rap
Rhythm and Poetry; rap music is a genre centered around speaking truth to power with style.
"Talking Star: 'The Star Report': What Makes You Creep on Wifey?
Star bounces right onto the set like a round ball. Star talks about rapper Chris Kidd telling to get his sentence reduced. Mr. Torain also delves into the worst rappers of all time. A SnapChatter goes down his list of worst hip hop “artists.” Boss Chick Ronnie a.k.a. Greasy checks into the show like a swan landing on the surface of the water. She comes prepared with her own list of terrible rhyme sayers. A certain Atlanta-based rapper claims the shady crown according to Ronnie. Star claims that Nicki Minaj is still the queen. Star enjoys a woman who “fights back.” Star brings up the way that Wendy Williams treats people of color on her show.
By Skyler Saunders6 years ago in Beat
Talking Star: 'The Star Report: Kanye West 'Jesus Is King' Review'
“Fire!” Exclamations erupt from the mouth of Troi “Star” Torain in recognition of Kanye West’s new album. Mr. Torain wants to know if his audience knows who Fred Hammond is. He talks about Mr. West’s 501 (c)(3) still not being up and running yet. He says that Kanye’s ego is a thing that clashes with his religiosity. But he finds the project to be of substance. Star says that he’s skeptical to see an “unstable” Kanye West as commander-in-chief of the United States.
By Skyler Saunders6 years ago in Beat
Boom Bap and the Pro Era Effect
For many, boom bap is synonymous with real hip hop and is one of the only forms that truly encapsulates the genre. Even with the young genre continuing to grow and dominate popular music, these fans still remain persistent in their desire for raw beats that call back to the 90s. Boom bap was popularized in hip hop in the 90s and is revered as one of the staples of the East Coast hip hop movement. It's the combination of a bass drum on downbeats and a snare on the upbeats, but even without a specific or lengthy explanation, listeners know boom bap when they hear it. And hearing it in 2000s always introduces a sort of nostalgia for older, East Coast records.
By Azaria Brown6 years ago in Beat
A Collective Memorandum
At some point, you have to ask yourself whether or not this whole life thing is a joke. Every day, we wake up in another episode of one big fat sitcom together. Sometimes, there will be a whole lot of chuckles, in other moments, things might get serious. Today may not be the best day of our lives, but tomorrow is something to look forward to, even if it isn’t guaranteed. We spend most of our time on this Earth constantly searching for purpose, trying to top our previous endeavor, and proving all those who stood against us, pejoratively wrong (regardless of whether that’s the right thing to do). Yet, a huge question that always arises once we think we’ve done it all is, “What’s next?” You see, we might all be a part of the same hit television show, but no one in the industry seemed to care enough to pass out scripts for us to follow. Depending on our travels, the answer to our questions can be dark ones—if not a twisted form of funny—because all in all, no one can tell us our futures. But, “all good jokes contain true shit,” and who would I be to not laugh along?
By Amir Royale6 years ago in Beat
The Flows of Poetic Justice
1988, Garvey High School. Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor chills in a lunchroom with his soon to be A Tribe Called Quest brethren Kamaal “Q-Tip” Fareed and Ali Muhammad. It’s their senior year. The boys are just “lounging,” as Phife puts it quirkily, watching some of the flyest “honeys” around the block walk by them. Phife becomes infatuated with one of the girls—a femme fatale by the name of Flo—and in the coming days learns a valuable lesson in how misogyny and sexism can easily be flipped upon males. It’s basically the same story Eddie Murphy goes through some years later in Boomerang (shout out to a young Robin Givens and my babygirl Halle Berry), except this story is about hormone driven boys in high school. How do we know that? Phife and Tip recall these events for audiences in 1991’s smooth, silky track, “Butter” off The Low-End Theory.
By Amir Royale6 years ago in Beat
Drill: The Truth Behind the Mask
After the Columbine tragedy, the media latched onto rock musician Marilyn Manson as the scapegoat for the whole shooting. This is exactly what we are seeing in the demonisation of the entire genre of London Drill rap, after the London metropolitan police commissioner had various music videos, some by the Drill crew 67, taken off YouTube for “inciting violence." The music, saturated with references to giant knives and gang related crime, is the soundtrack to music videos featuring young men brandishing large guns and standing in menacing mobs on their 'ends.' While the media and the Met police have the country believing Drillers are to blame for the rise in violent gang related crime in London, many believe that in reality, this is a classic example of using musicians as scapegoats for larger issues. What the Met police and all the right wing journalists are missing is what the music really means, and why young people in London are making it and turning to it as an escape from their realities. Drill music doesn’t aim to encourage young people to commit acts of violence, but rather is the outlet for young people to express the things they have experienced on the streets creatively. The music doesn’t aim to romanticise gang violence, but rather to show the negative effects that it has on young people in the community. Member of the group 67, Dimzy, has said that before the birth of his daughter, making music was the only thing keeping him alive.
By Sara Al Mahdy6 years ago in Beat
Nick Nittoli Knows How to Make a Good Song
Nick Nittoli is a kid from Garfield, New Jersey living his dream. He actually won for losing... On the short-lived Bravo show Platinum Hit, Nick made it to the semi final round of cuts before being eliminated. He ultimately came in fourth place, but it wasn't time for the former telemarketer to wake up yet. He parlayed his appearance on the show into a publishing deal and has been producing and writing as many songs as he could dream up ever since. His writing actually inspired me to write again. My last article was written at a time when the hip hop community was mourning the loss of the legendary figure Nipsey Hussle. To be frank, writing lost its appeal to me. It wasn't a fun time even though I tried hard to make it be. Transcribing Nick's lyrics put a smile on my face. Ah, to be young.
By Brooklyn Damien7 years ago in Beat
Worst to Best Freshmen 'XXL' List 2019
XXL is a very popular and influential hip hop magazine established in 1997. Starting in 2008 the magazine began to release its annual freshmen list, that contains 10 upcoming rappers. Some rappers who have appeared on the list are Kendrick Lamar, J.Cole, Schoolboy Q, Chance the Rapper, and many more. Each year, prior to the release of the freshmen list, rappers are seen on YouTube pitching themselves and giving the fans a reason to choose them as a XXL freshmen. While many rappers have tried to join the list others have declined it such as Lil Skies, Nicki Minaj, and ASAP Rocky. I’ve seen a lot of videos of people eating each artist on the cover so I thought I’d weigh in on the 10 artist that were chosen, and rank them worst to best.
By Dakota Thomas7 years ago in Beat
