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Crossing the Line: 5 Mash-Ups Where Hip-Hop Slept Around and Birthed a Hit

By: seandrasims Updated Category: Features
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Word of cross-genre collaborations involving Hip-Hop are usually met with equal parts satisfaction and suspicion. Are artists from two different worlds getting together to make music to help everyone get along? Or, is it just for the money?

Then there’s the music itself. Sometimes the collaboration is amazing. Other times, it’s like pizza and a banana split – two great things that don’t go well together. And, there are instances where both parts are less than stellar.

With the original demo version of rapper Kendrick Lamar’s “B#### Don’t Kill My Vibe” featuring pop star Lady Gaga recently posted on the Internet (which is a very good song), AllHipHop.com got nostalgic and thought of a few more dope records that broke down barriers over the years:

5. Wyclef Jean and The Neville Brothers, “Mona Lisa” (1997): Before Wyclef was posing on motorcycles almost naked, he made great music. This hidden gem from The Carnival puts Clef alongside the Grammy-winning R&B group from Louisiana. The thing that makes this song special is that, unlike lots of Hip-Hop and R&B collaborations, it isn’t just people singing over rap beats. It’s a love song on a Hip-Hop album that couples can slow dance to. And because of that unique quality, it still plays strong 15 years later.

4. Kanye West and Justin Vernon [of Bon Iver], “Lost in the World” (2010): There is a lot going on in this four minutes and 16 seconds: Justin singing parts of his own “Woods” record, Kanye’s single verse, the heavy bass, the tribal drums, and chants. The record proves that Hip-Hop is limitless. If Mr. West can flip a gloomy folk thing like “Woods” and put it over a house beat, anything is possible. “Lost in the World” is an outstanding song and perfect middle ground in the ongoing tug-of-war between art and commerce.

3. Lil Wayne and Robin Thicke, “Tie My Hands” (2008): This isn’t the first collaboration between these two, but it is the best. Thicke’s falsetto complements some of Weezy’s most serious lyrics to date, as he addresses the devastating effect of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. With lines like, “No governor, no help from the mayor/Just a steady beating heart and a wish and a prayer,” one can’t help but be stopped in their tracks. Lil Wayne wasn’t just speaking for the people of New Orleans, but as one as well, and that made for powerful stuff.

2. Eminem and Elton John, “Stan” (2001): The rendition of “Stan” that these two artists put on at the Grammys that year was fantastic. It was a brilliant response to the controversy surrounding Eminem over his homophobic lyrics – and the participation of the openly gay singer Elton John was a great way to celebrate artistic expression and stick up for free speech. The track was thankfully included on Eminem’s Curtain Call compilation. The only thing it lacks that the live show doesn’t is Eminem throwing up his middle fingers at the end of the performance.

1. Run-D.M.C. and Aerosmith, “Walk This Way” (1986): The leaps and bounds that this piece of work did for Hip-Hop remains unmatched. It introduced rap to a whole audience and won it new fans by demonstrating that elements of Rock music were Hip-Hop, too.

D.M.C. once told me, ““Walk This Way” originally was just going to be me and Joe [Run] in 1986 bragging again over that music.”

Rick Rubin then suggested that they do the record over; just like Aerosmith, Jam Master Jay co-signed the idea, and the rest is history. Pop culture hasn’t been the same since.

We know that there are many more! So, what are cross-genre collaborations you feel are significant? Sound off in the comments section, and let us know what you think!

HOT: Rihanna Revisits the Desert for New “Diamonds” Visual

By: @KareemTaylor Updated Category: Alternatives
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Bajan beauty Rihanna has released the much anticipated video for her highly popular single “Diamonds” from her soon-to-be-released album, Unapologetic.

The visual finds her revisiting the desert, a landscape she heated up previously on her mega-collabo, “Hard”, featuring Young Jeezy.

Unapologetic is Rihanna’s seventh studio album, set for a November 19 release. (Reportedly, that’s also the title of her next single with Chris Brown. We can’t wait!)

Don’t Forget About the ‘Hood: Rapper/Activist Jasiri X Reflects on His Cross-Country Election Journey

By: seandrasims Updated Category: Features
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During the long, hard-fought 2012 Election season, Hip-Hop had a soldier named Jasiri X, who was an active participant on the front lines of the battle for the White House.

AllHipHop.com sat down with longtime rapper/activist Jasiri X to capture his final thoughts about the 2012 Election, including a Lupe Fiasco encounter and the crazy, cross-country schedule he maintained. Check out our frank discussion with Jasiri X:

AllHipHop.com: This political season found you all over the place! What were you involved in that had you both speaking and performing in so many cities?

Jasiri X: I was a part of two incredible tours that prominently discussed Hip-Hop and Politics. “Ignite 2012” was sponsored by the League of Young Voters and their executive director, Rob “Biko”Baker. We went to Pittsburgh, Philly, Milwaukee, and Cincinnati with a panel of artists like myself and Dee-1, and prominent bloggers like AllHipHop CEO Chuck Creekmur, The Well Versed founder Andreas Hale, and Bossip senior editor Janee Bolden; plus, author Dream Hampton and Source magazine’s editor in chief, Kim Osorio.

“Rap Sessions” is facilitated by author and founder of the Hip-Hop Political Convention, Bakari Kitwana. We also traveled to various cities and college campus, with discussions featuring Chuck D, David Banner, Rosa Clemente, and Dr. James Peterson.

I also performed at the DNC and went to Tuscan, Arizona with The Sound Strike and Culture Strike to learn about the plight of undocumented families. To raise awareness, we recorded an amazing cypher at the U.S./Mexico border.

AllHipHop.com: Wow, that’s a lot! Do you have any specific memories you care to share?

Jasiri X: We were doing “Rap Sessions” in Philly, and I got a question about Lupe Fiasco and his recent “Twitter Beef” with comedian DL Hughley and pundit Roland Martin. [It was] over Lupe expressing the fact he was not voting in the presidential election. I made it clear that Lupe was talking about not voting in the national election, but he’s been very involved locally in Chicago politics.

The people in the audience were tweeting about our discussion, and Lupe responded, “I’ll be there in five minutes.” He happened to be in Philly that day promoting his new album. Not only did he show up, but he came onstage and eloquently defended his position. The next day, I did a “Stop and Frisk” rally in New York City, and the person who introduced me for my performance was none other than Talib Kweli!

AllHipHop.com: You’ve got to love social media. You never know who is watching! That’s dope! OK, Jasiri, now that the election is over, and the campaigning is all done, what do you think are the most important lessons to take away from this voting season?

Jasiri X: Around $2 billion was spent on this campaign, and we’ve pretty much got the same group of people governing the country, so I think we have to look seriously at the tremendous influence big money has over politics. I also think it’s very clear that the demographics of this country have been changed forever. The question is, can we use this new-found political power to hold our elected officials accountable and see real change in our communities?

AllHipHop.com: Well said. Your music has been known to carry a political message from time to time. Which one song of yours, out of all of them, would you hope that President Obama would have on his iPod to remind of a specific cause or situation?

Jasiri X: Definitely my new song, “Don’t Forget About The ‘Hood”.

AllHipHop.com: Finally, in a single word, can you sum up how you’re feeling about the election coming to a close?

Jasiri X: Accountability.

Keep up with Jasiri X and his year-round fight for the people on his official website, JasiriX.com, on Twitter (@jasiri_x), and on Facebook (JasiriXOfficial).