The title track from her current tour with Queensbridge rap legend Nas, equally iconic Hip Hop Soulstress Lauryn Hill debuted "Black Rage" onstage this week, with a poetic recital of her new song for the cheering Dallas audience. Filmed from the crowd, watch Ms Hill recite the song below.
Oftentimes, the challenge for the established Hip-Hop act is remaining relevant amongst a peer group of hungry young rhymers in their twenties. The greater challenge, however, is proving that his once-revered stamp of authority wasn't been lost whilst he pursued a career far beyond his expectations.
Fortunately for Nasir "Nas" Jones, his aura of an empowering, Mario Puzo-like storytelling wizard has been far from compromised, even during his most difficult period both as an artist and a man.
Facing a highly-publicised and costly divorce whilst seeing a dozen new emcees rise in the ranks, Nas, considerably at a low point, decided on naming his tenth studio album Life Is Good -- a title many saw as a tongue-in-cheek stab at his obvious problems and worries. But to discredit an emcee who (arguably) verbally disposed of one of Hip-Hop's all-time greats, remained conscious in the face of commercialism, and created rap music's great body of work with Illmatic would be a grave mistake. Life Is Good finds the Street's Disciple returning to the booth with new scars and emotions to express; the question, however, is whether the end result is artistic genius or merely a tacky soap opera.
On the UK leg of NaS' recent tour, SoulCulture TV took a road trip up to Manchester to speak to the legendary emcee about his latest album, Life Is Good; out today (in the UK) through Def Jam. After performing for the Academy crowd, Nas discussed the energy behind the album and his hopes for it to inspire artists, shared his thoughts on commercial distractions in the rap game, Damian Marley's influence on his live shows and more.
Lining up his comeback this year hasn’t come easy for Chris Brown. Constantly rebuilding his image since the release of his fourth album F.A.M.E., the singer received several award nominations for his efforts and planned to release the sequel just six months afterwards. After a...
Whose world is this?
Moments ago as I perched, humming on the rim of a potted tree by the Hudson River, an intriguing bird joined me and strutted inches away while I mused on the events of last night. In similarly close proximity 12 hours prior (June 14), I watched as Queensbridge representing Hip Hop legend Nasir "Nas" Jones stepped before a Hennessy and Belvedere sipping intimate music/media crowd at the Skyline room of The New Museum, New York to exclusively share snippets of nine tracks from his new album. Life is Good.
Loyal fans know Estelle as a vibrant female rapper who started her musical ventures in 2004 with The 18th Day and went on to release her second album, the gold-certified Shine, in 2008. Both albums received a great response, making the British singer/occasional rapper a force to be reckoned with.
Having already made her mark on her home turf of the UK, it was time to take her name and achievements to the U.S. Showing no fear whilst being so far away from home, the singer has made a mark in the States since meeting John Legend and signing to Atlantic/Homeschool Records.
After making her first chart appearance with the Kanye West-assisted single "American Boy," the success that was to follow was set in stone. Now with a U.S. tour, several accolades and TV appearances all complete, her third studio album, All Of Me, is out in the open.
Having begun her ventures in music with a brief encounter in former band XQuisite, R&B singer/songwriter Melanie Fiona launched her solo career with her debut album The Bridge in 2009, earning her first Grammy award nomination for hit single "It Kills Me." The Canadian singer is back with her sophomore album, The MF Life, packed with emotion as she delves deeper.
For all the youthful lyricists who have contributed to 2011 being a memorable year for Hip Hop, it has also been down to the chief rhymers whose brief appearances in the spotlight have surrounded immense projects. Whether it was Talib Kweli's gem from earlier this year or the empirical release from The Roots this month, the old dogs still have it in them to run rap regardless of their limited appearances in the media. For Chi-City's Common, every release is celebrated as a victory for the genre.
Rather than taking a break after being on the scene for over ten years, Mary J Blige shows no signs of slowing down collaborating with DJ Khaled and Diddy Dirty Money earlier on in the year. The queen of R&B went back into the studio to create a few more tear-jerking ballads and foot-moving jams for her tenth studio album My Life II: The Journey Continues - the sequel to her album My Life released in 1994.
This week Simon & Schuster imprint Atria Books announced Nasty Nas has a memoir coming out in autumn of 2012, titled It Ain't Too Hard To Tell and co-written with respected music journalist and FUSE TV personality Toure. Should be an interesting read right? Jay...