Hip-Hop is a worldwide phenomenon that definitely don’t stop. There is always something going on whether it’s the Emcee Challenge at End of the Week, New York City’s longest running open Mic, your favorite emcee rocking the mic in Spain, or even 50 Cent getting arrested on traffic violations. Here’s a recap of Hip-Hop’s events from the week of 9/3-9/9.
Sunday 9/3 – Oh my goodness! Is anyone else as hooked on Flavor of Love as I am? That show is truly bonkers. I must admit it nauseates me to see those women making fools of them selves in the name of Flavor Flav…eew. However, the show is my guilty pleasure and it’s those same dysfunctional women who provide me with an hour of amusement and laughter every Sunday.
Tonight’s episode was another one of Flav’s tests to see who’s “real” or not (is it just me or is there very little that’s really real about “Reality” TV). He threw a pool poole party where his friends came to visit. Those friends were Lloyd Banks and Young Buck, Dj Quik, the Ying Yang Twinz, Bishop Don Magic Juan, Three 6 Mafia, and they all had their entourages and bodyguards in tow.
Sidebar: I don’t know if it was the smartest thing to have, the guys who famously rapped, “hey b**ch, wait ‘til you see my d**k“, a pimp, and the guys who made “Slob on My Knob” judging women’s character. But anyway, the women were mingling with Flav’s friends and competing with each other for their chance to shine and prove that they are Flav-worthy. Out of the 8 women left Beatuful once again, fell under the radar (the camera didn’t show her interacting at all), but one woman who really stood out was Bootz who decided to do shake her a** in the guest’s faces saying, “Flav said to keep his friends entertained. Nothing is more entertaining than my booty dance.” Consequently, she was asked by one of the Ying Yang Twinz to be in their video. She declined saying that she didn’t want Flav to think she was there for dancing. Umm…she shook her a** in his friend’s faces like a stripper. Speaking of strippers, we must not forget Nibblz, who decided that the celebrities were getting all the attention, so it was her job to make the others feel welcome. She gave them lap dances and flashed her nipples (hence the name Nibblz), how hospitable.
AD LOADING...
Like Dat basically played dare with Flav’s friends. They told her to jump in the pool fully-clothed, and she did it, trying to prove that she was down for whatever and that big girls are sexy too. What an idiot. Buckwild did was she does best, an impersonation of how she thinks black people act and talk, and Krazy got called out because it turned out that she didn’t know anything about Flav short of The Flavor of Love season 1. In the end, Like Dat was eliminated because Flav felt that they couldn’t be anything more than just friends. Next week looks even hotter as New York returns. I can’t wait.
Monday 9/4 – Hip-Hop-Heads looking for a guaranteed good time may have found it at APT, a DJ bar in the Meatpacking District. Not just any DJ’s, DJ’s with a buzz and known reputations. The owners originally tried to keep it exclusive and limited to people in the “know,” refusing to post their address anywhere. Despite these attempts, word has since gotten out and people came out to hear the sounds of Bobbito, DJ Spinna, Prince Paul, DJ Akalepse, and Jazzy Jeff on the wheels of steel.
Tuesday 9/5 – Reports of 50 Cent’s Friday arrest ran rampant today. He was arrested for traffic offenses while driving a silver, open-topped Lamborghini. A police spokesperson said he was cited for making an unsafe lane change, driving with an expired permit, driving without insurance and driving without a vehicle registration. He was released shortly after the arrest, and was given four summonses.
AD LOADING...
Tuesday was a busy day when it came to prison and law-related news. You know how in a lot of families there’s that one pimpish Uncle? He comes around wearing flashy clothing and jewelry, talks real slick, and is good with advice? Ronald Isley is like that Uncle for Hip-Hop. Well guess what? He was sentenced to three years and one month in prison for tax evasion, and ordered to pay $3.1million in back taxes to the IRS.
Personally, I don’t understand why he didn’t pay taxes. Hasn’t he been making money on the music scene since 1800? For real though, this man has an extensive, impressive, prolific career. It just doesn’t make sense. But let this be a lesson kiddies, Uncle Sam is the real OG. Pay up or there’s going to be trouble.
Wrapping up the prison news is rapper Young City. Do you remember him? He used to be known as Choppa on Making the Band. He was recently released from Baltimore County Detention Center on $75,000 bail last week, after being arrested on armed robbery charges stemming from an incident in 2001. So that’s where he was all this time no wait he was arrested on July 31. What happened to the last 3 years?
Anyway, he is currently working on a new album and is no longer an artist on Bad Boy Entertainment. Umm…does anyone hear crickets?
AD LOADING...
Wednesday 9/6 – P. Diddy announced that he is having twins with long time girlfriend, Kim Porter. Babies make three (not counting Diddy’s step son with Porter). Congrats to the couple. I guess that leaves us all wonder if they will ever get married. Only time will tell, but don’t count on it.
Thursday 9/7– Foxy Brown had her birthday bash at Sol, in NYC. The event was hosted by Kimmora Lee and DJ Self was on the 1’s and 2’s. The place was packed with avid fans and supporters. Fabolous even came out to show some love and wish her a happy birthday.
Thursday’s events also take us down to Raleigh, NC. Justus League affiliate, Edgar Allen Floe along with others performed at a J Dilla tribute show at the Lincoln Theatre. Here is the story as told to me by E.A.F.
AD LOADING...
A Hip Hop Collective called Inflowential put together a J Dilla Tribute Show, from which a portion of the proceeds went to the J Dilla Foundation. Overall, it was a dope event. I wanted to show my respects and pay homage to one of the greatest producers in the rap game so it was a no-brainer to be involved in the event.
I performed a joint called “Water” with a crew called H20 (which is an affiliate of Inflowential), it was produced by 9th Wonder, another dope producer (maybe that joint will begin to circulate around soon), and other Justus League affiliates, Sean Boog of The Away Team, and Median did their thing as well. Median performed with a dope live band called The Remix Project, which includes this cat named The Apple Juice Kid (he was in a recent issue of Scratch Magazine) who is nice with it.
It started off with a sista who is living with Lupus (the disease in which Dilla passed from) talking about the disease. She was an inspiration to anyone that may have Lupus therefore the crowd rightfully showed her a lot of love.
AD LOADING...
DJ Ill Digitz (from NC State University’s radio station WKNC 88.1) played a lot of the more well known jams that Dilla produced…Common’s “The Light,” Q-Tip’s “Vibrant Thing” Busta’s “You Can’t Hold The Torch,” Tribe’s “Find A Way,” basically, all the classics. There are so many people out there that are fans of Dilla, but never even knew he produced these joints, and that’s one of the reasons why I feel it’s necessary to pay homage.
By now, most people know that these Dilla fundraisers have been going on all over the country, even the world, to help raise money for the J Dilla foundation. It shows that Hip-Hop cats really can respect and support each other. Our music is a powerful force, and hopefully this will be a small step towards using that force for good causes.
Needless to say, I had a good time at the event. It was a great night and a great cause, for a great producer.
AD LOADING...
Myspace.com/eafloe
Well put. I still get chills when I listen to Dilla joints.
AD LOADING...
Friday 9/8 – Talented emcees often times don’t get the recognition they deserve, but in rare cases, they do. This is a shout out to Bobbito’s interns over at 89.9 (Columbia Universtiy). They spun Fresh Daily’s (Formerly Known as Ill Tarzan) New York City underground favorite, “Supaspectacular” at approximately 1:33 AM. Produced by Deep and Ben Boogz of the 2 Hungry Brothers (Creative Juices), “Supaspectacular” is laced with a classical piano riff, boom-bap and some dope scratches in the chorus thanks to DJ Flip-One. Let’s not also forget the lyrics. Witty, intelligent, fly and flashy, Fresh Daily displays his prowess in the song talking about two things. One, how fresh he is, two, how small time rappers too often try to pretend that they’re bigger than they are, not smart in an industry where burning bridges is not a good idea. The song is dope, and people are starting to recognize. The news came as a total surprise to Fresh Daily. This is also the first time he got radio play since his name change as a result of cease and desist papers (he used to be Ill Tarzan) from the owners to the right’s of the original Tarzan.
Myspace.com/freshdotdaily
Saturday 9/9 – Saturday was a very chill day however it found me in a bangin’ Cuban restaurant as well as mentally overseas. In international Hip-Hop news, South African writer, radio host, and manager (of South African rapper J Bux), Rushay sent me an interesting feature that was done on the lack of support of South African Hip-Hop from South African officials. Writing Hip-Hop off as American, negative, and gangsta, there is little to no monetary support for South African people interested in what they view as an art form and a culture. Hip-Hop may have started in the states but it’s obviously now a worldwide phenomenon. And in South Africa, the four elements prove to be an excellent way for young people, especially in the Flats, the most troubled areas to stay out of trouble and be positive, constructive forces in their communities. Avid Hip-Hop supporters and purveyors continue to fight for support and respect of an art form, a culture that they feel has immense power.
AD LOADING...
And I say right on to you all. It’s interesting how the more things change the more they stay the same. Hip-Hop is very influential and it’s different wherever you go. In American mainstream, it has taken on a predominately negative tone and is often misunderstood. While it can also be a positive outlet here, I feel like Americans are lagging behind when it comes down to taking command of the power and influence that Hip-Hop has and using it in a positive way. People don’t know their history, a teacher-friends of mine mention to me how their students think 50 Cent started Hip-Hop, and how they say Hip-Hop is not supposed to be lyrical, and not to mention their lack of knowledge and understanding of the other elements. The disrespect and ignorance of the culture is getting out of hand. Seeing the peace that Rushay sent me was perturbing yet fascinating. It’s always nice for me to step out of my American bubble and explore new places with different and sometimes not so different ideas.
Myspace.com/Rushay
Winding things down a bit the Cuban restaurant I went to is located in Brooklyn. What does a Cuban restaurant have to do with Hip-Hop? Everything when you’re talking about Havana Outpost. It’s a charming little spot located on the corner of Fulton and S. Portland (Lafayette stop on the C Train). It’s an ecorestaurant that seems to be the most fun when the weather is warm. It’s a Hacienda-style setting that serves Cuban BBQ-Style food. There’s an outdoor yard full of seating, venders and music. I walked in not sure if I had a taste for Cuban, and not knowing what to expect of the food (I’m used to more traditional restaurants and food) however I did expect to hear Afro-Cuban, Afro-Beat, and Latin Jazz. Wrong! What I heard most of was the ill Hip-Hop classics from the early 90’s spun by DJ Saddiq. He played The Pharcyde’s “Passin Me By,” Tribe’s “Electric Relaxation,” Native Tongue’s “Buddy,” even some Stevie Wonder, and other classic R&B, but mostly throwback Hip-Hop. The music was so dope that I had to give the place a write up. The food turned out to be really good (I had a Diablo Chicken Sandwich…yeah, it was spicy) too. If you’re ever in the NYC area, check it out.
AD LOADING...
Did you like what you read? Do you want to submit a story? Do you have any comments? Contact me at Starr.Rhett@gmail.com or myspace.com/foxxybrownsuga. Check you next week.
