 Sunday, October 23, 2005
Hip Hop Album Releases for Oct. 25
Odd week of releases, lots of stuff delayed till November. I was filling in titles I'd missed and discovered that two unlikely soundtracks are said to include hip hop tracks, The Chronicles of Narnia and Hot Wheels Acceleracers. The following new releases are available from Amazon: Breakestra - Hit the FloorChrome - Straight to the ProsFire Startrz - Fire StartrzRich Kid Ent. - Hood 2 Hood: Blockumentary [Soundtrack]Savior - Power and PassionSecret Society - Secret SocietySupremeEx & Tajai - NuntypeYukmouth - Million Dollar Mouth PieceFor more current releases, see Hip Hop Albums.
posted by Clyde at 10:55 PM
Monday, October 17, 2005
Monday, October 10, 2005
Hip Hop Album Releases for Oct. 11
An absurdly slow week for hip hop releases. Maybe me and rap music are just off our game. Or perhaps it's that Mars retrograde I've been reading about. The following new releases are available from Amazon: The Circle of Tyrants - The Circle of TyrantsDa Unda Dogg - Fattest Jamz, Vol. 2Danger Doom - The Mouse and the MaskJ.T. Money - UndeniableK-Rino - Worst Rapper AliveQueen Boyz - Getcha Weight UpWarren G - In the Mid-Nite HourFor more current releases, see Hip Hop Albums.
posted by Clyde at 11:49 PM
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Book Review: Country Fried Soul: Adventures In Dirty South Hip-Hop by Tamara Palmer
Except for the cover, which suggest adventures in the Dirty South that are a bit different from those presented in the book, I found Country Fried Soul: Adventures In Dirty South Hip-Hop a pretty solid look at some of the hip hop artists from the South that are catching the nation's attention. Tamara Palmer interviewed and drew together additional material from other sources to give folks a look at a number of artists including Luther Campbell, 8Ball and MJG, Lil Jon, Ludacris, Jazze Pha, Bone Crusher, Ying Yang Twins, Cee-Lo, Chyna White, Stat Quo, Young Buck and Jacki-O. There are a lot of great photos and the layout and overall design of Country Fried Soul: Adventures In Dirty South Hip-Hop is quite nice. In fact, it strikes me that this book would be an excellent Christmas gift for Dirty South fans because it's a quality product in all respects, from the book design to the photos to the writing. My favorite photo was of Jazze Pha eating a hot dog and it makes me think that some favorite Dirty South recipes would have rounded the whole thing out. Actually, it wouldn't surprise me if somebody's working on a Dirty South cookbook as we speak. If not, Tamara you oughta follow up! While I dug finding out more about all these artists, I was particularly drawn to the interviews that connected me to new angles on the Dirty South phenomenon. The interview with Chyna White was particularly strong and I also got into finding out more about Too $hort's move to the South. The discussion of the influence of small clubs and strip joints in breaking records was also quite interesting and I should really do a little piece on that over at ProHipHop. In addition to the articles and interviews, Palmer provides a directory of resources on the Dirty South and Southern hip hop including websites, collaborations, albums and radio stations. But as thorough as she is, she somehow overlooked NC Hip Hop Online, my very first project. However, I won't hold that against her since she mentioned both Hip Hop Logic and ProHipHop in a recent feature in the SF Weekly on Bay Area hip hop blogs. You can find a bit more about Country Fried Soul: Adventures In Dirty South Hip-Hop at the website of publisher Backbeat Books. You can also find more of Tamara Palmer's writing on music at the SF Weekly. Available from Amazon:Tamara Palmer - Country Fried Soul: Adventures In Dirty South Hip-Hop.
posted by Clyde at 8:28 PM
Book Review: A Dream Come True by Michael T. Owens
When the phrase "hip hop fiction" get floated I usually imagine a novel that has a lot of sex and violence and very little to do with hip hop culture or rap music. But Michael T. Owens' recently released novel A Dream Come True is actually a hip hop novel about a young rap artist getting a break and the effects that moving with his best friend and girlfriend to LA to pursue his dreams has on all their lives. A Dream Come True is light fiction, easy to read, meaningful without overdoing things. It might be described as a summer novel, something you might take to read at the beach, but it addresses issues that are serious enough that one might consider it for a discussion group, as the discussion group questions at the end of the book indicate. Actually, I thought it might be the perfect novel to turn into one of those afterschool specials (that they used to have, I'm not keeping up with programming for young folks these days) that address teen issues in a story that includes the realities of sex and drugs without glamorizing them. The characters are believable and a nice reminder that not all high school graduates interested in show business view themselves as pimps and hos. In fact, the young folks portrayed in A Dream Come True are probably more true to life than the live fast, die young crowd portrayed in hip hop music videos, though I guess there are plenty of people trying to live that dream as well. Overall, the novel is a bit moralistic for my tastes. I also find many of the secondary characters too cartoonish and cliched to be taken seriously, kind of like the bit players in a comedy that appear just for laughs. Nevertheless, I think many would appreciate the meaningful focus of this tale of black youth growing up in a complex world. You can check out sample chapters for yourself at the website of author Michael T. Owens. Available from Amazon:Michael T. Owens - A Dream Come True.
posted by Clyde at 7:57 PM
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Guest Writers: Rahiem Shabazz, Maj Toure and You
Hip Hop Logic's most prolific guest writer has been Rahiem Shabazz who's contributed an autobiographical tale, Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself, as well as a series of reviews and interviews: Review of Jim Jones' Harlem: Diary of a SummerReview of C.L. Smooth's AMERICAN MEReview of Mars Ill's Pro PainInterviews with Sleepy Brown and RicoHip Hop Logic has also been blessed this year with an editorial by Maj Toure entitled Make Music for the Solution--By Any Means Necessary!!. If you've got something to say and the words to say it, consider being a guest writer at Hip Hop Logic and be in touch: hiphoplogic(at)netweed(dot)com
posted by Clyde at 6:57 AM
Monday, October 03, 2005
Wanted: Hip Hop Videos for Mobile Network
A note from Clyde, the proprietor of Hip Hop Logic and the "brains" behind netweed and ProHipHop. ProHipHop is doing some video scouting for a mobile hip hop network that Mobile Lingo is considering launching in the next few months. Right now I'm just looking to hear from folks who have or are shooting hip hop music videos and would be interested in providing short clips, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes long, to be shown on cellphone. We're primarily interested in unsigned and independent artists as well as artists on small labels that would be interested in providing the clips for free. Obviously, the payoff would be in promotion and we are planning a related website to feature the best clips and information about the artists. Our use would be nonexclusive, so you could do whatever else you want with the clips. However, currently we can't handle material involving violence, displays of weaponry, drug use, nudity or profanity. I know that may cause some difficulties but we're dealing with the major carriers and that creates a variety of limits. However, if you've shot a full length music video, you could do a special edit for the shorter clip that would meet those requirements. If you have video posted online, please let me know. Otherwise, simply send me an email letting me know that you're interested and that you'd like to be updated as information becomes available. Also, if you have other ideas that you'd like me to pass along to Mobile Lingo, send those as well to: mobile(at)prohiphop(dot)comFor now, please don't send any attachments but let me know what's up, ask any questions you have, etc. I'm kind of excited about this because I've mostly had to ignore requests to check out music and that kind of thing, so I'm glad to be involved with a project that should be helpful for artists as they build.
posted by Clyde at 9:21 PM
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Hip Hop Album Releases for Sept. 27
I really hate getting behind but I'm always happy to get caught up. In addition to the Sept. 27th releases below, I added quite a few to the Sept. 20th releases at Hip Hop Albums as well as the usual updates and random additions to future releases. I'll have the Oct. 4th releases up by Tuesday, back on my regular schedule. The following new releases are available from Amazon: Bizzy Bone - Speaking In TonguesBlackalicious - The CraftB-Legit - Block MovementBotany Boyz - Thought of Many WaysChamillionaire/OG Ron C - Summer 2k5Cyne - Evolution FightEightball & MJG - Ghettoville: The SoundtracksLil' Kim - The Naked TruthLuni Coleone/Lunasicc - Luni Coleone vs. LunasiccMack 10 - Hustla's HandbookMaceo - Straight Out da PotMike Jones/Lil Flip - Still Tippin' in TexasMr. Criminal - Sounds of CrimeSean Paul - The TrinityT-Bone - Bone-A-FideThree 6 Mafia - The Most Known UnknownThree 6 Mafia - The Most Known Unknown (DualDisc)For more current releases, see Hip Hop Albums.
posted by Clyde at 7:30 AM
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