TALIB KWELI MARKS CAREER MILESTONE WITH #2 DEBUT OF “EARDRUM”

Blacksmith Music/Warner Bros. Records artist Talib Kweli has just scored his highest debut ever– #2 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart with his sixth album, EARDRUM, which arrived in stores nationwide on August 21st. The album also debuted at #1 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop chart and #1 on the iTunes Hip-Hop/Rap charts.
 
Kweli’s new video for single “Hot Thing” is causing a stir among television outlets for its creative and innovative video concept. “Hot Thing” made its video world premiere on BET’s Rap City on August 16th and appeared as a New Joint on BET’s 106th & Park on August 22nd. “Hot Thing” is also in rotation on MTV2’s Sucker Free Countdown, MTV Jams, VH1 Soul, and FUSE among others.
 
With his career defining album, EARDRUM, The Brooklyn MC mixes hard hitting beats with inventive rhymes that serve to not only entertain, but also to educate. From start to finish EARDRUM delivers career-defining work from Kweli that showcases his advanced lyricism and knack for picking beats that resonate long after the song ends. EARDRUM shows Kweli’s versatility ranging from “Hot Thing” produced by and featuring will.i.am to the alluring strings of “Soon the New Day” featuring the sultry vocals of Grammy Award winning jazz artist, Norah Jones to the brassy horns of  “Country Cousins” which feature the underground kings of the south, UGK. Other guests on the album include: Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, KRS-ONE, Musiq Soulchild, and Blacksmith artists Jean Grae and Strong Arm Steady.

 
Critics are already beating to the sound of Talib Kweli’s EARDRUM:
 
“ Kweli is one of hip-hops finest lyricists and most socially conscious rappers.”
USA Today

“Talib Kweli is one of only a few rappers pushing an ambitious formula [with contemplative rhymes set to radio-friendly music].” Wall Street Journal
 
“Kweli delivers his most accessible CD yet- his raspy cadence playing off vintage –soul samples and explosive horns, and trembling bass lines.”  Entertainment Weekly
 

 “EAR DRUM is Talib’s most socially cohesive endeavor to date featuring notable tracks including the bluesy “Country Cousins” featuring UGK and the Just Blaze track “Hostile Gospel.”  XXL

THE PACK STAKE CLAIM TO THEIR SOUND – RELEASE DEBUT ALBUM “BASED BOYS” ON 10/16!

After creating one of the most original and infectious songs of last year with “Vans”, a song that even Rolling Stone named top 5 for 2006, these four Bay Area teens are set to take it one step further with their debut album BASED BOYS. Always the trendsetters, The Pack defy classification by creating the genre that they call “based music”. Their influence can be felt throughout the hip hop landscape – from kids in every hood embracing skate fashions, to Swizz Beat’s  own twist on their signature sound with his hit “Money In The Bank”. These boys are ahead of the curve.BASED BOYS is 17 tracks of body moving rhythms produced mostly by in house production whiz – Young L. The album also features production from Mr. Collipark (Ying Yang Twins, Bubba Sparxx), DJ Speedy (Young Jeezy) and Pit (Shop Boys – “Party Like A Rockstar”). The first single “In My Car” picks up right where “Vans” left off with the video will be directed by MTV VMA nominated Dale “Rage” Resteghini (Souljia Boy, Jim Jones, Young Berg)

The Pack’s infectious personalities, sheer talent and youthful charisma have earned them much acclaim in a very short time. Their enormous online fan-base – over 17 million plays on Myspace and millions of YouTube views – has translated into more mainstream attention. MTV added “I’m Shinin” to it’s Elite 8 based solely on the fact that The Pack was one of the most popular groups on it’s website. So popular in fact, that their episode of “You Hear It First” was the most viewed/downloaded show in MTV.com history. The low-budget video that was originally shot only for YouTube quickly became the #1 video on MTV2! They have more requests for MTV’s Super Sweet 16 than any other group – filming 3 different episodes already, including Chris Brown’s special edition Super 18. Publications like Spin, Blender, XXL, Vibe and Thrasher have all done features on them – all without an album out!

The anticipation will be over on 10/16 when The Pack release BASED BOYS on Jive Records. If the present buzz is any indication of things to come, the sky’s the limit for these 4 teens. Catch them on tour with Gym Class Heroes this fall!

 www.myspace.com/thepack

Other Side Of The Block: Is Michael Vick a Snitch?

Written by Randy Exclusive

August 2007
http://www.hhnlive.com/articles/more/174

I was all set to write a drop about Diddy and Making The Band 4 (don’t act like you didn’t watch the finale), when a twist in the Michael Vick case caught my attention. Yes, this whole Michael Vick dog fighting scandal has been run into the ground over the last few weeks but the newest development is something that needs to be touched on (*pause*). On Monday, Vick will enter his plea agreement, but according to the Sportcenter report I saw Sunday night, Vick will become an informant and tell federal prosecutors everything he knows about dog fighting. But on the streets, Michael Vick is about to become a little thing we like to call a “snitch.”

As if killing dogs (or simply ordering the executions of dogs) and gambling on dogfights isn’t bad enough, Vick is going to rat on everyone that attended his pooch parties (which, in the hood is just wrong). I’m pretty sure there is no connection to Vick’s dog fighting and the doggie bones found in DMX’s backyard but if dropping a dime on Earl Simmons will help keep Vick from sharing a prison cell with Jangle Leg for the next 12 months to 5 years, best believe Vick will be singing like a bird.

Actually, I understand the thought process in Vick’s informant stance. Hell, everyone in his click is prepared to rat on him and his NFL career (in which his $130 million contract was once the richest in NFL history), along with millions of dollars in endorsements, is in utter dismay. At this point, he really doesn’t have shit left to lose. And why should he really give a damn about looking like a snitch? He’s practically the biggest fall from grace in sports history, not to mention the fact that his life is in shambles. The shame is already inevitable.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, snitching isn’t cool but when Cam’ron made that ridiculous statement about not informing police if a serial killer lived in his building, Killer Cam proved that not snitching is completely retarded sometimes. I’m not saying that now’s the time for Michael Vick to cooperate with police (honestly, the whole stop snitching campaign has me confused on when it’s cool to talk and when it isn’t), I’m just saying.

Michael Vick’s back is against a wall. At a time like this we shouldn’t look at him and call him a snitch. No. A fucking idiot, a dog killer or Ron Mexico…maybe. But not a snitch. I for one hope Vick can get out of this mess and return to football sooner than later but that’s just wishful thinking. The truth of the matter is whether Vick cops a plea, cooperates with federal prosecutors, tries to payoff some government officials or not, the dude isn’t going to suit up in a NFL uniform for quite sometime (if ever), so Vick and Atlanta Falcons fans might as well get used to it.

I’m going to go ahead and predict that the Atlanta Falcons will suck ass this year and for years to come, and this entire case will be remembered as the moment that started the demise of the Atlanta Falcons franchise. Anyway you look at it, the Atlanta Falcons’ attendance numbers have been one of the top in the NFL since Vick joined the team in 2001. And that’s mostly due to the fact that he is, um, was the most exciting player in the NFL. Who’s really gonna want to watch the Falcons with underachieving quarterback Joey Harrington at the helm? Even if Michael Vick does return to the Falcons, say sometime in the near future, who’s really gonna want to cheer for an alleged herpes spreading/dog killing/snitching/convicted-felon-ass quarterback?

BROUGHT TO YOU BY RANDY EXCLUSIVE WRITERSBLOCKMEDIA.NET

Celebrating 20 Yrs-The Trials & Tribulations of Public Enemy (Breakdown FM)

Written by Davey D

August 2007
As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the legendary Hip Hop group Public Enemy, we got up close and personal with the Minister of Information Professor Griff. He dropped some serious bombs and gave us some rarely discussed insight into the group’s humble beginnings and inner workings.

We started off by discussing the importance of Asa Hilliard who passed away the day we conducted this interview. Griff lives up to his title Minister of Information as he gives a wonderful breakdown about the important role Hilliard played in our society.

As we turn our attention to Public Enemy’s 20th anniversary, we stroll down memory lane as Griff unfolds many of the technological accomplishments the group was first to make particularly as it relates to the Internet and digital media. PE is often overlooked as pioneers in this field.

He goes into great detail about how the group formed. It originally started out with DJ Griff and Hank Shocklee. He notes that Public Enemy as a concept was in the makings for years prior to them first hitting the scene. He talks about how him and Hank Shocklee first met Chuck and how the group expanded from Spectrum City radio show to this landmark group. He also talks about the period when Sista Souljah joined the group. Griff also talks about the forming of the S1Ws and the important role martial arts played in their upbringing and within Hip Hop. Griff has been training for over 30 years. In part 2 of our interview we continue our conversation with Professor Griff of Public Enemy. We move from Los Angeles to San Francisco for the recent Rock the Bells concert. Here Griff opens up and gives an candid and heartfelt rundown about the difficult period , he and his fellow band members endured when he was kicked out the group. He offers some insight that is rarely spoken about with regards to this incident.

More importantly, Griff talks about the types of steps the group took to repair the rift and to heal. He says that the whole incident made them all better men. He also talks about how he wound up being signed to Luke Skywalker Records which was home to Luther Campbell and the 2Live Crew.It was here that he formed the group The Last Asiatic Disciples. He notes that it was Chuck D who actually got him that deal.

Lastly, Griff gives a breakdown of today’s political climate and where the group fits in the scheme of things today. Very insightful conversation as Griff offers up rarely heard perspectives..

History of Public Enemy pt1 w/ professor Griff

http://odeo.com/audio/16444673/view

History of Public Enemy pt2 w/ Professor Griff

http://odeo.com/audio/16445273/view

It’s Black, Black Like The Bottom of Coke Cans

Written by Bola Alex-oni 

Black Milk, if you aren’t familiar with the name, then you are probably familiar with the music. If you are unfamiliar with the music then you have probably been subdued by the unwarranted made for ring tone tracks that record labels continuously push. Black Milk hailing from Murder Mitten, is a breath of fresh air, who cites J- Dilla, DJ Premier and Pete Rock as his favorite producers. A triple threat in every sense of the word having mastered his skills on the mic, the boards and moving crowds;  he is destined to be a household commodity much like the milk in your refridgerator. He shouldn’t be considered the second coming of Dilla but rather he is the first coming of Black, fated to change the game like he copped a page from the Jordan rules.

ER: How did the name come about, Black Milk?

Black Milk: The name didn’t really come from nowhere like it doesn’t have a deep meaning behind it. It was just something I came up with back in the day when I first started getting into like emceeing. There’s a lot of artists around the D that I don’t want to say have weird names but names that kind of call to attention and I was like I am gonna make me one of the same names. I want my name to stand out, I don’t know Black Milk just came together and I have kept it ever since.

ER:  Speaking of the D, what’s you favorite Coney Island location?

Black Milk:  My favorite Coney Island location is on Meyers and Pierson. There’s a Coney called Eagle Coney Island, that’s my favorite out of all of them.

ER: How did your relationship with Young RJ come about, eventually becoming B.R. Gunna?

Black Milk: That came through working with Slum, Slum Village you know what I am saying? I had started working with those guys, we that was the first actual group I had sold beats to when I first started getting into the producing game. Yeah men working with them on the Trinity album, you know I had a couple of beats on there, Young RJ he had a few beats on there to, just seeing him at the studio and kicking it with him building a relationship with him and after the Trinity album you know they had, we had a lot of producers that worked on the Trinity album that went off and did their own thing, so me and RJ were really the only cats left doing Slum Village production. So we was like we might as well make a beat duo and that’s how B.R. Gunna came about and we did the majority of the production on Detroit Deli and the last Slum Village record, the self tilted album.

ER:  God bless the dead, what’s your fondest J-Dilla memory?

Black Milk:  My fondest J-Dilla memory, damn man that’s kind of hard. I don’t know why that’s hard I guess I can say when I first got a chance to work with him you know what I am saying? And him spitting over one of my beats for the first time, it was for the Slum Village, Detroit Deli album, a song they called Reunion. Dilla had spit a verse on there and it was like he was already a big inspiration for what I was already doing so for him too get on the track and bless it and basically let me know that I am doing my thing; he was feeling what I was doing. That was big for me at the time man like fucking Dilla, he’s feeling one of my beats and spitting over it, that was crazy for me at the time. After that he had got on a few more tracks that I did and plus I did a couple of collaborations with him, with me and him spitting on the same song, one song was called Door that was on my man Phat Kat’s album, so it was me Phat Kat and him. Another song was called Stupid  that we did for Dirty District Vol. II; yeah man that was like my best memories men with Dilla

ER:  What are your feelings about Illa-J?

Black Milk:  Man Illa-J doing his thing you know what I am saying? I keep in contact with him every now and again, you know, I talk to him every now and again. He over there doing his thing with the beats trying to master his craft or whatnot and on the rhymes. He got some shit too you know what I am saying? Some of the songs that he let me hear is dope. That’s another guy that the people should definitely keep an eye on.

  

ER:  Who came up with the concept for the “Sound the Alarm” video?

Black Milk: Oh the video! That was my man Anthony Gardner, the guy that actually directed the video. We did it a on green screen so I really can’t take no credit for none of that, all I had to do was stand there and move around and say the lyrics to the song.

ER:  How do you approach beat making?

Black Milk: Most of the time I start off with going to buy the vinyl because most of my stuff is sample based; going to record stores just sitting there for a few hours listening to vinyls all day. Taking it back to the crib, listening to it at the crib and then chopping it up while I am in the lab you know what I am saying? Throw it into the MP make a beat.  It’s really not that different, I do the same thing everybody does you know what I am saying? It’s a about the technique not how I make the beat because everybody does the same process grab wax, add into the MPC, chop it up, chop some break beats and there go a beat. It’s about the technique and style that each producer has that separates you from other artists.

ER:  What’s your take on mainstream radio?

Black Milk: Mainstream radio, I really don’t listen to the radio to tell you the truth just because I don’t think there’s enough variety for listeners to choose from. I think a lot of stuff on the radio is just one dimensional, one sound, everything sounds the same. So it’s like, you know everything is basically from one region, so its like, its kind of you know, it’s fucked up. A lot of cats like to blame DJs; you can’t really blame them because they really don’t have control over it; because it’s all about the big companies that are running everything. So there’s really nothing you can do about radio because they running the shit, so I can’t really listen to the radio like that.

  

ER:  Which comes easier to you spitting or producing?

Black Milk: I would say rhyming is definitely easier than composing music. Rhyming words is not that hard I can write a rhyme in less than an hour most of the time, but composing music that could 15 minutes, it could take an hour sometimes, it could take up to a week to make sure your beat is right.

ER:  What rappers outside of Detroit are you feeling right now?

Black Milk:  Cat from NY named Skyzoo, that cat is dope you know what I am saying? I gave some beats to him; I think he is a dope emcee. My man, even though its going to sound like cats I am working with, but I actually do enjoy listening to these cats, Bishop Lamont out on the west coast off Aftermath records. He is a really dope emcee to me who else, who else? Sean Price, Sean Price is just nasty, that’s a no brainier. Who else am I listening to outside of the D? That’s all I can think of right now of course I like cats like Ghost, Nas and Jay.

ER:  How did you and Bishop hook up?

Black Milk:  I met Bishop at a Slum Village video shoot. He was cool with my manager and shit. I had just put out my project “Sound of The City”; that’s when I was just started pushing it, I had some cds on me and I gave him one, we kicked for a little bit. He got back in contact with me a little bit after I left Cali and we just stayed in contact, he came up to the D one time, worked with him, then we came up with the Caltroit project.

ER:  When is that coming out?

Black Milk:  We trying to get it out during the last quarter of this year at east by September or November. It’s going to be real big; I didn’t expect it to get this big. We even sprinkled in cats from the east coast, even though it supposed to be like a Mid-West West coast thing. We got something from Talib, something from Pete Rock, something from Busta Rhymes. It’s going to be dope man, a real good look

ER:  When’s that compilation album with you, Sean P and Guilty supposed to be coming out?

Black Milk:  That won’t be probably coming out unfortunately until the first quarter of next year because I think they want to wait till after Guilty’s album drops.  Guilty’s album, his solo album will be dropping on 9/11.

Frank’s Chop Shop Collaborates with Underground Japanese Street Brand MSGR to Produce a Line of Belts!!

Frank’s Chop Shop (FCS), the New York based full-service traditional barbershop, announces the launch of a limited edition belt and buckle collaboration with Japanese street brand MSGR. Having collaborated with Graphic Artist Haze, New York Artist Ricky Powell and 5th Dimension at their Out of Reach Sneaker Event in London, MSGR is known for releasing clothes and accessories that are both functional and aware of the Urban Street Style. MSGR collaborates with FCS in hopes to further the brands lifestyle awareness. MSGR products have always and continue to receive a great deal of attention, and their commitment to quality is constantly recognized amongst other world-class street brands.
 
“This collaboration with MSGR has been a long time coming, but we were trying to find the right connection. We’re excited to collaborate with a brand that makes quality products that we truly believe in,” Frank Green commented. “MSGR has always been strong supporters of the Frank brand and their products are supported by a core group of fans. It was only natural that this would be a perfect partnership.”
 
The FCS/MSGR belt features a die-cast CHOP buckle made in Japan with a black leather belt engraved with the CHOP and MSGR logo. Buckles come in metallic silver, metallic gold, rose gold and matte silver/pewter finishes. The CHOP/MSGR belt is available in sizes 36 and 38. Belts will be available exclusively at FCS and MSGR shops throughout Japan beginning on September 4th and will retail for $151. Each belt will be packaged in a black MSGR box and will include a CHOP buckle, leather belt and a Frank151 publication. The belt is being released in a very limited amount so make sure to pick up yours before they are gone forever!

Who The Hell Am I? Stop Rapping & Get A Job!

Written by Andreas Hale  

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/columns-editorials/id.845/title.who-the-hell-am-i-stop-rapping-get-a-job/p.all

“It’s been a long time, I shouldn’t have left you, without a dope editorial to argue about” © Andreas Hale aka The Gotdamn Editor-In-Chief mangling Rakim

So I’m driving down to the local spot to get some food to fill me up after a long days work. I pull up to a red light and there goes Brother Ishmael slangin’ them Final Call newspapers. No disrespect to the hustle, but I just gave family a few dollars the other day and I knew he was gonna bust his hump over to my vehicle and try and open my door to shake my hand (some of them cats are bold as hell). Just as I prep myself to tell Brother Ish “Nah cat, I just ‘donated’ to you yesterday,” I hear a tap on my passenger door and here’s another dude trying to get my attention.

My first thought is “Gotdamn…they done double teamed your boy,” but upon closer observation I notice that this cat isn’t suited up like Brother Ish. He’s got his little fake bling on and holding a stack of CDs. Now I’m sitting here with Ish’s gotdamn Final Call poking in the driver window and this other cat and his fully extended arm dangling in my passenger window spinning tales of how he’s “the best thing since sliced bread” ,“the CD is only $10 for 39 tracks…help a brother out” and various other one liners I know you have heard 3 or 4 million times this month. It’s like Super Mario Brothers and I’m looking for a gotdamn warp zone as I’m waiting for this light to turn green (doesn’t it always seem like forever when this happens?). “Nah fam,” escapes my lips and before Ish says “Peace my brother” (or fuck this nigga) and super emcee GutterSlutBang can prepare his rebuttle, the light turns green and I peel off leaving them both coughing in a cloud of smoke.

As I wipe the sweat from my brow and laugh to myself like a near death experience, I notice that this isn’t the only dude hustling his CDs. The next street has the Pimp Trick Gangsta Click annoying drivers while down the block Lil’ Talkstoomuch is trying to coerce a bus stop full of patrons to give his CD a listen and they’ll know why it’s worth $10. I shake my head and as I speed through like Tom Cruise in Days of Thunder to snatch my grub, a thought crosses my mind and proves to be my new mantra entering 2007 and beyond…

STOP RAPPING AND GET A JOB!

Some of you have seen this slogan on my myspace page while others have seen a few T-shirts with it emblazoned across the chest area. For someone who works in this industry, who the hell am I to dash someone’s dreams with such a bold statement? What gives Andreas Hale the right to tell anyone who remotely cares about the art to put down the gotdamn mic? You really want to know why? Because for those of you that seek the pot full of grillz at the end of the rainbow – ain’t no gotdamn money in the record business! But allow me to explain my position before you emcees out their explode with anger…

When Hip Hop was just a “fad” that suits didn’t take seriously, there wasn’t as much of an aspiration to get in the game. In order to spit a hot 16 some sort of skill was required and even then it meant nothing more than being a starving artist outside your local bodega. Nothing was promised if you could spit an ill rhyme. There was no million dollar check at the end of the Hip Hop rainbow. Hell, BET was just getting started while MTV didn’t even have the balls to play most black artists except pop kings Prince and Michael Jackson.

But somewhere between Run DMC rocking Adidas and NWA’s “putting in your culo a .38 slug” something happened. Corporate suits figured it out – what people don’t understand they will at first be scared of but will later consume. NWA was a prime example of the infatuation of what most people would never understand. While Ice Cube and DOC were in the background scribing the street’s journal, the suits salivated at the thought of commercializing and profiting off of a culture that they originally thought would go away.

MC Hammer was one of the rappers that profited off of his lame mic skills but ill footwork. Vanilla Ice wasn’t too far behind and by then all bets were off. Hip Hop was commercialized and projected through millions of homes as a means to sell everything from Taco Bell (remember Hammer parachuting down rocking those nutty leggings while chomping a burrito?) to Sprite (the Grand Puba commercial is still dope). It became a way out of the hood for young black men everywhere. Forget the “other” hood dream of picking up a ball, picking up a mic required no college education, no physical gifts, just the ability to rhyme words over a beat.

Now the tricky thing about this is MC Hammer and Rakim. Who was more popular and why? The obvious answer is Hammer. Needless to say, Hammer was wack as fuck on the mic. But to junior aspiring emcees across the globe, a feeling of “I’m better than him” began to sweep the nation. Rakim, on the other hand, was such a lyrical wizard on the mic that kids (and adults) praised the gift this man had with the understanding that his gift was god given and couldn’t be learned. He was a superb emcee who made people think. And here’s therein lies the dilemma – most people just aren’t smart.

Say what you want, but 75% of you (yes… even your dumbass sitting there reading this thinking “he ain’t talking about me”) are dumb as a brick. This isn’t about book smarts, this is about easily digesting information. But when it comes to music, many just don’t want to think for whatever reason and the suits don’t really want you to learn from some black guy named Rakim or Chuck D how to “Fight The Power” (similar as to how the media learned that giving Malcolm and Martin airtime was problematic. Hence the reason why Cam’ron speaks about “Snitching” on 60 Minutes rather than Michael Eric Dyson). They’d rather have you jumping around like Hammer or doing whatever lame dance that keeps you from planning the revolution. Slowly but surely the wack emcees superseded those with skill and the door opened for everyone from Diddy to Nelly to spew whatever the fuck it is they yarn about and make a buck.

So what is there to keep those of you at home from looking at a rapper like Yung Joc (who blatantly says he can’t rap) and not think you can rap better than him? Shiiiiit….I can rap better than Yung Joc. And if spitting wack rhymes can get you all the cars, bitches (yes…bitches), houses and jewelry your heart can desire, why not try to rap? Aha! The money…

I’m sure most of you have heard this before but never really wanted to believe it but here it is…

THERE AIN’T NO GOTDAMN MONEY IN RAP MUSIC!

The well is dry people! The milk has gone bad! The corporations have squeezed every last dollar out of our collective hip hop souls. And the best they can do to keep you thinking that Hip Hop is as glamorous as it looks is by investing into creating these images that sustain the perception that rappers are rich. Journalists don’t make it any better with their terribly researched reports of $50 million deals and $7 per record sold. Truth is that these are all unverified numbers. Nobody is really clearing $7 per record sold at Koch. Manufacturing costs alone make this figure unreal. What it takes to make an album, clear samples, clear appearances, pay producers, make videos and various other behind the scene costs which aren’t public knowledge have made the money making aspect a lost concept.

The object of the game, like many corporations, is to make the most money they can by spending as little as possible. So if they are paying you more than 50% of the gross profits (not net), wouldn’t it make that concept a moot point? You want to know the truth? You can’t handle the truth but here it is…

YOU HAVE A BETTER CHANCE MAKING IT IN THE NBA THAN MAKING BIG MONEY AS A RAPPER!

Yeah…I said it! Sounds silly? Let’s put it in perspective…

There are currently 491 players in the NBA (courtesy of nba.com) and the average salary was $3.7 million back in 2003 (usatoday.com). The minimum salary at that time was just over 300k. That’s the minimum kids. There are over 30 players who make over $13 million. Hell, you don’t even have to play to make that much loot (word to Steve Francis and Allen Houston).

Now, can you even name 491 current rappers who make (or appear to make) a few hundred thousand? Hell, can you name 491 rappers? For the fun of it, name 491 rappers, producers and singers! Regardless of how you look at it, there is actually a better chance of going pro than making it in Hip Hop. You can argue about being the next Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Diddy, Russell Simmons and the many others who have made lucrative careers off of Hip Hop. But upon further inspection you’ll also find that the previously mentioned names dabble in more than just rap. They take those ends that aren’t promised tomorrow and make their futures look promising (real estate, investing in franchises, creating businesses, etc).

For those of you who piss and moan about me not being a rapper and think I haven’t a clue as to what is really going on, I’ll insert a quote from an artist who has been on both sides of the industry (signed and unsigned) and will tell it like it is…

This rap shit is uncertain, yo. And with the industry being in the state of transition that it is now, its even worse. My heart goes out to every one of you pursuing your dream of making music in this digital age……I couldn’t imagine what its like to be a brand spanking new MC trying to be heard in 2007. Trying to make it as a rapper in today’s marketplace is like trying to convince a woman who’s been raped to have sex with you. I mean, imagine a woman who’s been beaten, brutalized, sodomized, pissed on, Wesley Pipe’d, fucked in and out of every hole, forced to perform any and every depraved sexual act you can think of………..and here you come, the nigga with flowers and candy whispering in her ear and telling her that with you ‘things will be different….’ – Phonte (½ of Little Brother)

I know, some of you think you can lay more proverbial pipe than Wesley (and talk shit while doing it) and your flowers and candy on CD will convince people to buy millions. But the truth is that there are way too many of you doing it for all the wrong reasons. If the truth were let out that there’s no money in Hip Hop, maybe the field would rid itself of all the nonsense and those who love their craft would rise to the top. In the meanwhile, the suits would go bend over another genre (is that Country music I hear?) and long dick its pockets empty.

I don’t mean to insult those of you who love Hip Hop but I love it too. Yall just need some gotdamn rules (see below). To see so many talentless schmucks lobby about having the hottest shit with album covers made from Crayola and construction paper and beats by Fisher Price, makes my blood boil. Wouldn’t you agree that if Lil’-Yung-Pimp-Thug got his ass out the game you wouldn’t feel better? Now you shouldn’t feel so bad wearing a “Stop Rapping And Get A Job” T-shirt or adopting my mantra (don’t worry…its universal…I won’t sue you).

So the next time you see Jr. reciting his rhymes in hope of being the next Jay-Z, tell him to put down the mic and pick up a ball (or *gasp* a fucking book). Better yet, teach your kids that there are many other occupations that can net him a decent salary… rapping just doesn’t happen to be one of them. But I’m just a critic…Who The Hell Am I?

RULES 4 ASPIRING RAPPERS by ANDREAS HALE

#1. Give your shit away – Look…I know you think that $10 is gonna make you Trump status but the truth is, why the fuck am I gonna buy some shit I haven’t heard before? Give it away digitally or in the streets with all your contact info inside (too many of you forget this important point) and maybe those folks will come back to BUY your next one.#2. Stop the myspace flooding – Fool…I don’t know you! Stop talking to me like you do! I don’t want to hear another myspace artist ever again. If I hear about your shit through someone else that I trust, I’ll then seek you out. Otherwise…LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE.

#3. Do more shows – The more shows you do, the more people will hear you and decide whether they like you or not. This is where you sell your CD. Not next to the kid selling bananas and beside the old guy pandering faux minks.

#4. Get a publicist – If you don’t know what one is, look it up. These are the people with connections that can get you heard by the right people. Doing it yourself is cool and all but if you don’t know anyone, you’re pretty much at a dead end. They get you those little magazine articles and website write ups that begin your journey to success.

#5. Stop making shit for “Everyone” - If I hear another gotdamn rapper tell me “Yo son…I got a joint on here for everyone,” I may sock that fool in his chin. Do you. Don’t do somebody else. If you set out to make a girly song or an ode to the streets it will definitely sound like you are trying too hard.

#6. The path to greatness that you see cannot be used again – You will not make it trying to do the same shit as Kanye West, Cash Money or Jay-Z. That door is closed playa. You must find your own way. Inspiration is great, duplication is pathetic.

Love & Hate Mail? Click Here or just hit me on the myspace…

David Banner to Black Leaders- Stop Attacking The Kids

Tuesday, 28 August 2007
To all the black ‘so called leaders’. Al, Oprah, Jesse, etc, etc, etc… I’m saddened by your current direction and current ‘pet projects’ you guys have taken under your wing at the expense of Young Black America. As an urban professional living in this crazy world, I dare ask, who are you leading? I listen to what you say, I hear you complain about the youth, and about the direction of our lives, the kids, and where Black America is going and yet I still ask – who are you guys leading? And most importantly, where are we going? Do we know the goal we are trying to reach before we get there? Have we identified our end before articulating our means to an end! Who are you REALLY reaching?

Why do you feel the need to attack the young generation for the things we are doing? “WHO DID WE LEARN THESE THINGS FROM?” We are trying to have fun in the midst of our traumatic circumstances. People are trying to make a living by any means necessary, people are voicing their experiences, people are speaking the truth about situations and honestly the truth hurts and sometimes it’s ugly. If music/Hip-Hop/ rappers are wrong with the language they use, the images they portray in their videos – then come talk to us – I use the term ‘us’ as a collective because I’m defending what I have a passion for so this also involves me. Pull us to the side and say “hey kids, that’s not the way to go” and then we can say “change what we see daily so we can sing and rap about the roses and not about the bullets”.
We will say, help give us better situations to create better verbal material”. Don’t just go running off to the media to air the dirty laundry of the family and not expect us to fight back in some kind of way. What you are doing is wrong and it’s pissing off a lot of people with less money and camera time! Young Black America’s problem is not Hip-Hop or the music, Young Black America’s problem is Old White America. In the young black community, there is a growing level of resentment toward the ‘so called leaders’ because you guys DON’T WANT TO REALLY FIX OUR PROBLEMS.

You guys don’t really want to be on our side fighting for better school systems, more after school programs, more money for college funding! Where are you leaders at when there’s a need to break down to freshman in college on how not to get caught up with credit cards by singing up for an MBNA card, with high interest rates that eventually screw up your credit and makes it that much harder for you to become a homeowner after you graduate college pending you can find a job in your field after you’ve spent all this money in student loans! Where are those seminars? Dubois had it right when he spoke of the Talented Tenth! Rally around us to help teach us about THIS life! It’s not our fault that the world is messed up and filled with debauchery. It’s not our fault that our communities are screwed! The problems in our community should not fall on our lap. And if you begin to hold us accountable for simply our words – then I will begin to hold you accountable for your actions; or lack there of. Right is right and wrong is wrong. You as our leaders should have taken a better approach to gaining the attention of those that you are dissatisfied with and had a conversation with them. You don’t scold your child in public without fair warning!

Al Sharpton: You run around towns and cities speaking words of wanting to better our community by cleaning up the airwaves. You hold rallies in front of radio stations saying turn off the music and clean the airwaves. You want to shut down local stations that are playing urban music when most of these local stations house and employ the same people in your community – the black community. When you visit any station in any city (big or small) playing urban/rap music, the staff is generally black. Now if those stations were to ever shut down – where do those employees go? Al, if you are for the people, where was your rally when the 3 college students were executed in New Jersey by black men. Where is the rally at for those families and that neighborhood??? I don’t see you out there asking for justice yet that incident happened in a black community. If someone was to rap about “how f**** up black on black crime is and how even if you go to college you aren’t safe on the streets and n***a’s aint’ s—” – that kind of tone is offensive to you and you want to stop that! If that’s the truth, then why are you censoring it? No, you need to stop the crime before it happens so that there is no gangster song about a gangster situation.

Oprah: You recently you held a town hall meeting dedicating 2 days of talk to have an open forum about the “Nappy Headed Ho” comment from Imus. Everyone had their 2cents to say and yet the people that needed to REALLY be there were not at all on your panel of ‘experts’. The questions all were about “why use the word ho or b**** or n***a etc” yet the rappers in question a la Nelly, Snoop, and Ludacris weren’t anywhere present on your panel. In my eyes you had all the wrong people on there representing and speaking on behalf of other people.

Common is great but he’s not gangsta. If you had a problem with the true content of rap songs then where were those that do that kind of rap 100%? You want to talk about change, and about having us not call women in rap songs “b**ches” and “hoes” but one thing I noted, you had all men on your panel of executives. Russell is wonderful but he’s not the Zenith when it comes to new school rappers or their new school mentality. Kevin Liles is great but what happened to Sylvia Rhone the head of the label that Nelly is signed to, or Kathy Hughes the head of Radio One or Deborah Lee the head of BET. If the problem really was about women and the “b**ch, ho” term being used, where were those ladies to speak on their stance on this issue! They are the ones with the ultimate say pulling all the strings and yet they weren’t dully noted as absent from your panel! Oprah you are supposed to protect us, I can find more harm being done to the black community by the movies and sponsors you promote than any rap song.

Just like your son or daughter, niece or nephew… rappers are just kids growing into their own. They aren’t always right, but they aren’t always wrong either. If our path is misguided, then help us get back on the right road. I’m young, I’m black, and I’m a hard worker. I’m from the hood where mother’s leave their kids in the hands of strangers and never look back, I’ve been with killers, dope dealers, b******, , church folk, grandparents, bad parenting from good parents, pushers, junkies, robbers, middleclass workers, but that’s the life I’ve been around. Gunshots and church hymns usually go hand in hand in most neighborhoods. The grim reality for a lot of kids out there living alone is that life is harsh and cold; kids grow up faster than they want to because they are forced too! Kids are growing up in situations that are f***** up. So the songs we listen to mirror the things we see, the things we dream about and the fantasies we have! Don’t change the songs I listen to, change the circumstance from which it comes from—then the situation will be better!

Growing up in this world of Hip-Hop it’s disheartening to see our ‘so called leaders’ leave us out to dry. Fine you don’t like what we say. Fine disagree with our choice of topics; however, the things we talk about aren’t new. We didn’t invent the term pimps, pushers, hoes, tricks, doobies, n***a’s and gangsta’s. Hip-Hop didn’t create that. Those words were left here for us to use by you guys, your generation. This life we are continuing to live was handed to us by the people before us who didn’t do much to clean it up. There may never be a time that we agree on anything, but there is always room for change. As a family – we will agree to disagree but it’s the synergy in which we do it. If you are on one extreme tangent, and I’m on another, we will never meet eye to eye. At the same time, I will not allow you to bash, yell, condemn, and have a condescending tone on my source of refugee and happiness. As you leaders call out the Hip-Hop community saying that we are wrong for what we do and how we do it, I am CALLING EACH OF YOU OUT saying you are wrong for what you are doing to us.

How dare you guys not call Nelly, Snoop, Lil Wayne, David Banner, Jim Jones, Akon, Rick Ross, Fabulous, 50 cent, Young Buck, Bun B, Too Short and say let’s talk this through. Do you even know who ANY of these people are??????? You are so disconnected from us that we don’t even look at you for guidance. If you really want to change something, start by changing your dialogue. Don’t talk at us, talk to us!

-DAVID BANNER

Looks like more and more people are getting fed up with current leadership…
D

AllHipHop.com: You mentioned earlier that you feel you’re more blessed than talented. Is that why you put so much effort into giving back?

David Banner: My personal thing is that it’s not a rapper’s responsibility to give back; it’s your responsibility as a man. That’s the kind of man I was when I was in the streets. I always gave back. That’s how I was when I was teaching. I always gave back to my kids. That’s the kind of rapper I am because that’s the kind of man I am. People always say, “Some of these rappers be acting like b***hes.” Well, that’s because they are b***hes. Some people say, “These rappers get big and change.” No, they were always like that. The money and fame let them be who they really are.

AllHipHop.com: So as a people, you feel we should look out for each other, not just entertainers?

WATCH VIDEO

David Banner: We don’t protect ourselves that’s why America crucifies young Black men and nobody comes to their rescue, not even their own people. Michael Vick, why isn’t anyone standing up for that man? Akon, it wasn’t his fault a 14 year-old girl got into a club. It’s not his responsibility to card everybody. He was in an adult club where we do adult s**t. And the funny thing is, we like it. People want [sex] and violence. Then we’ll sit there and watch when someone gets in trouble for it. I can’t stand Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson. Al Sharpton looks like a fat pimp. Our own “leaders” treat us worse than the people who try to condemn us. I’m not just talking about Black people, I’m talking about poor people. If you got a problem with my music, see me. You don’t have to call us out and embarrass us in front of all of America. I’m the child. Y’all are supposed to be teaching me. What if I didn’t know any better. Don’t stomp my CDs and talk bad about me. Some of these other “leaders,” these old, Black people who ain’t standing for their people, their standing for whoever endorses them. They don’t stand up for their children because they don’t want to lose their contributions or their endorsement money. You Black and you’re helping to crucify your children but you won’t stand up when Bush is f**king up America. It’s easy to crucify a young, Black man because no one stands up for us. Oprah too. She acts like she ain’t even a n***a no more. Tell her put me on her show. I’ll slap the f**k out of Jesse Jackson’s son. I can’t lay hands on Jesse Jackson because I believe in respecting my elders, but I’ll f**k Jesse Jackson’s son up.

AllHipHop.com: Some people might feel that’s a harsh statement…

David Banner: God is freedom; God is just, God is right. I don’t believe God wants us to be “yes men.” God wants us to be soldiers. He wants us to love as hard as we fight.

David Banner to Black Leaders- Stop Attacking The Kids
by David Banner

http://allhiphop.com/blogs/editorial/archive/2007/08/16/18425191.aspx

As you read this editorial be sure to check out David Banner and his acceptance speech from last year when he addressed similar issues after being honored by Mississippi’s Black Caucus. The man throws down and makes his point in a very big way…Davey D

http://www.wapt.com/video/10424269/index.html?%20taf=jac

New Song from “The Excerpt” Pg. 1, Hosted By Bishop Lamont….

AllHipHop.com Breeding Ground alumuni, New York born and raised Donny Goines is preparing to release his latest project, “The Excerpt” Pg. 1 hosted by Aftermath recording artist Bishop Lamont. After an impressive run of press and appearances in his home city, the project set for an October release, will contain all new material featuring production by Nick Fury, DJ Static and the AppleJuice Kid. The lead single from The Excerpt, Do it for Hip-Hop produced by DJ Static, will be released around September 15th. This track will also be featured on the AllHipHop.com Breeding Ground /XM Radio mixtape hosted by Talib Kweli, David Banner and DJ Drama.

Pre orders of The Excerpt will be available for download only on Donny’s myspace page, www.myspace.com/donnygoines from September 10th.Attached you will find the ‘buzz single’ Inspiration 2007 from the project which mentions an array of people who have had both a positive and negative effect on Donny Goines throughout his career. Some of the people mentioned include Disco D, Bishop Lamont, Scram Jones, Zach Katz, Joell Ortiz, Papoose, and Kool G Rap among others.

Twista: What A Rush!

Written by Max Achille

Wednesday, 29 August 2007

Hip Hop superstar, Twista, has remained a constant in a game where the players constantly fade in and out of the media spotlight. Gone for a few years but never disappearing, Twista is now back, full fledged, with a new album, Adrenaline Rush, in stores and a new secret.  Read as Max sits down with the Mega-giant and see if you can guess what it is. 

 Max: Where have you been for the past couple of years?

Twista: In Chi…in various states and places around the world–having fun, doing my thing.

 Max: So why do you feel like now is the time for your new album to hit?

Twista: Because the year is 07, and 07 is the number for perfection…I can feel it.  It’s all in my body and my blood….and it’s around about schedule for me to release a new album. 

Max: So what are some of the features on the new album?

Twista:  I got some bomb features, as usual. I got my man R. Kelly, on the hometown tip on the song called “Love Rehab”.  I got Pharell–he produced a single that I got out right now…just now pushing it right now…the video about to come out.  Hype Williams shot the video.  I’m real excited about that. We released a street cut called Whip Game Proper–you know for the streets first.  Had to let them know about my longevity, let them know that I could still come out with the niggas today.  Jazzy Pha produced on this one record called “Trappers Delight” and I got T-Pain on the come up. And I got Kanye West…

 Max: tell me about the new single, “Give It Up”.

Twista: “Give It Up” is the joint—(singing) that girl gonna give it up watch!  Somebody said it was a Baltimore sound coming back.  It’s definitely a new look–a new vibe. I wanted Pharell to give me something new…something that he thinks I should have at this point in my career.  He put a lot of his work and touch into that song.  So I was like man this that joint right here!  So I had to come with it, especially since I was able to get Hype to do the video.  He works with Pharell really good and I knew that if I get a video from Hype that he was going to make the look real good.  Man I’m just really fired up with that song–ready to hit them with it.

 Max: So now what?  What else are you doing?

Twista: Besides my album? Working on the Street Nine Mobster Project. We got that coming out.  Three months after my album come out with a album Called Nation Business. We going to be doing music this whole year.  We got Young Scooter– the next one from the Chi. coming up.  Remember I said it first.  I vouch for him.

 

Max: So sounds like you help new talent a lot…how do you choose them? What do you look for?
Twista: It just really happens.  I don’t really go out searching for no talent or nothing.  We just be chillin’.  If we happen to be somewhere and somebody knows somebody and we’re in a situation where we are around each other.  If I feel inspired enough to say something to them but not just say something but also bring them in to a part in what I’m doing them I’ll go that far.    There’s a few guys that I do that with.  My guy B, my guy Scooter, and the Mobsters.  They already have a project.

 

Max: That’s Magic!  So you talk about inspiration…what is your inspiration to keep doing this?
Twista: Music itself I think….its not like man I got to make some money…I got to make some money!  Which I do got to keep making–you dig.  It ain’t just a money motivated thing or a business motivated thing; it’s really my love for music.  I’m real real passionate about music to the point where no matter what position I was in I would still be making music.  I would keep wanting to hear my voice to tracks.  I wanna make some beats and shit.  Oh I could make them flow to that or let me make this hook. I just love music…music be driving me. 

 Max: Well as music is going to the next level how do you think you’ll continue to maintain longevity…because you obviously already do?

Twista: I’m a keep doing what I’m doing.  It ain’t nothing to it you know.  I’m going to keep doing my thing.  I’m going to stay youthful though.  I understand music.  I been down with Atlantic for a long time, and in the beginning it was going good, and then it went back and it started going down.  And I made some compromises and they made some compromises, and we were able to do our thing.  I took this whole philosophy of what I went through with Atlantic and applied it to this music.  It’s like you can’t be fighting with what these young guys are doing. You could be a guy that came out in the Tupac and Biggie era and you could be salty about this new stuff.  You don’t like the way “Walk it Out” sound.  You don’t like the way some “Chicken Noodle Soup” sound…so you start saying that that new shit is a fad.  That new shit ain’t gonna last!  But you don’t realize what’s happening.  You starting to get old dog; because when you first started you was young and you was talking about your gangster lean, and your chains, and the way your pants looked, and your girls looked, and the videos looked–same stuff, you got be able to learn from what people doing and latch on to it; and keep yourself youthful and one day you could be a older mother fucker who’s supposed to be gone still coming out on 106 and Park and MTV doing your thing.

 Max: So how does it feel?

Twista: {Singing) It feels good…yeah!) Real good!  I can’t complain.  Maybe a few things to complain about but that’s all a part of working; as far as the whole overall picture, I cant complain!  It feels good to not just be an artist in the game but to be a person that’s learning, a person that’s wise, that’s makes good decisions; to relax and enjoy life and just cruise though this shit–no matter what and do my thing(singing again) It feels good YEAH!

 Max: So you talk about being an artist and the love of artistry….as an artist you have one of the sickest flows, in the Guinness Book of World Records.  How did you hone that? Did you just wake up one day able to talk that fast?

Twista:  Naw! Naw! It was work.  People don’t understand how much effort was put into it.  I sat my ass down and really doctored some rhymes to get to where I’ m at.  It was all out of the love of what I was doing; in the similarity of a mad scientists trying make something.  Hes just going mad about it, that’s how it was for me when it came to rap.  When it came to a style that was so hard I just really put my all into it because I wanted to come up with something that was new.  I was blessed to because god blessed me with the ability to be able to pronounce certain words.  I’m blessed with good pronunciation so all of that helps me with that ability.

 Max: So how do you feel musically in your career?

Twista: I feel comfortable and experimental. Comfortable meaning that I’m not fully happy with what I got out of the game but comfortable in a sense that I can appreciate the stuff that God gave to me.  So I’m comfortable with what I got and what I’m doing.  Experimental meaning the way I see rap changing. The way I see the industry taking a turn and the way the whole world of music is changing.  Even as the sound is changing and people are trying these different types of music it’s like when I see a Gnarles Barkley or an Andre 3000 not going necessarily down those paths but I’m ready to start just experimenting with music.  Cause I realized that I can flow fast and break something down.  I wanna be trying all types of stuff.  I don’t want to tell you my little secret but I got a couple of little styles that I’m going to be trying.  Doing my thing.  I just feel real experimental right now with this music.  I’m about to start taking this music to a whole notha level.  But if a fan don’t feel it or he’s closed minded and don’t really understand where I’m coming from then so be it!  Because I feel like I satisfied them and kept it up to a certain point and now I’m ready to do something different for me.  You know what I’m saying.  So I’m fin to get into some shit.

 Max: So what else is making you happy?

Twista: Money! Money! Money!  The Speed Nine Mobster project.  That’s real talk right there.  Cause  when you get a chance to do your group thing you see it from so many artists.  From 50 with G-Unit, to Jay-Z with his Dynasty, Nelly with his St. Lunatics…so you can see when it comes to rap when an artist gets in they love to bring their boys in.  So I’m real excited about the Speed Nine Mobster project cause I get to be loose, play the cut a little bit, you know what I’m saying, and watch niggas do their thing.  So I’m happy about that.  I’m happy about being able to make good decisions. Happy about a couple of business ventures–happy about a couple of things.

 Max: So we all ready know the work you put in…we know where your at now…20 years from now if I’m interviewing you what would you tell me?

Twista: 20 years…In 20 years I’ll probably have 1 million more a year.  That’s my goal–20 more cars, 20 more visits a year to my momma and my family and everybody, 20 more hugs and kisses to my grandma.  20 more albulms?…nah hell naw…not in 20 years; okay 20 more albums of affiliation—whether  they’re released by me or on my label–Get Money Gang…ya dig!.  Just more things.  I ain’t trying to sprout out into no magnificent flower from some place I‘ve never seen.  I’m just trying to be a bigger and better Twista.  Twista that’s having more things…seeing success for the people that’s around me, kids growing up, continuing the legacy…all that type of good shit(Smiles)!

 Max: Any last words?

Twista: Fuck the Haters!  Fuck the haters!   I love the fans.  Grab that new album Adrenaline Rush.