Freddie Gibbs live @ The Jazz Kitchen

Freddie Gibbs is cut from the hardcore lyrical cloth.......Gary Indiana doesn't produce rappers

it breeds artists......This Jazz Kitchen performance is an epic example of what Midwest Hip Hop at its highest level looks and sounds like. The EP - Str8 Killa is in stores and digitally available, and Freddie Gibbs keeps the heat coming for any hardcore Hip Hop fans.

Don't sleep on his lyrics, it's not just gangsta content, Freddie Gibbs gives a raw street perspective to a variety of things in this world. For people that are looking to support raw lyrics, this is 100% for you, no commercialism, and no gimmicks. FREDDIE GIBBS!!!!!!!

THIS IS HOW YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO IT AS YOU MATURE.....

Fresh off of a dispute with the label he helped pioneer, Redman is still droppin lyrics..........

Redman isn't my favorite rapper of all times, but he certainly holds a special place in my hip hop heart. Redman was one of the rappers that set himself apart and had a few standout tracks and (IMO) classic CD's. As a product of the 90s, Redman has really survived the times, giving me a dose of good time raps, dipping into a 'weed smoking era' where I believe him and method man actually lived out Dr Dre's Chronic disc for a few years; and now, finding himself at an age in the game where too many people are telling an artist to 'sit down' Redman is still spittin, still providing what I feel is quality music and still being himself.

I felt like the recent Red and Meth CD got snubbed because the industry has tanked on mature rappers, and instead of pushing artists with gray hairs to fans with gray hairs, Hip Hop just leans on whats 'easy'.......All that aside I feel this track by Red, I think it's a nice lyrical display over a quality beat. Instead of Redman trying to do a dance track and making a fool of himself he's just doing what he does best, spitting and having a good time........

IT'S SEEMS LIKE THIS IS ALL WE HAVE..........

You only get 3 minutes to project the Urban American Experience.........

CNN WON'T DO IT, BET DOESN'T SEE IT, TV ONE WON'T COME CLOSE TO IT, FOX NEWS WILL SAY IT'S EVIL, MSNBC DOESN'T HAVE THE MINDSTATE, so alls we really have is a 3-4 minute Hip Hop song to reflect on all of the things that make up the Urban American Experience, every year there's about 10-15 songs that give that breath of fresh air to those things that we call Black America, the Hip Hop Generation, the Urban Demographic......whatever your choice of terms. What TV news doesn't talk about, and what the talk radio commentators don't demonize can be summed up in a few standout Hip Hop songs every year. From the title to the imagery in the video COLD RAIN by Talib Kweli is one of those tracks this year, take a deep breath, separate yourself from all the stereotypical analysis, drop the cliche titles and just FEEL IT.

Sometimes it seems like urban America in it's many definitions is never really going to be displayed in the 24/7 scholastic light that it should. But if you're a fan of a good Cornel West book, or if you're on your 3rd reading of a W.E.B. DuBois book, and you understand the mixture of intellect, poetics and spirituality that Hip Hop brings forth in its best display, here's a song to feed that hunger.

Cold Rain is one of those songs that just puts a feeling in your spirit about life, living, struggle  and UPLIFT, in a way that I wish more Hip Hop would...........

VADO and Cory Guns - Let a little bit of lyrical street music live.......

RAPPERS DON'T HAVE TO BE UN-LYRICAL JUST BECAUSE THEY SPIT STREET RAP

I'm gonna start a series on Street rappers with lyrics. I'm all about dance songs and chant songs and everything in between. But every now and again it's good to hear an artists with a full on ability to captivate a listener with their word play and delivery. It's not a coastal thing with me and my brand of Hip Hop, but it seams like the 'torch' of street rap and lyricism is always being passed around, so much so that there's an excellent crop of budding artists that have STELLAR pen skills.

VADO has really showed me as a listener that he's trying to make QUALITY HIP HOP, the future is his and Cory Guns, what can I say, Guns has been spitting since he stepped into the game and every time he puts out a song it's something to watch for.

I wish these sorts of artists would become the norm so that the 'weeding out' process of musicians and non-musicians would take place; AND I think the mindless marketing game would change if the norm was LYRICALLY DRIVEN Hip Hop. Because a lot of artists don't have any deeper lyrical content the 'industry' has decided to go into lifestyle marketing, instead of just letting the music LIVE........

A stellar KRS-ONE track.......

There's nothing like a nice self reflective Hip Hop track. A song that puts you in a mind state that allows you to look inward towards what you're doing, instead of of outward towards the things you're possessing.

KRS-One has been a master of the Edutainment category, challenging people, teaching lessons, and just egging on a self-reflective mentality within the Hip Hop community...............MATURITY!!!!!

CONTENT WARS......it's bigger than Hip Hop!

If I told you there was an artist that has great regional buzz, that has a history of decent sales, that tours the underground scene from coast to coast, and then they drop a song on the net that has a rhythmic vibe to it, you'd probably ask, WHY DON'T I HEAR THAT SONG ON THE RADIO?

Hmmmmm, yeah, I ask the same question about a lot of songs. Now let me clarify, I don't look at the radio as the 'savior' or as the 'only path' for an artist to gain any sort of popularity. HOWEVER, I also understand that the easiest way to reach a massive population is through the mass media. A certain number of ppl visit the outlets that purport the responsibility of releasing 'what's dope', what's 'new' and what's 'fresh', and for any artist, the radio and TV are two of the fastest ways to get your music 'out there'.

So I was searchin the Internet like I usually do and I ran into a song by an artist that fits all the categories that should be giving his newest single all the play in the world. TALIB KWELI - I'M ON ONE..........the beats by Khrysis, and the song is DOPE, by all levels of judgement for a radio station this song is 'perfect' an artist with an underground following, a history of solid sales and on and on and on.......

So I posted the question as a status on my facebook page and the responses were plain and simple. Talib Kweli's single won't get played because he's not talking about killing, selling drugs or gratuitous sexual exploits, PERIOD. My first reaction to some of the responses was dismissive, surely, it hasn't come down to that. Not just a dance song, not just a rhythmic song, not just a well known artist, not just a street buzz, but also THE CONTENT.

Again, let me clarify, I think Hip Hop should be represented in it's fullness. Gangsta rap has it's place, R&B Hip Hop has it's place, Gospel Hip Hop has its place, and so does lyrically driven Hip Hop, or Hip Hop that is devoid of gangsta lifestyle content. So I don't DISS what radio stations are playing, but it gets to a point where there's only 1 portion of the listening audience being represented, and that's when I get confused a bit, I question roles and motives and goals for Hip Hop as a culture. We all know that radio Hip Hop is about 'rhythmic' music, COOL, we all know that they don't want story telling and intense lyrics on radio stations, FINE, HOWEVER, there are artists that can make songs that are not driven by criminal content, yet can still make a song for people to JAM to............RADIO STATIONS - C'MON SON (In my Ed Lover voice) give some of these songs some play. Relieve the culture of all the violent tension and drug related messages in radio Hip Hop.

Make you're money, eat, but allow the entire culture to shine. That's all I'm saying.........check out the video.....

INTERVIEW WITH SALT N PEPA

It's always great to see an interview with the LEGENDS of Hip Hop!

It was interesting to hear how even Salt n Pepa are telling artists to grind on the internet.

The digital edge is here, but Salt n Pepa were really great interview subjects.

WWJRA - What Would Jesus Rap About???

I want to see more variety in content represented in Hip Hop! I've always said that, and until the variety gets back to what it was in the 80s and 90's I will continue to demand it. There's enough gangsta rap to go around and the tactics for promoting Gangsta Rap have become 'old hat': flagrant drug references, gang signs in video's, pointless beefing with artists that engage them, maybe a club fight, an arrest or two and the biggest and most blundering move, NAME DROPPING. The good old bait and beef tactic, where you say a bunch of things about an artist that you can't really prove and then you hope that you create a ground swell of fans that agree with your character assassination. Calling a name, claiming an artist isn't real, going to their city, talking to former associates, blah blah blah blah. We've all seen this ignorance on YouTube, twitter, and a variety of hip hop blogs and websites. WE LOVE IT........Hmmmmm, not so much?

So you might wonder, what does all this have to do with JESUS? Well it's very simple, throughout the underground ranks of Hip Hop there's a ground swell of alternative rap, and IN MY OPINION, the content that is missing from the current Hip Hop sound set, is 'Gospel' Hip Hop. I know it exists, but from a variety of forces Gospel Hip Hop has not received its shine, but after a few 'facebook convo's' and in boxes from conscious friends that I talk with, I have a genuine opinion that I feel will help the Gospel artists out there, to make Gos-Hop a viable entity in the community and not just in the 'rap game', as a Christian I'm compelled to say what I have to say........SERIOUSLY.

So here's what's happening, Gospel Artists aren't getting any shine, the churches haven't openly embraced Gos-Hop, and the mainstream outlets won't embrace anything positive if it's of any religious denomination. so what Gos-Hop artists are doing is basically resorting to the same tactics that secular artists use, and they are 'playin themselves' in the name of the lord. All over the Internet every rapper with a beat and mic and a Bible has decided to become the 'Illuminati' calling out, Masonic ritual exposing, contradiction calling, armchair egyptologyist, FOR WHAT? Basically the same promo that gangsta rappers try to achieve for name dropping artists they think aren't 'real'. You can exchange the term 'not real' in Gangsta rap with 'not Christian' in Gospel Hip Hop and there'd be virtually no difference. What I'm getting at is, the Jay Z, Kanye West, Rick Ross, Snoop Dog and on and on and on and on (insert any black artist that is successful), disses are wearing thin with me, and it's really leading me to believe that a lot of these gospel rappers are just like Apollo Gospel singers. Singing bad and then saying Jesus' name in order to overt being booed. Well I'm gona be the sand man....BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Or maybe their just utilizing the same promo structure as the labels which use any form of division or degradation of self and others as promo.

BE AN ORIGINATOR.....All rappers should strive to be originators, but if you're trying to spread faith in your music, I demand it double. Quit doing what the industry demands of the secular artist and claiming that you are defending your 'faith'. Defending your faith should be more about calling out the plethora of Deacons, Bishops, Pastors and Preachers that utilize their faith at the financial, social, political and spiritual demise of their congregations. Find out people that are actually making FAITH look bad to call out. Defending your faith is enhancing the Gospel Hip Hop circuit to be an economically and socially viable entity. A trustworthy community and not a community of quasi-Christians that wish for secular exposure. Instead of praising the Lord and Helping believers on their walk with Christ. Gospel rappers have become egged into allowing their most popular song to be titled JAY Z DISS, KANYE WEST EXPOSED, RICK ROSS - THE REAL RICK ROSS..........Gospel rappers beefing with secular rappers......hmmmmmm wack.

How many times did you listen to those songs in order to break them down, how many mix tapes with secular beats are you going to put out? When will Gos-Hop fans demand Christ in Gospel Hip Hop, instead of a bunch of pseudo-secular themes from all of your favorite rappers that you're afraid to tell you preacher you secretly listen to?

If you wanna come in the game on the heals of a sub genre of rap that doesn't get enough room in the game as is, PLEASE, just make good songs, make songs that enhance the ability of the Church to spread faith, NOT by beefing with artists you never met, don't know, and people whom you would owe ALLLLLLLLLL of your success if they actually mentioned your name. If Jay Z or Kanye West ever responded to one of these 'cyber-beefs', what would really become of it? A rap battle! No one converted, the church body not strengthened, NOTHING OF CHRISTIAN SIGNIFICANCE.

Attack the day to day spiritual struggles that people face and stop trying to piggyback off of a famous rapper (that your probably secretly admire) in the name of Jesus.

That's my 2 cents. I hope people read this and it sparks debate and even a few arguments. I enjoy a good debate, and I know religion is an emotional subject, so don't take my words to far, but don't let your own emotions limit you.....

Peace and Blessings..........

NFL + HIP HOP = DOPE

I always want to turn on the TV and see a Hip Hop world. An authentic Hip Hop world, where real artists get paid to utilize their craft for a variety of profitable ventures. Lately, I've been seeing Hip Hop doing just that. Artists with reputations of lyricism, breaking into new revenue streams. Maybe one day Hip Hop will TRULY run the world, Hip Hop artists will run the world and more of the moguls will be the rappers that really laid down the foundation of this game. In the mean time, I'll settle for America at large being allowed to consume Hip Hop in the most American of ways, via sporting events.

The NBA did it with KRS-ONE, and now the NFL is picking up on the 'forgottten demographic' with its new Hip Hop driven pregame promo's. Provided by Pepsi.........

Artists and fans have always wanted to see 'our culture' be a profitable part of America at large, so from the streets to the offices Hip Hop is maturing into a tool to market sports. In turn, Hip Hop is opening up a new revenue stream for the up and coming artist; Getting paid for your craft and being in the boardroom as a face of American brands is a power move. Many purists are naysayers who fail to realize the path to OWNERSHIP of the American stakes is to engage society from top to bottom, the Hip Hop anti-social mold is being broken and accomplished artists can get paid for promotional lyrics without being accused of 'selling out'. In a small way these commercials show that Hip Hop artists can speak consciously on their CDs yet still partake in the social activities that they know and love. Commerical contracts don't just have to go to pop stars or audio production houses.


THE REALITY OF THIS MARKETING is that it can really only be done by established artists. Hip Hop fans DEMAND authenticity, and a lot of these Hip Hop themed music video commercials can sound very contrived and really just FAKE. But the beats and the rhymes can really only be done by artists with a history of being dedicated to the art. Big Boi, Talib Kweli, B.O.B. and many more, are artists with a known Hip Hop background. Newer rappers need not apply, outside of Drakes soda commerical it would look too phony for a new new rapper to bust into the game on commerical. We still require dopeness in the rap game and until you earn your spot in the game let the O.G.s get their corporate money up.

SIMPLE STEPS TO RECLAIMING CULTURE

I recently had a chance to do an interview with some HIP HOP LEGENDS for a project that I'm working on.....Whodini, Special Ed, UTFO and SALT N PEPA artists that raised Hip Hop up from the Golden Era into the 90's platinum era; and when asking about Hip Hop going forward into the future, there was a resounding call for the LISTENERS to reclaim Hip Hop culture. So I want to provide readers with what I feel are 3 simple steps towards listeners reclaiming Hip Hop.

One of the main reasons why I'm writing this list (which may expand) is because there is a ground swell of people that have turned away from Hip Hop because they think Hip Hop is too negative, too sexual or too socially irrelevant for their lifestyle, but they grew up on it, they at one point in time connected with it, and now THEY NEED TO TAKE IT BACK. So instead of sitting around talking about how much you hate commercially driven Hip Hop, I want to give a start up guide towards bringing Hip Hop back into your life.

1. Purchasing Power - Wu Tangs 90's classic C.R.E.A.M. still holds true, CASH RULES EVERYTHING AROUND ME, and therefore music trends will always lean towards purchased music. The power to shift Hip Hop in any variety of directions will only happen by people buying the music they love. Music appreciation is a great thing, but in a capitalistic society who's buying what, will always lead labels and artists to continuously reproduce the content that is most profitable.

Stop settling for bootlegged culture. Burning CD's and downloading MP3s PROVES the thought that Hip Hop is a disposable art form. The more downloads and the more CDs burned steals from the artist being rewarded for representing YOU; and while you burn CDs of content driven artists, the commerically driven RADIO ARTIST will make money from alternative revenue streams and be able to offset lackluster record sales.

BUY MUSIC

2. Seek and you shall find - TURN OFF THE RADIO FOR A WHILE. Don't get frustrated because of the frequency of the 10-20 songs in rotation. There is a whole world of music out there for you, on the Internet you can find the sub-genre of Hip Hop that is for you. The radio formula is dance songs and sex songs, it's no secret that Hip Hop radio stations DO NOT play non-rhythmic Hip Hop songs. Songs that are content driven or lyrically intense are looked down upon. The chances of hearing a song that isn't for the club are slim to none in most music markets. So as a listener you have to be DILIGENT, turn on your computer, log on to a variety of Hip Hop sites and find some artists that represent YOUR LIFESTYLE.

If you're mature, have kids and a family, radio Hip Hop probably doesn't REPRESENT enough of your lifestyle to gain your attention. Hip Hop that you can listen with your kids, Hip Hop that you can play at your family functions, Hip Hop that can provide a soundtrack for a day to day lifestyle that doesn't include drugs, drinking and shooting up something or someone is out there. GO GET IT!

3. Demand the supply - the only thing that is as great as purchasing power, is the power of the people. When people are 1st paying attention to something, it develops the popularity of a product. In a demographic world, companies 'know what people are doing on the web'. Websites you attend, artists name you mention, blasting songs on facebook and twitter, emailing good songs to your friends and family. It all counts. Letting the world around you know what new artists have the creativity and content that you enjoy is a small step towards shifting the balance from the commercial radio driven era of Hip Hop that has turned off so many people, into an era where Hip Hop can be both representative of the people from which it comes and economically profitable for the artists that are creating the variety of Hip Hop flavors that has made the artform so impactful.

There are my three steps to reclaiming Hip Hop. I might add a few things in the future as I wrap my head around a few more simple things listeners can do to get Hip Hop back to an era of being representative of the entire Hip Hop electorate.


PEACE AND BLESSINGS.

ILL POETIC

How does Hip Hop only exist in the club?

How do rappers only talk about the 'trap'?

When does Hip Hop become relavent to people who live regular lives?

Working a 9-5 job, enjoying books/art/poetry and living a life that isn't parallel to a movie aren't common images of Hip Hop artists on the popular stage. But if you seek you can find an artist making music that stimulates emotions that provides a backdrop for common urban folks. While we know that classic artists like Nas rap about living a life beyond being a gangsta, or Jay Z dips into songs that bring a humanistic view of the former street life; and fighting artists like Talib Kweli and The Roots struggle to keep a real life edge on the Hip Hop game it's always good to run into an artist that gives you a new name to mention. ILL POETIC music you can move to, relax to and reminice on...... I ran into his music searching youtube and found a treasure trove of songs, as a person that likes Jazz and good mood music, Ill Poetic hit me as a nice mixture of a lot of rap elements that make me want to intrduce the world to his work, check out his music, I hear slick word play, great content and a flow that I can appreciate............

HERE'S 3 SONGS TO GIVE YOU A DOSE OF A STELLAR HIP HOP ARTIST......

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Chuck D critical of hip hop industry

This article is about a MUST READ article for this generation of Hip Hop.

                                  Chuck D critical of hip hop industry




CHUCK D's critical analysis of the current state of Hip Hop

                                                       Chuck D critical of hip hop industry

Has Hip Hop analysis become too negative, or have the 'keepers of the culture' left Hip Hop to be plundered by the corporate wolves. Either way you look at it there are very few people that have the right to give comment about the state of Hip Hop, not just as an industry, but as a cultural force around the globe.

Chuck D is an artist that has never been short on being fearlessly honest about any political topics, and this time he provides what many feel is a much needed jump start to the new year in Hip Hop. Going beyond the juvenile Illuminati claims that have plagued Hip Hop's current success and refraining from any personal battles or specific disagreements, a 50 year old Chuck D gives his heart felt rundown on Hip Hop the world around. There are a lot of artists that consistently say something with impact and of importance for the culture, Chuck D almost always says the appropriate, so I suggest you read up. Chuck D and the Hip Hop industry.