Humpty, meet Tupac. Tupac, meet Humpty. Mr. Shakur and Digital Underground reunite for the latest installment of our list of the top 100 rap albums of all time.
Posts tagged "Gang Starr"
bLISTerd Presents: The 100 Greatest Rap Albums of All Time (Part One)
Popblerd’s list of the best rap albums of all time kicks off with classics from Queen Latifah, The Roots and Organized Konfusion! Plus, an underlooked (IMO) album from OutKast!
The Top 40 Emcees of All Time: 40-36
I’m not really good at the whole dramatic buildup thing, so I’ll try to keep this preamble relatively short. First of all, this list is about great emcees, and as I’d imagine you know, great emcees are perfectly capable of making crappy records (the same way Beyonce’s albums kinda suck even though she can sing her ass off). Average emcees are capable of making great records (see: West, Kanye), so let’s not confuse the two. What makes a great emcee? […]
Albums That Time Forgot: Neneh Cherry’s “Homebrew”
I’ll be damned if I can figure it out: the rise and fall of Neneh Cherry is one of the most unexplainable things to happen in the idustry for as long as I’ve been a music fan. Swedish-born Cherry burst onto the scene in the summer of ’89 with her hip-hop/dance stylings on the smash single “Buffalo Stance”. An attractive female with a social conscience who was rappin’ and singin’ on her records (at the same time) four years before […]
Blerd Briefs: Arrests, Birfdays and Other Assorted Confusion…
While my interest in anything Lindsay Lohan-related is almost always minimal, I must admit that I have a special desire to see her dragged away in handcuffs and get locked up, and it’s looking more and more like that’s going to happen. A bench warrant has been issued for the actress/singer’s arrest for missing a court appearance to follow up on mandated alcohol education classes. Lindsay took a trip to Cannes to prevent her upcoming movie, and conveniently misplaced her […]
Blerd Radio Episode 2: Record Store Day?
This, folks, is a tale of two shows. Initially, what I’d planned in order to celebrate (however belatedly) Record Store Day, was a reunion of some of the cast that provided my first employment experience at Tower Records. That place was certainly not at a loss for characters. So the time came to record the show…and none of my Tower friends called in. So, the first half of the show is pretty much me improvising. I talk a little about […]
Saturday Backspin: "Trust Me"
It doesn’t make sense to have a hip-hop segment to this blog and not take the time to acknowledge Guru. Stepping away from Gang Starr for a second, Guru should be recognized for two things in particular. One is being the ambassador for hip-hop in Boston. How many other popular rappers have come out of Beantown? Ed O.G. was moderately successful, but never had the sales or critical respect that Gang Starr had. After that, there’s…Marky Mark? So, yeah-pretty easy […]
Hip-Hop Loses One of It's Most Unique Voices: R.I.P. Guru
Over the weekend, it struck me that I hadn’t heard any news on the condition of Keith Elam AKA Guru. Guru-1/2 of legendary hip-hop duo Gang Starr as well as a solo artist-suffered a heart attack and had slipped into a coma a month or so ago. I woke up this morning to the sad news that Guru had passed away. Not only was Guru almost solely responsible for putting Boston on the hip-hop map, but he’s also one of […]
Blerd Appreciation: Gang Starr
Boston isn’t exactly a hotbed of urban culture. Actually, when you talk about nationally known and respected hip-hop artists from Beantown, there are only two names you need to bring up: Ed O.G. and Guru. Guru, of course, is the rapping half of the legendary duo Gang Starr. After breaking into the game in ’90 (I think) with “Jazz Thing”, Guru and his boy DJ Premier kicked off a decade-long string of hits, and while they never blew up on […]