Hip-Hop Love Songs

Hip Hop Love Songs List:

Sunshine – Lupe Fiasco *****
Come Close - Common
Mind Sex - Dead Prez
Brownskin Lady - Blackstar
Love Thirst - Jean Grae
Dreams J. Cole
Swoon Units – Digable Planets *****
Common- I Used to Love H.E.R.*****
Cunninlynguists ft. ToneDeff - Love Aint' *****
Chino XL- Kreep
Viktor Vaughn- Let Me Watch (LOL)
The Roots- You Got Me******
Immortal Technique ft. Jean Grae - You Never Know *****
Ghostface Killah- All That I Got Is You
Gift of Gab- To Know You****
Pharoahe Monch- The Light*****
Common- The Light*****
A Tribe Called Quest- Electric Relaxation*****
Nas- Bridging the Gap
The Roots- Seed 2.0
Aceyalone- Moonlit Skies****
Zion I- Bird's Eye View *****
love is worth by del ***
Method Man - All I Need
One Be Lo - Used 2 Be Fly
Louis Logic - Best Friends
Felt(3): Ghost Dance Deluxe*****
Zion I - Next To U*****
Cannibal Ox - The F-Word
Binary Star - Evolution of man***
Blackalicious - Nowhere fast,
The Perceptionists - Love Letters
Qwel - The Highest Commitment
Also check out Brother Ali - Prince Charming
One Be Lo - True Love
Common - 8 Minutes To Sunrise ft Jill Scott
Swollen Menbers - Go To Sleep
Tonedeff- Porcelain
Classified- What's real
Cunninlynguists- Rain
"We Know" Kweli,
"The Panties" Mos,
"I'll Do It All" Busta
"Love Language" Kweli,
"And He Gets the Girl" Lupe,
"Song Cry" Jay-Z,
"So Good" Pharoahe Monch

Hip-Hop Isn't Dead. Here's The Proof! (Song List)

Tired of hearing songs with the same old tired repeated themes? Tired or rappers talking about how much money they have, what kind of cars they drive, disrespecting women, & all of the gratuitous "Shoot Em Up" & Gangsta songs that are so prevelant in the Genre today? Do you miss meaningful & creative Hip-Hop? Yeah me, too. The point of this blog post is to provide people with a list of songs that they will enjoy if they're sick of the state of hip-hop today. YouTube em, Download em...whatever...just enjoy the music! Hip-Hop is not dead! It's still alive and Kicking & here's the proof! I'm going to get this started, but I'll need help from you guys. If you have songs in mind that you think should be on here, please respond and let me know, and I'll post them up here! I'm just typing these tracks off the dome, so I definetly need help. New or old, it doesn't matter...just post whatever you think is dope Hip-Hop! Without Further adieu:

Harbinger of Light - Canibus
Layered Prayers - Canibus
Indibisible - Canibus
Poet Laureate II - Canibus
Liberal Arts - Canibus ft. Jedi Mind Tricks
Father Author, Poor Pauper - Canibus
Spartibus - Canibus
Master Thesis - Canibus

Soul on Ice - Ras Kass
The Evil That Men Do - Ras Kass
Van Gogh - Ras Kass
Goldyn Chyld - Ras Kass

Worst Fears Confirmed - Vakill
The Creed - Vakill
Serpent & the Rainbow - Vakill
The Confirmation - Vakill
Sickplicity - Vakill

Shadow Business - Jedi Mind Tricks
Heavenly Divine - Jedi Mind Tricks
On The Eve Of War - Jedi Mind Tricks feat. Gza
When All Light Dies - Jedi Mind Tricks

Enough Beef - Chino XL, Royce Da 5'9", & Common
Do This - Canibus, Bekay, & Chino XL
Wordsmith - Chino XL
Nahh - Chino XL
90 Bars of Intervention - Chino XL
Don't Say A Word - Chino XL
Heavenly Father - Chino XL
Watch Closer - Chino XL
Kreep - Chino XL

Holier Than Thou - Copywrite
Fucksoundcheck - Copywrite
Enterlude - Copywrite
Fire It Up - Copywrite
Hear Me Though - Copywrite

Basket Case - MF Doom
Deep Fried Frenz - MF Doom
Kookies - MF Doom
Benzi Box - MF Doom, Danger Mouse, & Cee-Lo
Saliva - Viktor Vaughn aka MF Doom
Accordian - MF Doom & Madlib
Rock Co. Kane Flow - De La Soul ft. MF Doom

Shining Down - Lupe Fiasco
Sunshine - Lupe Fiasco
Gold Watch - Lupe Fiasco
The Cool - Lupe Fiasco
Streets Are Watching - Lupe Fiasco
Intruder Alert - Lupe Fiasco
DayDreaming - Lupe Fiasco ft. Jill Scott
Dumb it Down - Lupe Fiasco
Fighters - Lupe Fiasco

Rising Down - The Roots, Mos Def, & Styles P
Right Now - Fort Minor ft. Black Thought
The Seed 2.0 - The Roots ft. Cody Chestnut
Break You Off - The Roots ft. Musiq Soulchild
Boom! - The Roots ft. Kool G Rap & Big Daddy Kane
Don't Say Nothin' - The Roots
Star - The Roots
Don't Feel Right - The Roots

Love Thirst - Jean Grae
Going Crazy - Jean Grae
Supa Luv - Jean Grae

Sunshine - Mos Def
UMI Says - Mos Def
Next Universe - Mos Def
Astronomy (8th Light) - Blackstar
Respiration - Blackstar ft. Common
Thieves in the Night - Blackstar
Changes - Common ft. Muhsinah
The Corner - Common
The Light - Common
The Light - Pharoahe Monch
Queens - Pharoahe Monch
Joy - Talib Kweli ft. Mos Def

The 3rd World - Immortal Technique
Dance With The Devil - Immortal Technique
Tell the Truth - Immortal Technique ft. Mos Def
Angels of Death - Outerspace ft. Immortal Technique
The Illest - Immortal Technique ft. Jean Grae & Pumpkinhead
Industrial Revolution - Immortal Technique
Internally Bleeding - Immortal Technique
Freedom of Speech - Immortal Technique

Superstarr Pt. 0 - K-Os
Crabbuckit - K-Os
Sunday Morning - K-Os
The Love Song - K-Os

None Shall Pass - Aesop Rock
Daylight - Aesop Rock
Zodiaccupuncture - Aesop Rock
Gun For the Whole Family - Aesop Rock ft. EL-P
Food, Clothes, & Medicine - Aesop Rock

Mic Mastery - 7L & Esoteric

Ink - Cubbiebear
Apple Juice - Teddy Faley

Eastern Conference All-Stars - Cage, Camu Tao, Copywrite, Mr. Eon, Skillz, etc.
Dirty Decibels - High & Mighty ft. Pharoahe Monch
B-Boy Document '99 - High & Mighty ft. Mos Def & Mad Skillz
The Last Hit - High & Mighty ft. Eminem
Anti Heroes - Smut Peddlers ft. Copywrite

EMG - EL-P
The Overly Dramatic Truth - EL-P
8 Steps to Perfection - Company Flow

The Format - AZ
Publicity - GZA

For You - Little Brother
The Getup - Little Brother

Dead Prez - Hip-Hop
Dead Prez - Radio Freq
Dead Prez - Mind Sex

Alright it's your turn to contribute...GO--> LOL

Alloyius McIlwaine
Cultures Clothing Co

The State of Hip-Hop Today

Before I start out, I wanted to quote a line from Canibus from the song called "Poet Laureate II" off of the Rip the Jacker Album:

"From an extroverted point of view I think its too late
Hip Hop has never been the same since '88
Since it became a lucrative profession there's a misconception that a movement in any
direction is progression."

That quote right there pretty much sums up my feelings of what is being called Hip-Hop nowadays, & it also brings to mind a quote from the song "Hater Players" off of Mos Def & Talib Kweli's classic Blackstar Album:

"Reverse psychology got em scared to say when shit is whack
Out of fear of being called a hater, imagine that!"

I say that to say that there's a lot of stuff that I can't stand in the Hip-Hop industry today, and I know a lot of people feel the same way, but don't want to speak up about it out of the fear of being called a hater. Let me set the records straight from Jump Street:

***Anyone rapper that I mention in this blog post probably has more money than I do. They might even get more girls than I do. I'm not hating on these MC's as people, or hating on the success that they are having...I'm speaking from a standpoint of strickly looking at Hip-Hop as an artform. I'm critiquing them solely as MCs.***

Ok, with that disclaimer out of the way, I'll be real with you:

There is a lot of bullshit out there that's claiming to be hip-hop, but is pretty much the furthest thing away from what I think Hip-Hop is as an art form.

I think it is seriously damaging to the listeners...especially to the urban community. My other problem is that I think that there are a ton of artists out there who are extremely dope, and the music that they make is extremely under-appreciated & swept under the carpet. Now what I say next might be unpopular with a ton of people...and I may receive some criticism for it, but keep in mind that I'm speaking from the heart:

In the 90's, there came along two extremely talented MC's that changed the Hip-Hop game forever. Their names, of course, were Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls. Tupac was, no doubt, a poet & a visionary. In so many songs, such as "Changes", "I Ain't Mad Atcha" & "Dear Mama" for example, he spoke from his soul about his pain and hardships, and they were amazing songs. The same thing can be said about songs like "Juicy" by Biggie Smalls. His story-telling & delivery in that song was amazing, and it was very very relatable. I know as an urban youth, I could completely relate to everything that was being said in that song. Both MC's were extremely charismatic, and many many people looked up to them...but here comes the problem:
The problem is that although some of the music that they were producing was amazing & poetic, other music that they were putting out gratuitously promoted Gangsta Rap & Lifestyles...& they became martyrs to the cause.

I know I know. Biggie & Tupac were like Hip-Hop Gods, and saying anything less than praising about them is bound to bring criticism & name-calling. That's fine...as long as you hear what I'm saying. For one, I'm not saying that they were the only MC's pushing Gangsta Rap out there. Of course they weren't...they were just the 2 most prominent Mc's doing it...they are arguably the two most influential MC's of all time. Secondly, I'm not against MC's describing the type of stuff that they went through while growing up or living life...not at all. Styles P does it all the time & it's dope. I'm against promoting the Gangsta lifestyle like it's the thing to do...like shooting people up, selling drugs, objectifying women, etc is the "Bees Knees" LOL .

For Example, some quotes from Tupac & the Outlawz Diss against Biggie in "Hit 'Em Up":

"Grab your glocks when you see 2pac...Call the cops when you see 2pac"
"This ain't no freestyle battle...All you niggas getting killed...With your mouths open..."
"I'm a self made Millionaire...Thug livin', out of prison...Pistols in the Air {Air} (Ha Ha)..."
"Five shots couldn't drop me...I took it and smiled...Now I'm back to set the record straight
With my A-K I'm still the thug that you love to hate....Mother-fucker I'll Hit 'Em Up..."

Now just look at lyrics like that, and look at the influence that people like Tupac & Biggie had. There were grown ass men crying when they heard Tupac & Biggie died. I saw it with my own two eyes. They were idolized...they were people's heroes...and lastly, they were imitated. It seemed to be like after Tupac & Biggie, every single young man growing up in the urban communities wanted to be a gangsta rapper, and wanted specifically to be just like Biggie & Tupac. Why not? They were charming, they were tough, they were amazingly talented MC's, and they were rich. Tupac & Biggie came from situations similar to their own, & made it through to be world famous & rich. They had money, women, clothes...you name it. When you're in a desperate situation like many people living in urban communities are, people that have made it out of that situation become like a beacon of light.

I'm speaking from experience because I saw it everyday. I didn't want to be a gangsta rapper myself, but I'm a special case. I was luckier than most. Even though I grew up in the heart of North Philly, my grandparents had been to college, so they sacrificed to send my mom to college, who, in turn, sacrificed to send me to Private School to get a better education, and then to college. My parents kept me out of trouble. Not everyone's that lucky...the majority of people aren't. A lot of the people I grew up with idolized Biggie & Tupac, & got stuck in a lifestyle that now, it seems impossible for them to escape from it. It was almost like you had to go to jail or get shot or be on some crooked shit to be accepted. That whole mindset became more & more prevelant in the community, & more prevelant in the music industry, until we get to where we are today. The more prevelant that the Gangsta Mindset got in the community, the more it was reflected in the music.

Now, let's take a look at a couple of the artists who are out right now. This is where I'm going to call some of the artists today out on their bullshit. Again, I'm not hating on you personally, so if you happen to read this, don't start a rap beef or anything lol. I'm just a real person...even with my close friends, if I feel like there's something that I need to call you on because I think you're doing something wrong, I'm going to call you on it. I'd be more than willing to set down and discuss topics like this with anyone in a hip-hop forum or panel, or whatever even if it's a one on one thing.:

Cam'Ron:
Cam'Ron was recently was on CNN...with Dame Dash...and they were saying how they're positive roll models. All I could do was shake my head, because the last CD that Cam'Ron put out was called "Crime Pays". Yes, you're a successful business man...you're rich and your famous & you have your own business, but you're putting out music like "Crime Pays", and I'll give you some songs off of the Track Listing: -"Homicide" -"Cookin up" -"Crime Pays"

And let's forget "Get Ya Gun" off of the Album "Killa Season". The other point that Dame & Cam were trying to make was that it's just "Entertainment" & movies like "Terminator". Ok, one, even an eleven year old kid is going to be able to tell the difference between Mercury/Metal Robots from the future, & a guy that you know really exists saying that he sells drugs & shoots people. I'm sorry. Besides that, outside of the movie Scarface, Hip-Hop music is far far far far more influential to urban youth than movies are, one reason being, you can take music with you wherever you go...and if you drill stuff into your head repeatedly, it starts to change your mindset or influence you in some way. Now you might say that it's not your job to be a role model, and it's the parents job to monitor what their children are listening to. Fair enough. But think about it this way: A lot of youth don't have that. A lot of parents don't see anything wrong with it. My former Uncle-In-Law gave me Dre Dre's "The Chronic" Album, and didn't see anything wrong with it until he got yelled at by my mom lol. I was excited as hell to get that album, and I couldn't understand for the life of me why my mom wouldn't let me listen to it. All of the other kids had it....I wanted to fit in with them. As a 27 year old adult, I finally understand what the problem was. Since you know that (despite what you say) people look up to you, you could be more mindful of what your saying....parents or not. Don't take the easy way out...there's plenty of things outside of the subjects of money, hustling, "Bitches", gangsta shit, etc. to talk about. Don't get stuck inside of the box...try thinking outside of it. Lupe Fiasco does it, and he's very successful.

Soulja Boy:
"YAHHH BITCH YAHHH"...Nuff said LOL that's just the most ignorant shit I've ever heard I'm
sorry hahaha. There's nothing wrong with making snappy dance songs. Whatever...make stuff that's fun to dance to. Everyone likes to dance, and as anyone who's being honest with themselves will admit, a lot of the time, the beat sells itself. I'm not even saying that the music has to be profound, but I shouldn't lose brain cells because I'm listening to it.

50 Cent:
You are a successful business man, who have your own clothing line, your own Vitamin Water, and you're 1 of the biggest names in the industry period. Do you really need to keep up the gangsta thing? There's nothing else to talk about? Outside of the fact that there are thousands of different things to talk about, you keep recycling yourself via your 1st Album, "Get Rich or Die Trying". There's no progression as an artist...it's just the same shit, different laxative.

I could literally talk about this subject forever, but this post is long enough as it is...I'll save the rest of what I think for the responses to this post, but in closing, I feel like Hip-Hop nowadays has gotten caught into a pattern where every MC just talking about the same Ignorant stuff repeatedly, and it's really hurting the community as a whole. The bright spot in this is that There are Many Many MCs out there that are creating more intelligent Hip-Hop...I just don't think that they get the recognition that they deserve. I'll end this post by listing some MC's and songs that I think people should check out if they feel the same way I do, and think that Hip-Hop seems to be regressing instead of moving forward:

Harbinger of Light - Canibus
Layered Prayers - Canibus
Indibisible - Canibus
Shadow Business - Jedi Mind Tricks
Enough Beef - Chino XL, Royce Da 5'9", & Common
Basket Case - MF Doom
Deep Fried Frenz - MF Doom
Kookies - MF Doom
Shining Down - Lupe Fiasco
Rising Down - The Roots, Mos Def, & Styles P
Right Now - Fort Minor ft. Black Thought
Love Thirst - Jean Grae
Sunshine - Mos Def
Respiration - Blackstar ft. Common
Thieves in the Night - Blackstar
The 3rd World - Immortal Technique
Changes - Common ft. Muhsinah
Superstarr Pt. 0 - K-Os
Joy - Talib Kweli ft. Mos Def
None Shall Pass - Aesop Rock
Zodiaccupuncture - Aesop Rock
Daylight - Aesop Rock

Those are just a few off the top of my head...To quote a cut from Aesop Rock's "None Shall Pass":
-"I'm not trying to trick you...I'm trying *mixes* to-to-to-Help"

I welcome any and all discussion on this topic...it's the only way things get any better.
Peace

Alloyius McIlwaine
Cultures Clothing Co.

Top MC's in Hip-Hop

Ok, so MTV has this list coming out of the Top 10 Hottest Rappers in the Game. The only problem is, I don't think a lot of people in their top 10 would be in my top 100. SO...here's my list...It's 100+ MC's in no particular order whatsoever:

Again in no Particular order Whatsoever. To do that would be completely & utterly impossible! Everyone on here is pretty dope. This is just how people are popping in my head as I type...probably based on what I've listened to lately. I'm just noticing that some of my faves are further down like Q-Tip for example.

Also this is just out of the people that are still making music, or else, of course, you'd have to list Tupac, Biggie, Big Pun, Big L, Run DMC, Chuck D, Slick Rick,etc. etc.:

Top 100+ This is who I came up with off the Top of my head:

1) Canibus
2) Chino XL
3) Ras Kass
4) Killah Priest
5) Pharoahe Monch
6) Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks
7) Immortal Technique
8) Slug of Atmosphere
9) Common
10) Jean Grae
11) Talib Kweli
12) Mos Def
13) Cage
14) Copywrite
15) Mr. Eon
16) Black Thought
17) Celph Titled
18) Tech N9ne
19) Lupe Fiasco
20) Eminem
21) Royce the 5'9
22) Crooked I
23) Joell Ortiz
24) Apathy
25) MF Doom
26) Ghostface Killah
27) Raekwon
28) Aesop Rock
29) Mr. Lif
30) EL-P
31) Ill Bill
32) Rhymefest
33) Method Man
34) Redman
35) Phonte
36) Kool G Rap
37) Styles P
38) Jadakiss
39) Nas
40) GZA
41) RZA
42) Kanye West
43) Andre 3000
44) Big Boi
45) Evidence
46) Q-Tip
47) Busta Rhymes
48) Jay-Z
49) Lauryn Hill
50) Keith Murray
51) KRS-One
52) Buckshot
53) Esoteric
54) Outerspace
55) Planet Asia
56) Del the Funky Homosapien
57) Gift of Gab
58) Guru
59) Posdnous/ De La Soul
60) AZ
61) Masta Ace
62) Bahamadia
63) Fatlip/ Pharcyde
64) Big Pooh
65) Diabolic
66) Dead Prez
67) Prodigy
68) Jakki the Motamouth
69) Saigon
70) Rock from Heltah Skeltah
71) Inspectah Deck
73) T.I.
74) Brother Sun
75) Phoenix Orion
76) Wale
77) Ludacris
78) Fabolous
79) Cee-Lo
80) Rakim
81) Bun B
82) Supernatural
83) Brother J
84) Sean P
85) Black Milk
86) Papoose
87) Kurupt
88) RA the Rugged Man
89) Jeru the Damaja
90) Mike Shinoda
91) Rah Digga
92) Jus Allah
93) Joe Budden
94) Kool Keith (is he still putting out new stuff?)
95) Thirsten Howl III
96) Louis Logic
97) MC Juice
98) Sage Francis
99) Eyedea
100) Blu & Exile
101) Mr. Hyde
102) Benefit (Is he still doing stuff?)
103) Vakill
104) Last Emperor
105) Mad Child
106) Goretex
107) MC Shan
108) Termanology
109) Cassidy
110) Cormega
111) Wordsmith
112) Ryu
113) Open Mic
114) Mad Skillz
115) Chip FU


Ok I'm posting this now...but you guys help me with the rest, and I'll post those right below after this statement...

116) ?

Hollywood's Most Beautiful Women

Ok so the other day I saw this link on Hollywood's Top 40 most beautiful women:

http://tinyurl.com/lvrs68

But that list was shitty lol. Half the people on there didn't belong there at all. I made a better one (Boredom and A.D.D. contributed). Here's 60. Top That! I know some of you are going to have some new crushes on people you've never even heard of. Of course I probably forgot some people, so feel free to contribute!:


Megan Fox http://tinyurl.com/lfk29z
Cassie http://tinyurl.com/n88rvc
Natalie Mejia http://tinyurl.com/lz26ux
Freida Pinto http://tinyurl.com/m8t3lq
Moon Bloodgood http://tinyurl.com/m47uht
Olga Kurylenko http://tinyurl.com/lz9vm8
Moran Atias http://tinyurl.com/nc9yww
Christina Milian http://tinyurl.com/lvdkrt
Jennifer Freeman http://tinyurl.com/krcaog
Maggie Q http://tinyurl.com/lvp8xo
Moneca Delain http://tinyurl.com/m5b54u
Stephanie Jacobsen http://tinyurl.com/nne3ht
Grace Park http://tinyurl.com/n9uara
Morena Baccarin http://tinyurl.com/qj5axk
Jessica Biel http://tinyurl.com/nyo3rv
Mila Kunis http://tinyurl.com/6xy7qx
Lauren London http://tinyurl.com/ne6v5u
Cheryl Cole http://tinyurl.com/me3jfy
Aishwarya Rai http://tinyurl.com/ms86uf
Olivia Wilde http://tinyurl.com/mfqsxz
Jessica Alba http://tinyurl.com/32x3kh
Hayden Panettiere http://tinyurl.com/lfn2zu
Kristen Kreuk http://tinyurl.com/lxk9qy
Adriana Lima http://tinyurl.com/mleeoe
Eva Longoria http://tinyurl.com/lj9wvt
Scarlett Johansson http://tinyurl.com/cxtpev
Elisha Cuthbert http://tinyurl.com/mwvju7
Meagan Good http://tinyurl.com/klgluy
Rhona Mitra http://tinyurl.com/m9xs7b
GemmaAtkinson http://tinyurl.com/lat8oh
Natalie Portman http://tinyurl.com/nqdydy
K.D. Aubert http://tinyurl.com/mlhs3z
Emmanuella Chriqui http://tinyurl.com/mqs3vv
Zoe Saldana http://tinyurl.com/m6e2t4
Eva Mendes http://tinyurl.com/8g8bc9
Charlize Theron http://tinyurl.com/c59tu6
Gabrielle Union http://tinyurl.com/lhq4ds
Leighton Meester http://tinyurl.com/nyk8eb
Kerry Washington http://tinyurl.com/lh44gf
Angelina Jolie http://tinyurl.com/2y8pvc
Alessandra Ambrosio http://tinyurl.com/2vnn5h
Monica Bellucci http://tinyurl.com/n7q92a
Catherine Zeta-Jones http://tinyurl.com/n2w5c3
Kate Beckinsale http://tinyurl.com/l4jkmn
Lindsay Lohan http://tinyurl.com/me5ocx
Rihanna http://tinyurl.com/ndres4
Mary Elizabeth Winstead http://tinyurl.com/mzmes5
Beyonce http://tinyurl.com/l89eh8
Keira Knightley http://tinyurl.com/mg8lwa
Jordana Brewster http://tinyurl.com/l4oujb
Halle Berry http://tinyurl.com/m66hn3
Kate Bosworth http://tinyurl.com/nm2wuw
Kristen Bell http://tinyurl.com/mpuu7r
Lizzy Caplan http://preview.tinyurl.com/47qu9d
Rachel Bilson http://tinyurl.com/lh25kc
Katherine Heigl http://tinyurl.com/kj8rzh
Alyssa Milano http://tinyurl.com/5pbg69
Sophia Bush http://tinyurl.com/m98jyz
Nicole Scherzinger http://tinyurl.com/mn8sm6

And a special shoutout goes to my Gorgeous friend Aubrey Aquino, http://aubreyaquino.com She is a TV Reporter and Host. In Miami, Florida, her entertainment and lifestyle feature segments can be seen on Deco Drive/WSVN, and she is also the creator and host of On The Flipside. Here's a pic of the lovely lady --> http://tinyurl.com/nwgg5h
Be sure to check her show out!



Alloyius McIlwaine
Cultures Clothing Co.

Cultures Clothing Featured on "Under the Radar Society" blog

Cultures Clothing is being featured on the UNDER THE RADAR SOCIETY blog...check it out: http://bit.ly/152kZS

What is Underground Hip-Hop?

I'm posting this because me & @DaddyBawsten on Twitter were having a conversation about What underground Hip-Hop is. He said that he didn't consider Lupe, the Roots, Common, etc. to be underground because of their visibility. For example, he was saying that Common isn't underground because he's dating Serena, The Roots aren't underground because they're the band for a late night talk show, etc. Now, let's look at what underground Hip-Hop means. To me, this is what Underground Hip-Hop is:

My Definition: Underground Hip-Hop is songs or music created by artists that doesn't get a certain amount of recognition or airplay, because the thought-provocative nature of the music is different than what is promoted by the mainstream media (I.E. gangsta rap, gratuitous gunplay & hustling, ringtone rap, etc.).

Now, one of the examples is that Lupe Fiasco isn't an underground artist because he made "Superstar" and he is an artist that is recognized by mainstream media. Ok, yeah, Lupe has had some radio hits like Kick/Push & Superstar, but look at the body of Lupe's work on his first two cd's:

-"Streets on Fire": About the AIDS Epidemic

-"American Terrorist": Showing us that we as Americans have no right to point fingers at people and get a "Holier than thou" attitude because of all the atrocities that we as a nation have committed.

-"He Say She Say": About the struggles of growing up without a father.

-"Hurts Me Soul": QUOTE --- "My mom can't feed me, my boyfriend beats meI have sex for money, the hood don't love meThe cops wanna kill me, this nonsense built me, And I got noooo place to gooo. They bomb my village, they call us killers...Took me off they welfare, can't afford they health care...My teacher won't teach me, my master beats me...And it huuurts meee soooul"

-Dumb It Down: Showing how mainstream media has brainwashed us into dumbing down our music.

-Intruder Alert: QUOTE --- "He said, nobody else ever loved him, That's why, he get high enough to go touch the heavens above him. Vividly remembers every pipe, every needle that stuck him...Every alley he ever slept in, every purse that he snuck in. Every level of hell he's been to, and the one that he's stuck in...No wonder he can't escape, even though it's of his own construction. Maybe you can relate, Maybe you just one of those that just doesn't...Maybe he doesn't care, loves to allow these demons to come in With no..."

-Little Weapon: QUOTE --- "I killed another man today..Shot him in his back as he ran away Then I blew up his hut with a hand grenade. Cut his wife throat as she put her hands to pray"Just five more dogs, then we can get a soccer ball"that's what my commander say. How old - well I'm like ten, eleven....Been fightin since I was like six, or seven. Now I don't know much ‘bout where I'm from, But I know I strike fear everywhere I come. Government want me dead so I wear my gun...I really want the rocket launcher but I'm still too young. This candy give me courage not to fear no one...To feel no pain and hear no tongue. So I hear no screams and I shed no tear...If I'm in your dreams, then your end is near - it's ME"

That's just a couple of examples. If you look at the body of Lupe's work, almost everything he puts out is along the lines of what Mos Def, Talib Kweli, etc. were putting out long before Mos Def was making movies. Lupe's work is true to what real hip-hop is, so yeah, even though he gets recognition, he's putting out a lot of underground music.

As for the Roots, yes, they might be getting some recognition and have higher visibility now, but that doesn't take away from the fact that every Roots cd is filled with songs with lyrics like this (from "Don't Feel Right") QUOTE ---

"Yo, in the land of the unseen hand, and hold trouble, Theorize your game, it's difficult to roll a double, The struggle ain't right up in your face, it's more subtle, But it's still comin' across like the bridge and tunnel vision. I try to school these bucks, but they don't wanna listen, That's the reason the system makin' its paper from the prison. And that's the reason we livin' where they don't wanna visit. Where the dope slang and keep swayin' like Sonny Liston. The money missin' and there's mouths to feed, Yet the brain kickin', thinkin' of a thousand things. Remember back in the days, when the kitchen had eggs, And pancakes, thicken and greens and Kool Aid. When the ‘fridgerator naked then the cupboard is bare, People got to strip naked, stick ‘em up in the airWasn't lies when they told you wasn't nothin' to fear...Somethin' don't feel right out here, nahmsayin'? Check it out.."

*Mos Def is making movies now, but it doesn't take away from the fact that on the music scene, he's been doing his thing and staying true to what real Hip-Hop is. He, along with Talib Kweli put out the Blackstar album...a hip hop CLASSIC...and everything from that until the recent album, "The Ecstatic" has stayed true to what Hip-Hop really is or should be. Just listen to "Thieves in the Night" or "What's Beef" or "Eat to live" by Talib Kweli. All Underground Hip-Hop. I could come up with similar examples for Common and everyone else I've named.

*Common might be dating Serena, but he's still putting out cds like "Like Water For Chocolate" while artists like 50 Cent are putting out "Get Rich or Die Trying"

Now another example was brought up about Jay-Z. It was stated that Jay-z has a lot of songs that don't get radioplay, but that doesn't make it underground Hip-hop. Ok, well let's look at the body of Jay-z's work. Jay-z is no doubt a talented artist, but are the aforementioned Jay-z songs thought provocative, or are they Jay-z's typical "Hustler" schtick? Is Jay-z talking about how gun-violence and drug-selling is affecting the community in a negative way, or is Jay-z simply doing his thing where he talks about hustling? If it's the first thing, then yeah, I do consider it Underground Hip-Hop. If it's the latter, not so much. See, I have a very specific definition of what Hip-Hop is. Everything that's labeled hip-hop nowadays is not hip-hop to me. I think the overall genre is RAP, and hip-hop is a very specific sub-division of that. I think a lot of Jay-z's work falls into the rap category, but maybe not into my definition of what Hip-Hop is.

To sum everything up, the various artists could be on TV all day every day...but as long as they're making thought provoking music that's meaningful but doesn't get mainstream recognition, it's still underground hip-hop, and it will continue to be until mainstream media starts pushing thought-provocative music as much as it does the bullshit we hear on the radio now.

Here are a few underground Gems that you should check out, along with those listed above. This is what is currently playing in my Ipod, alond with a lot of Run DMC lol:

"Tell the Truth" by Immortal Technique and Mos Def
"Dance with the Devil" by Immortal Technique
"Shadow Business" by Jedi Mind Tricks
"Poet Laureate" by Canibus
"Basket Case" by MF Doom
"Thieves in the Night" by Blackstar
"Get Up" by Q-Tip
"Layered Prayers" by Canibus
"Mic Mastery" by 7L & Esoteric
"End to End Burners" by Company Flow
"Roc Ko Kane Flow" by De La Soul Featuring MF Doom
"Shining Down" by Lupe Fiasco

Peace!

Alloyius McIlwaine
Cultures Clothing Co.