Twenty reasons why YouTube Commenters are the pinnacle of human evolution:
1. ‘Hiphop saved Lupe’s life. Now Lupe is saving hiphop’s life.’
^ *blank stare*
2. ‘Lupe is like A Tribe Called Quest from 2012 ! He is real.’
^ Which also means that Lupe hasn’t listened to any of his own albums all the way through and prefers Hammer to himself.
3. ‘This needs like 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,etc views’
^ Good thing you added the Etc. That ’0′ key was getting quite the work-out.
4. ‘Lupe Fiasco is not just a rap genius. Thousand miles more. He fight for his dreams and no one could stop him. And just wonder if any of the rappers are read more books then LupeFiasco and educate himself more. Not because it’s fancy or something. Just because he wants more about life then others and try to do something more with his power what he got FOR THE WORLD! Proud of him!’
^ Reading books is the new fancy.
5. ‘the true is that 50 to 100 years from now lupe will be reguarded as one of the best artist of this time’
Turns out not all free rap show’s suck. The other night Lord Finesse blessed us with an encore performance that was nothing short of unfuckwittable. Figuring that the Funkyman would do a quick 15 minutes set and maybe spin some records and bounce, it turned out that he delivered an hour of lyrical gems – and then jumped on the decks for another two! Following DJ Boogie Blind’s valiant but largely failed attempt to spark a breaking session, Finesse ambled onto the stage and proceeded to school all those in attendance as to how to rap. Unleashing his formidable catalog of punchline anthems without the need for a hypeman or weed carrier, L.F. also proceeded to snap on the crowd (“Why you wanna film my shoes and shit? Are you Peter Parker or something, working for the Feds?”), son new-jacks (“I’m a grown man. How am I gonna start wearing tight pants and crying over some girl?”) and crack jokes with his DJ (“Oh now she’s blowing kisses at you? Make your mind up, girl!”). (more…)
Just got put on to some timeless gems over at Lord Finesse‘s Facebook gallery, featuring a teenage Fat Joe, Big L, DJ Premier, GURU and more. “Whole lotta memories…” (c) Iz The Wiz. (more…)
The other night BFred – who threw me that guest week over at XXL way back when and currently holds it down over at Complex – assembled the opinions of a bunch of rap bloggers and assorted hacks regarding the new Eminem song. The surprising thing about the end result is that my score wasn’t the lowest, although that may explain why I only received one Twitter jab from a cracker groupie while Noz received a couple of love letters via email. Remind me to award 0.5/5 next time.
I remember seeing the posters a couple of months ago and bugging out. Mash Out Posse coming through my town? Nah, right? But it they were. As a huge supporter/fan/Stan of the Brownsville crew, I knew this was gonna be a night to remember. Turns out it was, only not exactly the way I’d imagined… (more…)
Is there anybody over the age of twelve who’s actually willing to admit to being a fan (or, in the more extreme cases, a Stan) of any rappers these days? Now that everyone is a producer, MC, DJ, blogger and CEO of their own ‘entertainment group’, is there still room for those of us who aren’t teenage girls to be fans of the music? Personally, I don’t mind admitting that I’m a fan of certain artists (and nearing Stan status with a couple), but at the same time no one wants to come off like a groupie…it can be a fine line.
But what exactly is it that defines a fan? To hear Ghostface tell it, you have to cop his latest album and produce it on demand when he performs in your town. If so, does that mean that Slaughterhouse only have 18,000 fans, based on their first week record sales? Or is everyone who gets mad in blog comment section and message boards when Joey‘s name is typed in vain? Could the problem be the term ‘fan’ itself? Or would you rather be called a ‘supporter’?
Who are you proud to say you’re a fan of? And have you ever had anything signed by you’re favorite artist?
Amateur sleuth/’Pac Stan “Ill” Will explains the various theories about why Tupac was due to return to the USA to crush his enemies in 2003. Big Breakfast host Johnny Vaughan seems suitably bemused. Another victory from crate digga‘s VHS box.
Roc Marcy makes a rare appearance at Sputnik in Brooklyn for the Industry Shakedown Radio One Year Anniversary. Thanks to Solace for the footage. More to follow soon.
When 4,5,6 collaborator T-Ray declared that, “G Rap is the realest. Nas, Pun, Raekwon – all of them owe their styles to him. He’s like the Muddy Waters of hip-hop” – he summarized exactly why the Kool Genius of Rap continues to influence the style and technique of today’s finest rappers. By combining a wicked sense of humor (‘Operation CB’) with flawless brag rap credentials (‘Kool Is Back’) and a gift for engrossing narrative (‘Streets of New York’), G Rap proved to be far more versatile than his contemporaries during the eighties and light-years ahead of other gun-talk rappers through-out the early nineties. (more…)
Sure, I’m a Finesse fan. He’s the only rapper I ever asked to sign anything, so when I had a chance to get my hands on the original press kit for his seminal Return of the Funkyman, best believe I went in.
So there’s a bit of talk about Slaughterhouse, right? Joell and Royce are sick, Buddens has his moments and…err…Crooked I? As I was saying, who would you throw into a smoke-filled studio with a bag of Chinese take-out and a case of Becks? Four MC’s, one wildcard for guest shots. Go in.
Every time Poet hits the booth, he wins. Nothing fancy, just bare-bones gutter shit with a a ton of heart from one of the most reliable troopers in the game.
Wop is a great rapper because he isn’t actually a rapper, doesn’t try too hard, he has a great flow and he keeps it simple, dummy. Plus it’s mostly the voice.
After catching the spirited debate as to the GOAT Public Enemy album between Dallas Penn and Combat Jack, I was reminded that as amazing as those albums are, nothing holds a candle to the mighty Critical Beatdown.
For years, I’ve flip-flopped between Criminal Minded and Critical Beatdown for the title of Greatest Rap Album Evah. But what tape am I lurching for before I pass out after too much Jamieson? Ultra, pusscakes! While Ced blessed Scott and Kris with his programming expertise for their debut, it was Beatdown that allowed him to go all-out in the Ultra Lab (decked-out in tin-foil to give it that ‘futuristic feel’, as legend has it) and really take rap so far into the future that the world still hasn’t caught-up. Word to Paul C. (more…)
