The Real Hip Hop Room

The approach - Eric @ CS Techcast

Getting hyped for the show tonight! - Eric @ CS Techcast

Rocking my new Jay Z playlist. - Eric @ CS Techcast

You made this playlist because of what I texted you earlier today, didn't you? - Elena

I had it already, but that did put me in the mood. - Eric @ CS Techcast

"After a four-year hiatus and hot on the heels of Tiger JK’s departure from Jungle Entertainment, Drunken Tiger returns with The Cure, the “group”’s ninth release. Despite the pioneering hip hop collective’s dwindling membership, the last cat standing still recognizes the strength in numbers, enlisting the help of his favorite collaborators: Yoon Mi-rae and Bizzy, and to great commercial success. The nine tracks that comprise the album have dominated the South Korean charts since their release. But while The Cure is a force on the charts—and it pains me to say this because usually, all things Tiger are on point—many of the album’s tracks lacks that signature Tiger JK oomph. Moments of swagtastic brilliance are outnumbered by sappy mediocrity. Sadly and despite rich source material, with The Cure, Tiger is a bit toothless." - Anika

"The deeper issue is our society, which has caused many bi and homosexual men to deny their homosexuality for the sake of career, family and society. The problem is that the “Mister Cees of the world” have to be “down-low” in order to be respected in our society. It is our societal norms, which causes brothas like Mister Cee to go undercover. What does that say about our supposed “Land of the Free and open society?” It says that, indeed, we are not free to be sexual creatures of varying degrees! It also says that no matter how much we say that we don’t care about what others think about us—we do! No supposedly straight hip-hop head wants their name soiled in the saliva of transgender consciousness. Although we are shocked, we shouldn’t be. Why? Because hip-hop is a microcosm of the larger macrocosm mainstream populace where some 20% of Americans identify as bi, homosexual or transgender/transsexual." - Eric @ CS Techcast

"K-hip-hop came to forefront of the news when Swings pushed the first domino by releasing “King Swings,” a track intending to have a similar effect as that of Kendrick Lamar‘s feature in Big Sean‘s “Control” in the US. But what came after was countless diss tracks, all based on the beat of “Control,” with the participating artists using the opportunity to air some dirty laundry while boasting of their own merits. One of the repeating messages involved a chasm between the perceptions of mainstream and underground artists as well as a dislike for idol music. Probably the most memorable exchange of all, however, were the tracks tossed back and forth between two pairs: E-Sens and Gaeko versus Swings and Simon D, making known that E-Sens’ departure from Amoeba Culture wasn’t as smooth as it may have initially appeared." - Anika

I think all the comments about how utterly lame diss tracks are are spot on. I do quibble with the lack of English translation being an obstacle to Korean hip-hop. A good flow is a good flow. A good beat is a good beat. That doesn't matter whether it's English, French, Ethiopian or Korean. There's also a huge difference in Korean rap between real rappers and manufactured ones. It's probably even bigger than in the US. But, I'm not sure this diss track episode even made it on the radar of anyone who'd call themselves a real hip-hop fan. All while it was going down, speaking to people around the world, none of them had even heard of these guys (so sad) when I mentioned it. Do they even want to be worldwide stars or is overseas (read: Japan & maybe China) domination enough? - Anika

"Lamar dropped the gauntlet with a chorus that included these lyrics: "I'm usually homeboys with the same n----- I'm rhymin' with/But this is hip-hop and them n----- should know what time it is/And that goes for Jermaine Cole, Big K.R.I.T., Wale/Pusha T, Meek Mill, A$AP Rocky, Drake/Big Sean, Jay Electron', Tyler, Mac Miller/I got love for you all but I'm tryna murder you n-----." By Wednesday, all sorts of artists, including Lupe Fiasco and B.o.B., had taken the challenge." - Eric @ CS Techcast

Mysonne lyrics were solid. http://www.youtube.com/watch... But I agree, the best has been Joel. - Eric @ CS Techcast

"http://youtu.be/GOr3vphKufY" - Adrian

"You'd have to put N.W.A as one of the big poster boys for that kind of radical creativity that L.A. has engendered. When I first moved here, it was the late 80's and there was this radio station KDAY that played current new music from the streets or whatever and I got super obsessed but they were really like the local band and so we would go see them at this place called World on Wheels. There was this band that then that was making all these songs that were like gangster rap lyrics but also like musically sampling really incredibly interesting stuff and the people from that band went on to do all this stuff. Dr. Dre, I think like this crazy big figure in the music business now. Ice Cube was someone. I used to have a poster of Ice Cube on my studio when I first opened my office. To me I find musically that a lot of west coast hip hop sound has been kind of like a soundtrack for what i'm thinking about. I consider it part of the kind of urban condition that I work in. I think as a moment, like lets say hypothetically that rap at that point took over the position of punk rock as a radical musical output like that to me marks that transition." - Anika

"Michael Holman, the mastermind behind the seminal hip hop show “Graffiti Rock”, has just launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a 30th Anniversary documentary on the project." - Eric @ CS Techcast

Classic Wu sounds. - Adrian

Here it is again, isolated. With lyrics. You're welcome. - Adrian

This is dope. This is what happens when two masters meet. - Adrian

Saul Williams' part (the middle verse passage that starts with quiet and slowly builds to a crescendo) is really about as good as hip hop gets. True transcendent art. Just a day's work for Saul. - Adrian

Well it's about damn time! - Adrian

"Before, when I wanted to rap, my raps sounded like a bit like Cam’ron; they sounded a bit like Mase; they sounded a bit like Jay-Z or whoever. And it wasn’t until I hung out with Dead Prez and understood how to make, you know, raps with a message sound cool that I was able to just write “All Falls Down” in 15 minutes. Is that true? Yeah, that’s how I discovered my style. I was just hanging out with them all the time in New York. I would produce for them. You know, I was able to slip past everything with a pink polo, but I am Dead Prez. And now, because I was able to slip past, I have a responsibility at all times." - Eric @ CS Techcast

De La Soul Blast 'Redundant' Hip-Hop With First Single Since 2004 - Eric @ CS Techcast

Damn, this is pretty awesome. Came out last year. Apollo Brown is the best new producer I've heard in a long time. - Adrian

This is too funny! - Adrian

"Friday April 19th marks the three-year anniversary of the passing of Guru and this track, “G.U.R.U.” f/ Talib Kweli & DJ Premier is dedicated to his memory and a celebration of his life, legacy and all of the vast accomplishments and great music he and DJ Premier gave us. “G.U.R.U.” also serves as the lead-single from Marco Polo’s forthcoming LP, PA2: The Director’s Cut, which will be released in July 2013 on SoulSpazm Records." - Eric @ CS Techcast

"Erykah Badu spent some time recently with The Music Snobs to chop it up with Arthur, Isaac, Jehan and Scoop about the massive career and genius of the Wu-Tang Clan‘s Ghostface Killah." - Adrian

Their breakdown of Ghostface starts at 13:20. It's a long-ass interview. :) - Adrian

From 2010. I totally missed this. - Adrian

"Says Posdnuos: “I’ve always loved the ‘Intro’ on Disc Two of Wu-Tang Forever – this erie sample with no beat, that they only talked over, I stumbled on the original sample while crate digging one day, took it straight to the lab and added drums. The feel is definitely gritty, hard and sounds like a Wu record, so out of inspirational respect, we included featuring ‘The Spirit of the Wu’ in the song title.” - Adrian

OMG! Trippy. Before I was nuts about Wu-Tang, I was nuts about De La Soul. O_o - Adrian

LA's finest. - Adrian

I checked it out, it's not bad, but I don't much care for Jay-Z. And I've grown to almost like him over the years, but not really. :) - Adrian

"Proof" that the Gostface / MF Doom project may finally bear fruit this year. DOOMSTARKS! This is a great low-key track with a classic sound. - Adrian

I think they first appeared together on the cover of music mags in like 2005 but the album had been rumored for a couple of years before that. That's TEN YEARS in the making! - Adrian

Damn. Would love to hear a whole album collaboration with these three. - Adrian

"This year marks the 20th anniversary of a remarkable year in music. Over the 12 months of 1993, Queen Latifah, De La Soul, Salt-N-Pepa, Snoop Dogg, A Tribe Called Quest and more than a dozen other rappers released albums that helped to change the sound of America. One of those albums wasn't just a collection of songs — it was a business concept, too. The Wu-Tang Clan's 1993 debut was the opening shot of an audacious plan to open the music industry to hip-hop made way outside the mainstream." - Adrian

Gary, check this out: https://friendfeed.com/old-sch... Some people CAn still pull it off. :) - Adrian

Cells, cells, they're made of organelles... - Adrian

"MARK STEYN: I do have a big problem with that, in that I think there's an absence of human feeling in these songs. It's not just that they're explicit. When you talk to social conservatives, they get upset because there's all these bad words in there. It's beyond that, actually. It's not just that there's this word or that word. But it's the absence of human feeling. JAY NORDLINGER: Of melody, of harmony? Of the fundamental elements of music except for (inaudible) MARK STEYN: Well, you say fundamental. "The fundamental things apply as time goes by," as Dooley Wilson sang in Casablanca. And I used to think that in the end, everybody aspired to the condition of romantic love as expressed in "As Time Goes By." You know, or "The Way You Look Tonight" or "The Very Thought of You." And I'm a bit concerned these days that the fundamental things are not going to apply as time goes by. And that when 14-, 15-, 16-year-old girls, when they're listening to Ke$ha, listening to, there's a song I was listening to called "Sex Room." You can guess what it's about. And actually it's very difficult, in New York or California, it's murder trying to get a zoning permit to put a sex room in your house. So it's also a big-government issue. It's a regulation issue. MONA CHAREN: I'm sure they'll be subsidized soon. MARK STEYN: And I was thinking, what is it like when that's the song you dance to at your first dance? And I'm not sure the fundamental things will apply as time goes by. JAY NORDLINGER: If I could say two things, rap has been all downhill since Sir Mix-a-Lot and "Baby Got Back"..." - Eric @ CS Techcast

"Mona Charen posted about it at National Review Online: The great Mark Steyn discussed rap "music" (a symbol of the decline of the West if ever there was one)." - Eric @ CS Techcast

"Thumb through a stack of major Los Angeles hip-hop albums from the late 1980s through mid-1990s and you might notice one name credited on all of them: Michael Miller. During the West Coast's hip-hop scene's ascension into global fame, the photographer ended up being the go-to lensman for countless album covers and publicity stills. Miller's output is staggering, and would be hard to believe if not for his recent, self-published book documenting all of it: "West Coast Hip-Hop: A History In Pictures." In it, Miller compiles literal portraits of California hip-hop during one of its most vibrant eras. That includes the giants of the scene such as Tupac, Cypress Hill and Snoop Dogg but also lesser-known artists such as the Whooliganz, Funkdoobiest and a group originally called the Atban Klann (better known by their later name: Black Eyed Peas)" - Anika