May 2007 Archives

Celebrating five years of Hip-Hop Cinema, Education, Art and Culture, the H2O [Hip-Hop Odyssey] International Film Festival (H2OIFF) will officially launch this Thursday, May 31st at the ImaginAsian Theatre.

From May 31 â€" June 17, 2007 New York City will be the home of the largest Hip-Hop film festival in the world, screening over 100 media pieces, including 9 premier panels. During the first weekend of the festival, three opening panels include; In Living Color: The Hip-Hop Actor’s Studio; Bigger than Hip-Hop: Addressing Exploitation, Violence and the Need for Humanity; & Hip-Hop’s Monopoly: Hip-Hop’s Stake in Art, Media, Education, Activism, Business, Sports, Politics and Spirituality.

The opening panel sponsors include SOHH/FreshFlixx.com, Third World Newsreel, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) and Breakthrough TV, The Ave Magazine and The Temple of Hiphop.

All panels are FREE, appropriate for all ages, and open to the community.

Friday, June 1, 6:00pm - 7:30 pm

In Living Color: The Hip-Hop Actor’s Studio

Sponsored by SOHH/FreshFlixx.com

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Apparently, a Miami-based "top" prank caller that goes by the name of Ralphige leaked what seemed like an authentic voicemail of Remy Ma asking a man if she could be of service to him (click to listen)... if you know what I'm getting at. But as soon as the rumors began to circulate that the "conceited" rapper was seeking to make the man on the other end of the line "feel so good," a blog was posted on her Myspace page in a desperate attempt to douse the fiery gossip:

Remember when Rick Ross mentioned “the real Noriega” in his song “Hustlin’”? According to N.O.R.E, his next single for Global Warming 11368 will be dedicated to Manuel Noriega, the former C.I.A associate who was overthrown from his de facto military dictatorship position in Panama and later captured by the U.S where he was sent to do time (currently in Miami).

“A lyrical testimony”? Yeah right. Since when does Foxy Brown aka The Problemâ€"bad attitude problem that isâ€"write her own rhymes?

In an exclusive interview with Billboard, Foxy said she will be releasing a mixtape sometime next month which will be preceding her September 6th release of the ill-fated Black Roses.

Sounds to me like Fab was trying to achieve with this song what Hov did on "Public Announcement"...

...But he didn't.

Hiphopgame got a hold of one of Fab's tracks from From Nothin' to Somethin'. It's featuring Hov and Uncle Murda, and it's called "Brooklyn." I knew I wasn't convinced before I even heard the track for myself. It's a known fact that some tracks bang because of the beat, and some tracks bang because of the hook... well this one of those songs; actually, the track itself IS the hook (sampled). I'm having a feeling they were aiming for something better with this record, but couldn't quite grasp it.

It's going down at Bogarts on Friday May 25 at 11pm. Head to 99 Park Ave @ 39th Street, Manhattan. This is a 21+ party. No ID, no entrance.

Ladies free before 12:30 AM, gents reduced before 12AM W/RSVP

Note: DRESS CODE STRICTLY ENFORCED COLLARED SHIRT A MUST, SHOES, DARK SNEAKERS ONLY. NO HOODIES, NO HATS,NO T-SHIRTS, NO ATHLETIC WEAR, NO BOOTS NO EXCEPTIONS.

For more info hit up FEELFREE@SOUNDWAVEENT.COM or 212-561-0319 or click here.

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WHEW was that hard to get through. Those stomach cringing, teeth-gritting, fingernails-dragging-across-the-chalkboard British accents were like box cutters through my eardrums. I don't have a problem with them dissing New York, lmao, but goodness those accents. Lord have mercy. That was like sitting in front of six opera singers hitting six different high notes at once. And for the record, "Loooonnnndonnn" sounds HILARIOUS. I mean, this sh*t is so corny that it really is funny. And the last verse was just breathtaking. Absolutely harrowing.

Shortly after Cam's vid began circulating all over the net, 50 Cent sent Hot 97's Miss Info a message saying, "My whirlpool is bigger than Cam's swimming pool. And he shouldn't be in front of no camera with daisy dukes on."

50 told MTV in reference to the Cam'ron video ordeal:

"For him to shoot a video message in front of his pool in underwear, it doesn't make sense. I think he's delusional. For him to make any financial reference, being in the financial space he's in and where I'm at financially, doesn't make sense. He's just upset, he's angry.

First and foremost, this website cites WENN as the source, but no additional information on where the quote came from or why this was even said by the Musically Immune Monotonous Smurf was provided. To add further salt to injury:

"Mims: '50 Cent Should Be Worried'…. Hip-hop newcomer Mims has challenged 50 Cent - insisting the rapper 'should be worried' about his rising talent.

"Music is a mirror, and hip-hop is a reflection of the environment that we grew up in. It's the harsh realities that end up in the music," he added. "If I ask you to paint a picture of the American flag and not use the color red, you're gonna have a difficult time. To capture what we try to capture in the art form, I'm sure some conservative Americans can't [identify] with it because of their lifestyle and the way they've actually been brought up, and they haven't been exposed to those realities."-- 50 Cent, BET press conference

Even though the "realities" he portrays in his lyrics are not really "reality," he actually did prove a point... for once. This is the first time he's ever said anything worth thinking about.

Remember that kid who got dropped from The Roc?

"He [Jay-Z] has niggas on his label now running around being soldiers for him. Look at that nigga Tru Life, he's making dis records and defending Hov's honor as a true friend would do, Hov won't do the same for that man though…he'll see." -- A scorned Omillio Sparks

Hit up the "Unify the Hood, Heal the Hood" event and performance by BK's Supa Nova Slom with special guest DJ, the legendary Afrika Bambaataa, this Sunday, May 20th @ 6pm at THE CENTER in Brooklyn.

Also, hit him up on Myspace to hear his joint, "Gs Up Salute," featuring Jadakiss and The Game, and to check out more info on Supa Nova.

Event location: The Center, 106 Kingston Ave (Between Dean and Bergen Streets).

"High School Musical! is still selling millions, R&B, there's certain country acts and certain people who take their music seriously that the music is still selling," Talib Kweli told SOHH. "But hardcore hip-hop, because it's fraudulent, it's not based on reality, it's not selling."

This is the first time in an entire year that I haven't pre-written an entry on Micrsoft Word. There is absolutely nothing newsworthy to write about. When the only New York City news is Mase circling a block five and six times trying to pick up a he-she, and Lil Cease pulling a Diddy homo thug move is the talk of the week, all is lost for my city.

This subject makes me wonder why so many rap artists idolize the Mafia life-- when they know they ain't never really done none of this sh*t.

Rosario Gambino, Giuseppe [Joseph] "Joe" Gambino

As reported cover-story style by the NY Post yesterday, the F.B.I is claiming that Sicilian mobsters are back and in full effect in New York City . This sudden "re-emergence of crime families as major powers in the Big Apple" stems from the recent releases of the former heroine-trafficking Rosario, John, and Joe Gambino (now deported back to Sicily), who had been locked up since the mid 80s.

But the Gambino brothers are from only one family (see John Gotti). How are their releases all of a sudden triggering the activity of three or four more?

As previously reported, DMX is in the midst of dropping another album this June. When I first got the news I thought to myself, 'wow they're allowing him another LP so soon?' Think again. Turns out that this new album is just another (yawn) hits compilation. Unfortunately, for many artists, a hits compilation usually means it's a wrizzy.

He thought that moving from Def Jam to Sony for that lil minute was going to do him some good, but unfortunately, it has marked the lowest point in his career. He's lucky, with the way L.A Reid has been pressing the go button on all IDJ R&B artists and pressing the stop button on most of the hip-hop acts, that he's getting any kind of attention at all.

I guess Cam'ron didn't want to go it alone.



So apparently, your favorite gangster rapper, Curtis, isn't really all that... ummm... gangster after all. But you knew that, right? I couldn't find these links on the site provided ( Smokinggun), which is odd since they were forwarded in an email, so I'm being skeptical; however, they look legit. Take a look:

It's going down Friday May 11 at 10pm at Club Exit in Brooklyn. 18 to party, 21 to drink. Location: 149 Greenpoint Ave. Click here for more info. RSVP suggested.

Where's "Negro Please" when you need it?

Pic jacked from Rollingstone

"'Make Me Better' is a great swagger feeling, ultra-magnetic. It's a great record, I'm trying to make big words to make it sound bigger than it is, but it's a great record. It leans towards the ladies, but it's a swagger record. The fellas could dig it too. The fellas are picking up lines from it. They telling ladies, 'I'm coo, but you make me a better person.'"

No this is not a trick blog title.

I've gotten like three emails with this file in it. To catch the quote that's in this blog title, you can listen to long-winded interview at the link provided. But yeah. This is very much Shaolin's Ghostface Killah. The kid from the legendary Wu Tang Clan. Now I'm not saying dude is soft, but um...sometimes being too open is being too...well...open.

It's one thing after another for Busta Rhymes--dubbed "Busted" by anti-fans. It seemed as if all was well during the huge success of his hit single, "Touch It," but after his friend and bodyguard, Israel Ramirez, was gunned down at the video shoot for the remix, his album sales started off slower than expected (upon release) and then fell off after just barely touching 500K, and then everything else-- arrests, cop harassment, traffic violations, assault charges, etc--came falling down thereafter.

People are saying that with Busta's recent DUI situation and all the other misfortunes that have plagued Busta's recent days, karma is coming for paybacks, and that his not cooperating with the cops during the quest to find the killer of Ramirez plays a big part in his full-course serving of what-goes-around-comes-around. And also, his reputation for being an asshole isn't helping. This is what the folks over at ReelRap (formerly Bronxrap) had to say:

Tru Life couldn't have been more prophetical with his dis joint "The Dips is Over."

The Dipset movement that Cam'ron and former hype man Jim Jones have helped to expand is now coming to a close. Guess being childhood homies don't mean a thing if we don't know what's been going on behind the scenes. Via Hot 97's Miss Info:

A lot of poetry-rap fanatics had been wondering just what exactly had become of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn's prolific MC, Talib Kweli, and his ill-fated, pushed-back-more-times-than-Styles P. album, Ear Drum. Various media outlets teased much of the inquiring rap public with empty promise release dates, such as September 2006, October 2006, and even December 2006, when reports then circulated that Talib would hold off on the release of his LP until spring 2007. During that time there had been much speculation that Ear Drum was a mediocre--wack--effort that wouldn't sell and "Listen," the original lead single, set the blueprint on how bad the album was going to be since it did nothing for the radio airwaves or for Talib's buzz.

Now, Kweli is finally ready to release his new and improved version of Ear Drum July 24th. I say "new and improved" because basically, what else could he have been doing with the album all this time? Any longer and he might as well have renamed the album.

From Bello Productions:

Friday May 04 will be the Grand Opening of Rockstar Fridays at Club SYSTEM, located on 555 W. 33rd Street, Manhattan. The party starts at 11pm, and this is for 21+ only. Ladies on guestlist free before 1am, guys on guestlist free before 12am. Guestlist is required. Grown and Sexy attire required as well.

For more information, click here.

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Maybe one would believe the story of Tru Life punching Cam'ron in front of a club the other night if Tru wasn't so quick to run his story far and wide. And maybe if it weren't for the last line in this posted interview, the whole ordeal would seem more authentic. For some reason, though, even though the shit sounds stupid and ridiculous, I don't see why a grown ass man would make up a story about punching a nigga in the face. It just doesn't sound right. I don't know Tru personally, but I don't think duke could be that bitch-made. Cam'ron IS, after all, known for running away--literally---from sticky situations.

Lil Kim is back on the scene once again. Kim will be working with P. Shitty for the remix of Keyshia Cole's hit "Last Night." It's some news I've had in my box for a min, but the story was too dry to run without some kind of quote.

Says Lil Kim (via Yoraps):

Or will the public throw his discs under the shelf and let them collect dust?

Last week it was a Def Jam dis record. This week, Billboard started up yet another N.O.R.E episode with news that Global Warming 11368, Nore's forthcoming project, is slated for indie release sometime this summer.