In 2014 our Editor-in-Chief and lead photographer Dan Garcia teamed up with Pigeons & Planes to cover Lollapalooza, live at Chicago’s Grant Park. Returning to the festival the next year, Garcia got to witness some of the best moments from the premiere festival in the past couple years. Returning to Grant Park this year, Lollapalooza is expanding the festival to include a fourth date for its 25th Anniversary, and many expect festival organizers to release its best lineup yet by the end of the month. So to celebrate Lolla’s 25th Anniversary and built up anticipation until it’s forthcoming lineup is announced, we are sharing some of our favorite moments and photos from Lollapalooza since our publication’s inception.
From artists disagreeing with their managers to artists taking unnecessary shots at one another, there is surely no shortage of falling-out stories in hip-hop. With fallouts though, can sometimes come grand reunifications. Some so grand that your mind glosses over and you hear artists sounding completely reinvigorated and reliving their haydays. Such was the case for the 2011 lyrical stampede put on by Royce Da ‘5 ‘’9 and Eminem when they dropped Hell: The Sequel as hip-hop power group Bad Meets Evil.
Combining with the ease of hydrogen and oxygen, it was as if no chemistry between the two was lost in the more than 11 year annulment of Bad Meets Evil. With practically no regards given to chart-topping aims, the entire project sounds like they were only aiming to appease themselves and push one another to their limits. The result is a hip-hop head’s wet dream. Eminem is no longer concerned with spewing sentiment filled bars of soberness like on his previous outing Recovery. Rather, he is loading machine gun clips full of ammunition into the microphone, with the “screw it all” vibe that made his first two LPs so unique. Clearly taking notes, Royce is side-by-side with the Rap God, seamlessly trading verbal cyanide.
Speed and psychotic intellect combine giving each line the capacity to sting. It is a beautiful thing to see both rappers in top form here. Em’s verses are darkly zany and delivered through his sharply pitched yells which is complemented nicely by the opposing sound of Royce’s more controlled bravado. The biggest benefit of this EP is its energy. It becomes obvious two verses into the first track, ‘Welcome To Hell’, that both of these artists are on the same side of friendly competition. Punch-line after punch-line evoke a feeling of brotherhood and fun.
It is obvious these two had a blast in the studio bouncing ridiculous bars back and forth. Typically, no concept or story-driven arc pushes an album away from greatness, here though, the lack of structure leaves space for more bars that will inevitably leave our jaws inches from the floor. The beats are notably simple but do contain moments of intrigue. On “I’m On Everything”, Mike Epps opens with a piece of a stand-up bit and quickly becomes a sampled instrument. The awe inspiring lyrical content is what pulls the largely cliched beats up from the depths. Even the guest artists, all who happen to be from the Shady camp, hold their own and add just the right amount of variation from album’s main recipe.
It is all very formulaic. Luckily, like Newton’s first law, these two have found a formula that works and with little competition for their places in hip-hop, their forward motion is maintained. It is nearly impossible not to respect this project due to the sheer amount of respect that is commanded by each artist. Bolstered by their one-of-a-kind lyrical game, the duo is able to push past formulaic beats and mediocre choruses. For an EP that never had to happen, I am very glad that it did. It reminds us of what each emcee is capable of when they embrace a temporary psychosis and that they can potentially do it even better as a team. Undoubtedly, one of the best and hopefully only trips to Hell you will ever have.
With the release of his first album in nearly 16 years only hours away from our consumption it only seems right that we review his last body of work, 2001. Dr. Dre is a musical staple and his first two albums have more than shown why. From the moment that his sophomore album opens with its cinematically themed introduction, you are introduced to the idea that a lot has changed since the last time he released his own collection of songs. The first song ‘The Watcher’, is a basically compiled list of all the changes that Dre has witnessed and experienced. It’s not a speculation to say that you know you are listening to a song by the doc when you hear one. The intense, hard-hitting nature of his production is what defined an entire genre and his skill still is no doubt still with him. Dre made sure there was no room for slacking in terms of production. The instrumentals could honestly compose an album all their own. Even though I’m sure many of you actually have, forgotten about Dre, the project fills any void of space left from his hiatus.
Dre. said himself that he wanted to use this album as an opportunity to show his fans that he’s still got it; time was not a detractor but rather a meditation. The energy contained within this project is so potent that it can hardly be put into words. Its beats are as charged up as its subject matter. Dre is claiming his stake, which he shouldn’t have even had to do after his involvement with N.W.A. But in time, his fans started to question his legitimacy and fueled his fire which manifested itself as 2001. Resentment plus anger proves to be a lethal combination.
And he’s not alone. With a feature list that looks about as long as a Lollapalooza lineup, the dynamic is constantly changing. From a trademark lyric-driven verse from Eminem on ‘What’s The Difference’ to a pitchy hook from Snoop Dogg on ‘Still D.R.E.’ your enjoyment is guaranteed. This is also one of the projects only detractors, he is able to craft beats that he sounds good over every time, but his collaborators struggle at times. Some of the features could have been easily dropped or moved to songs that were left off of the final album. It can get exhausting to constantly have to think about who’s voice you are hearing or listening to artists cover different topics, or topics differently within the same song.
Dre fills his verses with the words of a soldier ready to fight. Each bar is spoken with the confidence of a haymaker punch and the conviction of a man who is not ready to give up. It ends up as a collection of music suited to amp you up and bump at an extremely high level of sound, with no thought given to decibels or frequency. There is a line where misogynistic words can become far too much. This album gets close enough to poke that line with a short twig. The songs are all undeniable listenable but listening to all the ways women are objectified in this LP can go from entertaining to draining quick. Luckily, topics to switch relatively quickly from song to song and the production is some of the best this genre has ever seen. The music was created at the highest level that music has ever been created and it shows.
There is a reason that damn near every song on this project is still considered relevant in some sense. The beats aren’t simple, but their complexities are cleverly separated enough to enjoy each intricacy all their own. Dre was one of hip-hop’s earliest innovators when it came to beat construction. From combing soul with deep-bass and heavy percussion he has inspired countless artists in the new generation. The album’s classic status is merited by its beat selection alone but it’s lyrics leave things to be desired. Remembering that Dre had been out of the music game for about nine years, as far as writing his own material goes at least, it is understandable why his content sounds like it is stuck in the early 90’s. Covering the ground-driven topics of early gangster-rap, drugs, gang-banging, violence and sex are the go-to topics. By the end of the album, you may have heard depictions of the same gangster lifestyle ten different ways but you are not bored. Again, I do not say it lightly when I say that this album’s production is top tier, bar and trend-setting stuff. If reading this review has been your re-introduction to the doctor of hip-hop, make sure, whatever you do, you don’t forget about Dre again.
Eminem paid a visit to Shade 45‘s “Sway In The Morning” and blessed us all with a new freestyle. Spittin’ acapella on this one, Eminem proved he still has bars, and more bars, and more bars. With lyrics about Cindy Crawford, Jack Gyllenhaal’s new film Southpaw, Foxy Brown, Pam Grier’s tampons, his feud with Azealia Banks, Caitlyn Jenner (no offense though) and a thousand more entertaining and topical subjects, Em killed it (and all from the top of the dome)! “I’m what you’d get if Aaron Hernandez rhymed”, “And fuck Pop, I don’t even like refreshments”, “Fuck talking clear… I’d rather rap like an auctioneer”, it’s impossible to pick out just a few favorite lines. Rapping for 5-minutes straight, Eminem went crazy on this one! Em also added “it’s very rarely personal” and “I just say shit to say it,” so if he went at one of your favorite entertainers, don’t get upset.
From the official motion picture soundtrack for “Southpaw” (in theaters July 24), Eminem’s new track ‘Phenomenal’ is here. You never want to sleep on Em’s soundtrack records, this is no exception!
Tech N9ne just dropped his new Eminem and Krizz Kaliko collaboration, titled ‘Speedom’. In addition to recruiting one of the greatest rappers of all time, by one of the biggest underground rappers of all time, the guitar lead on the track’s instrumental makes this record unique (to say the least). It isn’t our favorite song of the year, but definitely check it out for yourself.
Listen to the ‘Speedom’ featuring Eminem and Krizz Kaliko below.
The rap battle scene is making a comeback, so last night we sent one of our writers to The Shelter club in Detroit to check out some of the area’s top underground MCs. Taking home the “W” last night was Detroit native (8 Mile to be specific) Jimmy Smith, who also goes by the rap name of B-Rabbit. The kid is white, but don’t let that fool you, he has some serious skills. A bold claim, but don’t be surprised if this guy grows into the greatest rapper of all time (you heard it here first). And because of his skills, we caught up with B-Rabbit after rocking The Shelter to get his story and talk about his big win last night.
Check out our exclusive interview with B-Rabbit below, as well as a video of some of his battles from last night.
Check out Eminem’s new song, as heard in the trailer for the upcoming boxing drama “Southpaw”. “Southpaw” stars Jake Gyllenhaal and is directed by the acclaimed Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day”). And if the full version of this track is anything like Em’s previous soundtrack contributions, it will certainly be worth checking out when the entire song drops. You can catch “Southpaw” in theaters July 31, 2015.
On Thursdays we review albums that are considered “classic” and today we review Eminem’s most disturbing and divisive project, Relapse. By 2009, Eminem had all but faded from hip-hop conversation, purely in the sense of new material. Most people who cared enough to know, knew that he had been battling a harsh drug addiction the past few years and all anyone could do was wait. When talk started to surface about more new material than was capable of fitting on one album, the internet went into riot mode. People ate up any and all new developments, whether fact or fiction. Conversation started to give people a sense of what to expect – and to call the content of the album dark, would not even begin to do it justice. Continue reading Throwback Thursday Review: Relapse | Eminem→
Some say music videos are a lost art. With MTV and VH1 airing more reality TV programs than actual music videos, it is no surprise that a lot of artists have abandoned the music video route of promotion. Not all artists fortunately. A lot of big artists know that fans crave visuals, even if they are streaming it from their phone or iPad. And a lot of emerging artists know that dope visuals going viral are a great way to gain exposure and put your name on the map. For our best music videos of 2015 (so far), which include selections from Raury, Childish Gambino, Kanye, WebsterX and more, we have a mix of both. Check out our picks and see who got our number one spot.
The Early Registration 