-02-29T17:12:00.000-08:00
for being one of the Krunkest mayors you'll ever hear about!

Jeffrey Donson (scroll down a little) is not only a rapper, he's the mayor of Kannaland (in South Africa) and an African National Congress "provincial heavyweight".

Can you imagine this as a soundbite:
"To the ghettos and the backstreets, well this is my roots. I don't care a f**k (sic) what the people say, I gonna take the leader's place. And I gonna take whatever I want tonight."

No? How about:
"You were good. You were f**king good. I say f**k the motherf**kers from the east side and the west side."

Get this, at first the Fire Explosion club was a roving club like the old Jamaican sound systems, but now it has a (at least temporary) home in Kannaland's town hall.

Johanalie Andrew, a municipal official, stated that those parties are just a haven for young people to have sex. Rosemary Rothman, another municipal official (and one of the women who has accused Donson of sexual harassment),said she has to take bucket fulls of condoms out of the toilets the next morning. Andrew added: "Donson gives a whole new meaning to taking the party to the people."

In all fairness, he contends that music is an integral part of his life, and his political rivals try to use that against him. They pose stuff like he uses government money to buy equipment for the club he owns and that he hires two of his friends from that club as bodyguards.

He paints this picture:
"I don't have a bodyguard. I don't have a mayoral car. There are no signs of luxury in my office. There is no air-conditioning. Most of my support staff work for free. This whole thing is a plot to overthrow me."

Whoa!

Here is some more in depth information on the country of South Africa.

This would make a great Hip Hop movie...

2004-02-29T16:48:00.000-08:00
although it's got to be a messed up reality.

Read this article and tell me that it doesn't read like a movie script. I'd rather watch this than those No Limit Movies any day!

Q: What is the Red Album? A: Interesting...

2004-02-27T13:26:00.000-08:00
Listen for yourself.

This is what I like about Hip Hop. When Jay-Z's record label, Roc-A-Fella, released the accapella of his Black Album, it unleashed a Pandora's Box of producers doing their own versions.

9th Wonder - Black is Back, The 9th Album
Amiri - The Blackprint Album
Bazooka Joe The Silver Album
Beirut - Remix
Cheap Cologne - The Double Black Album (all sounds taken from Metallica's Black Album)
DJ Danger Mouse - The Grey Album (all sounds taken from Beatle's White Album)
DJ Lt. Dan - The Black Remixes (the first link is ill...)
DJ Jesse Jazz - The Black Album 1.5
Illmind - The Black & Tan Album
J. Depina - The Black Album Remixed
Kardinal Offishall & Solitair - The Black Jays Album (this page includes a very insightful review)
Kew Brown - The Brown Album (makes for a more jazzier Jay-Z)
Kno - The White Albulum (banging...simply banging)
Paul Nice - The [Unofficial] Black Album Remix

The Red Album is the effort by a producer known as Il-Khan. His concept was to use the same equipment/samples that the original producers used. Not bad...

However, DJ Danger Mouse received the most attention for his offering, The Grey Albumixest mxes Jay-z's accapellas with relevant samples from the Beatles White Album. Although musically is it getting rave reviews, most of the attention is due to EMI suing Danger Mouse for the Beatle's samples.

This caused Downhill Battle to organize an on-line protest dubbed "Grey Tuesday". On Tuesday, February 24, 2004, about 170 websites hosted the album, and hundreds of others "went grey". EMI sent legal threats to Downhill Battle and the sites who were planning to host the album. Some are saying that the Grey Album got more searches and downloads that artists like 50 Cent and Britney Spears.

I Feel Ya...Cee-Lo

2004-02-27T09:24:00.000-08:00
I've been out of the loop as far as Cee-Lo and the break-up of his former group the Goodie Mob. It caught me off guard recently that they have beef with eachother. But I personally understand that not all friends last forever...

As I read this article, I began to better understand Cee-Lo's position on leaving the group. Some people grow, and with growth comes change. It seems like he simply had to leave behind his boys who stayed boys.

There is a real interesting phenomenon developing in Hip Hop. Back in the day, your parents liked one music and you (by default) loved another one. They, naturally, couldn't feel the styles and messages in your music. If you grew up on Hip Hop and have children, you probably find yourself loving the same songs that you don't want your children to listen to/run around singing.

This is where Cee-Lo's point comes in. Now that we have grown up, our music has to also. There's more to life than "clothes, hos, bank rolls, shows, 'Dro, and anything else you can fit in the list with the long 'o' sound".

Eminem Sliced the Big Apple...

2004-02-27T07:44:00.000-08:00
and not New York.

You know how those Apple Itunes commercials feature regular people (comically) singing the songs they are listening to on the headpones? Well, Apple Computer Inc. thought it would be cute to feature a 10-year-old boy singing Eminem's "Lose Yourself"...but Eminem (AKA Marshall Bruce Mathers III) didn't.

Eight Mile Style (Eminem's music publisher) filed the copyright infringement suit in U.S. District Court in Detroit against Apple, Viacom Inc., its MTV subsidiary and the TBWA/Chiat/Day advertising agency.

I wonder if the fact that the ads ran in July 2003 but the song didn't get copyrighted until October 2003 will affect the case. Most likely it won't, you got to respect the fact that Eminem wrote the song and thereby owns the song.

I also wonder how Eminem and 50Cent feel about this in relation to that 50Cent P.I.M.P. video where he got the Ipod playing. Remember that? Did you know this factiod about the video?

Nelly almost sank a Casino...

2004-02-23T08:51:00.000-08:00
It seems as though Mr. Pimp Juice got more money than casinos can handle.

The President Casino on the Admiral could be charged $50,000 by The Missouri Gaming Commission for allowing Cornell Haynes Jr., AKA Nelly and his eight person entourage onto the casino boat without following proper procedures, gambling with someone else's gaming card, and then getting his own gambling processed and ran through the turnstile as if he just got there.

Nelly was holding a private birthday party last November that was billed as the "most spectacular private birthday party St. Louis has ever seen." Although it was a private party, the public could buy $50 tickets to attend with the proceeds going to local charities.

Although Nelly and his people followed all of the procedures, the casinos personel let him slide on their protocol. Also, Missouri is the only state that has a "loss limit". You can't buy more than $500 every two hours. That's stupid...

But amid all this confusion, can you believe that Nelly did not get in ANY trouble. Wow!

K-K-Kings of K-K-KrunK-K-K

2004-02-19T12:53:00.000-08:00
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

The National Alliance don't want Ludacris, Chingy, nor David Banner in Casper, Wyoming. They are actively protesting a February 21, 2004 concert by handing out over 25,000 flyers. Mystikal was there about a month ago, and the National Alliance are using Mystikal and his current rape conviction and a symbol of the "violent diversity" that is being "forced" in their city.

Hm.

The mayor is going to let the concert be performed at the Casper Events Center on Saturday, February 21. In the immortal words of Wu-Tang, Protect Ya Neck!

This is what bothers me about situations like this. On the National Alliance website, they have this statement: "While most White Americans and Europeans have lost their racial and cultural moorings and have become mere rootless drifters in a cosmopolitan chaos, our members still know where they came from and what they're a part of."

So you mean to tell me that (not all) White Americans and Europeans can go around the world commiting cultural genocide (you know, raping and/or killing people, stealing land, changing historical facts...), but accuse others of "forcing violent diversity" on anyone.

While the Native American were spending time getting mad at the OutKast for their Grammy's performance (see my previous post on that topic), they should be more active in taking back their land and their culture from people like the National Alliance who "still know where they came from".

So while they say, "Go back to Africa", they should go back to... Oh, they were born here. So was Hip Hop and the artists it spawned.

Is Mamma putting a New Clip in her Gun?

2004-02-19T10:44:00.000-08:00
Erykah Badu is pregnant. Ok...that's one of the side effects of sex. Now the rumor floating around is that the D.O.C. is the father. Now I'm not so interested in the child than I am in the effect that Ms. Badu will have on the D.O.C.'s lifestyle.

Andre 3000...turned out.

Common...turned out.

The D.O.C.?

You know, I actually can't say that being turned out is actually a bad thing for these two. They ended up allowing their creativity go in directions that they wouldn't have been able to before the Baduization period in their lives. Not all good, but definitely not all bad-u. (Pun intended.)

Then again, y'all see how she went from being Afro-Centric to "might have to flush the lleyo". Plus, she's getting back to her underground roots. The hunter may now be the hunted! Y'all remember that first D.O.C. album: No One Can Do It Better. Y'all remember track # 1: Beautiful But Deadly.

Hmmmmm....