June 21, 2008 | Tags: none

Recently, there's been even more reason for me to have faith in this Hip-Hop shit. Major labels are actually giving record deals to artists that are actually dope. Wale has earned a deal with Interscope, Pacific Division has inked a contract with Universal Music, and Warner Bros. has signed Wiz Khalifa. [1] (Congratulations to all of these emcees, by the way) It's like these mufuggas are actually smartening up, now.

A perfect illustration of this is Lupe Fiasco's album, Lupe Fiasco's The Cool, earning a gold plaque. I think that this is proof that talented young artists who are different from the status quo, if given all of the same resources, support and big name cosigns that their less talented peers are, that they can be just as successful. [2] [Begins Armchair A&R rant] Labels should realize that not taking a chance is a bigger risk than sticking to the previous formula. By ignoring the changing nature of the music industry and that actual quality is finally coming back into play, they're setting themselves up for failure. I know, budgets are tight. But by setting up the freshly dressed [3], out-of-the-box emcees with essentially the same treatment that the others get, success is more feasible. Force-feeding songs on radio works for everything else; why can't it work for something that's actually dope?

For more on Wale, Pac Div and Wiz Khalifa, check the sequel to this post. I've got rundowns of each artist, what makes them stand out, and links to their music so you can make the determination for yourself. I think each of them have the marketability to get people interested, and the talent to keep them interested. Going for different, long-term investments instead of get-rich-quick signees? It looks like Interscope, Universal and Warner Bros. are headed in the right direction.

Admittedly, whether their full-length albums are actually released or not is a different story (Saigon's just now finally getting his chance). And hopefully, these labels actually invest time and money into these artists instead of just giving them deals to glorify themselves. But if everybody follows through on their end, then this could really be a good sign.

--
[1] Warner Bros. gets mucho props from me. They didn't only sign Wiz Khalifa - they signed Murs too, and they also partnered with Talib Kweli's Blacksmith imprint.

[2] The inclusion of that support is a key stipulation. Don't say "Little Brother is talented as hell, but they didn't succeed," because they didn't have nearly as much support as Lupe did, whether it's by the label or by media outlets. Having a major label deal doesn't equal major label support.

[3] Don't front, gear matters just as much as tunes. And that's nothing new.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

Nas Won.

June 12, 2008 | Tags: none

So before I get into my advance copy of (Guess which incredible south emcee's) next project and unfinished songs from OneBeLo's upcoming album, I'm listening to Nas' The Nigger Tape with Green Lantern. And this is pretty bittersweet for me.

I was pretty indifferent regarding the title, before: figured it would be an average-to-good Nas album, with him doing what he usually does. The "Nigger" title was just like "Hip Hop Is Dead": a marketing ploy to grab attention moreso than a concept that he was committed to carrying through. I've always felt that while Nas was one of the premier emcees in the genre's history, his music couldn't always keep up with his rhetoric, and that he was brilliant because of how well he did quasi-conventional rap, rather than what he actually rapped about.

But scarily enough, after listening, it looks like dude is actually serious! This is some of the most provocative music of Nas' career, both in concept and execution. "Cops Keep Firing" sees him tackling the discriminatory law enforcement and judicial system with the hunger of his youth, but the insight that comes with his age. "Legendary (Mike Tyson)" is everything that Street's Disciple's "U.B.R." should've been: an engaging narrative and ode to the boxing legend, with an Salaam Remi beat that matches its intensity, and a triumphant overtone that still ties into the "Nigger" theme. "Black President" is a great record, too. And while they aren't as potent, "Be A Nigger Too" and "N.I.G.G.E.R." both have lines that stick to the ribs. These other joints sound promising, too: "Project Roach" has him analogizing the perception of blacks in society to the perception of roaches ("We were looked at as the worst pest, and because of that treatment, some of us started to believe we were a pest, and started to act like it," he said), he rhymes as the N-word itself on "Y'all My Niggers," and him and Busta pay ode to fried chicken on, well, "Fried Chicken" (I don't mess with radio rips, sorry). It looked to be the perfect mix of metaphors and flat-out rapping, of defeatism and pride that would be necessary to execute such a concept successfully. You're rarely going to make everyone happy with a project like this, but IMO, getting discussions going and actually making an engaging, cohesive product equals success in these situations. Hence the title of this post; regardless of him not being married to Beyonce (even though Kelis is bad in her right) or his album title getting stripped, Nas won.

Still, imagine how avant-garde it would have been if he actually had a store product of that title, with a provocative piece of art that actually lives up to it with songs and an accompanying music video like this! With the aftermath of Don Imus and Michael Richards fresh in our memories, and the backdrop of the first Black presidential nominee! This could've been something-if not in quality, at least in intention and/or impact-that was mentioned in the same discussions as Marvin Gaye's What's Goin On? and Ice Cube's Amerikkka's Most Wanted. Hopefully, this mixtape and the untitled LP that hits stores will jointly show that homie actually had bonafide passion behind this concept, and at least, let heads know that dude's still one of the most talented emcees in the industry, past and present.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

"Man, I Don't Even Listen To Rap Anymore"

June 09, 2008 | Tags: none

The title of this blog is a pet peeve of mine that has showed up in rappers' interviews for the past few years (or longer?). In the words of my COMPLEX homie Brendan Frederick, "Please, for the love of Jehovah, stop complaining about how hip-hop 'sucks.'" As I've said before, hip-hop is what you make it; why complain about the culture that you're supposed to be a part of? Plus, with how incredible 2007 was for hip-hop music of all sub-genres, you'd be hard-pressed to make me take your complaints seriously.

With that said, I have had a little change of pace recently. Don't get me wrong, I love Tha Carter III, along with some other heatrocks this year. But over the past week or so, there's been a lot of non-hip-hop releases that I've been falling in love with. A quick rundown:

N.E.R.D., Seeing Sounds

The title Seeing Sounds is Pharrell & Chad's inspired by their interest of synesthesia, which, in this example, is a phenomenon of how peoples' experiences of sounds can trigger visual experiences of images and colors. While this cross-sensory stimulation (pause) isn't something I've been able to experience, anyone should be able to appreciate the experimental approach to this album and its rewarding results. N.E.R.D. takes cues from other genres-retro soul, psychedelic funk, and seemingly everything in between-to make a wildly engaging palette of sounds. Their technical instrumental talent and knack for manipulating sound is unparalleled, especially in the hip-hop world. Check 2DopeBoyz for some tracks from the album, and some bonuses on the Japanese version. Standouts: "Love Bomb," "Sooner Or Later"

Plantlife, Time Traveller

I've been up on this LA-based quartet since I randomly received their 2004 disc, The Return of Jack Splash, in the mail. I was gassed when Shake let me know they had a new album, and Time Traveller doesn't disappoint at all. Lead singer Jack Splash's spacey vocals and the band's brilliant understanding and re-interpretation of 60s, 70s and 80s funk make this an album that your parents (or grandparents) would enjoy as much as you will. Standouts: "Your Love," "Sumthin About Hersuga"

SugaRush Beat Company

I randomly came across this group's single "L.O.V.E." while scouring OkayPlayer's message boards, and I'm glad I found ‘em. SugaRush Beat Company is a trio of soulster Rashaan Patterson, Australian producer/multi-instrumentalist Jarrad 'Jaz' Rogers and Danish singer Ida Corr. Patterson has already established a respectable solo catalog, Corr had an international hit with "Let Me Think About It." The production of SugaRush Beat Company's impending solo album has gotten Jaz phone calls from Lauryn Hill to co-write and produce tracks for her long-awaited comeback album. After checking this, it's not hard to see why. Still, they make it pretty fucking hard to get a hold of their music. **EDIT: So signing up as a member gives you a download for the megamix after all; just sign up and go to the members page; I thought it'd have a download link on the audio page. Still, you can't buy the music anywhere on iTunes or anything.** Either way, I guess you can hear some of it here. Standouts: "(Oh Lord) Take Me Back," "L.O.V.E."

Veronica Maggio, Måndagsbarn

http://www.zshare.net/audio/13349724e680e153/

No idea who this woman, but the homie B Perkins at URB sent it over, and I loved it.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

A Day Without My Blackberry

June 05, 2008 | Tags: Blackberry

Post-graduation life without a full-time job ain't no crystal stair, and T-Mobile ethered my cell yesterday morning. Granted, this was solved that evening by my professor/mentor @ MSU express mailing me an amazingly generous check to burn him some CDs. But for the first time in nearly four years, I was without my trusty Blackberry. Well, I guess I wasn't technically without it, because I could still receive calls and texts on it. But I couldn't make any outgoing actions - calls, texts, e-mails, etc. And anybody that knows me knows that Ms. 8800 has been the woman of my life for a while now.This happened late last night/early this morning, so I was expecting for it to be an especially tumultuous (if not depressing) day.

But I've realized that I can do a lot without a Blackberry. Matter of fact, this day - June 4, 2008 - turned out to be my most productive day since I graduated a month ago. Fittingly, Wednesday's Daily Word from Rev. Run was the following quote: "Good morning. If you are bored with life, if you don't get up every morning with a burning desire to do things- you don't have enough goals." -Lou Holtz ...Knowing that my bread wasn't where I wanted it to be and that I couldn't utilize my Blackberry motivated me to do as much as possible today, and that's what I did:

1. For the second day in a row, I actually cooked breakfast - scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, toast, OJ - instead of pouring a bowl of cereal and calling it a day. And this time, the food actually turned out good. That may sound like a fundamental breakfast to you, but coming from someone who never cooks at all, this is a good look.

2. I got cover letters, resumes and clips out to two new places. I've been constantly eying one of them for the past week, and I just found the other one that morning. The cover letters were particularly difficult to perfect, because I tend to ramble on in those instead of getting to the point. But I think I nailed them on the head, pause. I feel that I've got great chances at landing both of these, so we'll see where they go.

3. I finally touched base with one place that I had gotten at. They didn't snatch me up, but at least I got in contact with them and I found out what happened, so I can check them out and move on.

4. I interviewed Dwele for MichiganHipHop.com. A bit of a slow start, but I think I got some great material from him for the piece. We get legends, B.

5. I touched base with Kevin Powell (the first black person on MTV's The Real World, activist, nominee for Congress, and most relevant to me, journalist extraordinaire/founding staffer of VIBE magazine), whom I had met at MSU's Black Commencement. I e-mailed him this afternoon, and literally three minutes later, he had already forwarded me to his homie who's connected at a very prominent company looking for young writers. E-mailed his connect, we'll see where that goes.

What's even crazier is that I know that I could've done more if I would've really locked down. Today, I'm going to cook breakfast again, go for a walk right afterwards, then go to the library to knock some things out - articles, some interviews, and probably some Famous Firm bios. T-Mobile doesn't get any reception there, but it's all good: that's familiar territory, now. Hell, I might even change my plan, or pick a weekly or monthly day that I don't fuck with the Blackberry period. It was cool to not be on the constant lookout for that blinking red light, and I've already shown myself that I can be productive without it.

But don't get it twisted, it's still BB for life.

Good luck , Sickamore; I can see you doing fine at the beginning, but you'll be singing the hook of "Allure" sooner than later.

P.S.: N.E.R.D.'s new album, Seeing Sounds = wow. "Sooner Or Later" is the sonic achievement of the year so far.

P.S.S.: Check Necole Bitchie's latest blog, where she breaks down her life story and how she broke into blogging. Incredible.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

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Speech Is My Hammer...

Wait. So Labels Are Doing The Right Thing?

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Nas Won.

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"Man, I Don't Even Listen To Rap Anymore"

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A Day Without My Blackberry

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