In 1994, Common’s “I Used To Love H.E.R.” traced Hip-Hop’s timeline and pointed out one of the music’s major shift with the lyric “She said, ‘Afrocentricity, was of the past…’” The early ’90s saw artists who placed an emphasis on being Black in America and revitalized a spirit unseen since Civil Rights era. Read the rest of this entry »

In case you missed the news, the John Legend/The Roots tandem were big winners of three Grammy Awards at the 53rd event for having the Best Traditional R&B Vocals, Best R&B Song, and Best R&B Album in Wake Up! (available on iTunes now). But as you can see, it was more of a homogeneous mix of rhythmic blues than the jazzy Hip-Hop The Legendary Roots Crew have made their calling card. Read the rest of this entry »

On the fence about downloading this one? Give a listen to “Take Over,” dp’s coup over Drake’s “Over.” Read the rest of this entry »

I thought dead prez didn’t listen to the radio? Let me find out they’re all giddy, cleaning the house and their Geronimo Pratt murals to Bobby Ray’s #1 tune. Dedicated to all the mother’s of the earth everywhere, this ode-to-maternity will be featuring on the freedom fighter’s upcoming mixtape with DJ Drama, Revolutionary But Gangsta Grillz. Read the rest of this entry »

Brittney Banks, Blaow!

Even Tom Doesn’t Use MySpace Anymore [The Consumerist]

Tarantino Wants To Do A Western About Slavery [Film Drunk]

Two Dozen Carriers Worldwide Unite Against Apple’s App Store [Paid Content]

STDs: The Valentine Gift That No One Wanted [Fly Guy Chronicles]

Does Dead Prez Still Have A Pulse? [Urban Daily] Read the rest of this entry »

As promised, EA Sports delivers a round of songs for the mixtape including never before heard tracks from 88-Keys, Afrika Bambaataa, B.o.B, David Banner, De La Soul, dead Prez, Matt & Kim, Murs, Pete Rock, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Zion I and more. Read the rest of this entry »

Previously Posted — “Afrika Hot!” – Review Of dead prez & DJ Green Lantern’s Pulse Of The People

I don’t know about you guys, but the week after a holiday always feel like a holiday… regardless of whether you drink or not.  Things move at a snails pace at the workplace as people get their bearings straight again.  Same thing thing applies to the blogosphere.

So sit back, relax and catch up… Read the rest of this entry »

While most MCs dabble and experiment with a range of styles and angles, dead prez stay as revolutionary as they want to be. No shuckin’ and jivin’, just raw, contentious Hip-Hop. Take it or leave it, fuck you. It’s philosophy like this which has kept M-1 & stic.man among the frontrunners of edutaining Hip-Hop for the past decade. Their latest rally finds the red, black and Green Lantern doing what they do best: challenging listeners to think for themselves as they tap into the Pulse Of The People for the 3rd edition of Turn Off The Radio series.

Militant as they are, dead prez still know how to churn out exceptional product. The whole ensemble, produced solely by DJ Green Lantern combines grungy instrumentation to fuel their lyrical fire as they proceed to burn corrupt law enforcement down to a crisp. Read the rest of this entry »

Words By Jesse H.

There’s something about Brooklyn.

After you’ve lived in New York City long enough to understand the subtle nuances of the subway system (knowing the color of the train you need and the actual letter of the train you need is a very pivotal difference), you begin to have a certain respect for the intrinsic cultural differences of each borough-especially as a Hip-Hop fan.

Staten heads don’t even refer to the island by it’s formal name, thanks to you know what crew. Harlem heads champion Cam’s street stubbornness. Queens residents rock hoodies and Timberlands in mid-summer and fiend for grimey ghetto-narratives. Bronx folk are the old heads who glower at the mention of Solja Boy and the latest dance trend. But there’s something interesting about Brooklyn. Brooklynites like their lyricists pure, their drum snaps crisp and their looped samples mid-tempo. And while Brooklyn fans arguably are the snobbiest (ask any Brooklyn resident, and they’ll tell you ad nauseum about how they “refined” the craft), the list of top-20 caliber emcees that call Brooklyn home is indisputably impressive. So what better place for an independent New York Hip-Hop festival to call home? All the requisite pure-Hip Hop characteristics were on display in excess at Brooklyn Bodega’s 5th Annual Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival.

The event got a righteous initiation on Friday with the kick-off party (salute to Noah from BB for organizing). Brooklyn Brewery supplied the booze, DJ’s spun throwback Read the rest of this entry »

E. Brock Asks, E. Brock Receives. Melissa, Your Whooty Wednesday

Who Was Dolla? [MTV]

“Idol” Still Most-Watched U.S. TV Show [Reuters]

A Genetic Clue To Why Autism Affects Boys More [Time]

Method Man And Redman On Magazines, Chinese Takeout [Vulture]

Commentary: Let Michael Vick Play Football [CNN]

Google Releases Tweaked Version of Reader [Tech Crunch]

Poll: Blacks And Hispanics Happier This Year [Black Voices]

Medicom’s ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ Kubricks [Street Level]

3 New dead prez Songs on iTunes [Nah Right]

Shaq’s Post-NBA Career: Looks Like It’ll Be Law Enforcement, Or Perhaps TV Sports Analyst [The Big Lead]

Respect Our Fresh!

After watching him work his magic with Nas’ Nigger Mixtape & participating in that project, dead prez have linked up with DJ Green Lantern for Pulse of The People, a new LP and third installment of their independent series, Turn Off The Radio Vol.3. Assuming this is the first track Read the rest of this entry »

I got pulled over for like the tenth or eleventh time this year this past week and it’s starting to piss me off. Thankfully I’ve escaped ticket-less for all of them (*knocks on wood*), but I can only say I deserved to be pulled like thrice out of all those times.

All the other times have been on some profiling/cop bored out their mind. Being African-American, mid 20′s and driving a pretty decent car a majority of the time doesn’t help at all. I can’t help but feel angered because these dumb asses keep wasting time on me when I know they could be doing real police work (word to McNulty). Read the rest of this entry »

“Comebacks.”

That might be this week’s motif.

DG Yola. Dres of Black Sheep. Sly Boogie. G-Dep. dead prez. T-Pain firing back @ his detractors. M.O.P. forming an attack against wrestler John Cena. Jaycee took the masses back to the New Jack Swing era, causing Teef to do the Running Man in his Skidz. Don’t worry, Jay, Teef’s mom is gonna make him pay out his allowance for the hole he burned into the carpet while dancing. You’re off the hook for that one.

“Comebacks” would be followed in a close second by “mixtapes.” Read the rest of this entry »

If we can’t get McGruder, at least we can get dead prez to drop something insightful during these important times. Off their upcoming album, The Information Age. Link after the break. Read the rest of this entry »