Arlington: The Rap (SLYT)
posted by Wet Spot on Jun 16, 2009 - 54 comments

This is what it would sound like if hip hop was translated to proper form trust me the results are nothing short of amazing!
posted by The1andonly on Jun 15, 2009 - 75 comments

The Young Conservative Anthem. Meet Stiltz & Serious C, Dartmouth rappers.
posted by CunningLinguist on May 29, 2009 - 46 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

A video of 2000 Symbols set to the Cool Kids via Matchstic.
posted by cashman on May 7, 2009 - 7 comments

Rap Chop. Some impressive sound editing from DJ Steve Porter. [more inside]
posted by fucker on May 2, 2009 - 32 comments

Supernatural, best known for his battles with (MC) Juice and his appearances on the Wake-Up Show, freestyle raps the entire lineup (8:33) of this year's Rock the Bells (Hip Hop) Festival as they sit behind him, leaving rap legend Krs-1 saying "That's the essence of emceeing...I'm just floored." [more inside]
posted by cashman on Apr 9, 2009 - 64 comments

In 1988, the hip hop came to the Mormons, thanks to The Walter & Hays Band and their Mormon Rap (lyrics video). Though mocked by some, others take it seriously. Annoyed that there's only a version with guys singing? Morgan made a girl version. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief on Apr 2, 2009 - 27 comments

First D-Nice turned heads with his raps. Then he resurfaced with his photography. Now he's producing the beautifully filmed video series True Hip-Hop Stories. He's already filmed rap legends like Masta Ace, Do It All from Lords of the Underground and Kwame. Yesterday he added great stories from the self appointed Erin Brockovich of Hip-Hop, Monie Love.
posted by cashman on Jan 27, 2009 - 11 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

Ten winners in the Goethe Institute's Schiller rap contest.
posted by Wolfdog on Dec 21, 2008 - 15 comments

RoboCop Rap - The whole film, condensed down to ten mins, in rap form. SLYT. NSFW.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Dec 12, 2008 - 49 comments

Eric 'MC' Breed, a well known rap artist popular in the 90's, died yesterday at the age of 36. [more inside]
posted by cashman on Nov 23, 2008 - 17 comments

The Hardest Rapper Alive (SLYT; NSFW language)
posted by educatedslacker on Oct 28, 2008 - 35 comments

Way back in 1984, when rap was still in its infancy, a now-obscure Brooklyn trio called UTFO released a record entitled "Roxanne, Roxanne". UTFO cancelled an appearance at a show promoted by now-legendary figures Mr. Magic and Marley Marl, and when a teenage girl named Lolita Shante Gooden overheard them discussing the cancellation and their anger over it, she offered to record a diss track as the titular Roxanne, and became Roxanne Shante. UTFO responded with their own "Real Roxanne", and thus began a ridiculously long series of answer records involving everyone from the fictional Roxanne's doctor to her grandmother. Now you can listen to them all without spending a fortune: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10 [more inside]
posted by DecemberBoy on Oct 27, 2008 - 40 comments

Snoop Doggy Dogg and The Dogg Pound freestyling over Dre playing the piano. (SLYT)
posted by ignignokt on Oct 10, 2008 - 33 comments

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rap, by the Notorious B.O.A.L.T. (audio NSFW) [more inside]
posted by Navelgazer on Oct 9, 2008 - 17 comments

Assignment details: Discuss the following: We know that life exists on Earth, and has taken billions of years to evolve into the things we see today. But has this happened anywhere other than Earth? Well, to help sort out this headscratcher of a question, NASA has commissioned MC Oort Kuiper, aka Jonathan Chase, a grad student at the University of Glamorgan, to write a rap about it. "Astrobiology" appears in the European edition of Astrobiology Magazine.
posted by not_on_display on Sep 25, 2008 - 10 comments

Among the dopest female lyricists in Hip Hop history, fans were dismayed when Jean Grae seemed to retire from Rap. But she returned and now she's got a new plan. Want her to kick sick lyrics on your project? Check out the ad she put on Craigslist this afternoon. 16 bars for $800. "You got beats?? cd's?? envelopes?? yousendit?? protools? Whatever you got I'll try and find a way to work with it." Though she proclaims "I work fast, so you'll have em fast," you might want to be patient. [more inside]
posted by cashman on Sep 18, 2008 - 34 comments

Meet gold-toothed Vegas rapper Thug "Money Man" Presley, cousin to The King. Real name Kristopher Presley, Thug has been serving time in jail and just pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter for running over someone with an SUV in 2004. [more inside]
posted by miss lynnster on Sep 2, 2008 - 53 comments

Hummus: The Rap (SLYP) Annoying ironic hipster? Earnest hummus lover? Who cares, hummus deserves phat beats. [more inside]
posted by TungstenChef on Aug 7, 2008 - 24 comments

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

The Wu-Tang Clan ain't nuthin to PLAY CHESS wit. WuChess.com is the worlds first online chess and Hip-Hop community. You can create and share profiles with your friends and triumph over enemies on the 64 squares. Not just against people in your neighborhood but from all over the world. Play live chess with people from all over the world and get your learn on. Blog.
posted by ColdChef on Jul 17, 2008 - 30 comments

Best Rapper Alive? No Krs-1, no Rakim, but Scarface is there. No MF Doom, no Pharoahe Monche, but Lil Mama is there. [via] Voting starts July 21st.
posted by cashman on Jul 15, 2008 - 72 comments

El-P, founder of Def Jux, is not your average rap artist. His themes and style are frequently lush and apocalyptic. While Deep Space 9mm launched 'El-Producto', cleverly futuristic works like Stepfather factory, Flyentology with Trent Reznor or the darker Tasmanian Pain Coaster are his hallmark. He recently released a new mixtape free online, along with the lyrics pdf for his album. He also recently remixed a song from MTV's TRL, warping it into a chaotic police state jam, mirroring other songs of his with themes of authority and control. [more inside]
posted by cashman on Jul 10, 2008 - 36 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

The kids today sure do love the hip hop music, so let's be sure to cram as much of it into our movie as possible. Thrill as MC Hammer jams with the Addams family, Bobby Brown preaches the word of the Ghostbusters via bluescreen, Rodney Dangerfield cuts loose, Ronald McDonald busts a move, and Tom Hanks & Dan Aykroyd dance their way through a criminal investigation. [Previously]
posted by Servo5678 on Jul 7, 2008 - 33 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 Kanye West Beat Drop. A number of the web's best rap blogs get together to post and chronicle the best of Mr. West's impressive and extensive history of producing, ghost producing, and the stories around many of the songs. [more inside]
posted by cashman on Jun 15, 2008 - 25 comments

Smart Shorties is a new CD being marketed to teachers that takes the beats from popular rap songs and rewrites them to the multiplication tables, with the intent of improving kids' math skills. Forbes has a nice roundup on it's history, and NPR has done a featurette on it as well At the very least, it's certainly worth a listen for the chuckle potential, but in addition to that, it's an interesting example of the now-booming Edutainment industry, something that not only spans CD's, but also computer games and even standalone video game consoles.

also, Smart Shorties is certainly not the only "Hip-hop in the classroom" product out there, nor is it the first.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew on Jun 8, 2008 - 37 comments

As previously mentioned on Metafilter, in 2006, the Kersal Massive, 3 English chavs from Kersal near Manchester made a 44 second rap video on a cell phone (click this one first).
Once it hit YouTube, it inspired parodies and mashups ranging from heavy metal to alternative to dancefloor, an acoustic cover version, a conspiracy theory video, a Kevin Powder interview , and best of all this version. But this one is my favourite. [more inside]
posted by w0mbat on May 17, 2008 - 36 comments

Akon Call T-Pain
posted by jne1813 on Apr 28, 2008 - 56 comments

Willie Nelson "Superman" featuring Snoop, Snoop Dogg "My Medicine" featuring Willie Nelson, live at Melkweg.
posted by 445supermag on Apr 26, 2008 - 11 comments

Haven't got your fill of awkward rap? Well there's Bill Cosby's upcoming rap CD and a new dance joint about a beat down. Or you can reminisce and revel in 13 awkward rap commercials of old. Not enough? Okay fine, how about a freestyle battle. [more inside]
posted by cashman on Apr 16, 2008 - 37 comments

IDE the Shanty One is the front man for the Creative Juices crew out of NYC. He raps and produces. His 2007 production Force Fed is a great listen for fans of hard, New York rap artists like F.T. and Wu-Tang Clan. IDE is interviewed about how the crew formed. Listen to any of 148 solo tracks from him or 55 from Creative Juices. Already a fan? He just announced his new album Snapped. [more inside]
posted by cashman on Apr 7, 2008 - 6 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

Help the police (youtube).
posted by nthdegx on Mar 18, 2008 - 34 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

Single-link YouTube: TSA Gangstaz - Belt Buckle Moneyclip (NSFW audio) [via]
posted by nitsuj on Feb 26, 2008 - 34 comments

Tony Silver, the director of the groundbreaking hip-hop documentary Style Wars passed last night. He was a family friend of mine, and had been sick for several years with a irreversible brain condition. Style Wars is considered by some to be the best hip-hop film ever made, and by everyone to be the first. It was shot at the very start of the 1980s, when graffiti was still hip-hop's dominant form, and the idea of graffiti as art was brand new. I recommend checking out the deluxe DVD edition of the film Tony put together a few years ago after many years where it was only available as an expensive educational-only VHS, but you can also check out the 1hr 10m version on Google Video.
posted by YoungAmerican on Feb 2, 2008 - 15 comments

In the 1980s, some artists successfully managed the transition from punk rock to rap. Others, not so much.
posted by Afroblanco on Jan 18, 2008 - 45 comments

"Presidential candidate" Mike Gravel raps, and other rappers rap for Gravel as well.
posted by dhammond on Dec 22, 2007 - 9 comments

Watch Sam Harris read "Soulja Boy" in....a unique style. (YT, slightly NSFW due to language) (skip to 0:15 for the actual video) And the original song. [more inside]
posted by DMan on Dec 22, 2007 - 40 comments

Weng Weng Rap is a musical tribute to the Philippines's beloved 2' 9" tall superspy, the star of such films as For Your Height Only (audio clips). (Some lyrics mildly NSFW.)
posted by whir on Dec 20, 2007 - 13 comments

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

Rap represented in mathematical charts and graphs.
posted by 31d1 on Nov 9, 2007 - 66 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