... the other Black experience
Permalink Reply by Compound Egret on It seems REALLY strange in this day and age, but there was once a time when being afrocentric was a trend. I think about that sometimes. I do like some of the gun talk music that has come out over the years, but I miss that era. Thanks for posting this, Logun.
Permalink Reply by kifaru on On the real though is Nikki Minaj writing her own lyrics? I'm just saying the shit she was spitting in Usher's track was crazy.
Permalink Reply by kifaru on
Nah Jay was not Afrocentric. Jaz was trying to get on the bandwagon and just had Jay Z along. Sad that being proud to be black is a fad. Nigga went fron singing about the "Originators" to promoting the destruction of his own community. I have a strange feeling that this guy was not ever a drug dealer at any serious level.
Logun Love said:
wait i didnt know jay z was afrocentric back then?
Jay-Z was as Afrocentric and aware of his culture as anybody who grew up in through your teens & 20's in Hip Hop and in Brooklyn, NY where there was great population of folks kicking true knowledge (and some rhetoric) in the area and peer group. Brooklyn was the home of Blackwatch & X-Clan with Sonny Carson sr. & jr., the Nation of Gods & Earths or 5% Nation and the home base of Dr. York with his organization which was the largest influence of Jaz-O (the Jaz) in this song and Jay-Z as a an emcee back then. Dr. York was well-known for mixing global Black culture with highly questionable "facts" to push his message.
The most problematic thing about Jay-Z I feel is that several general accounts point to the fact that he actually was a drug dealer (smaller time than his glorfied raps portray) whih gives him some skewed "legitimacy" in the "gangsta rap" world. I can appreciate his real world-dealmaking and certain messages of "go for yours, forget the haters" ideals. He wore out the big-time drug hustler ethos long ago and needs to drop it; he is honestly one the few emcees in popular rap today with undeniable skill.
Permalink Reply by Compound Egret on Listening to Bigger and Deffer today. A definite classic. Opinions on the best LL song out of his catalog? What do you think HE thinks his best song is?
Rock the Bells remix where he says "Jack the Ripper/King Hercules...
The Doo Wop
I'm Bad
or I Need Love. Not my favorite, but along with "I want you" from his first album, a pioneering piece of love/relationship rap. There might be no Drake if not for this tune.
How was he able to have such a long running career?
^^^ Damn y'all went there. Try to be short 'cause I'm sure I'll be back with titles I forgot:
= Rock The Bells (both versions)
= I Need A Beat
= You'll Rock
= Jack The Ripper
= I Can't Live Without My Radio
= To Da Break A Dawn
= Murdergram
= It Gets No Rougher
= Boomin' System
= Jingling Baby (both versions)
= Rampage (w/ EPMD)
= Flava In Ya Ear Remix (w/B.I.G., Rampage, Craig Mack, & Busta)
= The Breakthrough
= 1-900- LLCOOLJ
= Dear Yvette
= My Rhyme Ain't Done
...for now. Nobody has survived the all the eras he has and stayed as relevant: Run-DMC, Rakim, Public Enemy, Native Tongue, Cypress Hill, Dr. Dre /Snoop G-Funk, Outkast dirty south, Master P No Limit, Bad Boy/B.I.G., Mobb Deep, Nas, Jay-Z, Wayne, Kanye, Drake, etc. and he's still here beyotchez!
This is when I knew he was among the G.O.A.T.:
Permalink Reply by Compound Egret on Y'all definitely listed some classics. Break of Dawn is one of the classic diss records. Cheesy rat blues showed he could write rhymes from different perspectives. I love Going Back to Cali, but it's more the track than the rhymes.
Speaking of the old gym teacher, classic material. Hammer continually made the mistake of trying to compete with MCs that were clearly better than him as opposed to staying in his lane and getting the party started. He even did this recently trying to diss Jay Z. Notice LL, 3rd bass, Run and whoever else never challenged him to a dance off. There has to be a Troop display in the hip hop museum someday. I YEARNED for one of those sweatsuits.
That LL interview (circa 1988 I'm guessing from the Dougie song & T.R.O.O.P. reference) is very interesting & revealing. He definitely changed from "staying in Queens" and "I'm not an actor". The decision he made to get into TV/film was an excellent one and evolution that came with maturity, your ideas at 19-20 are way different when you hit your 40's.
And the ideas he had about making the school system more appealing to students were innovative especially for the time. Subtle music in the hallways is not new but is still a good idea as he presented it. More "attractive" teachers is interesting but could prove controversial for various reasons. Personally I think a more Hip Hop and pop culture-oriented ciriculum would engage students in a greater way; certain examples I seen and introduced myself have shown this. LL was always a forward thinker; maybe not the only "godfather of intelligent rap" as he said in the freestyle clip I posted but definitely in that same tradition as Kool Moe Dee and Special K from Treacherous 3 like he stated.
Permalink Reply by Compound Egret on Ice cream truck in local yard...
Permalink Reply by Rosenda on XD is cool Rosenda baby ; )...that program sound s great and I would really like to help develop projects here that invole the same thing and relatable to current music & film industry if possible. If you have any link to the program or photos and samples, please send them to me or post them here.
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