Weekly Artist Profile #3

Let me introduce to Kid Cudi

Kid Cudi is a Cleveland rapper who began to gain attention when he released his first single, "Day 'n' Nite". Cudi released his first mixtape, A Kid Named Cudi, in partnership with street wear brand 10 Deep as a free download by way of 10 Deep's website. The mixtape includes a guest appearance from DC rapper Wale and caught the attention of Kanye West. In early September 2008, he performed at the 2008 VMAs in conjunction with Travis Barker and DJ AM. In an interview with URB, Kid Cudi said that he was working in the studio with Kanye West on his upcoming album 808s & Heartbreak and will be featured on the album. He is finishing up his album for its release in Spring 2009.

Here is Kid Cudi's single "Day 'N' Nite"

What Do You Know? A Rapper With A Heart

Thanksgiving came early for 500 Atlanta families. Last weekend (November 22nd & November 23rd), Ludacris and his non-profit organization's LudaCares program gave Thanksgiving turkeys and pies to poor residents of metro Atlanta. On the 22nd, the foundation distributed food to areas on the South side of Atlanta. On the 23rd, Ludacris was on the North side of Atlanta, distributing more food to local residents in need of some holiday cheer. Ludacris said that "I especially look forward to this time of year because it allows me to directly touch the people we are trying to help."

More rappers should follow Ludacris' lead and give back to the community that made them who they are today. If you want to read the full “Rapper Ludacris To Feed 500 Families For Thanksgiving” article then click here

"Hip Hop Isn't Dying, It Just Sucks"

This is a title of an enlightening article from "The Seminal: Independent Media and Politics" website that I stumbled upon today. The article states that "Hip hop, which has been the darling of the record industry these last few years, is in trouble." Hip Hop sales are down. According to Nielsen SoundScan, sales in the Rap category dropped 20.7% compared with sales in 2005. The article elaborates on the fact that the problem with hip hop is the lyrics when it juxtaposes "artistically interesting" hip hop lyrics from "CREAM" by The Wu-Tang Clan. and today's lyrics from songs like "Push Baby . On the outside, the lyrical content from back in the day seems to be the same as today's i.e. violence, drugs, money. However, the article says "Well to start, lyrically “CREAM” is about more than just drugs and guns. This particular song is also about survival, big dreams, and the mysteries of life." The writer goes on to say there is no possible way Pretty Ricky's lyrics are commensurate with those of the Wu-Tang Clan. The solution, of course, to the problem is make good music by putting some thought into the lyrics.

Here are the lyrics to the first verse of both songs, read them and see if you agree with the article or not:

CREAM: It’s been twenty-two long hard years of still strugglin
Survival got me buggin, but I’m alive on arrival
I peep at the shape of the streets
And stay awake to the ways of the world cause shit is deep
A man with a dream with plans to make C.R.E.A.M.
Which failed; I went to jail at the age of 15
A young buck sellin drugs and such who never had much
Trying to get a clutch at what I could not… could not…
The court played me short, now I face incarceration
Pacin — going up state’s my destination
Handcuffed in back of a bus, forty of us
Life as a shorty shouldn’t be so ruff
But as the world turns I learned life is hell
Living in the world no different from a cell

Push It Baby: When I Step Up In He Club-I’m So Hot Hot Hot
Tossing Dollars At These Hoes Like Ah Ah Ah
Pretty Woman Up In Here Like Bah Bah Bah
Spitting Game In Their Ear Like - Lalalalalalaa
Baby Blue I Don’t Play No Games
Head To My Feet So Fresh So Clean
Buying Out The Bar Like It Ain’t No Thang
Hot Boy Like Wayne
Diamonds In My Chain Blang Blang Blang
I got canary diamond Bustas
Got the matching Lamborghini same color mustard
Baying drinks for these chicks and now they owe me
More gin if u wine I’m the same ol G

Weekly Artist Profile #2

Let me introduce you to the Gutta a.k.a. Ace Hood



Born Antoine McColister in Broward County, Florida, Ace knew he was meant to do great things, even at a young age. He says "I got the name Ace as a child. My family always thought that I would be the one who would succeed in whatever I did." After an injury ruined his flourishing football career, Ace turned to his true calling, rapping. At the age of 17, Ace, together with the Broward-County-based entertainment label Dollaz & Dealz, recorded his first street hit "M.O.E." ("Money Over Everything"). This song generated immediate buzz for him in South Florida. Ace began to perform and meet people who helped him gain publicity like never before. After perfecting his craft on local crowds, his goal was to perform for DJ Khaled at his annual birthday bash. Khaled had a contest going on where you had to give a certain amount of reasons why you should perform at the birthday bash. Ace recalls "
We handed him a CD and once we did that he listened to it and called my manager that night wanting to set up a meeting." That meeting turned into Ace becoming the first artist signed to DJ Khaled's label "We the Best" distributed by Def Jam Records.

Now you no doubt have heard Ace Hood's first two singles "Cash Flow," and "Ride." Here's a something a but more grittier.

R.I.P. Rap City

This is late reporting on story that was posted on allhiphop.com in early October. Sorry for the delay.

BET network has rescinded its long-running Hip-Hop series Rap City. The move was put into effect when the final Rap City episode was aired on Oct. 29. The series was created in 1989, making it the longest running Hip-Hop program at 19 years. In its early years, the show competed directly with Yo! MTV Raps. It was able to distinguish itself from its MTV counterpart by not just concentrating on mainstream rappers, but also advocating videos and interviews from underground and up and coming artists.

It was such a shame to see it go because I myself was an avid viewer. This cancellation is a wake-up call that we have to take it upon ourselves to keep Hip-Hop alive.

P.S. Click here for the allhiphop.com "BET Cancels Rap City" article

Weekly Artist Profile #1

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to Wale.



No even though his fitted cap says NY, Wale Forlain is a 23 year old hip hop artist from Washington D.C. of all places. 2006 was Wale's breakout year as he dominated the Mid Atlantic from DC to Virginia with a slew of radio hits and captivating shows that edified his buzz. 2007 proved to be even more successful for Wale as he acquired press in The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, and The Washington Post, all without a record deal. With substantial radio play in DC, Maryland, and Virginia, Wale also saw a great response from fans on both coasts by selling out shows in LA, New York, San Francisco, Philly, and Atlanta. Also in 2007, Wale took the European music scene by storm when he toured with famous DJ and musician Mark Ronson. His appeal was so great that he ended up signing a production deal with Ronson's Allido Records. With well over 2 million plays on Myspace and being sponsored by street wear companies such as Starr African Rum and LRG, Wale has become a hip hop and lifestyle phenomenon. He is one of the artists to look out for in 2008 and subsequent years to come.

Here is one of Wale's more popular songs from his third mixtape "100 Miles And Running"

And the Grammy goes to the...vocoder?!

Now you no doubt have heard of rapper turned singer T-Pain over the last couple years. Since his debut in 2005, this Tallahassee singer-songwriter has produced such hits as "Buy You A Drank," "Bartender," and most recently "Cant Believe It." I'm not trying to put down all that he has accomplished up to this point, but there is just one problem: he can't sing. For his entire career, T-Pain has been continually criticized for using the infamous vocoder. This device can enhance the sound quality of the user's voice and, when used correctly, gives the illusion that the user is very talented. T-Pain was the first artist to make this "instrument" popular and other artists were quick to follow in his footsteps. Platinum recording artists like Lil' Wayne and Kanye West have jumped the bandwagon and have made use of the device as well. As a matter of fact, every song I've heard from Kanye West's upcoming album, "8O8s and Heartbreaks," he has been guilty of using the dreaded vocoder.

Now I say "dreaded vocoder" because the machine has tampered with hip hop's life support system. Rappers are now relying on the vocoder to improve their music. Instead of taking the time out to rhyme about contemporary topics, they've resorted to only appealing to a female audience by focusing on the chorus of a song. The chorus, of course, is the repeated part of a song and the part that everybody remembers the most. The chorus in rap songs is usually sung by a R&B singer, but their services are no longer necessary thanks to the handy dandy vocoder. Rappers take it upon themselves to sing the chorus. Which brings me to my number one issue with the vocoder: it makes the artist's voice all distorted. T-Pain has mastered the art of "vocodering" and the distortion in his voice is very minimal. This is not the case for others however. I'm anxious to see and hear how T-Pain and other vocoder artists perform their songs on stage. Are they really singing? How do they hide the vocoder component from audience members? These and other questions will be going through my head, if I ever do stoop low enough to attend one of T-Pain's concert. The vocoder has and will have nothing but detrimental effects to the rap game if it continues to be implemented in every other song that is released.

P.S. Check out the video