Rating:
Release Date: August 31, 2006
Website: SoberMinded Blog
Label: LFTB

SoberMinded “Points, Thoughts, and Stories” Album Review
I ain’t gonna lie, man … never really been a big fan of christian rap. My bad God, but what can I say? It’s not just that christian rappers seem to constantly preach to you, but their music is often corny. However, I have recently come across a couple christian rap groups that are making me feel different … and SoberMinded is one of them. (more…)

Mos Def is my man. Easily one of my top five MCs ever. So you can imagine how amped I was when I found out weeks ago that he was coming to Denver last Saturday, August 26.

Last time I had the opportunity to see Mos, it was last year when he was on tour with Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch and Jean Grae. Unfortunately, Mos came down with the flu and had to cancel his portion of the show. Therefore, I was excited to see what we had all missed the year before. (more…)

I received an email yesterday from a young, intelligent and passionate political activist in the DC area who, like many of us, is enraged over mainstream media’s misrepresentation of hip-hop. In her own words …

“Most educated blacks don’t want to see the market saturated with exclusively derogatory and ignorant rap.  We’re smarter than this!  We’re more conscious than this!  We deserve to have our work properly represented!  There are bigger issues than sex and bling!  It’s time to educate our shame the corporations and white listeners who are allowing this to be mainstream.  Change will happen but not without leadership.”

The young activist then shared her idea of boycotting Viacom, the American media conglomerate that owns such popular cable channels as MTV and BET, and its advertisers until they include a more accurate and positive representation of hip-hop music and culture.  (more…)

  Rating:
  Release Date: August 17, 2006
  Website: Scholar Website
  Label: Else? Where Entertainment

Scholar “The X Files” Album Review
I ran into some cat this weekend at the Golden Fine Arts Festival who said he was a hip-hop fan. Naturally, I told him about Hip-Hop Linguistics and we went back and forth about our current and historical favorites in the world of hip-hop. He was talking mostly radio crap, but it was an enjoyable conversation nonetheless. (more…)

I gotta admit, I was somewhat of a Jay-Z hater for awhile. In between Reasonable Doubt and the Black Album, I lost track of where he was going a little.

I don’t know, man … of course I still respected him as an MC and dope lyricist … I guess I just felt that my definition of hip-hop revolved around certain valuable qualities, and “Big Pimpin’” just didn’t seem like one of them. (more…)

  Rating: 
  Publish Date: August 15, 2006
  Author Website: S. Craig Watkins
  Publisher: Beacon Press

S. Craig Watkins “Hip Hop Matters: Politics, Pop Culture, and the Struggle for the Soul of a Movement” Book Review
I sat down with some friends last night and, for the first time in months, watched some rap music videos, managing to catch BET’s Rap City and 106 & Park, among others. I looked around as everyone bobbed their heads in enjoyment while checking out the current playlist, myself included. Shoot . just because I write for Hip-Hop Linguistics, a website dedicated to underground, misunderstood and non-commercial hip-hop, that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the radio bumps or club bangers like everyone else. (more…)