Hip-Hop
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Wisdom Hiding in the Art
All the world’s a stage,And all the men and women merely players:They have their exits and their entrances;And one man in his time plays many parts,His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.And then the whining school-boy, with his satchelAnd shining morning face, creeping like snailUnwillingly to school.…
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Why Do You Throw Bottles?
I have been to lots of concerts. I really enjoy live music and I respect the musicians who tour around to give us a good show. The one thing I don’t understand at these shows is the audience. There are always a few people in the audience who seem to have absolutely no respect for…
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Ladies First
Hip-hop is a culture that everyone can participate in. But where are the ladies? They are severely underrepresented in this genre. Why is that? XM radio 65 explored this topic all weekend. The extended the Ladies First radio program to celebrate everything female in hip-hop. It was nice to hear all the great songs from…
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Juno Canadians
The Juno Awards were on last night to celebrate great Canadian music. It was a pretty good show. The talent that we have in this country is amazing. I enjoyed all of the live performances. Russell Peters did a pretty good job as host. He admitted to not having seen the show before, which made…
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A Brief History of Hip-Hop Conclusion – Hip Hop is Alive and Well
Read The Introduction, Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 9 10 11 When Nas came out with Hip Hop is Dead last year it sparked a lot of debate. Some people were angry that he could say such a thing. I understood where he was coming from and agreed with him. It…
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A Brief History of Hip-Hop Part 11 – East vs. West
Read The Introduction, Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 9 10 Since its very beginnings, hip-hop has had distinct regional sounds. The art form was born in the Bronx but even then there were distinct styles in three different sections of the town. In the late 1970’s DJ’s three DJs were representing the sound of their respective neighbourhoods. Kool Herc held down…
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Too Attached to Image
I find a lot of people are taken aback or surprised by the fact that I am so passionate about hip-hop. I don’t seem to fit the typical audience. It throws people off. I love hip-hop music and culture but I try to remain open to other forms and genres of music. I think that…
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Album Spotlight # 6
2Pacalypse Now by 2Pac This is the debut album from “the greatest emcee to ever touch a mic,” at least I have been proclaiming that ever since I was first introduced to this amazing artist. There is something intangible about his music. It could be the raw emotion that he seems to evoke on every…
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A Brief History of Hip-Hop Part 10 – The Production
Read The Introduction, Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Rap songs started out simply enough. It was what the DJs had available. They had record players and they had plenty of records. That was all that was needed, at the start. DJs could extend the break of the record to make a repetitive loop of one part of a song. In…
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A Brief History of Hip-Hop Part 9 – The Turntable as an Instrument
Read The Introduction, Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Hip-hop started with the DJ. This is a point that I cannot emphasize enough. From the very first block parties, DJs used record players in very creative ways. They didn’t merely play a record for people to dance to. They mixed up two…