San Francisco poet and musician Watsky is attempting to freestyle rap for 33 straight hours to raise money for the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund supporting musicians and music industry workers affected by COVID-19. From the YouTube page:
how does watsky pee? - he has a mic on his shirt, continues to rap, and pees standing up. how does watsky eat? - one of his cups is a strawberry smoothie.
View this post on InstagramRead the rest
I am sure this guy squealed. Read the rest
In 1997, The Notorious B.I.G. (aka Biggie Smalls) visited the Manhattan offices of The Source, then the most influential hip hop publication in the world. Biggie was there for a photo shoot and took off his size 52 pleather belt to change clothes. He told Source writer Rigo “Riggs” Morales to hold on to the belt and he'd grab it later. Biggie forgot. A couple weeks later, Biggie was killed in a drive-by shooting. A few years later on his last day at the magazine, Riggs instructed the office's incoming resident, writer Aliya S. King, that Biggie's belt was never to leave that room. Over two decades, nine people were charged with keeping the belt safe Over at Level, King tells the tale of Biggie's belt and why it matters so much to her:
Read the restIt didn’t feel like a monumental relic or symbol of hip-hop history. It wasn’t one of Big’s infamous Coogi sweaters or the Versace sunglasses that he wore or shouted out in his rhymes. It was a no-name brand size 52 belt. And yet, Riggs decided it needed to stay in that spot. “That belt doesn’t leave this office,” Riggs said to me.
I nodded.
“Not under any circumstances,” he continued. “It stays right there. Right on that hook. Unless Big himself comes here to get it, it doesn’t move.”
“I got it.”
“If you move offices or if you leave The Source, the belt stays here. You can tell the next person who moves in here.”
Fellow Californian and apparent rap sensation Lil Xan has eaten too many hot cheetos. Read the rest
"Something about the pen and paper / I can look at all my ideas / And I can see them"
(Super Deluxe, thanks UPSO!) Read the rest
Last Sunday, Saudi Arabia lifted its decades-long ban on women driving. On the same day, a young rapper named Leesa A released a music video celebrating her new-found freedom. The video has since gone viral.
BBC reports:
Leesa A, who previously had a relatively small social media presence, posted her video on Instagram and YouTube where it has attracted more than 1.6 million views combined.
She is filmed driving, pressing the accelerator, changing the gears, all the while rapping: "Yo, you seem to be forgetting that today is the 10th, this means there no taxis," referring to the date of 24 June in the lunar-based Islamic calendar.
YouTube commenter TrueGamerX14 translated the song's entire lyrics:
Read the restYo, you seem to be forgetting that today is the 10th That means no need for taxis The steering wheel in my hands I smash the pedal under my foot I won't need anyone to drive me I'll help myself by myself I've got the drivers license ready with me So put the seat belt on the abaya (the outfit she's wearing) And keep an eye on the sidewalks and the other on the mirror R is for going back, D is for going seeda (straight) Watch out for every car If it was a Ford or Cressida, your life won't be great Come! Pick me up! Take me there! Bring me back! That'll ruin the plan If you want me to come pick you up, you gotta pay up Gas money! Don't underestimate it! Debt!
After a 10 year break, rap legend Rakim has returned to the studio. Watch as Rakim performs his new track on NPR's Tiny Desk. Read the rest
Nigerian rapper Falz created This Is Nigeria, a parody of This Is America that switched out lyrics and imagery for social ills in his country: machete-wielding gangs, codeine use, internet scammers, and much more. Read the rest
One of the best songs, and videos, of all time.
Currently on tour again, after a years long hiatus, Eric B. and Rakim have been in my playlist since Paid in Full's debut in 1987. Read the rest
Since Donald "Childish Gambino" Glover debuted his single "This Is America" on last week's Saturday Night Live, the song and its accompanying video have raced around the internet, sparking analyses and arguments. Read the rest
Rapper Win Nevaluze (along with Jay Lava aka ScatterBrains News) rhymed Dr. Seuss' There's a Wocket in My Pocket! over the beat of Migos' and Drake's “Walk It, Talk It”.
How fun!
"Twenty nights in the ice is a long time, when there's hostiles on the hill."
In 2004, MTV aired the "Shady National Convention" to promote Eminem's satellite radio venture. The rapper's onetime pal Donald, acting as the “Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Cash,” introduced the real Slim Shady:
“When the Shady party called and told me there’s going to be a convention, I said it’s gotta be a really big one and it’s gotta be right here in New York because this is the best city anywhere in the world, am I right? Of course, I’m right. I’m always right. I’m Donald Trump, I’m always right...
“I know a winner when I see one, and Donald Trump is telling you right now Slim Shady is a winner... He’s got brains, he’s got guts and he’s got Donald Trump’s vote!”
Boy how things have changed. Below, the clip from Tuesday night's BET Hip Hop Awards:
Readers familiar with music theory, riddim, or any other aspect of music deeper than a four-chord pop song may already be itching to leap into the comments to explain of course it does, that any bouncy predictable track can back any lines hitherto laid over any other bouncy predictable track.
But just as there is a weird power in Thomas the Tank Engine, there is an uncanny magic to Mike O' Donnell and Junior Campbell's theme.
Previously: Biggie Smalls the Tank Engine. Read the rest
Animator Chad Essley writes, "The new MC Frontalot (previously) nerdcore video is out for the 4th of July! Celebrate our nation’s hostility toward the British crown by listening to Front rap about internet arguments over Free Software!" Read the rest
And if you don't know, now you know. (The Hood Internet)
Read the restFeaturing:
2 Pac, 50 Cent, A Tribe Called Quest, Afrika Bambaataa, Audio Two, AZ, Beastie Boys, BG, Big Pun, Biz Markie, Black Rob, Black Sheep, Blackstreet, Bobby Shmurda, Boogie Down Productions, Busta Rhymes, Cali Swag District, Cam'ron, Chamillionaire, Chance The Rapper, Clipse, Common, Craig Mack, Cypress Hill, David Banner, De La Soul, Dead Prez, Digable Planets, Digital Underground, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, DJ Kool, DJ Quik & Kurrupt, DMX, Doug E Fresh, Dr. Dre, Drake, Eazy-E, Eminem, Eric B. & Rakim, Funky 4+1, Gang Starr, Geto Boys, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, GZA, House of Pain, Ice Cube, J-Kwon, Jadakiss, Jay Electronica, Jay-Z, JJ Fad, Juvenile, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi, KRS-One, Lauryn Hill, Lil Jon & The Eastside Boys, Lil Kim, Lil Troy, Lil Wayne, LL Cool J, Ludacris, Madvillain, MC Shan, Meek Mill, MF DOOM, Missy Elliott, Mobb Deep, Montell Jordan, MOP, Nas, Naughty By Nature, Nelly, Nicki Minaj, Notorious BIG, NWA, Ol Dirty Bastard, Outakst, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Petey Pablo, Pharaohe Monch, Public Enemy, Puff Daddy, Quad City DJs, Rich Boy, Rick Ross, Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock, Run-DMC, Salt N Pepa, Scarface, Schoolly D, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Skee-Lo, Slick Rick, Snoop Dogg, Soulja Boy, Sugarhill Gang, T La Rock, T-Wayne, T.I., Terror Squad, The Fat Boys, The Fatback Band, The Fugees, The Game, The Pack, The Pharcyde, The Roots, Three 6 Mafia, Tone Loc, Tyga, UGK, Usher, UTFO, Warren G, Whodini, Wreckx-N-Effect, Wu-Tang Clan, Ying Yang Twins, Young Gunz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xMXQLoEGCg
Remixers start your engines: "Who knew Alex Trebek could flow?" Read the rest
