Boing Boing » hip hop

Kris Kross's Chris Kelly aka Mac Daddy, RIP

David Pescovitz — Thu, 02 May 2013 04:15:45 +0000

Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly of Kris Kross has died. He was 34. Kris Kross's big hit, of course, was "Jump" from their 1992 album "All Krossed Out." And yes, they were the kids who wore their pants backwards. (Billboard)

Wild Style: a special edition of The Hip Hop Family Tree

Ed Piskor — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 22:50:56 +0000

The cult-classic, Wild Style, represents the earliest marriage of the 4 key elements of Hip Hop on film. Endlessly sampled in songs and inspiring homage in many other media including advertising, and clothing, this movie isn't going to be forgotten anytime soon. This comic pays close attention to lots of the behind the scenes details, and easily overlooked appearances that make up this artifact in early Hip Hop. Read the comic, then watch the film.

Read the rest of the Hip Hop Family Tree comics!

When hip hop, science, and education collide

Maggie Koerth-Baker — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 18:38:25 +0000

This is a sentence I never expected to read and it makes me insanely excited: "GZA had just finished an extraordinary round of meetings with physicists at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, culling ideas for a coming solo album about the cosmos." Oh. Hell. Yes. Meanwhile, GZA is also working with a Columbia professor on an educational program that uses rhyme-writing and some of the cultural trappings of freestyle rap to teach science in New York City public schools. Oh, and it turns out that GZA is pronounced "Jiz-ah", and is derived from "genius".

Afrika Bambaataa and Global Bass

David Pescovitz — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 16:24:41 +0000

How did Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock" (1982) lead to the digital dancehall that is Global Bass? Don't miss Marcus Boon's primer on the international Global Bass scene, from DJ/Rupture to M.I.A to the music of Saharan cellphones. This and Morissey, Aphex Twin, Bong, New Order, Neubauten, and much more are archived at the new Boing Boing Music page.

Video: Punk/hiphop photog Glen E. Friedman interviewed by Paradigm Magazine

Xeni Jardin — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:04:17 +0000

Snip from a wonderful interview by Paradigm Magazine with one of my favorite photographers (and people), Glen E. Friedman:

Don’t care about what other people think about what you’re doing, if you’re inspired to do something, if you want to do something, if you have some kind of feeling that you should do something...then you should just do it; don’t let what other people’s preconceived ideas of good behavior, or whatever it is, limit you to thinking what you should and shouldn’t do.

(via Dangerous Minds)