Category Archives: Hip-Hop
My Mom & “It Takes Two”
I love my mother! She always walks around randomly rapping the words to some hip-hop song. It can be the lyrics of C.L. Smooth, Biggie, Black Sheep, anybody. Well, she loves the song, “It Takes Two.” (Play the clip below if you’re not familiar.)
Tonight, she starts out with, “I wanna rock right now! I’m……….I don’t know who I am.” Then, she proceeds with the rest “I’m not internationally known, but I’m known to rock a microphone.” Now, she feels defeated because “she doesn’t know who she is,” and I’m cracking up at her. She’s walking around saying, “Chubb Rock? Chris Rock? Pete Rock? Rick Ross? Kris Kross?”
SMH & LOL!! She even came with, “I wanna rock right now. I’m 9th Wonder & I came to get down.” No, mom, no! She doesn’t want me to tell her who she is, and she’s not going to look it up on the Internet. I can’t wait for her to figure it out though. She even said that she’s going to wake me up if it comes to her around 4 a.m. I hope it happens in the next 30 minutes.
#TheHipHopAdventuresofMyMother
“Love and Hip Hop” – Interview with Rapper Rapsody
Exactly two years ago today, I learned who Rapsody is. It’s funny that I just happened to come across one of her interviews today.
Check it out: “Love and Hip Hop” – Interview with Rapper Rapsody.
What is “Black Boy Radio?”
Watch this to find out:
Actual Proof – A look at Black Boy Radio from Pricefilms.
My top 5 tracks off “Black Boy Radio”:
- “Poison Ivy Gloss” ft. Geechi Suede (prod. by 9th Wonder)
- “All the Way” ft. Raheem DeVaughn (prod. by E. Jones)
- “Fonk It Up” (prod. by Hi-Tek)
- “Live from Cloud 9” (prod. by Khrysis)
- “Skate Kids II” ft. Scoopay (prod. by Khrysis)
My Favorite #Jamla Joints
Decided to post my favorite tracks off each #Jamla release. There are so many jams, but I limited myself to just one. Here goes!
Actual Proof – “The Free EP: Genius Edition” 8.26.10
“Time’s Up” ft. HaLo, Rapsody, Sean Boog & GQ (prod. by Eric G.)
Big Remo – “Entrapment” 9.28.10
“Go Ladies” ft. Robert Alred (prod. by Robert Alred & 9th Wonder)
Heather Victoria – “Victoria’s Secret” 11.9.10
“I’ll Always Be Down” ft. Rapsody (prod. by E. Jones)
Thee Tom Hardy – “The Hardy Boy Mystery Mixtape: Secret of Thee Green Magic” 11.18.10
“One 4 the Money” ft. Donnis (prod. by Eric G.)
Rapsody – “Return of the B-Girl” 12.7.10
“Angel” ft. Laws (prod. by 9th Wonder)
Sean Boog – “Light Beers ahead of You” 12.18.10
“Boog Lightbeer” ft. HaLo (prod. by Ka$h)
Actual Proof – “The Talented Tenth (The MLK, Jr. Experience)” 1.14.11
“The Talented Tenth” (prod. by 9th Wonder)
Actual Proof – “The Talented Tenth (The Malcolm X Experience)” 1.14.11
“The X Factor” (prod. by Khrysis)
HaLo – “Heat Writer II” 2.1.11
“Misunderstand” ft. Khrysis (prod. by Ka$h)
Tyler Woods – “The Mahogany Experiment” 2.14.11
“Lost in Your Love” (prod. by E. Jones)
TP – “TP Is My Hero” 3.22.11
“dream BIG” ft. Rapsody (prod. by Fatin)
Big Remo – “Robin Hood Ree” 4.19.11
“Slumdog Millionaire” (prod. by 9th Wonder)
Heather Victoria – “Graffiti Diary” 4.26.11
“What I Need” ft. HaLo (prod. by Amp)
Sean Boog – “The Phantom of the Jamla” 5.17.11
“Natural” ft. HaLo & Sundown (prod. by Eric G.)
GQ – “Blended 3” 6.14.11
“My Song for You” (prod. by Tecknowledgy)
Rapsody – “Thank H.E.R. Now” 6.21.11
“Thank H.E.R. Now” (prod. by 9th Wonder)
Actual Proof – “Still Hotter than July” 7.26.11
“No Doubt” (prod. by KP)
HaLo – “The Blind Poet” 8.30.11
“Dark Knight” (prod. by Khrysis)
9th Wonder – “The Wonder Years” 9.27.11
“Loyalty” ft. Masta Killa & HaLo (prod. by 9th Wonder)
The Away Team – “Scars and Stripes” 10.11.11
“Set It Off” ft. Talib Kweli & Rapsody (prod. by Khrysis)
Rapsody – “For Everything” 11.15.11
“The Woman’s Work” (prod. by 9th Wonder)
GQ – “Trouble Man” 12.6.11
“Blueberry Lemonade (Fa Sho)” ft. HaLo (prod. by Eric G.)
…and there’s only more hotness to come. Stay tuned to Jamla Records!
AUDIO: “Love” by Mos Def
After seeing a photo of Mos Def, I wanted to play “Love.” Then, I wanted to share it, so here it is:
I love this man…
“Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions…”
(Try not to repeat a song title. It’s a lot…)
Pick Your Artist:
A Tribe Called Quest
Are you male or female:
4 Moms
Describe yourself:
Rap Promoter
How do you feel about yourself:
Like It Like That
Describe where you currently live:
Against the World
If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
I Left My Wallet in El Segundo
Your Favorite Form of Transportation:
The Hop
Your Best Friend is:
Money Maker
Your Favorite Color is:
Midnight
What’s the Weather Like:
Everything Is Fair
Favorite Time of Day:
After Hours
If your life was a TV show, what would it be called?
Buggin’ Out
What’s the best advice you have to give:
God Lives Through
If you could change your name, what would it be?
Bonita Applebum
Your favorite food is:
Ham ‘n Eggs
Thought for the Day:
Push It Along
How Would You Like to Die:
Excursions
My Soul’s Present Condition:
Electric Relaxation
My Motto:
Keeping It Moving
I am the Jamla Army Medal of Honor Recipient for the month of November.
This morning when I first woke up, I checked Twitter like I always do. This morning was different though because I had a bunch of mentions. My jaw dropped when I realized that I had been named the Jamla Army Medal of Honor Recipient for the month of November! All day long, I’ve been on a high because of that.
I feel like I need to give a speech like I’m at the Grammys or the Oscars. Shoot, I feel like I’ve won an Oscar. So here goes my acceptance speech:
I’d like to thank God first for everything he’s done for me. Thank you, 9th Wonder, Joyce He, and whoever else selected me to be a part of this amazing Jamla Army. Thank you to all the artists who are signed to Jamla Records: Rapsody, HaLo, Tyler Woods, Actual Proof, Big Remo, Heather Victoria, GQ, Thee Tom Hardy, The Away Team, and TP. Thank you to the members of The Soul Council: 9th Wonder (again), Fatin, Khrysis, Eric G., Ka$h, E. Jones, and Amp. It’s because of all of you that this “job” comes so easy. The music you make is so easy to promote, and this flag that I’m proudly carrying takes no effort to wave.
Thanks to all 33 of the Jamla Army Ambassadors. You all are a great team, and I’m so honored to serve right beside you. Salute to the general, Lady Jaye, and the lieutenants: Barbecue, Baroness, Daina, Doc, Firewall, and Storm Shadow. And, I’d like to send a special shout out to Lt. Scarlett who made the announcement that I had won the award.
If I’ve omitted any names, please charge it to my head and not my heart. This is definitely a Wonderful World Wednesday. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. This means the world to me!!
To the Jamla artists and The Soul Council producers:
“Just know, just know that I do it (for you.)”
My Super Crew of 5 MCs
Picture it. A Sunday in October. Going 85 South to Chapel Hill for a hip-hop show.
On a 2.5 hour trek, a hip-hop conversation is bound to get started if my uncle, Tim, is in the vehicle. Well, he posed this question to the group: If you could pick just five MCs to form a super crew, who would you pick?
There were four of us pondering this, and I believe the picking order was: Chad, Jae, Me, and then Tim. The crazy thing is once someone picked an MC, he/she was off limits for the next person’s crew.
I had two MCs in mind that I was praying Chad & Jae wouldn’t take after they scooped up a few good ones. When it was my turn, I could only come up with 4 MCs for my crew. What in the world?! It was like 2 days later before the 5th one was revealed to me. So, I’m putting my list on my blog so that I’ll never forget like Jae did.
“The Low End Theory” Turns 20
In late ’91, I began to fall in love with hip-hop. There are three albums that I credit as being the reasons I’m a hip-hop head to this day. Well, one of those albums is A Tribe Called Quest’s “The Low End Theory,” which was released on September 24, 1991.
In honor of TLET’s 20-year anniversary, here are my top 5 songs on this classic 14-track album:
3.) “Scenario”
4.) “Verses from The Abstract”
5.) “Buggin’ Out”
(I think I have them in order, too. This was very hard to do!)
I’m so glad to have been born when I was so that I could enjoy this music for the last 20 years. Thank you, A Tribe Called Quest, for changing my life!
Mural tribute to Guru created at his alma mater Morehouse 2011. (via G.U.R.U The X Label)
Being that I love Guru, I had to share this!
SydTheBSL 