There’s always been something extremely inspiring about watching icons step foot into their former stomping grounds. Aside from just the general contrast of world-renown celebrities mingling amidst neighborhood homebodies, seeing hood diplomats like Jay and Kanye walking the streets of Southside Chi-Town for the second installment of VOYR’s mini-documentaries on The Throne is like witnessing a Brinks truck breaking open in the middle of the street. Read the rest of this entry »

Odd but true, every time the date has been spoken any day in March, my mind involuntarily echoes “March 9th. Is it March 9th?” There are times when I’m disinterested in other “significant” dates/deaths in Hip-Hop’s history but not March 9th. It will forever resonate. Perhaps it was the Canibus’ line that helped give weight to it. Or, it could be the somber realization that we really lost another one. While Pac seemed to embrace an early date with death, Biggie seemed to reference death for art’s sake once he started to see success. When he died, rap was momentarily left without a voice and it took time for the music to redefine itself. Whatever the case, this year the date seems to loom larger in my mind for reasons I can’t quite place.

On today March 8th, I believe the universe stepped in to apply order to my thoughts (electronically of course). Of the many emails I receive daily, the most common question is “will you post this for us?” While we accommodate as many requests as we can, I like to think we’re still selective and true to what we believe in, which is to post material we find interesting on a personal level. Today, this one seemed most fitting and useful for the right now. It’s a stream of Nick Bloomfield’s 2002 documentary, “Biggie and Tupac.” Obviously, we’re fans of the different sides of the entertainment industry catching up with technology so that was one of the reasons for posting this. The good thing is the film is licensed and streaming, courtesy of Snag Films.

The actual documentary is one you may have seen offline, but it’s good to find it available in a quality form online for those who haven’t seen it or for the young yardie trying to gain perspective. The “tu-pack” mispronunciation can be annoying at first, but easy to overlook once the film draws you in with the backstories of both artists, the beef, the inclusion of Russell Poole, the alleged cover up and possible FBI involvement.

As time passes, it takes innovation and commitment to help keep the past relevant. And as time passes, watching Bloomfield’s doc reminds viewers that these two murders that affected our culture greatly, yet remain unsolved years later.

Thanks to Mike @ SnagFilms

A good friend of mine who coaches eight and nine-year-olds in basketball recently told me his players relayed to him they didn’t know who Michael Jordan was. Sure, they’re bombarded of images of LeBron & Kobe to the point where they’re made to believe the NBA’s current crop of superstars invented the peach basket, but I assume some of the naive youngsters made the claims with a pair of #23′s on their feet. Shame really. If the kids are oblivious to the path trailbrailzed by the legendary MJ, then there’s no way they’re up to speed on the Magic Vs. Bird saga. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re familiar with legendary lab rats like Fred Wreck, Mike Elizondo, DJ Babu and other key ingredients to the Lest Coast’s legacy, then the informative, new documentary titled The West Coast Theory should be a nice addition to your collection.

Basically, a few baguette-wielding French filmmakers saw the unappreciated talent that resided in the west and called in an all-star cast (Will.I.Am, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Too $hort, B-Real, Battlecat, DJ Khalil, Evidence, Julio G, DJ Muggs, etc.) to diagnose firsthand the traits that have turned many Cali-bred MCs into world-renown celebrities and continue to keep their unique brand of potent coastal funk relevant 20 years later.

Since most of us will never get the chance to step into inside the studio with Rick Rock or soak up game while sparking one with Snoop, I highly suggest you set aside an hour or so and head over to www.WestCoastTheory.com to download the film in it’s entirety for $3.99. I’m already half way in and the studio advice alone is worth the ticket.

If I were given complete access to follow dude around, I bet I could find entertaining material to write about Tyson every day. Anyone who can blow $300m over 20 years definitely has more interesting days & weeks that we do, right? Read the rest of this entry »

I watched this Jigga documentary by BBC while I was at work today. That was probably a bad idea because I was sitting down typing away at a job I hated while watching just how fly Jay-Z’s life is. When the documentary projected Jay’s earnings at right around the half billion mark, I think I wept a little bit. Read the rest of this entry »