Fat Boys
Every fat rapper ought to pay tribute to the pioneers of the fat image in hip hop- The Fat Boys. Rick Ross, Eightball, Biggie Smalls, Big Pun, and Chubb Rock followed in making fat not only a gimmick, but fashionable. This was the time that the artist’s records promoted their impromptu routine performances, not the other not the other way around.
Check out a couple vids kids…
STICK EM
They look like larger than life sized Hamburglers from McDonalds rapping.
JAILHOUSE RAP
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Remember when rap videos were similar to comic book stories? Back in the day, there was a way to catch viewers to look creative and hardcore simultaneously, and intensely paralleling the song’s image. But hip hop has always been about empowerment and going for the gold (or platinum). Here’s a few videos that have you can see with 3-D glasses (for only 25 and older that still use 3-D glasses).
Ghostface Killah- Mighty Healthy
More...
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Rap awards shows have to follow four criteria.
1. Punctuality is NOT a must. They never start on time.
2. The crowd and presenters must act as uneducated and obnoxious as possible.
3. Most of the categories for the awards are too ambiguous or meaningless to honor
4. A fight or brawl must happen either onstage or backstage.
If you’ve never heard of the Ozone Awards, it’s the annual Southern rap awards show thrown by Ozone Magazine- the heralded Southern hip hop-based magazine.
At this past week’s Ozone Awards, Houston rap star Mike Jones was punched in the face by fellow Houston rapper Trae.
The incident left Jones with a bloody nose and t-shirt to help clean himself up. In this clip, you see Mike complaining about being sucker punched and how brothers are supposed to get along. That should hold truth, but then again it's a shame he had to be the brunt of #4 on the list I guess. I bet Trae went straight to the studio after the incident to clown Mike's nasal-sounding signature chant of “MIKE JOOOOoones” as “MY NOOOoose."
If this were early to mid-90s, the Khalid Muhammad (R.I.P.) and the Nation of Islam would have gave both Trae and Mike Jones some bean pies, a Final Call to read, and made them hug in a downtown Houston conference room. Peep the video, fellow heads.
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Affiliation is a key gateway to recognition and respect from fellow artists, critics, and fans of hip hop music. This gateway doesn’t always ensure success for associates and affiliates of famed or hot crews of the moment. Although they may not exceed or live up to the expectations based on the success of the crew’s leading members or flagship artist, some record slept-on hidden gems that become lost in time, or remain timeless classic material (a la Gangstarr Foundation-affiliated duo Group Home’s debut album Living Proof, Native Tongue crew Black Sheep’s A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing, or Boot Camp Clik trio OGC’s Da Storm).
In 1994, the Oakland, CA-based collective Hieroglyphics had reached a tipping point for their musical acclaim, and emerged as one of rap’s most admired crews. Along with groups like Freestyle Fellowship, The Pharcyde, and the Bay Area crew Solesides (aka Quannum with DJ Shadow, Blackalicious, and Latryrx), Hiero helped pioneer the “alternative” image and sound of the underground hip hop music and subgenre More...
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Hip hop has
always been about being seen, heard, and outdoing any competition to see who’s
has with more style. Have you ever been in a situation where people think
they’re rap battling when they’re actually rap babbling? It’s embarrassing
to keep the flow going, and fall off and have to get back on beat. As hard as
freestyling is, you have to commend those that have stamina and cadence to what
they say. Some are naturals at the artform, and should just leave the mic
alone.
Here’s a
clip of two high school kids by the names of Eli and Envy. They’re judged by
their classmates in a contest to figure out who can really rock. You be the
judge of this. This is comical, yet cautionary tale that if you’re at a party
in a cipher, or trying to impress some people watching, have fun in the
freestyle cipher but make sure you have at least two couplets of rhymes
together. Check it out.
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Last night I was searching for some old school rap videos on YouTube. Today, we're spoiled being able to search for videos at the drop of a "left-click." Back in the day, hip hop fans had to hope and pray in front of their TVs in hopes to see videos from their favorite artists to be aired on rap video shows, especially the rare ones from underground hip hop artists. BET's and Much Music's show Rap City, Yo! MTV Raps, Pump It Up in (LA), The Box, Uncle Ralph's Video Music Box (NYC), and late night local public access shows airing these videos were like major events, with our VCR's "record" and "play" buttons pressed, and "pause" to edit the commercials and wack videos for your own VHS-recorded compilation. Videos from that time were like comic books or toys that hip hop heads traded, and also helped us figure out a true head’s knowledge and tastes. Some of these videos clips are really bootleg from their home-made editing, which makes them even more vintage artifacts.
Some of you reading this were either in kindergarten or elementary school when Arsenio Hall was at the top of the late night world in the early 90s. Aside from video shows, performing on his show made bonafide stars out of many of hip hop legends, and was integral in bringing rap music to mainstream audiences. This clip was from his last show in 1994, and hip hop's elite at that time gave him a memorable sendoff. This is the ultimate impromptu posse cut. The lineup freestyling in this is classic!
Trends of Culture were a group that had the early 90s East Coast that made you bang your head to their hard-thumping, boom-bap sound. If you're a fan of old mixed tapes and East Coast hip hop from that era, I'm sure you've heard this song maybe once or twice. OFF...and...ON!! More...
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Before
Sean Paul became the international mainstream's poster boy for dancehall music,
those of you who grew up during the early to mid-90s may remember there was a
dancehall king named Supercat that tore up the hip hop scene. He was loved by
hardcore hip hop fans for his lightning-quick delivery, roughneck-rudeboy
style, bombastic bass-heavy tunes, and by women for his boyish, gentleman-like
looks. The deejay ("MC" in dancehall music) was a forerunner in a
fleet of artists, including as Shabba Ranks, Inner Circle, Chaka Demus, Patra, and Mad
Cobra, who were integral to dancehall and reggae music's explosion into the
mainstream during the decade. Arguably, the careers of a then-upstart named
Biggie Smalls and former-Uptown exec Sean "Puffy" Combs benefited
tremendously and took off from Supercat's success in the hip hop and dancehall
scene in the early 90s. In 1993, Combs had just started Bad Boy Records and was
featured with then-upstart Biggie Smalls on the song "Dolly My Baby"
(remix). (Side note: Diddy sounds really
corny and weird with his attempted hardcore-raspy voice to match his fellow rap
peers of the day) Also, Biggie's
verse also his one of his first few ever released on record.Combs used his and
Biggie's verses to advertise More...
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As
the Internet and technology for music distribution continue their expansion in
the marketplace, the importance of artwork and tangibility of albums
increasingly comes into question. For many music fans, album cover artwork
remains as valuable as the artist’s music. Certainly, A&Rs and marketing
executives of record companies pressure artists to adapt to short-term fashion
and pop cultural trends for their photo layouts and album artwork to sell more
units. But in this poll, the artists and their album artwork signified and
influenced new movements in hip hop at the time of their releases.
During
the 80’s and 90’s, hip hop music expanded beyond its New York City birthplace, evolved in its
sound, and popularized in the mainstream. Many eras, movements, and subgenres
of rap music that arose within this decade had intersected, giving fans a vast
variety to follow and choose from. Rap artists inspired their album cover
artwork with representations of their life experiences, origins, ideologies,
and illustrated the sound and character of the record. Hip hop fans born in the
Generations X and Y not only anticipated the release dates of their favorite
artist’s new music, but also their album artwork deemed as equally eventful in
finding for the first time. At times, devoted fans discovered some of their
favorite artists based off the cover art alone. This poll is dedicated to them.
1.
A Tribe Called Quest- Midnight Marauders
Although
it was their third album, the album’s release date of November 9, 1993 was
anticipated by Tribe fans and hip hop lovers like a messianic Second Coming.
The album is the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band of rap, from the
album cover to the music of epic proportions. The cover design of countless
faces in the background is similar to The Beatles masterpiece. According to
frontman Q-Tip, the faces with headphones, ranging from hip hop legends, old
school luminaries, radio personalities, producers, rap industry professionals,
DJs, and MCs from all regions and subcategories More...
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