Archive for November, 2009

Doug E. Fresh and Other Hip Hop Legends to Perform

November 20th, 2009 | By Safiyyah

Doug E. Fresh is one of the most notorious hip hop legends that are still around and doing big things. He was the first human beatboxer ever. He interacted with various artists in his day and still have close contact with some, like Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Now, he has an upcoming performance with other notables, such as M.C. Lyte, DJ Kool, Big Daddy Kane and Slick Rick. The performance will feature DJ Sean Knight and will be hosted by Uncle Rail. The show is being presented by Unique Entertainment of Merriville and Dallas. The performers at this show are only a few that have helped to set the foundation of hip hop, making it into a big movement that has influenced people in all walks of life.

Doug E Fresh

Back in 1989, M.C. Lyte released an album called “Eyes on This”; the popular single from it was called “Cha Cha Cha.” She is going to be one of the highlights of the show. Fresh, too, delivered a hot single called “The Show.” He kept up with the momentum by releasing “Keep Risin’ to the Top.” Back in the day, Fresh claims that hip hop was all about celebration, which is indeed true. If you look at a lot of the singles that were released throughout the years, you’ll notice that a lot of them were party tracks and were played in the clubs a lot. They were feel good music. Doug E. Fresh feels that he helped to continue the the hip hop industry after the original guys started it. He also says that he learned a lot from the different groups that came out decades ago when hip hop was first established.

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Gospel in Hip Hop

November 20th, 2009 | By Safiyyah

What do you think about gospel being implemented into hip hop? Some people are thinking, it’s about time something good and useful is being said in hip hop, but then there are others who may think that it’s pretty lame and that it won’t get far. It’s been proven that gospel hip hop isn’t a popular favorite and if you ask me, it seems a bit hypocritical. A lot of the preachers and rappers preaching in songs aren’t practicing what they preach. On the screen or in front of people, they are this way and then behind closed doors or when they “clock out” for the day, they become someone totally different (a lot of people may agree). For two people, gospel in hip hop is a revolution waiting to happen.

T Black and S Simmonds

Terverius Black is an entrepreneur, who believes that hip hop gospel is something to invest in and grow. He even sold his first house in order to pay for the expenses to start up his Christian-themed entertainment company called Xist Worldwide Record Label with his partner Sean Simmonds. The 34-year-old took a big risk with this and the two believe that he could be like other top entrepreneurs like Diddy, Jay-Z and Russell Simmons. They all branched out from music to create other lines, such as clothing, shoes, TV shows, etc. Black and Simmonds have already branched out with a gospel cruise, film and reality television show. They’re also doing a syndicated 2-hour radio talk show. The company has sold over 500,000 hip hop gospel records digitally and in CD form. They are hoping to reach the “unchurched” people and give hip hop gospel a place in the music industry.

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Rihanna is Rated “R”

November 5th, 2009 | By Safiyyah

Rihanna’s new album “Rated R” is scheduled to be released on November 23rd and already, there are lots of speculation and excitement about it. In this album, she is portraying herself in a tougher image, unlike her previous glamorous self. On the music video of her single “Wait Your Turn” shows a grainy, sexy clip of Rihanna that shows her as a tough renegade. This is the type of image she and her music-video collaborator, Anthony Mandler, were going for. The video was shot in the middle of October on a cold day in the Big Apple. The first video is just a preview of what’s to come. The two talked about creating something that’s a bit more raw and gritty, so they decided to create a more “Street” video than a classic beauty piece.

Rihanna Album Cover

They reviewed early hip hop videos and liked how they weren’t created with few resources — they mostly used their environment and surroundings; the textures and shapes. In the video Rihanna is wearing an eye patch and heels, giving a hard-edge feel to he usual glam self. Some of the videos that inspired her featured artists like Wu-Tang, Mobb Deep and Nas. The words behind the song were carefully thought up in order to create the same image audio-wise: aggressive bravado. Rihanna is a young artist that is always pushing boundaries. She has changed her identity so many times, so you never know what she’ll come up with next. She is a true artist, someone that knows how to transform the picture and make it into anything she wants to portray.

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Hip Hop & Violence

November 5th, 2009 | By Safiyyah

Hip hop has long since been related to the violence in African American communities and artists like Lupe Fiasco has been tooting the same note. Not sure if you heard about the Derrion Albert murder in Chicago — he was a teen walking home from school and got caught up in a gang fight and was beaten to death.The young man was not a gang member and he was a good student in school. Lupe Fiasco was on the Chicago radio station WGCI saying that it was a possibility that hip hop influenced that incident. Lupe is from the Windy City and says that it has to take some credit for it. He claims that there is a lot of violence in hip hop itself and it attributes much of the negativity that is found in the hood.

Lupe Fiasco

But this isn’t the only hip hop artist that thinks this way. Others like Nas, Twista and Common have the same views. They all condemn the “culture of violence” hip hop has established and is believed to have led the group of teenage gang members to commit that horrendous crime that day. Lupe also argues that the artists themselves are partially responsible for inciting various influences, from poverty to violent films. It’s true that hip hop does have some positive songs and messages out there, but the negative far outweigh the good. And the negativity in hip hop is a lot more popular because it is considered more “hard” or “gansta”. The communities are too at fault for taking hip hop too seriously and trying to implement them into their own lives.

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