If I see an artist with Herbie Hancock there is an instant amount of validation. Obviously I expect the artist with him to be a pianist. I also expect that artist to be capable of composing and blending music styles. Since I’m in my office I miss the introduction and I have to sit through…
Sometimes I want to delve into the research on a group and dig to find out more information before posting a Get To Know. Every now and then, I want to just dig the music and tell you all to just dig this shit. Put it on, sit back with a glass of your favorite,…
I will probably repeat this over and over again as I begin to write more articles for CBP. My goal is to make maturity dope. In other words, jumping and bouncing all over the place is cool when you’re young. As much as I like seeing people Nay-Nay (sp?), when you get to a certain…
This week FE+ arrived in Memphis and instead of going to enjoy the show at the Hi-Tone, I found myself working on some business things. If you see me, slap me for that one. Sometimes you have to learn to enjoy what you have and take a break. I’ve been playing the hell out of…
This may be one of the most important visuals created by this generation of hip-hop artists. I went to Washington D.C. and visited one of the Smithsonian Art Galleries and there was a music video displayed as performance art. I won’t get into that, but this is easily one of the best collages dealing with…
There are certain times of year that I get these bursts of creativity. They are usually sparked by something I’ve read or something I’ve heard. Lately my creativity has been somewhat drained due to the release of my new shoes. But this isn’t the place or the time to talk about that… this is about…
Honestly, I’m getting to know Marion Black and I have a purchase to make. I was chilling out with the fam listening to Pandora on the Gil Scott Heron channel and this song came on. INFECTIOUS! I liked the song and rushed to the computer to make sure I shared this with everyone. This may…
Certain artists generate a response that makes you honored to hear what they have to say. As I grow old in Hip-Hop, I’m starting more and more to seek out artists that mesh all of the elements together: dope tracks, lyricism, creativity and inspiration. In mainstream music the heart is missing. You can’t listen to…
Hip-Hop has had a black eye for so long that often emcees who drop an LP get love although they are actually pretty mediocre. Now I’m not saying that guys like Wiz, Currensy or Wale aren’t dropping new age gems, but they are not quite there yet in terms of dropping classics. An album that…
Every now and then there a no words needed when telling you about a music artist. While hitting up Okayplayer I ran across this video and in a way the artistic value of this music and video can’t be rated. So, with no further discussion take a few minutes and listen to this. It’s refreshing…
The Illadelph crew that delivered classics like “What They Do” and “You Got Me” released an album that continues to push the boundaries sonically and lyrically. Black Thought is the most underrated emcee ever. His skill with Questlove’s construction and the infamous Roots band has never, in my opinion, failed to deliver a classic. While…
YES is the fourth album from Candadian emcee K-Os. I discovered him a while back I think it was in the early part of this decade. The name of the song was crabbucket and I thought it exemplified the mentality of many of my people. There were other songs that slip my mind right now…
If you haven’t seen this one, invest eight minutes into this and thenmake sure you add Dwele’s youtube page by clicking here
I have had countless discussions with artists about the responsibility of the creator of images and sounds. In these conversations, I have found the foundation for my understanding of the importance of art. I have also realized that my ideas about how art should be used, are very constrained. I think that art should serve…
I had a great conversation with Prof. Gee Joyner about the responsibility of the emcee. (we should have recorded that one) We finally got to a point in the conversation where we basically analyzed the problem of the Black artists and if there is a responsibility that inherently exists because of the skin we are…
