Good news if you’re a Beastie Boys fan (like yours truly). The hip-hop legends (who might be Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame inductees next year) have finally set a March 2011 release date for their “Hot Sauce Committee, Part 1” album, which was originally supposed to come out in 2009 but was indefinitely postponed following Adam Yauch’s cancer diagnosis. Only, it’s now retitled “Hot Sauce Committee, Part 2”. And it contains the songs that were originally scheduled to be […]
Posts tagged "hip-hop"
The 5ive at Five: Reasons Not to Hate will.i.am (#3)
Remember when the Black Eyed Peas were actually good? Granted, the group’s first two (pre-Fergie) albums didn’t set the Billboard charts on fire, but they were both pleasant in that 2nd-era Native Tongues kinda way. They were hanging in that Dilated Peoples/Jurassic 5 lane, I guess. “Joints & Jam” was the first BEP single that made any noise, and it manages to host a catchy hook and supplement the hook with some head-nodding appeal. Hell, even “Elephunk” got started with […]
Jigga What? “Hits” Track Listing is Kind of a Head Scratcher
Jay-Z’s long overdue for a greatest hits collection. Actually, he’s one of those artists whose hitmaking proficiency has been so prolific that one disc isn’t gonna be able to contain all of his worthwhile material. Well, the track listing for Jigga’s long-overdue “The Hits Collection Vol. 1” surfaced on amazon.com yesterday, and as a Jay-Z fan, I’m kinda nonplussed. If you think about it, though, the track listing kinda makes sense from a “truth in advertising” perspective. Let’s split hairs-this […]
Chart Stalker 10/7/10: The Yee-Haw Edition
Guess what type of music people are still buying? Ding Ding Ding!! Country music! Kenny Chesney becomes the second straight country act to debut at #1 on the national Billboard charts. His latest effort, “Hemingway’s Whiskey”, starts with 183,000 units. It replaces Zac Brown Band’s “You Get What You Give” at the top of the chart. The Grammy winning band’s sophomore effort slides two spots to #3 this week. Guess what other type of music people are apparently still buying? […]
Unraveling the Complicated Legacy of Tupac Shakur
Tupac’s been on my mind for a couple of reasons. First off, yesterday (September 7th), marked the 14th anniversary of the night he was shot in Las Vegas, an event that led to his passing six days later. Two, a lot of blog and news outlets were buzzing about what I originally thought was a seemingly offhand comment made by Mike Tyson in which he regretted never having smoked weed with ‘Pac. It wasn’t until earlier this morning that I […]
“Go To Sleep”: At Long Last, Lupe Returns
If you think about it, Kanye West and Lupe Fiasco were the guys who led off this sort of dark, almost emo-rap subgenre that has made stars out of Kid Cudi and Drake. More than that, though, when Lupe came out, he seemed like a throwback to the times when rappers had substance and an eye for narrative. In hip-hop these days, the bright spots appear even brighter because there are so few of them. Lupe’s debut, “Food & Liquor”, […]
Hump Day Flashback: “Love Comes & Goes”
In a lifetime as a hip-hop fan, there have only been three noteworthy hip-hop acts from Boston that I can think of. First, of course, is Guru. The lyrical half of Gang Starr carried the torch for Beantown rappers until he passed away earlier this year. On the opposite end, there’s Mark “Marky Mark” Wahlberg, a guy who probably had no interest in being an emcee until his hip-hop junkie of an older brother suggested that might be the best […]
“The Return of” De La Soul
I stan HARD for De La Soul. Pos, Mase and Dave were at the head of the table during hip-hop’s most creative period, and they’ve hardly lost a beat in the two decades since. Although their commercial success has been intermittent, the quality of their music hasn’t wavered. 2004’s “The Grind Date” (the group’s last proper album) was a solid piece of work that was easily one of the five best hip-hop albums that year. Depending on when you ask, […]
The "Power"-ful Return of Kanye West
Y’all know I love Kanye, right? Sure, he’s brash. Of course he’s obnoxious. But he’s also a fucking genius and is much more daring and artistic than the average hip-hop artist. People made a lot of noise about the whole Taylor Swift MTV situation last year, but people who really love Kanye are 1) completely used to his antics by now and 2) don’t really give a damn about Taylor Swift anyway. I don’t anticipate that the audience for his […]
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 […]
G.O.O.D. for the Soul: Common, Kweli & Consequence
Spring is officially in the air (although the first official day of the season is still a couple days away), and you can feel a good vibe in the air, especially after a horrid winter like we’ve had up here in New England. Continuing in that feel-good kinda vibe, I present you with the latest track from three of my all-time favorite emcees. Featured on the latest Clinton Sparks mixtape: Queens MC Consequence joins forces with Brooklyn’s Talib Kweli and […]