Missed ’em? Check out previous entries in the countdown. 26-30 31-35 36-40 Now, moving on… 25. Del tha Funkee Homosapien Representing: Oakland Ice Cube’s bizarro cousin has never had the mainstream success that his relative has, but Del remains a cherished member of the hip-hop underground after twenty years in the game. With his slightly stoned (OK, very stoned flow) and free-associative lyrics, he is still one of the best to ever represent the Bay. At very least, he’s proof that there are […]
Posts tagged "hip-hop"
The Viewfinder: Iron Solomon and Gordon Voidwell Get “Spring Fever”
Even though Memorial Day is just a few short days away, summer doesn’t officially begin for another month or so, therefore I have no guilt about posting this video. It’s still seasonally appropriate! Plus, I need to get out of the habit of posting Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince’s “Summertime” video every Memorial Day weekend. Up and coming New York rapper Iron Solomon has given us a soundtrack for those warm spring days (not that we’ve had too many […]
The Top 40 Emcees of All Time: 35-31
Check out #40-36 here , and let’s get right into the next five on the list. 35. Ludacris Representing: Atlanta Luda is the only emcee on this entire list that made his debut after 2000. With a booming baritone, and a knack for comedic material, Chris Bridges has been given the tag of a “pop rapper”. However, just because the man knows what it takes to get onto the radio (he was an air personality before signing to Def Jam) doesn’t […]
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? […]
Award Show Sundays: LL Brings Hip-Hop to Middle America
While I don’t know that anyone’s calling him the G.O.A.T. anymore, LL Cool J is still one of the people who should be chiseled onto the hip-hop Mount Rushmore. His lyricism is actually at the point where it could be called underrated, he was certainly a trendsetter, he was hip-hop’s first sex symbol, made hip-hop’s first successful comeback, and to this day, is regarded as one of the genre’s (or any genre’s) most dynamic live performers. The performance we’re featuring […]
Spin Cycle: Lupe Fiasco “Lasers”
I’ve mentioned it several times before…when an album has drama surrounding it, a lot of times it’s hard to separate the drama from the music being created. That phenomenon reared it’s ugly head yet again with the release of Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco’s third album, Lasers. The album’s been on various release schedules for almost a year, and has had several teaser singles surface over that time. The word on the street is that Lupe and his label, Atlantic, were […]
WTFF? Lil Kim Aims at Nicki Minaj with “Black Friday”
In most cases, hip-hop beef is stupid, and it’s usually fairly easy to tell why one rapper is going after another. Nowadays, it’s almost always due to jealousy. Either a neophyte rapper is targeting an older rapper because of their success, or a faded veteran rapper is attacking a relative (and relatively successful) newcomer. It’s pretty simple. For the past several months, Lil Kim has been going hard on Nicki Minaj. While I guess the genesis of it is a […]
Popblerd!’s 2011 Grammy Preview: Rap
Another year, another time to kvetch over the Grammy Award nominations, right? It may be music’s biggest night, but it’s hard to find a Grammy Awards that’s not fraught with controversy and/or boring as hell. The nomination process always results in head scratching decisions, and this year’s are no different. Katy Perry nominated for Album of the Year? Weird. Lady GaGa’s “Bad Romance” scratched off of the Record of the Year nominees? Uber-weird. No Lil Wayne nominations? Big Boi passed […]
Get Well Shouts: Kool Herc & Bobby Z.
A speedy recovery shout-out has to go to the one and only Kool Herc. The godfather of hip-hop recently was hospitalized and had kidney stone surgery. Herc’s story has gotten quite a bit of coverage for several reasons. As with rock and soul legends in the past, it highlights the fact that musicians don’t have health insurance. Medical bills are quite expensive (take it from me), and someone who is uninsured and faces serious ailments is going to accumulate quite […]
The Viewfinder: “Going Through Hell” by The Streets
Last week, I reported that British rapper Mike Skinner (AKA The Streets) was hanging up his trainers upon the release of his fifth album, Computers & Blues. What I did not realize was that the release of said album was literally right around the corner, with a February 7th release date. With under a month until the album’s release, now would be an appropriate time to unveil a first single and video, right? Right. “Going Through Hell” is the name […]
Who the Hell is…Nixon Nyce? (and Where Can You Download His New Mixtape for Free?)
Boston emcee Nixon Nyce is one to watch. Make sure you check out his mixtape, “Sooner Than Later”.