An Obituary

THE MEDIA DOES P DESTROYING THE H MOVEMENT, BUT THE HIP-HOP COM BIGGEST ENEMIES YOU WILL BE THE HELP THE ENEMIE DESTROY IT, OR T UNDERGROUND, B IGNORANCE OR HIP-HOP. AFRIKA BAMBAAT

PLAY A BIG ROLE IN HIP-HOP CULTURE MANY OF YOU IN MMUNITY ARE THE S OF HIP-HOP AND E ONES WHO WILL ES OF HIP-HOP TO TO BRING IT BACK ECAUSE OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF

TAA

AN OBITUARY

AN OBITUARY WHERE HIP HOP HAS BEEN AND WHERE HIP HOP IS GOING

BY THERESA LIU

CONTENTS FOREWORD

11

ARGUMENTS

12 - 15

HISTORY

14 - 39

NEW WAVE

41 - 59

BIBLIOGRAPHY

60 - 61

FOREWORD

From Afrika Bambaataa to You The legendary Afrika Bambaataa and his organization The Zulu Nation recently sent this statement to our brother and good friend Jazzy D for all of the rappers from every coast or region to read:

for nothing and if you were wise in your disrespect of each other, you would know how to make money with respecting your disrespect of each other, if you truly understand what I am saying.

I, Afrika Bambaataa, have heard it all, read it all, in many magazines throughout the world, and seen almost all in this continuing bull**** about which rappers are better, east coast v west coast, Miami bass hip-hop is bullshit, British Rappers sound funny rapping, electro funk, techno rappers are soft, I like hardcore rap and beats, this one group is like that, old school vs new school, Rap wouldn’t be rap if it wasn’t for the battles, I’m the quickest, baddest rapper, deejay around, Go Go music in Washington D. C. is dead. It’s all about hip-house or house music all night long. I dis you, you dis me, my crew will take you out or kick your ass, Fuck this or that, Nigger, Nigga, Nigguz, Nigguh, Hoe, Hooker, Bitches with Problems, Hoes with Attitudes.

Many who are into hip-hop or part of hip-hop culture throughout the world need a check up from the neck up. In fact, and in truth, the whole human family needs one. Everyone needs to check up on their own roots and culture and seek the real truths on life on this so-called planet Earth. Knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, facts and truths about black, brown, red, yellow and white people and not that brainwash white supremacy shit that white people in power have taught all over the world and to their own people of the so called planet Earth.

Just look at yourselves, sounding like a bunch of fools, who really don’t have any true knowledge of self and knowledge of hip-hop culture and what it’s all about. First of all, let me tell you that the music (beats) that makes up hip-hop, comes from different nationalities and races, especially from black people, and if you think I am a brother who don’t know what he is talking about, just check out many of the music, beats, grooves and sounds that many of your rappers use to make their records or rap over. Hip-hop music in general is colorless and not racist.

It comes from many categories in music, for example: Hip-hop music is made up from other forms of music like funk, soul, rhythm & blues, jazz, rock heavy l, salsa, soca (calypso), TV shows, kiddie shows, horror movies, techno, pop, disco, african, arabic, reggae -etc. . . . and if you use any records from these categories, you will see that the music is made by people from different races or nationalities from all over the planet, but it’s roots start with black people.

I have read many interviews by different rap groups throughout the world, just to see where their heads are at, whether they are really knowledgeable about hip-hop music/culture or whether they are just plain assholes.

Many of the rappers will down(dis) another rapper because he or she wanted to experiment with hip-hop by singing or adding a different sound in hip-hop to create something new. When are all of you in the hip-hop world going to ‘wake up’? You love to keep dissing each other

Yes, there are many wrongs in the worldwide hip-hop community, but there are also many aspects of positivity within the hip-hop community that the media or trade magazines rarely focus upon. Many of you in hip-hop culture don’t even listen to the rappers who are trying hard to wake your asses up to what is going on in the bigger scale than of what you see in your neighborhoods, their message goes in one ear and out the other.

The media does play a big role in destroying the hiphop culture movement, but many of you in the hip-hop community are the biggest enemies of hip-hop and you will be the ones who will help the enemies of hip-hop to destroy it, or to bring it back underground, because of your ignorance or knowledge of hip-hop. This has started the difference between ‘old school’ and ‘new school’. To myself (Afrika Bambaataa) there is only one school and that’s the learning, evolving, going through the different phases or cycles school of hip-hop. That is the real hiphop school. A lot of you in the world of hip-hop better start looking at the problems in your own backyard as well as the world, because while you are enjoying yourselves etc. there are many plots being sprung to destroy hip-hop in the world. Because many people in government look at hip-hop music and its culture as a radical music that gets straight to the point and music that will wake up the youth and young adults throughout the world. They can also use hip-hop to backfire and destroy itself. You can believe what I’m saying. But time will tell and I see what you see not.

Peace be unto you, Your brother In music and faith, Afrika Bambaataa.

11

ARGUMENTS

< IS HIP HOP REALLY DEAD? >

Is Hip-Hop Really Dead?

Hip-hop icon Nas made the provocative statement, “Hiphop is dead,’’ in September and set off a firestorm of controversy. It was intensified by the January release of his album bearing the same title.

Many questioned why Nas would say hip-hop -- a worldwide phenomenon that has generated billions of dollars -could be “dead.’’ After all, more hip-hop albums are being released then ever before, and the music’s influence extends to movies, corporate marketing and theater. That it’s dead seems absurd -- until you realize Nas was looking beneath the surface.

He was speaking of the corporate side of the music and the mentality of executives more interested in turning a quick buck than nurturing rap culture. Nas realized sex, violence and bling, as themes for the music, had pretty much run their course. Album sales had plummeted, and ratings at hiphop radio stations in New York, Los Angeles and elsewhere had hit all-time lows.

A number of people, including this writer, also had spoken out about mediocre product coming from some of the genre’s biggest stars. Yet such talk was rebuffed by so-called industry experts, who blamed digital downloading and satellite radio.

We critics, however, were vindicated by a study published earlier this year by the University of Chicago. Data from the “Black Youth Project’’ indicated that while 58 percent of blacks between ages 15 and 25 listen to hip-hop daily, most are dissatisfied with it. They

find the subject matter is too violent, and women too often portrayed in offensive ways.

Such feelings hint at a dirty little secret of the music business: Blacks are used largely to validate musical themes being marketed to the white mainstream. In other words, while 90 percent of commercial rap artists on TV and radio are black, the target audience lies outside the black community.

Paul Porter, a longtime indus-

bills at a camera while bikiniclad women gyrate in the background. Should these artists attempt to break out of the mold, they’d risk having their work questioned by record and radio executives.

In our conversation, Porter also pointed to something more sinister: payola. He claimed hip-hop is dead only because payola is rampant at labels intent on investing in songs with sexual and violent themes During a separate conversa-

"NAS REALIZED SEX, VIOLENCE AND BLING, AS THEMES FOR THE MUSIC, HAD PRETTY MUCH RUN THEIR COURSE. ALBUM SALES HAD PLUMMETED, AND RATINGS AT HIP-HOP RADIO STATIONS IN NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES AND ELSEWHERE HAD HIT ALL-TIME LOWS."

try veteran and former music programmer at BET and Radio One, is now with the watchdog organization Industryears. com. He says the University of Chicago findings offer proof positive that commercial hiphop has become the ultimate minstrel show, and rap artists are pushed by the industry to remain perpetual adolescents.

As a result, we watch Diddy, Cam’ron, DMX and others brag about wealth and throw

greased with the promise that key stations countrywide would get hot “summer jam’’ concert acts in exchange for airplay. According to Questlove, more than $1 million in cash and resources were eventually laid out for the success of that single song.

In the documentary “Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes,’’ shown recently on the PBS series “Independent Lens,’’ filmmaker Byron Hurt confronts Stephen Hill, BET’s senior vice president for programming, to ask why the cable network plays so many videos with misogynist and otherwise degrading themes. The fortysomething Hill walks away without answering. This is the same executive who refused to broadcast videos by the group Little Brother, because he considered their material “too intelligent’’ for the BET audience.

With thinking like that, no wonder commercial hip-hop appears dead. It’s the ideas of the gatekeepers that are dead.

tion, Questlove of the Roots supported Porter’s allegation with his own story about the process behind the group’s Grammy-winning hit with Erykah Badu, “You Got Me.’’ He said the Roots had to pony up close to “a million dollars’’ to a middle man who “worked his magic’’ at radio stations.

Initially, the overtly positive song had been rejected, he explained, so palms were

"IF HIP HOP SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE I’LL PUT AN EXTENDED CLIP INSIDE OF MY AK ROLL TO EVERY STATION, MURDER THE DJ ROLL TO EVERY STATION, MURDER THE DJ" "HIP HOP IS DEAD", NAS, 2006

12

< IS HIP HOP REALLY DEAD? >

ARGUMENTS

The Streets Is Talking News & Notes From the Underground

“IT AIN’T GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH OLD SCHOOL, NEW SCHOOL, DIRTY SOUTH, WEST COAST, EAST COAST — IT’S ABOUT US,” HE SAID."

BY SHAHEEM REID

“Because the South is dominating it right now,” Cris further explained. “Saying that hip-hop is dead is like saying the South is dead too.

They may not like some of the music going on in the South.

But everybody in the South is saying, ‘We are keeping it alive.’ ... At the end of the day, hip-hop is what you make it.

What we do in the South isn’t hip-hop — that’s what some people think. We think it is.

Some people say it’s countryrap tunes. Hip-hop is what you make it.”

“Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but if it’s dead, why is the South boomin’?” Big Boi wondered, sounding as if he were siding with ‘Cris before getting a little sidetracked.

“We got the ball right now. ...

But nobody better never come out their mouth wrong about me or my homeboy [Andre 3000] ever. Ever! Tell them.

We don’t even play. I’ll slap the sh-- out of you. That’s why you never hear about Outkast getting into nothing.

“But everybody is entitled to their own opinion,” he repeated. “Some people take offense to certain things. If you know you that n---a on the mic and know what you do ... sh--, Dre 3000 said hiphop was dead how many years ago? It’s whatever it meant to him. It wasn’t exciting him.

Everybody got their own opinion. But we f--- with Nas. If he meant it in a disrespectful

way, that’ll get dealt with too.”

For the record, Nas has never said that hip-hop was dead because the South was blowing up. Nas actually has a house in Georgia and says he has love for his cousins in the dirty.

“A lot of them should know I’m deeper than singling out one place,” Nas said last week while on Hot 97 talking to Miss Jones and DJ Envy.

He explained that he called hip-hop deceased because it’s lacking creativity and beef is too prevalent.

“We’re monkeying around, scrambling for attention,” Nas said.

But elsewhere on the Hip Hop Is Dead LP, Nas actually takes the polar opposite stance.

“Hope” includes the lyric “Hiphop will never die.”

“It ain’t got nothing to do with old school, new school, Dirty South, West Coast, East Coast — it’s about us,” he said. “I say what I say and I mean it. Y’all take it how you wanna take it. If you asking why hip-hop dead, it’s a pretty good chance your lame ass, corny ass is the reason it died.”

Explaining The Fall of Hip Hop

BY PROFPLUME

As in any major movement, the days where an MC fought for respect one block at a time are long gone. I don’t expect to see the same competition as we saw when there were a handful of contracts to be given out, by the handful of labels that would come within 50 feet of rap music and every city block housed prospects.

We are the at the same point in the progression (or saturation) of hip hop that the Friday the 13th saga was at “Jason Takes Manhattan”, but what were we really expecting at that point?

Around 1990, we saw the face of rap begin to change with the arrival of artists from the West Coast. While still conforming to the the basic mores of the culture, N.W.A. and the rest switched the topic from parties and respect for skills, to California’s infamous gang life. The new “gangster rap” style, marked by black Raider apparel and a distinct sound, became wildly popular for its unique message. Incidentally, NY rappers, who had originally welcomed the growth, became resentful of the West’s popular alterations, and this

time also marked a divide where half of the East Coast artists followed suit, and the rest played the role of hip hop’s guardian, dissing the new style and advancing the political rhetoric of Public Enemy and KRS-One. This continued throughout the 90s, as hip hop’s commercial appeal began to peak. The pioneers started to lose their right to the term “rap music” and were being called “underground,” as they continued to claim their authenticity and superior talent to a group of constituents that was dwindling each year.

The climatic deaths of two rappers in 1997, resulting from the East vs. West tension are well documented, to the point where much less subtle dynamics were occurring generated by the meteoric rise of two present day icons, Puff Daddy and Eminem. These two artists, a shrewd business man and an intricate character with tremendous skills and a unique message who was discovered by N.W.A.’s Dr. Dre, changed the course

of development.

Puffy was an anomaly who was truly ahead of his time when he decided to represent NY in neither of the two main images. Instead, he chose a third image, that of flashy cars and jewelery. While the West Coast artists were seen mostly in white t-shirts and black everything else, and the O.G.’s were partial to big gold chains, Puffy went with platinum and diamonds, a look which admittedly caught the eye of another rapper with an entrepreneurial mindset, who was determined to do it bigger and better and achieved that goal after kicking off an entire movement down south, marked by the well known phrase, “Bling,Bling,” Master P. The multitude of artists under him were hardly interested in upholding the ancient rituals of the East Coast, they were interested in getting paid.

could be found everywhere from a Burger King commercial to episodes of Blue’s Clues (which is the type of conduit through which Drake appeared.) It only stands to reason that the turn of the century (when financial interests began pouring into rap) brought about an inflation of the time’s current style. “Bling, Bling,” while the original model, now called “underground rap” had become dated and second tier.

What businessman wants to invest in something passe?

The romantics were now called “back-packers” referring to the element of old-school rap, where graffiti artists needed to carry multiple cans of spray paint through the city at night.

This began the so called “dominance” of the Dirty South, while the throwback artists of New York lost support from major labels and were reduced to internet hustling and independent labels, or “indies”.

Another group with intentions of financial gain were the CEO’s of every corporation on Earth. By now, the original struggles were over. Not only was hip hop accepted, but it

On another front, Detroitbased, Caucasian rapper, Eminem, played a different role in shaping the music. The early culture had seen few white rappers after the Beas-

tie Boys played a pivotal role in its acceptance and a handful of other NY residents, like 3rd Bass, said their piece. It was less racial and more demographic, as the elitist New York bias seldom accepted those who weren’t a card carrying resident of a major city, preferably New York. Then, Vanilla Ice, the Texas-born prankster, who incidentally, has the so called “street credibility” of Shaft compared to that of fellow Grammy winner and former teeny-bop heart throb, Drake, was vilified for presenting himself in a false light (which was easier before the time of the internet), to the point where he single-handedly made white suburbanites a general persona non grata in hip hop.

skateboarders and the suburban type party scene, allowed the acceptance of your average suburban mall-dweller, regardless of his childhood. It was only a matter of time before this happened, as I maintained in the last piece, you could only keep something for so long before it becomes public domain. (As a side note, it is interesting that Eminem’s fellow Detroit rappers, such as Royce Da’ 5’9”, and the Crown City Rockers, make up a large part of the “back-packer” rap, which is the original hip hop.

Then came Eminem, whose talent and originality, officially stamped by N.W.A.’s super-producer Dr. Dre, were strong enough to finally end the embargo, both on “whiteboys”, and to a lessor extent, middle America, as he called Michigan home. His undeniable popularity, skill, and arrogance, while referencing

13

ARGUMENTS

Hip Hop Is Still Good

BY MANNY MADUAKOLAM

Harlem, NY, Sept 29, 1998, 17 E. 126th St., famed photographer Gordon Parks shot the cover image for XXL’s December ’98 issue, “The Greatest Day In Hip-Hop History.”

The cover paid homage to Art Kane’s iconic jazz portrait “A Great Day in Harlem.” Similar to the original, Park’s version brought in a surplus of rap legends and up-and-comers to pose in front of three brownstones in Harlem.

All regions and ages were represented, as everyone from Rakim, Fab 5 Freddy, Kool Herc and Debbie Harry (Blondie) to Da Brat, Wyclef, Jermaine Dupri, Luke, E-40, Fat Joe, and Shyheim, among others, were present. The cover ranks as a huge milestone in hiphop history, a pure example of MCs from all over the U.S. putting aside their egos to come together to pay homage to the culture’s pioneers and acknowledging the passing of the torch, as a New Golden Age of hip-hop began.

Well, I’m here to say that today we are entering another Golden Age. Most sources define a golden age as “a time period when some activity or skill was at its peak.”

As I sit in front of my iTunes and scan through my play list, I can honestly say that we are entering into a special time in hip-hop. Lyricism is cool again! Songs are heartfelt and actually strike emotions, while painting a visual story. Consistency is at its strongest. The surge of good, quality music out is amazing and the amount of young and talented artists is overwhelming. That nostalgic atmosphere people would feel when listening to good music is slowly starting to come back and the diversity in hip-hop is at its peak.

Some said the West Coast couldn’t come with the rhyme, but listen to Nipsey Hussle, Dom Kennedy, Kendrick Lamar, Pac Div, Fashawn and Jay Rock and tell me they can’t flow. Some said the South killed hip hop… Pause! Play a track by J. Cole, Jay Electronica, Curren$y, B.o.B. or Big K.R.I.T. and you tell me they’re not lyrical. If you have to ask who’s in the Midwest, then you’ve never heard of Big Sean, Kid Cudi, Freddie Gibbs, Chip the Ripper and The Cool Kids.

A lot of people say the reason why “hip-hop is dead” is because the New York rap scene is dead, but how can anyone say that when there’s Mickey Factz, Joell Ortiz, Papoose, Vado and Red Café holding their own.

[See “Let”,Page 5]

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< IS HIP HOP REALLY DEAD? >

Chuck D Pens Letter On The State Of Hip-Hop

BY THEO BARK

Reporting from Cape Town, South Africa, Public Enemy frontman Chuck D has penned his own hip-hop State of the Union address. The essay, originally addressed to writers Davey D and Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur of AllHipHop.com, discusses the 50-year-old’s observations on the genre’s global significance after some lengthy traveling.

“Looking at a HIP-HOP Planet across 25 countries while still somewhat supportive of American rap, the rest of the world has surpassed the U.S. in skill, in fundamentals and commitment to their communities,” the legendary rapper and hiphop activist begins. He contests that “turntablism, breaking, graffiti and emceeing” have all developed elsewhere with more meaning and skill.

He says that the lack of local radio, television and community support make it hard for emerging rappers to break.

“For example a rapper working in the community gets obscured while if that same rapper robbed a gas station he’d get top coverage and be label a ‘rapper’ while getting his upcoming or current music somewhat put on blast, regardless of its quality which of course is subjective like any other art. RAP sites and blogs are mimicking the New York POST.”

change. Chuck hopes to become a “freedom fighter” in his own right and comes to the conclusion that “never have so many been pimped by so few,” a sentiment he repeats throughout his penned monologue.

“Words are powerful and they can both start wars and bring peace,” he continues. “This cannot be taken lightly. Its important for the words to be body with the community. If not one dime of $250 million doesn’t benefit the people who contribute to it then why does that warrant coverage above the will and effort of many in the music who have done great things.”

Finally, Chuck threatens to combat the rampant materialism that has taken control of his beloved culture. “I drive a ‘94 Montero, a ‘97 Acura, and have no expensive jewelry,” he says. “There is nothing on this planet materially that is better than myself. This is what I instill in many doing Hip-Hop that nothing is greater than what is given. These games of people doing anything to get things has seeped into my way so therefore witness some radical virtual things coming from me in protecting the art-form of Hip-Hop. Never have so many been pimped by so few.

So, I’m going after the few. I’m tired of it.”

[See next page, Page 5]

Soulja Boy: “Nas Killed Hip-Hop”

BY ELAN MACINI

In a video that recently hit the net, teen rap sensation Soulja Boy accused Queensbridge vet Nas of killing hip-hop.

up everybody’s money,” SB complained. “He killed his own career with that shit. He shoulda thought about it.”

The obscenity-laced clip finds a shirtless SB eating take out with his SOD crew, explaining why Esco should have thought twice before saying “hip-hop was dead.” “Real talk the nigga that killed hip-hop for real is Nas, dawg,” he said. “He came out publicly and said hip-hop is dead, and then after that everybody start saying [it]. Cause think about it, if Nas woulda never said hip-hop is dead then mofuckers woulda never thought it died. They woulda never had that terminology.”

“You know how they say George Bush fucked up America, it’s the same way with Nas did with hip-hop,” he continued.

SB, who has been blamed for killing hip-hop by Ice-T, believes that when Nas named his 2006 Def Jam debut HipHop is Dead, he became responsible for ruining rappers’ financial situations. “He came out with that shit and fucked

Chuck goes on to call out hiphop’s ruling class, charging artists like Jay-Z to provide a greater contribution to their community, and fully embrace their ability to promote world

This video comes just two weeks after the Atlanta based rapper dropped his sophomore CD iSouljaboytellem. As XXLmag.com previously reported SB took a big hit in his first week sales last Wednesday (12/24) selling a mere 45,000 disc as compared to last year’s Souljaboytellem.com which sold 117,000 in its debut week.

Lupe Fiasco Says, “Hip-Hop Is Coming To An End.”

BY ELAN MACINI

After two tracks leaked onto the net by an indie band called Japanese Cartoon many fans speculated that the singer of the group was Lupe Fiasco.

The Chi-Town rapper took to the Okayplayer.com forums to dismiss the rumors, among a list of other topics including his new album,the current state of hip-hop and new Interscope signee Charles Hamilton.

Over the weekend music by the British band hit the net and many sites said that it featured Lupe singing under the moniker Percival Fats. Yet according to the group’s MySpace page, Fats is a real person and while Lupe is not in the band, he is involved with the group financially.

“Percival Fats (Born Percival

Hindenburg-Fats) Is NOT Lupe Fiasco (Born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco). Although he is a dear friend,” it read.

“Lupe does finance the band but is NOT I REPEAT NOT THE SINGER IN JAPANESE CARTOON. He is however the producer and we value his participation very much.”

Lu, under the moniker FNF Up And Away ok, also cleared the air himself on the Okayplayer.com forums– where he has been known to post in the past. “I like those kids a lot,” he wrote. “Met the bass player overseas last year and their publicist/manager is a good friend from like childhood.

May sign them. Not me singing though.”

During the forum chat, the Atlantic rapper also gave his two cents on the current state of hip-hop. “I feel like hip-hop is

coming to sort of a..i dare say… an end???…(no pun intended),” he explained. ”It’s not the same energy… hasn’t been for a long time… just a bunch of nothing out there…take it how u may…

I hope the new vanguard proves me wrong and brings back the day of substance minus the webcam video to announce its return.”

“Not ‘end’ in the since of cease to exist,” he clarified. “But more so transform into something else so expression is more meaningful…I put question marks on it because I still question my own thoughts about the feeling. But so many “what the fuck?!?!” moments have piled up so incredibly over the last few years that it begs a rethink of the trajectory of the art form.

As far as who the next generation he is speaking of, Lupe listed the Cool Kids and Charles Hamilton in that category. “I’m a ‘new nigga’ but old in the senses of the fast food generation…. the ‘new new niggas’ i.e. The Cool Kids, the incredibly interesting and though provoking Charles Hamilton and the like are the vanguard I speak of…honestly I want it to change…never really been a fan of preserving… attention span is way too low and distorted for that hahaha.”

Fiasco also promised that his highly anticipated upcoming album, now titled Everywhere instead of LupEND, will be coming a lot sooner than expected.

As of press time there is no release date set for the album and still no word if this will be the rapper’s final album.

< IS HIP HOP REALLY DEAD? >

Chuck D's State Of Hip-Hop Rant

BY CHUCK D

I really don’t know what constitutes for “relevant” coverage in HIP-HOP news in America these days, but I really want to give you all a heads up. As you know I’ve been through three passports, 76 countries on the regular in the name of HipHop since 1987 and in 2010, although I’ve never stopped traveling the earth this year, I’ve seen, heard and felt some new things.

As far as RAP and HIP-HOP, it’s like USA Olympic basketball, the world has parity now and have surpassed the USA in ALL of the basic fundamentals of HIP-HOP - TURNTABLISM, BREAKING, GRAFFITI, and now EMCEEING with succinct mission , meaning and skill. Skill-wise rappers spitting three languages, have created super rappers to move the crowd with intensity and passion. The “arrogant” American comes in blackface, but if there was a HIP-HOP or Rap Olympics, I really don’t think the United States would get Gold, Silver or Brass or even ass for that sake.

Personally, Public Enemy has been setting records in a record book that doesn’t really exist. The 20th year anniversary of FEAR OF A BLACK PLANET has become into a year and a half celebration of eights legs and five continents.

All the while, looking at a HIPHOP Planet across 25 countries while still somewhat supportive of American rap, the rest of the world has surpassed the U.S. in skill, in fundamentals and commitment to their communities. Public Enemy’s mission is to set the path, pave the road for cats to do their thing for a long time as long as they do it right.

Because of the lack of support from local radio, television and community in the United States, the ability for “local” acts to thrive in their own radius has killed the ability to connect and grow into a proper development as a performer, entertainer and artist.

Rappers trying to get put on to a national contract hustle from a NEW YORK or LOS ANGELES corporation has caused the art-form to atrophy from the bottom, while never getting signed to a top echelon that really doesn’t exist, but to a very few.

HIP-HOP NEWS spreads like any other mainstream NEWS in America. The garbage that’s unfit to print has now floated on websites and blogs like sh*t.

For example a rapper working in the community gets obscured while if that same rapper robbed a gas station he’d get top coverage and be label a “rapper” while getting his upcoming or current music somewhat put on blast, regardless of its quality which of course is subjective like any other art.

RAP sites and blogs are mimicking the New York POST. This is not mere complaint ,

this is truth and its coming down on Americans like rain without a raincoat with cats screaming how they ain’t wet.

This is real. The other night upon finishing groundbreaking concert performances in Johannesburg we followed a special free concert in Soweto.

To make a point that our agenda was to “show? and encourage the Hip-Hop community to be comfortable in its mind and skin without chasing valueless Amerikkkan values.

Never have so many been pimped by so few.

It does the people of the planet little good to hear that an an artist is famous and rich, will wear expensive jewelry straight from the mines, show it off, stay it the hotel, ride in limos, do the VIP with chilled champagne in the clubs, ape and monkey the chicks (meaning not even talking) and keep the dudes away with slave paid bodyguards when real people come close. The mimic of the VIACOM-sanctioned video has run tired, because it shows off, does NOT inspire and it says NOTHING. Here in South Africa PUBLIC ENEMY has done crucial groundbreaking performances. Its the same level of smashing the house that we’ve done this year in Moscow, New York, Paris, London , Chicago and other places this year. This is not news We are not trying to prove any point other than to show that a classic work is timeless and doesn’t have a demographic per se. The Rolling Stones and U2 are NOT measured by mere tracks’ they are measured by the all-around event they present. The art of the performance has left HipHop whereas somebody has led artists to do more performing off the stage than on it. The agenda here is to create artist exchange This serves as a call to the infrastructure-less Hip-Hop game in Amerikkka. We know what your hustle is, but what is your work and job here? Faking it until making it runs its course in a recession, which is a depression for Black folks who increasingly are becoming more skill-less as they become jobless.

Never have so many been pimped by so few.

Since the music has so much power, and image has become everything to the point that it can dictate the direction of a person in their life, it is my mission now to really become a “freedom fighter” and stop this radiation. With Jay-Z and others who, for years would faint their worth, the statement of “with great power comes great responsibility,” is more true. Words are powerful and they can both start wars and bring peace. This cannot be taken lightly. Its important for the words to be body with the community. If not one dime

of $250 million doesn’t benefit the people who contribute to it then why does that warrant coverage above the will and effort of many in the music who have done great things.

Never have so many been pimped by so few.

I turned 50 this year. Everyday I get the question whats up with Hip-Hop today. If nothing was wrong the question wouldn’t be the dominating question I get. I do massive interviews worldwide. I’m covered from varied aspects Hip-Hop, Public Enemy, social issues, musicology in general.

So, my interactive world dialogue is deeper and more present than 140 characters.

Never have so many been pimped by so few.

I am tired of the silence of people that know better. There is nothing worse than a person that knows better and does worse. Or says nothing.

And makes bulls**t.

excuses

for

You know damn well HIP-HOP in the USA has fell way the f**k off as the American dollar and much of America itself. Held up and dictated by White business lawyers, accountants in New York, and Los Angeles offices.

To dictate to a community and not even live or be with the people is offensive. VIACOMs reach into Africa to turn HIPHOP in to Amerfrica, which is as exploitative as those slavemakers who carried us across on boats. The decisions made in a boardroom in New York City while these cats scurry to their high rises, and suburban mansions from cultural profiteering must stop. And I’m going to do something about it.

Never have so many been pimped by so few.

My agenda of Hip-Hop around the world is in line with its creators, who followed Black Music. The music had the people’s back. It has never been my personal agenda. Americans arrogantly have no back. HipHop has followed this. I am disturbed by the fact that I tell artists that doing work in their community will get them little or no buzz for their effort, but in the same sense if they robbed or shot someone or did a bid they would get national and sometimes international attention.

Never have so many been pimped by so few.

So many of your favorite people suck up to the NBA and NFL, because it has order and when you make the game look bad David Stern or Robert Goddell is kicking their asses out . They are the indisputable HWIC, and negroes are in line and silenced. But here in Hip-Hop the dysfunctionality

reward makes the money that puts food on many tables.

Its time, because I hear too many excuses. I wont allow what’s in the USA f**k up what I and others worked hard to instill. I drive a ‘94 Montero, a ‘97 Acura, and have no expensive jewelry. There is nothing on this planet materially that is better than myself. This is what I instill in many doing Hip-Hop that nothing is greater than what is given. These games of people doing anything to get things has seeped into my way so therefore witness some radical virtual things coming from me in protecting the art-form of Hip-Hop. Never have so many been pimped by so few.

So, I’m going after the few.

I’m tired of it.

ARGUMENTS

Let The Golden Age Begin...Again

BY MANNY MADUAKOLAM

We can’t forget about hiphop’s international appeal either. Just listen to the radio and “hip-hop’s rookie of the year” is a kid named Drake from Toronto.

C’mon, son, enough said.

That’s is just the tip of the iceberg, though. What about Slaughterhouse, Wiz Khalifa, Game, Lupe Fiasco, Asher Roth, Mac Miller, Blu, Laws, Saigon, Bun B, CurT@!n$, dead prez, Fly Union, Lloyd Banks, French Montana, Maino, Chris & Neef, Mysonne, Phil Ade, Plies, Strong Arm steady, 50 Cent, Casper G, Wyldstyle, The Roots, Smoke DZA… Whooooo *Rick Ross voice* had to catch my breath… …Gucci Mane, Tech N9ne, Waka Flocka Flame, Roscoe Dash, Jae Millz, Tyga, Nicki Minaj, Yelawolf, Travis McCoy, Drag-on, KDotForbes, Big Boi, David Banner, and many more have all made quality songs in just a three-month span.

Oh, did I forget to say Dipset is back!!

Just look at some of the albums that dropped this summer, Drake’s Thank Me Later, Rick Ross’s Teflon Don, Eminem’s Recovery, Fat Joe’s The Darkside, Vol. 1 and Bun B’s Trill O.G. These are all quality albums that all received XL ratings for XXL magazine and high praises throughout the hip-hop community. When was the last time something like that happen in one summer?

The crazy thing is the Trinity of hip-hop, the Lebron, Wade, and Bosh of “the league” if you will (you decide which one is who), Lil Wayne, JayZ, and Kanye West have only one single out between them, Yeezy’s “Power.” They do have some killer feature verses out, though. Jay-Z annihilated “Light Up” and “Free Mason,” Kanye digested “Live Free, Die Young,” and Weezy mutilated “Light Up (Remix)” from his jail cell on the phone no less.

I know, I know, they play Drake and Nicki Minaj songs at least three times every half our, but when haven’t they played certain songs over and over. I remember a couple years ago, you could switch between radio stations and they’d be playing the same song at the same time, at any given time of day. It was so bad that you actual knew their lineup because they played the same songs that much!

Do you remember when all a person needed is a song with bass and catchy dance and you got a record deal? Or, how we were playing ringtones as singles? Yaaaah, trick, yaaaaah…

SMH. Now I can actually go to the club and have fun and I don’t have to be crankin’ a Batman, Superman, Ironman, Flash, Thor, or Hercules; walking out anything; or chicken noodle soupin’.

This is a beautiful time in music as talent is everywhere— both new and old. People are making records worthy of the repeat button, artists are showing growth in their craft and their music for every feeling, emotion, or mind state available: Hardcore, smooth, thought provoking, whatever you’re feeling, they’re here, you just got to look… And it’s not even that hard.

Maybe we can go back 17 E. 126th St in Harlem and have another cover of today’s MC. We are entering a special time in hip-hop, so please keep your ears and eyes open because, in my best Drizzy voice, “Oh, yeah, we in this bitch!!!”

The League, what up?

This has been your wifey’s favorite intern.

Just look at what’s happening before our eyes right now. Really think about the state of hip-hop at this very moment, sit down and ask yourself; How much new music have I downloaded in the last three months? Look at your iTunes recently added section and see how many different artists from different regions you have. We all know the radio is not the best place to discover music, but quite frankly, it’s the best it’s ever been in years. A hip-hop fan can actually drive a long distance and keep the radio on.

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HISTORY

The History of Hip Hop

BY ACES AND EIGHTHS

Hip hop music, also referred to as rap music, is a music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rap which is accompanied with backing beats. Hip hop music is part of culture, which began in the Bronx, New York City in the 1970s, predominantly among African Americans and Latinos. The term rap is often used synonymously with hip hop music.

Droppin' Science

“In the early 1990s one cannot help but notice how rap music generally, and gangsta rap in particular, has become the scapegoat for some very serious problems facing urban America.

Besieged communities who are truly drowning in poverty and violence, it seems, are grasping at straws. Spokespersons for these antirap movements invoke a mythic past in which middle-class values supposedly ruled.

They point to a “golden age” of good behavior, when the young respected their elders, worked hard, did not live their lives for leisure, took education seriously, and respected their neighbor’s property.

“The various themes of message rap are themselves defined by opposing tendencies, with message-bearing gangsta rappers tending to coalesce at one pole of the spectrum, and those holding more visionary spiritual or political outlooks commingling at the other.

Here one encounters at least three predilections: a morality rooted in interpersonal loyalties on one side contrasted to one that is grounded in more universally applied principles; a shameless exploitation of negative African American stereotypes in the pursuit of crossover record sales on one hand, as opposted to the explicit rejection of such stereotypes and cultivation of positive black images on the other; and a fatalistic and cyni-

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cal view of the world (‘that’s just how things are”) at one end encountered by one that leans toward visionary possibilities at the other (“here is how things might be”.

Where both visionary and gangsta rap may manifest an antisocial character with respect to he dominant society, gangsta rap is antisocial with respect to he black community itself. (One can flee from the police or the FBI for a wide variety of reasons, not all of them explicitly political.)

And where gangsters seem to fall back on individualistic solutions to social problems, the vision oriented tends toward more collective ones.”

But this has been the claim of every generation of black intellectuals and self-appointed leaders since the end of Reconstruction.

The critique of the middle class that was so powerful in some glimmers of early gangsta rap is now silenced, as is the critique of what the economy has done to people. The door is open wider than ever to more all-male schools, heavier discipline, more policing, censorship, dress codes—what amounts to an all-out war on African American youth.

On the other hand, the money is still flowing for gangsta rappers, many of whom now live in the hills overlooking the ghetto. The tragedy of all this

is that the gangsta rappers have gotten harder and harder, kicking more ballistics than “reality”; critics and opponents have become harder and more sweeping in their criticism, dismissing not only the gangsta stuff but the entire body of rap; and the very conditions they are concerned about remain the same.”

Rapping, also referred to as MC-ing or emceeing, is a vocal style in which the performer speaks rhythmically and in rhyme, generally to a beat, recently, however, a difference has developed between “rapping” and “MC-ing”. “MC-ing” has been used to describe those artists who possess and exercise superior lyrical ability and prowess. “Rapping” in recent years has become a pejorative term used to describe those artists who focus less on lyrical talent and ability, and has been used to characterize many of the mainstream artists of today. Beats are traditionally generated from portions of other songs by a DJ, or sampled from portions of other songs by a producer, though synthesizers, drum machines, and live bands are also used, especially in newer music.

Rappers may perform poetry which they have written ahead of time, or improvise rhymes on the spot with or without a beat. Though rap is usually an integral component of hip hop music, DJs sometimes perform and record alone, and many instrumental acts are also defined as hip hop.

Hip hop arose in New York City when DJs began isolating the percussion break from funk, or rock songs for audiences to dance to. The role of the MC was originally to introduce the DJ and the music, and to keep the audience excited. The MC would speak between songs, giving exhortations to dance, greetings to audience members, jokes and anecdotes. Eventually, this practice became more stylized, and came to be known as rapping. By 1979, hip hop had become a commercially recorded music genre, and began to enter the American mainstream.

It also began its spread across the world. In the 1990s, a form called gangsta rap became a major part of American music, causing significant controversy over lyrics which were perceived by some as promoting violence, promiscuity, drug use and misogyny. Nevertheless, hip hop continued to increase in popularity, and by the year 2000, it was a staple of popular music charts.

The roots of hip hop are found in African American and West African music. The griots of West Africa are a group of traveling singers and poets, whose musical style is reminiscent of hip-hop and who are part of an oral tradition dating back hundreds of years. Within New York City, griot-like performances of poetry and music by artists such as The Last

Poets and Jalal Mansur Nuriddin had a great impact on the post-civil rights era culture of the 1960s and 1970s. Hip hop arose during the 1970s when block parties became common in New York City, especially the Bronx. Block parties were usually accompanied by music, especially funk and soul music. The early DJs at block parties began isolating the percussion breaks to hit songs, realizing that these were the most dance-able and entertaining parts; this technique was then common in Jamaica and had spread via the substantial Jamaican immigrant community in New York City, especially the “godfather” of hip hop, DJ Kool Herc.

Dub music had arisen in Jamaica due to the influence of American sailors and radio stations playing R&B. Large sound systems were set up to accommodate poor Jamaicans, who couldn’t afford to buy records, and dub developed at the sound systems (refers to both the system and the parties that evolved around them).

Herc was one of the most popular DJs in early 70s New York, and he quickly switched from using reggae records to funk, rock and, later, disco, since the New York audience did not particularly like reggae.

Because the percussive breaks were generally short, Herc and other DJs began extending them using an audio mixer and two records. Mixing and scratching techniques eventually developed along with the breaks. (The same techniques contributed to the popularization of remixes.) Such looping, sampling and remixing of another’s music, sometimes without the original artist’s knowledge or consent, can be seen as an evolution of Jamaican dub music, and would become a hallmark of the hip hop style.

Later, the MCs grew more varied in their vocal and rhythmic approach, incorporating brief rhymes, often with a sexual or scatological theme, in an effort at differentiating themselves and entertaining the audience.

These early raps incorporated similar rhyming lyrics from African American culture, such as the dozens. While Kool Herc & the Herculoids were the first hip hoppers to gain major fame in New York, more MC teams quickly sprouted up.

Frequently, these were collaborations between former gang members, such as Afrika Bambaataa’s Universal Zulu Nation (now a large, international organization). Melle Mel, a rapper/lyricist with The Furious Five is often credited with being the first rap lyricist to call himself an “MC.” During the early 1970s, break dancing arose during block parties, as b-boys and b-girls, (break dancers), got in front of the audience to dance in a distinctive styles. This style was documented for release to a world wide audience for the first time in documentaries and movies such as Style Wars, Wild Style, and Beat Street.

HISTORY

Although there were many early MCs that recorded solo projects of note, such as DJ Hollywood, Kurtis Blow and Spoonie Gee, real notoriety didn’t appear until later with the rise of soloists with big stage presence and drama, such as LL Cool J or MC Hammer . Most early hip hop was dominated by groups where collaboration among the members was integral to the show.

Coinage of the term hip hop is often credited to Keith Cowboy, a rapper with Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five.

Though Lovebug Starski, Keith Cowboy, and DJ Hollywood used the term when the music was still known as disco rap, it is believed that Cowboy created the term while teasing a friend who had just joined the U.S. Army, by scat singing the words “hip/hop/hip/hop” in a way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of marching soldiers. Cowboy later worked the “hip hop” cadence into a part of his stage performance, which was quickly copied by other artists; for example the opening of the song “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang. Former Black Spades gang member Afrika Bambaataa is credited with first using the term to describe the subculture that hip hop music belongs to, although it is also suggested that the term was originally derisively used against the new type of music.

The reasons for the rise of hip hop are found in the changing urban culture within the United States during the 1970s. Perhaps most important was the low cost involved in getting started: the equipment was relatively inexpensive, and virtually anyone could MC along with the popular beats of the day. MCs could be creative, pairing nonsense rhymes and teasing friends and enemies alike in the style of Jamaican toasting at blues parties or playing the dozens in an exchange of wit. MCs would play at block parties, with no expectation of recording, in the way of folk music. The skills necessary to create hip hop music were passed informally from musician to musician, rather than being taught in expensive music lessons.

Another reason for hip hop’s rise was the decline of disco, funk and rock in the mid- to late 70s. Disco became popular among black and gay male clubs in America, and quickly spread to Europe, where it grew increasingly sunny, bright and poppy. Once disco broke into the mainstream in the United States, and was thus appropriated, its original fans and many other listeners rejected it as pre-packaged and soul-less. While many remember the white teens shouting “disco sucks” at every available opportunity, inner-city blacks were similarly rejecting disco and discofied rock, soul and funk (which was virtually everything on the radio at the time).

If disco had anything redeemable for urban audiences, however, it was the strong, eminently danceable beats, and hip hop rose to take advantage of the beats while providing a musical outlet for the masses that hated disco. Disco-inflected music (though comparatively little actual disco) was one of the most popular sources of beats in the first ten or twelve years of hip hop’s existence. In Washington DC, go go also emerged as a reaction against disco, and eventually mixed with hip hop during the early 1980s, while electronic music did the same, developing as house music in Chicago and techno music in Detroit.

The Vibe You don’t have to romanticize musical history to acknowledge that sound processing and effects can be found on recordings from the early party of the 1990s. Think of closely overlapped vocals in work songs as delay; growling, humming, and bent notes as fuzz effects and flanging; falsetto and false bass in vocals and early instrumental music as octave splitting and the products of harmonizers. And think of the wash and panning effects of choirs and big bands;

the wah-wah of plungers and hats over horns. Scratching is heard in the early rhythmic use of sandpaper, animal jawbones, rub-boards, rattles, and gourds filled with seed, as well as in their aural equivalent in stuttered words and verbal distortions, like double Dutch speech. In fact, you’d be hardpressed to find any new electronic effects that don’t have their older African-American acoustic equivalent.

HIP HOP IS THE POP ART OF RACE POLITICS. HIP HOP IS AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN RESPONSE TO THE CONSUMERISM OF CULTURE AND THE DISPOSABILITY OF PEOPLE. IT IS A VEHICLE THAT CAN REPRESENT THE MISREPRESENTED AND COMPETE IN THE MARKETPLACE.

“Hip hop business, however, has always been personal.

While the rest of the record industry has become increasingly corporate and homogenous over the last two decades, concerned more with the bottom line than with individual taste, many hip hop labels are defined by a single executive’s vision. Likewise, though the suits who sit in major label boardrooms remain mostly faceless and interchangeable (quick-name the CEO of Warner Music!), hip hop label chiefs are often as famous as their signings.”

Today, Sugar Hill is remembered as a true pioneer that introduces virtually every important hip hop innovation over a four-year period (scratching, breakbeats, socially relevant lyrics, even rapping itself) without making the compromises that inevitably mark the crossover dream.

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HISTORY

Origin of the Style SOURCE: HIPHOPHISTORY.COM

The history of hip-hop originated in the late 60th of the 20th century and continues to evolve to the present day. That what began more than 30 years ago, boiled over into a particular movement and culture.

Hip-hop culture originated in New York among black and Latino ghetto. Street culture existed for centuries in all countries. But in USA, a country of ghettos, it had a special isolation from society.And then she spilled on the streets of white quarters and then to the masses - the show-business, discos, cinema, etc.

Hip-hop culture has been internationally recognized with the 70th. Its main components are rap (MC’ing), break-dance, graffiti, street types of sports games. So, how it all started.

Despite the fact that hip-hop as a way of life originated long ago in various parts of North America, the real birthplace of it is considered to be the South Bronx - the black ghettos of New York, one of the poorest quarters. But the word “hip-hop” did not yet exist, it was invented a few years later, when already grown-up culture needed some overall title, by a legendary DJ (DJ), Africa Bambaataa.

In 1967 to South Bronx came Clive Campbell from Jamaican, who was labeled Kool Herc. He is considered to be one of the founders of hiphop. Kool Herc became that, what later became known as “DJ”. In Jamaica, the DJ was a “master” of the music system, which evolved around the lives of youth. He arranged parties, made an interesting speechfeast into the microphone.

Soon he became known as MC ( “master of ceremony”) - he gathered music plates, played and announced them. And when a DJ, besides making music, announced some rythmic text it became known as the word “rap”.

Soon Kool Herc for the convenience of the dancers began to repeat the instrumental breaks between verses, during which the dancers came out to the dance-floor and showed their skills. Kool Herc marked the enthusiasm of the dancers for such breaks, and naimed the term “B-Boy”, “Break boys” for those who are moving in the manner of breaks, and the dance was called breakdancing style (breaking).”MC” has become synonymous with rap, when rappers have become not only DJs but also performers, who are able to move in a special hip-hop manner.In the late 60th breakdance existed in the form of two separate dances - New York acrobatic style, which we call the lower break, and the Los Angelesbased mime (upper break). It is an acrobatic style of breaking that was originally twisted by

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bboys in break-dance. It became popular, after 1969, when James Brown wrote a funk-hit “The Good Foot” and performed some elements of this dance on the stage.

Bambaataa formed his own break-dancing team called Zulu Nation, which eventually grew into the organization and included rappers, DJs, graffiti artists and dancers. Zulu Nation, along with other teams contributed to promote breakdancing.Bambaataa included 5 elements into the hip-hop culture: MC’ing ( “Rapping” - rap), DJ’ing, Graffiti (Writing), Dancing (Breaking, UpRocking, Popping, Locking), and knowledges. The last item on his sense means that there is a lack of knowledge about hip-hop culture.

styles, transforming, hip-hop has become the leading dance direction and separated into a single direction - hip-hop.

There are video clips of famous stars of hip-hop and R’n’B music, we see the dancers moving in the style of new style hip-hop. Hip-hop as a dance area is so popular that it has penetrated into our lives everywhere - in the show, music videos, dance schools and centers, fitness clubs, cinema, theater, etc. After more than 30 years since the outbreak and development of hip-hop there are no signs of slowing down this culture.

Veteran of the hip-hop and a leader of the b-boys in the 70th of XX century was Richard Colon, known as “Crazy Legs”.

His break-dance group “Rock Steady Crew” - one of the most vocal and motor, created a new culture of hip-hop. Brake and rap have become synonymous with hip-hop, to which also refers graffiti as one of the factors that promote the popularization of hip-hop.

"THE THING THAT’S GOOD ABOUT HIP HOP IS THAT IT HAS EXPERIMENTED WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT SOUNDS AND MUSIC." AFRIKA BAMBAATAA

Hip-hop dance can be divided into two basic types: * Old school (old school hiphop); * New style (new school hiphop).

Old school (old school) includes popping, locking, breakdance. Popping in its turn is divided into boogaloo, electric boogaloo, tetris, waiving, robot, egypcian, pop corn.

Style “locking” became scenic standard for many black singers and MTV stars such as Janet Jackson and her dancers, as well as many others are moving in this style. In the 90th there was a new form of hip-hop, which connects traffic from the old school styles: popping, locking, break-dancing (but more focused on footwork as opposed to acrobatic style), as well as from many other styles. Gradually, penetrating into the pop culture, absorbing all the new elements and

HISTORY Beat Box” Robinson of Disco 3 (later known as The Fat Boys).

The Mediaʼs First Glimpse

BY SHAMONTIEL

Former gang members from Afrika Bambataa’s Universal Zulu Nation would rap at these block parties and when gangs pitted against each other, they would “break” (dance). Although this art form and music was popular in the New York City area, the media didn’t take notice of Hiphop until two commercial hits came about by the Fatback Band with “King Tim III” and the Sugarhill Gang came out with the hit record, “Rapper’s Delight”. Sugarhill Gang’s hit record became a Top 40 hit on the U.S. Billboard pop singles chart, and soon after, artists like Kurtis Blow would release top selling songs like “The Breaks.” Blow was the first Hip-Hop artist who was accepted into mainstream society enough to appear in ads.

In the 1980s, he did a commercial for Sprite. Meanwhile, Joseph Simmons (brother of Def Jam owner Russell Simmons) was hired as his deejay. Joseph was nicknamed “Run” (later a member of Run DMC) because he could switch between two turntables so swiftly.

After these artists, many more rappers followed with hits from the ‘80s to early ‘90s: L.L. Cool J., Slick Rick, and Ice T, the originator of “gangsta rap”.

The first major black female group, Salt n’ Pepa, launched their way onto the Billboard charts with the single “The Show Stoppa.”

While Hip-Hop music has sampled jazz, reggae, and ska, Run DMC took Hip-Hop an unheard way by completing a collaboration with Aerosmith in 1986 called “Walk This Way.” DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince were the first group to win a Grammy award, in 1988, for their commercial music. Hip-Hop had become a unique entertainment with danceable music, an energetic atmosphere, and a unique way to make a beat: with the mouth. This vocal creation called beatboxing was started by artists like Dougie Fresh, nicknamed “The Entertainer” and Darren “Buff the Human

In 1983, Flashdance was in theaters and this was the second movie where breaking was showcased, with the first being Wildstyle. The Rock Steady Crew performed in the first film. In 1984, Harry Belafonte’s Beat Street included a B-boy battle with the Rock Steady Crew and NYC Breakers. Kool Herc, Dougie Fresh, and Kool Moe Dee were also part of the cast. Adolfo Quinones starred in Breakin and Breakin 2: Electric Boogaloo movies as one of the battle dancers.

Hip-Hop music broke into pop charts and onto MTV, a music television statement that had initially banned this type of music for its political and misogynistic messages. Public Enemy brought Hip-Hop to another level unheard of from the party anthems, bragging, shoutouts, and chanting that it was used to.Public Enemy, consisting of Chuck D, Flavor Flav, and DJ Terminator X, created songs like “A Letter to the New York Post,” “Fight the Power,” “Bring Tha Noize,” and “911 is a Joke.” In the last song, they made controversial comments about how the police department is crooked, emergency crews from 911 take an extreme amount of time to come to ghetto communities, and how the government does not care about people from poor, black areas. Chuck D was imprisoned for refusing to followup with a U.S. draft letter he received to join the army. He made a rhyme about it called “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos”:

where NWA was signed. NWA was ordered never to perform the song again but in 1989 (in Detroit), they did and were arrested. This highly controversial song about the attitudes of many young, black youths towards the police solidified NWA’s popularity and only made the group stronger for standing up to the conservative community. Chuck D referred to Hip-Hop as “The Black CNN” and the late ‘80s and early ‘90s brought about “conscious” music and poetic lyrics from other well-known groups and artists such as Eric B. and Rakim, Kool Moe Dee, Schoolly D, A Tribe Called Quest, Just Ice, Spoonie Gee, Jeru the Damaja, Slick Rick, Guru, Heavy D & The Boys, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Grandmaster Caz, Big Daddy Kane, and Melle Mel.

NWA (Niggas with Attitude) of Compton, CA, (consisting of Eazy E, Ice Cube, and Dr. Dre) made similar controversial and political claims in 1988 when they made the song “Fuck Tha Police.” Radio stations were told not to play it, the video was banned on MTV, and the Federal Bureau Investigation sent a warning letter to Ruthless Records, I GOT A LETTER FROM THE GOVERNMENT THE OTHER DAY I OPENED IT AND READ IT IT SAID THEY WERE SUCKERS THEY WANTED ME FOR THEIR ARMY OR WHATEVER PICTURE ME GIVIN A DAMN I SAID NEVER HERE IS A LAND THAT NEVER GAVE A DAMN ABOUT A BROTHER LIKE ME AND MYSELF BECAUSE THEY NEVER DID I WASN'T WIT IT BUT JUST THAT VERY MINUTE IT OCCURRED TO ME THE SUCKERS HAD AUTHORITY COLD SWEATIN AS I DWELL IN MY CELL HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN THEY GOT ME SITTIN IN A STATE PEN I GOTTA GET OUT BUT THAT THOUGHT WAS THOUGHT BEFORE I CONTEMPLATED A PLAN ON THE CELL FLOOR ANOTHER FUGITIVE ON THE RUN BUT A BROTHER LIKE ME BEGUN TO BE ANOTHER ONE PUBLIC ENEMY SERVING TIME THEY DREW THE LINE Y'ALL TO CRITICIZE ME FOR SOME CRIME NEVERTHELESS THEY COULD NOT UNDERSTAND THAT I'M A BLACK MAN AND I COULD NEVER BE A VETERAN

NEVERTHELESS, THEY COULD NOT UNDERSTAND THAT I'M A BLACK MAN.

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HISTORY

THE FOUNDING FATHERS DJ KOOL HERC AFRIK A BAMBA ATA A GR ANDMA STER FL A SH

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HISTORY

THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE US Bam was known as the Master of Records because of his huge vinyl collection and his willingness to expand Hip Hop’s musical boundaries. He was the first deejay I ever heard take a Malcolm X or Martin Luther King Speech and play it over a Hip Hop break beat. He was creative enough to take the ‘Theme to the Pink Panther’ and rock it over Hip Hop drum beats. Bam was the first to really take Hip Hop beyond the boundaries of The Bronx and Harlem’s Black and Puerto Rican communities. Bam was the one who made Hip Hop multi-cultural. He was the first to take Hip Hop downtown to New York’s trendy village community. He was the first to provide a safe haven for folks outside the community to come up and see what Hip Hop culture was really all about.

He’s also the one who gave birth to the Electro-Funk aspect of Hip Hop. He’s the one attempted to keep the soul of Black music in particular the funk from being compromised, diluted and watered down during the Age of Disco. Before folks were really up on George Clinton and The P-Funk, Bam was a full fledged Funkateer. Before folks really developed a deep appreciation for James Brown whose music became a major backbone for early Hip Hop, Bam was making records with him.

DJ Afrika Bambaataa was the one who spread the word thus making him Hip Hop’s first Ambassador. He was the one who attempted to bridge the generation gap between a resistant older Black community and it’s innovative young. He was the first who attempted to provide a positive forum of expression for the local neighborhood thugs. This is the same Bambaataa-The Grandfather of Hip Hop who recently came to the Bay Area to perform at a club with less then 100 people and not one major radio or video station that now makes a living peddling Hip Hop culture bothered to grant him an interview. No one bothered to build directly from his experience and wisdom. This is the same Bambaataa who laid down much of the blue print for Hip Hop but now when his name is mentioned to todays Hip Hopper he/she will arrogantly dismiss Bam and accomplishments and say ‘He’s Old School’.

Did you play a Bambaataa record this Thanksgiving? Did you give thanks to one of our founding fathers?

We owe thanks to DJ Kool Herc and his Herculoids. For those who don’t know the Herculoids was the name given to Herc’s monster sound system. It was unrivaled and it was what gave Herc his reputation as a DJ not to be toyed with. He could and would drown you out in any sound battle. It was Herc who was the first to throw huge block parties. These were the parties that people often rhyme about when they talk about going ‘back in the days’.

Like Bam, Herc was a peace keeper. His legendary block parties brought people from all over. During this time of New York’s infamous turf wars, Kool Herc was one of the few that could bring everyone under one roof and make everyone get along. Herc’s 25 cent admission price, his Herculoidian sound system and his unique deejaying style was always the feature attraction. Having such a booming system was a hold over from the many deejaying techniques Herc imported from his native Jamaica. In addition, Herc was the first to take two records, find the percussion breakdown [break beats] and extend it indefinitely on two turntables. This technique later became the foundation for Hip Hop’s musical expression.

Lastly it was Herc who manifested the old African Oral Tradition by getting on the mic and saying a ‘little some’em some’em’.

Initially he made shout outs and acknowledgements to people attending the party. This helped keep the peace because it was a way of making folks feel important. No!, Herc didn’t rhyme like they do today. But he laid down the ground work for what

22

HISTORY

was to come. We owe thanks to Coke La Rock and Clark Kent who used to roll with Herc. These were Hip Hop’s first emcees. They were the ones who not only gave shout outs, announced upcoming events and made celebrities out of all the party goers, but they were among the first to start reciting rhymes on a mic over break beats.

Ironically the technique of rhyming over music was initially attributed to our Jamaican cousins. It was known as toasting.

However, the folks in Jamaica got their game from the early Black radio deejays here in the states who were known for their ‘gift of gab’ and rhyme skillz. Many used to rhyme while introducing songs. Many Jamaicans had opportunities to hear some of these old radio shows due to the fact that the signals which was carried on the AM dial, would bounce down to the islands. It wasn’t long before some of these Black radio deejay techniques began to be mimicked by our Jamaican counterparts. By the time Herc hit the streets of New York that old style of deejaying was all but erased from the Black radio stations that were listened to by New York’s young people. Radio back then was then undergoing major changes. The concept of of more music less talk was emerging and disco was being shoved down people’s throat. A lot of kids were rejecting this music which left a huge void.

Herc’s arrival filled that void and in a strange sort of way linked generations. I recall doing a radio interview with Herc about two years ago and he was remarking how he was having a difficult time obtaining free tickets to Hip Hop concerts. He remarked how he would hear NY radio stations boldly claim in their slogans ‘This Is where Hip Hop lives’ but when, Herc who is often considered to be The Godfather of Hip Hop would call and ask for a pair of tickets to an upcoming ‘Hip Hop’ event being sponsored by the station, his request would be denied. With Hip Hop being a multi-billion dollar a year business one has to wonder if Herc has even made his first million? With all the rap stars who have made it a point to do major collaborations, who has bothered to invite Kool Herc to bless one of their songs?

Public Enemy’s Terminator X was the only one I knew of who did this.

So this Thanksgiving lets give props to Kool Herc the Godfather of Hip Hop. More importantly before your son or daughter pops in a cassette of the latest Juvenile or Cash Money song where they talk about ‘Bling Bling’, make sure they know about DJ Kool Herc.

Lets not overlook Grandmaster Flash. This is the man who perfected the deejaying technique that was started by Herc. This was the man who brought style and showmanship to deejaying. He was the first to really elevate the art by inventing all sorts of turntable tricks. Flash was the first one I ever saw mix records while turning his back to the audience. He was the one who I first saw do what we now call quick mixing and cutting.

Flash, who back in the days was a certified electrician, was also the guy who invented the cross fader that all deejays use to cue up records. Flash was also the first to bring out a drum machine and incorporate it into the mix. Back then it was called The Beat Box. Before Flash hit the scene with his legendary group the Furious Five. He was part of another pioneering crew called the L Brothers. The L stood for Livingston. Within that clan was a young kid who was mentored and taught by Flash name Theodore. It was Flash who passed down the game and gave birth to one of Hip Hop’s most colorful and pioneering deejays Grand Wizard Theodore. For those who don’t know Theodore is credited with inventing scratching.

Grandmaster Flash was always an attraction. He set the standard for aspiring deejays. When I think back to all the innovative turntable tricks Flash did back in the days and take into account the type of equipment he used, I can only wonder what heights he could’ve achieved had he had access to today’s standard equipment. Back in the 70s Flash didn’t have the luxury of today’s strong motored Technique 1200s. He didn’t have fancy mixers that are designed specifically for turntable acrobatics.

What Flash accomplished can only be marveled.

While Flash was a household names, on par with him were his legendary emcees. The Furious Four Emcees and later Five. We’re talking about Mr Ness aka Scorpio, Kid Creole, Mele-Mel and

23

HISTORY

Cowboy. Raheem of course came from another Hip Hop pioneering group to whom we owe much gratitude-DJ Breakout And The Funky Four Plus One More. That ‘One More’ was Sha-Rock who was one of Hip Hop’s first female emcees. Back in ‘78 she was the absolute bomb. Also The Funky Four Plus One More perfected the art of rhyming with an echo chamber. Props to the late great Cowboy who was Grandmaster Flash’s first emcee. Back then he set the standard for rockin’ parties. He was the one who developed all the popular ‘call and response’ techniques that are still used to this day. His untimely death some years back was sad indeed and in many ways tragic. For one who gave so much he has not been openly appreciated by many who claim they are down for Hip Hop. Hip Hop owes major gratitude to Cowboy. Thanks should be given to Mele-Mel who back in the days was the absolute best emcee. With his baritone voice, Mele was the one who as he put it, ‘had rhymes galore’. He was also among the first to drop relevant social messages in his raps. Who can forget his landmark record ‘The Message’? His style and finesse were what many an early emcee strived to achieve.

All in all, we who are down with Hip Hop owe a bit of gratitude to those who came before us. Many of us make a comfortable living off the culture laid down by Hip Hop’s pioneers-many of whom are still around. Like the creators of blues and Rock-nRoll from several generations before, many of these pioneers do not share the windfall of profits that Hip Hop has generated.

Sure, we have a few success stories we can point to like Russell Simmons or Andre Harrell who was with the pioneering group Dr Jeckyl and Mr Hyde. We can point too an Ice T, Too Short or E-40 and see that they’re doing ok.. But the overwhelming majority of folks who initially put it down are all but forgotten and in many cases disrespected. Far too many of us are arrogant when we state that such individuals ‘had their day’. The problem with such sentiments is that we often forget that we have been able to avoid many pitfalls that have hindered our pioneers by learning from their mistakes. Let us not forget or take for granted the trailblazers of Hip Hop culture. Lets give thanks to all who came before us and put it down. It’s only to our advantage to know and appreciate our roots.

BY DAVEY D

24

< DJ KOOL HERC >

HISTORY

IN THE SPOTLIGHT:

KOOL HERC Kool Herc emigrated to the Bronx in 1967 when he was 12 years old. While attending Alfred E. Smith High School he spent a lot of time in the weight room.

That fact coupled with his height spurned the other kids to call him Hercules.

His first deejay gig was as his sister’s birthday party. It was the start of an industry.

1520 Sedgwick Avenue.

The address of Herc’s family and the location of the recreation room where he would throw many of his first parties as the DJ. Herc became aware that although he new which records would keep the crowd moving, he was more interested in the break section of the song. At this point in a song, the vocals would stop and the beat would just ride for short period. His desire to capture this moment for a longer period of time would be a very important one for hip hop.

Herc would purchase two copies of the same record and play them on separate turntables next to each other. He would play the break beat on one record then throw it over to the other turntable and play the same part. Doing this over and over, he could rock any house in NY. (Not to mention it being an early form of looping that would be made easier through electronic sampling.)

He would dig in crates and look everywhere to find the perfect break beat for his parties. He didn’t care what type of music, because he only needed a small section of a song for his purposes.

His first professional DJ job was at the Twilight Zone in 1973. He wanted to get into another place called the Hevalo, but wasn’t allowed…yet.

His fame grew. In addition to his break beats, Herc also became known as the man with the loudest system around.

When he decided to hold a party in one of the parks, it was a crazy event. And a loud one.

At this time Afrika Bambaataa and other competing DJ’s began trying to take Herc’s crown. Jazzy Jay of the Zulu Nation recalls one momentous meeting between Herc and Bam. Herc was late setting up and Bam continued to play longer than he should have.

Once Herc was set up he got on the microphone and said “Bambaataa, could you please turn your system down?” Bam’s crew was pumped and told Bam not to do it. So Herc said louder, “Yo, Bambaataa, turn your system down-down-down.” Bam’s crew started cursing Herc until Herc put the full weight of his system up and said, “Bambaataa-baataa -baataa, TURN YOUR SYSTEM DOWN!” And you couldn’t even hear Bam’s set at all.

The Zulu crew tried to turn up the juice but it was no use.

Everybody just looked at them like, “You

should’ve listened to Kool Herc.”

Finally his fame peaked and at last, in 1975, he began working at the Hevalo in the Bronx. He helped coin the phrase bboy (break boy) and was recently quoted as saying he was “the oldest living b-boy.”

As competing DJ’s looked to cut in on the action, Herc would soak the labels off his records so no one could steal his beats.

Grandmaster Flash had another story about Herc in his heyday.

Flash would go into the Hevalo to check out Herc, but Herc would always embarrass him. He would call Flash out on the mike and then cut out all the highs and lows on the system and just play the midrange. Herc would say, “Flash in order to be a qualified disc jockey…you must have highs.” Then he would crank up the highs and they would sizzle through the crowd.

Then he would say, “And most of all, Flash, you must have…bass.” And when Herc’s bass came in the whole place would be shaking.

Flash would get so embarrassed he would leave.

After a while spinning the records got to be an all intensive thing and Herc wouldn’t have as much time to talk to the crowd and get them going. He needed someone else to help out and act as the Master of Ceremonies for him. And thus, for all practical purposes, Coke La Rock became the first hip hop MC ever.

Another club that Herc rocked was the Sparkle located at 174th and Jerome Avenue in the Bronx. This was the spot that came before the Hilltop, 371 (DJ Hollywood’s spot) and Disco Fever.

In 1977, Herc’s career began to fall. The rise of Grandmaster Flash and Furious Five, and Bambaataa’s various crews with their polished emcee styles put Herc at a disadvantage.

One night he was stabbed three times at his own party and his career never fully recovered.

He appeared as himself in the film Beat Street.

Kool Herc played his last Old School party in 1984.

Most recently he has appeared on Terminator X’s release “The Godfathers of Threat” and with the Chemical Brothers on their album “Dig Your Own Hole.”

Similar to Bambaataa he does appear in Europe and New York from time to time.

Although he is not part of the hip hop vocabulary of most of those who listen to it these days (unfortunately), Kool Herc is the father of this underground sound from New York that found its way to becoming a worldwide phenomenon.

25

HISTORY

< DJ KOOL HERC >

THE RHYMING CAME ABOUT BECAUSE I LIKED PLAYING LYRICS THAT WERE SAYING SOMETHING. DJ Kool Herc's Definition of Hip Hop Hip Hop.. the whole chemistry of that came from Jamaica... I was born in jamaica and I was listening to American music in Jamaica.. My favorite artist was James Brown. That’s who inspired me..

A lot of the records I played was by James Brown. When I came over here I just put it in the American style and a perspective for them to dance to it. In Jamaica all you needed was a drum and bass. So what I did here was go right to the ‘yoke’. I cut off all anticipation and played the beats. I’d find out where the break in the record was at and prolong it and people would love it. So I was giving them their own taste and beat percussionwise.. cause my music is all about heavy bass...

Hip Hop started coming together as far as the gangs terrorizing a lot of known discoteques back in the days. I had respect from some of the gang members because they used to go to school with me.. There were the Savage Skulls, Glory Stompers, Blue Diamaonds, Black Cats and Black Spades. Guys knew me because I carried myself with respect and I respected them. I respected everybody. I gave the women their respect. I never tried to use my charisma to be conceited or anything like that. I played what they liked and acknowledged their neighborhood when they came to my party....I would hail my friends that I knew. People liked that... I’d say things like..’There goes my mellow Coca La Roc in the house’, ‘There goes my mellow Clark Kent in the house’, ‘There goes my mellow Timmy Tim in the house’..’To my mellow Ricky D’, ‘To my mellow Bambaataa’.. People like that sort of acknowledgement when they heard it from a friend at a party.

The rhyming came about..because I liked playing lyrics that were saying something. I figured people would pick it up by me playing those records, but at the same time I would say something myself with a meaninful message to it. I would say things like:

YA ROCK AND YA DON’T STOP

AND THIS IS THE SOUNDS OF DJ KOOL HERC AND THE SOUND SYSTEM AND YOU’RE LISTENING TO THE SOUNDS OF WHAT WE CALL THE HERCULOIDS HE WA S BORN IN AN ORPHANAGE HE FOUGHT LIKE A SL AVE FUCKIN’ UP FAGGOTS ALL THE HERCULOIDS PL AYED WHEN IT COME TO PUSH COME TO SHOVE THE HERCULOIDS WON’T BUDGE THE BA SS IS SO LOW YOU CAN’T GE T UNDER IT THE HIGH IS SO HIGH YOU CAN’T GE T OVER IT SO IN OTHER WORDS BE WITH IT...

DJ KOOL HERC

26

< AFRIKA BAMBAATAA >

HISTORY

IN THE SPOTLIGHT:

AFRIKA BAMBAATAA Afrika Bambaataa is undoubtedly one of hip hop’s godfathers.

As a teenager in the mid-1970’s, he fell into the Black Spades gang, but had a different interest than causing trouble.

Bam started deejaying in 1970.

He had a passion for buying records (he would later be known as the “Master of Records”) and his tastes were very diversified from rock to r&b to African sounds to Latin, calypso, and classical.

Although Kool Herc was the top DJ at the time, Bam knew he owned most of the same records as Herc so he decided to start playing on his own.

His ideological influences ran the gamut of the black political leaders of the time.

He saw the film Zulu which depicted the battle between British troops and the Zulu tribe in 1879. The British seem victorious before they are overwhelmed by the numbers of Zulus who spare their lives. He took his name “Afrika Bambaataa” which meant “affectionate leader” from the movie.

In 1974 Bam decided to form his own Zulu Nation to help assemble what he referred to as “the elements” of the culture into organization. He original crew was called The Organization, but after two years he changed it into the Zulu Nation. It was a break dance crew at first but then grew to include rappers, deejays, and graffiti artists.

He is often credited with naming the culture “hip hop”, a term frequently used by Love Bug Starski.

Pow Wow (Robert Darrell Allen) released “Planet Rock” on Tommy Boy Records and created a new sound for the genre that mixed funk and hip hop with Kraftwerk’s “Trans-Europeoan Express”.

By 1983, “Planet Rock” and a second single “Looking for the Perfect Beat” were blowing up all over the world.

His first album came out in 1983 called Planet Rock which featured other well known tracks like “Looking for the Perfect Beat”, “Frantic Situation”, “Renegades of Funk”.

1986 saw his other album for Tommy Boy “Beware The Funk is Everywhere” which featured “Funk You” and “Bambaataa’s Theme” 1989 saw an interesting release called ‘The Light” which was an album that featured UB40, Boy George, Bobby Mcfarren and other luminaries of 80’s pop music.

Bam has since worked with James Brown (the first rapper to official collaborate with James not just sample his tracks).

He appears in the documentary film The Show.

He appeared on a song entitled “World Destruction” by Bill Laswell who also worked with Fab 5 Freddy.

In Fall of 1999 he was featured as a guest vocalist on the UK dance group Leftfield’s No.1 (UK) Album Rhythm And Stealth on the track “Afrika Shox” which peaked at No. 11 on the UK charts.

His first recorded release was on Paul Winley Records and was called “Zulu Nation Throwdown, Part 1” in 1980.

The group released the first 12” at Tommy Boy “Jazzy Sensation” in 1981.

He met Fab 5 Freddy who introduced him to the downtown music scene. As a result Bam attempted to fuse the uptown sounds he grew up on and the happenings he heard downtown.

In 1982, he was part of the first hip hop tour to Europe with Fab 5, Rammellzee, Grand Mixer D.ST. & The Infinity Rappers, Rock Steady Crew, the Double Dutch Girls, and graffiti artists Phase 2, Futura, and Dondi.

The Zulu DJ’s at the time were Bam, Jazzy Jay, Grand Mixer D.ST. (who would later work with Herbie Hancock on “Rockit”), and Afrika Islam. They took over a club called the Roxy.

One of their performances was caught in the film Beat Street.

During May of 1982, Bam and his group the Soul Sonic Force made up of Bam, Jazzy Jay, Mr. Biggs (Ellis Williams), G.L.O.B.E. (John Miller), Whiz Kid and

27

HISTORY

< AFRIKA BAMBAATAA >

HIP HOP MEANS A CULTURE OF THE MOVEMENT. Afrika Bambaataa's Definition of Hip Hop Hip Hop means the whole culture of the movement.. when you talk about rap..Rap is part of the hip hop culture..The emceeing..The djaying is part of the hip hop culture. The dressing the languages are all part of the hip hop culture.The break dancing the b-boys, b-girls ..how you act, walk, look, talk are all part of hip hop culture.. and the music is colorless.. Hip Hop music is made from Black, brown, yellow, red, white.. whatever music that gives you the grunt.. that funk.. that groove or that beat.. It’s all part of hip hop.

Too Short, E-40 all the brothers and sisters that are making that hip hop and coming from the funk part of it are all hip hoppers.. The Electro Funk which is that Planet Rock sound which is now considered the Miami Bass sound is also hip hop.. The GoGo sound that you hear from Washington DC is also hip hop.. New Jack Swing that Teddy Riley is R&B and hip hop mixed together...So hip hop has progressed into different sounds and different avenues..

People also have to recognize from hip hop music..inparticular the electro funk came House music and Freestyle music with a lot of our Pueto Rican hip hoppers...

The freestyle music really comes from Planet Rock..If you look at all the freestyle records its based upon Planet Rock.. If you look at all the Miami Bass records it’s based upon Planet Rock..

It’s all based upon electro funk... which came from hip hop music.

Hip Hop has experimented with a lot of different styles of music and there’s a lot of people who have brought different changes over time with hip hop.. which have brought out all these funky records which everybody just started jumpin’ on like a catch phrase.. For example when ‘Planet Rock’ came out you had all of the electro funk records.. When you had Doug E Fresh with the show and ‘La Di Da Di’.. a lot of rappers went that way...When Eric B came out with ‘I Know U Got Soul’... all the way up to Run DMC and Wu-Tang. All these people brought changes within hip hop music... Unfortunately today a lot of the people who created hip hop..meaning the Black and Latinos do not control it no more.

28

WELL , A LOT OF PEOPLE WITHIN GOVERNMENT AND BIG BUSINE SS

ARE NERVOUS OF HIP HOP AND HIP HOP ARTISTS, BECAUSE THE Y SPE AK THEIR MINDS. THE Y TALK ABOUT WHAT THE Y SEE AND WHAT THE Y FEEL AND WHAT THE Y KNOW. THE Y REFLECT WHAT’S AROUND THEM. AFRIK A BAMBA ATA A

< GRANDMASTER FLASH >

HISTORY

IN THE SPOTLIGHT:

GRANDMASTER FLASH Joseph Saddler (born , 1958 in Bridgetown, Barbados) better known as Grandmaster Flash, is an American hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing. He is also a nephew to the great Former Feather Weight Champion of the World, the late Sandy Saddler. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, becoming the first hip hop/rap artists to be so honored.

Grandmaster Flash is set to appear in the video game DJ Hero as a playable character along with original mixes created for the game.

Flash played parties and also worked with rappers such as Kurtis Blow and Lovebug Starski. He formed his own group in the late 1970s, after promptings from Ray Chandler. The initial members were Cowboy (Keith Wiggins), Melle Mel (Melvin Glover) and Kid(d) Creole (Nathaniel Glover) making Grandmaster Flash & the 3 MCs (with Melle Mel being the first rapper ever to call himself an “MC”).

Two other rappers briefly joined, but they were replaced more permanently by Rahiem (Guy Todd Williams, previously in the Funky Four) and Scorpio (Eddie Morris, also used the name Mr. Ness) to create Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Soon gaining recognition for their skillful raps, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five pioneered MCing, freestyle battles, and invented some of the staple phrases in MCing. The group performed at Disco Fever in the Bronx beginning in 1978. Cowboy created the term “Hip hop” while teasing a friend who had just joined the US Army, by scat singing the words “hip/hop/hip/hop” in a way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of marching soldiers.

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were signed to Bobby Robinson’s Enjoy Records and in 1979 released the classic “Superrappin’”. They later signed to Sugar Hill Records and released numerous singles, gaining a gold disc for “Freedom,” and also toured. The classic “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel”, released in 1981 was the best display of Flash’s skills (combining elements of Blondie’s “Rapture,” Michael Viner’s Incredible Bongo Band’s “Apache,” Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” and Chic’s “Good Times”. It also marked the first time that record scratching had been actually recorded on a record. The group’s most significant hit was “The Message” (1982), which was produced by in-house Sugar Hill producer Clifton “Jiggs” Chase and featured session musician Duke Bootee. Other than Melle Mel, no members of the group actually appear on the record. Rahiem lipsynced Duke Bootee’s vocal in the music video. “The Message” went platinum in less than a month. In 1982, Flash appeared in the movie “Wild Style” and sued Sugar Hill over the non-payment of

royalties. The group split between Flash and Mel before disintegrating entirely.

Flash, Kid Creole and Rahiem signed to Elektra Records and continued on as simply “Grandmaster Flash” while Mel and the others continued on as “Grandmaster Melle Mel & the Furious Five.” In 1984, Mel released a 12” single, “White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It)” which went on to become one of his signature songs.

Although frequently credited on the records, Flash doesn’t actually appear on “The Message”, “White Lines (Don’t Do It)”, or many of the other Furious Five songs (if you don’t hear scratching on a track, then Flash isn’t on it). Mel notably appeared on Chaka Khan’s “I Feel for You” becoming the first rapper ever to win a Grammy Award for “Record of the Year”. He also appeared in the film “Beat Street” performing “Beat Street Breakdown” in the grand finale. Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five reformed in 1987 for a charity concert, and in 1988 to release an album that did poorly. Melle Mel closed out the decade by winning two more Grammy awards for his work with Quincy Jones. There was another reunion, of a kind, in 1994, although Cowboy died in 1989.

Grandmaster Flash has a clothing line, “G.Phyre”, and has signed a deal with Doubleday who will publish his memoirs.

He hosts a show on Sirius Satellite Radio & he was recently presented with the BET “I Am Hip Hop” Icon award.

Melle Mel (now known as Mele Mel) has a clothing line with Sedgwick & Cedar.

He released the children’s book/CD/DVD “Portal In The Park” in November 2006 and he released his first ever solo album “Muscles” on January 30, 2007. The first single and music video is “M3 (The New Message)”, released on the 25th anniversary of “The Message”.

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were the first hip-hop/rap group ever inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on March 12, 2007 by Jay-Z. In 2008, he remixed the single “Into the Galaxy” by the Australian group, Midnight Juggernauts.

It has been said that “his pioneering mixing skills transformed the turntable into a true ‘instrument’, and his ability to get a crowd moving has made his DJ sets legendary.”

29

HISTORY

< GRANDMASTER FLASH >

I MIXED ANYTHING FROM BILLY SQUIRE TO MICHAEL JACKSON TO THIN LIZZY TO THE FAMILY STONE TO GLEN MILLER TO TSCHOCHOSKY. Grandmaster Flash's Definition of Hip Hop As one of the pioneers of who was known for his ability to mix music, I mixed anything from Billy Squire to Michael Jackson to Thin Lizzy to Sly And The Family Stone to Glen Miller to Tschochosky.

When I laid this foundation down, the key was we could take almost anything musically just as long as it had a beat to it.. so that the rhymer who flowed over the top of it could syncopate..

For anybody to say that whatever they’re doing in Florida is not hip hop or whatever they’re saying in LA is not hip hop. Who are these people to say that? There were songs that Bambaataa played that to this day I still don’t know.. They were so funky.. Some of the ones I got the priviledge to know..I was suprised...You take a song like ‘Apache’ for example which was considered to be one of the hip hop main themes. Those were a bunch of white guys. The Incredible Bongo Rock Band were white guys. There was one person there who was Black. He was King Erickson who was a percussionist.

For anybody to say ‘this is not hip hop’ or ‘that is not hip hop’ is wrong. That is not the way the formula was laid down..

It was for the people who were going to continue this to take anything...by all means necessary and string it along.

30

DON’T PUSH ME ‘CUZ I’M CLOSE TO THE EDGE I’M TRYING NOT TO LOSE MY HE AD IT’S LIKE A JUNGLE SOME TIME S IT MAKE S ME WONDER HOW I KEEP FROM GOIN’ UNDER IT’S LIKE A JUNGLE SOME TIME S IT MAKE S ME WONDER HOW I KEEP FROM GOIN’ UNDER GR ANDMA STER FL A SH

HISTORY

THE PROBLEM WITH SUCH SENTIMENTS IS THAT WE OFTEN FORGET THAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO AVOID MANY PITFALLS THAT HAVE HINDERED OUR PIONEERS BY LEARNING FROM THEIR MISTAKES. 31

HISTORY

< 70s -90s TIMELINE >

BACK IN 1970s t 32

< 70s -90s TIMELINE >

HISTORY

THE DAY o 1990s 33

HISTORY

< 70s HIP HOP (THE BEGINNINGS OF HIP HOP) >

BAMBAATAA’S FIRS BATTLE AGAINST DI KING MARIO SPARK OFF THE DJ BATTLIN THAT IS NOW EMBE IN THE CULTURE. // // // // // // //

DJ KOOL HERC AFRIKA BAMBAATAA GRANDMASTER FLASH KURTIS BLOW GRANDMASTER CAZ SUGAR HILL & THE GANG THE ROCK STEADY CREW

34

< 70s HIP HOP (THE BEGINNINGS OF HIP HOP) >

HISTORY

ST ISCO 1973 KS NG 1979 EDDED

THE BEGINNING OF HIP-HOP 1978

Kurtis Blow, who was being managed by Russell Simmons, decides to hire Simmons’ brother, Run, as his DJ.

Run was so-called because he could cut so fast between two turntables.

Kurtis would later become the first rapper to be signed to a major record deal.

DJ Kool Herc deejays his first block party (his sister’s birthday) at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, Bronx, NY. Herc would often buy two copies of a record and stretch the break parts by using two turntables and mixing in both records before the break ends. The Zulu Nation is officially formed by a student of Stevenson High school named Kevin Donovan. Donovan later changed his name to Afrika Bambaataa Aasim in honor of an ancient Zulu chief.

Music industry coins the term “rap music,” and shifts its focus toward emcees.

Grandmaster Caz (aka Cassanova Fly) and Bambaataa engage in a battle at the Police Athletic League.

1975

Herc is hired as a DJ at the Hevalo Club.

He later gets Coke La Rock to utter crowd-pleasing rhymes at parties (e.g.”DJ Riz is in the house and he’ll turn it out without a doubt”). Coke La Rock and Clark Kent form

the first emcee team known as Kool Herc & The Herculoids.

DJ

Grand

Wizard

Theodore

accidentally

invents

‘the

scratch.’ While trying to hold a spinning record in place in order to listen to his mom, who was yelling at him,

Grand Wizard accidentally caused the record to produce

Grandmaster Flash forms one of the most influential rap groups ever, The Furious 5: Grandmaster Flash (Joseph Saddler), Melle Mel (Melvin Glover), Kidd Creole (Nathaniel Glover), Cowboy (Keith Wiggins), Raheim (Guy Williams), and Mr. Ness (Eddie Morris).

the “shigi-shigi” sound that is now known as the scratch.

Scratch is the crux of modern deejaying.

1976

Around the same time, another great rap crew – The Cold Crush Four – was formed, comprising of Charlie Chase, Tony Tone, Grand Master Caz, Easy Ad, JDL, and Almighty KG. The first rap record by a non-rap group “King Tim III” is recorded by the Fatback Band.

DJ Afrika Bambaataa performs at the Bronx River Center.

Bambaataa’s first battle against Disco King Mario sparks off the DJ battling that is now embedded in the culture.

1977 The Rock Steady Crew (the most respected b-boy crew in history) is formed by the original four members: JoJo,

Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” would go on to become the first known rap hit, reaching #36 on Billboard.

Various obscure rap singles were also released: Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5’s “Super-rappin” and Spoonie Gee’s “Spoonin’ Rap” both on Enjoy Records, Kurtis Blow’s “Christmas Rappin” on Mercury Records, and Jimmy Spicer’s 13-minute long storytelling track “Adventures of Super Rhymes” on Dazz Records.

Jimmy Dee, Easy Mike, and P-Body.

DJ Kool Herc is nearly stabbed to death at one of his

Mr. Magic’s ‘Rap Attack’ becomes the first hip-hop radio show on WHBI.

parties. Although the assault placed a permanent dent on Herc’s career, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, Disco Wiz (the first Latino DJ), and Disco King Mario kept performing around town.

35

HISTORY

< 80s HIP HOP (THE OLD SKOOL ERA) >

AFRIKA BAMBAATA THE ZULU NATION RELEASED THEIR FI 12” CALLED ZULU N THROWDOWN PT. 1 PAUL WINLEY RECO // // // // // // // // //

BEASTIE BOYS RUN D.M.C. MICHAEL JACKSON SIR RAP-A-LOT THE GETO BOYS YO! MTV RAPS N.W.A. ULTRAMAGNETIC M.C.'s BIG DADDY KANE

36

< 80s HIP HOP (THE OLD SKOOL ERA) >

A AND

IRST NATION ON ORDS.

HISTORY

THE OLD SKOOL ERA

1980

Afrika Bambaata and the Zulu Nation release their first 12” called Zulu Nation Throwdown Pt. 1 on Paul Winley Records.

1984 Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin team up to launch one of the most important record labels ever, Def Jam Records.

Def Jam releases its first record, “It’s Yours” by T La Rock, followed by LL Cool J’s “I Need A Beat.”

Hip-hop discovers that touring is a great way to generate income, as the Fresh Fest concert featuring Whodini, Kurtis Blow, Fat Boys, and Run DMC, reels in $3.5 million for 27 dates. Battle rap assumes the spotlight in hip-hop, as UTFO’s “Roxanne Roxanne” diss song attracts over 100 responses.The most popular response came from a 14-year old female named Roxanne Shante. Shante’s “Roxanne’s Revenge”

Kurtis Blow, the first rapper to appear on national television (Soul Train), releases “The Breaks” on Mercury Records. The record goes on to sell more than a million copies. Hip-hop gradually evolves into big business.

allegedly recorded in Marley Marl’s living room sold more than 250,000 copies. Dougie Fresh (aka The Entertainer) releases The Original Human Beat Box (Vindertainment Records).

Michael Jackson does ‘the moonwalk’ at the Grammys, bor-

After meeting Fab 5 Freddy and others, Blonde releases “Rapture” featuring rap vocals by lead singer Debbie Harry.

1981

rowing b-boy dance elements from LA breakers.

1986 The Beastie Boys release Licensed To Ill on Def Jam (exec-

Grandmaster Flash releases “The Adventures of Grand Mas-

utive-produced by Rick Rubin).

ter Flash on the Wheels of Steel,” the first record to ultimately capture the sounds of live DJ scratching on wax.

James Smith, a native of Houston, Texas, assembles The Geto Boys. The original lineup consisted of MCs Raheim,

On February 14th, The Funky 4 plus One More perform their

Jukebox, DJ Ready Red, and Sir Rap-A-Lot. The group also

classic hit, “That’s The Joint” on NBC’s Saturday Night

featured Little Billy, a dancing dwarf who later picked up

Live becoming the first hip hop group to appear on na-

the microphone as Bushwick Bill.

tional television.

Following a short break-up in 1988, Smith invited local emcee Willie D and multi-instrumentalist Akshun (later known

The Beastie Boys are formed. The group consists of Adam

as Scarface) to complete the lineup.

Horovitz (King Ad-Rock), Adam Yauch (MCA), Michael Diamon (Mike D).

The Geto Boys (now made up of Scarface, Willie D, and Bushwick Bill) was a driving force in the evolution of southern rap.

1983 Ice T helps pioneer gangsta rap in the west coast with his

1988

rapcore singles “Body Rock” and “Killers.”

After years of being neglected by the mainstream media, Grand Master Flash and Melle Mel (Furious 5) record the

hip-hop gets its own show on MTV, “Yo! MTV Raps.”

anti-cocaine single “White Lines (Don’t Do It),” which be-

N.W.A pioneers the gangsta rap movement with their gold

comes a rap hit.

album, Straight Outta Compton.

Grandmaster Flash later sues Sugarhill Records for $5 mil-

Def Jam founders Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin part ways;

lion in royalties. The dispute causes the group to break

Simmons opts for distribution through CBS/Columbia Re-

up, signaling the looming danger of corporate control in

cords, while Rubin goes on to found Def American.

hip-hop.

Landmark album releases: Ultramagnetic MC’s – Critical Run DMC releases “It’s Like That” b/w “Sucker MC’s.”

Breakdown, and Big Daddy Kane – Long Live The Kane.

37

HISTORY

< 90s HIP HOP (THE GOLDEN ERA) >

N.W.A’S SOPHOMOR ALBUM, "NIGGAZ FOR LIFE" PAVES W FOR MANY MORE HARDCORE RAP AL THAT WOULD FOLLO // // // // // // // // // // // // //

A TRIBE CALLED QUEST TUPAC SHAKUR NOTORIOUS B,I.G. EMINEM WU-TANG CLAN JAY-Z CYPRESS HILL NAS COMMON WARREN G BUSTA RHYMES SNOOP DOGG DR. DRE

38

< 90s HIP HOP (THE GOLDEN ERA) >

RE

WAY

HISTORY

THE GOLDEN ERA 1990

1994 Nas’ first entry, Illmatic goes gold and is widely received

2 Pac joins Digital Underground as a dancer and a roadie.

as one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever.

The “Stretch & Bobbito Show” is launched.

Co m m o n r eleases Resurr e ctio n an d is lau de d as an intellig e nt lyricist.

Both a Florida record store owner and Luther Campbell are arrested over 2 Live Crew’s controversial album, As Nasty

W ar r e n G’s R e g ulat e: T h e G-Fu n k Era is c e r tifie d

as They Wanna Be.

4x platin u m.

1991

N.W.A’s sophomore album N****z For Life sells over 954,000 copies in its first week of release, reaching #1 on the pop charts. The album paves way for many more hardcore rap albums that would follow.

LBUMS OW. 1993

Busta Rhymes appears on A Tribe Called Quest’s “Scenario.”

Cypress Hill (B-Real, DJ Muggs, and Sen Dog) release their self-titled debut, and initiate a campaign to legalize hemp.

The Notorious B.I.G. is featured in the “Unsigned Hype” column of The Source magazine.

A Tribe Called Quest release their third album, Midnight Marauders, featuring a who-is-who-in-hip-hop album cover.

2 Pac is robbed and shot 5 times in a New York recording studio. He recovers from the shooting. Pac is later sentenced to 8 months in prison.

1996 The Score, a fusion of conscious lyrics with reggae-tinged soulsonics, becomes The Fugees’ biggest album. The album debuts at No.1 and grabs two Grammys, thus, breathing a new life into socially aware hip-hop.

The Music of Black Origin (MOBO) Awards are launched in the U.K. The Fugees walk away with two trophies.

Jay-Z drops his highly-lauded debut, Reasonable Doubt. His “charismatic rapper” approach would later spawn throngs of emulators.

24-year old Snoop Dogg and his bodyguard McKinley Lee are acquitted of the murder of Philip Woldemariam, a 20-yearold Ethiopian immigrant gunned down in August 1993.

On September 7th, Tupac Shakur is fatally wounded after sustaining multiple gunshots as he rode in a car driven by Death Row Records CEO Marion “Suge” Knight near the Las Vegas strip. Tupac died 5 days later. His death rekindled the debate on whether rap promotes violence or just reflects the ugly side of the streets.

1997 The Notorious B.I.G. (born Christopher Wallace), is shot and killed March 9, after a party at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Like Pac’s murder, Biggie’s death is still an unsolved mystery.

Missy Misdemeanor Elliott redefines hip-hop and R & B with her first album, Supa Dupa Fly. Having broken barriers as a successful female producer, Missy would go on to become the highest selling female rapper of all time.

Dr. Dre’s The Chronic attains multi-platinum status.

Parent company Interscope Records sells its interest in

Wu-Tang Clan release 36 Chambers. The line-up consists of Prince Rakeem (The RZA), Raekwon, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Genius (GZA), U-God, Master Killa and Inspectah Deck.

Death Row Records and severes ties with the label.

Chicago MC Juice defeats Eminem on his way to winning the year’s Scribble Jam competition. (Scribble Jam is the largest showcase of underground hip-hop in the United States.)

Mobb Deep (Prodigy and Havoc) release their debut LP, Juvenile Hell.

Roc-A-Fella sells a 50 percent stake to Island Def Jam for $1.5 million.

39

NEW WAVE

I’M REALLY GLAD THEY’VE TAKEN A LIKING TO ME. 41

NEW WAVE

< JUSTIN BIEBER >

THISISOURSWAG 4 BELIEBERS

MY NAME IS BELIEBER. BIEBERISH SPEAK. I LIVE IN THE

WORLD BIEBER. #JUSTINBIEBER IS MY HERO AND I AM PROUD TO BE BELIEBER!

Justin Bieber Contributes To New Age Hip-Hop Justin Bieber chills with Drake and Ludacris and he’s even gotten a shout-out from Lil Wayne — how does he feel about being embraced by the hip-hop community?

“I like hop-hop a lot. I’m really glad they’ve taken a liking to me,” he told MTV News recently. “Having Luda [on my song ‘Baby’] and having Lil Wayne give me shout me out on UStream and, like, you know — it’s cool.”

SPECIAL OFFERS DOUBLE XXL MAGAZINES FOR $24/ 6 MONTHS! ORDER ONLINE NOW! Rap is a gimmick, but I’m for the hip-hop, the culture.

- Method Man

DOUGIE FRESH BEATS! LEARN MORE> Hip-hop is supposed to uplift and create, to educate people on a larger level and to make a change.

42

He added that unlike many of his contemporaries, including pop stars Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers, he didn’t need the House of Mouse to get ahead in the industry. “I think it’s because I didn’t go through the Disney route,” he explained. “I didn’t go corny, but, like, at the same time I’ve been cool and collected.”

And while one of his musical icons got his start on “The Mickey Mouse Club,” Bieber still looks up to Justin Timberlake and his mentor, Usher. “Well, basically I look at people like Usher and Justin Timberlake and how they went from being a child star to blowing up and doing what they’re doing now,” he said. “I look up

and see what they do and see that’s what I want to do ... and things that I want to do that’s different and things that I wanna do that’s working for them.”

And although he’s working for Usher these days, he admitted he wouldn’t pass up the chance to work with Wayne. “I would love to work with him in the future, but nothing so far,” he explained, adding that despite all the hip-hop in his life he’s actually got a lot of friends who are strictly pop.

“I mean, I just hang out with whoever. I’m also friends with Selena Gomez. I hang out with everyone,” he said, adding any rumors of a swagger coach have been greatly exaggerated. “I mean, it’s just a joke. It’s just something we made up. ... I don’t know; I’m just myself.”

< LMFAO >

NEW WAVE

Early-Morning Party With Club Rap SOURCE: XXL MAG

Among the magic acts pulled off by LMFAO in its smallhours performance at the Highline Ballroom on Friday morning, the least expected was a resurrection of the mythological Hydra.

From time to time during its set, a young woman would worm her way onto the stage, climbing up from the crowd. After letting her dance for a few seconds, a security guard would tug at her arm and whisk her away. In the meantime another one (or two, or three) would appear in her place, and so on.

Like lemmings they were, inexorably drawn to a dubious fate.

Electro-Pop Is The New Black SOURCE: XXL MAG

One of the reasons why I enjoy rap music so much is because of the many styles it has introduced, incorporated and influenced over the past decades. It’s quite interesting to see a song like Sting’s somber “Shape Of My Heart” (only one of the greatest songs of all time!) get flipped as the backdrop for Nas’ delusional rhymes on “The Message.”

Okay, that may not have been the best example. But I’m sure you know what I mean.

Rap has spent so much time being such a thugged-out militant-slash-street reporter that anything that remotely resembles softness was struck down by its critical Hand Of God, despite that many of the things considered soft today was wholly accepted during hip hop’s early stages. We are quick to clown and “no homo” anybody who slides into a pair or red, meatwatcher jeans, ignoring the fact tight, form-fitting garments were the choice fashion back in the day. Granted, androgyny was also a way of life for some those days also, so obviously times were greatly different then. But I’m straying from the point.

With more artists injecting a sense of emotional vulnerability into their raps the accompanying backdrops have also been altered, and instead of crate digging to use a lift a clip from an obscure artist from the 70s more producers are using everything from Vanessa Carlton to Paul Anka. So seeing Daft Punk being sampled into a song from Kanye five years ago was almost natural

at that point; hell, I wish it had happened during my barelyout-of-high-school days. I can only imagine if something like “One More Time” was sampled before Kanye made it all trendy to do so.

“One More Time” bangs.

Speaking of Kanye, his G.O.O.D. Music compatriots have compelled him to explore sounds that are more suburban than street as well.

Mr. Hudson and KiD CuDi’s influences were all over 808s & Heartbreak, resulting in a album that sounded like it could have came out in during the 1980s pop music rush. Now he’s linked up with Jay-Z and Mr. Alicia Keys himself, Swizz Beatz, on the over-the-top remix to “Power.” The original, which already sampled *checks Wikipedia* an obscure British rock band, was fine, but its rehash reminds me of effervescent “We Built This City” from the late, great Starship, before Swizz had to go and toss in a sample of “The Power” by Snap! to boot.

All I need now is for C&C Music Factory to make a comeback, and my childhood cipher will be complete.

LMFAO, the duo of Redfoo and Sky Blu, hails from Hollywood but is best known for its relentlessly croaking-and-banging club hit “I’m in Miami Bitch,” which is colossally goofy but brutally effective. Released last month, LMFAO’s debut album, “Party Rock” (will.i.am/ Cherrytree/Interscope), is full of more of the same: puerile, Daft Punk-influenced club rap, painted with bold disco ebullience. Sometimes it’s soulless, and sometimes it’s dim, but it’s never dull.

That’s because the men of LMFAO aren’t garden-variety chuckleheads; they’re well-bred chuckleheads, both descended from the Motown Records founder Berry Gordy: Redfoo, or Stefan Kendal Gordy, is his son, and Sky Blu, or Skyler Gordy, is his grandson. (Redfoo

is Sky Blu’s uncle.)

Not that the audience for this spastic, aerobic, unerringly entertaining set, full of young women in barely there skirts and architecturally impressive heels, and well-tanned young men with gel-assisted hair, cared about LMFAO’s lineage.

The duo first gained attention last year for a thumping club remix of Kanye West’s “Love Lockdown,” followed later by a remix of Mr. West’s “Paranoid.” (“Yeah, my jeans are tight/ And my ho’s is white/And they play my song in the club every night.”)

Redfoo said to the guard pulling women offstage. “It’s a party up here. Manager, you can’t pull off the girls onstage.” After some off-microphone conversation, the women were allowed to stay.

A few moments later, after the opening barks of “Shots,” Redfoo was pouring vodka into the women’s mouths, and they barely seemed to notice when he and his nephew grabbed a couple of them and made their exit.

LMFAO calls its sartorial style “new ’80s,” and here the men were in a riot of bold colors — Redfoo in turquoise T-shirt and yellow and black zebra pants, Sky Blu in a black T-shirt and red and black zebra pants. Both wore glasses without lenses.

They might look absurd, but occasionally LMFAO can be tender, as on “La La La,” during which Redfoo played keytar, robotically distorting his vocals. But mostly its mission can be summed up by songs like “I’m Not a Whore,” the refrain to which is, “but I like to do it.”

To the women grabbing at Redfoo’s rear end — which was clad in boxer briefs that read “Don’t Judge Me” — he announced, “I know you’re hungry, but I ain’t a piece of steak.”

During “Yes” the women became particularly aggressive, as did security. “No, no, no,”

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HEADS UP! NICK CANNON'S FITTED CLUB NOW OFFERS 30% OFF! CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS. “In the hip-hop community, it’s about how real are you, or how strong can you be, and really my music just reflects me. If you can accept me, then you can accept my music.”

It’s actually quite refreshing to see new sounds being introduced, without it looking contrived like that random Nelly and Tim McGraw song. My hopes now are that I get to see someone sample my favorite Ace of Base song, “The Sign,” before I die, so that I may do so in peace.

43

NEW WAVE

< TYLER, THE CREATOR >

What Tyler, the Creator Can Offer to Hip Hop

BY JOHN DURAN

Our friend and writer for The Stool Pigeon and this organ Kev Kharas recently went to interview Tyler The Creator.

The mewling twit (Mr Creator not the Boy Kharas) threw such a passive-aggressive fit at having to do what his English label XL had flown him in from America to do (promote his fairly decent new album Goblin), thus preventing him from going outside in the sunshine to play, that he smashed his own skateboard to pieces.

He later called his interrogator a “faggot” on Twitter. Most people should be able to judge whether Tyler The Creator is for them or not based solely on this information, thus sidestepping the whole “rape” and “faggots” “controversy”. For Tyler The Creator is 20 years old, and you are probably not.

You could be forgiven for not realizing the awesome creeping horror of ‘Nightmare’, a swirling whirlpool of David Lynch and HP Lovecraft meet Company Flow sickness, was made by one so young. But, on the other hand, there’s the insufferable misogyny of ‘She’, which is the hyuck-hyuck locker room humour of insecure young men at its worst - imagine mainstream smooth R&B that liberally calls the object of its desires “cunt”. Elsewhere Tyler jokes that raping a pregnant woman is like having a threesome. Oh Oscar, with these bon mots, you are really spoiling us.

Why can’t we have the former without the latter, people perhaps not unreasonably ask?

Well, if this was the case, it’s probably a given that broadsheet journalists like Hermione Hoby (for the Guardian) and (mea culpa) rock critics like myself would less likely to be writing about him. I could act like a Daily Mail journalist blustering away in outrage with one eye on the readership figures but this level of nihilism and disgust in modern popular music isn’t even particularly that novel. Y’know, compared to Ill Bill or Anal Cunt. (It’s amusing to hear Tyler get his panties in a twist over people calling his music horrorcore. Yeah, I’m so sorry for offending you by slightly mis-classifying your subgenre of hip hop: It’s backpacker hip hop with Southern/horrorcore hip hop and witch house stylings.) There’s nothing quite as lame as pedestrian transgression though. At its worst, Goblin is like a Jimmy Carr or Russell Brand stand-up routine with lots of neat, wellexecuted internal rhymes. Did you hear the one about the rapist? If only there was only one but there’s a whole hour’s

44

worth here. Isn’t it time for some real transgression? The gay Wu Tang Clan. Now that’s something that would stop everyone dead in their tracks. We need rap’s answer to Gaahl, now more than ever.

So what’s the music like? Well, it’s alright. If you’ve heard anything by Tyler before it’s probably the Goth Wang anthem ‘Sandwitches’ (ft Hodgy Beats), which is so cheap and nasty sounding it’s probably causing a whole new abyssal depth of offence to analogue synthesizer obsessives. Likewise the infectious beat of ‘Yonkers’, but they both pale into insignificance next to ‘Fish’, which has rapping as good as you’re likely to hear all year. And lyrical content as abysmal as you’re likely to hear in the same time period, given that it’s breaking new ground in the field of extended fisherman/ rapist metaphors. But, y’know, Tyler had an absent dad, or his dad beat him or something.

He was perhaps lacking in firm moral guidance and now just look at his desensitization.

Look at it! Dude, he’s waving it in your face! It’s palpable! Tyler always reminds me of the Cali punk coughing up blood after a hashed liquor store robbery in Alex Cox’s Repo Man: “The lights are growing dim. I know a life of crime led me to this sorry fate. And yet, I blame society. Society made me what I am.” Just to have Emilio Estevez tell him: “That’s bullshit!

You’re a white suburban punk, just like me.” Except Tyler is a black, suburban middle class skater. He is a brilliant rapper.

He is genuinely miles ahead in his field. It’s just that this is the fairly narrow field of teen nihilism: his medium is getting upset about having to tidy his room. He’s Tracey Emin in a green balaclava.

“Kill people burn shit fuck school” is the refrain of ‘Radical’. It’s the kind of lamearsed sentiment you’d hear on a recent Marilyn Manson or Insane Clown Posse track.

Distorted vocals and sub sub sub Salem gothic synths and stumbling crunk beats make the first half appalling, mere new nu-metal for lazy mall nihilists. About half way through the seven minute running time - around the time Tyler utters the priceless line “I’m a fucking unicorn. Fuck anyone who says I’m not” - the track dissolves into limpid-Plaid style electronica with voices intoning gently, “You gotta let ‘em go.” For such a supposed badass, Tyler actually spends a lot of this song in exposition mode: “I’m not saying just to go out and do some stupid shit

[like] commit crimes.” He goes to lengths to explain to young acolytes that his credo is one of self-will, rather than mindlessness. A fair few of the songs here come in different “parts” or “movements” and it’s so long it will try the patience of most but the fanatical. It’s backpack rap’s Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. You really could cut the final four songs without losing much of the effect at all.

However, Goblin revels in constantly pulling the rug from under your feet and is actually brilliant in this respect. Just when you think you’re about to smash something in inchoate rage, the lyrical conceits reaching a lysergic level of offensiveness and occasionally outright (if guilty) hilarity. You hit an unexpected lucid interval, where he lays it out straight for you: “Random Disclaimer.

Hey. Don’t do anything I say in this song Ok? It’s fucking fiction. If anything happens don’t blame me white America.” But then this is also tiresome late post-modernism taken to its conclusion. There is no objective truth anymore. Nothing can be pinned down to any one meaning: “I’m a fucking walking paradox - no I’m not.” As his shrink says: “You’re gonna have to cut down on using that word.” Causing Tyler to sigh: “I’m not homophobic... faggot.”

The person who Tyler The Creator reminds me of the most is not Eminem at his Relapseera most amoral; certainly not the Geto Boys, Necro, 2LiveCrew, Cannibal Corpse, or Whitehouse. Neither is it Anal Cunt, XXXManiak, GG Alin, or Gorerotted. Instead, its Charles Bukowski. On one hand this Redondo Beach bum was a truly objectionable misogynist who wrote about rape, violence against women and “low sex” (amongst other subjects) to portray the “truth” or “authenticity” of his lifestyle as much as to wind up liberals and feminists. His dead-eyed ability to cause offence belied the myth of him being a chaotic drunk. On the other hand his poetry and prose certainly was a breath of fresh air in the 1970s and 1980s. Bukowski, who Jean Paul Sartre called America’s most important living poet, was always a scourge of modern American literature, even when he was hopelessly off point and out of order (a not infrequent occurrence).

He was a one man war against pretension, laziness, softness caused by easy living, hypocrisy and payola. Tyler is arguably in the same position as regards mainstream hip hop.

Clearly not that interested in

money and all the other aspirational trappings some rappers stand for, he talks disinterestedly of ignoring emails from the GZA and Plain Pat. Try listening to Goblin straight after Tim Westwood’s Radio 1Xtra show and you may think he has a point.

Yet was this really his intention? If he wants to reach a hip hop audience why did he turn down the XXL Freshmen cover but agree to pucker up for NME? (The most genuinely shocking thing about this album for me is the way it graphically illustrates the hyper-acceleration of culture that we live in. Less than a week after NME’s cover I’m sitting here listening to a substantial part of Goblin that deals with the “pressures of fame” already. There’s no point in enjoying it for three or four weeks when you might as well move straight into the angst-ridden, ‘no one understands how hard it is being me’ phase. Expect him to buy a salmon farm before Xmas.)

Goblin is art in the same way that Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ Murder Ballads or Brett Easton Ellis’s Less Than Zero are and to deny it such a status, could reasonably be seen as racism. Rather than feeling sorry for Tyler however we should recognize that he’s exploiting a loophole more than creating something for the ages. It’s ‘Art’ but it’s relatively artless, like Sarah Lucas positioning a kebab on a soiled mattress to look like a vagina, then running an eye listlessly over the column inches that throb in its presence. The thing is though, I’m not even remotely interested in being entertained by rape rap, no matter how clever or dumb, which is why now that I’ve said how sonically intriguing and pretty decent this album is, I’m going to delete it permanently from my hard drive. After a day of listening to it, I’ve had enough of it and the bad taste that it leaves in my mouth.

The truth of the matter is that there’s every chance the word “faggot” will probably become completely acceptable soon in the same way that “bitch” did in the 1990s. Rape jokes are once again acceptable to most.

Language use change is inevitable and organic. My participation in these processes isn’t.

NEW WAVE

< TYLER, THE CREATOR & WAKA FLOCKA FLAME >

Tylerʼs Signing Causes Riot

BY CARTER MANESS

Making the promotional rounds for his album Goblin, Tyler, The Creator hit Boston yesterday (May 12) for an autograph signing at Newbury Comics. Unfortunately, the store’s capacity was no match for the hundreds-strong, local fan base that showed up hoping to meet the Odd Future leader.

While fans were supposed to receive a wristband in the morning that entitled them to a spot in line to get their CDs signed, not many got the memo. According to the Boston Herald, After hundreds swarmed the area, police arrived and shut the event down.

This pushed the mostly-teenage autograph-seekers into a near frenzy, which local news described as the “Newbury St. Rap Riot.”

The crowd, perhaps taking a cue from Odd Future’s music and Tyler’s tweets earlier in the week, egged-on the cops, resulting in one officer getting injured and sent to the hospital and the subsequent arrest of a 13-year-old female for disorderly conduct.

“That’s what’s expected of them,” said a fan on a local newscast. “If the cops are here, we want to see mayhem. We want trouble.”

The injured officer has been released from the hospital and is doing fine. Goblin is in stores now.

Wakaʼs Reaction to "Yonkers"

BY ELAN MANCINI

Waka Flocka Flame and Tyler, the Creator spoke to each other on a variety of topics for the August 2011 issue of Interview magazine, but possibly the most interesting moment was when the 1017 Brick Squad rapper asked Tyler the meaning behind the controversial “Yonkers” video.

In the said clip, praised by Kanye West and nominated for a MTV VMA trophy, Tyler eats a cockroach, vomits and then commits suicide. Waka questioned the OFWGKTA leader about his motives: “Is there something deeper behind it,” he inquired. “What do those images mean?”

“Well, a lot of people think that stuff is a lot deeper than it really is,” he said. “Some people just think too much. Like, my manager knows I wanna be a video director, so he was like ‘Hey, just write a video, write

the treatment for it, and we’ll shoot it.’ So I was like, Alright, fuck it. I’ll eat a cockroach, I’ll throw up, and then I’ll hang myself…It’s, like, no subliminal messages or secret meanings or anything. I just personally think that shit would look really cool, so I just did it.”

It seems like Waka also is a fan of the video as well. The two made plans to work together toward the end of the interview. “I’m gonna get one of y’all to direct one of my viral videos,” Flocka told Tyler. “It’ll be Odd Future-directed.”

Interview’s August 2011 issue, which also includes features with Theophilus London and the Beastie Boys, is on stands now.

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"It's healthy. Everything evolves. A lot of older people dont get it. It's one of the things that is inevitable.

You really can't stop the evolution of anything. "

45

NEW WAVE

< DRAKE & LIL WAYNE >

DRAKE OR WEEZY? Drake: Hip Hopʼs Unlikely New Conscience

BY BRANDON SODERBERG

ADS BY GOOGLE

Talib Kweli Hip-hop is a vehicle.

Follow him on Twitter! @RealTalibKweli

Jay-Z Hip-hop has done so much for racial relations, and I don't think it's given the proper credit. It has changed America immensely. I'm going to make a very bold statement: Hip-hop has done more than any leader, politician, or anyone to improve race relations.

Follow him on Twitter! @JAYZ

Busta Rhymes Hip-hop reflects the truth, and the problem is that hip-hop exposes a lot of the negative truth that society tries to conceal. It's a platform where we could offer information, but it's also an escape.

So there’s this minor hit, “Tony Montana,” by an Atlanta rapper named Future (best known for his verse on YC’s “Racks”), and it is hopefully the nadir of the whole Lex Luger sound (see: Waka Flocka’s “Hard In Da Paint,” Ace Hood’s “Hustle Hard,” etc.). It’s got the glitchy synths and stuttering drums, that comfortable 70-90 BPM range that even the drunkest of frat bros can dance to, and the apparently very important shout-out to a notorious character or entity in the title -- a la Rick Ross’ “B.M.F.” and “MC Hammer.”

Future endlessly repeats the name “Tony Montana” on the hook and verses, rapping in a terrible approximation of Al Pacino’s already terrible Cuban accent, explaining to listeners that he is like the titular movie character -- which just two weeks ago, I explained is a dicey proposition and a gross misreading of the Brian DePalma hip-hop classic. The only way this song “works” is to read it as if Future realizes he is actually a lot like Tony Montana: Hopped up on his own ego and doomed to fail sooner than later.

Follow him on Twitter! @BusaBusss

“Tony Montana” seemed even goofier after Drake deigned to make an appearance on the remix. In his characteristic nasally flow, Drake weaved around Lex Luger’s sonic his-

46

trionics, asserting his Tony Montana-ness while avoiding big, dumb proclamations about impossible success. He simply claims that he has indeed made it, observing that “young women are lost these days,” like a bored, aged lothario even though he’s only in his twenties. Drake’s verse isn’t brilliant or anything, but it feels so much more livedin than Future’s, which is full of artifice and exaggeration, tools that were once effective and maybe even necessary for rappers, but now just feel pathetically delusional and out of touch.

There’s even a strange, very unofficial-looking video for the “Tony Montana” remix, furthering the sense that Future, a clueless guy chasing an earlier era of funny-money rap, is ironically named.

Jammed between cheapo shots of Future partying like he wants you to buy into his hype, there are shots of Drake in a blunted, Weeknd-esque scene, wandering, dream-like, around the club. The sequence is lifted from the video for his own single, “Marvin’s Room,” and it’s quite telling that this dejected version of clubbing is so closely associated with Drake. Dropped into the middle of this middling song that’s so desperate to be a hit, with a video intent to convince viewers of Future’s impor-

tance and street-level success, there’s Drake wandering right through that desired success like a ghost.

When Drake wasn’t dropping oddly affecting singles off his upcoming album, Take Care (“Marvin’s Room,” “Headlines”), he spent the summer popping up on other people’s songs and killing their toughtalk with kindness. Even his verse on DJ Khaled’s “I’m On One,” in which he looks back to Thank Me Later’s swaggering confidence, feels instructive. He complains about fame (“hate the rumors, hate the bullshit”), but he’s mostly disgusted and a little saddened by upcoming rappers who just don’t know what the hell they’re in for when they actually achieve the fame they desire: “What’s up with these new niggas? / And why they think it all comes so easy?” This is the rookie position Drake was in about a year or so ago, and the whole thing becomes a comment on a ruthless hype cycle that allows Drake -- 24 years old, an EP and an album under his belt and that’s it -- to feel like he’s a grizzled veteran.

It helps too that Drake just raps the shit out of his verse on “I’m On One,” showing instead of telling, with a confidence and sincerity that looks back to College Dropout-era Kanye West instead of the latter-day, mega-douche Mr. West, who no doubt inspired Thank Me Later. Drake is lapping himself these days, returning to the same topics mined on his debut (fame sucks, fuck you, I’m famous), but with a little more knowledge and a lot more experience. Even the video for “I’m On One” is a dark and depressive affair. It’s a homage to Michael Mann’s sleek, grimy 2006 Miami Vice movie, so gloomy that it ropes in perplexed louts like Khaled (who dejectedly drinks a Four Loko alone on a balcony) and Rick Ross, whose huffy absurdity gets magnified when placed alongside Drake.

Drake’s deconstructive approach is even applied to the Weeknd, whom he has heavily co-signed. His guest verse on Thursday’s “The Zone” makes the song all his own, as he does away with buddy Abel Tesfaye’s creepy R&B lyrics. The strip club becomes a place of shattered dreams (“all these broken hearts on this pole,” he laments). It’s neither a place for a good time, nor is it ripe with women to go home with, and even when he’s down to fuck like every other rapper, he makes sure she doesn’t try too hard and embarrass herself; “I thought taking drugs ain’t you,” he scoffs, before telling her, more like a father figure than a lecherous superstar, “be you.” It’s an unexpected adjustment to the song -- cleverly injecting this decadent R&B with a sense of propriety because, well, he’s Drake and he can.

What happened to Drake?

In less than a year, he’s gone from a self-pitying, emo-inthe-worst-sense-of-the-word rapper to one of hip-hop’s most self-aware and morally stalwart MCs. He’s illustrating that transformation with guest

verses on “I’m On One” and “The Zone,” and he’s tripping up radio playlists by sticking “Marvin’s Room” between, say, Big Sean’s unpleasant seduction “Marvin & Chardonnay” and Chris Brown’s smarmy “She Ain’t You.” Drake’s complaining used to be nails-on-a-chalkboard, but the more he almost perversely commits and digs into it, the more resonance it has, dragging along an emotional quality and newfound empathy that is, at times, startling.

Even Take Care, the title of his album due out in late October, sounds so much kinder than the smug, Thank Me Later.

He’s bringing this newly figured-out sensitivity to all of his recent tracks. On “Tony Montana,” where he’s basically just playing a shadow, his presence is still so powerful that he completely recasts an otherwise idiotic waste of time.

< DRAKE & LIL WAYNE >

NEW WAVE

Lil Wayne: The Best Rapper Alive

BY JOSH TYRANGIEL

Lil Wayne has a smoke-scarred rasp that makes him sound like Redd Foxx covering Bob Dylan. It’s hardly the voice you’d expect from a 25-yearold rap star, but then, it’s been a busy 25 years.

Born Dwayne Carter Jr. and raised in Hollygrove, a New Orleans neighborhood famous for producing soul singers, Wayne signed his first deal at age 11 after rhyming on a record executive’s answering machine.

At 12, he distinguished himself by starring as the Tin Man in his gifted middle school’s production of The Wiz--and by accidentally shooting himself in the chest with a .44-cal. while imitating Travis Bickle in his bedroom. After teenage years that were lost to the comically awful gangsta group Hot Boys (like ‘N Sync with shivs), Wayne went solo and undertook a transformation almost unprecedented in hip-hop.

Over four years, he morphed from a mediocre rapper with a thuggish point of view into a savant who merges sex, drugs and politics with a sneaky intellect, a freakish knowledge of pop culture and a voice out of the Delta. Whether Wayne is, as he claims, the “best rapper alive” is no longer even debated in hip-hop or commercial circles. Since June 10, when his latest album, Tha Carter III, sold 1,005,545 copies in its first week, he’s been the undisputed champ.

That number would be huge in boom times, but at a moment when most records languish on the racks like Depression apples, it’s titanic. It also represents the victory of a business model every bit as counterintuitive as Radiohead’s. Most musicians still carefully dole out an album’s worth of songs every few years to keep from saturating the market. Vibe magazine counted 77 new Lil Wayne tracks in 2007. Besides coughing out guest verses for seemingly anyone who asked, he sometimes recorded three songs in a night and gave them away on the Internet minutes later on a series of superb mix tapes. In June, just before Tha Carter III went on sale, Wayne announced on YouTube that he’d be releasing the tracks for free on a tape called The Leak.

If the charts are to be believed, his goodwill has been repaid many times over. Of course, it helps that Tha Carter III is one of the best albums of the year. It’s a pop play--and smelling it, everyone from Jay-Z to Robin Thicke jumped on board with contributions-but it’s still weird enough to sound like underground Lil Wayne. His wordplay can be thrilling (“My picture should be in the dictionary next to the definition of definition”), and no other rapper finds as much joy in rhyming; “in the way,” “everyday,” “what we say,” “cliché,” “Andre 3K,” “sensei” is a typical string from Dr. Carter, his prescription for what ails

rap. But the impact owes more to his delivery than to his wit.

Wayne isn’t afraid to sound bizarre. On Phone Home, he rhymes like E.T., and throughout, he stammers, intentionally misses beats and defies most of the rules of contemporary rap. On DontGetIt, over a sample of Nina Simone’s Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, he tells a life story that veers into an indictment of drug laws and finishes some 1,200 words and 10 minutes later by dismissing Al Sharpton with a theatricality even the good Reverend would have to appreciate.

Wayne claims his rhymes are stream of consciousness, but even if they aren’t, they sound as though they’re hitting the air for the first time, unfolding with an electricity that’s--forbid the sacrilege--Dylanesque.

Redd Foxx would probably dig ‘em too.

WAYNE IS INCREDIBLE. SO HAPPY HE ANNOUNCED MORE SHOWS IN AUSTRALIA TODAY, CANNOT WAIT TO SEE HIM. TOGETHER WITH EMINEM, HE WILL BE INCREDIBLE! HE’S SUCH AN AMAZING ARTIST, ONE OF MY FAVOURITE FOR SURE. BUT SERIOUSLY, THUMBS UP IF YOU’D LOVE A LIL WAYNE WORLD TOUR AND WOULD GO! LUKEC109 1 HOUR AGO

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MISCELLANEOUS

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LMFAO LIVE AT CLUB NOKIA OCT. 10 // 8PM

nas

HIP HOP IS DEAD album coming out this friday!

HIP HOP JUST DIED THIS MORNIN’ HIP HOP JUST DIED THIS MORNIN’ HIP HOP JUST DIED THIS MORNIN’ AND SHE’S DEAD, SHE’S DEAD

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SUPA DUPA PURPLE HAZE “HIP-HOP IS DEFINITELY NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE, WHICH WAS CREATIVE, ORIGINAL MUSIC.” - MISSY ELLIOT

MISSY ELLIOT VS. JIMI HENRIX NOVEMBER 11, 2014 THE KEY CLUB

Greenway Court Theater Los Angeles, CA 90036

SUPPORT LOCAL HIP-HOP CHAMILLIONAIRE

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MARCH 20TH A LOT OF THESE YOUNG PEOPLE MAKING DANCE MUSIC, BUT I JUST FEEL LIKE IT’S GOING TO GET BACK TO INDEPENDENCE PRETTY SOON, BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE ARE RELYING ON OTHER MAJORS RIGHT NOW AND THEY ARE NOT AS POWERFUL AS THEY USED TO BE.

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< KREAYSHAWN & WGM >

NEW WAVE

WAIT, PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIKE THIS? ANNAROSE3317 2 HOURS AGO

New Wave Swag

I LOVE SHE SINGS ABOUT BUDGETING SO YOU CAN SPEND MORE ON DRUGS. YOURPROFESSOR 4 DAYS AGO 58

BY ELLEN LOVELIDGE

Ten days ago, before her “Gucci Gucci” video dropped, Kreayshawn was just another little-known rapping white girl YouTube sensation from Oakland.

1.2 million views later, she’s been all over the Internet, from an interview in GQ to interest from Snoop Dogg and Drake through Twitter. To say her first official performance was highly anticipated is an understatement.

The event, featuring Kreayshawn’s posse White Girl Mob, was held on Friday at a sold-out and packed SOM. The opening DJ played new hip hop bangers, heavy on the Gucci Mane, as the young, mixed crowd shuffled in, discussing how excited yet curious they were about the show. Around 11:50pm the hype man got on the mic to start it off, reminding us that this was the “who’s gonna sign them party” and record companies were abundantly present.

The openers, including rappers Erk da Jerk, Los Rakas, and Mistah Fab brought up the crowd’s energy as well as shouts for the main event.

Kreayshawn, along with White Girl Mob’s other MC V-Nasty and supposed DJ Lil Debbie, danced along on stage during the opening acts, looking ready to perform but definitely new at the game.

off of the recent Kittys x Choppas mixtape, with Kreayshawn as the clear leader, V-Nasty rapping along, and Lil Debbie bobbing her body to the music between them to the based, Jock Jams-esque tunes.

Despite constant mic interference, the DJ over-excitedly cutting out to hear the crowd sing along, and V-Nasty dropping the N-bomb like it was going out of style, the crowd stayed rowdy the entire performance, with hands in the air and constant shouts of “Swag.” Kreayshawn’s ability to entertain was sealed about seven songs in with her ode to Amy Winehouse, which had everyone singing along. Rapping her final and most popular song, “Gucci Gucci,” the crowd went wild and you could tell Kreayshawn knew she had done it; shown everyone in the house that she was clearly capable of keeping the magic alive beyond YouTube and that swag really is pumping out her ovaries. Give them a few more shows, they’ll smooth out the kinks, and a year from now have us blown that they’ve just now gotten their start in the mainstream.

THE WAY IN WHICH YOU CARRY YOURSELF. SWAG IS MADE UP OF YOUR OVERALL CONFIDENCE, STYLE, AND DEMEANOR. SWAG CAN ALSO BE EXPANDED TO BE THE REPUTATION OF YOUR OVERALL SWAGGER. YOU GAIN SWAG, OR “SWAG UP”, BY PERFORMING SWAG WORTHY ACTIONS THAT IMPROVE THIS PERCEPTION. A PERSON CAN ALSO “SWAG DOWN,” BY BEING AN OVERALL PUSSY AND GARNERING NEGATIVE SWAG FOR THEIR ACTIONS. SWAG IS A SUBTLE THING THAT MANY STRIVE TO GAIN BUT FEW ACTUALLY ATTAIN. IT IS RESERVED FOR THE MOST SWAGALICIOUS OF PEOPLE. SWAG CAN ALSO BE QUANTIFIED, WITH POINT SYSTEMS EXISTING IN SOME CIRCLES OF FRIENDS.

The girls took center stage around 12:30am, decked out in hipster-meets-hood attire including huge gold earrings, vintage threads, and Kreayshawn in a Disney’s Goofy hat. They confidently sailed through the short tracks, most

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NEW WAVE

< KREAYSHAWN & WGM >

That New "Kreay"

BY ERNEST BAKER

“Why do I keep getting dissed and gotta ignore it like nothing is going on?”

It’s late July and Kreayshawn is on set at a photo shoot in New York’s Flatiron District.

This year’s female white rap phenom has just been told she’s on the receiving end of a verbal attack from Game on his shots-at-everyone diss record “Uncle Otis.” He threatens to shove an assault rifle in her face if she uses the Nword again. “I’ve never said it one time in my motherfucking life,” she insists. She says it’s V-Nasty, her “sister” and partner in White Girl Mob—their brash, perversely fabulous rap trio also consisting of DJ Lil Debbie—who uses the word.

“Everyone thinks I’m Vanessa [V-Nasty] and I have to answer [for her actions] every day in every fucking interview,” vents the frustrated 22-year-old. Apparently Kreayshawn has tried to intervene, to no avail. “I’ve sat down and had talks with her, like, ‘Please, if you took this word out of your vocabulary, it would help your career.

It would really help mine.’ She’s just been like, ‘This is who I am. This is how I was raised.

I’m not gonna change for anybody,’ and I respect that. She doesn’t have to listen to me. It’s just hard if we’re all mobbing together and everyone thinks I use it, too. That’s when you have to step away or find a way to work around it.”

ery day and be a weak ass little white bitch? Fuck that shit. I’m tired of people disrespecting me.”

Cooler—and more media-savvy—heads prevail, and Kreayshawn never responds publicly. She’s still learning that scrutiny and unpredictability are part of the overnight sensation package. It’s been a whirlwind year for Kreayshawn. In January, she recorded “Gucci Gucci,” an insanely catchy ode to independence from designer labels. In May, she uploaded its hipper-than-thou video to YouTube, and it became an Internet sensation, picking up 11 million page views by August.

Along the way, Kreay pocketed a seven-figure record deal from Sony, leaving fans and hecklers alike wondering how it all happened.

Kreayshawn is surprised herself. “I wasn’t expecting anything like this,” she says. “I thought I was going to still struggle to pay rent.” One song—admittedly, one damn good song—and a zeitgeistcapturing video, and the tattooed girl from East Oakland’s star was born.

GCARP_23 GORDON CARPENTER: IS #KREAYSHAWN REALLY SERIOUS!?

THIS HAS GOT TO BE A JOKE. I JUST LOST ALL RESPECT FOR HIP HOP. SOMEONE HELP ME. Her directing career has tak-

Kreayshawn, born Natassia Zolot, would like to deal with Game more directly. “I wanna slap a grown-ass man in the face,” she says, defiantly. She then lightens the mood, joking about calling 50 Cent, but gets aggravated when her manager, Chioke “Stretch” McCoy, advises her not to respond.

Am I just supposed to get dissed every day and be a weak ass little white b*tch? I’m tired of people disrespecting me.

She counters with another plan of action. “I’m going to say, ‘Game’s a weak ass Blood, he ain’t about to do shit.’” That also doesn’t go over well with Stretch, a charismatic, hulking black guy whose pedigree includes Mac Dre and Mistah F.A.B. She pushes back. “Am I just supposed to get dissed ev-

50

en off as well. Soulja Boy has asked her to shoot a video for him, and, according to Kreay, Curren$y wants to collaborate as well. Snoop Dogg already has. Trina and Diamond have reached out, too. Left Brain from Odd Future, who made a cameo alongside OFWGKTA pal Jasper Dolphin in the “Gucci Gucci” video (which Left Brain thought would be a “fail”), echoes the general consensus on Kreayshawn’s directorial chops: “She knows what she’s doing behind the cam.”

Now all she has to do to prove the haters wrong and her celebrity pals right is follow through on the potential she showed with “Gucci Gucci.” It’s a tall order, in large part because of the blitzkrieg press and performance run she’s been on since signing with Sony. She hopes to have her debut ready for a fourth quarter release, but label representatives have said not to expect it until early 2012.

“I’m praying for a break for two weeks to finish the album,” she says. “I can only see it from my point of view and my point of view is I’m stressed and I’m busy. Even Columbia says,

HAVING MANY GIRLS, BEING A MANSION, SWAGGING TO THE MAXIMUM, AND LOOKING LIKE JESUS. IT’S A WAY OF LIFE. NOT CARING WHAT PEOPLE THINK, LIVING IN A MANSION, DOING WHAT YOU WANT

‘We’ve never worked an artist as hard as we work you.’ This is crazy. So many people want a piece of you. At the same time I still wanna keep everything like how the old days were.”

OMG WHAT HAVE YOU DONE BASED GOD??!?! SO ... POSITIVE! SWAG! It’s clear that going back to the old days won’t be possible, not when she’s got punishing promo campaigns to maintain and veteran (if slightly unhinged) rappers talking about putting assault rifles in her face. Which begs the question: Is this what she had in mind when she was editing videos in her apartment, struggling to make ends meet?

“I never made anything with the intention of signing a record deal,” she says. “It was just for fun. The moment I realized I could get a record deal, was when I got a record deal.

I didn’t see myself getting famous.”

“People say, ‘You’re changing the game,’” she continues. “I’m just being me. This is what I’ve been doing.” Whatever it is, it’s worked—so far. But can she keep it up now that she’s been mainstreamed? Stay tuned.

WRD2URWRIST WATCH 4 DAYS AGO

< LIL B >

Lil B: Hip Hop Isn't Dead

BY MICHAEL

(While I’m off on my vision quest, Michael submits his relatively short and surprisingly to-the-point thoughts on Lil B the Based God’s first officially released album, I’m Gay (I’m Happy), a project with an intentionally polarizing title that has received its fair share of accolades, even though the artist’s fanbase isn’t exactly as large as the Interweb would like you to believe. Leave your thoughts for Michael below.)

Mane-flavored noise that most people are aware of is a goddamn front (he even admitted as much in an interview).

Beneath the rugged, mainstream coating of Lil B lies an extremely intelligent young man. Songs such as “Wonton Soup”, “Charlie Sheen”, and “Like a Martian” serve as the appetizers for the main course, which consists of entrees such as “Real Life”, “Cold War”, and “Cocaine Killer” (which are all great tracks and should be checked out).

details behind this story, so I’m not going to waste any more time explaining it. Now let’s get to reviewin’!

1. TRAPPED IN PRISON The beat to this song is fucking epic. I don’t even care that the word is disgustingly overused nowadays: it is the perfect word for this song. The beautiful guitar sample weaves in and out between Lil B’s bars, creating a truly moving listening experience. This is the Lil B that many of you have never heard before: the one that’s not fucking everybody’s bitch and shouting “Swag!” at completely unnecessary times. This is the Lil B that delivers subtle and incredibly powerful social commentary, so if this isn’t your thing, then you may want to look elsewhere. Also important to note is that Lil B does not have “flow” in its strictest sense; O.C. or Prince Po Lil B most certainly is not. You should probably get used to it.

2. OPEN THUNDER ETERNAL SLUMBER Being from Northern California, I appreciated Lil B’s shout outs to various cities around the area. I also liked how Lil B complains about sports stars getting paid too much while doctors get paid too little. He utilizes a more traditional flow on this song than compared to “Trapped In Prison,” so this track may appeal to the more conservative hip hop audience a bit more. This song was alright.

LIL B IS STR8 UP GARBAGE DISGRACE FOR RAP/HIP HOP. True story: about this time last year, I fucking hated Lil B. But as my friends became completely enamored by the man and his popularity gradually began to rise, I couldn’t help but give him a second chance.

And guess what? Nothing changed. But then, late one night, as I sipped on a cup of black tea, I found myself on YouTube.

“What should I watch next?” I said quietly to myself; I looked at my teacup for a response.

After giving me a blank stare, my porcelain friend finally gave a short answer. “Lil B.”

My eyes widened. “I wouldn’t dare!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, tears starting to stream down my face.

By releasing hundreds of songs for free on the Internet (mostly through his MySpace page), Brandon has amassed a humongous following and has also gained the attention of the hip hop genre as a whole.

This strategy has also created a smaller subsection of fans, those who recognize the sheer genius of the duality of this rising star. I would place myself into the latter group. Yeah, I can’t believe it, either.

Things seemed to be going just as planned for Lil B: bitches were being fucked, concerts were being arranged, and the man was simply living a life that was almost too good to be true. But then, in mid-April, all hell broke loose, as Lil B announced that his upcoming album, his first to actually be sold nationwide (his previous projects were all given away as free downloads, thus adding to the myth) would be entitled I’m Gay (although he seemed to forget about the accompanying apostrophe).

3. GAME “I must be real wack. How’d I get this car?” More real shit from Brandon McCartney, the clever satirist and undercover emcee. Every time Brandon seems to be trailing off into generic rapper hell, he turns back around to deliver more lines with passionate sincerity. Lil B does say “Swag!” on this song, but he saves it for the end, so by the time you get really pissed off, the next song will start. What an oddity this man is.

21JSAL A Z AR 20 HOURS AGO “Don’t give me that!” My teacup’s eyes pierced my own. He cleared his throat and spoke softly. “Just do it. Trust me.”

I wiped the tears away and exhaled deeply. I typed in Lil B’s name and searched through numerous videos. I stumbled upon one for a song entitled “The Age of Information.”

“Huh, interesting title,” I muttered beneath my breath. From the corner of eye, I could see my teacup nod in triumph.

The media swarmed towards this story, because being gay is, apparently, a big deal. Who knew? I vividly remember an article on NPR entitled “Can Hip-Hop Handle I’m Gay?”, which made me laugh quite a great deal, because as I was reading the title, every single instance of hearing the word “faggot” in a rap song instantly popped into my head.

4. UNCHAIN ME I envision Lil B growing wings and ascending to Heaven when I listen to this song.

What, you don’t? Well, fuck you! An almost cosmic beat makes this song really interesting to listen to.

NEW WAVE

bite of our host praising his “Based” lifestyle. This song was pretty bland, although Lil B says some interesting things.

Next!

8. I HATE MYSELF Wow, what a title. This is sort of a melodramatic mess, but since our host actually realizes that he loves himself about four minutes into the song and doesn’t opt out for the cheap “I hate myself because I live in the hood” excuse, I’ll give him a pass. This isn’t the best song on here (again, it’s way too melodramatic), but it is in no way a bad track.

LAWD WHAT IS GOING ON IN RAP? FROM THE MESSAGE, LADIES FIRST, SELF DESTRUCTION TO THIS...WTH

9. GET IT WHILE IT’S GOOD Although this was pleasant enough, Brandon’s singing towards the end was unnecessary and nearly ruined the entire piece for me.

10. I SEEN THE LIGHT Has a very 9th Wonder-esque feel to it: very soulful and upbeat. Another win for Brandon.

11. MY LAST CHANCE Once again, our host presents some moral dilemmas for his audience to ponder, all over a truly great instrumental.

The music behind Lil B does a great job of amplifying the regrets and fears that Brandon shares with his listeners.

IZ AK TE A Z 13 MINUTES AGO

12. ONE TIME (REMIX) A rich saxophone sample laid over a great breakbeat wraps up this album in a most exquisite fashion. This is by far the most energetic song on the album, and it is fucking good.

It sort of mutates into nothing more than an outro about halfway through, but this was still a great way to end the album.

THE LAST WORD: Lil B’s I’m Gay (I’m Happy) is one of the best albums that I’ve heard in years. Holy shit, did I really just write that? Nearly every song has great production, and Lil B is… well, Lil B! I will admit that I was disappointed with him not rapping like he did on the aforementioned “The Age Of Information” on this album, but those feelings dissipated after a few additional spins. Lil B actually posted the download link to I’m Gay (I’m Happy) a day after he released it on iTunes for sale, as a way of thanking his fans who may not have had the extra cash to spend, but I would still recommend that you actually purchase this album. Yes, that’s right, I just told you to buy a Lil B album.

I HOPE YOU GUYS KNOW HE REALLY DOESN’T RAP LIKE THIS. SENSUAL SATAN 20 HOURS AGO

5. NEVA STOP ME The beat is adequate, but the sound bites that Lil B included border on absolute pretentiousness. This song was meh.

At least it was short.

THIS IS THE WORST OF ALL TIME

Video fully buffered, I braced myself for the worst. Images of pain and eternal suffering suddenly clouded my head.

But then the music began. A beautiful beat graced my ears, followed by some surprisingly deep lyrics from a mellowed out Brandon McCartney. “By jove!” I whispered to myself.

“Why, this is incredible!”

“It is, isn’t it?” My teacup flashed me a menacing smile.

I slowly nodded, my mouth agape Ever since that surreal experience, which really did happen, I have been a staunch supporter of the former “The Pack” member Lil B. I have since shed my initial ignorance: I now feel the man to be an absolute genius. All of that “Swag, Swag!” and Gucci

Lil B caught a lot of flak for this career choice, and even wound up receiving homophobic death threats, among other jolly concerns. Lil B was quick to explain that he meant to blur the line between the actual definition of the word “gay” and being homosexual, a bold move from a man operating within the fucking hip hop industry. And then he added the parenthetical thought (I’m Happy) to the official album title, thereby diluting any potential controversy right from the get-go.

DEMO880 2 HOURS AGO already know the rest of the But I assume that most of you

6. GON BE OKAY The mere fact that Lil B sampled Joe Hisaishi’s “One Summer’s Day”, which was used in the fantastic movie Spirited Away, automatically makes this song amazing in my book.

He spits the same introspective shit he has been doing on the entirety of I’m Gay (I’m Happy) thus far, but the accompanying piano makes you not really care all that much. This song will just make you smile.

Nice!

7. THE WILDERNESS I thought the beat sounded a bit tacky, especially since it is accompanied with a sound

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#SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG NEW WAVE

#BASE #SWAG #GUCCI #BASIC #LEG

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#SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG

NEW WAVE

#SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG #SWAG

EDGOD GMEOUT IGUCCI CBITCH GGO

53

NEW WAVE

RIGHT NOW, I WANT TO BOIL A POT OF WONTON SOUP TO 300 DEGREES, MAKE MYSELF A BOWL, AND POUR THE REST OF THE POT OF SOUP ON LIL’ B WHILE MY BOWL OF SOUP COOLS OFF. #SWAG CGATESJAMES 2 DAYS AGO (LIL' B SUPPORTER)

54

NEW WAVE

@GARYBATESRSC I SUPPORT HIM. A LOT ACTUALLY WHY BECAUSE HE PROVES TO EVERYONE YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A GOOD RAPPER TO MAKE IT. HE IS VERY INTELLIGENT ACTUALLY LOOK UP SOME OF THEM AND YOU’LL SEE HOW HE SPEAKS. HE DOES THIS TO FUCK WITH THE PUBLIC. HE’S ACTUALLY A DECENT RAPPER AND PROVEN PEOPLE LIKE YOU WOULD LOOK HIM UP EVEN THOUGH YOU LIKE RAKIM, NAS, EMINEM, ETC. NADE WUN 4 HOURS AGO (LIL’ B SUPPORTER)

55

NEW WAVE

THIS IS MODERN DAY SHAKESPEAREAN ART CARNAGEMERC 1 DAY AGO

WHAT YOU GUYS TALKING ABOUT, THIS SHIT GO HARD. HE SHOULD BE WITH THE GREATEST LIKE NAS, 2PAC, BIGGIE SMALLS. MOSTDOPE503 1 DAY AGO

HIS SWAG IS OVER 9000!!!

E VANFBIT 3 DAYS AGO

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NEW WAVE

WAIT, PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIKE THIS? ANNAROSE3317 2 HOURS AGO

SNAXBOOGIE SNAX BOOGIE

MY BOY WAS RIGHT, HIP HOP RAP MUSIC FUCKING SUCKS

THIS IS TERRIBLE...TUPAC..

PUT ON YOUR EARPLUGS UP THERE MAN,IT’S GETING WORSE ON EARTH...R.I.P HIP-HOP. ROSALIE ALICEBELL A1 1 HOUR AGO

MYSOULONPAPER MYSOULONPAPER™•MSOP

MORE & MORE I’M ANNOYED WITH THE STATE OF HIP HOP BY THE TWEETS I SEE! U CAN’T SUPPORT EVERY1 #THATISALL 57

NEW WAVE

HIP HO

DEA

& SHE’S DEAD

NA S 5 YE ARS AGO

58

NEW WAVE

HOP IS

AD.

D, SHE’S DEAD.

59

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