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"Its sad that I had to think about it after he perished, Dirty was the life of all of us"
- Raekwon (taken from his The Next 48 Hours: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt II series)
Today marks the sixth anniversary of the death of one of Hip Hop's greatest personalities, Ol' Dirty Bastard. Born Russell Tyrone Jones, Ol' Dirty collapsed at The RZA's recording studio, two days before his 36th birthday.
Known by a list of aliases including Dirt McGirt, Dirtbag, Ason Jones, Ason Unique and my personal favorite
Big Baby Jesus, O.D.B. will forever will be missed by a wide plethora of music fans, not just by those who listen to Hip Hop.
Earlier this year, during my time at indie record label
One Little Indian, I had a totally unexpected conversation with their American Rock and Roll artist,
Dan Sartain about Ol' Dirty. As a result of my ignorance I saw us as two people that wouldn't necessarily have much in common, with me being a Hip Hop head and Dan being an Alabama born and raised Rock and Roll, however we ended up having the most emphatic conversation about
Wu-Tang and O.D.B. than I have ever had with any fellow Hip Hop fan...
There's an old saying that goes, "two heads are better than one." This philosophy has translated pretty well in Hip-Hop over the years with multiple emcees and/or producers banding together - in what I have always liked to picture as some kick-ass Power Rangers-like ritual - in the quest to create some fine quality music.
Through time, the forces of Run-D.M.C., A Tribe Called Quest and the Wu-Tang Clan have wielded their mighty microphones in the mission to keep rap music on its trajectory towards good taste. Now, decades later, it would appear that the collective dynamic has made its return and just may be planting the seeds for Hip-Hop's future.
The sign outside the HMV Forum ticket office reads, “due to unforeseen circumstances, RZA, Raekwon and Inspektah Deck aren’t able to perform tonight, refunds are available.” This is not the first time the Wu have performed as a group with a few members missing in action and probably won’t be the last. However the starting line-up has a few all stars in the form of Method Man and Ghostface so the show goes on without too many grumbles from the masses in attendance tonight. The packed venue suggests not many took up the refund option.
Before there was Hype Williams, Little X and Benny Boom, there was Lionel C. Martin.
From 1987 to present, Martin’s videography reads like a scroll of all of the great talents of the past 25 years in urban and popular music. Martin is responsible for giving urban music videos life and authenticity at a time where Hip Hop and R&B desperately needed a pioneer to deliver a quality product for the world to see. Martin has produced videos for TLC, Stevie Wonder, R. Kelly, Public Enemy, Bell Biv Devoe, Big Daddy Kane, Jay-Z, Keith Sweat, Toni Braxton, Boyz II Men, SWV, En Vogue, MC Shan, Jodeci, Mariah Carey, Jill Scott, Nas, Wu-Tang Clan, Notorious B.I.G., Father MC, Hi-Five, Tupac, N’Sync, Backstreet Boys and many more.
Martin, a native of Queens, NY, was a trailblazing force in the 1980s when he helped launch the Video Music Box channel with his childhood friend, Ralph McDaniels in 1984. The Video Music Box channel was only seen in the Tri-State area at the time. The Tri-State area consists of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Martin was one of the first hosts on the show and his moniker was (The VidKid). The channel would play every Hip Hop video from the popular artists of the time period.
After its inaugural year, Martin devised an idea to expand the channel’s brand and this move helped to make the channel achieve legendary status. Martin alongside McDaniels made the decision to travel extensively through the emerging hip-hop scene to cover parties and shows to illustrate the influence that Hip Hop culture was having on New York City and the surrounding areas. It would prove to be pivotal in shaping the career path of Martin.
During this time, the Video Music Box channel was the only Hip Hop program in syndication on public television in the United States. It gave a voice and face to a culture that would begin to dominate the mainstream in the forthcoming years. Whilst working on the Video Music Box channel, Martin would see the types of videos that would come in from the artists and thought that the Hip Hop culture needed to have better representation for the art form. This is where his voyage of directing music videos begins.
Recently, SoulCulture sat down to talk with Martin about his contributions to urban music videos, behind the scene stories and the importance of maintaining pride in urban culture.
