From snapbacks to high top fades, the reemergence of the 1990’s are in full effect. Maybe this nostalgic yearning is most emanated from Generation Yers who are yearning for the simpler times of TGIF on ABC, or watching Will Smith act a fool on ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.’ (more…)
(Originally Posted on 6/24/2010. Updated on 6/25/2012.)
I remember June 25th, 2009 vividly. I remember standing in the sweltering epicenter of Metro Center in Washington, D.C. I was waiting on the red line train en route to Union Station when I got a voicemail message telling me that Michael Jackson had passed away. There was a strange feeling that took my body completely hostage when I heard those words. It’s three years later, and I still can’t describe that feeling. The thought of Michael Joseph Jackson not being alive is completely implausible. (more…)
Finally, the dude who calls himself “The Chosen One” has been blessed to win that elusive ring that has slipped through his fingers for nine years. Are there more to come God Willing? I’m sure Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the OKC crew will have something to say about that. Congratulations to ‘Bron, D-Wade, and The Miami Heat on their second championship.
Last week, I was a little blasé about seeing Think Like A Man. All of that changed Friday afternoon. It wasn’t until I saw Kevin Hart’s most recent interview on ‘The Breakfast Club’ that I really realized how important it was for me to support this film. (more…)
That Bad Boy Summer of ’97 seems as if it was just yesterday. Watching the “Hypnotize” video on BET, hearing “Kick In The Door” blast from almost every car on every street corner, watching Puff and Mase in those shiny air suits, and trying to get the dances down pat from the “Mo Money Mo Problems” video. I didn’t realize at the time that a few months prior, hip-hop had lost one of it’s greatest stars. The man that I would go on to remember as The G.O.A.T. I was a young cat, and it didn’t hit me until I saw the footage of the hearse; carrying Biggie’s body through the crowded streets of Brooklyn. Looking at people of all ages show love to their hometown hero on MTV touched me in such a way that can‘t be put into words.
15 years later I still wonder; what would hip-hop be if The Notorious B.I.G. were still here. I still ask these questions to myself; Would Jay-Z be as successful as he is now? Would B.I.G.’s gritty rhymes resonate with today’s saturated hip-pop market? Would ‘Life After Death’ have went diamond? Well, only God knows. One thing’s for sure; 15 years after his tragic and untimely death, Biggie Smalls is still the illest.
And here’s the thing, there will never be another. B.B. Jay wasn’t Biggie. Shyne wasn’t Biggie. As good an actor as he is, Gravy ain’t Big. As much love as today’s hip-hop community shows Rick Ross, he’ll never be Biggie. As talented as these cats are, there can only be one Big Poppa. I know things done changed, but when it comes to Christopher Wallace, some things will always stay the same. (more…)
Monica goes deep inside her musical soul for her new single from her forthcoming album, ‘New Life,’ due November 29 God Willing .
Until It’s Gone by RCA Music Group
Download here
It was about a year ago that I was waiting to get a haircut that an interesting conversation came about. It was a discussion about the most overrated MCs of all time. There were some interesting names that were thrown around, names from all colors of the hip-hop spectrum. There were a few of the usual suspects I’m sure we’ve all heard before mentioned during the discussion; Kanye, 50 Cent, some members of the Wu-Tang Clan, even Jay-Z. But a name that my barber mentioned had the entire barbershop gasp in a unified, horrified breath. The name of Tupac Amaru Shakur was mentioned as one of the most overrated MCs, if not the most overrated MC, of all time. I took a minute to process this. I was at a mental crossroad. (more…)
I remember walking home from school with my younger brother, on that bright, crisp beautiful day in September, just like it was yesterday. My brother had just begun high school, and I was looking forward to graduating from the 12th grade several months later. On that day in September–10 years ago, as we were walking home after early dismissal–I knew that the world had changed forever. (more…)
Some said: “Hov, how you get so fly?” I said: “from not being afraid to fall out the sky”
It takes time. It takes practice and hard work. It takes a certain je ne sais quoi. Above all, it takes a special gift; a blessing from God. Let’s start with Jay; he went from pouring his heart out into his introspective 1996 debut LP, Reasonable Doubt, to trying a little too hard for commercial success with his ‘97 follow-up In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, to sincerely earning that commercial success with his third album, the career-changing Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life in1998. Fast forward to his 2007 conceptual album, American Gangster, on which Jay expressed his frustrations with being typecast on the Just Blaze-produced cut, “Ignorant Sh**.” But in 2009, that’s when it hit me. That was when I finally got to see one of Jigga’s early proclamations come true; “No more Big Willie/My game is grown/Prefer you call me William.’’ (more…)
