Complex Magazine has a great cover story this month on Eminem and Obie Trice. Rereading the interview after Proof's death makes it eerie because they dive into what happened with Obie's own shooting and Em's frantic reaction to it.
Continue reading "Eminem and Obie Trice In Complex Magazine" »
Today the NY Post ran an article about Proof's murder that began:
"Red-hot rapper Proof - a close pal of Eminem - was executed in a Detroit nightclub early yesterday when a gunman blew his brains out during a heated argument."
"Blew his brains out"? Holy hell. This so-called journalist, Bill Hoffman scribbled a description of Proof's murder that is more than just disrespectful - it's tasteless. I plan to email him about this at "bill.hoffmann@nypost.com" and I suggest you do the same.
Continue reading "New York Newspaper Disses Proof's Death" »
Over the weekend SOHH wrote up their annual April Fools Day joke and caught a bunch of bloggers and news outlets with their fact checker pants down.
The fake story claimed that Diddy was suing Proactive for failure to even out his bumpy face and "preserve his sexy". The story further claimed Proactive was blaming Diddy's love of Diet Pepsi as the real cause for his acne. Not until you get to the end of the story and click the link, does the story reveal itself as a joke.
The word has come down the hip-hop media pipeline that Fuego Magazine is dead. At first I thought Fuego was a Latino music mag, but then I found it was more like King - only instead of KiToy, they featured Vida.
Was it lack of interest from advertisers that killed them? Or maybe they had the ads, but not the readers? Who knows?
Continue reading "R.I.P. Fuego Magazine, and The Truth About Hispanics" »
More drama at The Source office, ya'll.
Joshua "Fahiym" Ratcliffe resigned his position as Editor-in-Chief of "Hip-Hop Bible" The Source Magazine today (Aug. 16). According to Ratcliffe, the reason for his abrupt departure is a difference of opinion between himself, Chief Brand Executive Raymond "Benzino" Scott and CEO Dave Mays.Ratcliffe said Little Brother’s album,The Minstrel Show, was to receive a rating of 4 and 1/2 mics in the magazine's October 2005 issue, but Mays and Scott disagreed.
That can't be the only reason. I remember in the first month of Fahiym's reign, there was an incredible article on The 5 Percenters and how they've influenced hip-hop slang and culture. The long article said part 1, but next month there was no part 2.
I've heard that Fahiym is on a righteous kick, and I would guess that the 2-part article was his pet project. Now who canceled the second part? Questions, questions.
Over a decade ago Ego Trip was launched as a fresh, irreverent hip-hop voice amongst the self-important world of music magazines. It was run by a multiracial crew of writers including Sacha Jenkins, Chairman Mao, and Elliott Wilson, who is currently the assistant director of marketing for Interscope Records (which includes being editor-in-chief of XXL Magazine).
Ego Trip’s irreverent humor and view of hip-hop within the wider realm of pop culture made the mag a must read amongst the hip music fan. After a few years Elliott and his crew shut down the magazine but stayed together to write books, such as "Ego Trip’s Book of Rap Lists", and the "Big Book of Racism." They’ve also produced some VH1 specials for rap fans who are too old for MTV but haven’t yet retired into jazz.
Now, with Ego Trip long out of the glossy game, the big question is, where can a hip-hop head get his alternative fix for everything rap-related? Enter: “hip-hop blogs.”
Let me guess- the book starts off with, "Growing up I was confused, my momma kissing a girl..."
Then he gets shot.
Then he gets stabbed.
Then he goes platinum.
There, I just saved ya'll $25.
In the August issue of The Source, Rob “Biko” Barker throws darts at hip-hop news websites in general, and HiphopDX in particular for doing a “poor job” of covering hip-hop. Could this be revenge for the battering The Source has taken online recently, and the dirty laundry airing that HiphopDX did with a 3 part interview with former Source editor Reginald Dennis?
Nah, The Source isn’t that vindictive.
Biko's article isn't available online, but peep this quote:
“In this cutthroat industry, many online publishers’ keep their eyes on the prize: rushing to be the first to post a breaking news story. During this press to publish process, fact checking, analysis and follow-up interviews become a secondary part of the journalistic process. This situation also contributes to an exaggerated assessment of these sites impact.”I guess in his own rush to print, Biko forgot to make the word “sites” possessive. Yet, he did make “publishers” possessive, even though it shouldn’t be. Tsk, tsk.
(I won't mention his unnecessary use of a colon. That would be nitpicking.)
Biko claims a little later in his article, “None of these cyberzines can prove their user traffic…” Who told Biko that lie? Any website running professional banner ads can chart their traffic down to the regions where their readers live, including what they read and how long. In another twist of irony, it is actually The Source who can’t prove their readership numbers!
In a letter to advertisers in April, The Source founder Dave Mays states:
"The bottom line is that we will be unable to provide an audited statement of our paid circulation for the last 6 months of 2004."Mays explains that 80,000 paid subscriptions were somehow lost during a move. Yes, along with the magazine's credibility.
Fans of backpacker rap and fans of comic books have plenty in common. Both hide their geeky collector hobby until they know you're cool with it. Then, with that safe opening, they'll talk on and on, trying to convert you into a devoted follower of Brian Bendis or MF Doom.
That's why the comic book Felt- True Tales of Underground Hiphop is such a good move for rapper Slug and Murs, and comic artist Jim Mahfood. The book is full of inside jokes, which is a treat for these guys' diehard fans.
Ain't it crazy that the best hip-hop criticism in the last few years has come through the NY Times? Yes, the NY Times. And it's mostly thanks to Kelefa Sanneh's sharp writing.
I wait on his new articles like I do albums. This Sunday didn't disappoint as he broke down Houston's exciting new music scene. Sanneh name checks all the big players (Geto Boys, UGK, Lil Flip, Devin the Dude) and the come-ups (Slim Thug, Mike Jones, Paul Wall). However, what's really cool is that he lays significant ink down explaining DJ Screw's pioneer role in Houston's new sound, and even links to Matt Sonzala's incredible blog about Houston hip-hop. Homebody is thorough.
My answer? It's because of the bangin beats.
However, I'm sure Bakari Kitwana has a more juicy answer, worthy of the book's 200+ pages.
...no one cares about this controversy with The Source except "those kids on the internet." And another group- industry insiders, who (as Danyel Smith admits) are biased in their opinion.
What do my non-net, un-industry friends think of The Source? It's still their magazine of choice. They still say things like, "Did you read that interview with Petey Pablo?", and you can safely assume it's The Source they are talking about. They also say things like, "Common's new album is 5 mics", even though the classic rating was given out by another magazine.
Ain't it crazy that the last two issues of the Source have been really good? Too bad they have nagging financial and ethical problems, plus have top staff fleeing to start other magazines (like Benzino and Jeremy Miller).
Kim Osorio and Michelle Joyce, two of the highest-ranking former female executives of The Source magazine, the self-proclaimed “Bible of Hip Hop,” filed charges of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accusing co-owners David Mays, the Chief Executive Officer, and Raymond “Benzino” Scott, the Chief Brand Executive, of committing gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and unlawful retaliation against women at the Company.
When it rains, it pours.
Continue reading "The Source Magazine Gets Sued For Sexual Harrasment" »
Often when I read fluffy profiles of rappers in magazines, I'm left with more questions than answers. Sure, it's cool to ask that gangsta rapper where his bullet holes are, and that female rapper if she has a boyfriend...but then what?
Continue reading "Questions Hip-Hop Journalists Forget to Ask" »
The response within the hip-hop community to the Essense "Take Back the Music" campaign has been suspicion and ridicule. So far Lazarus has the best argument I've seen against Essence:
"Where's all the harm being done by the deluge of sexist imagery in hip hop? Despite tons of anecdotal evidence to the contrary, pregnancies are decreasing amongst Black girls. As a matter of fact, teen pregnancy in the Black community is at a historical low. Black women already outnumber Black men in college, and are well on the way to outearning Black men. So where's the crisis, ladies?"
Don't believe the hype.
RWD, the UK's underground hip-hop magazine is wondering if Vibe stole their cover photo idea. Judge for yourself:
RWD stops short of accusing Vibe, but asks the question:
"Did they like our January cover so much, that the ideas team at Vibe decided to steal it? Or was it just a coincidence that they shot 50 Cent as Tony Montana on the cover of their April issue, only a few weeks after RWD’s editor Matt Mason went to meet them and showed them what we did with Kano, in a bid to try and (unsuccessfully) convince them they needed to come to the UK and write about grime?"
I hope Vibe responds, though I doubt they care what any small mag thinks about them.
Continue reading "Vibe stealing ideas from an underground magazine?" »
Isn't it funny that Vibe.com has posted a highly praised article about wife beating in hip-hop that is sandwiched between flashing ads featuring Brandy in doggystyle position (which was complained about by readers last year), and R. Kelly rocking his pied-piper, pee on your daughter mask?
Oh, the irony of it all.
