Anyone that’s been reading Unkut for the last couple of years will be familiar with my appreciation of Tragedy‘s work, so it ain’t no mystery that I was quick to check out the new interview with the gawd over at XXL.
Just for the fuck of it, here’s five random Khadafi joints:
The Constipated Monkey album was the shit when it first came out. V.I.C. was still rolling with the Beatnuts, and as a result they delivered some of their finest work for “Jorge of the Projects” to kick it over. Now Kurious is preparing a new album with MF Doom after an extended break from releasing music, and to whet our appetite he’s re-released his debut with a bunch of demos. I caught-up with Jorge a couple of weeks ago to find out what he’s been up to.
Robbie: Was CM Mob your first crew?
Kurious: Those are some of my friends, but it wasn’t really a rap crew. I started rhyming with MF Grimm and King Sun back in the days. Those guys are the ones who influenced me to start rapping.
Are you still rolling with Kadi, the man with the yellow hat?
Yeah, that’s my man. He’s chilling. That’s my boy, we grew up since babies together so I speak to him almost everyday and we hang out, but he does what he does. On this project he’s not with me, but hopefully I can drag him out for a couple of shows or something.
How did you end-up releasing your first album on Hoppoh?
Coz me and Bob grew-up in the same building together. But then when I was making songs and demos and stuff, it was either I go to Def Jam with Russell or go to Pete. Columbia wouldn’t give them a distribution deal unless I was on their label, so I went with them instead. Plus I had a verbal agreement with Pete, so I just stayed true to my word and went with them. (more…)
What’s worse? Rap made for chicks, or broads rapping? It’s been so long since a skirt has made a decent rap song, it’s not even funny. What’s even less amusing is hip-hop made specifically for dames. It was bad enough when Heavy D was dancing around in transparent rain-coats and Ja Rule was making like Stewart Little with his shirt off. Now we’ve got douche-bags like the Gym Class Heroes churning-out Wuss Rap that make Snow Patrol and Maroon 5 sound hardcore. (more…)
Ever wonder why Kool G Rap left New York in the nineties? (Go and sit in the corner if you fell for that story about Eric B. running him out of town). (more…)
Unkut Dot Com regular silent minority sent this piece through for all you video junkies:
From the age of nine till I was about seventeen I always had a blank VHS handy to record any music videos that unexpectedly popped up on whatever channel I was watching. Not just hip-hop videos, any genre where I liked the song or the artist. My collection kept growing and growing. The best moments were catching that rare shit at 3 am, knowing the network would never ever show that particular clip again.
When I got the broadband hook up, I started searching for music videos. Luckily people and groups like Dread In NY, Jediz, DJ Nero, HHV and others had catered to heads like me, taking the time and effort to capture and share classic videos. With the advent of YouTube a lot of videos are available for easy viewing without having to do a mad search for them. However, if you are anything like me you will want them on your hard-drive or maybe to burn them to DVD. Hopefully MTV will eventually release Yo! MTV Raps on DVD, but I’m not holding my breath. I hope Ralph McDaniels sorts out some licensing and teaches MTV a lesson. There’s a market for the videos, I would pay good money for DVD’s with classic hip-hop clips, as long as there are more than 10-15 on each disc and they get the right artists involved. (more…)
Following the sidebar shenanigans in XXL Mag last year, Vibe has given Unkut Dot Com a mention, naming this here spot as #19 in their 30 Best Music Web Spots list in the October issue. Placed just after Stretch Armstrong‘s Konstant Kontact (which has been out of action since the end of July when it moved to a new URL) and in front of Just Blaze‘s The Megatron Don. I’d rather a write-up in Hustler to be honest, but sometimes you have to just take what you can get.
Apparently the Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 album has been finished for a minute but no paperwork was ever signed. Dre contributed a couple of beats to it, but then he went on vacation for two weeks, and when he got back he’d lost interest in the project – for whatever reason – and resumed work on Detox!
These guys are about to drop a new album called Gryme Tyme, but in case you haven’t copped it yet, here’s the new clip from their The Vintage EP: (more…)
This one was a surprise. Thanks to some bizarre Puma/Yo! MTV Raps cross promotion, I recently got to kick it with the one and only BDK for a local magazine. As you might expect, he’s not trying to talk about the etchings in the run-out grooves of his singles, but I managed to get a few quality quotes from him regarding some of the lyrical ass-whuppings he’s handed-out over the years, and it goes without saying that I had ti bring-up G Rap. Don’t count on seeing me sporting the Doug E. Fresh Puma Suedes anytime soon, though.
Robbie:What’s your best memory of the Yo! MTV Raps show?
Big Daddy Kane: Seein’ all the hip-hop videos on MTV, finally. It was really a selected few, and now you’re seeing a lotta artists getting exposure on MTV. I used to just dig seeing that.
Do you think that it left a gap when MTV canceled it?
Nah. BET had Rap City, and Video Jukebox had a show also, where you could order what videos you wanted.
A lot of magazines used to complain that you were catering too much to the ladies in your music in the nineties, but guys like Ja Rule made a career out doing of that.
I remember a certain point when they started complaining about Ja Rule – that his music is getting too soft, it’s only for the girls. They were saying that about Puff. To me, I think it’d be the type of situation where if you have a famous recording artist and he’s successful, there’s always gonna be jealousy and haters. Especially if it’s the type of situation where it’s looks like he might possibly be getting more pussy than you! (more…)
The greatest posse cut ever? Sure. But Marley Marl‘s signature Juice Crew anthem also stands as the most remade rap song of all time, doubling the number of songs that recreate “The Bridge”. Marley’s first shot at a sequel was luke-warm on all fronts (Little Daddy Shane?), lacking the energy of the original, although G Rap still kilt it. The man once known as NYC Cutter had a third stab at it on his Re-Entry album, assembling a rag-tag bunch of MC’s including the dude from Real Live, a member of World Renown and some random dame called Miss Man (?!) for “Foundation Symphony”. Frankie Cutlass couldn’t track down Master Ace so he grabbed Shante instead for his “Cypher Part 3″, but then forgot to get G Rap to write her verse. Biz Markie also has no business on appearing on a “Symphony” remake, despite his J-U-ICE membership. (more…)
