VH-1’s broadcast of the the third annual Hip-Hop Honors Awards will air on October 17th, Tuesday night @ 9pm. In the meantime, peeps these mini-video drops from some of the performers…
RAKIM – It’s Nothing
R’s new album should be the most anticipated disk on the horizon instead of that other dude…
DA BRAT – Cha Cha Cha (honoring MC LYTE)
VH-1’s own blog site should get an award for the realest post title…
’nuff said.
C.S. met up with me downtown and she decided to come with me into the Sneaker Pimps show. For the uninitiated, Sneaker Pimps is a traveling art exhibition that celebrates not just the sneaker culture but the passion that people have for urban style and culture. I went to the Pimps show in Atlanta which was fun (sorry I never dropped the flicks), but Sneaker Pimps in NYC is where this event finds it’s crescendo. Cats haven’t just taken their one time’s off ice, but they are rockin’ their most crispy I.T.’s to boot. There was so much ‘LO gear in the building it felt like a family reunion.
But the night was really about sneakers and unlike the Atlanta show, everybody tonight was wearing sneakers. Some of the rarest joints weren’t just on display, but on peoples’ feet as well. Peace to DJ CLARK KENT who is a Don in the sneaker game. He gave away a brand new pair of HUF NIKEs to a dude who had just bought a pair of crispy AF-1’s to wear to the show. Just like that, homie got a pair of kicks that will anchor his collection for years to come. What I like about CLARK KENT is that he realizes that the culture can’t be sustained by making people camp out overnight at stores just for an exclusive pair. Like CLARK KENT says, “At the end of the day, it’s just rubber and leather.” I have to agree with that, although some days it’s rubber and premium leather.
Peace to my dude AIR MAXWELL and his boys who let C.S. and I jump the line in front of them (the line extended all the way from Sixth Avenue to Fifth Avenue). Hip-Hop cop Detective DERRICK PARKER was working security for what was an unbelievable crowd of thousands of people. The performers scheduled for tonight were the BeatNuts, the Clipse, and Ghostface Killah. I wore my ‘Iron Man’ Air Max 180’s around my neck. Inside the venue there were people vending their sneakers as well as other goods. The Dunk Xchange featured some sick customized NIKE Dunks as well as other styles. The space hosting the party is called Avalon, but for any true school NYC party heads you would know the building better as Limelight. It’s a wild labyrinth of rooms and balconies that feed off the main space which was formerly a church. C.S. and I perched down in the skybox balcony to enjoy the show.
Clipse came on first after the Ice Cream skate team did a few ollies on a modified half pipe constructed on the stage. The crowd loved the Clipse and the people sung along with most of their songs. They brought out Ab Live from Major Figures and some other dude from their Re-Up gang and they did a few of those songs too. C.S. and I both agree that the Clipse seem to have a rock (no pun intended) solid base fan following, which makes us wonder why their label won’t release any new music from them. Then it dawned on me that the Clipse = Most Downloaded. Yeah, they have fans, but their fans are all of the internets kids who don’t buy music. These kids will support their favorite artists at shows and events, but they won’t go to Tower Records to buy a CD. Actually, they won’t be able to go to Tower any longer. R.I.P. Tower Records.
Ghostface was one of the best shows I have seen is a long while. He and the Theodore Unit came onstage shortly after the Clipse and they basically took the crowd to that place that not many rap acts can occupy. We were in a state of total delirium. With hit songs from Wu-Tang’s catalog to some of his own joints he gave the crowd energy every time we heard a new sample drop. Even though the sound system inside the venue was fucked up the crowd didn’t care so neither did Ghost. Sometimes he’d just let us sing the song over the beat. The best moment of the night is when Big Ghost did a tribute to Ol’ Dirty Bastard. When I tell you that the entire crowd went crazy chanting the lyrics for ‘Shimmy Shimmy Ya’ it was like being inside the essence of the ONE. It was fitting that Sneaker Pimps held this show in a building that once a church. The spirit of Big Baby Jesus came down last night and touched us all. Wu-Tang forever.
Chuuuuuuurch.
Peace to the FILTER Magazine staff in Los Angeles for giving the kid their all access pass to Hip-Hop Honors week festivities. I shouldn’t ever have to wait on a line, I’m glad they understand this…
I am going to walk you guys through a party that took place last night in Brooklyn’s artsy DUMBO section. It was wildly reminiscient of the period in Hip-Hop when the downtown gallery owners were first introduced to the uptown graffiti artists. Since I am much older and wiser (read:cynical) I can tell you that none of that naiveté exists today. Everybody here was on the make, including your favorite blogger, but instead of looking to get into someone’s wallet I’m looking to swill all the free booze I can. I call that the ‘Get In Where You Fit In’ lifestyle.
I never make the mistake of going to an O.B. (open bar) function and not getting my fill of the free swill. VH-1 has been picking up the tab for most of this week’s events. Any proceeds they can scare up are supposed to be flipped over into the ‘Save The Music’ initiative. I’m like whatever man, just save my azz a cup of that cold music. KOOL DJ RED ALERT held down the sounds playing all kinds of dope old school joints from B-Boy classics to 80’s Brit new wave pop. Straight dope biatches.
My gift to mankind might be teaching. Teaching old white ladies gang hand signs. I have a new hand sign for all the finger bangers out there too. JOHNNY NUNEZ, photog for the stars was hanging out here. As most of you can see, the event was mad peace.
You can’t go anywear in New York City now without seeing someone with a pair of NIKE Design Studio I.D.’s on their feet. My joints are still the flyest, but so many heads are trying to come up on my Skittles themes. The most Hip-Hop moment of the night was when BAZAAR ROYALE and his lovely wife, DJ BEVERLY BOND came through and finally brought some superstar shine to the event. Behind every successful (read: happily drunk) man is a good woman. BAZAAR ROYALE and I both have some good broads.
I don’t have any reference text for these pictures but my intuition tells me that JAY-Z has been annointed the king of Africa now that he has promised to bring the Fanta Girls to the dark continent.
I used to think that it was FISTY CENT’s rhyming ability and street swagger that powered the G-Unit crew, but after looking at the picture above I realize that it might just be his breast milk.
I am piggybacking off RD‘s post about du-rags and the rap artists who love to wear them. No one will argue that FISTY CENTS has them in all kinds of colors and not just white and black. I have even seen EMINEM wearing them. Do you think that FISTY CENTS mandates that all rappers signed to G-Unit must wear a du-rag? I’ve never seen LLOYD BANKS without one. You be the judge.
LLOYD BANKS
FISTY CENTS protege and purported family member. LLOYD BANK’s long awaited sophomore CD ‘Rotten Apple’ debuted this week and surely will grab the number one position for sales of a rap/R&B record. From a business perspective it looks like a good omen for Q4 CD releases. BANKS will be a good lead up to much more talented and anticipated artists. BANKS can expect to receive a velvet du-rag from FISTY.
YOUNG BUCKWALTER
YOUNG BUCK not only has to wear a du-rag in order for FISTY to release his music, but a ski mask as well. YOUNG BUCKWALTER is one of the G-Unit attack dogs and he has been known to stab people with any available piece of flatware. There was an incident in Nigeria where YOUNG BUCK shanked a local African rapper with a spork.
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MOBB DEEP These two dudes are good soldiers in the FISTY CENTS camp. Instead of using their advance money on securing good production and promotion for their latest album they went out and bought du-rags. |
| MA$E I’m not exactly sure why MA$E didn’t catch on with G-Unit other than the fact that he doesn’t like to wear du-rags for promotional pics. That’s a FISTY CENTS no-no. |
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M.O.P. M.O.P. was a little too real for the G-Unit label. LIL’ FAME had been wearing the same du-rag from the old Select Records days. Where is LIL’ FAME anyhoo? |