Every Thursday we review albums that are considered “classic” in our “Throwback Thursday Review” series. This week it’s the classic fire flames debut from one of hip hop’s greatest duos: The Clipse’s Lord Willin’. Ahhh, this was the album that started it all for me. This was the very first hip hop album that I ever listened to, and Lord Willin’ was the album that got me into the genre for the long haul. This classic LP swayed me from groups like Fall Out Boy and Rise Against, genres like alt rock and punk rock, and I finally realized that rap and hip hop is the most complete genre in terms of all the factors that go into the making of an album and the complete product that is released.
Rapper Mick Jenkins is one of our Top Chicago Artists to Watch for in 2015, and his new OnGuad produced track ‘Time’ is proof why. ‘Time’ is set to appear on The FDC and 119 Productions’ upcoming Chicago Sights ’N Sounds compilation, and you can stream it now, below.
It has been awhile since we have got new news from Drake. Although ‘0-100’ was Grammy nominated and the song of the summer in 2014, the year was still relatively quite for Drizzy. Well good news for Drake fans, as today the OVO rapper took to his Twitter, to share a new short film, titled “Jungle”. Watch the Karim Huu Do directed 14-minute short film, full of footage from Drake’s come up and even some snippets of new music, below.
Big Sean Speaks at Donda’s House’s “Behind The Mic” (Photo by Dan Garcia/The ER)
For those who don’t know Donda’s House is a non-profit organization created in honor of Kanye West’s late mother, Dr. Donda West. The mission of Donda’s House is to honor the educational legacy of Dr. West by implementing arts, health/wellness, and literature experiences that transform youth. In addition to their daily operations and weekly events, Donda’s House has put on a number of big events in the past year specifically, including their “Behind the Mic” event with Big Sean and their community showcase at this year’s AAHH! Fest. Now because of Illinois budget cuts, Donda’s House and its mission has been threatened, and they are asking for your help to make sure that all of Chicago’s youth has access to arts and a safe space at Donda’s House.
Yesterday Chicago’s Chance The Rapper continued to give back to his city, by hosting his first “Open Mike” event. From raising $100,000 for Chicago schools, to attending Big Sean and Donda’s House‘s “Behind the Mic” event for young Chicago artists, Chance always puts on for his city. Last night though, Chance and the Young Chicago Authorsgave local high school students a night that they would not forget, as the Chicago Cultural Center was packed with nearly 300 young artists. In addition to young musicians, poets, and comedians getting on the mic, some of the pros got to hit the stage too. Chicago comedian Hannibal Buress and rapper King Louie both performed for the young crowd, and SAVEMONEY‘s Vic Mensa was even in attendance.
Check out our photos below as we sent our photographer Andrew Baker to capture some of the best moments last night, and be sure to stay tuned as this is just one of many similar events that Chance will host in Chicago.
In 2015, if you are a rapper and you have zero internet presence, you won’t make it, its that simple. YouTube, Vevo, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook… these are just a few things a rapper needs for relevancy. So it is no surprise that some rappers owe a great debt to the Internet and certainly some rappers more than others have utilized the world wide web to build their fan base. Of course there are others, but when I think of rappers that truly win at the Internet, I think of artists like Lil B, G-Eazy and Watsky, for a number of different reasons. And what do these rappers all have in common? Coincidentally (or perhaps not) they all are from the Bay Area.
In the past few hours the winners were released for the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, and already a lot of disagreement is surrounding some of the picks. While music is subjective in many ways, you of course can never make everyone happy. However, this year seems to be especially bad. Personally, I did not agree with almost all albums that were given a Grammy this year, so I was curious to see what the top critics in music thought.
You probably thought Kanye West was being funny and joking when he stepped on stage while Beck received his Grammy for “Album of the Year”, well guess again. Speaking with E! after the Grammys, Kanye shared his opinion about Grammys and their selections this year.
Watch as Kanye West gives an emotional performance at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards of his Paul McCartney assisted ballad ‘Only One’ (a song from the perspective of his late mother Dr. Donda West about Kanye and his daughter North). It was just a few years ago in 2008, as Kanye gave a memorable performance of his Late Registration track ‘Hey Mama’ after the death of Dr. West, and now the man who has boycotted the Grammys the past few years just gave them another unforgettable moment. Check out the touching performance below.
There was a lot of uncertainty as to who would take home the award for the “Best Rap Album” at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards today, especially since the disappointment in the rap community when white rapper Macklemore beat out Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West’s critically acclaimed albums. Would it be the talented veteran Eminem (who has won a number of Grammys in the past)? Would it be Iggy Azalea (who like Macklemore, is white and considered more pop than rap by many)? Or would it be one of the Grammy’s newcomers, like Childish Gambino’s Because the Internet or SchoolBoy Q’s Oxymoron. Well now we know, as this year Eminem’s album Marshall Mathers LP 2 took home the Grammy.
The Early Registration 