23 Search results for "gangsta rap"

Before Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson became staples at the Staple Center (pun intended #swag), before bright colors and skinny jeans became cliché (jerking is played out), before krumping became accepted as a movement and not a bunch of weirdoes parading around in  face point, there was a soulful crooner that gave the West coast […]

I was blessed last week to hear one of our most profound scholars Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu. His lecture was an alarm bell sounding the state of emergency in our communities especially economically. One of the incredible stats he presented was that the black community combined made $836 billion dollars last year, but we spent only […]

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rXmuhWrlj4&feature=channel When Sarah Palin burst onto the scene with her country patois and off-beat monikers it was clear that beyond being animated, she was both a leader and role model to one of the most underrepresented groups of people–stupid white folks. Juxtaposed to Michelle Obama with her premium Ivy-League education, Sarah Palin was a mom […]

By Arielle Newton   Kendrick Lamar is my favorite New School rapper. His lyrical prowess alongside his masterful production, is an honorable change to the predictable pop-tainted “bars” that defines mainstream hip hop today. But recently, the man who I thought to be a creative revolutionary, is causing me Black feminist angst. There was the sidestep […]

Hip-Hop is a world where your word is your bond. Anything you say is purported to be factual and “keep it real” becomes more than a slogan, it is law! After a recent conversation I had with my brother about the recent happenings in each others lives and the topic of authenticity came up. How […]

Up and coming rapper Cory Gunz was arrested in New York yesterday with a loaded gun in his backpack (a crime with carries a mandatory sentence of three and a half years). This is the same law that lead to the arrest and incarceration of Lil Wayne, Ja Rule, and Prodigy of Mobb Deep. Interestingly […]

A few weeks ago, writer slash (cultural) critic slash Twitter all-star, Toure published a piece in the The New York Times about the allegedly recent flurry of white women rappers. From rehashing black respectability in an article about Michael Vick, to considering the black middle class in a discussion of the Obamas’ vacationing tendencies, Toure is no stranger […]

But don’t be fooled. Their success is organic and real; not some record label’s scheme. The rise of artists like Odd Future and Kreayshawn (as well as Lil B and Waka Flocka Flame) is subversive to Hip Hop’s status quo.

Naturally, my initial reaction was utter horror. I listened to it a couple more times, and hated it even more. Then I listened to it again, and inexplicably came to the conclusion that “How To Love” is a nice song. A really nice song.

The following are my picks for the best albums of 2010. These records represent what I believe were the most essential statements popular music made during this bizarre and confusing year. Feel free to post your own list, tell me how brilliant these choices are, or talk as much shit as you’d like in the comments section below…

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; record labels are dinosaurs. They’re big, clumsy and growing more and more obsolete by the hour. Philosophically, I am 100% down with Nas on this issue. And besides, Lost Tapes Vol. 1 was the shit….