hip-hop
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Is Rick Ross A Good Rapper?
There are two ways to answer the question asked in the title. 1. He is a professional rapper, having been one for over a decade, and his professional rappings are quite proficient and popular. Compared to the average person — or, even better, compared to me when I attempt to rap (which often occurs when…
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It's A Low Down Dirty Shame What Remy Ma Did To That Nicki Girl From Queens
When I heard direct shots cast at Remy Ma on Gucci Mane & Nicki’s reconciliatory collab “Make Love”, three words immediately came to mind: are you dumb? Apparently Remy felt similarly – and on Saturday, February 25, 2017 at 1:03 PM EST, one Onika Tanya Maraj got her entire life snatched in just under 7 minutes by…
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VH1’s The Breaks Holds Up a Mirror to the Early Days of Hip-Hop
In the late ’90s, I went to a meeting at one of the biggest record labels. I was scheduled to do a quick interview with the president. I knocked on his door and he waved me in. Then he sized me up and fixated on my navy-blue messenger bag with the Rawkus Records logo stitched…
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Ain’t It Funky? James Brown’s Most Sampled Drummer, Clyde Stubblefield, Dies at 73
Now, anyone who knows the genius of James Brown knows that that man kept “the pocket” thumping. Sadly, one of the drivers of Brown’s most iconic grooves—and one of hip-hop’s most sampled drummers—Clyde Stubblefield, has died. He was 73. Stubblefield died of kidney failure at a Madison, Wis., hospital Saturday, according to the Associated Press.…
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Killer Mike: Black People Are Like the ‘Neglected Wife’ of the Democratic Party
Since being launched into the hip-hop stratosphere by Outkast on their 2001 single “The Whole World,” Killer Mike has been a fixture on the Southern hip-hop landscape. However, during the presidential election, he became a national political presence after backing Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton. Mike’s fervent support of the white Jewish grandpa from Vermont…
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An Ode To David Axelrod, Who Changed The Way I Listened To Music
To say that hip-hop changed my life is an understatement. I feel blessed and highly favored to have grown up during what has long been considered the golden age of hip-hop, experiencing the anticipation for several classic albums at their time of release and the ensuing debates with friends in high school and college about…
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The South Got Something to Say: Professor Discusses Her Revolutionary Class on Outkast
Regina N. Bradley, Ph.D., wears many hats: assistant professor of African-American literature at Armstrong State University in Savannah, Ga.; alumna Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellow at Harvard University; Red Clay Scholar; and my sister SpottieOttieDopaliscious angel. Bradley has created a following outside the classroom with her Outkasted Conversations, a critically acclaimed dialogue series dedicated to thinking…
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Yasiin Bey, Formerly Known as Mos Def, Says Goodbye at the Apollo
He came onstage dropping rose petals and left it dropping tears. The artist yasiin bey (yes, all lowercase), formerly known as Mos Def, spent two evenings in December at the world-famous Apollo Theater in Harlem saying goodbye. After his final U.S. performances (he has three upcoming dates at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.), he…
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Unique Views Podcast, Episode 19: Doug E. Fresh and Prince, BFFs
I never wanted to host a podcast. I also never wanted to host a podcast with my nemesis Danielle Young—aka Young Work Release, aka Ms. Patti Patti, aka The Root’s social-content producer—but God doesn’t care about my wants. As such, I have been blessed, but not with Ms. Patti Patti. She is my penance. I…