Robbie at unkut.com has examines the rap genre whose name he is coining as Soap Opera Rap.
MTV has a list of 10 reasons why Dr. Dre’s Detox will come out. Consider me skeptical.
Archive for the ‘hip-hop’ Category
Daily Links November 30, 2010
Tuesday, November 30th, 2010Hamas Doesn’t Like HipHop
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010The Israeli paper Haaretz reports that Hamas police have broken up the Gaza Strip’s first major hip-hop concert:
Hamas police have broken up the Gaza Strip’s first major hip-hop concert.
The B Boy Gaza group had just started a lively dance set late on Saturday in a crowded auditorium when police from the Islamist Hamas group that rules the Gaza Strip ended the performance with shouts of “the show is over”, witnesses said.
“I told one of the policemen that rap meant respect for all people, but he didn’t seem to be listening. He said it was an immoral dance,” one of the dancers said.
Advertisement Hamas officials said the performance, in a conservative enclave where most musical shows strike a nationalistic note, was shut down only because organizers had not applied for a police permit for the gathering.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said police confiscated cameras and tapes at the venue and arrested six of the performers. They were released after signing a pledge not to hold further performances without police permission.
Hamas has denied accusations by Gaza human rights groups that it is trying to impose Islamic law in the enclave where 1.5 million Palestinians live. In public speeches, Hamas leaders have urged Palestinians to adhere to Islamic values
Hamas may say rap music bring immoral dance but it should be noted that some of the best American rappers are self-identified Muslims.
Hip-Hop Links March 11, 2010
Thursday, March 11th, 2010The only regularly great part of the Jimmy Fallon show is the fact that The Roots are the house band. Thank goodness DJ Heat put a compilation together of performances of The Roots and guests on The Jimmy Fallen show.
The list for XXL’s list of 10 Freshmen for 2010 looks pretty weak.
Here is a mixtape by Mister Cee of The Notorious BIG
Umar Farouk Abdulmtallab: Hip-Hop Fan
Thursday, January 7th, 2010Umar Farouk Abdulmtallab is the Al-Qaeda member who tried to blow up the plane from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day. Luckily for the people on the flight the terrorist was not able to create a large enough explosion and jumped by one of the other passengers. Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo reports that one of the things we do know about Abdulmtallab is that he was a big fan of hip-hop music.
Hip-Hop in Yemen
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010The Christian Science Monitor has an article posted January 4th about Hip-Hop being used as an alternative to Al Qaeda in Yemen. Hip-hop provides an outlet for Yemeni youths to express themselves and is a way for the hearts and minds to be swayed from Islamic extremism:
In Yemen’s staunchly traditional society, the main activities for young people are chewing khat, a mild narcotic, or going to mosques. Events like last week’s show hope to promote hip-hop culture as a healthy alternative and keep youths from being swept up into extremist ideas, say event organizers.“[In Yemen] you have people who are trying to gain support among the youth for every sort of cause: Al Qaeda, Salafis.… We have to win the hearts and minds of the kids,” said one of the event organizers who wishes to remain anonymous because of his close ties with the Yemeni government.
“Yemen is hungry for hip-hop. When I first came here in 2003 you couldn’t find a rapper or a break dancer,” said Hagage Masaed, an American of Yemeni descent and self-described “Snoop Dogg” of Yemen who has been a centerpiece of hip-hop’s growth in the country.
“All the problems youth are facing in Yemen – there’s no work – this a way for them to release. It’s an outlet,” he said before the start of the show.
Hip-Hop Links December 15 2009
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009Masta Ace & EDO G have a video for their song “Little Young.” I like the gimmicky song about Rappers and little things even if it is a little corny.
Here is Skyzoo’s lead single Popularity off his new album The Salvation:
Here is a great video of Q-Tip and Busta Rhymes performing “Scenario” and “Where All My Eyes Can See” at the Knitting Factory
I was in Russia at a Trade show after party and I heard the original version of Pitbull’s Hotel Room Service play and it felt so American. It was a nice change from the bad taste in techno that Russians seem to have.
Normally however I’m not the biggest fan of club music.
Here is the latest in Shaun Boothe’s series of unauthorized biographies. This time Sean Diddy Combs, gets the treatment:
Hip-Hop Links September 30, 2009
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009More Hip-Hop Links from around the internets:
Here is the New York Post covering Def Jam being celebrated at VH1′s Hip-Hop Honors.
Here is a video of Blue Scholars for “HI-808″ rapping about Hawaii.
Goodie Mob is reuniting according to Cee-Lo Green.
Here is a video from Senior Kaos called Automatic Classic:
Señor Kaos – Automatic Classic OFFICIAL VIDEO from Señor Kaos on Vimeo.
Here’s a rap video about Ending The Fed probably from a Ron Paul fan:
It’s not great but it sounds better than the corny music played at the 9/12 Tea Party in D.C.
Hip-Hop Links August 27 2009
Friday, August 28th, 2009Here is the video for Kid Cudi’s song Make Her Say: This song is off of Kid Cudi’s album Man On The Moon: The End of Day which will be released on September 15, 2009.
Joel Ortiz has a new video called Food For Thought and sponsored by nahright.com. Joel Ortiz basically does a version of Common’s “I used to love H.E.R.”
Here is Lonely Island’s On A Boat song mixed with Bert and Ernie on a boat:
Hat Tip Andrew Moylan
4080Records.com has a neat roundup of stories about hip-hop and politics is such places as Senegal, Guinea, and Bolivia.
I found this video of Nas being interviewed by eccentric Canadian host Narduwar.
Narduwar interviews are always highly entertaining.
African Immigrants The Future of Hip-Hop
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009African immigrants seemed to be the source for a lot of great hip-music. Both Wale and K’Naan have recently released great material but the latest artist to continue in this trend is a rapper by the name of Blitz The Ambassador. Blitz the Ambassador is originally born and raised in Ghana but now hails from Brooklyn.
Blitz the Ambassador brings a unique sound backed by a horn based band. Below are some samples of his recent work:
Here is the Trailer off his recent album:
Hip-Hop Links July 8 2009
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009A group called the Brown Bag Allstars have a new song out called All I Do. Brown Bag Allstars features Audible Doctor, J57(formerly JLOG1C), KONCEPT, Soul Khan, DJ GOO Punch, E Holla, Deejay Elemen who I think are from New York. The track features a sample from Friends Of Distinction covering the Beatle’s “And I Love Her.” Link via The Smoking Section
The best thing about the Jimmy Fallon Show is the Roots. The latest example of this is Mos Def performing the song “Casa Bey” with the Roots“Casa Bey” is off of Mos Def’s New album The Ecstatic.
Link via HipHop Flavas Blog
Unkut.com has a list of the top 6 homophobic rap songs.
Former Bad Boy rapper Loon has converted to Islam and is taking it somewhat seriously..In the interview below, Loon is interviewed about his conversion to Islam.
B-Real and Damian Jr Gong Marley have a video out for a song they did together called Fire. The song is off the album off of B-Real’s Smoke N Mirrors albums.
