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Respect Our Fresh!

Words by Khalid Strickland

In the wacky world of Hip-Hop some artists are known more for scrappin’ than for rappin’. These predators rarely drop albums — music taking a backseat to their aggressive antics — but they make the rap game a lot more colorful by keeping the pretenders in check. With their genuine street credibility, prison-yard tactics and itchy trigger-fingers, the Goonies of Hip-Hop have created an entertaining niche in the genre. Here are eight in particular who have already left their mark.

Alfamega

When you look up the word “goon” in the rap dictionary, you’ll find those now-infamous pictures of T.I.’s Grand Hustle muscle Alfamega spazzin’ out on Shawty Lo’s crew at last year’s Dirty Awards. In those photos, especially the one where he’s smiling as he tussles with an overmatched cop, you can tell that Alfamega was having a good time; he shrugged-off a blast of pepper spray to the face like it was spearmint Binaca. With a lead-fisted shot to the dome, Mega left a Shawty Lo associate snoozing on the floor during T.I. and Grand Hustle’s performance at the Awards show.

The televised incident may earn him another bid in the bing, but his commissary should be stacked for a job well done. Aspiring rappers take note: It doesn’t matter how well you rhyme, how many chicks you bag and how much jewelry you rock. Your crew isn’t complete without a ninja like Mega in the stable.

Trick Trick

What separates Detroit’s own Trick Trick from most of his contemporaries is that he actually put an album out (a decent one at that); an impressive feat for a professional goon. His latest LP, The Villain, is in stores now. But although the album features heavy-hitters like Ice Cube, Eminem and a posthumous appearance by D-12’s Proof, it’s a mere footnote in Trick Trick’s untouchable gangster resume. Read the rest of this entry »

Words By Khalid Strickland

Album covers just ain’t what they used to be.

Maybe it’s because people don’t really buy CDs anymore, or maybe artists have just gotten plain lazy… who knows? Nowadays, a Hip-Hop album cover is usually just a photo of the rapper standing in front of a nice ride, holding a stack. Maybe they’ll throw in a chick or two for good measure. If they’re really nonchalant, it’ll just be a shot of the artist’s mug and we all know that a lot of these dudes really don’t need any close-ups.

Those standard-fare covers can be cool, but I love good, creative visuals, so artwork was always an enjoyable part of my listening experience. Here are just a few of Hip-Hop album covers that I found particularly memorable over the years.

Ice-T Power (1988)

This album dropped when I was young and pretty, and a poster of the cover was on display at Brooklyn’s most famous record store, Beat Street. After days of plotting, I finally snatched it off the wall and ran out of the joint.

That was about 300 blunts ago and I had the stamina to out-run the security guards that were on my ass. I had to lay low for a while, but when I gazed at the bikini-clad Darlene on my bedroom wall, shotgun in tow, it was worth it. The cover of Power is a masterpiece. The back cover not only reveals the concealed weapons that Ice & DJ Evil E are packing, but we also get a great shot of Darlene’s heavenly cakes. Read the rest of this entry »