Those who know me know that I love hip hop more than any other genre of music. I love when stuff like this comes across my screen. Check out this video celebrating 40 years of hip hop in 4 minutes. Hat tip Kottke.
Over 150 songs from more than 100 artists representing 40 years of hip hop all crammed into 4 minutes. It’s not a chronological history of hip hop. It’s rappers from different eras finishing each other’s rhymes over intersecting beats, all woven together to make one song.
Complex magazine has come up with a list of the best rapper for each year since 1979. It's crazy when you look through the '90s and see how much talent existed in the hip hop community. That fact becomes especially obvious when you start comparing the list to the 2000s - 2010s (Drake on the list multiple times, really?).
My personal favorite is, of course, Tupac.
1996 is a case study for every aspect of why 2Pac is so celebrated. He was a viable, competent artist in multiple arenas, and he had the discipline to incorporate his varied and conflicted missions into a single mantra. That savvy paid off in this year more than any other. It’s a shame that 2Pac’s ride had to end early, and on someone else’s terms, but the dedication to his craft that was on such full display in 1996 is why he’ll live forever.
You have to be of a certain age (late twenties and early thirties) to remember the awesomeness that was the ABC show Dinosaurs. If you're of the age, you remember how great the TGIF show was (though, I can't remember a single plot) and how dark it turned in the finale when all the (spoiler) dinosaurs were wiped out. If the finale left you sad, try watching this excellent mash-up of the show and Notorious B.I.G.'s song Hypnotize to cleanse your palate. It seriously is great.
The CD is housed within two nickel-silver boxes that were hand-carved by a Moroccan artist and his team of ten workers over three months; there is only one physical copy of the album in existence; all digital versions have been destroyed; and bidding starts at $5 million. And we learned yesterday that Once Upon a Time in Shaolin will remain under copyright until 2103 — that’s 88 years.
and listening party
“The irony of it is that we did it for the fans,” said the album’s producer, Tarik “Cilvaringz” Azzougarh, who is himself a Wu-Tang superfan. He infamously dogged RZA so persistently that he became — loosely, controversially — a member of the Wu-Tang Clan.
I was thinking of Wu-Tang’s fans as I arrived at MoMA PS1 several minutes late. I had been told in advance that no recording devices would be allowed in the museum, including computers or phones. This of course meant a long line, but it gave me an opportunity to see who would be attending this once in a lifetime exhibition. I saw Ebro Darden (the programming director of Hot 97), Jace Clayton (DJ Rupture), a handful of familiar faces from the art world, and a gaggle of confused “fans” who had won tickets from Power 105. Invariably, intensely, hilariously: the radio fans smelled like booze. And one of them inexplicably mispronounced RZA, “R.Z.A.”
I like Wu-Tang, but this stunt isn't about the fans.
Today is National Good Day Day. What is National Good Day Day, you may ask. Well, my dear friend, it is a day we celebrate every year in honor of the most perfect South Central day ever observed, on January 20th, 1992.
Murk Avenue breaks down the clues of Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day" to pinpoint the exact day the song took place..
CLUE 1:
“went to short dogs house, they was watching Yo MTV RAPS”
Yo MTV RAPS first aired:
Aug 6th 1988
CLUE 2:
Ice Cubes single “today was a good day” released on:
Feb 23 1993
CLUE 3:
”The Lakers beat the Super Sonics”
Dates between Yo MTV Raps air date AUGUST 6 1988 and the release of the single FEBRUARY 23 1993 where the Lakers beat the Super Sonics:
Nov 11 1988 114-103
Nov 30 1988 110-106
Apr 4 1989 115-97
Apr 23 1989 121-117
Jan 17 1990 100-90
Feb 28 1990 112-107
Mar 25 1990 116-94
Apr 17 1990 102-101
Jan 18 1991 105-96
Mar 24 1991 113-96
Apr 21 1991 103-100
Jan 20 1992 116-110
CLUE 4:
Dates of those Laker wins over SuperSonics where it was a clear day with no Smog:
Nov 30 1988
Apr 4 1989
Jan 18 1991
Jan 20 1992
CLUE 5:
“Got a beep from Kim, and she can fuck all night”
beepers weren’t adopted by mobile phone companies until the 1990s. Dates left where mobile beepers were availible to public:
Jan 18 1991
Jan 20 1992
CLUE 6:
Ice Cube starred in the film “Boyz in the hood” that released late Summer of 1991, but was being filmed mid-late 1990 early 1991 and Ice Cube was busy on set filming the movie Jan 18 1991 too busy to be lounging around the streets with no plans. Ladies and Gentlemen..
The ONLY day where:
Yo MTV Raps was on air
It was a clear and smogless day
Beepers were commercially sold
Lakers beat the SuperSonics
and Ice Cube had no events to attend was…
My favorite jazzy hip hop group, Bop Alloy, released a new EP for the holidays. The album comes as part of their Kickstarter stretch goal for the last album, Another Day in the Life of. The new album is entitled Winter Breaks and can be downloaded from their bandcamp page.
According to the site, ‘Winter Breaks’ compiles 6 sonically vintage Hip Hop tracks. Producer, Marcus D handles the live instrumentation mixes masterfully while infusing jazz, soul and a pinch of Afro beat samples. Lyrically, Substantial touches on the personal, social, and economical effects of the Holiday season, using thoughtful lyricism, wit, and a variety of flows to paint a different portrait of Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year’s.
Best of all, it's name your own price (but support good music and throw some dollars their way).
It's been 8 years since one of the best groups in hip hop called in quits, but Jurassic 5 is back... sort of. They recently released a new song and video in preparation for their first US tour in 8 years. The song is entitled The Way We Do It and was produced by the late Heavy D. Watch the video below.
As an amateur historian and hip hop aficionado, I found the research of what day in history is actually Ice Cube's "Good Day" fascinating. Murk Avenue breaks down the clues of Ice Cube's It Was a Good Day to pinpoint the day.
CLUE 1:
“went to short dogs house, they was watching Yo MTV RAPS”
Yo MTV RAPS first aired:
Aug 6th 1988
CLUE 2:
Ice Cubes single “today was a good day” released on:
Feb 23 1993
CLUE 3:
”The Lakers beat the Super Sonics”
Dates between Yo MTV Raps air date AUGUST 6 1988 and the release of the single FEBRUARY 23 1993 where the Lakers beat the Super Sonics:
Nov 11 1988 114-103
Nov 30 1988 110-106
Apr 4 1989 115-97
Apr 23 1989 121-117
Jan 17 1990 100-90
Feb 28 1990 112-107
Mar 25 1990 116-94
Apr 17 1990 102-101
Jan 18 1991 105-96
Mar 24 1991 113-96
Apr 21 1991 103-100
Jan 20 1992 116-110
CLUE 4:
Dates of those Laker wins over SuperSonics where it was a clear day with no Smog:
Nov 30 1988
Apr 4 1989
Jan 18 1991
Jan 20 1992
CLUE 5:
“Got a beep from Kim, and she can fuck all night”
beepers weren’t adopted by mobile phone companies until the 1990s. Dates left where mobile beepers were availible to public:
Jan 18 1991
Jan 20 1992
CLUE 6:
Ice Cube starred in the film “Boyz in the hood” that released late Summer of 1991, but was being filmed mid-late 1990 early 1991 and Ice Cube was busy on set filming the movie Jan 18 1991 too busy to be lounging around the streets with no plans. Ladies and Gentlemen..
The ONLY day where:
Yo MTV Raps was on air
It was a clear and smogless day
Beepers were commercially sold
Lakers beat the SuperSonics
and Ice Cube had no events to attend was…
One of my favorite underground hip hop groups over the past couple of years has been Seattle-based Blue Scholars. If you don't know much about them, they are a duo comprised of producer/DJ Sabzi and MC Geologic. They produce really good socially conscious hip hop. Some of the themes that appear throughout their albums and EPs include struggles between socioeconomic classes, challenging authority and youth empowerment. Recently they announced that their forthcoming album, Cinemetropolis, would forgo a traditional record label release. Instead, they are signing to "the people."
After weighing all options for the release of our third full-length studio album, Cinemetropolis, we've decided to forego all traditional channels and return to the independent approach that made Blue Scholars who we are. No record label. No marketing and distribution deal. No middlemen. No bullsh*t.
Instead, we're going to sign a deal with the people. Specifically, you.
An industry-standard release leaves very little to the imagination or creative diversion. A set amount of singles, videos, and a tour, constantly negotiated by a contract that dictates the "life cycle" of an album. Thing is, Cinemetropolis is our most ambitious release yet, and we don't want to stick to the script.
Our philosophy has always been to create our music and our media with creative freedom while still being able to sustain and grow ourselves. And at this point, we don't believe that the tired music industrial model is necessary for people to pick up what we're putting down. We don't need to compromise our vision by ascribing to the "deal." We believe the power of word-of-mouth far more than industry-induced hype, recognizing that it's been the support of our fans and not what we've signed that have gotten us where we are.
With your support, we'll be able to release Cinemetropolis to you directly. Those who pledge in this campaign will receive the digital album weeks before it's actually released in June, and will get special exclusive-to-Kickstarter swag, not to mention be the first people to find out about when our Cinemetropolis singles, videos, and merch gets released.
Check out their Kickstarter video.
So, they group has created a Kickstarter page. Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. The premise is simple, donate money and receive stuff. What you receive from Blue Scholars depends on how much you donate. You can see the different levels here. Blue Scholars is definitely one of the most creative groups out there. You should kick in a few bucks and help them out. When you think about it, you'd be spending $10 for their album on iTunes anyway. Why not send it directly to them and get the album for free before it's released? Sounds like a no-brainer to me.
Personally, I'm glad to see more and more musicians using Kickstarter. It definitely helps show that their music is appreciated and allows the musician to cut out middle men and release directly to the fans that support them.
This is probably the oddest post title on my site. For those who don't know what it means, they are the names of the artists behind three of the best albums of the year. In a time where it seems really good music is hard to come by, I consider myself blessed to come across three awesome albums that all came out within just a few months of each other. I almost experienced music overload. What makes these albums even better is that they are nothing alike. For those who say all hip hop sounds the same, I challenge you to listen to these three albums and tell me that afterwards. There is something for everyone on this list. I'm not going to give detailed reviews of the albums, I just want to talk about why they are great and why you should buy them. First up is Kno's Death is Silent.
For those unfamiliar with the name Kno, you might recognize him as the excellent producer behind the group CunninLynguists. Kno has largely stayed absent from the mic on the last couple CunninLynguists albums choosing to hone his production skills to near perfect quality. Death is Silent finds Kno's trademarked sample-heavy production painting a dark backdrop over the best lyrics we've heard from him to date. The only problem with the album is that sometimes the rapping doesn't live up to the excellent composition behind it. Also, this is a much darker album from what we've previously heard from CunninLynguists, so be prepared to get sucked in to a dark place (which isn't a bad thing as you feel like you're part of a really good story). I really can't describe what this album is, other than close to being perfect. This is one of those albums that you can turn off the lights and listen from beginning to end over and over and over. Each time you listen you pick up on something new. It's an experience that will never end. Make sure you pick up this album now.
The next album is from QN5 newcomer Kokayi. To be perfectly honest, I had never heard of Kokayi before his signing to QN5. He was nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in the 51st Annual Grammys, but I've not watched the Grammys in years (and really don't intend on starting again). He joined QN5 in April of 2009 and I've been waiting to hear something from him ever since. Was the wait worth it? Yes! Kokayi's Robots & Dinosaurs is undeniably one of my favorite albums to come out in years. What sets it apart from other hip hop albums is that Kokayi is able to meld genres to make an amalgam of good music. He's hip hop, he's rock, he's soul. This album contains something for everyone. If you are a fan of good music, you will love this album. Best of all, you can order a Paleo-Pack of his album that includes a bunch of goodies to go with the fantastic music or you can listen and purchase the digital album here.
The last album on my list is a side project from Substantial. The album is called Substantial & Marcus D are Bop Alloy. The album can easily be defined as Jazz Hop. It is a great album utilizing the smooth flows of Substantial on top of excellent Jazz production by Marcus D. This is one of those albums that you can sit back and listen and get lost in the music. You would think this duo would have been making music together for years, but that's not true. This is their first album together and if all their music together is this good I hope there will be many more albums in the years to come. Not to say anything bad about Substantial's previous works because they are all good, but I think this is his best to date. He has definitely evolved as an emcee and this album shows it. If you're a fan of Jazz and a fan of hip hop, make sure you support the artists and buy their album.
In the event of my Demise
when my heart can beat no more
I Hope I Die For A Principle
or A Belief that I had Lived 4
I will die Before My Time
Because I feel the shadow's Depth
so much I wanted 2 accomplish
before I reached my Death
I have come 2 grips with the possibility
and wiped the last tear from My eyes
I Loved All who were Positive
In the event of my Demise
Tupac Amaru Shakur
June 16, 1971 - September 13, 1996
I give hipsters a lot of shit for, well, being hipsters, but there's another group of people who were around before the hipster fad. They dress a certain way, listen to music "you've never heard of," and are generally people in their 20's and early 30's. Some could even say they directly contributed to the hipster fad. I'm talking about hip hop's very own hipsters, the backpackers.
So what is a backpacker? Well, here is the definition that Wikipedia has for the minority group of hip hop heads.
"Backpacker" was originally a slang term from the 1980s for a graffiti artist who always wore a backpack containing his music collection and, more importantly, his spraypaint cans, markers, and spray tips. Typically, the music collection would consist of local underground rap/hip-hop music artists. The term gradually came to refer to someone with this musical taste, and now has almost nothing to do with graffiti (although certain "backpackers" may participate in graffiti "tagging.")
It has come full circle now and is sometimes used as a derogatory term by the mainstream to describe underground hip hop fans.
One thing the Wikipedia entry left out is the typical dress of a backpacker. Yeah, the backpack is an essential item, just like white belts or aviator sunglasses are for hipsters. What else might a backpacker wear? They are not rocking hipster flannel. Backpackers don't wear the typical clothing associated with the urban youth: baggy jeans and XXXXXXL t-shirts. Since backpackers tend to be more educated, or want to appear so, they would wear more "preppy" clothing. Remember when Kanye West hit the mainstream and you saw him wearing polos and sweater vests? That's what a lot of backbackers wore or still wear. Perhaps you can think of the style as urban prep.
The biggest thing that hipsters and backpackers have in common is their love of music. Hipsters are always on the cutting edge of music and like obscure bands you've never heard of. I'm sure you've probably heard the joke "How many hipsters does it take to screw in a light bulb? Some obscure number you've probably never heard of." Backpackers are the exact same way. They want you to know who they listen to and that what they listen to is the best. Aesop Rock, CunninLynguists, Blue Scholars, Tonedeff, Binary Star, Atmosphere, and Little Brother might all be in the playlist of these hip hop hipsters. Their love for these artists might not last long though. Like a lot of hipsters, backpackers will lose interest in a musician as soon as they hit the mainstream, uttering phrases like, "I liked him before he went mainstream." The same backpackers that rallied around Kanye when he released College Dropout are the same ones that are saying how much he sucks on 808's and Heartbreaks.
So, am I a backpacker? Well, I am and I'm not. I don't carry around a backpack and I don't wear sweater vests. That being said, I do think the music I listen to is better than what is played on mainstream radio. That has less to do with me liking an artist just because they are underground than it has to do with anything played on the radio is so broken down and formulaic that it just sucks. Most of the artists I listen to are "underground," but I would love to see them hit the mainstream. These artist deserve a wider audience and I would celebrate that fact. So there you have it. Hip hop has hipsters too.
In my constant quest for new hip hop music I've seen one name come across my screen several times: Blue Scholars. Even though I've seen them mentioned by various underground hip hop fanboys, I've never given them a shot. I don't exactly know why. Perhaps they were even on my todo list, I'm not sure. One of the members even appeared on CunninLynguists' latest album, Strange Journey Vol. 2. The past few days I've decided to give them a listen and I have to say, I love what I hear. If you are as unfamiliar with the group as I was, let me give you a brief introduction. From their website:
Blue Scholars have emerged out of the erupting Northwest hip-hop scene with soulful beats, poetic yet political rhymes and a reputation for dynamic live performances. With two full length albums and 3 EPs, the group has become one of the top West Coast independent hip hop acts, known for their energetic and always entertaining live shows and a world view that blends the personal and the political, but unafraid to party in the process.
One of the problems with a lot of underground acts I come across is that they may have rhyming talent but have terrible beats. Or vice versa. This is not the case with Blue Scholars. Their beats are some of the best that I've heard in a while. Geologic's flow matches perfectly with the fantastic sounds orchestrated by Sabzi. It's a shame that there aren't more acts like Blue Scholars hitting the mainstream. This is what hip hop on the radio needs to be. It's also a shame that these guys have been around for a while and I'm just now hearing about them. I hope that I will see and hear much more from them in the future.
Two of my favorite songs come from their Oof! EP. Make sure you go buy their albums. You can buy then from their website or download them from Amazon or iTunes.
Blue Scholars - New People
[audio:04-New-People.mp3]
Blue Scholars - Cruz
[audio:06-Cruz.mp3]
You can also catch their video for HI-808 from the Oof! EP
I'm very passionate when it comes to hip hop. At times I'm its biggest advocate, and others the biggest apologist. Most of the hip hop that is played on the radio embarrasses me. That isn't true hip hop in my opinion, it is no different than Britney Spears or Miley Cyrus. It's pop music. Lost in the shuffle of throw-away singles and one-hit wonders are some of the most creative artists, songs, and albums of any genre. I want to discuss some of the most creative hip hop albums of all time. On top of having great production and lyrics, all of them tell a story from beginning to end.
Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030
Deltron 3030 was a hip hop supergroup composed of Del the Funkee Homosapien, Dan the Automator, and DJ Kid Koala. The album takes place in a dystopian future, the year 3030 to be exact. The story follows Deltron Zero, the hero, fighting against an oppressive government and gigantic corporations that control everything. The production by Dan the Automator is operatic, while still maintaining the rhythm that makes hip hop great. Del's rhyming over the eerie, futuristic beats flows like water. Rumors have long circulated of a sequel to this album with updates coming every so often, but it has yet to surface. [Buy Now]
CunninLynguists - A Piece of Strange
A Piece of Strange is the third release from one of my favorite hip hop groups, CunninLynguists. They get a lot of flack for having a juvenile sounding name but make no mistake, these are talented individuals whose lyrics go deeper than their name would imply. This album follows the story of a man and those closest to him in their struggles with right and wrong, love and hate, faith and sin. The album features a lot of symbolism, from the album cover to the lyrics of each song. Biblical references abound throughout the 16 tracks. The album's producer, Kno, sets the tone of the album early on with soulful beats that quicken as the main character falls from grace and finds himself facing eternal damnation before finally returning to the light. The many theories that surrounded this album and its meaning were cataloged on a companion site I made asking what is A Piece of Strange? [Buy Now]
Tech N9ne - Anghellic
Tech N9ne's Anghellic is similar to A Piece of Strange in the fact that it has a character traveling through hell, to purgatory, and winding up in heaven. Instead diving into deep symbolism with a cast of characters, Anghellic focuses on Tech N9ne and his own personal struggles. Obviously he doesn't actually travel through hell and back, but the stories he tells are about his own personal hell, purgatory, and heaven. On his way through purgatory he confesses to murder, but not the normal gangster rapper murder. No, his tale is of abortions. The track Suicide Letters is exactly what the name implies: suicide letters to his friends, family, and fans. While much more dark than A Piece of Strange, it was Tech's most personal album to date. If you want an even darker look into Tech's life, his album K.O.D (King of Darkness) takes you on a darker journey. [Buy Now]
Masta Ace - A Long Hot Summer
Masta Ace actually has a couple concept albums. The first one was his 2001 album Disposable Arts. At the beginning of that album we find Masta Ace's character leaving prison, his return home, and his life at "The Institute of Disposable Arts", a school in which Ace enrolls after realizing how bad the situation in Brooklyn is. Listening to that album, you might wonder why Masta Ace's character was in prison to begin with. His 2004 album tells that story. The album opens with Masta Ace sitting on his Brooklyn stoop writing. That's when neighborhood gangster Fats Belvedere comes along and convinces Ace to let him go on tour with him as his unofficial manager. Ace agrees and the album takes you through various interactions with people on tour and with skits involving the Joe Pesci sounding Belvedere ending with them both getting arrested because of Belvedere's illegal activities,unbeknownst to Ace, the real reason he wanted to go on tour. [Buy Now]
These albums, by far, are the most creative in hip hop. The artists were not afraid to take risks in order to tell great stories. Not everything in hip hop is bling, violence, and women. These albums show how true that is. If you're looking for more great hip hop, I suggest you look to the entire QN5 roster. These guys are the most talented artists in hip hop today. Some more artists you should definitely check out: Binary Star, Chali 2na, Jurassic 5, Common, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, JR&PH7 and K-OS.
We have seen movies and television use the tactic of viral marketing a bunch over the past couple years. The TV show LOST has had commercials for the fictional airline Oceanic and there was even a Mr. Clucks commercial with Hurley. Movies such as the Dark Knight have gone to great lengths to get people interested long before the release of the film. People were sent the Gotham Times newspaper with articles made to look real and even featuring advertising for Gotham businesses. There were websites for the Bank of Gotham and Gotham News Network. There was even an elaborate scavenger hunt in various cities and fans had to keep going to find the next clue. Finally, the use of viral marketing has made its way into music, but not by who you'd think.
Viral marketing has made it's way to independent hip hop label QN5. They are employing the technique for their release Chico and the Man, a duo composed of emcee Tonedeff and producer Kno (of CunninLynguists fame). What's interesting is that an independent label would go the viral route first, and not a major label with unlimited supply of resources. This goes to show you the power of the internet and social media sites.
So what do we know about this album? There's not much. Everything that has been found has been by the dedicated fan base working hard at finding any sort of possible information, making guesses, and taking leaps. Only a few clues have been released, but let's take a look at the clues that were given, how they were given, and the resulting news. All the clues have appeared on the Chico and the Man Twitter account.
Before we look at the clues given, I should point out that the Twitter account background is a clue in itself. If you look at the background file name you see that it's called fulgenciobatista01011959. Fulgencio Batista was a Cuban dictator, and 0101959 = January 1st, 1959. On that date, Batista was forced out of the country by Castro’s revolution. Could the History of Cuba be one of the topics. There is also the line catm: work for it. twitter is the key. commented out in the code. Clue number 1: waiting to breathe
No one is sure what this means quite yet. It may be the title of the album or a title of the track off the album.
Clue number 2: love keeps the stars in the firmament and imposes rhythm on the ocean tides - maya angelou
The rest of the poem is as follows:
“Love builds up the broken wall
and straightens the crooked path.
Love keeps the stars in the firmament
and imposes rhythm on the ocean tides,
each of us is created of it
and I suspect
each of us was created for it!”
It seems that the ocean is a major theme for this album, but what does it all mean?
Clue number 3:_fanned by a _pale mist the heart _flutters
There is a lot of speculation on what this one means, what the underscore means, etc. Far too much for me to reprint here, but read what fans have to say.
Clue number 4:18/5/1/3/8/ 23/8/9/20/5 13/1/18/9/16/15/19/1
This turns out to be code for Reach White Mariposa. What does this mean? Well, fans have found White Mariposa. Again, there's a lot of clues here. Could the tagline "Su Amigo Para más de 45 Años." mean anything for the album? What about the image titles. The logo is punto4. Point 4. Also, if you call the number, it is for this fake business described on the page, but the message is in Spanish. So if you want to translate an audio message that would help the fans out a great deal.
Your's truly found the next bit of information. Commented out in the code is cada punto confirma el último. Translated that means "each point confirms the last." That takes us to...
Clue number 5: cada punto confirma el último
It seems we are on the right track.
There is a lot of information that I have not posted, from meaning of butterflies to speculation on the initials HCK. It is all very fascinating. If you want to play along and love riddles, someone has made a thread to catch everyone up with what we know so far.
I'm excited about this use of marketing. This is definitely innovative. QN5, like one of their slogans says, is always 5 steps ahead of the game.
Today marks the releases of another QN5 gem. I'm talking of Mr. SOS's How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb album.
From QN5.com, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (named after the Stanley Kubrick film) is an amalgam of every bit of darkness and light in the life of SOS and how he is influenced by the world. The album, released by independent powerhouse label QN5 will feature production by Tonedeff, the UK’s Quincey Tones, The BeatChefs, as well as Mr. SOS himself, continuing the progression of cleverly mixing traditional backbeats with abstract production and pensive content. When asked why he chose the title, he simply states, “because the movie is about the end of the world and so is my album.”
I've had this album for a week now and it is fantastic. QN5's ability to put out great hip hop, release after release, never ceases to amaze me. Their albums are always killer with no filler. Please support the artists who make true hip hop. Please pick up this album today!
10 years ago two of the best rappers in the game joined together to finally release an album. The result is one of the better albums from the late 90's. I'm talking about Method Man and Redman's Blackout! album. Meth and Red have an undeniable chemistry, on and off the mic. They have been called hip hop's Cheech and Chong, and their contrasting styles makes makes them the perfect fit for each other. Method Man is more laid back on the mic, whereas Redman is more aggressive. 10 years have passed without another collaboration album between the two hip hop heavyweights. Today, we see the release Blackout! 2.
I've been looking forward to this album for a long time. It's a reminder of a time when rappers could actually flow and have word play. While some of the lyrics on this album are a bit dated (references to the movies Old School and Tango and Cash), it is one the adults can definitely love while the youngins are listening to the shitty sounds Soulja Boy and Flo Rida.
Don't get me wrong, this album isn't amazing or groundbreaking, it's just more of that Meth and Red that we have all come to love. Hearing them trade verses again after a 10 year silence is literally music to my ears. This album has several radio friendly hits, such as A-yo and Mrs. International. It is definitely something you will be able to bump in your car all summer long. I was excited for this album to drop and I have not been disappointed. If you are a fan of real hip hop, make sure you buy this album from Amazon or iTunes.
Hip hop is, by far, one of the youngest genres of music in America, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been around for a while. It really is amazing to see that the pioneers of the music are still around entertaining. I recently read that one of the pioneers, Grandmaster Flash, released a new album. If you don't know who Grandmaster Flash is he is one of the men responsible for DJing. From his official biography:
The career of DJ Grandmaster Flash began in the Bronx with neighborhood block parties that essentially were the start of hip-hop—the dawn of a musical genre. He was the first DJ to physically lay his hands on the vinyl and manipulate it in a backward, forward or counterclockwise motion, when most DJs simply handled the record by the edges, put down the tone arm, and let it play. Those DJs let the tone arm guide their music, but Flash marked up the body of the vinyl with crayon, fluorescent pen, and grease pencil—and those markings became his compass.[caption id="attachment_1152" align="alignright" width="168" caption="The Bridge: Concept of a Culture"][/caption]
He invented the Quick Mix Theory, which included techniques such as the double-back, back-door, back-spin, and phasing. This allowed a DJ to make music by touching the record and gauging its revolutions to make his own beat and his own music. Flash’s template grew to include cuttin’, which, in turn, spawned scratching, transforming, the Clock Theory and the like. He laid the groundwork for everything a hip hop DJ can do with a record today, other than just letting it play. What we call a DJ today is a role that Flash invented.
By the end of the 70s, Flash had started another trend that became a hallmark of hip-hop: emcees asked to rap over his beats. Before long, he started his own group, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Their reputation grew up around the way the group traded off and blended their lyrics with Flash’s unrivaled skills as a DJ and his acrobatic performances—spinning and cutting vinyl with his fingers, toes, elbows, and any object at hand.
Flash, now 51, is still making music. He recently released the album The Bridge - Concept of a Culture featuring artists from all around the world. He is still a grandmaster when it comes to production. Even with all the new technology and style changes in hip hop, the man still has it. If you love hip hop, respect your elders and buy this album.
I've talked a bit about the history of hip hop music and how it quickly evolved into a profitable form of music, but no other company was able to capitalize on hip hop like Def Jam Records, and no other person could have done it like Russell Simmons.
In 1984, Simmons candidly told Gary Harris, a former Def Jam executive, “I’m sick of making people rich. I want to own my own shit, my own record label, my own movie company.” [1. The Men Behind Def Jam] It was this mentality that drove Simmons to find Rick Rubin. When Simmons found Rubin, he was surprised to find a white kid, but then “realized that Rick Rubin and I had a lot in common.” [2. Life and Def: Sex, Drugs, Money + God] Simmons decided to ask Rubin to co-produce an album by RUN-D.M.C., a group that Simmons was working with that also included his brother, Joseph Simmons. RUN-D.M.C. were probably the most popular and successful hip hop act of the time, but that did not mean they garnered much chart success. It wasn’t until Rick Rubin convinced the boys of RUN-D.M.C. to collaborate on a song with Aerosmith. The result was “Walk this Way,” which became the first rap record to appear in heavy rotation on MTV. By this time, Simmons knew he did the right thing in pairing up with Rubin, even though Simmons had been working with the group prior to meeting Rubin, and the group was never signed to Def Jam. His mind was made up, and with visions of success in his eyes, he went to create Def Jam Records with Rubin, using the signature name and logo that Rubin had come up with for the T. La Rock & Jazzy J record.
Simmons and Rubin each put up four-thousand dollars for the formation of Def Jam Records. Simmons immediately started using his contacts from his promotion and management business, Rush Management, to gain the attention of Billboard magazine. Def Jam was officially founded in the summer of 1984. Simmons stated that, “The purpose of this company is to educate people as to the value of real street music by putting out records that nobody in the business world would distribute but us.” [3. The Men Behind Def Jam] Surprisingly, it was their work with people not on the label that gave them their initial notoriety. It was working on the album King of Rock by Run-D.M.C. that gained Rubin and Simmons recognition from major labels interested in what Rubin and Simmons were doing with the new phenomenon called hip hop. Not only was Simmons having huge success as a concert promoter, manager of such acts as Kurtis Blow and Run-D.M.C., but he also orchestrated one of the first hip hop clothing partnerships.
Simmons and Lyer Cohan, who worked for Simmons’ Rush Management and would become head of Def Jam Records, set up a deal with German shoe manufacturer, Adidas. While playing at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Run-D.M.C. played thousands of fans, and the two Adidas representatives, the group played their song “My Adidas,” a song about the preferred shoes of the group. When the song came on, the thousands of fans in the Garden took off their Adidas and held them in the air. This was quite impressive to Adidas, impressive enough to offer a deal to the group. The Run-D.M.C. Adidas were shipped in a black box with no laces, the style that was set by the group. If not for Simmons, hip hop’s first sponsorship deal might not have been made.
About the same time that Rubin and Simmons started meeting with major labels for distribution, a young MC from New York came to the attention of the pair. He was LL Cool J, real name, James Todd. Rubin started working with the sixteen year old when Todd refused to quit calling Rubin to see if he had listened to his demo, a demo that had been sitting un-opened in a pile in his NYU dorm room. Rubin finally gave it a chance and saw Todd becoming the next big thing. After recording some tracks, Rubin and Simmons saw Todd as the future and decided to take the song “I Need a Beat” to Los Angeles for a meeting with associates from Warner Brothers Records. According to Simmons, when they put on LL Cool J’s “I Need a Beat,” “the whole room just sat there- some of them stared at the speakers, some of them just sat looking at their hands. It was like they were hearing music from another planet.” They left the building that day without a distribution deal with Warner Brothers. But before they left LA, they were playing “I Need a Beat” twelve times a day on KDAY, which had recently become an all-rap format station. [4. Life and Def: Sex, Drugs, Money + God] This success with an un-established artist later helped pave the way for negotiations with CBS Records. “I Need a Beat” was just the first of seven singles released that first year by Def Jam. After meeting with CBS, they settled at a six hundred thousand dollar promotion and distribution deal. [5. The Men Behind Def Jam] Todd’s next single, “Rock the Bells” went on to sell over nine hundred thousand copies, his biggest single to date. [6. Ibid.]
Coming up Next: Movin' on Up. Def Jam Moves Out of the Dorm and into the Corporate World.
I give hipsters a lot of shit for, well, being hipsters, but there's another group of people who were around before the hipster fad. They dress a certain way, listen to music "you've never heard of," and are generally people in their 20's and early 30's. Some could even say they directly contributed to the hipster fad. I'm talking about hip hop's very own hipsters, the backpackers.
10 years ago two of the best rappers in the game joined together to finally release an album. The result is one of the better albums from the late 90's. I'm talking about Method Man and Redman's Blackout! album. Meth and Red have an undeniable chemistry, on and off the mic. They have been called hip hop's Cheech and Chong, and their contrasting styles makes makes them the perfect fit for each other. Method Man is more laid back on the mic, whereas Redman is more aggressive. 10 years have passed without another collaboration album between the two hip hop heavyweights. Today, we see the release Blackout! 2.
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