hip-hop
-
Let's Talk About Lauryn Hill's Essay Where She Addresses Everything and Nothing at the Same Damn Time
Ms. Lauryn Hill decided to share some thoughts on all of the talk surrounding her late shows and many of the very pointed and incendiary comments and opinions shared by Robert Glasper earlier this month. Like most folks, I’m a fan of ’90s Lauryn, or Ms. Hill as she prefers to be called (more on…
-
The Realness Podcast Tells the Story of Mobb Deep's Prodigy Through His Struggle With Sickle Cell Anemia and 'Keeps It Thoro'
If there’s a podcast out there with a hip-hop lean to it, there’s a better than 98 percent chance that I will give it a listen. Whether it’s an interview-centric show like Drink Champs or Questlove Supreme or a show that takes a look at the life of a person of interest in the hip-hop…
-
To Queen Aretha, You Are Appreciated. Rest in Power
Like many people, hip-hop was my entryway to a lot of the music I know and love today. Through the use of samples, I made my way into various genres of music and discovered the lifeblood of artistry on several continents. Similarly, it enabled me to become more well-versed in American treasures. One such treasure…
-
How the Book of Ryan Became My Therapy and Helped Me Understand Fatherhood
When I’m in the studio, I sometimes have these visions of conversations I’d like to have with my father. It leads me to think what it would be like if he and I could communicate on a higher level because there’s always been this barrier between us. Not even just us—everybody in our family. In…
-
10 Thoughts About Drake, His Petty and His ‘Duppy Freestyle’ Directed at Pusha T
1. Drake might be THE most bored superrich entertainer of all time. Like, he must literally sit around WAITING for motivation to do something … anything. Only a bored rich person gets that amped up, that quickly, in that fashion. Drake was probably playing himself in chess when he heard “Infrared” and was like, “About…
-
I Went Down a Hip-Hop Rabbit Hole and Ended Up at the Fu-Schnickens Like It Was 1992 All Over Again
As it did for so many folks I know, hip-hop changed my life. I don’t mean in the “It saved my life” way, but when I was introduced to hip-hop, I fell hook, line and sinker into the ocean and never came up for air. I was living in Germany in the late ’80s and…
-
Snoop, Please Spare Us Your Rage About Trump, Mr. ‘Bitches Ain’t Shit’
Nigga, you? (In Nas’ “Ether” voice.) Ever since Snoop Dogg came forward with some very scathing public words for Kanye West, something has been stuck in my craw. Yes, it’s true, I’m a die-hard Kanye West fan, but this ain’t about him. Fuck him. Truth be told, I used to love Snoop with all my…
-
Wale Thinks Being Dark-Skinned and African Held Him Back in Hip-Hop, but He’s a Successful Rapper. What Gives?
I’m not Wale’s biggest fan, but the man can make a hit song. He has several of them. If you listened to the radio at all in 2011, you heard “Lotus Flower Bomb” multiple times a day. His verse on Waka Flocka Flame’s “No Hands”? Stellar. I still know it word for word. He’s got…
-
If You Love J. Cole, KOD Is Dope. If You Don’t Love J. Cole, KOD Is Trash. Water Is Still Wet
It’s no secret that Jermaine “J. Cole” Cole is one of the most polarizing artists in hip-hop. Possibly ever. He’s got a legion of fans who believe that Light-Skinned Jermaine is the second coming of rap Jesus, and that his super-relatable persona, plus his above-average lyrical content, makes him one of this generation’s greatest artists.…
-
I Had No Idea a Pulitzer Prize for Music Existed Until Kendrick Lamar Won One for Damn.
Seriously, I didn’t even realize there was a Pulitzer Prize for music. Be that as it may, Kendrick “Kung Fu Kenny” Lamar Duckworth has gone ahead and big-leagued every rapper to ever do it by winning a Pulitzer Prize for music for his album Damn. I don’t even know what to do with this information…