hip hop music

Fundraising Special Tonight

2012-02-04T02:19:33Z

Tonight at 10PM EST is the 21st anniversary of the Underground Railroad, and we'll be celebrating by helping to kick off WBAI's Winter fundraiser. So please tune in and support if you can! You can call 212-209-2950 to make a donation. Any amount you can pledge goes a long way to keeping this community radio station alive, and if you pledge $75 or more you'll also get a copy of the highly acclaimed Black Power Mixtape documentary on DVD. Tune in at WBAI.org, and once again 212-209-2950 is the number to call and pledge your support. And as always you can join us in the chat room here.

Black Star "Little Brother" (with Questlove Commentary)

2012-01-07T02:27:47Z

The classic Black Star/J Dilla collaboration "Little Brother." See the video below for Questlove telling the story behind this beat.

Brother Ali & Jake One "Writer's Block"

2012-01-03T18:00:51Z

I've been waiting a long time for this project to emerge, the first single from Brother Ali's project with superproducer Jake One, "Writer's Block." The story he's telling certainly hits home for me.

Skillz 2011 Wrap-Up

2012-01-02T20:42:09Z

Oops, did he say "3,000 home runs?"

Jean Grae "U & Me & Everyone We Know" (AUDIO)

2012-01-02T19:50:16Z

U & Me & Everyone We Know by Jeangreasy Some grownup talk about relationships from Jean Grae, on the first single/leak/whatever you call new songs on the internet now, from her "Cake Or Death" album, "U & Me & Everyone We Know."

Snoop Dogg Co-Hosting "The Price Is Right" (VIDEO)

2012-01-02T18:44:37Z

Drew Carey welcomes Snoop Dogg as guest co-host and announcer on The Price Is Right. Snoop seems more enthusiastic about game show hosting here than he has about rapping in years. I enjoy Snoop the most when he's doing something G-rated (no pun intended), I always wished he was around to become a character on Peewee's Playhouse. Has he been on Yo Gabba Gabba yet?. See more video at miss info's spot.

Boog Brown w/ 14KT "Growth (Remix)"

2012-01-02T00:08:32Z

See more on Boog Brown here, and on the very dope producer 14KT here.

Drake Sings "Make Me Proud/The Motto/Headlines" (NYE VIDEO)

2012-01-02T00:03:51Z

Drake's performance last night on Carson Daly's New Years Eve special, where he did live versions of his hits make Me Proud, The Motto, and Headlines. Source

What Really Causes A Hangover?

2012-01-01T23:39:45Z

Just in time for your post New Year's suffering, here's a new breakdown of what really causes a hangover, which drinks are most likely to cause a bad one, and what you can and can't do to prevent it or cure it.

What Causes A Hangover? source ...Red wine and dark liquors like whiskey, brandy, bourbon and tequila produce more impurities, called congeners, during fermentation than lighter colored alcohol like wine, rum and vodka. Here's a handy congener chart. Congeners basically make all hangover symptoms worse. You maybe have noticed that although it's clear, bubbly gives a nasty headache. That's because carbonation increases your blood's absorption of alcohol... ...Also, that drinking buddy who's always warning you: Bro, don't mix? He is correct. Mixing various types of alcohol on a single night is unwise if your functioning potential the following day is important. Each alcohol produces different types of congeners which combine to create a strong cocktail of morning-after pain...

Cee-Lo Green Changes Lyrics to "Imagine" (VIDEO)

2012-01-01T22:55:00Z

Here's the video of Cee-Lo Green doing a controversial cover version of John Lennon's "Imagine" at the climax of NBC's New Year's Eve New Year's Eve. Not the worst performance from Cee-Lo, though there were some spotty moments on the high notes. But the rendition offended Lennon fans by changing one of the song's key lyrics, when he switched "and no religion too" to "and all religion is true." I have to agree it was a bad idea for Cee-Lo to edit Lennon's words here, even if some of the backlash has been over the top. I understand he may have had good intentions, but in this instance he really should've just let it be, as it were. See the performance below, and see more about the negative reaction from Lennon fans here.
(source)

Justin Bieber vs. Riff-Raff: Battle of the Frightening "Otis" Freestyles

2011-11-02T22:23:30Z

Out of the many freestyles that have come out over Kanye and Jay-Z's "Otis" (including a pointed rebuttal from Chuck D), perhaps none are more ominous than these two that dropped recently. The first is former White Rapper Show contestant and current BFF of V-Nasty, Riff-Raff. He clearly wins for most awkward usage of the word "boysenberry" in a verse. Then today we saw the arrival of this Justin Bieber take on the track. Bieber has been looking for chances to flex his freestyle muscles for a while now, and reportedly got kicked out of BET's cypher when DJ Premier found out he had Ludacris ghostwriting for him. Check out their best efforts below if you dare, and see if you can pick a winner. Riff-Raff "Otis" Freestyle Justin Bieber "Otis" Freestyle

Joan Morgan on Marriage

2011-11-02T21:47:05Z

"We don't really seem to analyze the fact that marriage is a complicated institution as it exists in the 21st Century precisely because it was never designed historically to be about romantic love. It was very financially based, and church-based. It fed the church's need to consistently support and reproduce itself. Maybe the question is not "Why can't I get married?" but 'Does marriage, in the way that it exists, with no revision possible, fulfill who we are in the 21st Century?' Or is there another way to form productive long-lasting meaningful relationships?"

-Three Feminists Talk About The Media's Obsession With Unwed Black Women

New Common Single "Sweet" (Beat by NO I.D.)

2011-11-02T14:17:36Z

As one of the Rap Radar commenters said, "This is the Common the republicans were scared of." I wouldn't mind a bit less of the "make sure you know I'm still a macho man" ad-lib tough talk, but still a cool track overall. Always happy to hear NO I.D. on the production. (via RapRadar)

Rick Ross Says Seizures Were From "Not Getting Enough Rest"? (VIDEO)

2011-11-02T13:27:39Z

The Bawse spoke for the first time about his health scare last week, when he was hospitalized after two serious seizures within hours of each other. Not taking enough naps, though? Not sure what to make of that explanation, though as mentioned in the HuffPo link it's not out of left field to link seizures with lack of sleep (for people with epilepsy):

"Sleep activates the electrical charges in the brain that result in seizures and seizures are timed according to the sleep wake cycle. For some people, seizures occur exclusively during sleep. This is especially true for a particular type of epilepsy known as benign focal epilepsy of childhood, also known as Rolandic epilepsy. When seizures occur during sleep, they may cause awakenings that are sometimes confused with insomnia. Epilepsy patients are often unaware of the seizures that occur while they sleep. They may suffer for years from daytime fatigue and concentration problems without ever knowing why. For people with epilepsy, sleep problems are a double-edged sword; epilepsy disturbs sleep and sleep deprivation aggravates epilepsy."

Whatever they may say for public consumption I hope that behind the scenes Ross and his people are taking this seriously, and putting thought into his health and well-being. video platform video management video solutions video player

On Occupy Wall Street's Media Coverage

2011-10-19T21:53:19Z

AKA "Outing The Ringers," a few thoughts on Occupy Wall Street..I've been watching it and going down there for a while now but hadn't had a chance to speak on it. By the way when I say some news media people are "ringers," I don't necessarily mean that they deliberately obfuscate, or get orders from some shadowy figure to do so. I think they'll often just have a personal investment in the system and status quo that's being critiqued/threatened, so they'll naturally--without any need to conspire--have their perception skewed by an instinct to protect the status quo they're invested in. So though it's quite possibly not their intention to play the ringer, it's the function they wind up serving nonetheless. "Rainbow in the Dark" instrumental provided by Das Racist: