Scarface: Why He Turned Down Hip-Hop Honors
Scarface has never been one to mince words, but when the rap legend refused to participate in the 2010 Hip-Hop Honors’ ode The South, he revealed to Ozone Magazine exactly why. Peep it. For more, go to ozonemag.com.Scarface: I was nominated [to be honored at the “Dirty South” VH1 Hip Hop Honors] but I declined […]

Gucci The Role Model? Really?
The views expressed inside this editorial aren’t necessarily the views of AllHipHop.com or its employees.“The term role model generally means any “person who serves as an example, whose behavior is emulated by others” – Wikipedia This is something I will make sure never happens again. My time in jail was trying, but I grew from […]

The Renaissance of The Female MC: Ana Tijoux and Queen Yonasda
Renaissance any new birth, re-birth or revival of art, thought, science, literature, or architecture. [(French for “rebirth”; Italian: Rinascimento, from ri- “again” and nascere “be born”)] Listening to the new albums from Ana Tijoux and Queen Yonasda made me think of Akinyele. I know what youre thinking so let me explain. About 11 years […]

Meditations on Hip-Hop: Of Disposability, Death, and Destiny (Pt. I of III)
DISPOSABILITY As the social state is displaced by the market, a new kind of politics is emerging in which some lives, if not whole groups, are seen as disposable and redundant. Henry A. Giroux, Youth in a Suspect Society: Democracy or Disposability? (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), pp. 155-156. They lack the minerals and […]

Ode To Kimbo Slice: Gone, But Remembered
Kimbo Slice is gone. The UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) has unceremoniously dismissed the Florida pugilist after he lost his second UFC fight on Saturday Night. Kimbo was beaten in classic form outlasted and convincingly. The thing is, in an odd Hip-Hop sort of way, Kimbo was us. The quintessential underdog, the dude honed his […]

Un-American America: Why Fear Mongering is So Damn Frightening
We are living in precarious and dangerous times. The economy remains unstable, joblessness is continuously skyrocketing, development is stagnant and unpredictable circumstances around the world are exacerbating the fears of many. But what is also quietly bubbling underneath the surface is a far more treacherous and detrimental push for a shift in American psychology that […]

Lil Wayne’s Open Letter To Mothers (Mother’s Day)
Its not many words in the world more powerful than mother. Those six letters can bring joy, just like they bring pain. It can invoke excitement just as quickly as it can anger, depending on the context, I guess. For myself, it means more than I can ever possibly describe, but I will try. I […]

And Through It All Still We Dance!
Make em say go LL and do the Wop! LL Cool J As I think back, the Wop was probably the last dance mentioned in a rap song that I tried to do. Did I say try? Who am I kidding? I mastered the Wop. I did it with both of my hands or […]

Can Beyond Oblivion Serve Industry & Music Liberation?
Ignoring The 95 Percenters: Can Beyond Oblivion Serve Industry & Music Liberation? Will October 10, 2010 be the date we will look back on as the moment the music industry was saved from itself? Maybe. Those familiar with this column will remember that I already have suggested December 8, 2009 – the date VEVO was […]

Op-Ed: The Mis-Education of Henry Louis Gates, Jr
By Abdul Arif Muhammad, Esq. In an April 23, 2010 Op-Ed piece for The New York Times entitled Ending the Slavery Blame-Game, Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. argues that a moral, historic, political and economic equivalency exists between the culpability and responsibility of some Africans who participated in the transatlantic slave trade with the nations […]

Can Hip-Hop’s New Generation “Master The Moment”
Master The Moment. Years ago, I wrote a personal editorial on AllHipHop.com, because I felt like the culture itself has finally learned to “master the moment.” This write up referred to the period affectionately known as the second Golden Era. I’m not certain if that the “Master The Moment” phrase had ever been used before, […]

“Dont Dumb Down, Just Speak The Language Of The People”
Dont Dumb Down, Just Speak The Language Of The PeopleAllah gives to every creature the ability to communicate with its own to be able to share with other members of its species, what its aim is, what its desire is and the fulfillment of the natural inclination of the species.The highest manifestation of communication is […]

Guru’s Brother Writes Heartfelt Open Letter
Originally published by Boston.com. Click here for the original story. Positivity, thats how Im livin.. So goes the lyric from my brothers early hip-hop song, Positivity. My brother Keith Elam, the hip-hop artist known as GURUGifted Unlimited Rhymes Universaldied this week at the too-young age of 48 because of complications from cancer. Positivity was what […]

OUR HEALTH CRISIS: Hip-Hop Is Dying
HIP-HOPS STATE OF EMERGENCY: OUR HEALTH CRISIS State of Union Address to the Hip-Hop Generation by Supa Nova Slom, The Hip Hop Medicine Man Part I: Hip-Hop Is Dying Dear Hip-Hop Generation: This is a call to my fellow hip-hop artists, community, and generation at large: WAKE UP!!! HIP-HOP IS DYING!!!! IT IS A STATE […]

Do Not Meet Your Heroes!
[Original Source]Im not a whistle-blower, rat or any other term synonymous with snitch. With that said the following stories shall leave the guilty nameless. My agenda here is to crystallize my point, not expose wack behavior. Before I state my premise Ill first explain my need to. Last month I received an assignment to interview […]

The Genius Of Floyd Mayweather Jr.: Caricature (And Character) Outsells Talent
One morning in 2003 I had the honor of being with both the WWEs Vince McMahon and Russell Simmons at a political gathering announcing their collaboration in Washington, D.C. I love Russell to death but I already knew him and decided to take the opportunity and limited time to say something to Vince McMahon. Obviously […]

Top 10 Logos In Hip-Hop
Remember what Commissioner Gordon did when he wanted to summon Batman? He took the “bat sign” and shined it over the city and Batman would know it was time to come through. I would imagine, in the comic book world, the whole city of Gotham knew that Batman was on the way upon seeing the […]

Rich Kids, Hip-Hop Discourse, and the Rage of the Rabble
Editor’s note: The views expressed inside this editorial aren’t necessarily the views of AllHipHop.com or its employees.Last week, I penned a firey editorial flamed toward the recent rise of rich kids in Hip-Hopthose who out of suddenness developed an interest to Rap music-making, and in a few months only had multiple labels vying for their […]

Rich Kids in Hip-Hop: Who Said the Gates Were Closed?
[Editor’s note: This post is a direct response to Tolu Olorunda’s editorial entitled, “Rich Kids in Hip-Hop: Who Let the Gates Open?“]Editor’s note: The views expressed inside this editorial aren’t necessarily the views of AllHipHop.com or its employees.Im writing this because Im so sick of limiting beliefs in rap music. Im sick of the idea […]

j-Smooth Talks About T-Pain’s Foray With Sean Hannity
Another classic post, where J-Smooth discusses T-Pain’s brief political tango with Sean Hannity.