Month: August 2008

Tariq Luqmaan Trotter, better known as Black Thought aka Bad Lieutenant, Big Bank Willie Gank and Riq Geez, is the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group The Roots. Thought, who co-founded The Roots with drummer ?uestlove, is widely lauded for his complex and politically aware lyrical content, and his sharply honed live performances.

1Xtra Breakfast co-host Zena will be departing the station on August 29th. The presenter is leaving the UK to start a new life in the US with her husband, footballer Cory Gibbs, who has recently been signed to the American MLS Football league.

John "Illa J" Yancey, younger brother of late great genius producer James Yancey (aka Jay Dee aka J Dilla), is currently completing his debut album for Delicious Vinyl. With the multi-talented Illa J rhyming and singing over a treasure trove of previously untouched Jay Dee gems, the project represents both a full-circle collaboration and a whole new beginning in the story of the musically exceptional Yancey brothers.

Delicious Vinyl is proud to release the debut single by Illa J - "We Here" b/w "R U Listenin" featuring Guilty Simpson. Both tracks are produced by the legendary late producer Jay Dee (aka J Dilla), Illa J's older brother.  This is the first single from forthcoming Yancey Boys LP.

On Saturday, August 16th at 1600 Avenue Inc., a 501C3 organization, and its flagship program Hip Hop Leaders (HHL) brought at-risk youth, the community, political figures, and an impressive number of celebrities, musicians, actors, and other influencers together in the name of unity, education, and a safer future for the youth.

"This is art no corporate crap",  Exactly. Guru always rhymes about the truths and its nice to hear something different from all the 50 Cent, Game and other "corporate" rappers that I hear about rhyming about guns, drugs, money which a lot of rappers don't actually know about but know it's going to sell.

Nas is one of Hip-Hop’s seminal artists; with his groundbreaking 1994 album ‘Illmatic’ produced by Hip-Hop Heavyweights Large Professor, DJ Premier, Pete Rock and Q-Tip he introduced us to his poetic narrative style flow. 2008 Nas released the controversially titled ‘Nigger’ album on his own Jones Experience Label under the Def Jam umbrella and became The Face of Fila. With a seven minute slot, Lady A.i. speaks to the man himself...

Bullet aka Genius Jenkins is becoming a household name fast. With over 7,000 downloads of his Back To The Lyrics Project available at www.gobullet.com you can understand first hand why this Chicago kid is about to take it to a whole other level.

For many of us, Freddie Foxxx is the people’s champion who is still heavily slept on. When I first got through he was midway through an interview and I heard him say “…they’re not experimenting enough, they need to be more diverse…”. I assume he was talking about the current state of emcees, a topic he is always glad to discuss in interviews and on his records.

For every Triple Darkness album you need a Reps album. ‘The Saga of a Peaceful Man’ sits on the brighter side of Hip Hop, a position that believe me, makes it no less credible. Reps has a created an incredibly listenable album that at 45 minutes long doesn’t bore you to death. The sound is typical of much of the Hip Hop coming out of Brighton – tinged with the friendly aroma of the cultural melting pot that greets even the most casual of day trippers.