My Mic Sounds Nice: A Truth About Women & Hip Hop

BET aired their  documentary ‘My Mic Sounds Nice: A Truth About Women & Hip Hop’ earlier this week and someone over at their Washington DC offices must have read my mind, as this the timing of the programme is very apt, with all the debate surrounding Nicki Minaj at the moment. The show highlights the rise of women in the male-dominated world of Hip-Hop and the challenges they have faced, and no doubt continue to face. It features lots of great old school footage, as well as guest commentators including Roxanne Shante, Trina, MC Lyte, Lil Mama, YoYo, Eve, Missy Elliott, former The Source editor Kim Osorio and others. Check it out below:

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

YOGI BEAR & THE SMURFS GO 3D!

When I was growing up Yogi Bear was one of my favourite cartoons. My brothers and I used to love watching the antics of the lovable, but trouble-prone bear and his sweet but long-suffering side-kick Boo Boo. Jellystone Park was where they resided and their main mission in life was to swipe as many ‘pic-a-nic baskets’ from the visiting public as possible, much to the dismay of the park’s caretaker, and Yogi’s nemisis, Ranger Smith.

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LAURYN HILL – Don’t Call It A Comeback

Lauryn Hill’s slot at the New York leg of annual hip hop festival Rock the Bells was the talk of the music industry this past weekend. The respected and much-loved singer was on top form at the show, not necessarily in voice, but definitely in enthusiam. And she bought out some special guests to sweeten the deal, in the form of Jay-Z, Beyonce, Mary J Blige, comedian Chris Rock, a heavily pregnant Alicia Keys, Alicia’s new hubby Swizz Beatz and John Legend.

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MUSICAL YOUTH TO PERFORM AT OVERGROUND VIII

Overground, one of London’s most popular music showcases returns for its eight outing on 29th August (Bank Holiday Sunday) at Rhythm Factory , 16-18 Whitechapel Road, Whitechapel, E1 1EW. Headlining will be Grammy-nominated 80s favourites Musical Youth. The group now consists of just two original members Dennis Seaton and Michael Grant. But this will not stop the duo from bringing their ‘A’ game, as they perform old and new tracks at their first London gig in 20 years!

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R.I.P AALIYAH – 9th Aniversary Of Her Tragic Death

Wow! It seems like just yesterday I was writing a post marking what would have been Aaliyah’s 31st birthday. That was back in January of this year. Today is another one in the diary when it comes to the much-missed star, as it is the ninth anniversary of her death. Her life was tragically cut short after a small plane she boarded in the Bahamas crashed, killing eight other passengers on board. The singer and her entourage were returning home after shooting the music video for her song Rock The Boat, and Aaliyah was just 22 years old at the time.

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MS DYNAMITE GOES ALL OLD SCHOOL IN NEW VID!

I really love the below video What You Talking About? by Redlight featuring Ms Dynamite, and not just because I am a long time Ms Dynamite fan. It’s the imagery and fashion that really does it for me, courtesy of the super strong influences from the 80s and 90s. That’s everything from the graffiti style writing and pictures on the white background as a backdrop, to Ms Dynamite and her female co-star’s outfits of huge (door-knocker-style earrings), stone-wash denim, Reebok pumps, leggings and loud leather jacket!

I decided to dig out some classic vids from back in the day, which came to mind after viewing this. Enjoy, and let me know if there are any others you can think of?
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‘HEY KANYE: TEN RAPPERS GREATER THAN NICKI MINAJ (and they are all female)’

So Kanye West thinks that Nicki Minaj has it in her to be the best rapper of all time, next to Eminem, huh? I love Kanye and all he does in the studio and a lot of things out of it, but his statement: ‘I think she has the most potential out of everyone to be the Number 2 rapper of all time’ is something I can not and will not cosign! To paraphrase one of his own rhymes ‘Bitch… are you smoking reefer?’ (Roses, Late Registration, 2005), no matter how big Nicki Minaj gets she ain’t never gonna be no second greatest rapper of all time, and that’s coming from somebody that actually likes her. I also don’t agree on the Eminem thing either,  but that is another discussion for another time. So back to Nicki, and it’s not just the fact that she is not even in the running to be the second greatest rapper of all time, she isn’t even in the running to be the greatest ‘female’ rapper of all time. I acknowledge that ‘Ye did say potential, but I’m still not buying.

There is a long list of female rappers that will always be greater than Nicki Minaj in my humble opinion. I admit a lot of are them are either washed up, in jail, on hiatus or out of the game and unlikely to make any real comeback now, but at their peak they were great. The fact that all of them have had hits that date back to at least the 90s is pure coincidence, but it also says a lot about the current state of hip hop, as it seems in the absence of anything truly amazing, peeps (like Kanye) are handing out unworthy titles, like an MTV award to Taylor Swift just before Mr West bum-rushes the stage! I will say image, lyrics, videos, impact and emotion all play a part here. Sales do too, but not as much – so we are talking quality not quantity . So… In no particular order (I’m way too indecisive to do it any other way), here goes my ‘Ten Female rappers greater than Nicki Minaj’

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NEIL PATRICK HARRIS

NOW

These days Neil Patrick Harris is known for playing womaniser Barney Stinson in the hit US CBS TV show How I Met Your Mother, currently airing on UK satellite channel E4.  The comedic role is one he has played since 2005, and it seems to be working for him, as he has racked up an impressive list of award nominations, including 2007, 2008 and 2009 Emmy nominations for best supporting male actor in a comedy series. Read more

WE ARE FAMILY

When I think about the 80s and 90s, one of the things that stand out is how many family music groups there were – that’s groups made up of, or featuring siblings. I have already written posts about Musical Youth, Debarge, 5 Star, Jodeci and Bros on here (check the music archives for those!). But as you all know there are a lot more that fit the bill. Read more

THE A TEAM

‘(Ten years ago / In 1972), a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire… The A-Team.’ Read more

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