NBA All Star weekend festivities kicked off righteously in New York City as Hot 97’s All Star Weekend Tipoff show with Diddy and Snoop Dogg turned into a rousing party as the likes of Dr. Dre, Nas, The LOX, Busta Rhymes, Lil Kim, A$AP Ferg, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, 112, ILOVEMAKONNEN and Keyshia Cole to the stage. Check out the highlights.
Things get real in this video for the Jay Dee and The Roots produced cut off of Joey Bada$$’ recently released B4.Da.$$ album.
DJ Eclipse unearths a session from 1996 with Lord Finesse dropping jewels at Fat Beats.
Here’s another performance clip from Fat Beats grand opening day of the 6th Ave location. Lord Finesse on the mic and DJ Three on the wheels. You even see the owner of the store Joseph Abajian pop back behind the tables for a minute to talk to Three. Finesse killed these two verses and had the crowd oohing and ahhing with his punchlines. It meant a lot to us that Finesse came by because he was the biggest name we had come through all day. And once again you get a glimpse of some of the other people in the store who were just vibing out to the sounds or waiting their turn to get on the mic.
Some dope emcees gather to kick some dope rhymes on Tony Touch’s dope show. Dopeness ensues.
The Fresno emcee drops the second video from his upcoming album The Ecology.
Fresh off of winning two Grammys, Kendrick Lamar drops this Boi-1da produced joint that is all about black pride and will likely be on his upcoming as-yet-titled sophomore effort.
The official lyric video to Joey Bada$$’ jam that wants you to get on the dance floor.
It’s hard to believe that it has been a quarter century since N.W.A. changed the landscape of music forever. On August 14, the film about the collective will finally hit theaters and here is the red band trailer with an intro from Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Kendrick Lamar and Game.
In the mid-1980s, the streets of Compton, California, were some of the most dangerous in the country. When five young men translated their experiences growing up into brutally honest music that rebelled against abusive authority, they gave an explosive voice to a silenced generation. Following the meteoric rise and fall of N.W.A., Straight Outta Compton tells the astonishing story of how these youngsters revolutionized music and pop culture forever the moment they told the world the truth about life in the hood and ignited a cultural war.
Starring O’Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins and Jason Mitchell as Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E, Straight Outta Compton is directed by F. Gary Gray (Friday, Set It Off, The Italian Job). The drama is produced by original N.W.A. members Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, who are joined by fellow producers Matt Alvarez and Tomica Woods-Wright. Will Packer serves as executive producer of the film alongside Gray.
The Pro Era emcee takes his talents to France to perform a track off of his recently released album for a bunch of fans who probably have no idea what he’s talking about. He still killed it though.
Hip-Hop as a tool for education? That’s exactly what the documentary focusing on producer 9th Wonder’s tenure at Harvard University explores.
The Hip-Hop Fellow is a 78-minute documentary following Grammy Award winning producer 9th Wonder’s tenure at Harvard University as he teaches ‘The Standards of Hip-Hop’ course, conducts research for his thesis and explores hip-hop’s history, culture and role in academia.
The film centers on the emerging significance of incorporating hip-hop studies into academic curriculum and spotlights the scholars and musicians at the forefront of preserving 40 years of hip-hop culture.
Interviewees include Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Kendrick Lamar, Young Guru, Dr. Mark Anthony Neal, Phonte, Dr. Marcyliena Morgan, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Ab-Soul, Rapper Big Pooh and DJ Premier.