| Their Pick | Undahground Pick |
| Best Rap Album | |
| "And then there was X"--DMX | "Reflection Eternal"--DJ Hi-Tek and Talib Kweli |
| "Dr. Dre: 2001"--Dr. Dre | "lyricist Lounge: Volume 2" --Various Artists |
| "The Marshall Mathers, LP"--Eminem | "Ice Cold"--Choclair |
| "Vol 3...Life and Times of S. Carter"--Jay Z | I Agree |
| "Country Grammar"--Nelly | "W"--Wu-Tang Clan |
Suprisingly enough, that is the only joint that I have a definite opinion on, the rest of the stuff is kinda just there and you know, it doesn't really matter to me one way or the next. But I know you all probably wanna know the nominees so here they are in no certain order:
Best Rap Solo Performance
"The Light," Common (Now I do think that Common should have been on the list for Best Rap Album)
"Party Up," DMX
"The Real Slim Shady," Eminem
"Shake Ya Ass," Mystikal
"Country Grammar," Nelly
Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group
"Alive," Beastie Boys
"Oooh," De La Soul featuring Redman
"Forgot About Dre," Dr. Dre featuring Eminem
"The Next Episode," Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Dogg
"Big Pimpin'," Jay-Z featuring UGK
Album Of The Year
Midnite Vultures, Beck
The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem
Kid A, Radiohead
You're The One, Paul Simon
Two Against Nature, Steely Dan
Best Short Form Music Video
"Fire" - Busta Rhymes (Busta Rhymes & Hype Williams, video directors; Rubin Mendoza, video producer)
"Learn To Fly" - Foo Fighters (Jesse Peretz, video director; Tina Nakane, video producer)
"What Do You Say" - Reba McEntire (Robert Deaton & George Flanigen, video directors; Robert Deaton, George Flanigen & Steve Lamar, video producers)
"Broken Home" - Papa Roach (Marcos Siega, video director; Shirley Moyers, video producer)
"Will 2K" - Will Smith (Robert Caruso, video director; Jack Hardwicke & Paul Hill, video producers)
Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical
Bill Bottrell
Dr. Dre
Nigel Godrich
Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis
Matt Serletic
Could it be? Could it be that the world is starting to recognize real hip-hop? I was checking out the BET site, for my editorial piece and what do I come across?
The top 10 of the year for Rap and Hip-Hop. I glance because I am a fan and I find that Rawkus, You know that little label in NY has 3 count it 3 albums on the list.
Some of the other labels only had one or two between them. Including Def Jam, who boasted 'We are HipHop" on LL's latest video 'Shut Em Down' from the Any Given Sunday Soundtrack.Most of the music we hip-hop heads are being exposed to is not quality. (Read Lady Says) You got artists coming out with 5 albums in one year and out of all the material only about 50% is worth listening to more than once. That's not enough. We need people who wirte consciuoss lyrics to sickening beats that keep you going. Not this same old 'Look how much ice, cars, and women I got', It gets old. You know what I mean? So I guess Rawkus has found the cure for the cause. The albums are:
As snappy with his syllables as he is with personal style, Raekwon The Chef (a.k.a. Lex
Diamonds; to his family, Corey Woods) has made quite a name for himself... and not only for
his partnership in the Wu-Tang collective.
Renowned for his inventive way with slang (the man could inspire his own dictionary), Rae
received wide acclaim for crafting dark tales of the streets and the criminal minds who walk
them on his solo debut "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx."
Now, after four years of guest appearances and engaging in activities of the Wu-Tang type, Rae
finally follows up 1995's "Cuban Linx" (a record which recast Wu-Tang as the criminally
pseudonymous Wu-Gambinos) with his latest, "Immobilarity."
Rae's second solo disc finds the MC intertwining the gangster leanings he perfected on his
debut with savvy diplomacy and business sense-slash-finesse; he's created his own gangland of
opportunity, so to speak, taking measured and meaningful steps toward world domination just
like every good Capricorn should.
The Chef has already got plenty of irons in the fire, including plans to record a second "Cuban Linx" album with fellow Clan member Ghostface Killah (whose next solo venture, "Supreme Clientele," is scheduled to arrive on January 25). He recently told MTV News' Elon Johnson all about it, as well as his thoughts on the meaning of "Immobilarity," maturity, and handling criticism like a man, as well as how his second solo LP was inspired by the movie "The Godfather: Part III." Check out the many shades of Rae... ..
Raekwon is currently on a short promotional tour, which
will bring him to The Wiz in New York City on Tuesday
A former city police officer already behind bars for bank robbery is one of the suspects
in the 1997 shooting death of rap star Notorious B.I.G, the Los Angeles Times reported
today.
Investigators are reportedly examining whether former Officer David Mack conspired
with Death Row Records founder Suge Knight to arrange the contract killing of the
24-year-old rapper whose real name was Christopher Wallace.
Wallace was gunned down on March 9, 1997, after leaving a music industry party at the
Peterson Automotive Museum.
No one has been charged in the shooting, which some blamed on a turf battle between Death Row and a rival rap label in New York City. Another theory behind the 360-pound rapper's death is that he was killed over a feud with gang members who claimed he owed them money for providing security. Mack is under suspicion for allegedly hiring longtime friend Amir Muhammad to attack Wallace, the Times reported, citing confidential police documents and sources that include a former detective assigned to the case. A witness placed Mack at the scene of the slaying, and another man who was in the same vehicle as Wallace picked Mack out of a photo lineup of six men, according to police documents. Mack is serving a 14-year prison term for the 1997 bank robbery. Police have been unable to locate Muhammad. Mack's attorney, Donald M. Re, said any link between his client and Wallace's killing ``sounds absolutely ridiculous.'' Knight attorney Robin Yanes called the theory old and said: ``Suge doesn't know (Mack.)''
Detectives have previously identified Knight as a suspect, alleging that he may have ordered Wallace's killing while he was in jail on a parole violation. He currently is serving a nine-year prison sentence stemming from a 1992 attack on two rappers in a recording studio. Mack is also a former partner of Officer Rafael Perez, who has been at the center of a growing corruption probe of the Los Angeles Police Department. He is cooperating with prosecutors by giving them details of setups and falsified police reports in exchange for a lighter sentence on his conviction for stealing cocaine.
Perez's information has resulted in 11 convictions being overturned and more than a
dozen officers have been suspended.
Rahzel "The Politician"
The crew is headed north to Wisconsin, hoping to lend their talents to The Roots live show at The Tibetan Freedom Fest. As the bus travels up Interstate 94 towards Alpine Valley Amphitheater, Rahzel peers out the window, enjoying the verdant surroundings. Of course it doesn't compare to Switzerland, which he says is the most beautiful place in the world, but Rahzel is now at a point in his life where he can appreciate the beauty in everything. Little things no longer frustrate him. When we reach the Alpine Valley, The Roots show is over and Rahzel's crew has problems even getting in. He takes it all in stride, finally gaining admission and heading back stage to wait for an opportunity to rock solo that never comes.
Rahzel's patience and persistence is finally paying off. After a bid with Sha-Key's Vibe Khameleons crew, he joined up with The Roots and is finally beginning to see that alliance pay off--at the age of 28. The Roots went platinum with Things Fall Apart, and his own album, Make The Music 2000, has moved over 200, 000 units. It's been a long road, though.
Raised in Run DMC's hometown of Hollis, Queens he faced far worse obstacles. Humor - a knack for imitating people - and his incredible beatbox skills were his most valuable currency. "I was always a funny cat," he remembers. "You know, imitating people, just making people laugh; and I kind of like [to] blend that in with the beatbox - give it some humor." The humor, as it often does, was borne from pain. "It's like...it's hard to explain, I think it has a lot to do with my background," he says honestly, periodically cursing to drive home his point. "When I was coming up shit was real fucked up."
What made days a little better was when you had someone actually come out and like sit and talk to you, that you felt was important, that you felt was on a different level. Whether it be an older uncle or your big cousin or Joe up the block who owns the grocery store, him sitting down talking to you made the difference between you going the right way or the wrong way."
The support he received as a child has given him a sense of responsibility: he cares about his fans. After finishing a performance at Chicago's House of Blues the previous night, he saw me leaving the venue playing his yet-to-be-released "Carbon Copy", he ran me down, demanding to know whether the track was already receiving radio play. It was just a tape from the record company, but in the process he ran headlong into a group of adoring fans. He proved then, as he did earlier, when he spent some time entertaining a pack of seven youngsters in front of the House of Blues, that he truly is a man of the people. He is also, by his own admission, a politician, zealously greeting adoring fans and able to deflect an admiring female fan's advances without deflating her ego. No small feat. But his friendliness to fans is more than just political expediency; it's his duty.
As for the night before, he feels he made his point. "I know that last night I at least touched one person," he says. "I think its cool that you are just able to give back the same shit that people give you. When you're onstage people don't have to fucking applaud. They ain't got to do shit. They're applauding and cheering me on, why not go out be like, 'thanks a lot.' It's like you give out what you want to get back." He's just reciprocating. "There were several people that were real instrumental in my life that made the difference," he says. "Like my god-sister, people like that. Coming like 'yo, you're going the right way. Just keep doing your thing."
While the encouragement helped him, he never doubted the viability of his craft. "I've always seen the vision from the beginning because the blueprints was already made for what I do...with Bobby McFerrin, Biz Mark, Al Jarreau, Take Six," he says. "The blueprints have already been made that it can be successful. It's not the fact that is it going to work; it's already been done."
"The beatbox is so interchangeable. You can put it everywhere. You're not going to have Mobb Deep at the Waldorf Astoria. [But] I've performed at some spots where there were politicians and stuff like that and they were kind of blown away, like whoa! I've done a lot of shit where you wouldn't even think, I've [even] done Bar Mitzvahs and kibbutz."
Written by Adam Matthews for The Source
Biggest news this week: The N.W.A. reunion is a go! Check for it on the soundtrack for Next Friday. I haven't heard
it yet, but it features Dr. Dre, Ice Cube , MC Ren, plus new addition Snoop Dogg! The track is titled "Chin Check",
and we'll have it up here soon. The "Next Friday" soundtrack also has new songs from Eminem, Cash Money
Millionaires, Wu-Tang Clan, Kurupt, Ja Rule, and more. Meanwhile, the N.W.A. album is scheduled to be titled
"Not Those Niggaz Again".
Speaking of which, I have a feeling that the West Coast might be creepin' on a come up, as the powerhouse in popular hip-hop music again. The center of all of this begins at Dr. Dre's "2001", and will continue through releases from Xzibit and N.W.A., raising the stock of the once unstoppable wessyde. Don't sleep on the new albums from Tash and Kurupt, either, kiddies.... Now can we get the Golden State Project moving, or what?
Written by Pizzo
Can I live? That's what Jay-Z's asking since things aren't as good as they could be with his situation. Jigga is has been arrested and charged
with felony assault in the second degree for allegedly stabbing Lance "Un" Rivera at Q-Tip's album release party Wednesday night. Jay turned
himself in to the police on Thursday for questioning and then was arrested. He got out later that night for $50,000 bail but has a January 31 court
date set. While Jay-Z and everyone around him thinks Jay is innocent, he's still a suspect in the stabbing of Un. Lance "Un" Rivera, head of
Untertainment (is that still around?), was stabbed twice, once in the stomach and again in the shoulder, at the Kit Kat Club, while Q-Tip was
having his album release party. I believe Un is okay. Jay is one of many suspects for the stabbing.
This is a bad thing for Jay-Z, especially as he's trying to hype up his new album, Life & Times Of S. Carter, which hits the stores December 28
and has already hit a bootlegger and MP3 outlet near you. Chances are Jay will be alright from all this but right now I know too little to really tell.
