hip hop history
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Hip-Hop Legend MF DOOM Dies at 49
This past Halloween, hip-hop lost one of its greats. MF DOOM, aka Metal Face, aka King Geedorah, aka Viktor Vaughn, aka the Villain, was as eccentric as he was talented and through both traits, he built an underground following and a hip-hop legacy that is literally like nothing we’ve seen before. This is a man…
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Rapsody's EVE Has Inspired Courses at Two Universities
Rapsody’s EVE is considered by some people to be the best hip-hop album of 2019 bar none (it’s me…I’m “some people”) and now, it has inspired courses at two universities. Doctoral student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tyler Bunzey announced via Instagram on Tuesday that the NC rapper’s third studio album,…
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'I Felt Pretty': For His 50th Birthday, Diddy Reflected on Life as Fashion's Bad Boy
As someone who’s spent her entire working life in the fashion and music industries (over two decades and ongoing), it remains challenging for me to think of Sean Combs as anything but “Puffy.” You see, as a Gen-Xer, I remember well his evolution from upstart promoter to music exec to entertainment juggernaut…while unfortunately, my mind…
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It’s Official: Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city Is the Longest-Running Hip-Hop Studio Album in Billboard 200 History
Kendrick Lamar has made hip-hop history. His 2012 studio album, good kid, m.A.A.d city, has appeared on the Billboard 200 chart for the most weeks of any hip-hop studio album ever, pushing Eminem out of that No. 1 spot. As of Sunday, good kid, m.A.A.d city has sat on the Billboard 200 chart for 358…
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Tribeca Film Festival 2018: A New Film on Blue Note Records Takes Us Beyond the Notes
A horn riff. A thump of the bass. A tinkle of the keys followed by the “boom-bap” of the drums. These sounds are the hallmarks of legendary jazz label Blue Note Records, which was the first recording showcase of talents like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk and many more who would go on to…
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The Smithsonian Is Creating a Dope Hip-Hop Anthology
When MC Lyte broke into the hip-hop world as a pioneering solo female rapper, she wasn’t thinking about making history. Like most aspiring artists, she wanted to be on the radio. “I was a lover of hip-hop. I went to the hip-hop clubs. I started rapping in elementary school … at 12, I started keeping…