AllHipHop

homepage

PBS’ Independent Lens Highlights Hip-Hop

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

The relationship between sampling and Hip-Hop music will be examined in a new film airing on the PBS series Independent Lens.

 

The feature, titled Copyright Criminals, will feature rap collectives Public Enemy and De La Soul as it explores the multi-billion dollar Hip-Hop music industry and the impact of sampling on copyright, creativity and technological change.

 

A long-standing staple of rap music, sampling was utilized freely by a variety of artists and producers before record company lawyers cracked down to regulate the practice.

 

Today, artist samples must be “cleared” or obtained through prior authorization.

 

Copyright Criminals will be the first of three films on Hip-Hop featured on Independent Lens, which highlights documentaries and dramas made by independent filmmakers on a wide range of topics and issues.

 

The remaining films include Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, a look at gender roles in Hip-Hop and rap featuring interviews with rappers Mos Def, Fat Joe, Chuck D and Jadakiss, mogul Russell Simmons and young women from Spelman College ; and P-Star Rising, which follows a father-daughter as they pursue the young girl’s dream of becoming a successful rapper.

 

Independent Lens, hosted by actress Maggie Gyllenhall, will present Copyright Criminals on Jan. 19, 2010 on PBS.

 

Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes will follow on Jan. 26. P-Star Rising will be presented on Feb. 2.

Drake Lives…And So Does Gangster Rap

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: Uncategorized

This month hip-hop

once again scored a victory as Drake, Kid Cudi and Wale made GQ Magazine’s

Men of the Year issue.  Quite a considerable feat considering that

all three are freshmen in the game.  Referred to as the “Gangsta

Killers”, the short blurb credits the Fab Three for killing the gangster

persona in rap.

All three are very

deserving of this accomplishment.  And all three do avoid street-driven,

crime-related raps.  However make no mistake the label of “gangsta

killers” is yet just another instance of the mainstream media’s

misrepresentation of Hip-Hop. 

For these MCs to

be unfairly cast the ‘slayers of gangsta rap’ is a mere over-simplification;

a discredit that pigeon-holes the genre as a whole.  You can’t

tell me that Young Jeezy, Clipse and Lil Wayne are less relevant in

today’s game than say a Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco or Mos Def.  

This may be a surprise

to many, especially those in the media, but hip-hop is as versatile

an art form as any other.  Rap music is comprised of many styles

and subgenres, all of which can and do complement one another very nicely.

Unfortunately, it’s also a statement that still evades the minds of

mainstream America, much to the dismay of hip-hop heads everywhere.

Those who refuse

to acknowledge this fact must be reminded.  Take a look at Common

and Ice Cube: though lyrically different, both men coexisted in the

same era.  While the impact and contributions of groups like A

Tribe Called Quest and NWA were both significant and necessary for moving

the culture forward.  

The media has never

done this for Rock n’ Roll, so why have they done this for Hip-Hop? 

Maybe a better question would be, why have they already gotten away

with it so much?

The quality of

music released in 2009 has been good… for the most part.  Cudi’s

Man on the Moon and Wale’s Attention Deficit

were both great albums.  Both received warm receptions from the

public and both were deserving of their critical acclaim.  

But in the same

breath, Raekwon’s sequel Only Built 4 Cuban Links… Pt II

could easily be considered one of the best rap albums of the year. 

In my humble opinion, its harsh content and crime-driven story-telling

catapulted the LP to an instant classic. 

There are a lot

of big projects on the horizon set for 2010.  From the re-surfacing

of Kanye, to the anticipation of Drake’s debut LP Thank Me Later

— the most highly anticipated album in all of music. And with last

week’s news of a potential collaborative effort between Raekwon and

“the godfather of gangsta rap”, Kool G Rap, fans are frothing in

anticipation.  

Catching my drift

here…? Good!

Hip-hop heads are

not one dimensional.  Gangsta or Conscious, East or West, North

or South, Black or White, Thug or College Degree — we don’t discriminate. 

It’s all hip-hop; no pun intended.

Where GQ failed,

I hope to prevail.  I do believe that Drake, Cudi and Wale have

helped usher in a new day.  And it starts and ends with the music.   

In this era of

internet thuggin’ and ‘WWE-like beefs’, more and more rappers

have shifted their focus from rapping to online buffoonery.  All

in the hopes of rescuing and diverting attention away from their slumping

records sales.  A definite cry of desperation.   

From the ever-popular

YouTube rant to the shenanigans displayed in the Rick Ross/50 Cent fiasco,

many rappers seemed to have lost their ways.  What this new breed

of MCs represent is hope.  Hope that hip-hop music won’t fall

into the trap of self-destruction.  

But that’s a

discussion for another time. 

Big Boi Talks Long-Awaited Solo Album, Upcoming Outkast Release

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

Next year looks to be an active one for fans of Outkast’s Big Boi.

 

The Atlanta-based rhymesmith is putting an end to the delay of his long-awaited solo album as word comes that he has finished and turned in the project.

 

According to Big Boi, Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty will mark the beginning of a sting of musical offerings from him and fellow Outkast member Andre 3000.

 

“This is all in the next year or so, starting with my album coming at the top of the year, Dre 3000 right after me…and when the solo albums come out, depending on how the fans support them, then we’re gonna give them the Outkast album,” the rapper shared with Billboard.com.

 

The release of Sir Lucious comes more than a year and a half after material from the album was leaked to the public.

 

Among the songs previewed were the Andre 3000 and Raekwon-assisted “Royal Flush,” “Sumthin’s Gotta Give” featuring Mary J. Blige; “Dubbz” and “Fo Yo Sorrows” with George Clinton and Too $hort and “Shine Blockas” with Gucci Mane.

 

While leaked material could trigger feelings of stress among artists, Big Boi sees nothing but an upside in exposing listeners to what he has in store.

 

“It’s almost like giving them a little sampler from the album and showing how diverse it is,” the rapper/actor told Billboard. “Every song that I put out sounds totally different from the previous songs I put out. I slow-cooked this album and, man, I’m just so happy it’s about to come out. I cannot wait to give it to the fans.”

 

Acknowledging the “stops and starts” generated from the album, Big Boi revealed the challenge of releasing Sir Lucious stemmed from a strong desire for all aspects of the project to be in line with one another before unveiling it for fans.

 

In addition to Raekwon, Clinton, Gucci Mane, Too $hort and Blige, album collaborators include T.I., Lil Jon, Jamie Foxx and B.o.B.

 

“I’ve just been trying to make sure we’ve got the right avenues and the right brains and mindsets together to get the marketing and promoting behind it,” the entertainer stated. “When you work on something for, like, two years and 11 months, it’s like your baby. You want to make sure that everybody has taken the project the way they’re supposed to be taking it and the set-up is right.”

 

Big Boi’s Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty is slated to hit stores in 2010.

Wednesday Fashion Feature: Flud Watches Unveils Winter 09 Collection

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: Uncategorized

 

On Monday (December 7), DrJays.com’s Kiki and Boss Lady attended Flud Watches‘ winter 2009 collection preview at NYC’s Mocha Lounge.

 

Included in the new collection are updated versions of the very popular “Big Ben” style, including a bold turquoise color, new mesh and leather band options.

 

 

There’s also a special edition Rocksmith “Tableturns” collaboration watch in there, the solid colored “THN”, the new “Deck” style and more:

 

Yonehara x Flud Collaboration on the “Cartridge”

 

Big Ben

 

Deck

 

THN

 

These guys are known for making fun, innovative watches at a very reasonable price. When we asked Flud Watches’ Doug Cohen to sum up the new collection, he confidently stated “Flud Watches will make your penis bigger”.

 

Flud Watches’ Doug Cohen and Mel Peralta

 

Hmm…

 

Well, if you’d like to see more of the collection, many of the styles are available now on DrJays.com with more coming soon!

 

Click HERE for more Flud Watches.

 

Your thoughts on the new styles?

Rapper Eminem Crowned Best Selling Rapper Of The Decade

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

Nielsen Soundscan has announced that Hip-Hop star Eminem is the best selling artist of the decade.

 

The Detroit emcee’s closest competition came from the legendary Beatles.

 

Their greatest hits compilation One is the best selling album of the decade with over 11 million copies sold.

 

Eminem’s win was secured by 2000’s Marshall Mathers LP (10, 204,000 copies), and 2003’s The Eminem Show (9,799,000).

 

Also, the rapper’s 2009 comeback LP Relapse added over 1.5 million in sales.

 

Those numbers would have increase further if Eminem had released his sequel Relapse 2 as originally planned in November.

 

Several other Hip-Hop artists made lasting chart imprints.

 

Nelly made the Top 10 for best selling albums with his breakout 2000 disc Country Grammar (8,461,000 copies).

 

Flo Rida, the Black Eyed Peas, and Soulja Boy made their impact through their respective Top 10 singles.

 

“Low” secured the top-selling digital song of the decade with over 5 million downloads, followed by “Boom Boom Pow” at #4 (4,349,000), and “Crank Dat” at #6 (4,315,000).

 

At press time, Eminem’s Relapse 2 is set to be released in March 2010.

 

Last week, fans were treated to Relapse: Refill, an EP which featured recent album outtakes and guest spots from the rapper.

Hip-Hop Rumors: Jay, Nas..and 50 On “Empire” Remix? 50’s New Gal! Nicki & Rem? Nicki & Kim?

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: Rumors

DISCLAIMER:

 

All content within this section is pure rumor and generally have no factual info outside of what the streets have whispered in our ear. Read on.

JAY-Z, NAS….AND 50 CENT ON EMPIRE STATE OF MIND?

 

For Beani Sigels’ sake, I hope this one doesn’t happen. But they are saying that 50 Cent is going to join Jay-Z and Nas on a remix of “Empire State Of Mind.” Say it ain’t so. Now, I cannot verify the validity of this one. This is floating out there, but there really isn’t anything to support it. But, I just cannot see it going down like that.

 

BEYONCE IS CAKED UP

 

Beyonce I about to be paid out of this world! According to acclaimed Vegas Confidential columnist Norm Clarke, Beyonce is about to become stupid rich! Beyonce is supposedly about to sign a deal for a Vegas show that will pay her about $750,000 per show at the Wynn hotel.  This will be a long-term deal. But here is the catch; I heard that the money could go as high as $1 million in paper per show. Nothing is confirmed on B’s end,  but they are saying Garth Brooks had a similar deal and he denied it until it was a done deal.

 

I GOT THE SCOOP: RICK ROSS IN HAITI

 

My homeboy Santo from Haiti hit me up!

 

“It’s ya boy Santo and I just wanted to shoot you over some youtube videos of Rick Ross down in Port Au Prince doing a concert. Dudes can talk whatever they want about Ross, but this dude had heart to go the GULLIEST island and tear s**t down.”

 

Here are the vids:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  video platform

  video management

  video solutions

  free video player

 

 

For the other vids, click here.

 

 

Another reader said the following:

 

 

But you gotta know Haitians are one of the wildest crowds. There was one point Rick Ross was kinda wondering what the f**k is going on. One part of the crowd just opened up. u wouldnt think there was that much space in the crowd but it opened up big enough to park a good 10 – 12 cars. Ross kinda stepped back, while still rappin, behind his people. you peep him disappear. lol. I guess he didnt wanna get hit by anything. There would be a point where you would see cans, bottles (plastic with drinks in them) being thrown outta nowhere. Pushing, fighting. just crazy. But thats how it is over here. lol.

 

 

I heard a lot of people had to break out from the show early, not as a diss to Ross but because most were walking home.

 

TIGER WOODS OVERDOSED?

 

 

Tiger Woods crashed the whip, but what really happened with that crash? Now, the crash, which was about two weeks ago may have been caused by an overdose of prescription drugs on that fateful day.  Sources are saying that he had symptoms consistent with an overdose and his hospital chart listed “OD”  on it. His wife reportedly gave doctors Ambien and Vicodin bottles to list what he had taken.

 

Tigers wiz Elin Nordegren has moved out of their Windermere, Fla., home.

 

 

Now, it could get even nastier than ever for Tiger.  One of this mistress babes is now saying she has nakes pics of Tiger. Dude was dating/sexing with p### stars! Nike’s not going to like that.

 

Also, Oprah is trying to be the first one to talk to Tiger. Dude better get his story right, because that is going to be a career lifter and destroyer. 

 

 

 

WU TANG TATS!!!!

 

Did you see this article on people with crazy Wu tattoos? Its so dope, I went out and got one.

 

Check out the article here!

 

And here is my new WU tat!

 

 

NICKI MINAJ DID NOT EAT THE BOX!

 

You people always want to drag a rapper down! Its crazy! Do we want super stars or not? I sure do! Anyway, this rumor has been in circulation for some  time now and even Nicki has had to respond. Here is where it started:

 

 

Now, that doesn’t look anything like Nicki to me, not to mention she would have to clean up in remarkable ways to go from that to where she is now. BUT, here is what Nicki is saying about these preposterous allegations.

 

 

However, if you are wondering about Nick and girls, here is a telling video.

 

 

LIL KIM MAD AT NICKI?

 

I cannot confirm this but it would SEEM that there is some angst between Lil Kim and Nicki…well just Kim. I cannot CONFIRM, but these quotes are out there on the net. Somehow, I think they are fake, because Kim and Nick just appeared on a song together. Here are the quotes.

 

“I need yall to spread my new profile picture around! Just know everything I do is for a reason. QB 2010 I’m coming hard! You will never diss me and get away with it! “There will NEVER be another me, WHAT YOU OUT YA MIND?”

 

 

” I want to puke. Yall see this s### on 106? I’m in the studio going nuts!!! I thought I saw a stunt double. All you need is my beauty mark!! OMG!! Hahaha..back 2 the booth now!”

 

Kinda fake sounding right? I can’t see Kim saying “puke.”

 

ILLSEED’S QUICKIES

 

Rumor has it, you had to have a password to get in Jay-Z’s 40th party. Those people that got in the White House wouldn’t have made it.

 

Both Time  and iTunes have put Raekwon at the top of their best Hip-Hop CDs of the year list.

 

Timbaland is slated to host the final broadcast of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Stay tuned.

 

About Tiger Woods, 50 Cent said, “He just picked the wrong girls I guess.” Ya think? LOL! Tiger is now up to 11. Tiger’s 11 sounds like a movie.

 

Bryant Gumbel has lung cancer. Hope he makes it.

 

 

LMAO AT 50 CENT!

 

I don’t know if this is real or a joke, but 50 Cent reportedly told the UK Mirror that he want’s to work with Susan Boyle.

 

“I got to get her on a track, for real. We’d make a hit. She’s got an amazing voice, and together we’d get everyone dancing. I’m always looking to do something new and she’s cool, so I’ll ask somebody to let her know. I’d love to take her clubbing, show her around my world. She’d have a great time.”

 

I guess he would since she is selling more records than McDonald’s sells two cheeseburger meals!

 

RUSH LIMBERGER – F**K U!!! GO POP SOME PILLS!

 

I’m just going to say it. I wouldn’t be unhappy if Rush were to pop about 100 pills of anything strong enough to stop an elephant.

 

LIMBAUGH: I got two more stories in the stack today about how black unemployment is through the roof. Black unemployment is terrible. The black frame of mind is terrible, they’re depressed, they’re down — Obama’s not doing anything for ’em. How is that hoax and change workin’ for ya? They’re all livid. I mean, they thought there were gonna be an exact 180-degree economic reversal and it’s done nothing but get bad for everybody, but they’re especially upset about it because they look at him as one of them, and now they feel abandoned. And I’m sure Tiger Woods’ choice of females not helping ’em out with their attitudes there either.

 

Man, just do it – pop those pills. Play Russian Roulette with an AK-47. Do something…go out with a bang. My attitude is f**ked up and real sh***y.

 

 

 

PLEASURE P CALLS OUT PRETTY RICKY ON THOSE RUMORS!

 

Pleasure P gets no pleasure out of little boys he says again. This is great news from vibe.com…I’d hate to have another high profile perv in our “urban” family. There was some “case,” but not all of this.

 

“It’s all lies. [The things] being said about me, I take it very seriously. Let me tell you something about this Goldstein person: Goldstein is not a person. They are a fraud; a fake person, who is being investigated now. People have to look at the facts. I’ve never been represented by a Goldstein. They don’t exist as a lawyer. Twitter is investigating it. We are all investigating it. It makes no sense. We will get to the bottom of it.”

 

For him, I will say “lil’pause” just so nobody takes that the wrong way. Here is what else he had to say.

 

Still he had this to say about Pretty Ricky, who insinuated strongly that there was some sort of child momo charges that were sealed records.

 

“Honestly, I don’t have no relationship with Pretty Ricky. So I wouldn’t be able to tell you why they have been going about it [that way]. We sold 135,000 records the first week when I was in the group. Now they are selling 8,000 records [their] first week and 10,000 in two weeks. Listen to their album. You will see the difference from when I was in the group and when I’m not in a group. My first two albums are killing them. Their album now sounds like trash, garbage.”

 

P has a 5-year-old son and is not pleased for his kid to hear this. Also, he says he’s not PP anymore…he’s Marcus Cooper.

 

EPIC FAIL OF THE DAY!

 

I need a hoax, because these fools are getting over…or failing over and over again. So, here is what happened. There was some sort of buzz that Michael Jordan would play Bryon Russell one on one during half time of some D-List basketball game. Well, the buzz was false, but the Utah Flash’s owner Brandt Anderson decided to keep the joke going in order to sell some tickets. They even did a fake youtube, seen below. The video makes it seem like a random stranger is questioning Jordan about the game. You can tell its fake now. 

 

 

 

 

Here is the fail at the live show, where they had the nerve to bring out the actual imposter AND the fake bodyguards. The fans all left and then booed the hell out of dude.

 

 

Thanks, Latesha!

 

RIHANNA’S NEW TAT

 

The tattoo says, ““Never a failure. Always a lesson” and it is written backwards so when she looks in the mirror she can read it.

 

 

 RECENT LAURYN SIGHTING

 Please – rap again.

 

ALICIA IN THE UK!

 

 

TWO BAD GIRLS

 

 

LIL KIM….YOU KNOW WE LOVE YOU TWO!

They keep us talking, but if we stop talking about them then they should worry!

-illseed

WHO: illseed.com

WHAT: Rumors

WHERE: AllHipHop.com, MySpace.com/TheIllseed

HOW: Send your rumors and ill pics to illseed at [email protected].

ChartWatch: Boyle Bodies R.Kelly! Snoop, Timbo, Gucci Mane & Clipse Are Up!

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: Reviews / Music

AllHipHop ChartWatch for December 09, 2009

 

 This

week R. Kelly enters the charts at the fourth spot selling 115,000 copies of

his latest album Untitled. Not even

the pied piper could dethrone the unlikely pop superstar, Susan Boyle, who

continues her dominance on the charts with her debut, I Dreamed a Dream.  The

reality show star sold another 509,000 copies proving that someone out there is buying albums. 

As a matter of fact with artist like Norah Jones, Michael Buble, Andrea

Bocelli, and Susan Boyle running the chart it appears the over 50 crowd is out there

buying albums.

In

terms of Hip Hop, the Black Eyed Peas move up one spot, from 23 to 22, with

their latest album The E.N.D.  The trio sells another 50,000 copies this

week.  Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 slips a

little, falling from 32 to 39. The Marcy MC moves another 28,000 copies this

week.

Moving

from Marcy to Queens, rapper 50 Cent moves 26,000 copies of his latest, Before I Self Destruct, but takes a

serious drop, plummeting from the 21st position to 42.  Now before the commentors jump up saying I’m

being unfair to 50 Cent, that’s a 21 slot drop. 

It’s not a complete fall out of the top 50 like Baby’s Pricele$$, but it’s a drop nonetheless. 

Meanwhile, Juvenile enters the charts

with his latest CD, Cocky and Confident, selling 22,000 copies and claiming the

4th spot.

 It’s

another rough week for Hip Hop, but “Dropping” has some big name artists this

week.  

 

Dropping

This Week

           

We

have some good albums coming out this week from some heavy hitters.  A couple of weeks ago Juvenile and Baby were

featured in “Dropping” and this week fellow New Orleans native B.G. releases

his eleventh solo studio album, Too Hood

2 Be Hollywood.  The album features the

late, great Soulja Slim, Lil Boosie, C-Murder, Gar, Mannie Fresh, Lil Wayne,

Juvenile, Trey Songz, T.I., and Young Jeezy. 

Production for the album is handled by KLC, Mannie Fresh, Savage, Scott

Storch, J.U.S.T.I.C.E League, Cool & Dre, Savage, and Bass Heavy to name a

few.  The album, executive produced by

T.I., has been pushed back numerous times but now fans should be pleased that it’s

being released before the year end. 

Hopefully B.G.’s recent trouble with the law won’t keep him away from

making music for too long.

Next

up is Malice and Push T who together form Clipse.  The Virginia duo drops their third album, Til the Casket Drops, the follow up to

the dark Hell Hath No Fury.  The new album is executive produced by the

Neptunes who handle the bulk of the album. 

The rest is produced by Dj Khalil & Chin and Sean C & LV.  Cam’ron, Yo Gotti, Kanye West, Keri Hilson,

Pharrell, Ab-Liva, and Nicole Hurst all guest star on this latest venture which

is being released on Columbia Records.  The

Clipse have released two critically acclaimed albums and a string of popular

mixtapes over their career.  It is

looking like this album will be no different as it is already gaining high

reviews from a number of magazines and websites.  Be on the lookout for Til the Casket Drops.

On November 12, 2009, Gucci Mane was sentenced

to 12 months in prison for probation violation and taken away to prison.  In an “art imitates life imitates art

imitates life….” Twist the Atlanta rapper releases The State v. Radric Davis.  The album features Mike Epps, Cam’ron, Lil

Wayne, Rick Ross, Soulja Boy, Wacka Flocka Flame (really?), Usher, Keyshia

Cole, Bobby Valentino, Nikki Minaj, Trina, OJ Da Juiceman, Plies, Bun-B, E-40,

Devin the Dude, Jadakiss, and Birdman. 

You might not like him or think he can rap, but Gucci Mane is coming out

with a star loaded album.  Even with the

recent sentence things are looking up Gucci, who just squashed his longstanding

beef with Young Jeezy.  I don’t think I

have to tell fans of Gucci to go pick this one up.

How long has

Snoop Dogg been rapping?  The Long Beach,

CA rapper began his career in 1993 with Doggystyle

and now nine albums later releases Malice

N Wonderland.  The new album features

Jazmine Sullivan, Soulja Boy, Lil Jon, Nipsey Hussle, Problem, Kokane, R.

Kelly, The-Dream, Brandy and Pharrell.  Once

again Snoop continues his 17 year reign on the Westcoast and keeps his fans

satisfied with another album.

 Last but not

least is Timbaland who returns with his third, “solo”, studio album Shock Value II.  The album features everyone from Miley Cyrus

to Drake.  Timbaland has a pretty good

track record when it comes to making hit songs, whether they are hip hop or pop.  Fans should be on the lookout for this one.

That’s it for “Dropping”

and ChartWatch this week.  Some big names

are coming out with albums for the fourth quarter.  We’ll see next week if the make an impact on

the charts.

Afeni Shakur Comments On Vatican Playlist

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

Tupac Shakur’s mother Afeni Shakur released a statement to AllHipHop.com today (December 8th), regarding her son’s inclusion on a Vatican play list of influential songs.

 

Last week the Vatican released its Top 12 influential songs on it’s Myspace page as part of MySpace.com’s new streaming music service.

 

In addition to Shakur, the list featured a number of prestigious artist including Mozart, Dame Shirley Bassey and Pope Benedict XVI.

 

“This came as such an amazing surprise – it’s not something I would have ever thought possible,” Afeni Shakur told AllHipHop.com in a statement. “I give thanks every day, knowing Tupac’s words and music continue to have such an incredible effect on people worldwide. My son was always striving to reach out to as many people as he could, and he changed the world in doing so.”

 

Changes was released posthumously in 1998 on a Greatest Hits album, two years after Tupac Shakur was gunned down on the strip in Las Vegas.

 “It’s a testament to Tupac’s genius that his music can have this kind of impact more than ten years after the fact,” Interscope Geffen A&M Chairman Jimmy Iovine added. “This is an unprecedented honor to his legacy, as well as for those who had the privilege of working with him during his lifetime.”

 

In September of 2009, Tupac Shakur’s private writings were added to Atlanta University Center’s Robert Woodruff Library ,which also houses Martin Luther King’s papers.

The NFL Wrap-Up Week 13: The Cards You Were Dealt

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: Lifestyle

Week 13 is now behind us, so

let me ask you this question, “How strong does your team look?”

Are you playoff bound or what? Leading the division or sliding into

a Wild Card position? OWN UP! That’s what we do with these wrap-ups.

And much respect to those that are commenting with below .500 teams.

That’s what OWNING UP is all about!

I want to lead with talking

about last season’s Superbowl. You know, the one that the Arizona

Cardinals let slip through their defense. I’m not even on the Cardinals

and still have flashbacks of when Santonio “Konvict Music” Holmes

caught the impossible catch in the back corner of the endzone that ultimately

put the Steelers in the lead for good. This is the moment where I should

say, “Wow, how the mighty have fallen.” But I’ll save that one

just in case the Steelers, which are now on a four game losing streak,

don’t make the playoffs. Did I mention that they’ve lost a tough

game to the Oakland Raiders, at home? We’ll get back to that.

Will the real Arizona Cardinals

please stand up? I know that you’ve just handed it to the Minnesota

Vikings in the worst way. You’ve rattled Brett Favre 4.0, and you’ve

shut down Adrian Peterson to 19 rushing yards. Forgive me for changing

the subject, but wasn’t having a veteran QB supposed to help Peterson

rush for more yards? Ok, back to the Cardinals. The Cardinals are just

inconsistently inconsistent (yes, I meant to say that). Last week, they

got Vince Young’d on a 99 yard drive that lost the Cardinals the lead

and the game. This week, they make the Vikings look like, well, the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Against the Vikings, Kurt Warner threw for 3 touchdown

passes, one to Larry “That’s Mine” Fitzgerald and two touchdown

passes to Anquan Boldin. Favre 4.0 was sacked three times and intercepted

two times. If the Cardinals can bottle up this intensity on both ends

of the ball, similar to their Superbowl run last season, they could

very well make it back to the big game. I’m just saying… this is

not a prediction.

The Pittsburgh Steelers look

like they’ve lost their best friend. And his name is Troy “Isn’t

It?” Polamalu. Say what you want about one player not making a difference

on a team. If that was the case, the Cleveland Browns would be deadly.

The Steelers are 2-5 without the star of the “Head and Shoulders”

commercials. Troy’s position and knowledge of the defense is far too

valuable and maybe more valuable than even the coaching staff realized.

You’d hope that when your Pro Bowl player goes down, their back-up

would step up. In Polamalu’s case, if you had a player as good as

he is, as a back-up, that player would be on the field as well, point

blank. If you are a Steeler’s fan, good luck. Coach Mike “Q” Tomlin

is one of my favorite coaches in the league. Even when the Steelers

look down and out, Tomlin talks without any chaser and you just believe

that his team will step up the next week. But sorry to say, there is

no stepping up if they can’t get Polamalu back on the field in working

order. Am I wrong?

Colts and Saints streaks are

still in tact with four games to go. If you are a Washington Redskins

fan, how many times did you hurl in your mouth this past Sunday? I mean,

you just can’t catch a break, and these are the type of games that

your team loses every year. You had the Saints right where you wanted

them. Or was it the other way around? Tennessee’s 5 game winning streak

with Vince Young at quarterback was snapped by the Colts. This didn’t

come across as a surprise, and wouldn’t have been even if the Titans

pulled out the victory. Any time that faces the Colts or the Saints

during the remainder of the season need to think, possessions. You better

have your heart in every position and every snap if you want to beat

either one of these teams. If you ask me, they both need to take a loss

before the playoffs. And not a loss with the second string players in

either. Sometimes you just need a shift in game plans which only happens

after a loss. Which could explain the up and down victories both teams

are pulling off. Which team do you think the clock will strike 12 on

in the playoffs?

As always, I can’t talk about

every team in these wrap-ups. However, we at AllHipHop.com implemented

the scores and asterisks to focus on what you should be “in the know”

on. Sidebar: it just felt right to see Allen Iverson back in a Sixers

uniform last night. Give the Sixers about 10 games and a whole lot of

“Practice” and they won’t be an easy win in the Eastern Conference.

What were you expecting me to say? That they’d be a force to be reckoned

with? I have a name to protect here!

Baltimore 14, Green Bay 27

Minnesota 17*, Arizona 30*

San Francisco 17, Seattle 20

Dallas 24*, New York Giants

31

San Diego 30*, Cleveland 23

Philadelphia 34*, Atlanta 7

New England 21*, Miami 22

Detroit 13, Cincinnati 23*

Denver 44, Kansas City 13

St. Louis 9, Chicago 17

Oakland 27, Pittsburgh 24

Tampa Bay 6, Carolina 16

Tennessee 17, Indianapolis

27*

New Orleans 33*, Washington

30

Houston 18, Jacksonville 23

New York Jets 19, Buffalo 13

* = Division Leaders

De La Soul, PE Tapped For Big Ten PSA’s

By: Grouchy Greg Watkins (@GrouchyGreg)Category: News

The Big Ten Conference will debut it’s new public service announcements this weekend entitled “Big Ten Soundtrack,” which features background music by Hip-Hop groups De La Soul and Public Enemy.

 

The PSA’s, which were created by Chicago-based Team Works Media, will air on CBS Sports, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and The Big Ten Network, starting on December 12th.

 

Public Enemy’s Big Ten men’s basketball PSA is titled “Give It Up,” which incorporates their 1994 track of the same name, taken from the group’s album Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age.

 

De La Soul’s Big Ten basketball PSA is titled “The Magic Number,” also named after their classic track with the same title, taken from their pioneering album, 3 Feet High and Rising.

 

In “De La Soul’s PSA, the focus is on the number three using clips of three-point buzzer beaters and exceptional plays executed by athletes wearing the number three on their respective jerseys.

 

The Big Ten basketball public service announcements kick off on Saturday (December 12th), during the Kentucky vs. Indiana game, which will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports.