JODECI’S K-CI AND JOJO SOBER UP FOR REALITY SHOW
Damn, as if the members of one of my all-time favourite groups, haven’t embarrassed themselves enough already. You’ve probably guessed, by the above picture, that I’m talking about Jodeci, one of the greatest r&b groups to ever do it, and 90s hits such as Come and Talk To Me, Cry For You, Forever My Lady, and the K-Ci and JoJo smash, All My Life, stay rotating on my iPod. But I say ‘Damn” as someone who has attended one of their car-crash comeback shows in recent years, and also as someone privy to ‘that’ Youtube video – you know the one where JoJo collapses clean on stage, and K-Ci doesn’t bat an eye-lid, like its the most normal thing in the world?
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WHERE WERE YOU WHEN YOU HEARD TUPAC GOT SHOT?
Yesterday was the 14th anniversary of Tupac’s death, and like many of the older generation who will always remember where they were when Elvis died or Martin Luther King was assassinated, those of us of my generation will remember where they were when they heard Tupac got shot, as we will now with Michael Jackson’s passing and as we still do so vividly with Princess Diana. Yes ‘Pac had been shot two years previous, at a recording studio in Manhattan, but this second time was to prove fatal
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OLD SCHOOL ICONS KIDS ARE MAKING THEIR MARK!
September 8, 2010 by adenike
Filed under ARCHIVES, BLOG, FEATURED CONTENT, MUSIC
In recent months the offspring of two the most important names in old school popular culture, have been making waves of their own in the world of music and film. Daniel ‘Diggy’ Simmons, son of Rev. Joseph ‘Run’ Simmons of Run DMC fame, and Jaden and Willow (yup that’s her real name) Smith, son and daughter of superstar Will Smith, are currently building up careers and fanbases set to rival their famous parents.
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My Mic Sounds Nice: A Truth About Women & Hip Hop
September 1, 2010 by adenike
Filed under ARCHIVES, BLOG, FEATURED CONTENT, I MISS THE OLD SCHOOL TV, MUSIC
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.
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.
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 (UPDATED)
UPDATED: January 21st 2011: Okay, so it’s been nearly six months since I wrote the below post and I admit Nicki Minaj has managed to win me over since then. I’m man woman enough to admit when I have been a bit hasty with my words. Although I think I was justified with my opinion at the time. However it was her verse on Kanye’s Monster, where she out-did both Kanye and fellow featured guest ‘the mighty’ Jay-Z, that did it (It was probably that verse that prompted ‘Kanye to make such a statement in the first place! Lol!). She killed it! Before then, her guest verses just weren’t impressing me, and she was coming across as a caricature with no real substance, but she got me with that one. Good and proper! Now her quirky image,voices and personality are not simply annoying and crazy, as combined with her clearly showcased talent, her whole package makes for a very likeable artist.
And she’s continue to impress ever me since. Pink Friday is a very tight album, I cannot lie, and it is selling like crazy, so I’m clearly not the only one who thinks so. Although popularity and tabloid press doesn’t mean you are talented, the fact she managed to bring London, England to a standstill wherever she went on her press jaunt last week, was pretty amazing as the pandemonium that ensued is not something that happens when the average female rapper comes to town. Heck, I even went to a recent fancy dress party dressed as Nicki, complete with fake over-sized bumper! I STILL feel like she’s got a LONG way to go to live up to Kanye’s prediction, but what a difference six months can make, and I think she could probably give a few of the below women on the below list a run for their money right now. What do you reckon? Do you agree? And if so, which ones?
ORIGINAL POST: August 13th, 2010: So Kanye West thinks that Nicki Minaj has it in her to be the best rapper of all time, next to Eminem? 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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