Salon.com > hip-hop http://www.salon.com Fri, 03 May 2013 22:51:04 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Was a rapper sexually assaulted onstage? http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/was_a_rapper_sexually_assaulted_onstage/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/was_a_rapper_sexually_assaulted_onstage/#comments Wed, 01 May 2013 23:30:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13287128 The rumor was retweeted ad infinitum: Last week, a popular rapper got a blow job onstage from a female fan during a show in Minneapolis. When someone tweeted at the artist in question to ask if the rumor was true, he -- or someone using his Twitter handle -- responded, "and didn’t miss one bar." As the tale jumped from Twitter to various music blogs, the boastful tweet was deleted, but the buzz continued. Some virtually high-fived the rapper, while others found it just another story about misogyny and objectification of women in hip-hop. But today, rapper Kitty Pryde, who is currently on tour with the rapper in question and witnessed the incident in person, wrote a blog post reframing it as sexual assault. "It was an actual sexual assault, and somehow nobody gives a fuck about that but me," wrote Pryde, who refers to the rapper as her "best friend."

As you can probably tell, I've decided to not name the rapper. It isn't difficult to figure out who he is, of course, but it seems a matter of principle to keep his name out of this article. After all, we're talking about an incident that at least one person is calling a sexual assault, and which Pryde argues involved reverse sexism and double standards when it comes to sexual assault.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/was_a_rapper_sexually_assaulted_onstage/feed/ 9 The most racist commercial of all time? http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/the_most_racist_commercial_of_all_time/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/the_most_racist_commercial_of_all_time/#comments Wed, 01 May 2013 16:10:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13286613 Oh, it's weird, all right. It's aggressive and provocative -- two qualities you don't usually expect from a soda commercial, but not surprising at all coming from the minds behind Odd Future. But does this new series of Mountain Dew ads actually reinforce ugly stereotypes? Or are its critics completely missing the point?

The story begins back in March, when Tyler, the Creator cheerfully announced on Twitter that "They Let My Stupid Ideas Come To Life, Thanks Dew!" He followed up by unleashing the first spot he directed – a surreal vision in which Errol Chatham finds himself distracted by a fellow restaurant patron – the "nasty," rampaging, Dew-chugging Felicia the Goat.

Now, in the third and newest spot, Felicia's terrified waitress, now bruised and hobbling on crutches, is led into a lineup at a police station. And there's the goat, flanked by a tough-looking group of young minority men. The white cop tells the blond lady to make an identification, but the goat ominously warns, "Ya better not snitch on a playa," because "snitches get stitches."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/the_most_racist_commercial_of_all_time/feed/ 9 Listen to the Beastie Boys in a previously unaired interview from 1985 http://www.salon.com/2013/04/30/listen_to_the_beastie_boys_in_a_previously_unaired_interview_from_1985/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/30/listen_to_the_beastie_boys_in_a_previously_unaired_interview_from_1985/#comments Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:40:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13285621 David Gerlach's “Blank on Blank” series, produced by PBS Digital Studios, has revived a never-before-heard interview of Beastie Boys, Mike D (Michael Diamond), MCA (Adam Yauch) and Ad-Rock (Adam Horovitz) from 1985, when the group was finding the hip-hop voice that later earned them three Grammy Awards and multiple platinum albums.

In the following animated clip, the group talks to ABC News Radio's Rocci Fisch, telling him about their tour with Madonna, how they're not just "rappers for the suburbs" and the origin of their name "from the good old days."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/04/30/listen_to_the_beastie_boys_in_a_previously_unaired_interview_from_1985/feed/ 1 Beastie Boys to write memoir http://www.salon.com/2013/04/29/beastie_boys_to_write_memoir/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/29/beastie_boys_to_write_memoir/#comments Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:50:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13284668 The surviving members of the Beastie Boys, Michael Diamond (Mike D) and Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock), are writing a high-concept memoir, reports the New York Times.

The band has been toying with the idea for years -- even before third member Adam Yauch (MCA) died at 47 from cancer in 2012. “After Yauch died, I didn’t push them,” said agent Luke Janklow. “But I think that Adam and Mike ended up realizing that it was the right time for them.”

From the Times:

The Beastie Boys are “interested in challenging the form and making the book a multidimensional experience,” [publisher Julie] Grau said in an interview. “There is a kaleidoscopic frame of reference, and it asks a reader to keep up.”

The book, to be edited by the hip-hop journalist Sacha Jenkins, will be loosely structured as an oral history. It will also have contributions by other writers, as well as a strong visual component. Ms. Grau and Luke Janklow, the group’s agent, both compared it to Grand Royal, the Beastie Boys’ acclaimed but short-lived magazine in the 1990s, which explored some of its wide-ranging pop-culture interests with curiosity and snark.

Random House imprint Spiegel & Grau, which published Jay-Z's "Decoded," has taken on the project and is targeting a fall 2015 release.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/04/29/beastie_boys_to_write_memoir/feed/ 0 Feminist furor over rapper Tyga’s appearance at Harvard http://www.salon.com/2013/04/02/feminist_furor_over_rapper_tygas_appearance_at_harvard/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/02/feminist_furor_over_rapper_tygas_appearance_at_harvard/#comments Tue, 02 Apr 2013 21:13:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13259260 The rapper Tyga is booked to perform at Harvard's Yardfest, an annual event that has previously hosted acts including Wu-Tang Clan, Busta Rhymes, Third Eye Blind and Kid Cudi.

That is, he's booked for now: Harvard's Office of Student Life has requested that the students organizing the concert reconsider the booking after an anti-Tyga petition garnered over 1,000 signatures. The office, though, is leaving the decision to the student-run College Events Board.

This isn't just a case of students who wished they'd gotten the chance to see Lana Del Rey or Macklemore. Tyga's lyrics, says Harvard senior Leah Reis-Dennis, promote rape and violence. A video for his hit single "Rack City" is below:

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/04/02/feminist_furor_over_rapper_tygas_appearance_at_harvard/feed/ 7 Hip-hop goes for gay marriage http://www.salon.com/2013/04/02/hip_hop_goes_for_gay_marriage/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/02/hip_hop_goes_for_gay_marriage/#comments Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:27:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13258772 Throughout his career, Lil’ Wayne has gone to considerable lengths to ensure that no one thinks he’s homosexual. As the beat begins for his hit “Lollipop,” which is clearly about a woman performing fellatio on him, he mumbles what had become his catch phrase in 2008: “No homo.” It’s his way of letting the audience know he isn’t homosexual (though it seems unfathomable that someone would hear a song about a woman performing fellatio on him and come to that conclusion).

That attitude permeated rap for most of its existence -- until now, it would seem. This past week, rap titans Russell Simmons, Jay-Z and Kanye West have expressed support for marriage equality. And they aren’t alone. Fat Joe, A$AP Rocky and The Game, among others, have been clear that they don’t discriminate based on sexuality. This past year’s breakout hip-hop/R&B artist Frank Ocean famously announced his fluid sexuality via a Tumblr message and received the support of many artists, including his former rap-troupe partner Tyler the Creator, who is paradoxically known for using homophobic slurs in his music.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/04/02/hip_hop_goes_for_gay_marriage/feed/ 2 Donald Trump claims Lil Wayne “hoes” tweet was a hack http://www.salon.com/2013/02/21/donald_trump_claims_lil_wayne_hoes_tweet_was_a_hack/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/21/donald_trump_claims_lil_wayne_hoes_tweet_was_a_hack/#comments Thu, 21 Feb 2013 17:30:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13207625 Donald Trump's Twitter account posted and then quickly deleted a tweet that quoted a Lil Wayne rap lyric, which Trump claims was the result of a hack.

The original tweet said: "These hoes think they classy, well that's the class I'm skippen."

Trump then tweeted:

[embedtweet id="304636780903288834"]

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/21/donald_trump_claims_lil_wayne_hoes_tweet_was_a_hack/feed/ 8 Salon’s 2013 Grammy Awards liveblog http://www.salon.com/2013/02/11/salons_2013_grammy_awards_liveblog/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/11/salons_2013_grammy_awards_liveblog/#comments Mon, 11 Feb 2013 00:55:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13195018 [liveblog id=63]

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/11/salons_2013_grammy_awards_liveblog/feed/ 0 The Grammy Awards: Who won? http://www.salon.com/2013/02/11/the_55th_grammy_awards_the_winners/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/11/the_55th_grammy_awards_the_winners/#comments Mon, 11 Feb 2013 00:30:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13194823 RECORD OF THE YEAR

Lonely Boy - The Black Keys

Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Kelly Clarkson

We Are Young - Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe

WINNER: Somebody That I Used to Know - Gotye Featuring Kimbra

Thinkin Bout You - Frank Ocean

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift

 

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

El Camino - The Black Keys

Some Nights - Fun.

WINNER: Babel - Mumford & Sons

Channel Orange - Frank Ocean

Blunderbuss - Jack White

 

SONG OF THE YEAR

The A Team - Ed Sheeran, songwriter (Ed Sheeran)

Adorn - Miguel Pimentel, songwriter (Miguel)

Call Me Maybe - Tavish Crowe, Carly Rae Jepsen & Josh Ramsay, songwriters (Carly Rae Jepsen)

Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Jörgen Elofsson, David Gamson, Greg Kurstin & Ali Tamposi, songwriters (Kelly Clarkson)

WINNER: We Are Young - Jack Antonoff, Jeff Bhasker, Andrew Dost & Nate Ruess, songwriters (Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe)

 

BEST NEW ARTIST

Alabama Shakes

WINNER: Fun.

Hunter Hayes

The Lumineers

Frank Ocean

 

BEST POP SOLO PERFORMANCE

WINNER: Set Fire To The Rain [live] - Adele

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/11/the_55th_grammy_awards_the_winners/feed/ 0 “Frank Ocean makes the decisions where Frank Ocean is concerned” http://www.salon.com/2013/02/07/frank_ocean_i_dont_think_its_a_good_practice_for_me_to_trust_journalists/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/07/frank_ocean_i_dont_think_its_a_good_practice_for_me_to_trust_journalists/#comments Thu, 07 Feb 2013 21:30:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13193433 Frank Ocean catapulted himself out of obscurity this year to become one of the most talked-about recording artists — in part because of a revelation of same-sex heartache in the liner notes of his breakout album, "Channel Orange," which he posted on his Tumblr a couple of weeks before its July release, and in part due to his public spats with the notoriously combative Chris "Breezy" Brown. Now the 25-year-old soulful singer-songwriter, whose lyrical candor, evocative storytelling ability, and musical dexterity have earned him hyperbolic comparisons to an incredible, if strange array of talent — Stevie Wonder, Prince, Joan Didion, J.D. Salinger — is being honored at this Sunday's Grammy Awards with six nominations, including best new artist, record of the year and album of the year. And he very well might clean up. Though Ocean, whose real name is Christopher Breaux (he changed it in 2010), tends to be guarded around reporters — you might say stingy and not a little prickly — he did grant the New York Times Magazine's Jeff Himmelman an interview, who extracted what there was to extract from the exacting, arguably megalomaniacal R&B star. Here is what he got:

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/07/frank_ocean_i_dont_think_its_a_good_practice_for_me_to_trust_journalists/feed/ 0 Chris Brown brawls with Frank Ocean in L.A. http://www.salon.com/2013/01/28/chris_brown_and_frank_ocean_brawl_in_l_a/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/28/chris_brown_and_frank_ocean_brawl_in_l_a/#comments Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:14:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13183860 The R&B singers Chris Brown and Frank Ocean got in an altercation at a Los Angeles recording studio over the weekend, reports TMZ.

It's the latest violent altercation for Brown, a singer who in the years since his 2009 assault of girlfriend Rihanna has smashed a window at "Good Morning America" and got into a club-demolishing fight with rapper Drake. He's also seen his level of public adulation rise after a brief wilderness period in 2009 and 2010; Brown was practically the marquee performer at last year's Grammys and has recorded several duets with Rihanna, who may or may not be officially dating him once more.

It seems unlikely, then, that the fight with Ocean will put much of a dent in Brown's popularity, since (as of right now) there's some ambiguity as to who instigated the fight. The "sources connected with Chris" cited by TMZ claim that Ocean blocked Brown from leaving the club and "one of Frank's people attacked Chris."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/01/28/chris_brown_and_frank_ocean_brawl_in_l_a/feed/ 11 A hip-hop artist’s career unravels for talking trash http://www.salon.com/2013/01/07/a_hip_hop_artists_career_unravels_for_talking_trash/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/07/a_hip_hop_artists_career_unravels_for_talking_trash/#comments Mon, 07 Jan 2013 17:26:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13163606 The rapper Azealia Banks’ social media meltdown last week — culminating in her calling the gay blogger Perez Hilton a “messy faggot” — continues to suffer fallout. This morning brings rumors that Interscope Records has dropped the rapper. Banks has not apologized for her remarks. Indeed, she's amplified them, noting: “A faggot is not a homosexual male. A faggot is any male who acts like a female. There's a BIG difference.” A GLAAD spokesman this morning indicated that she has also ignored attempts from the advocacy firm to make amends for the homophobic slur.

“In this case, it was not a slip of the tongue but a very deliberate statement that she has defended,” said Rich Ferraro, GLAAD’s vice-president of communications. “There’s certainly a trickle-down effect for young people when a celebrity they follow defends the use of words like this. It enables them to use words like that on the playground.”

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/01/07/a_hip_hop_artists_career_unravels_for_talking_trash/feed/ 10 Rap’s killer new rhymes http://www.salon.com/2012/12/18/raps_killer_new_rhymes/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/18/raps_killer_new_rhymes/#comments Tue, 18 Dec 2012 23:10:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13148795 Chief Keef, the biggest new star in Chicago hip-hop, releases his major-label debut, "Finally Rich," from Interscope on Tuesday, and the attention he’s received since early last year — over 20 millions views of his music on YouTube, major features on tastemaker sites like Pitchfork, an appearance this past summer at Lollapalooza and the endorsement of heavy hitters like Rick Ross and 50 Cent — suggests a positioning for household name status by this time next year.

Jettisoning to the national stage on a reported $3 million contract would be a dream come true for any other 17-year-old from Englewood, Chicago’s most impoverished neighborhood on the South Side, but for Keef, whose real name is Keith Cozart, the path to fame is complicated: Ordered to live in his grandmother’s house under house arrest earlier this year for pointing a firearm at a Chicago police officer, he is facing court charges for violating probation and is under investigation for his possible link to the shooting death of a fellow rapper on Chicago’s emerging “Drill music” scene.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/18/raps_killer_new_rhymes/feed/ 5 Macklemore, the unapologetically pro-gay rapper http://www.salon.com/2012/12/06/macklemore_the_unapologetically_pro_gay_rapper/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/06/macklemore_the_unapologetically_pro_gay_rapper/#comments Thu, 06 Dec 2012 21:53:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13117359 “If I was gay, I would think hip-hop hates me. Have you read the YouTube comments lately? ‘Man, that’s gay’ gets dropped on the daily,” rapper Macklemore says on his stridently pro-gay “Same Love” that’s been blowing up in the music and LGBT blogosphere. The song and its video, which intersplices footage of 1960s civil rights demonstrations and the tender love story of two men from birth to awkward adolescence to marriage to old age, has almost 9 million views.

Macklemore, aka Ben Haggerty, a white Seattle native with a hipster disposition, may not be the most archetypical rapper, but the success of his song speaks for itself. And it comes at a time when hip-hop is undergoing a sea change on how it deals with homosexuality, especially in light of Frank Ocean’s pathbreaking revelation of his own bisexuality this summer.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/06/macklemore_the_unapologetically_pro_gay_rapper/feed/ 4 Das Racist announces split http://www.salon.com/2012/12/03/das_racist_announces_split/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/03/das_racist_announces_split/#comments Mon, 03 Dec 2012 14:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13113248 Das Racist, the alternative hip-hop trio that rose to fame through internet sensation "Combination Pizza/Hut Taco Bell" in 2008, is calling it quits. The band played  at the On3 Festival in Munich last night, but it ended up being a solo performance by Himanshu Suri a.k.a Heems, who then made the surprise announcement:  "You guys wanna know the secret? Alright, so I'm going to do some Das Racist songs, but Das Racist is breaking up and we're not a band anymore."

Though the news comes as a shock to fans, it seems that the group has been planning the separation for a while.  Heems and Victor Vazquez, a.k.a Kool A.D., have both released solo albums this year, and last night A.D. tweeted "for the record i quit das racist 2 months ago and was asked by our manager not to announce it yet. apparently @himanshu wanted to do it tho." Hypeman Ashok Kondabolu, a.k.a Dapwell, told SPIN that they had actually planned to break up "around May."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/03/das_racist_announces_split/feed/ 2 Have hip-hop’s commercial aspirations alienated its consumers? http://www.salon.com/2012/11/15/have_hip_hops_commercial_aspirations_alienated_its_consumers/ http://www.salon.com/2012/11/15/have_hip_hops_commercial_aspirations_alienated_its_consumers/#comments Thu, 15 Nov 2012 21:57:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13060479 Eminem once rapped "My first year in 9th grade, can't forget that day at school/ it was cool till your man MC Shan came through/ And said that Puma's the brand 'cause the Klan makes Troops." He isn’t the only one who bought a pair of shoes because a rapper said it was cool. Years before, in 1986, Adidas become popular thanks to Run-DMC’s hit “My Adidas,” which was probably the first time rap music become an (accidental) commercial vehicle for a product. Nearly 20 years later, not as many rappers are spittin’ about shoes as they’re talking about more opulent things. Like the Maybach Benz. Even someone who isn’t familiar with rap has probably heard of the car, one of the most ubiquitous status symbols in rap. And because it is also the most expensive, it's become a commercial failure that will be discontinued in 2013, after a 16-year run on the market.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/11/15/have_hip_hops_commercial_aspirations_alienated_its_consumers/feed/ 5 Is “good kid, m.A.A.d city” the “Great Gatsby” of hip-hop albums? http://www.salon.com/2012/10/24/the_great_american_rap_album_has_arrived/ http://www.salon.com/2012/10/24/the_great_american_rap_album_has_arrived/#comments Wed, 24 Oct 2012 20:18:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13051097 A month ago, the eccentric Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco released "Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1," which shared an all-black cover with, among other things, Spinal Tap’s "Smell the Glove," and banked on a single that attempted to declassify the evils of using the word “bitch.” Songs alluded to Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” and Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth’s “T.R.O.Y. (They Reminisce Over You).”  But despite a healthy (and American!) skepticism of the president and the military-industrial complex, most agreed that it was not the great American rap album — it’s too condescending, particularly to women, skillful but muddled, and told more often than showed.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/10/24/the_great_american_rap_album_has_arrived/feed/ 3 Death of rapper prompts community to question ties between music and violence http://www.salon.com/2012/10/19/death_of_chicago_rapper_prompts_community_to_question_ties_between_music_and_violence/ http://www.salon.com/2012/10/19/death_of_chicago_rapper_prompts_community_to_question_ties_between_music_and_violence/#comments Fri, 19 Oct 2012 15:57:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13045910

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/10/19/death_of_chicago_rapper_prompts_community_to_question_ties_between_music_and_violence/feed/ 1 Jay-Z’s Brooklyn blowout http://www.salon.com/2012/10/08/jay_zs_brooklyn_blowout/ http://www.salon.com/2012/10/08/jay_zs_brooklyn_blowout/#comments Mon, 08 Oct 2012 12:58:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13033460 Hov ended his Brooklyn, N.Y., concert series at Barclays Center this weekend with several surprises for his fans. Originally from Brooklyn, the rapper paid homage to his local roots by riding the R train from Canal Street in Manhattan to the Atlantic Avenue/Barclays Center stop. Predictably, this caused a ruckus -- but he gave fans some love, too.

Like the previous seven concerts, the final performance streamed live via YouTube, this time pulling in over 18,000 viewers. And it was worth it; the concert culminated with a guest performance from his wife, Beyoncé, who had reportedly sat in VIP for the previous shows. Her appearance even caught him off-guard, it seems, as he missed his cue to join her onstage for their hit, "Crazy in Love." (He reportedly said, "Oh sh-t, I should probably rap here," before hurrying out onto the stage.)

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