Last week former Nas associate Lake announced that he has signed to Suge Knight's new right coast imprint, Death Row East as their "flagship artist". Yeah, that's just what the East Coast needs at this stage of the game, Suge Knight bringing his "management style" to New York. Whenever somebody signs with this guy, I have to automatically assume that they either a. owe him some kind of money or favor, or b. have completely lost their mind.
Last week we discovered that a recording of the argument that led to the murder of Israel Ramirez exists somewhere and whoever has it is trying to sell it for $50,000. At first I thought, damn that's wrong, how's somebody going to try and sell evidence from an unsolved murder case? It's bad enough that the family has to deal with the death and a superstar rapper who isn't talking, but now this?
But then I thought about it and I realized, this really makes everybody look bad, not just Busta and Interscope, but the average hip hop fan like me or you. It's bad enough that somebody got murdered at a video shoot, and that nobody wants to talk, but when you try to profit from a situation like this you're making hip hop and everybody involved look like a bunch of animals. Snitching or not snitching is one thing, but trying to earn a buck while this dude's family is still mourning, man that's just cold.
Last month Diddy announced that 2006 will be the year that Bad Boy finally reclaims it's spot as hip hop's top record label. This month we find him teaming up with one of the mixtape world's hottest DJ's, Clinton Sparks, to bring us the Welcome to Bad Boy mixtape. The 29 track collection features joints from several of Diddy's still unreleased artists such as Aasim and Ness, as well as some new fire from unaffiliated artists like Nas, Mobb Deep, and T.I.
Not suprisingly, the mixtape also features a load of Biggie material, most of it remixed and blended by Clinton Sparks himself. Tracks like Bucktown, which features Fabolous and Lil Kim over the classic Black Moon beat, seem so obvious you wonder what took so long for someone to think it up. It's hard to go wrong with rare Big verses and Sparks production, and these songs don't disapoint in the quality department.
With a street buzz that has steadily built to a fever pitch and an underground following that the word 'fanatical' doesn't even begin to describe, Brooklyn M.C. Papoose has grinded his way into the hearts and minds of New York mixtape fanatics over the past 2 years. On Tuesday night he took the stage at Manhattan's S.O.B.S. and gave those same fans an up close and personal demonstration of the skills behind all the hype. As the headline act at the Hot97 sponsored Who's Next Live music series, Pap was the main draw on a night also meant to showcase local up and coming talent.
After a long string of opening acts, some of which were pretty decent, the crowd got what I'm sure they all came for when Pap took the stage around 11:00 flanked by his Thug-a-Cation crew and none other than the Drama King himself, DJ Kay Slay. Usually I would find 17 other people on stage with an artist to be annoying and uneccessary, but in this case it actually wasn't all that bad. I was kind of concerned that Pap's rapid fire style wouldn't play well live, but his delivery and breath control were on point and his crew knew enough to fall back and and not drown out his flow with too much screaming and adlibs.
Alot of people seem to think Jay-Z is doing a mediocre job in his role as President of Def Jam Records. I disagree. I think Def Jam has had a hell of year as far the quality of the material they're putting out and the commercial and critical success of that material. You can hate Jay and credit LA Reid all you want, but with the two top Grammy contenders on their roster, it's hard to argue that the label is having a bad year, no matter who's responsible. You also have to take into account that it's Hov's first year in a position that even a seasoned music exec might find intimidating.
That said, I still feel like President Carter has some serious explaining to do to his faithful constituents such as myself. Remember when the name Def jam brought to mind names like LL Cool J, DMX, and Method Man? While I'm glad Mariah and Jeezy had great years, they aren't exactly the types of artists that expect to be repping the legendary logo. If I want Dirty South trap music and sugar coated r&b pop music I'll turn on the radio, but when I look at a Def Jam release schedule I expect to see names like Redman, Ghostface, and Joe Buddens, not Rhianna, Teairra Marie, and Ne-Yo.
At a press conference on Wednesday, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly suggested that if Busta doesn't start talking about his bodyguard's murder soon, he may find himself in front of a grand jury. This kind of talk has to make him wonder if the length's he's going to to protect the unknown shooter are really worth the trouble he could find himself in. Right now he has two choices, talk to the police and do right by the dead man's family, or keep his mouth shut and keep his street credibility.
There's been a whole lot of debate over what he should do since this whole thing popped off, and everybody seems to have a strong opinion one way or the other. If Busta does end up being subpoenaed or somehow made to talk, I feel like he's going to lose the respect of both sides. The family won't respect him because he had to be forced, and the streets are going to say he snitched anyway (think Lil Cease).
I just came back from hearing the new Ghostface album and shit was bananas. All ya'll loyal Ghost fans will not be disappointed. This is on some "Supreme Clientele" shit people.
He's got a joint with Just Blaze called "The Champion" with a sample from Rocky - yes, Rocky. Blaze intros the track with Roc's coach Mickey yellin’ and spitting his signature shtick ( in the vein of "I want you to eat lightning and shit thunder) followed by some Blaze ridiculousness. Amazing.
If you live in the Tri-State are, chances are you're familiar with our local hip hop station Hot 97, and their controversial morning show host, Ms. Jones.
Back in 2005 the show drew national attention when they decided it was a good idea to air a racially insensitive song mocking victims of the Asian Tsunami that claimed hundred's of thousands of lives in late 2004. Apparently, the station and Jones have learned nothing from their mistakes, since during the NYC Transit Strike in December, she felt it was appropriate to once again go on the air and call Trinidadian Transit Union President Roger Toussaint a "dumb coconut", and refer to striking transit workers as "undereducated" and "overpaid losers."
I hope you will all agree that there is no place for racism in Hip Hop, and certainly not on the airwaves of the top Hip Hop radio station in the top Hip Hop city in the world. Tomorrow the R.E.A.C.Hip-Hop coalition will gather on the steps of city hall to protest this behavior and demand the immediate dismissal of Ms. Jones and Hot 97 Program Director John Dimmick.
I've come to the conclusion that the 2006 Mase really does not want it with the 2006 Fabolous. Some of you may think I'm crazy, but truth be told I just don't think Mase has it in him anymore. Sure he was a force to be reckoned with in the 90's, but it's a new day now, and I can't see him bringing it lyrically to the level where he'll win a battle against someone like Fab. Tell the truth, do you see Mase putting out something like 'Breath' at this pont in his career?
It's also my opinion that there's a lot of undeserved Mase dickriding going on since his return as Murda last year. All of you die hard fans of his need to face reality and admit that this guy is way past his prime. Just because he curses again and runs with G-Unit, that doesn't automatically make him the hottest property in NY, so let's be realistic people.
One of the most surprising revelations to come out of Cam's anti-chancleta press conference last month was the announcement of his plans to release a DVD on which he will "deal with" internet predators. More details on the DVD have come to light in a report from VH1.com. Apparently Killa caught the recent MSNBC specials where reporter Chris Hansen worked with volunteers from the Perverted-Justice watchdog group to snare unsuspecting child molestors:
"We set up a similar situation where we are videotaping people thinking they're gonna meet little kids," he continued. "When they get there, it's gonna be me and [my manger] Big Joe like, 'What the hell are you doing, you damn pervert? What the f--- is wrong with you, coming to meet a 13-year-old boy?' We're gonna talk to them and not let them leave until we find out what's wrong with them."
You may have heard about Remy Ma's recent tantrum on Hot 97 where she aired out her long time boss and mentor, Fat Joe. Basically what happened was, two days before her album dropped she decided that she was so unhappy with Joe's lack of involvement with her project that she was going to let it all out on live radio for all of New York to hear and let the chips fall how they may. So in all her hood glory Remy explains to listeners how she plans on holding Joe and Steve Rifkind personally responsible if her album flops and proclaims that she alone is better than the entire Terror Squad.
Ok fine, this doesn't come as a complete surprise to many people, because rumors of tension between Joe and Remy have been floating around for years. But now I'm hearing that not only did she renege on her statements the very next day, but now there's a rumor that she is going to outright apologize to Joe on an upcoming episode of Rap City? Not a good look.
When Dave Chappelle decided to take an unannounced hiatus from his hit show last year he left throngs of fans thirsty for fresh material and suffering from a weird kind of Chappelle withdrawl. After some small, intimate performances and a very high profile Oprah appearence, Dave has been slowly easing his way back into the spotlight, but loyal Chappelle's Show viewers have still found themselves relying on reruns for their fix.
Dave Chappelle's Block Party, a feature film chronicling the summer 2004 event of the same name, may just be what loyal fans need to hold them over until the 3rd mini-season finally begins. The film follows Dave from his hometown in Ohio where he recruits a lucky group of locals, to the streets of Bed Stuy Brooklyn where artists like Kanye West, Common, and Jill Scott gathered to give the people of New York an unprecedented live show in the streets.
Harlem battle champ Posta Boy first popped up on the radar a couple of years back when he dominated 106th and Park's Freestyle Friday competition 10 weeks in a row, dismissing opponent after opponent with his witty punchlines and smooth, confident flow.
Then all of a sudden he seemed to drop off the face of the earth, leaving his fans wondering if he'd given up on his career and left hip hop behind for good. It came as a surprise to many to learn that the reason for his disappearence was that the young lyricist had been diagnosed with testicular cancer in mid 2004.
After enduring months of treatment and some time away from the industry, Posta has stepped back into the arena with a clear mind and a renewed focus on his music and the career that was nearly cut tragically short.
Who is this guy Jami and why does he have Fat Joe's TS chain?
If you're willing to come out your pockets to the tune of $1.99, then head over to his website, whyigotit.com and you can find out. At the site you can purchase short video clips that claim to tell the "True Story" of how he came to possess the Don Cartagena's piece, why he broke it into two separate T and S pieces, and why he allegedly turned down a million dollar offer from 50 Cent to take it off his hands.
Dear murderous thugs...let's stick to shooting video, not bodyguards
It was announced yesterday that Juelz Santana will partner with H3Enterpises in their bid to bring a HipHopSodaShop to Harlem's 125th street. The themed eatery will be the first in a series of restaraunts that, according to the website, will feature a healthy quick service menu, plasma screens and a large area dedicated to "cybersports".
