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How To Rap by Paul Edwards
Reading the cover of this book I was hesitant to read it because of all the books out there that claim to teach me something about Hip-Hop and rapping. I love Hip-Hop and I love the art of rap, but now-a-days people don’t see the art and the technicalities that go into it. Books like to write about the stereotypes of rap. That makes me want to choke someone. So when I was given this book I had a preconceived notion that it was going to be something I would hate... Surprisingly, it wasn't at all. I thought that maybe I would try to write a rap and see if reading this book would help me be a better MC. Unfortunately, I thought wrong and it comes down to the fact that I just have no skill so I'll keep the writing to the experts.
This book contained information about rap that I never knew. I am surrounded by MCs, because of my job and I always have a bunch of questions in my head, like, how do artists rap about the same topics when they never sit and write together, how do people ghost write or how do people learn how to flow, what's written in their rhyme books and how come every time I look at one it just never makes any sense to me, how do they remember all their song lyrics, and how did they make those two words work. Paul Edwards breaks it down in this book. It shows you everything from how MCs write, flow, and what topics they write about. It’s a dummy guide for anyone who doesn't know too much about writing or rap. Paul has artists break down how they come up with ideas, influences and just basic MC information. It’s not only for people that don't know how to rap but for artists to see how others do it. It shows different styles and different ways and even similar ways they write or flow.
I will say that there were some topics that were repetitive but still informative. It caused the book to be slower in some sections. I have a short attention span and I get board easily, so to have a book that kept my attention even through the parts that I thought weren't as exciting, it must of have been good.
After reading this I felt a new appreciation for the ART of rapping. People may not believe rap is an art, because of all the garbage that we have on the radio, but it is, and this book proves it. It shows you what goes into becoming an amazing MC. A good song is about more than just a catchy beat and a dance. It’s about lyrics, content, and flow (sorry soldja boy). This is a great technical book for anyone that does rap or who loves rap or thinks the only rap out there is on the radio. It’s informative and helpful. It might not have made me the next Big Daddy Kane or Tash, but at least I could appreciate more of their talent. ]]>
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Keeping in theme with all the different shows, this week's chart is dedicated to the Paid Dues Tour. As amazing as all of the artists performing are it was really hard to find videos that were clean/recent. Enjoy!
If you come across any dope videos or music, let me know. I'm always interested in comments and checking out new artists & videos. Hit me up!
MIKA
Artist: Dilated People
Title: Worst Comes to Worse
This one's a classic. The video is not the most recent, but it's one that just never gets old. I do love Dilated People and no, it's not cus I'm Filipino and DJ Babu is Flip too. Their music is awesome, but it does help that there is a Flip in their group.. HAHAH.. I kid.
Artist: RA the Rugged Man
Title: Legendary Classics Vol. 1
I love RA. He’s a crazy dude and I think he is one of the most animated performers out there. This video shows exactly how he is during his shows. Shaking and all, I saw him for the first time last year and he started a mosh pit during his show and got the crowd so hyped that the kids got kicked out. It was pretty hilarious, but this song is really dope and he should get some recognition because he’s been around for a while and his music is awesome.
Artist: Murs
Title: Badman
Murs has blown up since his days with Definitive Jux. I remember while interning at Def Jux, I got the chance to meet him, he was funny and I enjoyed speaking with him in my drunken state. This song is awesome because sometimes you want to say this to someone and you sometimes end up in these situations. As someone said, “crazy chicks have crazy buns” and sometimes you just end up doing stuff or sayin things you never would just to get some of that, even though they are nuts.
Artist: Strong Arm Steady
Title: Best of Times
This song is awesome. I love Madlib and I love Phonte. The video just has the guys doing their thing and it's done pretty well. I like the whole black and white thing going on. Makes it more artistic. Sometimes you have those bad days and you do wish for the best of times.
Artist: Freeway & Jake One
Title: Stimulus Package Hands On
This isn’t their official video, but still dope. It shows the packaging of their album Stimulus Package. It was crazy how they did it and how they came up with it. It's something that most labels don’t even think about when their artists is coming out with a new album, but it’s a friggin amazing idea. Its amazing what happens when you use your creativity.
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Its about that time again… SXSW! Tons of artists going out to Texas to show off their talent. I was really impressed by the all female Hip-Hop showcase that Invincible, Bahamadia, Eternia, Tiye Phoenix, Psalm One, and more did. There aren't many women praised in Hip-Hop. These women represented for the femals and held it down. I tried to get some of their footage from SXSW, but unfortunately there weren’t too many. So I mixed it in with some of the other Hip-Hop artists that were showcased holding it down for the Indie Hip-Hop Scene.. Thanks!!
If you come across any dope videos or music, let me know. I'm always interested in comments and checking out new artists & videos. Hit me up!
MIKA
Artist: Invincible
Title: State of Emergency and Sledgehammer - Live Performance at SXSW
Invincible has made it onto my chart once again. I love her. I think she’s extremely talented and she does her thing. She really represents herself wherever she performs, especially at SXSW. I’m gonna give her more props on her live performance, sending out positive messages to all the people that watch her.
Artist: Eternia
Title: New Joint
Eternia is the ISH!!! She’s another artist that has made it back onto my chart. She held it down at SXSW with that performance and all of the other ones that I saw. She is giving women rappers a good name. She’s not your Lil’ Kim or Foxy Brown, she actually can rap and doesn’t use her sex appeal to get it, she uses her talent. I love the new song and I cant wait for it to come out. She's working on a couple new videos, so when they come out, you know I’ll be watchin.
Artist: Bahamadia
Title: New Joint
Bahamadia also held it down. I know there are some female rappers that shouldn’t even be around and give women a bad name, but Bahamadia can REALLY rap. She is one that is so talented that people need to be talking more about her. This video is a little hard to hear, but I still wanted to give her props.
Artist: Blue Scholars
Title: Hi 808
They are not part of the whole female Hip-Hop crew, but they are one of the artists showcased at SXSW. This video is pretty dope. The graphics are pretty sick and they are in Hawaii. Makes me feel jealous sitting in NY with the weather going crazy. Besides all that, they are pretty talented, and its nice to see Hawaii showing us what they have out there. You hardly see artists emerging from Hawaii. I personally think the scene out there is really dope, I went out there and really enjoyed the music and all the djs that I met while I was out there. I'm glad they got a chance to show what they had at SXSW.
Artist: Skyzoo
Title: Beautiful Decay
Im glad that Skyzoo is reppin NY. This song is about growing up in NY back in the day and the video is done so well. The shots were really beautiful. As a New Yorker you sometimes forget how beautiful NY is, Skyzoo's shots reminded me how beautiful it is. I’m glad that Skyzoo made this video, and he didn’t make it your typical cliché video about NY. It might be because I'm a sucker for NY, because I'm from here, but hey, it’s an amazing place and having artists like Skyzoo and many more come from here and show their talent in a video like that make me proud to be from NY.
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HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!
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This chart is dedicated to all the drunken fools who celebrated St. Patty’s day. I found some Irish artists that I think everyone will appreciate and a couple that just made sense for the chart. So for all those who are Irish, who want to be Irish, and thought at some point last night they were Irish…
If you come across any dope videos or music, let me know. I'm always interested in comments and checking out new artists & videos. Hit me up!
MIKA
Artist: Chumbawumba
Title: I get Knocked Down
This made it to the top of my list, why?? Because its probably the most relevant drinking song there is and after watching a bunch of drunk people getting into fights this song popped into my head. I know its not Hip-Hop, but its definitely a St. Patty’s day song. But this song is really dedicated to the drunk or crazy man on the train that said, “Jesus is number 1, I don’t care DON’T BLEEPIN TAKE MY PICTURE” he was ready for a fight.
Artist: Messiah J & The Expert
Title: Blood Rush
Messiah J & The Expert are actual Irish rappers, they have been around for a long time and are pretty popular, or at least that’s what people tell me. This video is pretty creative. Messiah J’s flow is pretty dope and you could actually understand what he’s saying. They actually have a bunch of different videos that I really like but this one really jumped out at me.
Artist: The Element
Title: The Method
I really like this video. Its a raw video. Looks like they took a home camera and did it themselves but it shows them being them. As for the song, the beat is simple but their flow seems pretty intricate which i appreciate. while looking for videos most of what i heard were very simple and basic, not something I'm into, but this video definitely stood out, not because of the video but because of their talent.
Artist: The Informants
Title: Wake Up
Here is another group from Ireland. Although the video is just them walking around the streets you really get to focus on their flow. (And one of them looks kinda like El-P. HAHAH… shhh.. ). After watching a ton of videos, it was really hard to find any artists that was Irish. I really like these guys.
Artist: House of Pain
Title: Jump Around
For my last video I picked a song that I dedicate to all the white boys from my old hood, YONKERS! They thought that this song was the ISH. They were the first Irish Hip-Hop group to make it big in the States. So why not end my chart with their one hit wonder. ENJOY!!
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March marks the month we lost one of the greatest artists in the Hip-Hop community, Notorious BIG. So this week my chart will be dedicated to Biggie. The hardest part was tryin to find videos that were clean (without curses), so these are the top five CLEAN videos, all still dope.
If you come across any dope videos or music, let me know. I'm always interested in comments and checking out new artists & videos. Hit me up!
MIKA
Artist: Biggie Smalls
Title: Juicy
This song is classic. There is no other song out there that compares to this one, so it had to be first. The video is also really old school. you see him chilin on the block with his people. just doing their everyday thing then you see him "make it”. Does the story follow the song or does the song follow the story? Either way it makes you wish you were there.
Artist: Biggie Smalls
Title: Big Poppa
Another classic, this is just a chill song that makes you wanna bounce. you hear this and you wanna be in a club chilin, sippin on a drink. Its a smooth song that also makes me laugh cus people do quote this song when tryin to kick it to chicks. I know my friends have definitely tried to use lines from this song to get numbers and it has actually worked. so listen closely you might get a line that will work for you...
Artist: Biggie Smalls
Title: Sky's The Limit
This video is adorable and is different from your average Biggie video. You see these kids that really look like who they're supposed to portray. They act like adults but they've got to be no older than 12. It looks like the kids playing Biggie and Puff are probably having the time of their life. Its just really creative to use only children in the video instead of adults.
Artist: Biggie Smalls
Title: One More Chance
This video shows how Biggie parties. He's got the big booty chicks and then he's got a bunch of celebrities as well. They are all having fun at a house party. its something that everyone does and it makes you feel like you're just one of the crew. When you see the video,you wanna be there just havin fun with them too. Who needs to be at a club when all you need is your crew to have a good time.
Artist: Biggie Smalls
Title: Hypnotize
Hypnotize seems more like an action movie than a music video. Its hilarious to see Biggie and Puff running around in fast cars and speed boats like they're in Miami Vice or something. Its pretty much your cliché video but since it was one of the first ones made, its done pretty well. You cant recreate what these guys did without looking foolish.
Biggie Smalls continues to have a strong influence on today's Hip-Hop!
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In this first German graffiti movie from 2006, the Grimme-Award winning German director, graffiti artist and music producer Florian Gaag addresses the rivalry between two German graffiti crews: KSB (Keep Steel Burning) and ATL (Above The Law). Competing for fame in their city, both crews try to exceed one another by creating styles that require more dangerous undertakings such as entering a yard in which trains still operate.
The movie portrays the graffiti scene in a very authentic and mostly realistic manner and I enjoyed the fact that it somewhat brought me eight years back to the days in Germany when I was involved with a graffiti writer myself. ‘Wholetrain’ reminded me of the times when we were waiting at the station looking for trains to pass to get a glimpse of what happened a night or even just a few hours before. The way Gaag handled camera works and how he captured the scenes so closely made it look even more lively and real.
Gaag was very strategic in allowing the audience to view the counter perspective of the graffiti scene. He addressed the realities of the world of ‘tag artists’ and the illegal, dangerous endeavors that are a part of their everyday lives. By doing so he made the movie even more realistic and enjoyable. Nevertheless a few scenes throughout the movie seem somewhat unrealistic. For example the scene in which Tino, a KSB crew member, wants to bomb a piece on an abutment with his son is strapped on his back in a carrier. This scene was rather superfluous and over the top. Also, for those who can distinguish the differences between trains it seems implausible to watch a German movie in which polish trains roll through a German city with the crew’s pieces on them. Yet Gaag was very persistent in bringing a sense of authenticity to this movie. Before the film began shooting the German Railway Company would not allow Gaag to use their trains and he was then forced to look outside of Germany. Finally the city of Warsaw, Poland allowed him to use their machinery for shooting ‘Wholetrain’.
Although I am still a huge graffiti fan I personally feel that I have outgrown the scene in which crews compete with each other for fame and recognition. Nowadays I like to look at the works of graffiti writers more as an expression of artistic skills rather than a youth movement in which writers battle for fame and rebel against the authorities. Throughout the past years I've experienced great development from the inspiration of graffiti and I am still inspired by the creativity and courage it takes writers to convert from street writers into recognizable artists.
I believe that young graffiti artists can relate to and identify themselves much easier with this movie as opposed to seeing a movie that only shows the thrilling side of the life as a graffiti writer. I recommend this exciting and gripping movie for everyone who is interested in the graffiti scene and who likes to explore the insights of this fascinating, fast moving and brisk culture.
If you come across any dope German Hip-Hop music or other media, let me know. I'm always interested in checking out new artists & videos. Send me an email.
LIS
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J Dilla's music lives on!
We Miss You J Dilla!
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(02/23/10) NEW RELEASES
Artist: Oddissee
Album: Traveling Man (2X vinyl)
Artist: DJ Spinna
Album: Thirst (ft. Homeboy Sandman) b/w Summer Madness (ft. Daniel Joseph and Fresh Daily) (7" vinyl)
Artist: Grieves
Album: 88 Keys and Counting (CD)
Artist: James Pants
Album: I live inside an Egg (7" vinyl)
Artist: Strong Arm Steady
Album: Best of Times (12" vinyl)
Artist: Sadat X
EP: Wild Cowboys II
Artist: OC & AG
Album: Oasis (2X vinyl)
Artist: Last Electro Acoustic
Album: Miles Away (2X vinyl)
Artist: General Steele
Album: Amerikkka's Nightmare PT.2
This week I've decided to go to my Asian heritage and do all Asian artists. Most of them do come from Japan but still Asian nonetheless. I feel like we need to see what other Hip-Hop is out there. Hip-Hop spans throughout the word and influences everyone, so why not expand to the Asian world this week. There aren’t many out there, so I wanna give them their respect. Most of the artists that I did pick are living legends in their country, so let me know if you think the same way.
If you come across any dope videos or music, let me know. I'm always interested in comments and checking out new artists & videos. Hit me up!
MIKA
Drunken Tiger “8:45"
Album: MV Heaven 7th
This video is beautifully shot. It has Tiger JK just in a black room and he’s just feeling the music. I love when you could see the person in that zone where you could feel their emotion through their music, even though you might not speak their language. If you don’t know the group Drunken Tiger they are one of the pioneers of the Korean Hip-Hop community. Definitely check them out.
DJ Honda Ft. Mos Def “Travellin Man”
Album: HII
I love the way they shot this video. They had split screens and it just shows different angles and shots. They had it look like a postcard because of the whole “Travelling” theme (awesome!). It’s a unique video and its from DJ Honda (Japan) who is more known in America than most other Asian American DJs, with his store in NY and also who he has worked with in his past.
DJ Krush “Kemuri”
Album: Kemuri
Another well known Japanese DJ. Its amazing because most DJs don’t have videos of them just Djing. Usually they have features and they’re in the background but this video is just him Djing and its an amazing song. You get to see him and what he does as a DJ which is rare since the DJ is always in the background. So this video I think is really dope because he’s the main attraction. If you don’t know DJ Krush, he has worked with a ton of indie Hip-Hop artists and he has a very soulful and jazzy sound.
Dabo “Diamond”
Diamond Album
Dabo is also from Japan. This video is more commercial than the other ones that I picked. The video has him sitting around in different areas rapping. Of course I have no idea what the song is about so I don’t know how relevant the video is to the song. But I do like the songs beat and his flow. Dabo is known for his “tough Japanese street culture”. So this video shows him in that light. I think that this video has some dope graphics for example towards the end of the video there is a dope part where they are in a car and you could see the outside in the window, but it looks like a picture moving. Its like a scene out of a movie. Haha.
Hime “In the Rain”
Album: Hitogoyomi
This is one of DJ Honda’s artists so you know she’s from Japan. I thought it would be nice to have a female artists on this chart that’s holding it down for all the Asian hip hop women. She’s beautiful and is known for her themes of female empowerment and also her use of Japanese poetry. This video is very artistically done with it being in black and white with the shots looking like a picture. Its definitely like watching an indie film. Very beautifully done.
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(02/16/10) NEW RELEASES
Artist: James Pants (7” vinyl)
Album: I live Inside an Egg
Artist: Strong Arm Steady (12” vinyl)
Album: Best of Times b/w Follow Me Now (exclusive track)
Artist: Sadat X
EP: Wild Cowboys II
Artist: OC & AG
Album: Oasis (2X vinyl)
Artist: Last Electro Acoustic (prod. By Madlib)
Album: Miles Away (2X vinyl)
Artist: General Steele (of Smif n’ Wessun)
Album: Amerikka’s Nightmare (Children of War) (CD)
Artist: Georgia Anne Muldrow & Dudley Perkins
Album: Someothaship (CD)
Artist: DJ Babu
Album: The Beat Tape (CD)
Artist: Planet Asia & GCM
Album: Chain of Command (CD)
Artist: Guilty Simpson
Single: Coroners Music (12” vinyl)
Artist: Raekwon
Album: Only built for Cuban links (2X vinyl)
Artist: Savath & Savalas
Album: La Llamas (2X vinyl)
In lieu of Valentines Day I decided to do a chart this week about Love songs. Not all your traditional love, but love in general. There are a ton of songs that I would love to put on this chart because, I myself am a hopeless romantic, but since I didn’t want to kill you with crazy R&B music I hit you with some dope Hip-Hop songs.
If you come across any dope videos or music, let me know. I'm always interested in comments and checking out new artists & videos. Hit me up!
MIKA
Jean Grae “Love Thirst”
Album: Jeanus
Yay a real female MC!! I’m all about promoting female mc’s not only because I'm a female but because they never really get the spotlight and they always get pooped on. Jean Grae is talented. This song has been one of my favorites of hers and I'm glad she had a video to go along with it. The concept of them taking the classic movie, Taxi with Robert Dinero in it and putting her in the backseat was jeanius… (sorry for the corniness). The video kinda reminds me of taxi cab confessions. Where she’s telling the cabbie about how she feels about this guy, except she’s sober. HAHA.. but it’s a great video and she looks amazing and sounds amazing in it.
Eternia “Love”
Album: Its called life
Not your typical love song but love no matter. It’s peeking into the life of Eternia. It makes you feel for her and it shows what she’s been through and what she’s learned from what she knows. The video is a story that you want to know about. It’s a strong song but also shows her vulnerability at the same time. You also realize how much love she has for the people in her life.
Foreign Exchange “Sincere”
Album: Connected
This group is awesome, not full Hip-Hop but none the less a great video to have up for Valentine’s Day. This song talks about how much they love each other and how they are truly in love with that person. The video shows them fighting but still talking about how much they love each other. Its so heartwarmingly sick its cute. As I said I'm cheesy and this video is the cheese..
Slum Village “Climax”
Album: Fantastic Vol. 2
The opening is classic.. This song not exactly your typical love song either talking about loving the way the love in bed on the low. HAHA.. it’s a classic though. You can’t hate on men being men and they’re so smooth with their rhymes it would make a girl want to get with them. But hey that might be your definition of Valentines day. I cant hate.
Pharcyde “Passin me By”
Album: Bizzare Ride II
This video is also a classic. The love that just isn’t. This song is adorable, the love a guy has for a chic that just isn’t in his life. Its about how they wish they could have that girl, but its not really gonna happen because of different factors. The video also was pretty creative where they were the ones upside down and everything is passing them by right side up. It’s a great video and an amazing song. I guess deep down inside girls want to know that they are the girl that they’re speaking about.
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Big L continues to have a strong influence on today's Hip-Hop!
We Miss You Big L!
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Jesse Alexander, the executive producer of the popular TV-shows ‘Heroes’ and ‘Lost’, Matt Mason, author of ‘The Pirate’s Dilemma’, Mark Kotlinski (88HIPHOP), and John Carluccio are working on a new TV-show about piracy. The show will be based on Matt’s book, and will show how important pirates are for today’s society.
The upcoming show aims to educate people about the history of piracy, and how it shapes our future. Pirates are innovators, they signal market problems and lead the way to new business models. Nevertheless, they are often tagged as thieves. In many cases, piracy is helping old businesses to innovate, and it helps to create new legitimate market spaces.
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(02/09/10) NEW RELEASES
Artist: Jake One and Freeway
Album: Stimulus Package
Artist: DJ Center
Album: Everything in Time
Artist: Strong Arm Steady
Album: In Search of Stoney Jackson
Artist: 3 Titans
Album: C-O-L-L-E-G-E b/w Life Of A Scholar
Artist: Nneka
Album: Concrete Jungle
Artist: Karriem Riggins
Album: Music Kaeidoscope
Artist: Wu Tang
Album: Return of the Wu & Friends
Artist: Slum Village
Album: Fantastic 2.10
Artist: Georgia Anne Muldrow
Album: Kings Ballad
Here is a little intro to who I am…. People are probably wondering who is Mika and why does her opinion matter? Well lets just say I’ve been into Hip-Hop for as long as I can remember. I grew up listening to marvin gaye and bob marley. I grew up during the golden era of Hip-Hop the 90’s.. what more can I say? From that point on I realized the importance of music in my life. I realized that there was more music out there that I needed to be part of. I went from listening to Hip-Hop, grunge, goth, jungle, hardcore, emo, indie rock, hippie music, to classic rock, and I realized they all have their ups and downs. As time went on I started to focus a little more on Hip-Hop because that’s where my heart really is. Saying all that, I think I have a pretty good idea of what good music is. Some people may disagree. For now I have my top 5 videos that I want people to check out and give me their opinions on. I'm open for discussion...
If you come across any dope videos or music, let me know. I'm always interested in comments and checking out new artists & videos. Hit me up!
MIKA
Brown Bag Allstars "Undeniable" Remix
This video is the first from this Fat Beats formed group. So it makes sense that the video would take place at the store. This song is amazing and the video was so well put together. You get to see each member of the group and they each have their own little story. The video flows well and is put together really well. If you’ve never heard of the BBAS this is a great video to introduce them.
Fashawn "Life as a Shorty"
Aww… the boy in it is so cute. Not the reason why I love the video but it does help. This video tells a story and you feel for the boy in the video. When you could relate to a character you start liking the video more. But most people could relate to being bullied. That is what makes the video stand out from others.
Invincible "Sledgehammer"
This is a more serious video. It shows you the slums of Detroit where Invincible is from and it’s a real look. People don’t really get to see the real dirty Detroit in videos. She’s such an underrated artist and one of the best Female MC’s out there. So I’m giving her props on this real video and song.
Tanya Morgan "So Damn Down"
How friggin creative!! Its not a video you would usually see. They do have the girls running around and dancing but its not bad. What makes it so different is the mouth pieces that they are all wearing with the cartoon mouths. Without that the video wouldn’t really be as creative. So whoever decided to bring that element into the video is the one I am praising. I think that it’s a cute video and it shows what this group is like, fun.
Marco Polo & Torae "Party Crashers"
They look like they would be party crashers, kinda made me want them to crash one of my parties. The video was shot really well. The whole idea of them crashing all different parties from a nice lounge party to a geek party to a office party to even a kids party was hilarious. It made me laugh the whole way through. This is a feel good type of video and sometimes you need that to take away from all the other videos that are so serious. Sometimes you just need to have fun.
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Check out SuB's BIG PUN TRIBUTE!
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Big Pun continues to have a strong influence on today's Hip-Hop!
We Miss You Big Pun!
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88HIPHOP is currently in production on a documentary about the underground Hip-Hop scene in New York from 1996-2000. We are seeking archival photographs, film, video, flyers of that era, specifically any 88HIPHOP, Fat Beats, Tramp’s, SOB’s, Lyricist Lounge, and any other NYC Hip-Hop events, etc..... We’re looking for it all.
If you'd like to participate in helping bring this scene to the world and you have any pictures, footage, stories, questions, tips or all of the above, please contact ARCHIVES (at) 88HIPHOP.COM
Thank you all in advance.]]>