hip hop music

The world always needs more De La Soul:

Sorry, I couldn't resist...

Blame It On The Autotune (Death Of Autotune Remix Because Somebody Had To Do It)

Blame It On The AutotuneMP3

(aka Death of Autotune 2: Robot's Revenge)

A remix of Jay-Z's new single "Death of Autotune" (hear the original here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWAa8pDLBCI )

Now that Jay-Z has shaken up the hip-hop world with Death of Autotune, I started wondering: what will happen when the music industry programs its evil robots to fight back? This is my vision of that apocalyptic future.

footage from this very cool video and a few other places..

Death of Autotune (Autotune All-Star Remix Because Somebody Had To Do It)

Honestly at this point I've given up on ever seeing a return to form, and just hope she finds peace

Lauryn Hill Cancels European Tour
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Festival organizers say hip-hop and R&B singer Lauryn Hill has canceled all tour dates in Europe this summer for health reasons.

Stockholm Jazz Festival spokeswoman Liisa Tolonen says the artist's agent informed the festival late Tuesday that all performances in Europe by the former Fugees singer have been canceled. This includes shows in Sweden, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France, and Austria.

Tolonen said Wednesday the agent cited health reasons for the cancellation but declined to give more details.

The tour would have marked a comeback to stage by Hill who has kept a low public profile in recent years. She was the planned headline act for The Stockholm Jazz Festival, one of Sweden's biggest music events.

Lauryn Hill Cancels European Tour

More like Itchy trigger Fingaz! Thanks I'll be here all week..

Sticky Fingaz Accidentally Shoots His Friend

Onyx member Sticky Fingaz won't be showing off his new guns any time soon. The rapper was showing off his brand new gun to rapper Luce Cannon when it went off and shot Luce in the leg.

The bullet shattered the bone in Luce's shin and he had to have surgery. No charges were filed -- the two are still friends and Luce calls the whole thing "a freak accident."

Fortunately Sticky is a licensed weapon owner.

Sticky Fingaz told HipHopDX, "This incident was unfortunate, but could have been much worse. I'm just happy Luce is recovering and in good condition."

Sticky Fingaz Accidentally Shoots His Friend

Kid Cudi "Excuse My Mood" mp3

via 2dopeboyz

Love when the smug host tries to son somebody and gets his bluff called..

Ed Schultz Calls Out Dick Cheney on MSNBC
source

"Joe asked Ed Schultz if Ed thinks Dick Cheney wants another terrorist attack to happen in order to vindicate himself. Naturally, Ed said that he believes Cheney privately hopes for another attack.

Joe then proceeded for a good three or four minutes to lean back in his chair, stare at the desk and scold over and over, "I must say I'm stunned. I could never imagine thinking that a Democrat or a liberal ... I can't imagine that I would ever voice that opinion. ... I can't imagine thinking that of any political figure.""

Ed Schultz vs. Scarborough on Dick Cheney

Apparently this is the first single from Lupe Fiasco's We Are Lasers.. featuring Matthew Santos once again on guest vocals. (via TSS). Not a huge fan of this sound but I like what he's writing.

Jody Rosen says what most of us were probably thinking. There's always a place for comedic raps, but in 2009 you need more than just "isn't it funny that I'm a white person rapping!!" Or to put it another way: there's a thin line between making a rap with jokes, and taking rapping for a joke © KRS.

White and Nerdy: That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
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I had high hopes when I learned that Taylor Swift and T-Pain were performing together on last night's CMT Music Awards. Two of the most world's most appealing pop stars, mashing up hip-hop, country, and teenpop? A lil' bit of pedal steel, a lil' bit of Auto-Tune? I canceled dinner plans. I switched off the Mets game. And I put myself way out on a limb: I tweeted my excitement.

Bad move. Instead of a live performance, the CMT broadcast opened with a video, "Thug Story," in which T-Pain crooned auto-tune-swathed backing vocals while "T-Swift" flashed a diamond grill and rapped about knitting sweaters. It was, in other words, the latest—the millionth?—example of the White Folks Can't Rap novelty tune, that ubiquitous sketch comedy routine that hammers home a single punch line again and again: Check out this honky rapping—isn't that a riot?

Well, maybe it was in 1983. That was the year of "Rappin' Rodney," in which Rodney Dangerfield reeled off a series of borscht-encrusted one-liners over a thumping beat. Shortly thereafter, Doonsbury creator Garry Trudeau masterminded "Rap Master Ronnie," a mildly—very mildly—amusing spoof of President Reagan.

In other words, this joke is almost as old, and precisely as funny, as "Why did the chicken cross the road?" Yet it continues to get told and told again... continued..

White and Nerdy: That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore

Here we go again with this:

Rap originator U-Roy finally gets respect where respect is
source

Fresh from headlining 25 concerts in Europe last month, U-Roy is resting back home in Jamaica before the next leg of his endless world tour, which brings the Godfather - the living legend who invented modern rap - to the all-new Montreal International Reggae Festival next week...

...U-Roy would cement his place in music history with the world's first rap record, his 1969 remix with Duke Reid of the Paragons' Wear You to the Ball...

"...No, they [American rappers] don't pay enough respect," U-Roy says. "They think they are the ones who originated rap and I never heard of a rapper in America in the 1930s [unless] you wanted to copy Louis Prima. But those singers were not rappers. It was started down here in Jamaica...

...Contemporary reggae rappers from Bounty Killer to Elephant Man, as well as all American rappers from Grandmaster Flash to Eminem, owe a huge debt to U-Roy.

No. I'm sorry but no. U-Roy is a legend and an all-time great. But just because he says he invented rap doesn't make it so.. Bernard Purdie also says he played on half the Beatles records, and Marley Marl says he invented Miami Bass. But you'll never see a competent music writer cite those dubious boasts as fact.

And unlike those examples there isn't even room for reasonable doubt on U-Roy inventing rap. Because he didn't. Nor did he make the first rap record. (The correct answer is Rapper's Delight and/or King Tim III, fight that one out amongst yourselves.)

U-Roy may be one of rap's predecessors, and among the influences that laid the foundation for rap, but he did not invent it...any more than Jocko Henderson, Gil Scott Heron, Lord Buckley or the West African Griots invented it. All of them may be forefathers, but none are the inventors. And muddling their places in music history with his sort of specious, sloppy revisionism does hip-hop AND its forefathers a disservice.

And by the way, Grandmaster Flash was not a rapper. For gods sake. Where are my heart pills.

Glad to see coverage of an international artist without any tired cliches about "unlike all the american rappers who only talk about guns and bling..."

Sister Fa Repping Hip-Hop for Senegal source

Sister Fa remembers the time she returned home late from one of her early hip-hop shows in Senegal. She was living with her uncle, who, like many men in her culture, took a dim view of her chosen career path. "They called me the worst woman in the house who wouldn't do anything and would go outside and dress like a man," she frowns. "It was quite hard.

In Senegal, the woman's place is in the kitchen, to stay at home, to cook food, to wash clothes. Promoters don't take female rappers seriously because they don't want to invest in their careers. They say that after they're married they'll have children and just stay at home. Then the families - they always complain."

This whiff of sexism only helped to motivate the 27-year-old, who embodies the effortless sass of B-girl with revolutionary ambitions - and she admits that her decision to join hip-hop's mannish culture was a radical one. "I was born a rebel because there's so much injustice in my country," says the budding star, born Fatou Mandiang Diatta, and who now lives in Germany.

"I wanted to talk about the conditions of the women in Senegal - they work a lot and they suffer, just to give something to their children to eat. But no one was really interested in talking about these things. For me, hip-hop was the music I could use to complain and bring out all of this energy I had inside and to talk about all of these injustices so people can be aware of what's happening in this country. It was only hip-hop that I could use to educate and to talk about all of these problems."

via fakeshoredrive

Sounds wack, but out of all the many many things wrong with the prison system I'm not sure this should be at the top of the list..

Foxy Brown's "Special Treatment" In Jail
source

New York City prison officials offered preferential treatment to rapper Foxy Brown while she was incarcerated, Department of Correction sources allege.

The unidentified sources allege the "Chyna Doll" rapper, who was jailed for a 2006 assault on two nail-salon manicurists, received unlimited phone and TV use while incarcerated, the New York Post reported Sunday.

In addition, the rapper received new clothing to replace her dirty apparel and prison officials helped coordinate a magazine interview and photo shoot for Brown, the sources allege.

"It's just out of control," one source said. "There's a total lack of leadership at the top," another source added. Brown, whose real name is Inga Fung Marchand, completed her nine-month prison sentence for her parole violation last April.

The sources told the Post that top prison official Imam Umar Abdul-Jalil was among those allegedly pampering the rapper. Abdul-Jalil is already the subject of a city probe over a lavish bar mitzvah allowed to take place in a New York jail.

This is a heck of a story:

How David Rohde Escaped
gawker

Facing either death or years of captivity at the hands of their captors, Rohde and Ludin began plotting an escape through careful inspection of their surroundings over the course of their imprisonment. Ludin went so far as to fake an illness to be taken to see a doctor outside of the complex in which they were held. He also convinced his captors to allow him to attend local cricket matches by lying about his love for the sport. Finally, on Friday night, Rohde and Ludin challenged the Taliban soldiers bunking in their room to a board game match with the intention of keeping them up late so that they'd sleep soundly. Then they made their move.

"At 1 a.m., Mr. Rohde woke Mr. Ludin and sneaked out of the room. Mr. Ludin recited several verses of the Koran and followed him. They made their way to the second floor, and Mr. Ludin got to the top of a five-foot-high wall.

When Mr. Ludin looked down, he said, he was greeted by an unnerving view: a 20-foot drop.

Mr. Rohde handed Mr. Ludin a rope that he had found two weeks earlier and had hidden from the guards. They fastened the rope to the wall, and Mr. Ludin lowered himself along the rope before unclenching his fists for good.

He crashed to the ground, leaving him with a sprained right foot and other injuries. He cut his foot, he said, pointing to his swollen and heavily bruised ankle and his bandaged big toe.

Mr. Rohde then lowered himself along the wall and jumped down without injury, Mr. Ludin said.

When asked why their captives did not hear the thump of their impact with the ground, Mr. Ludin said they waited to make the escape attempt on a night when the city had electrical power. At night, an old, noisy air-conditioner that ran masked the sound."

Ludin said that he and Rohde then walked through the town, dodging angry dogs along the way, to a Pakistani militia post, where they were taken in.

How David Rohde Escaped

Perez Hilton was in Toronto tonight for the Much Music Awards, along with many other more interesting celebrities, and as of a few minutes ago was using Twitter to "call" the police, and claiming that Will.i.Am beat him up:

I'm in shock. I need the police ASAP. Please come to the SoHo Metropolitan Hotel now. Please.about 1 hour ago from Sidekick

I was assaulted by Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas and his security guards. I am bleeding. Please, I need to file a police report. No joke. 44 minutes ago from Sidekick

I spoke to my lawyer. I really need to talk to the authorities. Please come to the SoHo Met Hotel. Have called the police. Need them here. 21 minutes ago from Sidekick

"The Toronto police are here now. Thank you. Please stop calling them.4 minutes ago from Sidekick " 4 minutes ago from Sidekick

Note to Perez: I know twitter's getting a lot of hype lately, but I'm pretty sure the police still respond to this old-fashioned thing known as "calling 911."

Many people are questioning the veracity of Perez's claims, and in another sign of the New Media Apocalypse, none other than Tila Tequila is at the forefront of investigative journalism on this story:

Will.I.Am just texted me....getting more info.....brb 27 minutes ago from web

Ok...just got the low down from Will.I.Am....He said "Why the hell would I be doing socking Perez Hilton? Please." there u go. The truth. 25 minutes ago from web

Why do people have to be such drama queens and lie or exaggerate?? Will.I.Am is my homie and he would never do that! Shame to blame him. SMH 23 minutes ago from web

Not sure who to believe, but here's what I do know: much as I was moved by how Twitter was used in Iran this last week, I'm glad to see it has been reclaimed for its true purpose: celebrity-oversharing train wrecks.

UPDATE: Will.I.Am just started his own Twitter page, and posted these videos on it to give his side of the story:

See this is why gossip columnists are not safe in TO anymore, all these negative rap influences..

GZA & The Cool Kids @ Yonge-Dundas Square
With Cool Kids, Candy Coated Killahz, Ninjasonik

source

After last night’s NXNE main stage hip-hop showcase at Yonge-Dundas Square, the Canadian Border Services Agency may have found another pretext to tighten its restrictions on rappers entering the country. Yes, a (non-fatal) stabbing occurred right after GZA’s set. And yes, the Genius’ lyrics contain many references to samurais, swords, and drug wars. But is there really a connection between the two?

After all, rather than glorifying street violence, GZA’s music portrays the perilous criminological realities of inner-city life (see: “Cold World”). Pointing the finger at MC’s is easy, but it would be unreasonable to suggest hip-hop shows beget violence. It’s really ignorance (or in this particular case, a petty schoolyard-level squabble) that begets violence. (And before any racial profilers out there get boners, the suspect in custody is Asian).

However, there is one generalization we can agree upon: where there is a hip-hop show, there is usually also profane language. Last night, it seemed NXNE’s organizers were unfamiliar with this axiom, as they were continuously thrown in a tizzy every time a rapper spat vulgarities over the PA system (we were in a public area, after all). Perhaps they also hadn’t heard Ninjasonik’s music before agreeing to let them play the bill. With frequently obscene lyrics like “Fucked with a slut and I fucked with a star, sorry for the fucks I forget who you are,” MCs Reverend McFly and Telli Gramz inevitably received several warnings to cease dropping the f-bomb or be forced to leave the stage. (Think about the children!) ...

Another new one from Rik Cordero, also featuring Fetti Benton (who also co-starred in the Nas video with yours truly).. Also check out the feature film Rik and Fetti have on deck, Inside A Change.

Love the Clipse, even if I never like what they're saying.. I think this one would have more impact if the rhymes stressed their underdog status, and invited us to root for them, that's the most compelling part of their storyline.. still a cool song though.

Brand new music from Nas, recorded with new producer C-Sick who won the chance to record with Nas in a producer's competition. (via TSS)

Nas "Film" MP3

Sad to see this news. I grew up on Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon, and they were a big part of my childhood. I always identified with Johnny Carson, as an introverted person in "real life" who found a home in the media, and I always enjoyed his relationship with Ed McMahon on the show, and how they always held it down with their polished old school sarcasm.

A point that may seem random: as someone who's always been a supporter and lover of hip-hop, I've always remembered The Tonight show as the landmark of a cultural crossroads: the last representatives of pre-Hip-Hop America. On the Tonight show in the 1980's Ed Mcmahon and Johnny Carson were the last men standing as gatekeepers of a world where hip-hop remained invisible. It's a testament both to hip-hop's power and to Ed McMahon's longevity that he was around to see things change so much since then..

RIP Ed McMahon, 1923-2009
source

Ed McMahon, who steadfastly introduced Johnny Carson through the host’s nearly 30 year run on “The Tonight Show,” died Tuesday morning, NBC said.

Shoutout to JS 1, just met him at WKCR last week when he was spinning for Sucio Smash

via nahright: "JS 1 performs a freestyle DJ set then teaches Regis Philbin how to scratch while Kelly Ripa raps. Hilarity ensues."

Am I the only one who reads this and pictures Wayne asking his lawyer if he can try and talk to the dogs, in dog language?

Drug-sniffing dogs focus in Lil Wayne hearing
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The Border Patrol's drug-sniffing dogs became the focus of attorneys Tuesday in a Yuma hearing as they continued to seek dismissal of drug and weapons charges against rapper Lil Wayne.

Attorneys for the rapper, arrested in January 2008 at a Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 8 near Yuma, want information about how the Border Patrol drug detection dogs are trained. They also are seeking any surveillance video of the dog used at the checkpoint at the time of the arrest...

...Lil Wayne was back in Yuma on Tuesday for a hearing as one of his attorneys, Natman Schaye, told the court they had not received the additional information they had requested about how the drug-detecting dogs the Border Patrol uses are trained.

VIDEO: Buzz Aldrin "Rocket Experience" Rap w/ Snoop Dogg & Soulja Boy
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“I’m not too good at carrying a tune, but I do have rhythm,” says Aldrin, who got the idea from a family member who felt the genre would have a broad reach. Aldrin’s ShareSpace Foundation, which promotes science and exploration, is one of three beneficiaries of the song’s iTunes sales. “I want kids interested in space. It’s their future”….[Aldrin] says rapping with Snoop Dogg proved almost as daunting as space. “Snoop had this great hand language going as he sang, which was hard for me,” Aldrin says. “But when it comes to getting people’s attention, comedy goes a long way.”

VIDEO: Buzz Aldrin "Rocket Experience" Rap w/ Snoop Dogg & Soulja Boy