Album review: Nas

Tate decided to us a line giving us his views on Nas’ latest album, tell us what you think about it.
“This is arguably Nas’s bravest most relevant topical project yet.

Some very important tough & adult themes that have never really been spoken on so directly. Nas holds a mirror at society & says “you call me a Nigger, do you know what that means? What is a Nigger? Am I a Nigger? or are we all Niggers?

Too long society has side-stepped issues of modern-day racial identity & racism. These issues need to be discussed. This is the first real attempt at encouraging reflection. Nas heroically pours his heart out as a revolutionary social commentator.

Some will argue that Nas’s beat selection is not the greatest which I don’t completely disagree with. But Nas is a lyricist first & foremost I almost think having stellar backdrop insrumentals would detract from the lyricism.

Almost like Nas needs relatively average beats to shine his abilities. This is a great album & certainly a candidate for record of the year.

4/5 possibly 4.4/ 5 if it stands the test of time.

Well Done & Thank you Nasir.

Click here for the full review

Jigga Opens His Heart To The Underprivileged Kids In Abuja

Jay Z, and British supermodel, Naomi Campbell, will spend a day with the underprivileged children in Abuja, as the build-up to the 2008 edition of THISDAY Music and Fashion Festival continues.

The stars are showing their commitment to the African child by devoting time to the children with disabilities and those who are motherless. Jigga and Campbell will be on parade at the first leg of the festival on Friday, July 11, in Abuja, and are also scheduled to participate at the launch of the “plant one million trees” initiative in the Federal Capital Territory by the Minister of FCT, Dr. Aliyu Modibbo Umar, who wants to turn the Abuja city “green”.
Other stars who will join the Minister’s environmental campaign are Usher, Yossou N’Dour and Rihana, with Faze and MI providing the home touch as Nigerians.

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Palestinian Activists Accuse Snoop of Perpetuating “Apartheid”

Palestinian activists have urged Snoop Dogg to join them in ‘boycotting’ the Jewish state by cancelling his upcoming concert in Israel.

The hip-hop hit-maker is scheduled to perform in Israel on 18 September, but activists belonging to the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) are calling on Snoop Dogg to ‘Drop It like It’s Hot’ and follow their example.

According to AllHipHop.com, PACBI is disappointed that Snoop plans to perform in Israel, given the political tension between that country and Palestine.

PACBI’s official statement to Snoop reads: “The Palestinian arts community was deeply saddened and surprised by the news of your upcoming performance in Israel on September 18 in Ramat Gan. We strongly urge you to cancel your plans to perform in Israel until the time comes when Israel ends its illegal occupation of Palestinian and Arab territories and respects the relevant precepts of international law concerning Palestinian rights to freedom, self-determination and equality.

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For the love of hip hop!

A MESSAGE FROM RHODES UNIVERSITY HIP HOP SOCIETY

Three reasons why were  you’re best friend when it comes to events.

1. We know you love Hip-Hop
2. We know you are hungry for something new
3. We have exactly what you were looking for

Emcees from East London will be gracing the city of Saints with sounds that will truly blow your mind…at our workshop you will learn that a true trend has begun in the South African market including the music industry and you will learn how to be a part of it.
You will be shown the secrets to start you on your journey things they don’t teach you even at tertiary.
Legendary 90s emcee turned business man and record label exec Spex will show you what goes into doing your own thing.

And to top it off you will party with DJ papercuts on the decks. Killing another set.

All you have to do is show up!

So listen out on the Radio(RMR) to Spliff’s show Hipocalypse for  more details

Nas Says Sharpton Had “No Influence” On Album Title

Nas, in a private screening at New York City’s Tribeca Grand Hotel, previewed the video for his lead single “be a n****r too,” off of his forthcoming self-titled album..

He addressed the reasons for his decision to change the controversial album title and as he sounded off on America’s black leaders.

After much debate and controversy surrounding the original title of his ninth studio album, N****r, Nas decided to change the name. Drawing criticism from several African-American leaders, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, over the provocative title, Nas denied the leaders had any influence on his decision.

“Sharpton had no influence on me changing the title,” he asserted. “Hip-hop has caught a lot of heat this last year from our so-called black leaders. We have a lot of enemies from these so-called leaders and they go to these corporations and extort the record labels.”

“These [leaders] have no way of making money and they’re mad we’re making a lot of money off of sh*t we sell in the streets,” he continued, “There’s no more outspoken or political rappers. It ain’t far fetched on us, but the old generation frowns on us. The [Bill]Cosby’s and Sharpton’s they’re scared that hip-hop n*gga’s are on the way up and the so-called leaders play the tap dance roll because of that.”

In the end, the politically charged emcee explained the reason for initially naming the album the N-word.

“I ain’t Farrakhan and I ain’t trying to be him,” Nas confessed. “I like pissing people off and stir stupid n*ggas. If you ain’t putting your career on the line, it ain’t safe no more… My pops told me, ‘don’t underestimate intelligent people. Dumb n*ggas will get it, too’!”

Nas Reportedly Scraps “Nigger” As Album Title

Nas may be as outspoken as they come, but apparently even a revolutionary has to know when to pick his battles. The Queensbridge rapper is reportedly scrapping the controversial title of his forthcoming album.

Nas’s album was set to be called Nigger, but now the project will move forward as a self-titled album, Nas, instead.
The project is scheduled to hit shelves July 1.

The former Firm member created as stir last year when he announced at a New York show that his next album would be titled Nigga. The reaction he received then caused him to up the ante and change the title to the more provocatively spelled, Nigger.

Publicly Def Jam executives, notably L.A.Reid and Jay-Z , supported Nas’ decision and in interviews hailed his artistry as a reason why judgment should not be passed on the rapper’s thinking.

But rumblings soon began that the album would not see the light of day with that title, citing placement in retail stores as one of multiple reasons for a switch.

Nas recently loosen the reins on the tightly-guarded album, by putting the first single from the album, “Be A Nigger Too,” out and servicing it to DJs. The album release date had been pushed back several times. At one point Nigger was set for a February release to coincide with Black History Month.

The QB poet previewed the album for MTV News last week. Among the songs included were “Project Roach,” Y’all My Niggers,” and “This Is Not America.”

Although Nas appeared confident with the album, in an interview with MTV earlier this month, he admitted that because of label pressure he wasn’t sure what the title would be come release time.

“Record stores are gonna have a problem in this day and time selling a record with that title,” Nas explained. “Who knows what’s gonna turn out and be on that title? Who knows what the title will be? It was important to me to let the fans know what the album would be musically…Everybody is trying to stop the title. It’s just people being scared of what’s real. Somebody is trying to open up dialogue for people to talk. People that’s high up, who aren’t really understanding what I’m doing, are scared.

“They’re scared for reason I understand, but the fans gotta know either way: This is he same album,” he finished. “The content is the same, the direction is the same, the message is gonna be everything I intended it to be musically.”

Zubz ‘Get Out’…is it hate speech?

The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) has made a ruling that has shocked heads everywhere. Apparently Zubz’s track ‘Get Out’ from his latest album Headphone Music in a Parallel Universe, is considered hate speech.

Now the ruling is quite extensive so it’s available on it’s own page on this blog. Just look to the right and click on ‘ZUBZ RULING’.

Spliff interviewed Zubz a couple of weeks ago about the complaint that was laid by the Freedom Front (FF+). This is what he had to say:
Zubz interview (PLEASE NOTE: When dowloading this audio clip, right click on the link and save it. You will need to change it from a jpg file to a mp3 file.)

 

Africasgateway.com reported this on the lastest developments:
Rapper Zubz has publicly apologised for causing offence with his racist lyrics, but he doesn’t regret writing the song, which was labelled “hate speech”.

“Understand I’m gonna get this panga to your neck / Take what is mine today and I’ll rob you tomorrow / Take my time it’s payback / Tell my people [to] fight / And tell the oppressor get out,” he raps on his video, which was flighted by the SABC.

His apology follows a Broadcasting Complaints Commission ban on the song and his music video.

The ruling came after the Freedom Front Plus laid a complaint with the BCCSA.

The party claimed that the Zimbabwean-born rapper’s song amounted to hate speech.

The BCCSA said this week that the song threatens violence, and advised that it be banned from being broadcast on radio or television.

In response, Zubz said: “I want to apologise to everyone who was offended by the song. I did not in any way mean to hurt anybody. I don’t regret making the song though, and I know which message I wanted to spread. Our nation is so culturally sensitive and that has taught me to be sensitive.”

Pieter Mulder of the Freedom Front Plus was happy with the outcome: “This is reverse racism and there is no doubt in my mind about that. I am happy that this kind of hate speech can be taken off our televisions.”

The BCCSA tribunal judgment stated: “Its dominant effect is that of militancy and violent threats.”

While the song can now no longer be broadcast, the commercial distribution of the DVD, or other recordings of the song, are not limited by the order

Latest Hiphocalypse podcast now out

HIPHOCALYPSE Fort-Knights Podcast 2008 Episode XII “Shingirirai” (Perservere)

Episode 12. Dedictated to the people of Zimbabwe amidst political uncertainty.
Hip Hop music preaching a message of hope to a people desperate for change.

http://hiphocalypse.mypodcast.com/2008/05/Episode_XII_Shingirirai_Perservere-108251.html

Tracklisting:
mUnetsi - “Live from Zimbabwe” (Zimbabwe)
Shad - “Get Up” (Rwanda/ Canada)
Zimbabwe Legit - “Gotta Do It” (Zimbabwe/ USA)
X-Plastaz - “Msimu kwa Msimu” (Tanzania)
Leo Faya - “Musiq Ya Soul” (Kenya)
The Federation (MrC & Neon) - “Writers Block 101″ (South Africa)
ph - “Bars for Thought” ft. Shingi/ Reason/ Eli & Ootz (South Africa)
Tumi - “The Innerview” (South Africa)
Mizchief - “Wonderful World” (Zimbabwe/ South Africa)
Zubz - “Hope Still Floats” (Zambia/ Zimbabwe/ South Africa)

http://hiphocalypse.mypodcast.com
http://myspace.com/hiphocalypse
http://hiphocalypse.wordpress.com
thehiphocalypse@yahoo.com
iTunes: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=262163490

Bionic Breakers 6th Year Anniversary

Grahamstown’s premiere exclusive break dancing crew celebrated their 6^th Year Anniversary last week. Turn out wasn’t great at the Rhodes University ‘Great Hall’ but the dancers were not discouraged at all.

EX a local Grahamstown hip Hop activist and organiser did a nice job of hosting 2 Crews from East London and 1 from PE and the Bionic Breakers in Battle. It was a spectacle to watch only matched by the performance done by the Bionic Breakers at Creepa’s Memorial ‘a local MC who died on Good Friday’.

       

The local B-boys were so dope the veteran DJ Kamma was on Fire. It was one of those things you had to see for yourself.

The Roots: Rising Down

If you’re still not a Roots fan, what’s the hold up? Rocking since their 1993 Organix debut up until now their tenth proper go around, Rising Down (Def Jam), the Philadelphia Rap band have scored a legion of devotees. Like Shawty Lo dey know, as in their fans, what to expect from a new Roots album.

Nevertheless ad nauseum critical speculation on what this ?uestlove and Black Thought led outfit will pull next and whether it will finally get them over that mainstream hump abounds before all their new projects drops.
Starting off with a heated convo from their Geffen Records days (“The Pow Wow”) the album dives into the Mos Def and Styles P assisted title track. Literally buzzworthy with its electro fuzzing backdrop, along with Thought, the trio goes into everything from global warming to drug sales to evil tech.

While the ominous tone felt throughout Rising Down falls right in line with 2006’s Game Theory, also continued from that clip in the Roots catalog is a re-dedication to two chief elements; hard drumming from ?uest and Thought’s endless bars of lyrical bombast.

A gang of guests new (P.O.R.N., Truck North) and old (Talib Kweli, Common on the exceptional “The Show”) round out a crowded guest list while Malik B back on a pair of tracks seals the deal. And despite what you may think, Thought does not get outshined. One listen to “75 Bars (Black’s Reconstruction)” or the too short aural ride “Unwritten” should let you know who is in charge here.

But the Roots avoid underachieving by mixing all these ingredients into a cohesive album. For example, beginning with the soothing, Saigon assisted “Criminal” to the funking “I Will Not Apologize” to the industrial grooves of the M-Ilitant feauturing “I Can’t Help It,” the adept sequencing maximizes each songs impact. This is an album meant to be played through, not merely broken down into bite size iPod morsels.

The album’s apex and perhaps its best cut, the Go-Go infused, Chrisette Michelle and Wale featuring “Rising Up” does not cozily fit into the album’s temperamental mood. But that’s part of the Roots’ secret of success. Besides the limiting tag of “Hip-Hop Band” the Illadelph squad has been nearly impossible to peg.

Sure fans can expect a boom bap record or a record with some singing from a set-to-blow-up-later artist, but all the other intangibles like new members/instruments (a sousaphone?), “new” jacks (Truck North) or the novelty of discovering how they flipped it this go around keeps nouveau and vintage fans on their toes.
Go Out N Get this Album!!!
Rating: ***** *5/5