This video; a powerful representation of African Americans showing deep anger and hurt with the events that have unfolded in America since the new millennium, since the 50s, since slavery, since; ever. I have to show respect to someone who is willing to put themselves out there in a world where political opinions can kill relationships, can shatter peoples' images, and (in extreme cases) can cost people their lives. But, me being the man who tries to understand both sides of the story, I have to ask; when the FUCK did David Banner become a political activist?
David Banner is known in the hip hop world as many things, but with the events that unfold in this video and the way he shows himself along with the other members of what seem to be a secret society he runs with in the video, he might be using more of his anger than his logic in this scenario.
The video for Banner's new "Black Fist" song violently depicts a group of black males alongside Banner punishing, torturing, and eventually killing a white police officer, which is dragged out for roughly 3 minutes. Now as I said before, I like to be the guy who tries his hardest to understand both sides of a story, and assuming Banner is angry about what has been eating at (not just black lives) different civilians and races all around the country for the past few years, then he wouldn't put himself in such a position to be picked apart by talk show hosts and bloggers everywhere that think their opinions matter in the slightest (wait a minute...).
I also watched a Vlad TV interview with Mr. Banner dating back to July 7th, 2015 (or so it's dated on YouTube). I couldn't help but laugh at what this man was saying, and passing off as "open-mindedness". Banner got to discussing how white people "own everything on this Earth" and how you "can't go anywhere to escape white supremacy". This quote got me especially riled up; "if you look at most hip hop blogs and most things that deal with hip hop, they're now used to crush the hip hop artists." HA. These so called "points" coming from a man (who also believes that labels are objectifying hip hop artists to use the derogatory details of their lives to exploit them) that made THIS.
Are you going to blame this song on the label David? Hmm? Did the label write/make you write this song? I'll first say that if you're not writing your own songs then you lose a lot of credibility in ANY part of the music industry, and probably deserve to be strung around like a puppet, and that goes for artists of ANY race, and also taking into account how many successful indie artists there are out there nowadays. But secondly, if you are writing your own songs, then later on complain about what the label is making you do (again, if you're going to complain about a label, then go indie), but have this song appear on an album of your "Greatest Hits" collection, then you should probably stay in your lane as an artist. If you aren't making the music that YOU want to make, then set the example, and make a change. Check out Banner's interview with Vlad TV below.
(*I do not own any of these songs, videos, interviews or the rights to them*)
We all know J. Cole to be the guy you hate to hate and love to love, and why wouldn't you? He's a competitive emcee, he makes amazing music with a strong message, he works to better his community (and ultimately the world), and most of all, he says what's on his mind. In one instance, the last example turned some heads, and it turned out to be quite the entertaining occurrence.
(The line I'm talking about starts at the 3:15 part, and explains Cole's tweet below) J. Cole - Cole Summer
So how did Tia and Tamera react? Check out the tweets going back and forth from Cole to Tia and Tamera both below, it gets better.
And then they hear the song. Tamera's reaction can be seen below.
Talk about a childhood crush turned into reality. How awesome would that be to have one of the Mowry sisters flirting with you on Twitter? Or to have Nia Long say that you're not too young for her? Cole is a product of another generation, and people of every age, era, and ethnicity accept him. Now somebody tell him to hit me with Tia or Tamera's number!
Another emcee I've had my eye on since his last couple of releases is Joey Purp. Purp caught my attention with a few bangers he's put out in the last couple of weeks ("Corner Store", "Photo Booth", and "Girls @" featuring Chance The Rapper), and now it looks like the Chicago emcee has a release date for his debut solo album.
The album, titled iiiDrops, features 11 tracks (including the 3 listed above), and will feature Mick Jenkins, Chance The Rapper, Vic Mensa, and more, and also will include production from Thelonious Martin, Knox Fortune, Smoko Ono, Ducko McFli, and more. You can check out the track list below.
Who forgot about Dre? The more relevant question here might be, who forgot about T.I.? In Tip's newest release he samples Aaliyah, features Marsha Ambrosius on the hook and Dre on the boards: sounds like a hell of a track to me.
"Dope" is supposedly the first single off of Tip's long awaited 10th studio album, The Dime Trap, which has no set release date as of yet. If you've been paying attention to Tip for the last year and news on his latest album, you'd know that the album had 2 previous titles before Tip settled on The Dime Trap; Trap's Open, and Paperwork; The Return. "This next one's going to be unapologetically gangsta," Tip told HipHopSince1987.com in early 2015. Whose excited to see what T.I.'s returning with?
With the release of Chance The Rapper's much anticipated 3rd album Chance 3, Chance put out another surprise album (or mix tape, free album, whatever, by the name of Coloring Book) to, oh, I don't know... say thank you to fans? Now fans have 2 new projects to judge strictly off of 1 full listen, instead of just one (I'm still angry that people do this, in case you can't tell). But this is not the focus of this post; Chance's music has been hailed all over the underground rap scene for a minute now, and has been ever since his 2nd album (which many hail as a classic, and probably the best tape of 2013) Acid Rap. Now that Chance is back on the scene, people are already saying his newest projects might even be Grammy worthy. Yes, I said GRAMMY worthy. Slow down guys. Anyways, this is also not the point of this post. Read below a quote from Change.org.
"Ridiculously talented artists who are releasing free mixtapes and projects are not getting the recognition they truly deserve because the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences insists that to be eligible for a prestigious Grammy Award that the music must be "commercially released in general distribution in the United States, i.e. sales by label to a branch or recognized independent distributor, via the Internet, or mail order/retail sales for a nationally marketed product. Recordings must be available for sale from any date within the eligibility period through at least the date of the current year’s voting deadline (final ballot)." This means that artists like Chance the Rapper, who are now getting national recognition and performing on national platforms (just this past week Chance performed on the Jimmy Fallon show) are being punished for making their music available to everyone, rich or poor, by releasing their music for free. It's obvious that these artists are making their music more accessible to people who deserve it even if they can't afford it, as well as decreasing pirating and illegally downloading music. Not all artists should be forced to release their music for free, but the ones who do should not be punished for doing so."
This person has a point. Some of the best music of the last 15 years (obviously and especially in hip hop) has been free off of mix tapes/free albums. The magnitude of the mix tape (or free album) almost doesn't resonate in any other genre besides hip hop, I mean when was the last time you saw the Foo Fighters put out an entire project for free? It's just not going to happen. Regardless of this, hip hop is known to be the most popular genre in the world (or at least in 2015 it was). Isn't it safe to say that hip hop holds a teeny tiny little bit of weight in the music industry now? It's 2016, let's get off the jaded hate of hip hop and just start dancing to stupid songs like OT Genasis' "Cut It".
So let's make this happen. I just signed the petition to allow free music to be eligible for Grammy nomination, and you should too. Now we the less important people (based on musical judgment or whatever, you know what I mean) can make a difference to our favorite rappers and projects! The time for free hip hop music to get global recognition is now! Wouldn't it be fun to be able to throw together a list of your favorite free projects of the year and debate which one deserves that coveted Grammy trophy? Now somebody like Curren$y would be a shoe in for a nomination; but that's neither here nor there. But anyways, in the mumbled, repetitive words of Future; "They gon' think I won a Grammy." You'll find the link to sign the petition below!
Scrolling through Netflix's "Recommended For You" category is a lot like life, and in that sense, it can anger me a little bit. I come across an old war hero documentary, then the next title is an old action movie with B list actors, then the next thing actually happens to be a pretty big animated movie that just got out of theaters; but I didn't go and see it for a reason. Dammit Netflix, YOU THINK YOU KNOW ME?!?! The time I spend wandering aimlessly through Netflix's endless list of fuckery is time I could spend being more productive elsewhere, but who wants to do that? Well this time, Netflix is actually inspiring me to be productive (cue flying pigs). The Art Of Organized Noize is the latest must watch documentary that I absolutely must discuss.
So in case you haven't heard of them, Organized Noize are a production group based out of southwest Atlanta, and they have worked with mega stars like Outkast, Future, Ludacris, Goodie Mob (Big Gipp, Cee-Lo Green, etc.), TLC, and more, and the documentary actually includes interviews from some of these artists discussing their come up and the influence that Organized Noize had on them.
(*I do not own this video, or the rights to it*)
Many claim that Organized Noize had such an impact on hip hop today that they're responsible for the sound and how it has evolved today, especially in Atlanta. Their use of live instruments in their music transcended the average hip hop sound and how it was perceived, and ultimately has pushed other artists to keep that true aspect of instrumentation in their music, even today.
So if you know your Southern hip hop or you want to get to brush up on your Southern hip hop history, The Art Of Organized Noize is for you. The come up of one of the greatest production groups of all time (arguably) is discussed, and they even get a little bit into the come up of who many people hail as the greatest hip hop duo of all time in Outkast. There are plenty of all star appearances and interviews to entertain you (including an interview with Diddy), and the archived footage shown would put even the biggest Outkast, Goodie Mob, or Organized Noize fans in awe. So if you're a southern hip hop rap nerd, you need to watch The Art Of Organized Noize,out on Netflix right now!
(*No, I did not make this amazing cover, and I wish I could shout out the artist*)
I'm going to be completely and utterly 100% honest, lately (always) I haven't been feeling like anyone understands my views on hip hop. Not too many people go THIS in depth with hip hop, or anything having to do with it. Not many people can do what I do, not many people even want to do what I do, but I do it because at the end of the day, there are unanswered questions that need to be asked (plus I fuckin love what I do, so why else would I do it?). I digress; Views is clearly taking over anything and everything hip hop, the culture is in a threshold of it's throat by this kid turned man from Toronto, because no matter how much you call him soft, no matter how many memes are made of him to look ridiculous, at the end of the day, people STOP EVERYTHING THEY'RE DOING to see the newest thing Drake has put out. That's just the fact of the matter. If you grew up in the blogging internet hip hop era (and even if you didn't, which is a point that will be made later), you understand the magnitude of Drake's career; what it has been, what it is, and what it will be. (*Note, I have not listened to Views minus the Future assisted "Grammy", so my opinions are solely expressed given the current state of Drake's career and based off of what people are saying about Views)
If you tune in to Joe Budden's I'll Name This Podcast Later podcast series and you've listened to the latest episode, then you'll understand the points I'm about to make. Joe and I share a lot of the same views on hip hop; while we aren't as tight as you'd believe (he rarely answers my tweets), I've always respected the real and the "that's my opinion and if you don't like it then fuck off" attitude that Joe gives, because who would have ever guessed that pushing the agenda would be so frowned upon nowadays? Let's throw it back to 2009, because hindsight is a beautiful thing.
And with that, here comes Drake; the freshest thing to hit (and the biggest thing to hit the web possibly ever, a point could be made that the "blogging hip hop era" was started with Drake, and look what it's turned into now, with artists starting their careers off of this method) since Will Smith. Drake's level of shwag (I'm still on a mission to kill "swag", since people like conforming so much) was unprecedented. At this point in time, we had seen nobody in hip hop like Drake; he was a new kind of cool, a voice in hip hop that made everything he said sound like the new "wave", he was like that really cool guy in high school that everybody liked and everybody wanted to be like. Drake had such an influence on this generation of teens and high school kids that if he said he threw Subway sandwiches at homeless people for fun and called it "Subway-ing" in one of his songs, then you'd have seen a spike in Subway's sales right around the time this song had dropped (probably that same day, knowing this generation).
Joe Budden in his latest podcast, episode 64 of his I'll Name This Podcast Later series; "Drake, Cole, Kendrick... those 3 move the needle. Those 3 transcend music. Those are 3 people that my grandparents, my parents, and my child would ask me about. That's a unique set."
Look at the change in what matters now. What matters in hip hop is not where it was 10 years ago when 50 Cent was moving records with G-Unit and Eminem along his side, though they all did their own thing. That era has ended. Like most good things, it had to come to an end sometime. But this ending spelled a new beginning for hip hop and the newer, (hopefully) "hungry" artists wanting to eat. It's 2016 and Drake has still remained relevant to hip hop, which is amazing considering his career, dating all the way back to 2009 when Drake dropped his now classic (debatable to those who look at what it did, but not debatable to many others) So Far Gone mix tape back in 2009. To many, this shows his work ethic and his drive to be the best, and there should be a major asterisk when looking at the details of this era (aptly named the "microwave era") based on how fast things are born and how much faster they die out.
The memes have become a part of Drake's career, it's sad to think that when people look back at what an illustrious career Drake has had, that they're also going to be thinking about the ruthless memes that have been made about Drake and how much of a running joke he has become, although he has now become part of the joke and running with it only shows his maturity... for the most part. After projects like If You're Reading This, It's Too Late and What A Time To Be Alive dropped, it seemed like part of Drake had been lost. The bad came with the good, (which it always does), but the bad seemed to have shifted Drake's focus dramatically. There's probably only so many times you can get on the internet and see someone you don't even know posting and laughing at a meme that jokes about how soft you supposedly are, which turns you into this heartless, seemingly emotionless robot that is so stoic that it makes you feel like you wouldn't even cry if your mother died (which is... yeah, still pretty bad. Have you ever heard the saying, "I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all"?).
(*I do not own these videos, pictures, podcasts, or the rights to them*)
You're probably waiting for a point to what I'm saying, and if you're still reading, then it's not too late. I'm proud of you for sticking with it so far. The attitude has changed in hip hop. What has made it so great up to now is that there were always artists that pushed the agenda. While there were artists that were amazing at what they did well, there were always the artists that pushed the agenda to make hip hop competitive, and force the other artists to make a calculated move as to what they would do next. When you think of hip hops leaders, right now, everyone pales in comparison to what Drake does. Every move he makes is put under a microscope, and every album and song he does is studied by fans who believe that they work for NASA and that they can use these "skills" to diagnose Drake's newest record, and determine whether or not he has a classic album (based on Twitter's reactions of Views, he still doesn't). I'm going to be a hypocrite here because I have to make a judgment call on my "Views" of Drake; I believe that Drake has lost himself. Drake is too easily distracted by the wave of what everyone else is doing (and ultimately let people get to him with their judgments), and has forgotten about his status in hip hop and where he stands. Drake has stayed true to himself through all of the bullshit, all of the waves, and all of the memes, and the craziest part of it all; he used to be relatable. Drake is a giant, and as a giant, you're supposed to set the precedent for what hip hop should sound like, and though Drake did this early on in his career, it seems he's too far gone to be able to recognize what he's doing. So if I'm making this an open letter to Drake, not just as a hip hop writer, but as a fan who cares about his direction, and his place in this game we call hip hop, then I'll say this; Drake, we miss the old you. I hope we tempt you.
Check out the podcast that sent me off into this thought piece spiral below, Joe Budden's I'll Name This Podcast Later, episode 64.
At first I was offended. This man "Wave Chapelle" is just going to act like it's cool to make a play on words (names) with the name of the greatest comedian (and one of the greatest people) of all time?! Blasphemous! And what's the deal with the whole "waves" trend ("wave") anyway? First it was Kanye's indecisive ass, and now this guy Wave Chapelle wants to be known as a "wave"? When I think of a wave the first thing I'm going to think of is a "trend", and while there are 2 different ways to identify someone who makes "wavy" music (at least in my head), Wave Chapelle is definitely the latter. The Milwaukee emcee's latest mix tape W is cool, smooth, and indeed the waviest thing you'll hear all week.
Drake vibes are present throughout the entire project, which, given the past uhm... 10 YEARS of total domination that Drake has done, clearly the people will love this. Chapelle's singing voice is made evident on multiple tracks on the project, most significantly the "On The Road Interlude" where you can hear Wave talking about his responsibilities, his refusal to sell his soul, and the idea that hard work does pay off. Wave also hits us with a nice singing sound (although pretty noticeably auto-tuned) on "Time", which includes some speaker shattering drums that you'd likely hear on a Drake track.
To sum it up, Wave has anything and everything you need to turn up on a night out on the town with the "Home Team", and the track by the same name is the most hypnotizing of all of the tracks on the tape. The beat gives vibes of an echoing ghost ritual, but obviously this ghost knows how to party! Wave can get deep and introspective as well, and he shows it on tracks like "Page Three", and he can even make songs for you to hang out and vibe to with your significant other ("OMW"). Wave has the sound of the summer of with W, and though I'm still kind of offended by his name, he's certainly not a biter, because he's doing his own things, and he's working for his own "W's" along the way.
(*I do not own these songs, or the rights to them*)
