612 Search results for "rap and hip hop"

A few weeks ago I saw an interesting segment on newly minted House Speaker John Boehner on 60 Minutes. In the special Boehner talked about everything from how he was a faux person of color (he could be the first politicians to make an appearance on Jersey Shore), to his humble upbringing, to the authenticity […]

Science shows no link between games and violence Karen Sternheimer & Michael D. Gallagher, December 19, 2010 Youth festival marred by violence Staff Writer, IOL News, December 19, 2010 Youth portal ends on high note Frederica Elbourne, Fiji Times, December 19, 2010 Crowd prays for an end to violence after Flint breaks homicide record Beata Mostafavi, Flint Journal, […]

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…

To say the meteoric rise of Sarah Palin in the political world has been unexpected would be an understatement. Less than 10 years ago Palin was the Mayor of a small town in Alaska with a population of barely over 10,000 people. Before she was making a living off of political gaffes, she was winning […]

This weekend I was blessed to do a workshop at the Community Justice Network for Youth National Conference in Washington DC. My co-presenter was a dope young organizer named Armando, from an organization in Tuscan AZ called Skrappys. As the conversation about Hip-Hop inevitably turned to the misrepresentation of our community by mainstream rappers I […]

I’ve been nursing a lemon pound cake jones by going to Starbucks a bit more often than I’d like.  I know it is not a business that I should patronize with my graduate student funds, but a craving is a craving.  Anyway, I’m standing at the counter listening to the Starbucks employee recite my order […]

The struggle for immigration reform in the United States has been a long, tumultuous battle that has been marked by legislative deadlock and caustic rhetorical skirmishes. This salient issue is polarizing for a plethora of reasons, much of which deals directly with politics. The sparring that has taken place on the congressional floor is just […]

…it’s why Britney Spears can become a worldwide phenomenon despite never releasing an album that wasn’t hit or miss. Pop stars are like buffets; they only fail when they don’t cast the widest net possible. Nicki Minaj is the first female rapper to try and succeed at this, and that’s why she’s at the top of the game.

Today is the nationwide premiere of Tyler Perry’s For Colored Girls. Given the current reviews, I think we as black women who embody and tell black girls’ stories should prepare ourselves and our beloved ones for the emotional, physical, and spiritual consequences of Tyler Perry’s movie. Meaning, we should find constructive ways both online and […]

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzQmdTt5dPQ These days I’m feeling more and more like a bastard when I hear “hip hop,” because the Hip Hop that raised me was intellectually gangsta. Guess that explains the initial hunger that goes through me when I hear a song by Somali emcee, K’naan. His debut single, “TIA: This Is Africa,” directly disses the […]

Flockaveli is brash, hard-edged, and unremittingly bleak. It strips hardcore Hip Hop down to an unapologetically dark, fatalistic core that frightens and fascinates in equal measure. Hate on him all you want, but Flockaveli is a great album.

Now these are certainly not the most misogynistic lyrics Hip Hop has to offer (ever heard the N.W.A. song “One Less Bitch”?), but damn, that shit is amazingly harsh. And what’s even more amazing is that “Big Pimpin” is unquestionably Jay-Z’s biggest hit, and arguably the best single he’s ever released.