Rating:
  Review Date: August 31, 2007
  Website: Creature Website
  Label: Coffee Grind Media

Creature “Hustle To Be Free” Album Review
If you were to look up the word “grind” in the dictionary ten years from now, you just might see a picture of Creature – chillin’ outside Fat Beats NYC, talking to a lovely young lady who he charmingly coerced from the sidewalk; with a CD or a book in one hand, a flier for some upcoming performance in another, and a pack strapped to his back with hundreds more inside. When you acknowledge that this is Creature’s daily routine, it becomes clear that this MC is the perfect example of a hip-hop grinder. (more…)

In an exclusive interview with XXLMag.com, A Tribe Called Quest frontman Q-Tip reveals he’s forming a new group with Common entitled The Standard.

“Me and Common [are] getting ready to form a group,” ‘Tip tells XXLMag.com. “We’ll probably run it through the Uni [Universal Records] joint because we’re both on Universal.” (more…)

WOODLAND, CA - Countless times, Vallejo police Cpl. Steve Darden has had to tell families their children were arrested, stabbed or shot.Now he’s trying to reach youth before it’s too late - with lyrics instead of lectures.

The 39-year-old Darden is releasing his debut hip-hop CD next month titled “It’s Ruff Out Here” that features him rapping about Vallejo street life. “I wanted to be able to get a message across, that there is nothing wrong with being legit,” said Darden of Vacaville. “There is a lot of stigma that tells young people they can’t listen to rap or dress a certain way without being involved in illegal activities.” (more…)

A message from NYOIL:

There has been a great deal of talk in the last 2 or 3 weeks about he Jena 6. For those still unaware, it is in your best interest to google the phrase and do your own research as my description of the situation would be woefully lacking.

In this growing conversation much ado is being made about the response or lack thereof from Hip Hop. Today Al Sharpton made an aside about the lack of Rappers Responses to this travesty. (more…)

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - One of the most effective ways of helping young offenders break the cycle of crime and detention is to provide alternatives. Usually this is through employment or education, but a new project in Melbourne is taking the unusual path of using hip-hop. The young musicians are this week releasing an album called Underground Loop. It tells stories of violence and crime, as well as love and hope.

“The sort of stuff they did, I suppose, to get there in the first place varies from your basic petty crime through to really serious stuff,” project coordinator John Favaro said. “So [they are] the sort of kids that are really on the fringes of society, a lot of them, and [they are] looking for a way to break in.” (more…)

SEATTLE, WA - When Red Bull’s first Big Tune competition was in Seattle in 2004, its format was the same as it is now: 12 hip-hop producers let a crowd decide whose beats are best. It’s a simple idea. Designed and run by local rap luminaries, it’s now a national competition.

Friday, Capitol Hill’s War Room hosts a 21-and-older qualifying round. Twelve producers will compete — some established, some unknown — but only two will advance to the Big Tune finals at Neumos in October, an all-ages event where they will meet qualified battlers from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago and New York. One winner will receive production gear and studio time. (more…)

SAN DIEGO, CA - When you think of history class, you think of the American Revolution, not the hip-hop revolution.

But for San Diego State students, history classes can cover the movement of hip-hop from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast as well as the United States expansion from east to west.

For the first time ever, SDSU will offer the History and Culture of Hip Hop during the fall semester. The goal of the course is for students to be able to critically analyze hip-hop as well as understand its beginnings and culture. (more…)

BANGALORE, INDIA - Start-up company, Desi Media Networks (DMN) launched its independent hip-hop and rap record label and entertainment company here on Saturday to become one of the first independent Indian record labels.

At a high voltage hip-hop party organised at NYX, one of the popular clubs of the city, to mark the launch, the fledgling company showcased its first batch of artistes — D-Nox, India’s first hip-hop band, comprising 25 musicians from Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Bangalore. (more…)

  Rating:
  Review Date: August 29, 2007
  Website: Kidmental Website
  Label: Uniclique

Kidmental ”Amateur” Album Review
After a busy week of the hustle and bustle, I enjoy quiet times alone, so that I can meditate and visit a different state of mind; mental cleansing you can say; a time where I block worldly thoughts and visit the imaginative part of my brain to see what great things it might bring me. As Kidmental states, this is the time to “get away from the usual,” and his music definitely does that. (more…)

Traditional hip-hop lyrics about guns, women and homophobia are about to face a new competitor in the race for young Americans’ hearts and minds.

Princeton religious professor Cornel West has released an album designed to counter rap’s negative image, with major names like KRS-One and Levert participating.

“We need to respectfully challenge [rappers] on the issues of misogyny and homophobia,” says West. “You can hear that on the album, too. Quit bashing gay brothers and lesbian sisters. Quit this domestic violence.” (more…)