Bill Cosby Presents the Cosnarati: State of Emergency The project includes songs about frustration, incarceration and .... [more inside]
posted by Jenny is Crafty on Oct 20, 2009 - 14 comments

It was 30 years ago today... October, 1979: Rapper's Delight by the Sugarhill Gang was released. A few days later, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five gave us the tighter and catchier (IMHO) Superrappin'. Hip Hop had arrived. Here's a charming interview with a New York City paramedic who, as a very young photographer on the South Bronx scene back in the day, was the unofficial photo-documentarian of the birth of hip hop.
posted by flapjax at midnite on Oct 14, 2009 - 32 comments

R.I.P. Mr. Magic. Mr. Magic's Rap Attack on WBLS was the first and for some time the only commercial radio outlet for hip hop. On October 2 Mr. Magic, John Rivas, passed from a heart attack. Previously 1 2 3.
posted by caddis on Oct 7, 2009 - 16 comments

Amazing to see how differently Shakespeare's work has been dealt with in music: there is Jerry Lee Lewis doing a blues on Othello. David Gilmour, former Pink Floyd lead singer, guitarist and songwriter, turned Sonnet 18 into a touchingly beautiful ballad. The Metal Shakespeare Company wrote a heavy metal song about Hamlet (III/1), "To bleed or not to bleed". And yes, there is Shakespeare rap, too: William Shatner (the very same!) raps about Caesar and British rapper Akala thinks he is a reincarnation of the bard. Last but not least, the Beatles tried their luck at Shakespeare, too (no music this time): they did a skit on the famous Pyramus and Thisbe scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream (very rare footage!).
posted by Matthias Rascher on Sep 22, 2009 - 37 comments

Last week, Eddy Temple Morris, a DJ on UK radio station XFM, challenged Twitter to remix as many songs as possible into 10 minutes. The previous record was held by Wizard of Deekline and Wizard - it is now held by rapper, producer and all-round renaissance man Akira the Don, who managed to fit a staggering 210 tracks into 1/6 of an hour. He's just put together a video to accompany the mix - watch it here
posted by muggsy1079 on Aug 26, 2009 - 22 comments

If you were a child of the '90's, then Regulate by Warren G and Nate Dogg was probably your jam. Here is a critical analysis of the song by comedian Sean Keane. If only all gangsta rap had such deep meaning.
posted by reenum on Jul 30, 2009 - 63 comments

Del The Funky Homosapien has two song packs available for free download. His newest album, Funk Man (the stimulus package), is available for the price of your email. All available at Bandcamp.
posted by P.o.B. on May 22, 2009 - 22 comments

Easy access to the internet and simplified technology for recording songs and videos might do great things for the future of pop music. Or it might be like this. [more inside]
posted by Potomac Avenue on Jan 21, 2009 - 109 comments

Division: Work it out! - these girls be spittin the math.
posted by madamjujujive on Jan 17, 2009 - 40 comments

The Large Hadron Collider. The Large Hadron Countdown. The Large Hadron Rap.
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Jul 30, 2008 - 76 comments

William Burroughs recites from the last words of Dutch Schultz, set to the music of The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy
posted by Artw on Jul 8, 2008 - 20 comments

Beastie Boy Adam Yauch (that's MCA to you) says you got to fight for your right... to make movies? [more inside]
posted by Cochise on Jun 26, 2008 - 15 comments

The SEO Rapper (a.k.a. The Poetic Prophet) spits rhymes on such topics as Design Coding, Link Building, Paid Search, and Conversion Closing for all your marketing campaign and web design needs.
posted by dhammond on Mar 27, 2008 - 9 comments

Go way back into time with a deliciously analog collection of mastermixes from 1980s-era soul radio from London. [more inside]
posted by dhammond on Feb 29, 2008 - 3 comments

Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos
posted by Artw on Dec 5, 2007 - 72 comments

Suddenly, a man in a vintage hat rides up, hip-hop blaring from a glowing Plexiglas container shaped like a tropical fish set above the back wheel of his bicycle, control lights flashing. Fossil Fool, a rolling rapper from San Francisco who rides the college circuit preaching the benefits of peddling, grabs his microphone, cranks up the volume and starts to rap. Paul Freedman, aka Fossil Fool, is one of the founders of Rock the Bike, which makes Soul Cycles -- bicycle-based, often human-powered hi-fi and PA systems -- for "playing clean, powerful, uplifting music at street festivals and off-grid parties." RTB recently made a mobile DJ booth for Austin's DJ Manny; here's how. Attention, party-throwers: In 2008, you may well be able to rent or borrow a Soul Cycle for your own shindig.
posted by GrammarMoses on Oct 28, 2007 - 9 comments

Roxanne Shanté may be the only person whose Wikipedia entry lists her occupation, truthfully, as "rapper, psychologist." In the credits for the Beef 3 DVD she explains how her record contract's throwaway education clause paid for her to get her PhD. She also shares the backstory of Roxanne's Revenge. Some more classic Shanté: with a skinny Biz Markie in 1986, BDP vs. Juice Crew, an old Wack It video. [via]
posted by jessamyn on Oct 22, 2007 - 33 comments

2007 is the year of Weezy. In just 10 months, Lil Wayne has recorded more tracks than many artists will in a lifetime; beat Radiohead to the punch by giving away not only the best rap album of the year, but some runners up as well; found a spot on MTV's "Hottest Rappers" list and become the darling of street-heads, hipster fanboys and even highbrow cultural pundits across the nation. [more inside]
posted by dead_ on Oct 19, 2007 - 85 comments

The Top Ten Rap Songs White People Love
posted by Stynxno on Oct 10, 2007 - 140 comments

VDoubleOrapsreallyquickly. Geezah!
posted by nthdegx on Jun 19, 2007 - 18 comments

Hip hop history— It's the Rub! Along with a handful of other shows, Brooklyn hip hop lovers The Rub compile a history of hip hop. Eleven parts through 1989.
posted by klangklangston on Apr 28, 2007 - 14 comments

Stop the War video performed by Speak the Hungarian Rapper. Try not to laugh. Fan page with lyrics and song analysis.
posted by skepticX on Mar 5, 2007 - 18 comments

Talib Kweli and Madlib have released a free album (zip). It fucking rocks.
posted by Tlogmer on Jan 6, 2007 - 35 comments

"Post 9/11 Blues" by MC Riz, a.k.a. Rizwan Ahmed. The single isn't getting much airplay. You may remember Ahmed as the British Muslim actor who was illegally detained while coming home from the Berlin Film Festival.
posted by stammer on Dec 28, 2006 - 15 comments

Hick Hop - Asylum Street Spankers (previously)
posted by hypersloth on Dec 22, 2006 - 10 comments

Kill Dash Nine by Monzy, the next big thing in Nerdcore. Wired interviews some of the figures, including the better known MC Plus+ (previously). Monzy's latest clever, well-informed lyrics stand in stark contrast to Weird Al's latest proof that he wouldn't know a geek if he bit one's head off.^[1]
posted by dmd on Dec 14, 2006 - 30 comments

Aries Spears channels some living rappers.
posted by swift on Nov 10, 2006 - 30 comments

This was the music of my childhood, along with massive infusions of Psalty the Singing Songbook and the Donut Man. During adolescence, my musical range expanded only slightly to include nashville country, teen pop, and the odd intersections between the two. YouTube has been an invaluable resource for expanding my previously limited horizons, from the productions which marked Michael Jackson's rise and fall to the birth and growing pains of the west coast rap scene. My favorite Youtube musical discovery thus far, however, is this pseudo-impromptu live rendition of Arthur's Theme.
posted by The Confessor on Sep 4, 2006 - 20 comments

Banned in D.C., not to mention the rest of the U. S. A. --British-Sri Lankan rapper M. I. A. (myspace page, with music), aka Maya Arulpragasam, has apparently been denied entry into the United States to record her next album, a follow-up to the surprise success of her first major release, "Arular." Could it have been this album that pricked the ears of immigration officials? Or maybe these lyrics ("Sunshowers," available at myspace)?
posted by bardic on May 22, 2006 - 151 comments

Down with the Clowns? The Juggalos have been having a bit of a hard time lately. Perhaps it's because they lack a spiritual grounding. Though, lo, like many nascent faiths, the Juggalos strain for acceptance. No word yet on the details of Juggalo eschatology.
posted by klangklangston on May 3, 2006 - 98 comments

Rap Producer J-Dilla Dies; Kidney Failure Suspected J-Dilla, born James Yancy, was a member of Slum Village and worked with various Hip-Hop artists including Kanye West, Busta Rhymes, A Tribe Called Quest and Common's Grammy-nominated album, BE.
posted by svidrigailov23 on Feb 10, 2006 - 14 comments

Everybody knows that gangsta rap promotes sexism, homophobia... and fascism. Take Bushido, for instance - the Berlin rapper of Tunisian descent that all the neo-Nazis love. Confused? (nyt) Well, so are the Germans. And then we're not even talking about Fler, whose "This is black-red-gold, hard and proud!" nationalist lyrics never fail to piss off the German papers (in German), and who likes to pose in his videos with a nice symbolic eagle. (Then again, Helmut Kohl didn't mind.) Still, Fler's flag-waving, eagle-loving rhymes are no match for Bushido's "Salute, stand to attention, I am the leader like 'A'". The A stands for Adolf, you know.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Jan 12, 2006 - 28 comments

B - Lite He is white. He is blind. He is a rapper with an old school sound. And he may worship Satan. Sea Cruise is my fave but MeFiers will probably dig Wall - Mart. Mp3s on right.
posted by vronsky on Nov 20, 2005 - 22 comments

Werner Von Wallenrod's Fun Page of Novelty Rap Records [Warning: animated jellybeans & embedded audio] • Includes reviews of albums by: Joe Piscopo, Rich Little, Rappin' Granny, Rappin' Principal, Rappin' Rambo, Joe Pesci, 2 Live Jews, Rodney Dangerfield, Arsenio Hall aka 'Chunky A', The '85 Chicago Bears, Mel Brooks, Elvira & more.
posted by hall of robots on Oct 19, 2005 - 18 comments

thepartyparty.com hosts a set of mindblowingly amazing mixes using the recorded speech of American political figures -- mostly President Bush, but others, like Hilary Clinton and Gov. Schwarzenegger, both make appearances. It's a brilliant exercise in free speech, using the words of the administration against them, especially in the middle and later parts of Who's The Nigga? (Streaming m3u and downloadable mp3.) And did I mention it rocks? Because it rocks- after it breaks your head completely. You must listen to this.
posted by blacklite on Oct 14, 2005 - 28 comments

Rap is becoming the pulse of the Iraq War. We've talked about the Mess O' Potamia already today, but the idea of troops making uncensored music about their day to day in an overseas warzone I think creates a unique situation. For the first time, music will be made there and come back to the people back home, rather than the other way around. The downside is that if you just plain don't like rap music, you're not going to be exposed to it. Sadly, those may be the people who need to hear it most. (via Newsweek).
posted by indiebass on Jun 6, 2005 - 37 comments

Hip-Hop Legends Digable Planets Reunite! Word, and they're touring.
posted by sudama on May 25, 2005 - 29 comments

"I Ain't Lazy" (lyrics NSFW) featuring Skratch Bastid, John Smith & Pip Skid. A day-in-the-life indie hip-hop video directed by Jason Lapeyre featuring another top notch crew of PCRs.
posted by boost ventilator on Apr 16, 2005 - 16 comments

April is Rap Month on Michaelpella. Watch and listen [avi files] as some internet guy (and an occasional friend) butcher some rap classics by the likes of Ice Cube and Public Enemy. I don't know much about rap, so I enjoy perusing the 50+ song archive chock full of chestnuts like "Runaway," "Rawhide," and "Love Shack." Send in your requests now.
posted by marxchivist on Apr 15, 2005 - 7 comments

The greatest rap video ever: ... or at least in recent memory. England's DJ Format teams up with Reuben Fleischer and a breakdancing shark to produce a pretty sublime piece of silliness (Quicktime).
posted by ryanshepard on Mar 20, 2005 - 19 comments

Kosher Beef. The story of two Israeli rappers and the political views that divide them and their music.
posted by XQUZYPHYR on Mar 11, 2005 - 16 comments

Roots Manuva's "Ventriloshiznit Machine" Recombine rhymes as you please and hear them spit back via Mr. Manuva with this flash toy/promotional item for his new single "Colossal Insight." Helpful for the flow-impaired or those who would like those magnetic poetry things more if they were recited to them by a bobble-head MC. [Flash + Audio]
posted by Swampjazz! on Jan 12, 2005 - 6 comments

Christian Gangsta Rap is the hottest new thang, G (and we're talking about tha big "G" if ya know watta mean). Make sure to check out "God Side Jam" by "Preachas in Tha Hood" or the "Gospel Gangstaz" with their hit song "Holy Tera" and who can forget the timeless classic "Demon Killa" by "Str8 Young Gangstaz" (not t be confused with the evil Gay Ol' Prankstaz)
posted by Hands of Manos on Dec 14, 2004 - 66 comments

Special Delivery [Mission Accomplished remix] - partisan rappery
posted by Pretty_Generic on Oct 31, 2004 - 1 comment

Crispy New Freestyle : Featuring such lyrical gems as 'I like to suck mouse dick' (wmv link)
posted by angry modem on Sep 16, 2004 - 8 comments

Generic Rap Song by Princeton student. An excellent undergrad piece that lampoons the current state of rap music. Includes a satirical rap song (complete with downloadable MP3, streaming audio, downloadable DivX video, and streaming RealVideo) and an analysis of each verse. Even an essay that compares the satire in the piece with some 200 year-old satire ("A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift). Amazing, accurate, and funny as all get out.
posted by timbley on Jan 15, 2004 - 52 comments

Crispy New Freestyle (warning .wmv file)....but it's funny....strong language also.
posted by oliver_crunk on Sep 17, 2003 - 14 comments

Rap Not Music to Whitey's Ears A group of alleged white extremists facing treason charges in South Africa has complained about being forced to listen to "black" music while on remand in prison.
posted by turbanhead on Aug 19, 2003 - 14 comments

Fix Up, Look Sharp With stateside hip hop in an unprecedented doldrum, the torch has been snatched up on this side of the Atlantic by 18-year-old Eastender Dizzee Rascal. He's recovering from a stabbing carried out rival fans of a rival garage collective in Ayia Napa, Cyprus. The attack took place a few days before being nominated for the Mercury Music prize. Guaranteed not to be everybody's cup of tea, but he's an interesting character and challenging music make it, and his album, worth a look.
posted by hmgovt on Jul 29, 2003 - 25 comments

Footage of a young Jay-Z freestyling. You gotta start somewhere (From trickology.com if you care).
posted by Slimemonster on May 23, 2003 - 7 comments