LL Cool J, Erykah Badu, Common and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five are just a few of the hip hop artists featured in paintings and photographs in “RECOGNIZE! Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture.” The exhibition opens at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery Feb. 8 and continues through Oct. 26, 2008.

The exhibition features artists whose work has been influenced by hip hop and who work in the traditional portraiture mediums of photography and painting, as well as video, poetry, spoken word and graffiti. It is the first exhibition at the Smithsonian to examine the influence of the hip hop music and style on American culture. (more…)

They sing about God – not drugs and gang warfare. “It’s a positive message and Islam is a positive way of life,” says Mohammad Yahya, the elder of the duo known as Blind Alphabetz.

The group chose their name because they say so many people are blind to the topics they sing about. Mohammad and Abdul Rahman are a little nervous about what to expect when they first turn up at Southfields Primary School in West London for a workshop with two classes. (more…)

  Rating:
  Review Date: December 29, 2007
  Website: Jean Grae Website
  Label: Traffic Entertainment

Jean Grae “The Orchestral Files” Album Review
I must admit that I was a little disappointed when I purchased Jean Grae’s “The Orchestral Files” and opened up the CD case. It was not until that exact moment that I realized this album was composed of all unreleased tracks recorded sometime during the last five years. For some reason, I thought this was the much-anticipated new Jean Grae album. (more…)

Forty years after the U.S. became embroiled in military conflict in Southeast Asia, the U.S. State Department has dispatched an American hip-hop group to bolster its image in a region still recovering from the effects of war.

The Dana Leong Band — a hip-hop funk group from New York — has toured Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos this month as part of “The Rhythm Road — American Music Abroad” program funded by the State Department and administered by Jazz at Lincoln Center. (more…)

PEACE. Every year, Hip-Hop Linguistics creates two lists. One list contains the top hip-hop albums from major mainstream, underground and independent record labels. The other list contains the top hip-hop albums from minor independent labels and unsigned hip-hop artists. The first list contains artists you’ve likely heard of, while the second list contains artists you’ve probably not heard of.

This is that first list – the overall top picks for 2007. The list below represents the best albums hip-hop had to offer in the year 2007 from what we consider major record labels – whether mainstream, underground or independent. We highly recommend checking them all out! (more…)

PEACE. Every year, Hip-Hop Linguistics creates two lists. One list contains the top hip-hop albums from major mainstream, underground and independent record labels. The other list contains the top hip-hop albums from minor independent labels and unsigned hip-hop artists. The first list contains artists you’ve likely heard of, while the second list contains artists you’ve probably not heard of.

This is that second list – our favorite hip-hop albums from cats you’ve probably never heard of. The list below represents the best albums underground hip-hop had to offer in the year 2007 from what we consider minor independent record labels and unsigned artists. We highly recommend checking them all out! (more…)

Crack versus cocaine – what is the difference? Not much. Without going into a chemistry dissertation, crack is a product of powder cocaine being cooked with various legal household products. Whether the drug is in powder cocaine form or crack cocaine form, both are extremely deadly and they each inflict unimaginable amounts of damage to families and communities across this nation. 

You would think that a person caught with cocaine in either form would be looking at some serious time in prison, and rightfully so. But is it fair that federal sentences for crack cocaine offenders, in which African-Americans are a majority, are far longer than sentences for powder cocaine offenders, in which African-Americans are a minority? I don’t think so. And apparently the U.S. Supreme Court doesn’t think so either. (more…)

Though the Iowa primaries are still weeks away, we already know how a few high-profile people are going to vote. Oprah Winfrey made headlines by declaring her support for Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton has been stumping for his wife, but some rather unlikely celebrity endorsements have begun to filter in as well.

The indestructible Chuck Norris has declared his support for Mike Huckabee, über-con Pat Robertson announced that he is backing pro-choice Rudy Giuliani, and, in a strange twist, rapper 50 Cent is endorsing Hillary Clinton. (more…)

Many Americans view commercial hip hop as little more than a venue for scantily clad women and shallow lyrics about drugs, fast cars and fast cash. But on the West African stage, hip hop is proving to be a political weapon, capable of inciting rebellion and change.

“We don’t talk about the girls and the bling bling,” says Abdoulaye Aw, the founder of Propagand’Arts, a firm that introduces African artists to the American hip hop industry. “We use our music to educate the people and talk about the real issues.” (more…)