The Underground Railroad:Hip-Hop’s express to escape the Minstrel Show PART 3

"We all chase money 'cause we scared to chase dreams" Talib Kweli is a perennial underground hip-hop artist. His albums Black Star and Reflection Eternal are critical- ly acclaimed classics and considered essential hip-hop records. Since those albums, Kweli has struggled to find a balance between the underground and mainstream audience while maintaining his positive sociopolitical messages. His latest release, Eardrum, debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. It was the highest debut he ever had. The album is filled with messages about positivity in hip-hop and the world. Despite the album debuting at number two, the album never received a video for the lead single and the singles never heard the light of day One of his songs entitled “Oh My Stars” shows Kweli speaking to his children. The message that he gives to them is something every parent with a child could relate to. It is also a message that many children should hear. Kweli raps, “And even though mummy and daddy might fight all through the night / Argue and fuss, you a part of us that we've got to get right / I don't love you to death, cause I love you to life / And you a teenager, you might not want my advice / You .might be full of spite, think you're grown, still a tyke / And say things that cut like a patient under the knife / I say this, cause I was once a teenager too / And respect for my peers is really all that I related to / But I made it through, you gonna make it too / So much I wanna say to you...” What parent would not like hearing a song with lyrics like that on the radio? It is very musical and the entire song is filled with similar lyrics. He is an African American man who is professing his love for his children. Most African American males are considered horrible fathers and known for leaving their families behind. To have an artist who is a proud parent is a good thing. It should not be hidden in the underground like it is. Along with Talib Kweli’s messages to children and adults, Lupe Fiasco is an- other artist that talks about things that receive little light in the world of hip- hop. His first single “Kick, Push” chronicles the growth of a kid who uses a skateboard. As the kid gets older, his attachment to hi skateboard grows and the events in his life revolve around it. Hip-hop artists claim to be many things, but a skater is not one of them. A skater is typically viewed as a punk-rock white kid. Yet through Fiasco’s song and lyrics, he has opened the door for an alienated part of the hip-hop audience to find a home. The chorus for the song captures the essence of a young skater. “And so he kick, push, kick, push, kick, push, kick, push, coast / And away he rolled / Just a rebel to the world with no place to go / And so he kick, push, kick, push, kick, push, kick, push, coast / So come and skate with me / Just a rebel / Looking for a place to be / So let's kick...and push...and coast.”

Now with Talib Kweli as the proud parent and Lupe Fiasco as the skater, MURS could be looked at as the average joe. He isn’t perfect and does not claim to be. MURS takes pride in being an under- ground hip-hop artist. His appeal is that he comes across as someone a person could bump into on the street and not have nightmares about. His last album, Murray’s Revenge, received positive re- views because of the issues he chose to talk about. The All Music Guide wrote: “In Murray's Revenge, like in his 2004 release, Murs 3:16, his even-paced delivery shies away from ten-cent words and his songs often deal with the standard rap subjects — a hard life, women, and his own talent — but he is also unafraid to dispel some social constructs that many of his peers only help to perpetuate. In "Dreamchaser" he explains that the draw to gang life is because of a lack of positive opportunity ("We all chase money 'cause we scared to chase dreams"), and he discusses the difficulties of not fitting cleanly into racial stereotypes in "D.S.W.G. (Dark Skinned White Girls)," an issue that's fairly common in contemporary, diverse America. When Murs does slide into talking about himself and his skills a topic no true MC can avoid — he's such a good storyteller that his boasting isn't boring, and he's also willing to admit the bad decisions he's made, creating a real sincerity in his rhymes. Some of the songs are meant to be didactic, but he's usually subtle enough to convey his message without being preachy ("For if a soul is avenged through the deeds of a friend/Then success has always been the best form of revenge"). It's not all seriousness, though; Murs has always been one for a chuckle, and there are some humorous tracks (the aptly named "Silly Girl," for example), but there's enough quality, content, and warm West Coast soul samples in Murray's Revenge to make it a good album that should please fans of any type of hip-hop.

If underground hip-hop albums contain so much positive and relatable issues, why aren’t artists such as Talib Kweli, Lupe Fiasco and MURS heard on the radio? Why aren’t their videos on MTV’s Total Request Live? Why don’t they even have videos? Why are these artists, who are making critically-ac- claimed classic albums, having such a difficult time finding a buying audience? These are very easy questions that all contain one simple answer. Those artists don’t fit in the mold of the hip-hop minstrel show. Through commercialization, industry executives want people to believe that hip-hop is filled with pimps, thugs, gangsters and hoes. They want everyone to think that every woman dresses in scantily clad material and wants sex all of the time. The images produced on the television screen that are considered “hip-hop” make African American males look scary. If a person turns to a channel to find an angry black- man talking about how he will kill some- body, then that is what the person will think? This is not morally right. That is why I believe it is morally wrong for record companies to promote commercial rap over underground hip-hop. What kind of morals do industry executives have if the only things they promote are sex, drugs and violence? They can not be very high at all. Especially not when there are artists out there who show that black people are more than those stereotypes. Hip-hop music originated with African Americans and now in 2008 commercialism has taken away its true meaning. The Minstrel Show will continue as long as people keep a deaf ear to underground hip-hop.

“My culture's not a trend, being Black is not in / But for you it's just a phase you're gonna have to transcend / While even if I tried, I could never blend in / To society's mainstream, American dream / Yeah, it's all one love, but remember one thing / This music is my life, not a cultural fling / It's an expression of the soul when we dance and sing / And you are blessed to have a chance to even glance the scene.” – MURS, And This Is For, MURS 3:16 the 9th Edition.

Rapper Returns, With Punch Lines but Little Soul

"He’s a punch-line rapper who rarely thinks about his lines beyond the rhyming couplet. Coherent verses are a rarity, coherent songs even more so. And his choice of words often feels arbitrary; he’s not obsessed with picking the right ones or the most important ones or the most revealing ones.

“So misunderstood, but what’s the world without enigma?” he asks on “6 Foot 7 Foot,” setting himself up for a chance at self-excavation. The second half of that couplet? “Two bitches at the same time, synchronized swimmers.” Oh well."

This is part of the review for the Carter IV. I will admit that I have not heard it yet but I thought this was interesting.

NY Times:

There goes Lil Wayne, wearing bleached leopard-print skinny pants — women’s pants, as it happens — and stalking the stage of the MTV Video Music Awards with Iggy Pop attitude. There goes Lil Wayne, riding a skateboard and falling off. There goes Lil Wayne, who can’t sing worth a lick, taking a ballad, “How to Love,” into the Top 10 of the Billboard pop chart.


Judging by his behavior in recent months, rapping seems to be the furthest thing from Lil Wayne’s mind, odd behavior from the person who is ostensibly the most popular rapper in the country. This week he released “Tha Carter IV” (Cash Money), which is on track to have the second-biggest opening sales week of the year, behind Lady Gaga (and notably ahead of Jay-Z and Kanye West’s collaborative album, “Watch the Throne”).

That it’s the least memorable Lil Wayne album in years might not matter, least of all to Lil Wayne, who since his release from jail last November after serving eight months on gun charges has taken his idiosyncratic ascent to the pinnacle of hip-hop in ever odder directions.

He is our strangest hip-hop superstar, and maybe the last antiaspirational one: he’s the one who won’t harp at length about his watches and cars, the one who still thinks it’s acceptable to record a rap-rock album (last year’s “Rebirth”), the one who became more famous the more he rapped about turning into a Martian.

In retrospect, Lil Wayne’s dizzying mixtape output from 2006 to 2007, when he was at his most bizarre, most confusing and most prolific, set an almost impossible standard, one that he has failed to live up to for the last couple of years.

“Tha Carter IV” shows off those flaws, highlights them even, if only because everyone is looking so closely. On a handful of songs, particularly “President Carter” and “Megaman,” he raps as if something were still at stake. He can still toss off a neat double entendre (“I ain’t working with a full deck/But I deal,” on “It’s Good”) or a hilarious left-field insult (“You’re dead to me, brown grass,” he raps on “President Carter,” which amusingly samples the inauguration of Jimmy Carter), but mainly, this is Lil Wayne at his laziest or most uninterested.

He’s a punch-line rapper who rarely thinks about his lines beyond the rhyming couplet. Coherent verses are a rarity, coherent songs even more so. And his choice of words often feels arbitrary; he’s not obsessed with picking the right ones or the most important ones or the most revealing ones.

“So misunderstood, but what’s the world without enigma?” he asks on “6 Foot 7 Foot,” setting himself up for a chance at self-excavation. The second half of that couplet? “Two bitches at the same time, synchronized swimmers.” Oh well.

That reluctance matters quite a bit, actually. Lil Wayne’s been through so much in the last two years, and examined almost none of it in song. In a couple of places he refers to his recent jail term — “John,” “How to Hate” — and on “Nightmares of the Bottom,” there are flickers of reflection: “I’m a gangster by choice/ I hope my sons choose wiser.”

Maybe the most gnomic boast is on the hit “She Will,” on which he declaims, “I’ve been at the top for a while/And I ain’t jumped yet.” Statement on the pressures of fame? Workaday boast combined with cheap imagery? We’ll never know.

Vintage Lil Wayne was the equivalent of speaking in tongues, words flying in unexpected directions, in unlikely combinations. But those were the syrup-sipping years. Sobriety is a condition of Lil Wayne’s probation, and it appears that the lucid Lil Wayne has less interest in bending words into strange shapes.

In recent years, but especially on this album, he’s become the least quotable great rapper, with lines that land harder more because of his voice than because of his wit, which was once prodigious. Because Lil Wayne has been so sharp, so dexterous in the past, it’s tempting (and ultimately necessary) to overanalyze him. But even on this album’s weak tracks, and there are several, he remains a commanding presence, deploying just enough of his insistent croak to tether the song together. He doesn’t bother appearing on two of the best tracks on the album, “Interlude” and “Outro,” which are instead full of eager guests.

read more at NYTIMES
By JON CARAMANICA
Published: August 30, 2011

VMA RE-CAP

1) Beyonce made everyone forget Alicia Keys pregnant performance

2) Lil Wayne is mad that Jay and Bey's spawn upstaged him

3) Brittany is still confused why she had to introduce Beyonce while she was getting her award

4) Justin Bieber was ready to leave soon as he sat down

5) Lil Mama still lives

6) My caucasian friends are still trying to figure out who Tyler the Creator is?

7) I am stiil trying to figure out who Tyler The Creator is?

8) Lil Wayne still dreams of being a rock star

9) Bruno Mars dressed and performed like Frankie Lymon to give a tribute to Amy Winehouse

10) Lady Gaga reincarnated Pony Boy from the Outsiders and Billy Joel during her performance

RIZ INTERVIEW

“I have discipline. I have a good work ethics. I am not a person that will go to a studio for 20 hours and make one record”

“RIZ is a talented songwriter and visionary with concepts and flow. His songs have a vast array of style that will provide him longevity in the industry” Lenny S. Senior A&R, Def Jam. It is not often that I start off an article with quote but I wanted you to understand how serious this Harlem artist is. We now INTROduce to you RIZ.

INTRO: I know that you have been in the industry for a minute and you have been working on a new project. Can you elaborate more on that?

RIZ: I haven’t been on the scene for about a year or so. I took a break from it because I was being pulled in different way creatively. There were a lot of different people involved with the project. I really wasn’t able to make the records that I felt good about because I wasn’t putting up the money. When you get in situations like that its really a rough situation. So I just stepped away for a minute to just redeem my own artistic views. I am just approaching it different now.

INTRO: How would you describe yourself as an artist?

RIZ: I am well rounded artist because I understand that the music business of today is nothing like in the business of yester year or the B-boy days. It’s a different structure. It took me a lot of years to really understand the business. I have identified a sound that I was comfortable with. You have to have a u certain so people can identify you. When you hat hear 50 Cent you know its 50. When you hear Drake you know its Drake. When you hear Lil Wayne you know its Lil Wayne. They have that niche. Years ago it was hard to find that niche. I found that out working with so many producers that and being pulled by so many people. In that nature I could not find a consistency so now I am able to create an identifiable voice. I have discipline. I have a good work ethics. I am not a person that will go to a studio for 20 hours and make one record. I am not going to blow a budget just sitting in the studio. I am going to make sure it sounds good before I leave the house. I don’t roll with an entourage. I used to that and try to put people on (trying to do positive stuff). You can’t control other people’s actions because what they do that stigma falls on you. I just really had been moving light. I feel like I am full circle and more prepared.

INTRO: How did you hook up with Sha MoneyXl?

RIZ: I hooked up with Sha Money through David the Jeweler. I had been doing records with David for about three or four years before meeting Sha Money. Dave has all these music industry types that he makes jewelry for so he wood take me around me around video shoots. I went to 50’s video shoot and Lloyd Banks video shoot. They would see me around but they just didn’t know what I was doing. So at the time Dave was it was James Cruz from Violator Management that came to Dave and was talking about some jewelry and Dave jumped on it and played some of my music so we started a venture with Violator. Then right after that we linked up with She Money cause he was mixing Young Buck’s album at the time while he was still with G-Unit. Dave went into the studio and played some of my music. Sha was blown away and he said to Dave “When I hear that kid he giving me that feeling like when I first used to hear Fif out with that hunger” so that attracted him so we started working on some records. We around to a few labels but things didn’t pop off they way we wanted them to pop off.

INTRO: So you are still independent? Self Made.

RIZ: You got it. Self Made is a company that I started in 2005. I was doing other things. I had caught a case and the case slowed me down and like changed my life. I wanted to do things different in my life after that so I wrote all down all my experiences. The music is really a form of expression for me because I really don’t talk much. I am sort of like a loner because people will mess your whole world up. People are so negative and I am really trying to stay away from negative people. When I got to the studio its like therapy I get to say whatever I want and talk over these beats cause the beat don’t talk back. I put a tape together and put it out in my neighborhood and people were feeling it and they said I should stick with it and that’s what I did and I haven’t stopped since. We are still basically are in a process of building a following. I have had a meeting with Jay-Z and I have met with Atlantic records, Fifty and all the top people in this industry people. The research in the industry has changed in the industry so now we are in the progress of developing a new following with the new way that I am making my music as compared to a year ago. I am starting over ago again and building a new awareness.

INTRO: What artist have you worked with that you haven’t worked with yet?

RIZ: I am at the point in my career that I don’t want to work with anyone that doesn’t want to work with me. I am not the type of person that picks and chooses who I work with. If it makes a good record, it makes a good record. I don’t intend to make albums with other artists to boost my own morale. Some artist will do an album with another artist because that artist is relevant to other people. That’s not how I function. People tend to see that I did the video with Ray and tend to think that I tried to attach myself with something hot and that is not why I did it. I did a favor for him way back so I went to shoot the video with him. I did it to show him love cause he asked me to come through so I did it. In the end it was like a return. I prefer to work with people that are keen to working. I tried to work with Bun B and he was like $16,000. He wanted $1,000 a bar. It kind of threw me because here I am an up and coming artist and here it is this guy is trying to make money off of me. He deserves to make his money but for me to pay $16,000? I would rather take that money invest it into another song and make a couple videos. That’s why I don’t do songs with a lot of rappers cause they are thinking about making that quick bread. I am not really trying to do a feature with nobody if I don’t have to.

INTRO: Where do you see yourself in the next 5yrs?

RIZ: Retired. I come from a community where people feel like its nothing left for them to do besides drink, smoke, and be violent. I want to make a shift in that. If I make it then I will be in a position to give back. I want to start an organization like a basketball AU team but it also has a nutritionist and personal trainers to show them how to work out. They would also have the schooling because you can have all the knowledge in the world but if you can’t pass that SAT then you will be back in the streets. I see myself doing some really ground breaking things once I get this foundation set.

INTRO: Do you have any shows coming up?

RIZ: I used to do showcases where I was the featured artist but I stopped that because it was a scam. I really don’t do many shows now because I am focused on rebuilding my awareness. I am working hard on the Internet because it is extremely hard to get the radio. It’s hard to get the radio because it’s controlled. The only people that you hear on the radio is the artists that labels have paid to the stations because those artists have to make it than the average artist off the street because they are not benefiting from it because they are in the business of making money.

INTRO: Do you think that Djs are important when it comes to breaking a record?

RIZ: I say no and yes. The DJ has to feel a connection with the artist that he is breaking the record for because there are so many people in the business that. What one Dj think is hot 10 other Djs may not. What I am starting to see is that some people only want to attach themselves to certain people because it only makes themselves look better. If I come to the club tonight and see me with some jewelry and I am popping bottles the Dj is going to give a shot out cause it looks good. If I come to the club and I don’t have any jewelry and I only have a cup the Dj is not trying to rush to play my record. It’s a ruff business. Its crazy that I say that and I am trying to get in the business. It’s a million people out here waiting to get your money because you are uninformed about the business.

FOR MORE INFO:
@RizSelfMade

JUNE/JULY 2010

INTERVIEW WITH LMFAO

“We got into Dj-ing real heavily because we wanted to really wanted play our shit”

LMFAO also known as Redfoo and Sky Blu have been getting the party started with their smash hit “I’m In Miami Bitch!”. So how did they get the name LMFAO? “While searching for a name for his Electro/Hip-Hop group, Sky Blu decided to shoot an iChat message to his grandmother with the latest idea, seeking her opinion. "Our new name is gonna be Sexy Dudes...what do you think of that?" Grandma Goodfoot replied, "LMFAO". The two knew grandma was on to something”. If that is not enough check out the origins for their names. Sky Blu (his given name is Sky and the sky is Blu, after all) and Redfoo (the Red symbolizes his passion, and the fact that he acts a Foo.... in bed). While the tour schedule has stayed packed the duo were able to take the time to get with INTRO.

INTRO: How did you guys end up on Will.I.Am's label?

LMFAO: Well, we grew up with Will and we have been friends for a long time. He was familiar with our project and the internet buzz was pretty crazy so Will called us and said “We should be on his Goddamn label. Black Eyed Peas”. Through a long process we ended up on the label.

INTRO: Did you expect the song "I'm in Miami Bitch" to take off the way that it has?

LMFAO: Hell Yeah! No! We were surprised at the longevity of the song. We now realize what it is. We have made a classic kind of song for a traveler to Miami and has that feeling of being in paradise. I’m in Miami Bitch! Actually it’s really done way over what we init-ially thought but as we analyze we realize what the song could be. It’s really becoming that great song

INTRO: I know that this song has an electro pop feel. Is this the particular style that we can expect coming from your album?

LMFAO: It has a POP feel but it also has a jazz feel. There are a lot of feels on the album. Its all party but its different types of party. We have B-more on the album. We have songs on the album like “Lil Hipster Girl” that are a little more aggressive. It represents one side of the party. If we are talking club terms Miami is like the dance floor. You got the bathroom that you take the Freakies you know after the drinks. We are building a club. Its part of the layout baby.

INTRO: How long have the two of you been working together?

LMFAO: On this project we have been working together on this project for 3yrs. Well 2yrs. No wait a little over two years but we have always been working together on things. You know hanging out and vibing. We was selling t-shrts before. It was always a hustle.

INTRO: What other artists have you worked with?
Continued pg 14


LMFAO: Lil John, Pitbull, Paradiso classic kind of song for a traveler to Miami and has that feeling of being in Girls. Done a lot of remixes. You really don’t get to work with the artists on that. We have also worked wit Eric Deluxe.

INTRO: How did you make the transition from Djs to artist?

LMFAO: We have always been artists. We made the transition from actually we have been artists and producers first. Dj-ing is a way to solicit new music. We got into Dj-ing real heavily because we wanted to really wanted play our shit in the clubs. We didn’t really know that many Djs ourselves we said that we have to do it ourselves. We have to D. I. Y. So we started playing our own music and songs in the same type of lane like electro and we tried to break that sound in the mainstream clubs in Hollywood and thats how we did it you know. It started catching on and we started writing more and more songs about our experiences in the club. We started getting ideas from the blogs. Stuff like that .

FOR MORE INFO ON LMFAO:
www.myspace.com/lmfao
MAY/JUNE 2009

NEWS: NYC Fashion Week Opportunity for Models & Designers Courtesy of Blazetrak

BLAZETRAK PROVIDES UNIQUE NY FASHION WEEK OPPORTUNITY FOR ASPIRING MODELS & FASHION DESIGNERS
Winners will work with designer Mychael Knight on his NY Fashion Week "Lost World" show

NEW YORK, NY (August 15, 2011): Blazetrak, the world's first website that allows direct video access to the world's top superstars in music, fashion, entertainment, is announcing a unique, official NY Fashion Week opportunity for aspiring fashion designers and high-fashion models.

Designer Mychael Knight, best known for his appearance on Project Runway (where, in Season 3, he was voted the "Fan Favorite" and placed fourth in the overall competition), is accepting submissions for both an assistant, and a high-fashion model, to work with him at his "Lost World" show during NY's Fashion Week on September 10, 2011.

"During this month, I will be searching (via Blazetrak) for an enthusiastic, down-to-earth young lady ready to blaze down the runway!" said Knight. "Each submission will receive a video response from me and whether or not you are in the running for the opportunity. The chosen model will be notified on September 5th, 2011 and will receive one (1) domestic flight to NY and one (1) night hotel accommodations. The show is on the evening of September 10th 2011, so be prepared to travel between September 9th - 11th. The event will also be streamed to a live audience via Ustream."

To qualify, models must be between the ages of 18-25, must have measurements of 34-25-36 (dress size 2/4), and be at least 5'9" in height. Applicants not meeting those requirements will not qualify.

In addition, Knight is also accepting submissions for an assistant to work with him behind-the-scenes on the day of the "Lost World" show at NY's Fashion Week. This is a perfect opportunity for aspiring fashion designers to get first-hand experience at a prestigious NY Fashion Week event -- a resume booster like no other!

Said Knight: "Create & submit a video (up to 2 minutes) and clearly explain why you deserve this opportunity. You can show me past work, projects, photos, ANYTHING you want to prove you have what takes! No sewing or garment construction skills are required, BUT you must have a strong style sensibility and an acute appreciation of fashion! Applicants must be ages 18 and over. Each submission will receive a video response from me and whether or not you are in the running for the opportunity. My assistant will be chosen and notified on September 5th 2011 and will receive one (1) domestic flight to NY and one (1) nights hotel accommodations."

Interested applicants are directed to apply at: http://www.blazetrak.com/mychaelknight -- opportunity is accepting submissions beginning August 15, 2011, at 11AM!

Additional opportunities in music, fashion, acting, & entertainment are available at http://www.blazetrak.com -- SIGN UP TODAY!