Hip-Hop

Here I will post videos and entertainment material related to Hip-Hop music and culture, most specifically highlighting my personal favorite artists from the 1990s until now.  For the record (because I know it may seem strange that a "white boy from the 'burbs" would grow up to love rap music), I became a hip-hop fan in the summer of 2000, when my Aunt Kira gave me two C.D's for my birthday--Nelly's "Country Grammar" and Ludacris's "Word of Mouf" (both unedited, of course)--which changed my life forever and evolved into a full-blown passion.  Around that time, my good friend Cam on my soccer team indoctrinated me to "the game" by sharing his headphones with me during an endless bus-trip out to Dallas for a tournament, which marked my first exposure to the genre's true legends and icons, as well as the qualities that make an M.C great.  From there, it was a slippery slope into what I call my "Tupac Phase," when I was so enthralled with the late rapper's rhymes, emotion, and message that everyday after school I'd get off the bus and run home just so I could throw on a wife-beater tank top, gold chain, and front-tied bandana and lay on my bed and channel my own feelings through poetry.  This in mind, after a period away from the genre--bored away by all of Soulja Boy's descendants--I'm proud to say that I'm still a fan of the classics, more than ever an advocate for black equality, and a hopeless snob for lyrics with depth a la Nas, OutKast, 'Pac, and J. Cole.  My humble opinion is that the rap industry is currently in a state of rising from the ashes of this mumble rap/trap music fad (which I must admit is catchy, despite the lyrical dumbing-down), with the two current Best Rappers Alive--J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar--leading the way into a new era of consciousness and substance that I hope and believe will finally bring real change and improvement to their communities.

Now that you have a feel for my tastes, I give you my All-Time Top 10 and current Top 5, which, in the true spirit of Hip-Hop, may be raised for debate or discussion--if you know what you're talking about.  Beyond that, I'm just going to post a long, scrolling stream of music videos, interviews, new music releases, and mixtapes, so get at me for real if you got somethin' to say about my lists!


All-Time Top 10
  1. J.Cole
  2. 2Pac
  3. Nas
  4. B.I.G
  5. OutKast
  6. Eminem
  7. Jay-Z
  8. Lil' Wayne
  9. Kendrick Lamar
  10. Eric B. and Rakim
  11. Honorable Mention: KRS-One, Big L, BlackStar, T.I, Common, Wu-Tang Clan, Public Enemy

Current Top 5
  1. Cole
  2. K-Dot
  3. Logic
  4. J.I.D
  5. T.I
  6. Honorable Mention: Young Thug (the only decent trap rapper in my opinion), Childish Gambino, CyHi The Prynce, Joey Bada$$, Russ, EVERYONE ON DREAMVILLE!)

Qualities that an M.C should be judged by:
  1. Flow
  2. Rhymes
  3. Storytelling
  4. Originality
  5. Message
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2/23/18

New FIRE from Logic - 44 More

Y'all sleeping on J.Cole, I swear!

J. Cole talks about his writing process

J.Cole and Kendrick Lamar talk about Eminem

Famous rhyme schemes, deconstructed

Logic talks J.Cole influence and secret verse on AfricAryan



2/15/18

Cozz - Zendaya ft. J. Cole  (new FIRE from Dreamville!)

J.I.D. - Hereditary


J.I.D - The Never Story (Mini Doc)


Not Hip-Hop but FKJ got the funk!


FKJ Freestylin'


FKJ - Why Are There Boundaries?


FKJ - Skills




2/8/18
Best Lil' Wayne Interview


Why Does Hip Hop Hate J.Cole?


Why J. Cole is the GOAT!

J. Cole and His Mom on the Grammy's Red Carpet


Lil' Wayne - Everyday We Sick


Lil' Wayne - Roll in Peace


Lil' Wayne - Bank Account


J.I.D - EdEddnEddy


Kendrick Lamar - All The Stars


Kendrick Lamar - A Milli Freestyle


J. Cole - Come Thru and Chill


J.Cole - Old School Songs


1/30/18
2Pac - Changes
The song that got me into 2Pac!


2Pac - California Love ft. Dr. Dre
Love the Mad Max theme!


2Pac - Hit 'Em Up
As savage as it gets...


2Pac - I Get Around
Legend has it 'Pac slept with every girl in this video...


2Pac - Brenda's Got A Baby

2Pac - The Lost Prison Interview

2Pac - Greed in America 1992

2Pac Interview 1992

2Pac - High School Interview

2Pac Death Announcement at Nas Concert 9/13/96

Kendrick on 2Pac

The Notorious B.I.G - Juicy
Probably the single greatest hip-hop song ever made...


The Notorious B.I.G - Big Poppa

The Notorious B.I.G - Sky's The Limit

The Notorious B.I.G - Kick in The Door
Top 5 beat ever in my opinion...


2Pac and Biggie Freestyle
They were friends!


Kendrick Freestyles Over B.I.G Beats

Nas - I Can

Nas - Nas Is Like

Nas - If I Ruled The World

Bone Thugs N Harmony - 1st of Tha Month

OutKast - Ms. Jackson

OutKast - So Fresh, So Clean

OutKast - Da Art of Storytellin'

OutKast - ATliens
"Softly, as if I played piano in the dark..."


OutKast - Southernplayalisticadillacmusik

OutKast - MTV Diary 2001

Key & Peele - OutKast Reunion

Eminem - The Way I Am

Eminem - Forgot About Dre

Eminem - My Name Is

Eminem - The Real Slim Shady

Eminem - Without Me

Eminem - Stan

Eminem - 8 Mile Rap Battles

American Dream ft. Jeezy, J.Cole, Kendrick Lamar
Cole turnin' up the heat!!!


Lil' Wayne - Dedication 6 Full Mixtape
Wayne back to his best!


Lil' Wayne - La La La
"And you know I'm duckin' 5-0 and my moms..."
The epitome of my high school years!


J. Cole - Eyez Documentary

J. Cole - 4 Your Eyez Only Documentary
J. Cole is the man!!!


J. Cole - The Disease of More
Only speaking the Truth!


J. Cole - Interview with Sway

J. Cole - Change
You want Flow?  Rhymes?  Message?  Cole is the king!


J. Cole - Immortal

J.Cole - Neighbors

J. Cole 4 Your Eyez Only at The Moon, Tallahassee, FL
The show my brother and I were at!


Hiii Power ft. Kendrick Lamar
Gotta show Love to K-Dot, too!

i - Kendrick Lamar

DNA - Kendrick Lamar

The Recipe - Kendrick Lamar ft. Dr. Dre
Damn, I love this song!


Alright - Kendrick Lamar

Section .80 Full Album - Kendrick Lamar


Mask Off (Remix) - Future ft. Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick destroys this...


J.I.D - Never
Remember the name J.I.D!


J.I.D - Lauder

J.I.D - Oochie Wally Freestyle on Shade45
Freestyle or not, these rhymes are incredible!

J.I.D - Freestyles on Flex

Logic - Black Spiderman

Logic - AfricAryan ft. J. Cole and Neil Degrasse Tyson
Wait for the secret Cole verse at the end!


Kendrick Lamar, Logic, and Joey Bada$$ - Freestyle Cypher

J. Cole - Hot 97 Freestyle Part 1
Cole with the bars!

Part 2

Part 3

Lil' Wayne - Freestyle Cypher
Wayne...lol

Lil' Wayne - Da Drought 3 Mixtape
My soundtrack from high school!

Lil' Wayne - No Ceilings Full Mixtape
Wayne's last great mixtape...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

First Words, First Memory, First Dream

Image
#1   First Words My first words, according to my dad, were either the Sportscenter theme song--"Duh, nuh, nuh...duh, nuh, nuh"--or "Bud," which one of the regulars at the bar where my dad worked taught me to say while slamming my empty milk bottle down on the rail for a refill.  Either way, I'm proud, but my mom couldn't be less pleased, so for the sake of keeping her happy, I say my first real word was "Mama." #2    First Memory My first memory is hard to pinpoint; there are three candidates that come to mind, but two lack credibility and all are pretty fuzzy.  The oldest comes from when I was less than one year old, in the Georgia State University daycare in downtown Atlanta, where my dad was taking classes, studying to be an English major.  The memory is strange and questionable because it feels like I'm looking down on myself, hovering over my body with a bird's eye view, and I'm just watching as I crawl up a blue padded r
Read more

The Nest

Image
#4   The Nest When I was around four years old, my grandfather, Captain Bill, started his own production company and hired my dad, who finally got out of the bar business, abandoned his college education, and moved us into a small house in the suburbs where my mom could quit her secretary job and stay home with me full-time.  This change proved mostly positive because, in addition to the bigger backyard, which meant more space for playing sports, my dad always brought back souvenirs from the cities where he did his "shows."  But during the weekends when he was gone, I spent many a night crying while staring at the picture of us on his mousepad, and despite my mom's best efforts to keep me happy and distracted with movies and games, she just wasn't the same pitcher or goalie, and I longed for my dad's return... That said, I have nothing but good memories from this time spent with my mother, the epitome of which was our Friday routine, which still lives on today
Read more

Mammy and Pappy, Captain Bill, Grammer

Image
#5   Mammy and Pappy Like most kids, my early identity was shaped first by my family, and I was (and still am) fortunate to have my grandparents in my life.  Growing up, I spent the most time with my mom's parents, Mammy and Pappy, who lived four hours north through the Smoky Mountains in Nashville, Tennessee.  From what I recall, they made the drive down to visit us a few times a year, but other than the boring church services, I don't remember much.  What I do remember, though, is loading the trunk of the car with presents, getting stuck on icy stretches of highway, and spending Christmas at The North Pole... I can still see their house perfectly--red brick with black shutters--and I remember the rush of the sled runs down the driveway and into the yard.  I remember playing catch in the snow with my dad, uncle and Pappy, and I can still see the sign on the red front door: "Santa, Please Stop Here!"  Inside, I can see the ceramic rooster on the island in the kitc
Read more