Westcoast veteran DJ Quik recently revealed that he almost fought with hip-hop legend Tupac over a misunderstanding. “Outside the studio, he was a jokester – bagging on ns — joking, fun — we toured a little bit. He got in my ass one time too — we were about to get into a fight because he thought I was stealing his stage show — like when he would rap and jump up on the speakers. I had to tell him ‘bro I got that off of Bobby Brown my n — off of the ‘My Prerogative’ shit.”

The DJ then shared the way they resolved the conflict. “Come here, Quik. Let me holler at you — How am I stealing the show — this n**** hot; he ready to fight. So, instead of us fighting, we went into the weight room and just started lifting weights and shit. You know what I’m saying? Just go in there like ‘knock it out, dog.’”

Quik said “‘Ay, you know ni*as up here playin’ that new Tupac sht y’all in there workin’ on?’ He’s like, ‘What!?’ What!?. So I get a call, ‘Hey man, come up to the office.’ I already know with them Death Row meetings, when they call you randomly at 4:20 to fight traffic and get up here, ‘Aw, this finna’ be some bullsh*t.’”

The west coast producer then talked about getting into a life-threatening altercation after he asked the security guard who received the aforementioned CD from him. “So I fight the dude, and he dropped his Hennessy, and I think he was more mad that he dropped his Hennessy than me actually swinging on him or whatever. So he told his homeboy, ‘Man, blast this mothaf*cka!’ My man just pulled out a Tec and cocked it. I just [stopped and became] cold over this dumb-ass Tupac tape. So my man didn’t shoot me. My security got the gun from him and was like, ‘Y’all just go ahead up.”

Watch the video below.

The post DJ Quik Reveals He Almost Fought Tupac Shakur appeared first on The Source.

Nipsey Hussle knew exactly what he was doing when he coined the phrase “The Marathon Continues.” Evidenced by his untimely death, the statement signifies a message, a rallying cry if you will, beyond the Crenshaw rapper’s own career. It’s the message for a generation to change our culture, communities, and effectively the world. When you consider that his debut studio album has the title Victory Lap and reflect on what the Hip-Hop community has seen, experienced, and heard over the past month, the lore of our fallen hero will last forever.

Longtime fans of Nipsey Hussle will be the first to provide a testament to his foresight. Nothing done by Nipsey was for a specific moment. Nothing was done to complement a fad, trend, or wave sparked elsewhere. Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” at his homegoing celebration wasn’t just a mood-setting, poetic swan song. It was a Hip-Hop superhero’s theme music, reminding you who exactly he was and what he stood for. 

“I’m prolific, so gifted/I’m the type that’s gon’ go get it, no kidding” – Nipsey Hussle on Victory Lap

READ MORE: Nipsey Hussle, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and More Forbes Top-Earning Posthumous Stars

Throughout his career, fans saw Nipsey be about what many talk about. From his All Money In imprint to the Proud to Pay campaigns that surrounded the release of his Crenshaw and Mailbox Money projects, ownership in a business and the creative property were valued. The result? He continued to be successful and elevated to the next effort. 

However, those efforts don’t work if the music doesn’t slap. As an artist, Nipsey knew that. He also knew where the movement is rooted. You know a Nipsey Hussle record when you hear it. His voice is unique. His projects were cohesive to his spirit and the sound is clearly from the West. The features come into his backyard; you have to match his sound. The care given to his work is what built a strong base for his career. You hear the passion of what is in his future when you first press play on “Hussle in the House.” You are welcomed into his neighborhood and the realities of his life when you run “Blue Laces.” You get the camaraderie of Nipsey and his peers when you hear him and Dom Kennedy bounces off each other on the hook and set up Cobby Supreme to get off a stellar appearance on “Checc Me Out.” You hear the coming of age story and sense the accomplishment on “Young Nigga.” Each venture into a new song, mixtape, piece of work, no exaggeration, is all authenticity.  

This sense of authenticity fueled how respected he was in a genre where everyone isn’t always friends or cordial. JAY-Z saw his business acumen and was an avid supporter of his campaigns and albums, eventually revealing he would drop gems on the late rapper. At his memorial, Snoop Dogg spoke to Nipsey’s spirit and ambition, not asking for a handout of a recording contract when shopping his music. Instead, he asked for just an ear because he knew what was already coming to him. The Doggfather also pointed out how special he was by being able to record with rappers regardless of gang affiliations, a fact made evident by his relationship with YG. The list of those who respected him in the rap game for this is endless: Puff Daddy, Rick Ross, Meek Mill, The Game, Kendrick Lamar—- Just name them. 

READ MORE: Los Angeles Lakers Use Nipsey Hussle’s “Grinding All My Life” to Soundtrack Season Opener

Nipsey Hussle is not just his music. Survey the Hip-Hop community after his death, and you will see inspiration everywhere. As quick as the world’s clock turns, as headlines roll and life continues to power forward, Nipsey’s death still feels like it was yesterday. The tributes still ring as loud today as they did a week after his death, as they will a year from now. That’s the impact of an icon. As the days and weeks passed after his death, Hip-Hop would really learn and assess how Hussle moved. Ownership became the conversation. The Marathon Clothing line became the suits for creatives looking to be their own head honcho. Nipsey bought his block and developed businesses to not only better the area’s surroundings while dipping into real estate but to provide an opportunity for employment. Real estate was not going to be limited to home as plans to be a partner in the opening of a new Las Vegas resort and casino had been revealed. Ownership isn’t only about raising your position on the Forbes ranking but is about responsibility to your people. Nipsey‘s Vector 90 effort connected hoods with Silicon Valley, cultivating the interests of the youth to effectively change their lives. When acquiring buildings, Nipsey utilized the space to provide space for those who had the ambition to have a hub for work. That’s thinking beyond oneself and impacting a generation. That’s called being a leader. 

Leadership is about impacting people directly and indirectly. When it comes to Nipsey, check the scoreboard. Hop on a social media app and click the Nipsey Hussle hashtag. How many rally flags are you seeing in bios, Nipsey owns that emoji now. The conversation about Nipsey’s life and career has sparked bigger conversations about what the community needs to do to continue his legacy. The impact of an artist isn’t just limited to how their records chart on Billboard or how many shows they can sell out when they’re hot. It is also about the impressions left on the people who are watching and listening. It is about the ideas that you place into the ecosystem of your people and culture. It is how you are remembered and what you contributed to the greater good of the area you occupied. When it comes to the legacy of Nipsey Hussle, each of those categories is overflowing with evidence that he handled his business. 

READ MORE: Nipsey Hussle’s Family Reportedly Granted Guardianship of His Daughter

“Could you imagine what else Nipsey could have done?” was an echoed sentiment in the lengthy run of April. While Hip-Hop and the world were robbed of what would be next for “Young Nipsey the Great,” we did get to experience a phenomenal father, artist, businessman, philanthropist, and a dozen additional titles we can give to the legend. That is plenty for the rest of us to pick up the flag for the marathon. 

Watch an exclusive interview with Nipsey Hussle below.

Check out additional Nipsey videos:

The post FROM THE ISSUE: NIPSEY HUSSLE, The Marathon Man appeared first on The Source.

On the cover of issue #276, our inaugural ‘Future Issue’, journalist Courtney Brown sat down with international superstar A Boogie With Da Hoodie to discuss his rise to stardom. During a revealing moment in the interview, the 23-year old rapper discusses the connection of this generation’s use of drugs and hip hop.

Check out the excerpt below and pick up issue #276 on stands now!

Not shying away from the hard questions, he doesn’t blink when asked about the pill epidemic. “It’s never gonna change, it’s only going to get worse. Rappers are never going to stop talking about drugs unfortunately. I do it myself. So I can’t contradict on that. It’s like a foundation we built. We didn’t do it for them to do drugs, but we do it because…I ain’t going to lie, it’s a selfish thing. It’s the selfish part of us. I talk about drugs in my music because I want certain people to gravitate, certain fans that I don’t have. ‘People out here doing drugs… all right let’s get them. You know that’s just how I think. It’s a business at the end of the day.”

The post A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie ‘Rappers Are Never Going To Stop Talking About Drugs’ appeared first on The Source.

At first glance, 23-year-old Artist Julius Dubose isn’t exactly what meets the eye. The trendsetting, diamond-trenched rapper from the Bronx also known as A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie who is arguably one of the top contenders for future leaders in the industry. He created ‘Highbridge The Label’ with his partner QP, and received critical acclaim for his projects Artist, The Bigger Artist and Highbridge The Label: The Takeover Vol.1 with the Don Q before taking over the airwaves. If you’ve heard “Drowning,” or his recent single “Look Back At It” you know he’s capable of making good songs. But it’s the raw emotion evoked in songs like “D.T.B/Interlude,” “Still Think About You,” “Friendzone” and now “4 Min Convo” that showcase the vulnerability fans admire. His second studio album, Hoodie SZN debuted at number one on the Billboard 100 and he’s just getting started.

Read More: Wild N’ Out Live! Tour Brings Performances by A-Boogie, 21 Savage, Tommy Davidson

Separating himself from his peers as a master of melodies but fused with lyricism, A Boogie bridges the gap between millennials and fans of the golden era of Hip-Hop. Today after getting a fresh cut for his photoshoot right before a sold-out show, he’s surprised that connection was made. “It’s crazy that you brought up bridging the gap because that’s the name of my management company and that’s basically the whole point of me being in this game,” he reveals. “To bring different worlds together so that when I go to shows, I don’t just see one type of crowd I see all types of cultures getting together.” Hailing from one of the toughest places in the Bronx–— Highbridge, A Boogie says things still have not improved there. “I feel like the Bronx has never really changed.  It changed from back in the day, but from my era, I feel like it’s kind of gotten worse. I feel like as we get older, the kids are younger involved with the streets… I know twelve-year-old little kids that want to drop out of school right now. I feel like the only way that (change) will happen is if people come to reality. No one really comes to reality when it comes to life.” He explains, “For example rules. Everybody has their own opinion when it comes to rules. Every single person.  Let’s say there’s 30 people in the room, and the teacher gives 30 people rules. At least 15—half of those people are not going to listen to those rules and they are going to want to learn a certain type of way. People have to really understand when things are changing. Kids shouldn’t have to learn about social studies more than they learn about real estate. This is the point where you need to learn how to do things like that. But they want kids to go to college just to say they went to college. What’s a diploma? A diploma can’t buy you a house? It can get you a job to work for somebody, if you don’t really learn how to work for yourself.”  

Numb to expectations, he believes it doesn’t have to remain this way. “I think things will change. That leads with people like me. People like Meek Mill, RIP Nipsey Hussle… mainly all the rappers that’s using the opportunity to build more opportunities. The crowds that we reach out to listen to the things that we say or the things that we do. It’s not all about just rap or about making sounds. It’s about making opportunities and building more opportunities. It’s like a blind side with this whole industry, a big blind side with it. It’s the distraction. You don’t really get the time to realize that you can do this and do this with it through doing music.” After spending a few moments with A Boogie, you realize there’s a hidden strategy to everything he does and he’s a self-confessed workaholic with the presence of an old soul. “I hear that a lot. I’ve been hearing that ever since I was 16. I don’t even like doing anything, I just like working. Sometimes I feel like I work too hard, but I’m not just doing this for myself. It ain’t all about having fun. I know everybody says, ‘Yeah but you got to have fun sometimes,’ everybody always seeing me with a little sad face or whatever (laughs) but I’m in this to win.” 

Read More: Migos, Meek Mill, Megan Thee Stallion, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie & More to Headline Power 105.1’s 2019 Powerhouse Concert

Sharing parts of his private life on social media with his 2-year-old daughter Melody and his tumultuous relationship with her mother Ella Bands, the rapper exemplifies another stage of growth. He recently apologized to Ella on Instagram for ‘every little mistake’ and thanked her for giving him ‘a beautiful family to love, prosper and cherish.’ Unfazed by the opinions on social media, he doesn’t regret opening up publicly. “I feel like going into the future I would share way more. There’s things that I still go through in my relationship that people would like to know but I don’t talk about things that I’m going through unless it’s something that’s appropriate to talk about.” He does acknowledge the birth of his daughter changed his views drastically. “Having a daughter made me think about a million things differently.  It made me respect women way more. Even though I still have more learning to do it made me respect women way more.”  

Despite being open about some aspects of his life he doesn’t believe everyone should have access to his circle. “I feel like you have to gravitate to certain relationships only, certain relationships can be real bad for you. You could just jump into anything… let’s say one of my favorite rappers is the most violent rappers out here and I meet him and I do songs with him, and now I’m starting to feel the influence from him,” He explains. “I don’t feel like that’s the way, you have to gravitate on a positive energy side of it and realize who’s genuinely in it. I don’t like the fake friends/industry thing, I just stay to myself.” He does admit that he gets a lot of love in spite of being recluse. “That’s what keeps me going, because there’s certain rappers that don’t get no love and they just doubt themselves after that. You know how people lose energy?” He asks. “If you don’t peak your energy it’s going to peak without you.”

Read More: Exclusive: A Boogie wit da Hoodie Represents New York City on the Cover of The Source’s Inaugural & ‘The Future’ Issue

Not shying away from the hard questions, he doesn’t blink when asked about the pill epidemic. “It’s never gonna change, it’s only going to get worse. Rappers are never going to stop talking about drugs unfortunately. I do it myself. So, I can’t contradict on that. It’s like a foundation we built. We didn’t do it for them to do drugs, but we do it because…I ain’t going to lie, it’s a selfish thing. It’s the selfish part of us. I talk about drugs in my music because I want certain people to gravitate, certain fans that I don’t have. ‘People out here doing drugs, all right let’s get them. You know that’s just how I think. It’s a business at the end of the day.”

Boasting confidence and business sense, A Boogie already considers himself a Bronx legend. “I feel like I’m a part of it now, I don’t just feel, I am a part of it. Being a part of it just makes me feel like I’m doing it at a pace where I got so much more time to put in, I can’t wait until I really reach my peak.”  He also has an exclusive deal with the iconic brand PUMA synonymous with New York Hip-Hop. “I gotta give it up to Biggs, Chief, Emory and my manager Emm for that one. That one came about through relationships and that’s what life is all about these days. Music is just the beginning, You see how some people say the most successful people in the world have five businesses? I want to have at least 15-to-20 businesses one day so I can be three times more successful than the most successful people.” 

Read More: A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie signs Publishing Deal with Reservoir

As for the future, A Boogie is gearing to release more music. “Right now, I’m working on Artist 2.0. I’m overloaded with songs. I got a few projects that I can make right now, but I got to make it make sense. That’s all I do, just puzzle things together and make sure I make a good project every time. And I’m working on my singles. I’m trying to get my couple number one records and it never stops.”

The post FROM THE ISSUE: A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie is The Future of Hip-Hop appeared first on The Source.

Social media in more than an avenue for people to gather and share information. It’s a landscape that provides access to fortune and fame. B. Lou has optimized this road to the lifestyle of the rich and famous by taking hold of all that it offers (fans, marketing platforms and influencer status) and blowing.  While we are not sure about the fortune (Forbes estimate his bag at $2M), this YouTube star has achieved a level of success that many new rappers would kill to have.

READ MORE: [PROFILE FROM THE MAGAZINE] Unsigned Hype Tsu Surf

Hailing from Tulsa, Oklahoma, this high school football player turned Tuber, has built his 2.3 million fanbase as a vlogger. Now, he is blazing the net with songs like “Afford It” and “Too Much” making it clear that he has been planning this musical take over for years. His recent music affiliations with DDG and his appearances on the “Breaking the Internet Tour” was all a good look for his young emcee to watch.

The post [PROFILE FROM THE MAGAZINE] Unsigned Hype B. Lou appeared first on The Source.

In the latest issue of The Source Magazine #274—on stands now— Journalist Courtney Brown covers the topic of Female Camaraderie. After witnessing many public spats between women on social media and everyday life, we raise the question, do women still support women?

In a world full of drama, cattiness and jealousy sometimes we have to wonder do women still even like women. While we have recently seen various female MC’s attack one another publicly, recent collaborations like Megan thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj give us hope that women can learn to lift one another up again.

Here’s an excerpt from the conversational feature in the newest The Source Magazine.

If you wander into the comment section of any gossip page on Instagram, you’ll bump into a myriad of comments about random women.  ‘That’s not real, she had her body done’…’She doesn’t deserve that’…’, ‘I just don’t like her’. While we are fortunate enough to witness feminists movements and celebrities who push the ‘Girls Rule The World’ theory, it’s also become the norm to witness everyday women tearing one another down.

The birth of social media has morphed into a gift and a curse.  It became a place to create revenue for entrepreneurs at every level also becoming a necessary tool for interacting with fans and promoting new material. The curse? These adored apps have made it easy for anyone with Wifi to voice their opinions without discretion on a platform where millions are watching.

Season after season we witness popular reality TV shows showcasing the breakdown of female companionships. Arguments, and disagreements are generally the format leading to friendships being torn down without any resolution or restoration.  Shade has become a new form of entertainment while insults are hurled, judgements are made and secrets are exposed all in the name of good TV. Cardi B and Nicki Minaj engaged in a very public dispute that sent their respective fans the ‘Bardi Gang’ and the ‘Barbies’ verbally attacking each other through social media.  While history has shown that hip hop fans enjoy a good rap battle, where is the line drawn?

Rapper Babs Bunny from the group Making Da Band and CEO of the female battle league Queen Of The Ring believes there is no line and women are made to feel there can only be one winner.  “I think it’s hard for females to support each other because there’s not too many open spots for us at the top. For so long its only been one or two females popping at the same time. So why should I support you and you might take the spot I want?” In hip hop, women can sometimes fare just as aggressive as their male counterparts and Babs is no stranger to that. “The worst insult I’ve heard in a Q.O.T.R. battle was when one of the girls spoke about her opponent having an abortion at a young age…the way she set it up was so disrespectful and shocking.” Despite the shock value of such vicious bars she insists it’s all fair game.  “There are no rules in battle rap. Only the strong will survive. Anything goes. You are fighting to win—you better hit below the belt!” Babs exclaims. “The girls know this is a sport when they step in the ring. No one likes a sore loser. Just like boxing… you fight, knock someone out and then stand next to each other and give an interview and talk about how great the fight was.”

For the rest of the article pick up your issue today. On stands and select drugstores and Barnes and Noble.

The post Female Camaraderie: Does It Still Exist? appeared first on The Source.

Newark’s own Tsu Surf has all the makings to become a rap force, and can now count being in the exclusive Unsigned Hype fraternity as an accomplishment under his belt.

He has a lyrical heritage that affords him equity with some of the dopest emcees in the game. He also has peer cosigns that reads like a who’s who in the rap world, counting Nipsey Hussle and Chris Brown as celebs that have stamped him official. But what regrettably gives “The Wave” entry into a familiar club that boast in its membership, Tupac and 50 Cent, is him being shot 5 times. Out of trauma, he has emerged focused on using his musical prowess as a flame-spitter to be the superstar everyone believes he is. Songs like “My Mother’s House” has caught music lovers by storm. His new album Seven 25 is moving him towards that goal.  And just in time, the industry has been waiting on Surf get tidal wave over the competition.

READ MORE:The Rap Community Reacts to Tsu Surf Being Shot

This summer he plans to drop a mixtape with Mozzy and will be up to battle in the SMACK/URL event of the year, Summer Impact. At SI, this August 10th,  he partners with Tay Roc to form the mega duo “Guntitles” and will be battling Loaded Lux and Hollow Da Don (Loaded Hollows).

Check out his song “At My Mother’s House” and be on the look out for new book and single, House in Virginia sold exclusively on amazon.

Fans can also watch his legendary battle against Geechi Gotti on the SMACK/URL app as it dropped today.

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@geechi_gotti vs @tsu_surf Just Dropped On The #URLApp #YouCantCopyRespect #AppGang

A post shared by SMACK WHITE (@smackwhite) on Jul 25, 2019 at 5:14am PDT

A year ago today, July 25th, Tsu Surf was shot. Fortunately, he remains here to wreck shop.

The post [PROFILE FROM THE MAGAZINE] Unsigned Hype Tsu Surf appeared first on The Source.

The Source has hit 30 years in our illustrious history. We are continuing the tradition of highlighting the torchbearers who have made Hip-Hop as great as it is today while connecting with the rising talent that is vital to the longevity of our culture. Since our inception, The Source has been the hub for both the icons and the future leaders, dedicating content to both sides from cover to cover. That mission is once again evident in our new issues.

This issue, #276, is the inaugural Future Issue. For those who have flipped the pages of The Source for years or took it as a personal duty as a Hip-Hop fan to do their Googles, a pillar of our historic run is the “Unsigned Hype” section. The Future Issue is an expansion of that section and pointing you toward who will be the ones that will own a permanent position on Billboard and Apple charts, check a bag with impactful business ventures and dictate the way the world consumes Hip-Hop for years.

To be selected for the Future Issue, your music is ringing off in the hottest clubs, blasting from cars and lighting up the airwaves. Opening a spectrum and covering multiple degrees of exposure, the Future Issue will break down artists into three areas: Advanced, Intermediate and Newly Signed.

Ushering in the Future Issue era are two cover stars: Atlanta’s Lil Baby and New York City rising star A Boogie wit da Hoodie.

In case you didn’t know, there aren’t many stars with a brighter future than Lil Baby.

Examine the hits and projects that Lil Baby dropped and it is hard to imagine that he could be considered a rookie. It’s even crazier to think that the Atlanta native has really just started to rap. With a successful stretch of mixtapes, a debut album that rocked the game and an occasional running mate in Gunna, Baby’s star is bright as any young artist in the game. Add in his business acumen, leading to a new label and rubbing elbows with executives and we have the evidence of a rising powerhouse.

The Future Issue will also expand on the Unsigned Hype section, crafting it to exist int he 2019 landscape of Hip-Hop. In a Hip-Hop hub like NYC, Atlanta or Los Angeles, you are hard pressed to find an artist who is rising and not affiliated with an organization, many of them are imprints of their own. The empowerment of the Hip-Hop culture is on a grander stage than the days of hoping one would be picked up by the suits at one of three powerhouses. With that said, we are able to identify a squad of spitters who are ready to take over your wireless headphones, 10 of them, who are primed to be your favorite stars.

With all of that said, welcome to the Future Issue, examine each page and person, then see who will be next. The inaugural issue is ushered in by Lil Baby and a crop of new talent to change everything and make the culture even bolder.

The post Exclusive: Lil Baby Represents Atlanta on the Cover of The Source’s Inaugural ‘The Future’ Issue appeared first on The Source.

Throughout The Source’s 30 year history, we have consistently created a platform that recognizes and honors the pioneers of the culture while simultaneously engaging talent discovery like no other media outlet. Celebrating the pioneers and spotlighting new artists has been our mission since the late 80s and has been intricately woven into each issue.  This issue is no exception.

While it is no exception, it is an expansion.

In #276, our inaugural Future Issue, The Source has published an offering that has expanded the definition of Hip-Hop’s future, and our corporate understanding of one of our tentpole franchise, “Unsigned Hype.” From now and forever more, the Future issue will look at those artists in rap music that we believe will dominate the charts, business and culture of Hip-Hop for the next few years. We determined this by carefully evaluating the last five years of their careers— their impact on radio, clubs, the business rooms, and the streets. Emcees are divided into three sections: Advanced, Intermediate, and Newly Signed. Make sure you check out which of your favorite musicians made our list.

This duo cover issue will feature New York’s own A Boogie wit da Hoodie and Atlanta’s Lil Baby.

Why A Boogie?

Boogie, with his child-like smile and energy, is putting New York back on a map with his sophomore album Hoodie SZN, that debuted at #1 on Billboard earlier this year. Inside the issue, readers will get an exclusive look into what makes him tick and how his journey has prepared him for his recent stardom.

The issue also gently urges our audience to roll with us as we re-examine the beloved “Unsigned Hype” section. Gone as the days when Matty C used to delve into a pile of cassette submissions to find the hidden rap jewels such as Biggie Smalls, Mobb Deep, Wale, Vic Mensa and the Academy-Award winner, Common. Now, unsigned artists are entrepreneurial in spirit and have their own record labels, have generated revenue and digital clout by utilizing the internet and social media to create an international fan-base and understand brand building like never before. So, we have picked 10 rappers from across the country that we believe have the best buzz and talent to make it in the big leagues.

The Future Issue will not only change how you look at the artists that come across your airwaves but shift how you digest new music and the artists that make it so damn good. A Boogie and his colleagues in this new exclusive fraternity will simply blast off— and we told you first.

The post Exclusive: A Boogie wit da Hoodie Represents New York City on the Cover of The Source’s Inaugural ‘The Future’ Issue appeared first on The Source.

Since its inception in 2004, Facebook has served as not just the world’s largest social media platform, but also as an inadvertent cultural influence, providing almost two billion users with news, media, advertising, and other social influence. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that social media has revolutionized the Hip-Hop industry in the way that music and other art are shared, marketed, and promoted, as well as from where artists may draw influence. 

Yet, as is often the case, the good (especially things that are free) comes the bad. While Cardi B’s Invasion of Privacy was one of 2018’s hottest-selling albums, it might have also been dubbed as Facebook’s alleged tagline for 2018. 

READ MORE: Facebook’s Uncertain Future: Privacy Concerns Draw Ire From Users, Politicians

The last year capped off several years of privacy issues facing Facebook: questionable data sharing processes, issues about how user information is used, accusations of timeline manipulation, plus a host of other concerns. On March 26, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) began conducting a detailed investigation  into Facebook’s privacy practices. The year-long investigation remains ongoing, and almost monthly seems to turn up new evidence of purported wrongdoing by Facebook allegations that range from the privacy invasion to political hacking and internal discrimination.

While the average social media user has the option to simply walk away from Facebook, for those in the Hip-Hop industry it’s difficult to do so since a social media presence is required, even for the mega stars. Accordingly, it’s best to wise-up and learn the Facebook privacy issues, as well as other social media and online platforms, as Facebook is not alone in wide-scale mistakes impacting users.

Possible Compromised Intellectual Property

While Facebook is no stranger to questionable advertising policies, the issues were typically relegated to publicly available profile information. Yes, Facebook could see users’ hometown, current city, age, relationship status, interests, friends list, etc. The end result was typically a barrage of ads for local businesses, graphic t-shirts, and other products or services that advertisers had deemed relevant. While this type of information gathering has been standard procedure with almost all search engines, major retail websites, and social media platforms for decades, practices have generally been limited to geotargeting and collecting demographic 

that social media has also changed. He pointed out the ongoing, significant effect of social media on both individuals and corporate America in general. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube provide Hip-Hop artists with the opportunity to launch new music and products, push upcoming concert performances in local venues, or simply connect directly with their avid fans without having to get permission or clearance from their record companies or attorneys. 

READ MORE: Snoop Dogg Speaks Out After Facebook Bans Minister Louis Farrakhan

For major Hip-Hop artists, Facebook has done an excellent job of providing a centralized location for artists such as Post Malone, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Nicki Minaj, and other big names to share new music, videos, concerts and events, and other announcements all in one central location rather than requiring users to scroll through a feed (such as with Twitter or Instagram).

Yet by identifying an artist’s fans through a third party app, another record label or artist could essentially “poach” the fans by marketing to them through paid ads–a practice of skewed promotion to the disadvantage of new and emerging artists.

A Manipulated Fan Base

In July of 2014, Facebook data scientists, working loosely in conjunction with Cornell University researchers, conducted a mood-manipulation experiment on thousands of unknowing users. In the experiment, Facebook altered users’ news feeds to show more positive or negative posts, testing whether emotional contagion occurs outside of in-person interaction between individuals by reducing the amount of emotional content in the news feed. The study’s hypothesis was to show that emotions could spread on social media. The controversial results were published in an academic research paper for the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, where the research supervisors noted that the study was conducted under the direction of Facebook’s policies and, therefore, did not fall under the regulations of the International Review Board (the committee that oversees academic research).

This exercise shows that Facebook has the power to manipulate news feeds to influence the feelings of users. Facebook does not regulate the sharing of false news from third party blog sites. In 2017, DMX, Tyga, and Rick Ross were just some of the celebrities whose photos were used in conjunction with fake stories on Breitbart Insider, a semi-satirical news site.

Big Brother-esque Surveillance 

While the idea of increased government surveillance might sound a bit tin foil hat-leaning, the truth is that throughout human history, it has traditionally been in the best interest of governments to oppress views that significantly deviated from their own. From a historical perspective, musicians and other artists have often led counterculture charges that oppose the views of the government or ruling elite. In fact, Hip-Hop’s earliest roots date back to using art to protest issues of the day. 

In one of its numerous investigations into Facebook, the FTC complained that Facebook exposed users’ profile information, including “potentially controversial political views or other sensitive information,” to third parties. Granted, most of what Hip-Hop artists say online is public, but that would require human evaluation. With a Facebook algorithm monitoring millions of posts per week looking for key words, likes, shares, and other social media metrics, it would be very easy for a computer to identify the biggest proponents of “deviant” ideologies. Since Facebook is a private entity, it reserves the right to remove content that is determined to be offensive, determination based on loose standards and subjective, seemingly ever-changing opinion. 

READ MORE: Soulja Boy Promotes His App During Instagram and Facebook Shut Down

The FTC investigation in the spring of 2018 found that the disgraced Cambridge Analytica regularly used information to build a “psychographic” OCEAN profile of users (the OCEAN acronym stands for openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism). Researchers associated with Cambridge University claimed in a paper that it “can be used to automatically and accurately predict a range of highly sensitive personal attributes including: sexual orientation, ethnicity, religious and political views, personality traits, intelligence, happiness, use of addictive substances, parental separation, age, and gender.” Combined with the fact that a computer algorithm has the capability to build a psychological profile of a user along with the ability to see that user’s friends or fans, then the much-bragged about logistic/linear regression model could also have an impact on an artist’s fans, either from unscrupulous advertisers or unwarranted government surveillance. 

Even if Facebook did not remove content, it clearly has the ability to manipulate content. Since Facebook is also a crucial power and promotional tool that allows fans to stay in touch with their favorite artists, giving them the power to connect with said artists through Facebook posts, replies, and messages, manipulating an artist’s content from their fans’ newsfeeds would have a significant impact on the artist’s message and influence. Given the clear privacy challenges, the question is whether or not Facebook has too much power. 

The post FROM THE SOURCE ISSUE 274: The Facebook Dilemma appeared first on The Source.

Featured in The Source Magazine’s new Power 30 issue #274, journalist Courtney Brown covers the life of the talented and beautiful Kim Porter. Her death shocked the world when she passed away just one month shy of her 47th birthday. Adored for her electrifying smile and soothing spirit, hip hop’s First Lady will forever be missed.

Check out an excerpt from the article below.

Behind every bad boy there’s usually a women assisting and uplifting him as he attempts to conquer the world.  Before we knew her as the righthand and mother to Sean ‘Diddy’ Comb’s four children and Al B. Sure’s son Quincy, model/actress Kim Porter was known as the ultimate trendsetter of Columbus, Georgia.  The hip-hop scene in the 90’s was a monumental time where original fashions were born and new sounds were created.  During a time when colorism was noticeably enforced in the music industry, Kim’s bronzed-beauty was a breath of fresh air as she appeared in various music videos including the Heavy D video ‘Truthful’.  She modeled for major campaigns like Revlon and Tommy Hillfiger before solidifying herself on the runway as a supermodel.  When she began dating Diddy in the late 90’s, African-American girls silently cheered as her flawless chocolate-colored skin was pushed to the forefront covering magazines and various red carpets representing a generation of brown girls.

Kim and The Combs family became our unofficial cousins. We watched Diddy’s excitement when the couple announced their son Christian’s arrival and then their twins D’Lila Star and Jessie James. Always the life of every party, Kim also co-owned an event and marketing firm Three Brown Girls with her closest friends .  She also appeared on the TV series Law & Order, Wicked Wicked Games and VH1’s Single Ladies and a slew of other movies.  Widely known in Atlanta, Georgia for knowing the top movers and shakers in the industry, Kim was also monumental in helping a slew of today’s biggest artists get their break in the entertainment business including Janelle Monae.  “When I moved to ATL, I was passionate about being an artist but had not gained much exposure,” Monáe wrote on Instagram. “If it had not been for you and the Three Brown Girls (Your company w/ Nicole Johnson & Eboni Elektra) belief in me & inviting me out to do your open mic night ‘Lip Service’ at Justin’s restaurant, my career would have been on another path.  “You lovingly connected me with two key players that helped move my career forward.”

For the rest of the story, pick up the new issue of The Source Magazine out on stands and selected retailers now!

Check out one of our favorite throwbacks Heavy D ‘Truthful’ starring Kim Porter.
They are both missed.

The post Kim Porter: An Angel In Disguise appeared first on The Source.

This article is an extended version of a feature originally published in The Source Magazine “Power 30” Issue #274

KICKS.
GAME.
PROPER.

The Hottest Releases From the Holiday 2018 Season
That You Can Still Cop for Spring 2019

Creative: Keenan Higgins
Photography: Patrick Neree
Photography Assistant: Shawn Crawford

This past winter we got hit with something way better, and definitely way more fresh, than seasonal end-of-year snowfall — that was reserved for March 2019 surprisingly! It proved to be one of the best sneaker release seasons in recent history, and the ones featured here were easily some of the hardest Fall/Winter 2018 drops to catch our eye. We hit the courts at Court 16 — Tennis Remixed in Long Island City, Queens, New York to serve up just how bright the future is when it comes to the footwear game in Spring 2019 and beyond.
Copped yours yet?

Read along for a sneaker guide to kicks still available from our
“Power 30” Issue that’s on newsstands right now:

Nike Air Max Plus “Hyper Blue” – $160 USD

Shop Here: Foot Locker

Tyler, The Creator x Converse Chuck Taylor 70 Hi
“Artist Series” (Wyatt Navarro) – $79.99 USD

Shop Here: Foot Locker

adidas Crazy BYW X “Cloud White / Collegiate Navy / Bright Red” – $90 USD

Shop Here: adidas

adidas Crazy BYW “Real Purple / Core Black / Cloud White” – $150 USD

Shop Here: adidas

adidas Crazy BYW II “Core Black / Real Purple / Cloud White” – $80 USD

Shop Here: adidas

Timberland x Champion 6″ Premium Boot “Surf Blue” – $159.99 USD

Shop Here: Foot Locker

Timberland x Champion 6″ Premium Boot “Steeple Grey” – $200 USD

Shop Here: Eastbay

Reebok Classic Leather Ripple ‘Alter The Icons’
“Toxic Yellow / Coll Navy / Primal Red / Clover Green” – $85 USD

Shop Here: Eastbay

Andrew Charles New York Men’s Brogue Oxford Shoe
914 Abrasivato Camoscio Bleu – $271.53 USD

Shop Here: Andrew Charles Store

Converse x Vince Staples Thunderbolt – $110 USD

Shop Here: SSENSE

OBRA Canvas Low Full Cap “White / Utility Orange / OBRA Blue” – $140 USD

Shop Here: OBRA

Air Jordan 11 “Concord” – $299 USD – $575 USD (vary by size)

Shop Here: Stadium Goods

Be sure to follow us into 2019 for the latest sneaker content by checking us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Also, see these items and more in the latest issue of The Source Magazine, available on newsstands now!

The post Kicks. Game. Proper: The Source Magazine’s #Power30 Sneaker Guide appeared first on The Source.

This article is an extended version of a feature originally published in The Source Magazine “Power 30” Issue #274

“POWER PLAYS”

On-Trend Swag For Him & Her

Creative: Keenan Higgins
Photography: Bola Ogungbuyi + Patrick Neree

In order to achieve grandmaster status when it comes to starting the season off right on a consumer level, no games can be played when hitting these streets to shop — okay, maybe a quick game of life-sized chess courtesy of our friends at Giant Outdoor Chess, but that’s another story. From gloves to gear, and definitely some vintage vinyl tunes for a nice mix of musical selections, we definitely got you covered on everything you wish you would’ve gotten this past holiday. It’s cool, though; never too late to swag out for the new year, right?

Keep scrolling for the ultimate shopping guide to everything worth copping to start your spring season off right:

HIS #SOURCESTYLE:

Wu-Tang Clan – Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) [Vinyl] – $19.09 USD

FOR:
“The Wu-Tang Fam”
Shop Here: We Are Vinyl

Casio G-SHOCK GMWB500D-1 – $500 USD

FOR:
“The Platinum Player”
Shop Here: G-SHOCK

Run-DMC – “Christmas In Hollis” 12″ LP [Vinyl] – $19.09 USD

FOR:
“The One in Charge of Holiday Music”
Shop Here: We Are Vinyl

Lafayette x Realtree Fleece Glove – $60.00 USD

FOR:
“The Tree Hugger With Swag”
Shop Here: PRIVILEGE

DMX – Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood 2LP 20th Anniversary [Vinyl] – $15.98 USD

FOR:
“Fans of ‘The Original X'”
Shop Here: Urban Legends

Playboy x Alpha Industries MA-1 Blood Chit – $200.00 USD

FOR:
“The Lifelong Playboy”
Shop Here: Alpha Industries

Big Pun – Capital Punishment 20th Anniversary [Vinyl] – $31.29 USD

FOR:
“Those That Still Believe In Capital Punishment”
Shop Here: Target

Samsung AKG Y500 Wireless Headphones – $149.99 USD

FOR:
“Mr. Audiophile”
Shop Here: Samsung

HER #SOURCESTYLE:

Aaliyah – “Back & Forth” (Colored “Record Store Day 2018″ 12” LP) [Vinyl] – $13.95

FOR:
“The Hip-Hop Princess”
Shop Here: Turntable Lab

Casio G-SHOCK GMAS120MF-4A – $130 USD

FOR:
“The Rose That Grew From Concrete”
Shop Here: G-SHOCK

TLC – CrazySexyCool 2LP [Vinyl] – $20.22 USD

FOR:
“The Triple Threat”
Shop Here: We Are Vinyl

Oakley Latch Key L Sunglasses (also an RX option) “Matte Brown Tortoise / Sapphire Iridium Polarized” – $193 USD

FOR:
“The Sun-Loving Stylista”
Shop Here: Oakley

Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill 2LP [Vinyl] – $20.22 USD

FOR:
“Your Late Friend That’s Always the Life of the Party”
Shop Here: We Are Vinyl

aarke Carbonator II “Brass” – $199 USD

FOR:
“The ‘If Oprah Likes It, I Love It!’ Shopper”
Shop Here: aarke

Mary J. Blige – What’s The 411? – 2LP [Vinyl] – $29.98 USD

FOR:
“The Eternal Queen”
Shop Here: Urban Legends

Samsung AKG Y100 Wireless Earphones – $99.99 USD

FOR:
“Mrs. Audiophile”
Shop Here: Samsung

Be sure to follow us into 2019 for more style-geared content by checking us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Also, see these items and more in the latest issue of The Source Magazine, available on newsstands now!

The post Power Plays: The Source Magazine’s #Power30 Shopping Guide appeared first on The Source.

[jwplayer wRF4EAIs]
Each year, The Source is charged with the controvertible tasks planning and reporting on the most powerful moguls and generals in Hip-Hop culture. This list expands beyond the artists and creative side of the game; this is about POWER!!! As The Source recounts who made the most impact in Hip-Hop culture this past year, created new business models and left a powerful mark for others to learn and follow, we are proud to present to you The Source Issue number #274. The behind-the-scenes industry players, radio and digital media, as well as topics like politics, technology and getting that bag. While deliberating who would make the cover of POWER30 should have been a tough call, not this year. Straight from the home of the trap, Quality Control Music family has the game in Checkmate. As a relatively new entertainment dynasty, QC and their management arm, Solid Foundation, may arguably be the most powerful squad in modern day Hip-Hop.

Each of QC’s artists, starting with their flagship super-stars Migos, then Lil’ Yachty, Lil’ Baby, City Girls and their management stars like Cards B and Trippie Redd all have made a distinctive mark and charted new territory. However, this wave of success did not come out of nowhere, their success comes with the coveted influence and careful guidance of their leaders, Coach K and Pee who have deep insights and roots in the world of music, hustle, trouble, and stardom.

With the Hottest Hip-Hop artists wearing the QC chain, Quality Control has the game in a trap!!! Check The Source POWER30 cover stars Quality Control — It’s CHECKMATE!!!

Also, get the issue out on Newsstands everywhere for the exclusive Power30 Conversation with power attorney and Publisher L. Londell McMillan with Coach K and Pee from Quality Control. In the interview, they share some of their top secrets and dreams, including their dream of one day being included in POWER30 and on the cover of The Source.

Welcome to the POWER30 — The Dream is Real.

The post Exclusive: Quality Control Music, Migos, Lil’ Yachty, Lil’ Baby & City Girls Crown The Source POWER30 Cover appeared first on The Source.

[WATCH NOW]
[jwplayer oYqLZNzh]
It’s pretty obvious to anyone paying attention to Hip-Hop right now that Yung Miami and JT — the Florida-bred female rap duo better known as City Girls — are currently the chicks in charge. Their recently released music video for the remix to “Twerk” featuring Cardi B nearly broke the Internet last week, and we won’t be surprised to see the single rise up the Billboard 100 chart in the very near future because of it.

We got a chance to chop it up with Yung Miami — your girl is holding you down out here, JT! — here at The Source HQ in New York for a full breakdown of all things City Girls, including how their breakout hit “I’ll Take Your Man,” the Salt-N-Pepa sampled cut off their debut mixtape PERIOD, was actually inspired by one hilarious real-life event. She also speaks on how they got signed to Quality Control, the advice they’ve received from the label homies Migos, how their lives changed after being featured on Drake’s worldwide smash “In My Feelings,” and exactly what makes Girl Code the album you need to be spinning right now.

Watch our full “Up In The Source” feature with Yung Miami above, and stay tuned for a special announcement coming very soon!

The post UP IN THE SOURCE | City Girls’ Yung Miami Speaks on Her Bond with JT, Working With QC and Taking Your Man in Real Life appeared first on The Source.

The article was originally published in Issue #272 “The Life And Times Of Tupac Shakur”
written by Chrystal Matthews

This issue honors Tupac Shakur; the man, the artist and the transformative rapper for his contributions to Hip Hop music, lifestyle, culture and the entertainment industry as a whole. We respect Tupac for his bold lyrics that were both real and raw. Tupac had an undeniable ability to penetrate and articulate the culture through the eyes of a young Black man, who felt he had been marginalized and unfairly labeled by mainstream America.

Where did all of this passion and fervor originate? How were his revolutionary lyrics birthed? By Tupac’s own admission, his mother, the late Afeni Shakur, was an impactful force in his life, affecting his way of thinking and initially crafting the lens with which his lyrics were framed. Afeni Shakur was a revolutionary with the Black Panther Party in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. She fought against racial discrimination, social injustices, and the Vietnam War. Having been wrongfully accused and charged with 31 counts of criminal offenses including conspiracy,  Afeni Shakur refused to accept the status quo and forged ahead believing that injustice had to be stopped.

Ms. Shakur’s life story is one of highs and lows, as she was a single mother who overcame homelessness and drug addiction. Her passion to see other young mothers and people of color thrive in the face of unjust laws and oppressive policies was remarkable. But, her social awareness and influence on Tupac Shakur, one of the greatest rappers of all time, is one of her most far reaching accomplishments.

We can trace Ms. Shakur’s influence on Tupac best by reviewing of some of his lyrics. We see Afeni’s reflection when Tupac talks about rioting for social change. We see her tenderness in “Dear Mama” as Tupac rhymes, “Ain’t a woman alive that can take my mama’s place..”. We see Ms. Shakur in Tupac’s hit, “Live and Die in L.A.”, where he laments the unfair treatment by the police toward black and brown people, and declares equality for all. Pac echo’s his mother’s mission for helping single mothers, the disenfranchised, and the wrongfully accused in his lyrics in songs such as “Keep Your Head Up”. Finally, Tupac argues in Dear Mama, “Through the drama, I can always depend on my momma, I appreciate the love you gave me..”

A great testament to the impact of a mother’s love is when the mother’s values are reflected in the daily lives of her son or daughter. Tupac’s love for his mother and his mother’s love for him is showcases the loving and endearing side of a complex, yet sensitive man, who cared for his people. His passion was undeniable and so was the love and passion he had for his mother, Afeni Shakur.

The Source salutes Afeni Shakur for her revolutionary love that has changed us all!

The post Today in Hip Hop History: The Remarkable Life of Afeni Shakur Comes to an End (Jan. 10, 1947-May 2, 2016) appeared first on The Source.

This article was originally published in The Source “Power 30” Issue #273

DANIEL CAESAR

Freudian

Golden Child Recordings
Production: Alex Ernewein, Daniel Caesar, Jordan Evans, Matthew Burnett, & Riley Bell

Daniel Caesar took the R&B scene by storm. Just two years after the release of his debut EP, the 22-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter enchants with Freudian. Caesar proves that he knows his gospel as well as he knows his R&B. He refashions familiar tunes of Kirk Franklin on “Hold Me Down” and Kyle David Matthews on “We Find Love” – both into a testament to romantic loyalty.

Freudian opens with 2016’s single “Get You” featuring Kali Uchis; “Best Part” with H.E.R. follows. The album is beautifully warm, filled with love ballads sure to make your heart and mind melt. Almost in closing, Daniel Caesar makes amends on “Blessed” (“Yes I’m a mess but I’m blessed to be stuck with you”). Freudian is a breath of a fresh air in the era of synths and “trap&B” with its pianos and guitars. A must-listen for long winter evenings.

The post Record Report: ‘Freudian’, Daniel Caesar (Album Review) appeared first on The Source.

This article was originally published in The Source “Power 30” Issue #273

MIGUEL

War & Leisure

RCA/ByStorm
Production: Miguel, Mark Pitts, and more

Since 2010, Miguel has consistently delivered solid projects. With the release of his fourth studio album, War & Leisure, he’s done it again. Although it has never been his M.O. to stray too far from traditional R&B, he uses this album to explore new experimental sounds, expanding on his usual implementation of Rock and Funk. Listeners knew he was coming with unique edge when he released the album’s lead single, “Skywalker” featuring Travis Scott. The opposing forces came together perfectly, with Travis’ alternative delivery complementing Miguel’s serene tones.

The title fits the album, as he uses metaphors that equate love to war throughout the project. The first track, “Criminal,” features the one and only Rick Ross, and is reminiscent of melodies on Miguel’s second studio album Kaleidoscope Dream (2012). With a calming-yet-dangerous vibe, it is a strong opener that accurately introduces what is to come.

At its start, it sounds as if the album is going to be about finding ways to escape dark times, but its theme is less blunt, and Miguel uses more intricate storytelling to get his messages across. It’s an album about love that easily brings listeners into a euphoric state.

From songs that will take you on Cloud 9 and make you want to love somebody, like “Pineapple Skies” and “Banana Clip,” to songs that will make you feel like a sensual Greek god or goddess, like “Anointed,” War & Leisure is infused with a diverse blend of tracks to feed multiple alter egos.

The album shows Miguel’s growth as an artist into one who is taking more musical risks and dabbling in political references. He shows his everlasting dreamer mentality, and the freedom he promises his lovers extends to himself, as he indicates that he is the king of just letting go. With an impressive range, Miguel masters getting many different sounds to jell together cohesively.

His unyielding vocals paired with sultry sonics introduce a sexy record for those looking to relax and unwind. Each song on the 12-track album is smooth, calling for an easy-listening experience. It also has guest appearances by J. Cole, Salaam Remi, Kali Uchis and more. War & Leisure is sure to expand Miguel’s presence to other music genres, but we can trust that Miguel will never stop providing us the authentic soul that many modern-day artists lack.

The post Record Report: ‘War & Leisure’, Miguel (Album Review) appeared first on The Source.

Words by Sonya Davie
This article was originally published in The Source “Power 30” Issue #273

PAIN & HIP-HOP

Addressing Mental Wellness in Today’s Hip-Hop Culture

For decades, Hip-Hop artists have always used rap as an informal method of therapy.  Songs that depict the frailty of the artist’s emotional state are replacing lyrics that were once ego-driven and focused on materialism. Their lyrics are a telltale of what is felt but not being addressed. The negative experiences that many artists have survived may have inspired chart-producing hits, but those hits have not addressed the issue or trauma at hand.  

Most recently, one of hip-hop’s legends, Jay-Z, credited therapy for saving his marriage, stating, “I grew so much from the experience.” He discussed how growing up in the tough streets of Brooklyn caused him to emotionally shut down, which affected his relationship with women, including his wife. In 2016, Damon Dash appeared on VH1’s show Family Therapy and shared that he might have been wrong for not getting therapy sooner.  

Depression in the rap industry may come as a surprise to many of us looking in from the outside. From where we stand, we see beautiful women, loads of cash, luxury cars, and smiling faces. The Hip-Hop brand demands a level of grit and fearlessness. As an audience, we make it hard for rappers to have the room to candidly speak about their feelings or show much emotion. What efforts are being made to encourage artists to seek professional help?

Many patients who are mandated by the legal system to receive counseling are male. Primarily from underrepresented populations in New York City, these were not men who were exposed to, or would readily request counseling, but their circumstances dictated the need for a behavioral change. The discomfort that they anticipated was often replaced with relief at how comfortable they were in expressing their feelings.  It was not uncommon for me to hear, “I never told anybody this but…” They continue to confirm the critical need to open this forum.

Often times with the pressure to appear strong and in control, men mask their trauma and the stresses that follow. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD is defined as “a set of emotional problems that can occur after someone has experienced a terrible, stressful life event.” Not everyone that experiences trauma suffers from PTSD. It’s a diagnosis that has often referred to military personal or first responders, but anyone can suffer from it. Some of the long-term problems include feelings of helplessness, shame, sleep problems/nightmares, substance abuse, suicidal thinking and attempts, depression, hypervigilance, anxiety, and explosive anger. Kanye West’s emotional breakdown and hospitalization in October 2016 was reported to be caused by the approaching anniversary of the death of his mother on November 10, 2007. This is an example of the effects of trauma long after the experience occurs.

Some male artists are resorting to self-medication. They’re fighting depression and anxiety with alcohol and the illegal use of drugs like the benzodiazepine, Xanax. Rapper Vic Mensa told BuzzFeed News, “Self-medication is the name of the game in the culture of young black men in Hip-Hop.” Instead of working through the tough emotions, they may avoid them by substance abuse and becoming emotionally numb.

In 2014, hip-hop artist Pharoahe Monch released his album PTSD in which he candidly shared his battle with depression that was induced by his prescribed asthma medication.  

Regular exercise or the lack thereof can be a big contributor to mental wellness. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Research on depression, anxiety and exercise shows that the psychological and physical benefits of exercise can also help improve mood and reduce anxiety.”

In a recent interview with rapper Chi-Ali, he shared the pressures that male rappers face specifically because they are always in the spotlight. “The image thing is so big,” he said. He went on to share that his stress reliever is exercise. “Working out is my time to clear my head. Off with the phone and I get my mind right.”

There is tremendous pressure for Black men to have all the answers, usually with little to no guidance or mentoring. Rapper Stalley shared that artists are handling mental health issues by self-medication but they are open to therapy. He said, “We don’t know where to get help. In our community we hear ‘man up’ or ‘toughen up.’ It leads to depression or taking your own life.” The safe and supportive environment needed for Black men to talk or receive therapy has to continue to be a priority.  

Our male rappers need to feel comfortable with exploring the pain associated with their lyrics. A therapeutic environment is ideal because it ensures their information is confidential, with laws that are in place to protect their privacy. As the conversation in Hip-Hop continues, hopefully therapy will become a viable option.  

Sonya Davie is a licensed mental health counselor and certified health and life coach who works in private practice in New York City.

www.sonyadavie.com
Instagram: @sonyadavie
Twitter: @sonyadavie

The post Revisiting Our Conversation On Mental Wellness in Hip-Hop From The Source ‘Power 30’ Issue appeared first on The Source.

Words by Kiah Fields
This article was originally published in The Source Issue #272

What is a thug, but a mortal man? One engulfed in his own passion to change the world around him for better or worse? With the fire of his own strength fueling his every endeavor, a true thug moves to the beat of his own intuition. He knows his purpose, his place, and the road that lies ahead; and, although it may be one less traveled, he makes his stride with pride and commitment. A real thug needs no affirmation, he can go without collaboration, and is self-motivated to make his success undeniable. A true thug brings life to those around him.

The concepts behind Tupac Shakur’s infamous “Thug Life” mantra have nearly been forgotten. The model of collective struggle to overcome a bleak reality and the each-one-teach-one attitude that once was prominent in Hip-Hop culture, has now been replaced by a level of materialism and self-degradation that has warped the public perspective of what the genre really is about. Before his passing, Tupac was a man who stood for more than tattoos, women, money, bandanas, narcotics, and firearms. In true Gemini fashion, the duality of his message was one that has permeated Hip-Hop’s very core. Despite his brushes with the law and rough exterior, ‘Pac’s words of wisdom were not to be taken lightly. He was Hip-Hop’s own Huey Newton, a true servant to his craft and organizer of the ghetto. With every single released, every public appearance, every interview, ‘Pac moved as the prime example of an artist with a righteous cause.

In a 1994 interview, he guaranteed viewers that he will be the one to spark the mind that will effectively change this world for the better. Through his own “big mouth” and controversial truths, ‘Pac was certain he would not be one to save the world, but would definitely inspire the person who would. His entire existence and musical career were a call to action. He knew what time it was. He had an understanding that was beyond what most could ever hope to comprehend, and even with his untimely passing, was able to hold true to his promise- at a moment even he couldn’t predict or expect. 

Among the dust and rubble that surrounded the Compton Swap Meet, while Tupac and Dr. Dre recorded the timeless “California Love” music video, an eight-year-old Kendrick Lamar sat atop his father’s shoulders, enthralled by his own curiosity and excitement. His young mind had not yet found the right words to describe what he was feeling at that moment, but what was certain was that something in him changed forever. More than 20 years later he realized what it was; he was inspired. In an open letter to the late rapper, penned to commemorate the 20th anniversary of his passing, Lamar describes exactly what that moment did for him. From that moment, gazing at Tupac in his white Bentley scolding passing police officers for violating his personal space, Kendrick knew that he wanted to be a voice for all mankind one day; and since the release of his acclaimed To Pimp a Butterfly album in 2015 he has not quieted down. 

Kendrick Lamar has grown to become less concerned with the politics behind rap music and more with those who live and die by the message its lyrics portray. He has already begun to move away from radio directed hits such as m.A.A.d. city or Poetic Justice to give his audience a message they can hold in their hearts and minds as a positive example. With his past three albums, Kendrick has opened up a Pandora’s Box of streetwise consciousness in an attempt to expand the thoughts of his listeners past the materialism pushed by so many other popular artists. Kendrick holds the key to the city of Compton, literally! Beyond the music his actions in the realm of community service have already been enough to cement his name as one of, if not the, largest philanthropic contributor to the South Central neighborhood. He has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Los Angeles schools, specifically for sports, after school, and music programs, in the Compton Unified School District, keeping countless youth away from trouble of an unknown caliber. He has headlined concerts in support of battered women’s shelters, Indian rural development programs, American Red Cross relief for superstorm Sandy, and Habitats for Humanity using his platform to truly entice a change in not just the American people but the citizens of our planet. His presence in the Compton community has been felt in such a way that he was honored in 2015 in the California State Senate with the 35th District’s Generational Icon Award, adding yet another achievement to the 2-time Grammy Award winning, platinum selling artist’s repertoire.

Kendrick himself has made claims to be a “child of [Tupac’s] legacy”, and it can be said that the apple has not fallen too far from the tree. Tupac’s efforts to help instill moral values in the global community are well documented. His C.O.D.E. foundation, founded in 1994 with step-father Mutulu Shakur, kept the simple mission to keep black youth out of the prison system they were seemingly funneled into and decrease black on black crime in the United States. Pac also took to the streets to encourage collectiveness among the ‘ghetto’ community by petitioning high ranking gang members to sign the Code of Thug Life, and held the famous 1992 Truce Picnic to show the world that unity was possible in the hood.

Kendrick, who’s young life was very much affected by gang culture, has also made strides in ending gang violence, through his lyrics and a partnership with Reebok. He designed a pair of sneakers featuring one red shoe and one blue shoe to promote unity between the infamous Crips and Bloods gangs, notorious throughout California and the U.S. 

Tupac spared no expense when it came to touching the lives of his supporters in a positive way. There are countless stories of Tupac extending comfort, wisdom, and support to children, youth, and the community throughout his career. He has attended proms, thrown parties, taken fans to events, and even visited hospitals, without even being asked to show his face. Even now after his passing, The Tupac Shakur Foundation has been an outlet for community outreach and positivity. In the same vein, Kendrick has made his presence known throughout Compton, visiting schools and organizations that aid the lives of the city’s disadvantaged youth.

The immense similarities in the careers of these two decorated recording artists raises the question: is Kendrick Lamar the voice that Tupac was speaking of in his 1994 interview? It may be too early to draw a conclusion, but with what Kendrick has been able to accomplish in his 29 years of life, the sky’s the limit. With the reception of his last three albums, which are arguably his most socially charged, and the respect he has earned among his peers and colleagues, he is well suited to take the reins. Legends of West Coast Hip-Hop, including: Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, The Game, Warren G, and Kurupt, have already decided that Kendrick now sits on the throne after crowning him the new king of L.A. at his August 2011 concert at the Music Box in Hollywood. It is now up to K.Dot to continue to carry out the good work. 

Only time will tell if Kendrick will rise to become the cultural leader that he has the potential to be. He holds the hearts and minds of the people in an almost identical capacity as his idol, Tupac Shakur, and there isn’t much standing in the way of his success. At this point, All Eyez are on him.

The post California Love: Is Kendrick Lamar Tupac’s One True Heir? appeared first on The Source.

From our #263 issue

PQ1: “There’s something about communities and the ‘Wu-Tang’ model of having people collaborate with each other and individuals that are super creative.”

PQ2: “There’s this non existent line between electronic and hip hop. “

PQ3: “I remember when Ice-T came on tour for Lollapalooza with Body Count performing his ‘Cop Killa’ record and everybody was like, ‘What’s going on with hip hop mixing with punk rock music?’

Palm Springs, California is critically acclaimed for its year round sunshine, monumental music festivals and decadent luxury. Tonight’s star-studded grand opening at the Hard Rock Hotel Palm Springs features opulence at its best. Providing the soundtrack for the night are the Embassy DJ’s who consist of an eclectic group of creative driven individuals that play a mélange of musical selections. Actor and screenwriter Anders Holm of ‘The Workaholics’ fame, Peruvian native Ana Calderon who DJ’s for the biggest names in music, Zach Cowie who boasts an extensive music career and the infamous producer Chris Holmes who doubles as Paul McCartney’s DJ. Performing poolside tonight is electronic rock duo—Phantogram who implements an infusion of electronic loops, hip-hop beats and soul sounds and recently completed an untitled EP with Big Boi from the group Outkast. The fusion between music genres comes as no surprise as EDM has etched its name in music expounding from previous electronic disco music. EDM or Electronic Dance Music, is focused on dance based entertainment and includes many different genres of music– House music, Dub step, Drum and Bass, Mashups, Electro, and Trance to name a few. Disc Jockeys and producers synchronize beats that are used for mixes and played around the world. Hip Hop artists are continuing to express their love for the dance genre collaborating with some of EDM’s biggest stars. Skrillex, David Guetta, Disclosure, Diplo, Flosstradamus, Afrojack, Major Lazer, A-Trak, Tiësto and more have all remixed hits for some of hip-hop’s most notorious artists. Collaborations between diverse talents such as Borgore & Waka Flocka Flame, Iggy Azalea & Charli XCX, Diplo and Action Bronson have popped up drawing hip-hop heads over to the dance floor.

This evening, The Embassy DJ’s are prepping their sets for the mixed crowd of A-list celebrities and movers and shakers at the newly opened Hard Rock Hotel Palm Springs. Relaxing in the upscale Rock Star suite at the music inspired resort, Anders, Chris, Ana and Zach share there take on EDM and Hip Hop. Chris advocates the blending of the two genres. ”I love the stuff that’s happening now, a lot of the fusion is coming from the hip-hop artists themselves and pushing things in that direction. I think in the 60’s a lot of rock bands ripped off soul and blues and gospel artists and made white versions of the music.” He shares, “The soul is the most important thing with any music and I think that bringing that soul to electronic music has made electronic music infinitely better. It started off with the Afrika Bambaataa stuff, it’s a circular thing where it keeps inspiring itself…” Zach, who is an avid vinyl collector influenced by producer J.Dilla (and even sports a ‘Dilla’ tattoo) is impressed with Kanye West’s latest offering. “On a big scale, I’m obsessed with Yeezus, to me that’s punk rock.” He shares, “That record sounds exactly how the world feels to me. It’s anxious, it’s nervous, it’s on the edge and to address that rather then ignore it… I think is so bold. To do it on that level.” Anders chimes in, “He’s the biggest rapper in the world and decided to do an avant-garde record, that’s not traditional in any sense and makes everyone sit down and listen to it. So the first time you go through it, a lot of people are like there are no hits…but if you listen to it….” Unlike her peers, Ana disagrees with the Hip Hop/EDM collision, “I hate to be a downer, but I don’t think I’m super vibing off the huge EDM/Hip Hop mix scenario.” Zach cuts in, “Seems like a money grab. I think some of it is real and authentic some of it…” Ana continues, “Its fun to listen to its just not the direction I go.” Zach believes it’s all about getting the point across. “I think hip hop is about a message and I think to make sure the message gets heard it has to be put in a package that makes sense and the way the world feels and sounds so it makes sense to me that you integrate elements that you hear everywhere as a way to deliver your message. That’s the beautiful thing about hip hop, you can pull from anywhere.”

Although music genres are intertwining, it wasn’t always welcomed in Hip Hop. Chris witnessed this first hand, “I remember when Ice-T came on tour for Lollapalooza with Body Count performing his ‘Cop Killa’ record and everybody was like, ‘What’s going on with hip hop mixing with punk rock music?’ and then Public Enemy and Anthrax and they were like, ‘What’s going on with hip hop getting together with heavy metal?’ It just is. Its just music. It’s not race based, it’s universal. You meet people from Sweden who might be the best hip hop producer.” Ana states, “I think that’s the great story about music in general. Every major movement has changed, Seattle there was a scene that changed in the 90’s and created this new sound.”

Chris concludes, “There’s something about communities and the ‘Wu-Tang’ model of having people collaborate with each other and individuals that are super creative and that’s kind of in a way the basis of what we’re doing. Everybody has their own thing that they do but they get together and it empowers everyone and I think that’s a powerful message in hip hop.”

The four DJ’s retreat to the visually stunning DJ booth, known as the ‘Cube’ consisting of 500 recycled loudspeakers soldered together as an active public sound sculpture. Collectively they play a non-traditional mix of music that seduces the crowd into dancing all night. Back onstage, Phantogram is sharing their multifarious sounds to an enthused crowd at the premier Mecca for music lovers. As celebrities fill the private cabanas and feast on delectable dining, it’s quite obvious that EDM and hip-hop in any form is here to stay.

Famed producer/DJ Just Blaze who produced ‘Higher’ with Baauer and JAY-Z, one of the biggest trap records of 2013, says dance music and Hip Hop is nothing new. “There’s this non existent line between electronic and hip hop. “ Just reveals, “We make hip hop music on laptops…Computers run on electricity which means that they are electronic instruments.” He continues, “Enter Da Wu-Tang was made on an ASR-10 which is an electronic instrument. You can dance to hip-hop so the phrase EDM (electronic dance music) To me…I don’t really rock with it because I make music that you can dance to no matter what the tempo is. And I make it electronically. Stop putting music in boxes and genres. Enjoy the music.”

The post EDM Wouldn’t Exist if Wasn’t for Hip Hop appeared first on The Source.

From our #258 issue

“Remember, there is no more tapes, it’s CDs and mp3s, the title “mixtape” became so commercialized and the word just carried weight along the way. DJ Red Alert will agree with the original concept and purpose of a mixtape in the 1980s, which was a compilation of songs blended, mixed, and scratched by a DJ for parties. However, evolution is the gradual development of something, necessary change. Mixtapes has evolved to something that is actually hard to define, it’s a term commonly used in Hip Hop today but does not carry the same definition of when it was once created.

DJ Red Alert chimes in again by stating “Mixtapes started as party tapes, it got to a point where it was so popular, other DJs soon followed the same path. Executives from record companies thought instead of going to the radio, let’s get DJs to add their songs to their mixtape due to the power the DJ held in the streets.” A trend nonetheless, but the evolution started quickly from what was once a tape of songs masterfully placed together to express a artistic statement to a big business. To understand the evolution of the mixtape is to understand the relationship of record companies and the actual DJ. One of the transitions began when DJs were being pushed to the back of the line in the industry and record companies started to pay more attention to the actual artist creating the music. So if you think back during the Eric B. and Rakim, Pete Rock and CL Smooth, and Gangstarr era, you will realize there was a DJ there but changes were being made to concentrate on the artist. DJs had to make mixtapes to stay relevant once this begun.

Mixtapes later evolved to compilations of exclusives in the mid/late 1990s and early 2000s with DJs speaking over the songs and blending the records. Scratching was later a lost component. So what is a mixtape present day? Hip Hop is now one of the very few genres that constantly gives out free “original” music. Young Chris doesn’t agree with it, “It’s f***ing up our sh*t, man, of course I have to fall in line and compete with my peers like a Pusha T and a Young Jeezy, but we waste so much good material!” It doesn’t add up either, artists are killing themselves financially and creatively just to stay afloat.
Today, artists have ignored what the mixtape once was and some are releasing full bodies of original work, some are without DJs. Sounds like a free album opposed to a mixtape, what’s even more peculiar is the budget behind some of these projects from buying beats from well known producers and shooting videos as if it was an actual album.

To each its own, mixtapes actually work for certain artists. Some artists are now touring and getting booked for shows literally off the strength of their most recent mixtape. Neef Buck adds “A lot of songs also never get cleared for an album due to the sample used, so a artist may not want to waste their songs, so they’ll release it for free.” It’s a double edge sword and can be a gift and/or a curse for some artists. For instance, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Nas, Nicki Minaj, Drake, and a few others have yet to put out a mixtape since they’ve reached their peak in stardom and they don’t have to.

So why does an artist like Lil’ Wayne or Rick Ross continue to put out mixtapes after reaching that peak? Is it for relevancy, for shows, or just for the fun of it? DJ Camillo states “Artists have to be smart and careful when creating these mixtapes. Knowing the difference between album and mixtape material is important, albums are for sale and mixtapes are free.” Unfortunately, everyone can name rappers who’ve released mixtapes before their album as a warm-up and the mixtape ended up being superior to what was supposedly the anticipated product.

The post Mixtape or Album? There’s Practically No Difference in 2017 appeared first on The Source.

From our #264 issue

Tonight, Church Street Boxing Gym’s ring will serve as the platform for upcoming females to exchange vicious rap verses. Former Bad Boy Records protégée Babs Bunny—along with partners Vague & Debo have created the first female battle league — ‘Queen Of The Ring’. ‘Q.O.T.R.’ has broken barriers in the new emerge of female MC’s and bringing females with lyrical skills to the light. Babs explains, “They don’t really have a platform for females, my experience coming in the game was a lot different from other females so I wanted to do what Puff taught me—taking these fresh raw artist and giving them this platform.” Although battle rappers, signed artists, and independent artists are classified separately—a female who writes lyrics is a female rapper and women everywhere are stepping up to the mic. “We have put girls in the forefront that would have never been seen, never got a chance, or never got looked at, we made it to where your bars are what matters.”

The card for today includes Cee The Boss Vs My Verse, Ms. Queen Vs. Nina Cruzae, Casey Jay Vs. Deisel, Hazzy Vs. Precyse and Ms. Miami Vs. Norma Bayts. With the exception of the latter, most of tonight’s roster are less known than their more talked about counterparts. Watching ringside are top tier rappers Phara Funeral, C3, 40 B.A.R.R.S., and Don Ladyii– all fan favorites and in attendance to witness the next round of female battle MC’s ready to shine. This camaraderie is slowly making a comeback and with the new breakout of female MC’s, ladies are proving there is room for more than just one at the top. This year we saw Nicki rap besides Beyonce, Iggy gyrated with J.Lo, Timbaland’s protégé Tink buzzed nonstop and Dej Loaf’s single ‘Try Me’ was the new anthem. Other MC’s such as Nitty Scott, 3D Natee, Rapsody, Nyemiah Supreme, Asia Sparks, Tiffany Fox, Snow Tha Product, Sasha Go Hard, Dominique Young Unique, and Lee Mazin are quickly rising to mainstream notoriety while representing the less talked about rap gender. Hip-hop is beginning to revert back to talent and not the subjectification of female MC’s we’ve witnessed over the years. Babs Bunny enforces pushing talent to the front. “Body image has been important from the beginning of time until now. There was a time when the thick pin-up girls were in style. Then it changed. Now its the fake butt and fake titties that’s in,” she reckons. “It’s the guys that control it, and what their eyes want to see… that’s the reason I offer this platform, so that won’t be the case—when I’m auditioning these girls, I’m not telling them turn around let me see you’re a**, I’m telling them let me hear your bars.” Babs’ moniker B.O.E. (Bars Over Everything) is a staple at Queen Of The Ring. As in any competition, someone is always waiting to grab the top spot. “For each event, there’s a new girl who holds the crown.” Babs explains, “You’re as good as your last battle.” Although there are no official awards or accolades in battle rap, Babs considers it a favorite pastime. “It’s a sport… this game you got the MVP, lets see if you can keep it. Next game that s**t might pass to someone else.” Fortunately, Babs says if you are female with bars she’s got you covered “Q.O.T.R. is the home for female battle rappers and female rappers period. This is a movement for the females.” She reiterates, “These females are coming from the block and had 25 views on YouTube, now they have almost 1 million views. I’m the one believing in them when nobody else is and pushing out the money to give them this platform and taking that risk and saying, ‘Let me put this girl out here and see what she can do’.”

Tonight’s event, aptly titled ‘Murder She Wrote’ includes lyrics intertwined with women pulling personals, exposing secrets and some heckling– while pregnant from the sidelines. One of the headliner’s for the evening, Norma Bayts revels in returning to the ring. True to her moniker she enters the ring in a fashionable straitjacket with her game face on. “Being apart of Q.O.T.R. is always good. The best part of the night of course was my battle with Ms.Miami….a few words she was not ready for this specific night. I was out for a year. I HAD to come back with vengeance.”
Whether the ladies are in the ring, onstage at the Grammy’s or standing next to some of hip-hop’s greats—women are putting their pens to work. Will the ladies take over rap music as well? Only time will tell.

The post Is Hip Hop Ready to See More Than One Female MC On Top? appeared first on The Source.

Words by Khari Clarke

From our #267 issue

On March 30 of this year, Shawn Carter, better known as Jay Z, held a conference to announce the launch of his newly acquired, Sweden-based music streaming service, TIDAL. At the time, another Sweden-based company, Spotify, occupied an overwhelming portion of the internet’s music streaming territory. Territory that Carter would be gunning for a piece of. The music magnate enlisted a cadre of pop culture’s most recognizable figures including Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, Madonna, and his wife Beyoncé; unified in the belief that artists deserve more than fractions of a penny per stream from companies like Spotify, which make an enormous profit off of their craft. With a sea of cyan-colored profile pictures, and an onslaught of “#TIDALforALL” tweets ricocheting across social media timelines across the world — the “streaming wars” begun.

Music streaming as we see it today is a newer phenomenon. With the public’s ever-growing craving for immediacy and abundance, as well as their diminishing attention spans, the market for physical albums and the digital downloads has withered. The people want “more” and they want it “now”, and music streaming remedies society’s gripe. Streaming offers users millions of songs, accessible anywhere with an internet connection or cellular network, for a monthly price that’s comparable to purchasing one album — it’s the logical next step in music’s evolution.

The conversation within today’s music marketplace has become much less, “to stream or not to stream?” but more “where to stream?” Spotify, TIDAL, and newcomer Apple Music, make up the upper layers of today’s fragmented streaming landscape.

TIDAL
Jay Z’s aforementioned star-studded TIDAL press conference was met with resounding backlash, almost immediately, which was only the first sign of perennial problems for the streaming platform. The theme of the conference was that TIDAL would provide artists and songwriters with a higher percentage of royalties than other streaming services — a noble undertaking. However to achieve this, TIDAL relies on users paying either $10 per month for TIDAL’s standard plan, or $20 for it’s hi-fi quality plan, without an ad-supported free option like their competitors offer. It’s an overestimate to assume that the average listener: A. Is willing to spend more for higher quality music, and B. cares about higher quality music in the first place. Professionals argue that the difference in quality isn’t even distinguishable through smartphone’s stock earbuds and laptop speakers. That all pales in significance to the fact that the press conference appeared to be nothing more than a “feed the rich” commercial, starring a handful of wealthy whiners, asking the working class to pay more to help them fund their million dollar homes.

Exclusivity was another keynote highlighted during the conference. TIDAL would reportedly house content from artists that is only available via the streaming platform — or so they would lead users to believe. Short of the live-stream for Young Jeezy’s, Thug Motivation 101 10th year anniversary concert, a handful of curated playlists and Jay’s debut album Reasonable Doubt, most of TIDAL’s “exclusives” are only a Google search away. Hov’s “B-Sides” Concert, for example, was one of the first major “TIDAL-Only” offerings. However, the concert was available in its entirety on YouTube the day after. The same is true for R&B queen Beyonce and and rap diva Nicki Minaj’s “Feeling Myself” video. Intensively teased on social media, it garnered enormous traction as a TIDAL-exclusive before ending up on YouTube as well. Maintaining exclusivity could have gave users the incentive they needed to deal with the platform’s bleak interface and otherwise inferior music selection.

Spotify
Spotify is the veteran in the streaming music game. Established in 2009, the exact cause of the streaming platform’s meteoric rise isn’t easy to pinpoint. Rhapsody, and Pandora had both been around for nearly a decade by the time Spotify came into existence, each of whom saw success in varying degrees. Spotify just did it better. Boasting 75 million active users (as of June 2015), 20 million of which are paid subscribers, a catalog of over 30 million tracks, and a net value of over $8 billion, Spotify is the top dog.

To be fair, against such large figures it’s hard not to feel empathy for artists, who complain about the streaming service’s $0.006 to $0.0084 pay out per stream. Let’s face it though, while in a perfect world listeners want to support their favorite artists and see people paid for their hard work, we as a society aren’t far removed from the age of digital piracy. After years of fluctuating job markets, our post-Recession sensibilities remain intact — we want the best deal for our money, or for no money at all.

What Spotify does right is it caters to the music listener more than the artist, and rightfully so, as the former holds more power than the latter in the symbiotic relationship. Spotify’s premium tier costs $10 per month and $5 for students, which provides full access to their immense catalog, their radio feature, the service’s curated playlists, as well as users’ own customizable playlists and ability to play music offline. They also offer a free, ad-supported tier which provides users with most of the same features sans offline play, and a cap on the amount of skips between tracks. Reports say that Spotify will be scaling back some of its free offerings come Fall due to licensing deal renewals with Sony, Universal and Warner Bros. However, with a current new user offer of $1 for 3 months of premium service, there’s not much to be worried about.

Apple Music
Entering the arena almost exactly three months after TIDAL’s train wreck of a press conference, Apple had an advantage. At this years Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced they too would be entering the streaming wars with their forthcoming Apple Music, which would be a hybrid of the Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine’s Beats Music streaming service and iTunes’ music store. As it stands, pound for pound, Apple Music might be the closest to legitimate competition for Spotify.

Apple Music’s catalog is as expansive as you’d expect, given the extensiveness of the iTunes Music Store. The streaming platform not only provides you with their immense catalog of music, but also allows users to add the albums, tracks and playlists to their preexisting iTunes music library. Additionally, Apple Music’s human-created playlists are utterly amazing, and directly related to your tastes. Their playlists can be as specific as “Kanye West: Songs About Women” or as vague as “Young and Fun” — with both experiences being exactly what you’d expect. It is worth mentioning however that in many of these playlists, music is inexplicably “greyed out” and unplayable. While it’s safe to presume that licensing issues are to fault, the fact that the human curators would add unplayable songs to a playlist can be at the very least annoying.

Apple recruited BBC Radio 1’s DJ Zane Lowe, Hot 97’s Ebro Darden, as well as British disk jockey and rapper Skepta’s sister, Julia Adenuga, for the streaming service’s Beats 1 radio. Beats 1 would replace iTunes Radio as a 24/7 curated internet radio station. Additionally genre-based radio stations also provide refreshing variety of songs, curated by music experts not robots.

Connect is one of Apple Music’s most impressive features, allowing artists to streamline music, pictures and other updates directly to users in ways that only Twitter and Facebook have been able to.

While bugs are aplenty on Apple Music, you get the sense that the good outweighs the bad. Given Apple’s ability to take a preexisting idea — mp3 players to iPods, tablets to iPads, laptops to Macbooks — and make it better, there’s little doubt that after a few updates Apple Music will be a serious contender, if not the victor of the streaming wars.

The post The Revolution Will Be Spotified: The Ex-Stream Wars Rage On appeared first on The Source.

Words by Dr. Michael Eric Dyson

More than 20 years after his death, Tupac Amaru Shakur remains an irresistible icon. His legendary work ethic, his remarkable fearlessness, and magnetic personality make him a perennial source of inspiration. But it is, perhaps, his prescient engagement with social, moral and political issues that make his voice more crucial now than ever. As we continue to listen to his music, we hear the voice of a 20th century prophet whose insight remains as sharp and luminous as ever.

The Following is excerpts from the 2006 Holler If You Hear Me Preface: “I Always Wanted To Make a Book Out of My Life”

This past March I made my way to the warehouse district of Los Angeles on a warm Sunday afternoon in hopes of talking to Snoop Dogg about his late friend and sometime collaborator Tupac Shakur. The famed rapper and his cohorts Warren G and Nate Dogg were set to perform at a small, private promotional concert arranged by the recreational footwear company for whom he endorses shoes. I mingled with the other writers and made small talk with the few celebrities and artists who streamed through, awaiting Snoop’s arrival. I caught a few minutes with Big Boy, the L.A. radio personality who spent time with Tupac on the road when Big Boy was a bodyguard for the West Coast hip-hop group The Pharcyde.

“You know, what I liked about the dude,” Big Boy told me as we huddled in a corner as an intimate crowd of over fifty people milled about the room. “He loved everyone, but he always knew that he was a strong black man. And he wasn’t afraid to say a lot of stuff that other people wouldn’t say. Others would say, ‘I can’t say that.’ Not Pac. If I want to get everybody’s attention, I can’t just sit here and say, ‘Hey. …’”
Without warning, Big Boy finished his sentence by cupping his hands around his mouth and screaming at the top of his lungs, startling me and the other folk in the room.
“You’ve got to say, ‘HEY!’”

After I recovered from his unanticipated sonic blast, my brow furrowed and my eyes slightly bucked, he continued, laughing at my response and the way the crowd momentarily froze.

“Sometimes you’ve got to scream. You’ve got to snatch their attention. And that’s why his music lives on, that’s why people care—because he made such an impact. It wasn’t that Pac became a star after he passed. Pac was a star from my first handshake with him; he was a star from the get-go. He always commanded attention.”
Our impromptu session over, I scanned the room for other folk that might have known the rapper. I chanced upon Ray J, a star, with his sister Brandy, of the television series Moesha and a recording artist as well. “I just recorded a new song with Tupac,” the young artist told me.

Uh-oh, I thought to myself. Although he’s talented, this is obviously a young brother who believes that Tupac is still alive. But then I remembered that Tupac’s posthumous recordings are already legendary and that many artists have gone into the studio to supply music and vocals for the hundreds of tracks he laid down. I’m relieved.

“It’s called ‘Unborn Child,’ and it’s coming out on the second release of his double CD. Nobody has heard it before.” Ray J was excited about recording with Tupac. I remembered as I spoke to him that the new technologies ensure that very few living artists even record together in the same place at the same time. So in a way the method of recording was nothing new. But his enthused expression made it apparent that the opportunity to partner with Tupac was still thrilling.

“Tupac is one of the greatest poets out there right now,” Ray J told me. I took note of his present tense, since Tupac’s continually unfolding artistry, in books, in movies, and in compact discs, makes it difficult to speak of him in the past.

“The brother just went into the studio and did songs that a lot of people can relate to and learn from before he went out. Like he said, he’s just a thug who has a lot of money. But on the other hand, he’s a thug that is giving positive messages to kids so they can be like him.”

Besides noting the persistent present tense in his speech, which was slightly jarring—done without irony and fully passionate to boot—I was curious about how a thug, even a poetic one, came off as positive to a young man noted for his clean lyrics and wholesome demeanor. So I asked him. “He taught us that we can make a living for ourselves and become rich and become entrepreneurs in the game.”

His press person whisked him away to his next appointment, and I was left to ponder just how many young people like Ray J were affected by Tupac’s message and music, how many generations would continue to admire him and keep his memory alive. Just then I spotted the ferociously gifted actor Larenz Tate, known for his agile, adept, and brooding performances in the Hughes brothers’ films Menace II Society and Dead Presidents. He was studied, altogether genial and affable, and quietly reflective.
“For most of his core fans and people who knew him, he was a prophet,” Tate calmly expounded in a near whisper. “It’s really weird how a person can predict things the way he did. When he passed away, everything he had talked about before he died actually happened.”

Tate gets a bit of a spark with his next comment, his intense eyes brightening as he states a parallel that’s been made time and again but whose repetition is no hindrance to the truth it means to convey.

“I think he is the hip-hop version of Elvis Presley,” Tate declared. “People are claiming Tupac sightings everywhere.” I couldn’t help but think to myself, as he spoke of Tupac and Elvis, that it’s about time. White folk are always spotting Elvis or JFK or Marilyn Monroe, which is a great thing if your icons and heroes were only apparently gone but in truth were hanging out on a deserted island, living beyond their legend in the solitude of old age. I’ve asked myself through the years why nobody has ever spotted, say, Sam Cooke or Otis Redding or Billie Holiday or even Donny Hathaway, cooling out in the shade of a palm tree, content that their tragic, storied pasts are a world away. Black mythologies and legends are hard to create, even harder to sustain.

“He has definitely etched a mark in hip-hop culture.” Tate’s words brought me back from my momentary reverie. “But he was also able to transcend the hip-hop culture into the pop world, to film and television and all kinds of media. For him to still be just as big now as he was when he was alive is amazing.” Since Tate is such a talented thespian, I asked him about Tupac’s cinematic aura.

“Your goal as a performer is to give something that’s the truth or something that is real. In the context of real-life stories—and he was usually in films that reflected real street life—he was able to draw from his experience with the streets.” The notion of truth, of authenticity, of the real, is a recurring theme in the narratives that swirl around Tupac and that he spun for himself. “Keeping it real,” is the mantra that Tupac lived to its devastating, perhaps even lethal, limits. Tate reflected on his brief encounters with Tupac, the promise they held, and the promise they left unfulfilled.

“I didn’t spend as much time with Tupac as I wish I would have,” Tate lamented. “A lot of people who knew Tupac and who knew me said it would be great if we really sat down and had a meeting of the minds, because he needed to hear more positive things. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.” Unfortunate indeed, since too often the love and inspiration black men need to stay alive is only a brother away. The thought that Tate might have made a real difference in Tupac’s life is a missed opportunity that bathes us in a moment of silent musing.

[Later], I recognized the face of Warren G, like Snoop a southerncadenced rapper whose melodies were often enhanced by the dulcet tones of gangsta crooner and preacher’s kid Nate Dogg. I figured I had better press my case immediately, since the competition was almost as thick as the weed smoke that filled the air around us.
“Brother Warren G, I’m writing a book on Tupac, and I’d love to get your opinion about him.” I felt silly in saying it so quickly, so publicly, and, yes, so desperately. My pride was aching something awful, and my resentment at having to go this route was sweeping fast. I suppose I was the hip-hop equivalent of the anxious white liberal—I didn’t mind giving all kinds of support to the culture, but when it came time to put my body and ego on the line, well, that was another matter. Plus, my self-aware status was rubbing against the unfolding drama: “I am a figure, an intellectual, a person who writes books and appears on television and has a following of people who think I’m important. This is no place for me to be, no way for me to behave. I should just leave.” But since I’d come this far, I figured it might not hurt to stay a little longer. That’s when Warren G opened his mouth.

“Damn, you gon’ hit me right here, huh?” he said in amusement, gently laughing and ambushed by a taperecorder-wielding, geriatric (by hip-hop standards) scribe wanting to know about a fallen comrade. But he was a good sport, a far better one, I was soon to find out, than his speechifying peers.
“Well, I’ve got to be ready, man,” I shot back. “What do you want to know?” he asked. “I want to know why, five years after his death, Tupac is still a significant figure.” Warren leaned back on the stairs and took hold of the door handles to steady himself as he spoke.

“He laid down a real message that you can feel from the heart—you know what I’m saying?” he said. “I did a lot of work with him, but we never kicked it major on the personal side, but we kicked it enough to where we had major love for each other. When he did ‘Definition of a Thug,’ that was one of the times when I was going through some stuff, and he was going through some stuff, so we chatted at each other and really got an understanding about each other.” When I asked him to tell me something about Tupac that the world didn’t know, he spoke of his work ethic.

“In the studio he was amazing,” Warren G said. “He handled his business. Once you shook hands and you talked for a minute, then he would go and he would grab that pad. Damn. Doing his stuff. And that’s when it all came together.”

By the time Snoop emerged from the bus, black sunglasses on, hair plaited in two big braids that drooped to either side of his face, I knew it would be next to impossible to reach him. So I thought I would call it a day, when I spotted Big Tray Dee, the Eastsidaz rapper who had also appeared with Tupac on the soundtrack for Gridlock’d, a film directed by Vondie Curtis Hall. I decided to head upstairs and to mill around in the kitchen where food had been prepared for the artists and their guests. I sat at the table where Big Tray Dee had found a place. His beautiful little daughter sat next to him, her braided and barretted hair a stylish complement to the Gerri-curls that peeked out from Big Tray Dee’s cap, a true West Coast player with a 1980s vibe. It was immediately apparent that Big Tray Dee had a warm spirit and that the hard reputation of the gangsta rapper found dramatic relief in the care he showed for his precious child. I asked Big Tray Dee about Tupac, and between licking from his fingers the tasty barbecue sauce that splashed the ribs he consumed, he opened his heart.

“I knew he was a workaholic,” he said, echoing Warren G’s observation. “He would write three or four songs a day. If he was really into it, and his boys was ready, he might do six or seven songs in one day. He was phenomenal to watch.” After he discussed Tupac’s style, his method of working up a song, the themes of his work, and the response it evoked in Big Tray Dee, the rapper touched on Tupac’s legacy.[Others chime in] “Everybody knows he was taken from us too soon,” Big Tray Dee said. “He didn’t have a chance to reach his full potential, like Donald Trump or Howard Hughes or Michael Jackson, somebody who is going to live out their years to see all the fame. He’s not going to enjoy seeing how the music he made is going to be remembered and the statues of him that will be made. Do you know what I’m saying? People feel for him; he was a great person. We feel his loss.”

As Big Tray Dee finished his comments and I thanked him for his time, he began to cry. Silently, without sobs, but steadily, for twenty minutes. The stream of tears that creased his cheeks reddened his eyes. His daughter held onto her father’s right arm tightly, glowering at me as if I had harmed her daddy. I offered him several napkins, and he poured his wordless anguish into them without fear of hurting his reputation or losing his manhood. When I saw that he had finished, I thanked him and made my way out. But I will never forget his crying image as a powerful metaphor for the agony many have over the loss of Tupac’s unspeakable gift—a gift that nevertheless continues to speak to millions around the globe.

Although I didn’t come away that day with what I had gone for—an interview with Snoop Dogg—I got so much more. I gained a richer appreciation for the complexity of Tupac’s life, for the contending identities that defined him, for the competing passions that claimed his attention, and for the contradictory forces that shaped his art and career. Tupac is perhaps the representative figure of his generation. In his haunting voice can be heard the buoyant hopefulness and the desperate hopelessness that mark the outer perimeters of the hip-hop culture he eagerly embraced, as well as the lives of the millions of youth who admired and adored him. But as his legend grows, Tupac recedes further from historical view and is trapped in the ruthless play of images that outline his myth in the culture. All the themes that surfaced in the conversations I had when I went to the warehouse are important: his strong black masculinity, his willingness to speak up, his thirst for attention, his powerful poetry, his thug image, his entrepreneurial exploits, his prophetic stances, his role as a pop icon, his search for the authentic black experience, his heartfelt messages to the urban poor, his incredible work ethic, his unfulfilled potential, his ascension to Elvis-like status, and the grief that was provoked by his premature death. These themes, and many others, are the ones I explore in this book.

In the first part of the book, “Childhood Chains, Adolescent Aspirations,” I explore Tupac’s childhood experiences and adolescent influences. His mother, Afeni, looms large in Tupacian lore; she was elevated in his beautiful “Dear Mama” but subject to public criticism by her son for her drug addiction and domestic instability before its release. Like her son, Afeni Shakur is a remarkable human being. As a black revolutionary, she fought for black liberation. As a mother, she raised two children without help from their fathers. And as a woman who descended into addiction, she risked her home to feed her habit. I explore the dual legacy Afeni gave to Tupac, as black revolutionary and as an addicted mother. I first tackle the effect Afeni’s addiction had on Tupac, how it deprived him of a stable home in his adolescence, how it shaped his view of himself as a maturing teen, and how his art reflected the existential agonies he encountered as a result of her troubles.

I also probe Tupac’s postrevolutionary childhood, seeking to discover how a child who has been reared to combat white supremacy fares in a world where such lessons must be adapted because the times have changed. I look at the themes that Tupac learned as a second-generation Black Panther, and how he both absorbed and resisted the messages he received. Since so much of his appeal rested on the divide in his mind and soul between his revolutionary pedigree and his thug persona, this is a crucial dimension of Tupac’s background. I am also interested in the intellectual influences that shaped the growing boy and budding rapper. Tupac was a remarkably bright and gifted child. His acting gifts were encouraged by his participation in an acting ensemble in Harlem and, later, at Baltimore’s School for Performing Arts. He was as well a voracious reader who had an insatiable intellectual appetite for an impressive range of books.

In the second part, “Portraits of an Artist,” I take up Tupac’s artistic vocation, since his first and lasting fame derives from his rap career. He was by no measure the greatest rapper of all time, but he is perhaps the genre’s most influential star. Although his exploits away from the studio garnered huge headlines, Tupac’s powerful, prophetic—and too often, self-destructive—work is the final basis of how we can judge his artistic achievements. But his preoccupation with being a “real nigga” looms over nearly everything he did. The question of black authenticity haunts the culture; within hip-hop it is especially vicious, with artists often adopting a stance as a thug or gangsta to prove their bona fides and their ability to represent the street. Perhaps more than any other rapper, Tupac tried to live the life he rapped about, which had spectacular results in the studio but disastrous results in the world. Tupac was in constant trouble with the law and in relentless conflict with peers, pretenders, and rivals, conflicts that sometimes spilled over into the recording studio. The infamous East Coast–West Coast beef owes its origins to Tupac’s ingenious fury and outsized agonistic rantings.

In the third part of the book, “Bodies and Beliefs,” I look at how Tupac dealt with huge themes in his art—such as gender, death, religion, suffering, compassion—and the status of the black body in his craft and career. I tackle hip-hop’s especially harsh and misogynistic beliefs, as well as Tupac’s own complex gender views—particularly in light of the sexual abuse for which he was convicted, though few believe he was guilty—through the prism of what I term femiphobia, the cruel attack on women that grows in the ghetto and beyond. I try to grasp hold of Tupac’s religious views and spiritual beliefs as they developed over his youth and his young adulthood. Tupac had strong views on God, suffering, and compassion, which I probe. He seemed to recklessly embrace his own death, even as he meditated on the nature of death extensively in his work, a subject I briefly consider. Finally, I explore the ways that Tupac viewed his body as a text, as the ink of the tattoo artist bled all over his torso. I examine as well how Tupac viewed his own body, not only as a work of art but as an object of scorn and as a vehicle for addictive pleasures and, in the end, as a temple of contagiously gloomy self-destruction.

In the epilogue, “Posthumous Presences,” I examine the impact of Tupac’s death on his evolving legend, especially the notion that he is not dead but alive in an undisclosed location. I explore how he has been cast as an urban legend, as what I term a “posthumous persona,” as a martyr and a ghetto saint. I analyze the social uses of proclaiming that Tupac is any of these things, above all to the adherents and followers who have elevated him. One of the effects of claiming that Tupac, thug persona and all, is an important figure, a legend even, is to funnel critique of the society that made him believe that was the only way to survive. Tupac’s ascent to ghetto sainthood is both a reflection of the desperation of the youth who proclaim him and a society that has had too few saints that could speak to the hopeless in our communities.

Tupac Amaru Shakur is one of the most important and contradictory artists to have spoken in and to our culture. Our adoration of him—and our disdain for his image—says as much about us as it does about him. This book is an attempt to take measure of both impulses and, in the process, to say something meaningful about urban black existence in the last quarter of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first.

The post Holla If Ya Hear Me: Dr. Michael Eric Dyson Talks Tupac’s Prophetic, Self-Destructive Work appeared first on The Source.

 Words by Aimstar

From our Nov. 2008 issue, a story about an artists sharing his gifts with our service people.

It’s been a minute since Avant’s last album, Director, hit the shelves in the spring of 2006.

Although relatively understated, the album went gold and did bear a few memorable hits, like the seductive countdown “Four Minutes,” and the arrogant bedroom call of “Grown Ass Man” and the sultry duet “Lie About Us,”which featured Pussycat Dolls alum Nicole Scherzinger. He has amassed a steady following of loyal fans over the years, but Avant is not afraid to admit his last four albums to date haven’t warranted the kind of mainstream attention that he deserves . Through it all, he remains somewhat of a soulful street legend, one who has bobbed and weaved through the industry hoopla.  From his early days on Magic Johnson’s eponymous label to a four-year stint on Geffen Records, it took some time before he could find a label home that he believes considers him a priority.

“It was time for a new beginning, a new look,” Avant remembers, referring to his decision to jump onto Capitol Records. “And I really like the company right here because they are trying to take me places as far as my talent that I have never been.” It’s obvious when the charismatic 30 year-old speaks of where he’s been, that he finally knows where he’s going.

Just a few months ago, Avant and company traveled across the Atlantic to visit troops deployed to Iraq, where he spent most of his time in safe quarters or spending the night at one of the former palaces of Saddam Hussein. “I was there for 10 days. We were just basically going around to different spots, like the mess halls where everyone eats, to the hospital, off base to a spot that was really still hot with war….I wanted to be there. I wanted to take in the whole experience.” While there the Ohio native also visited a number of US military bases, where he went beyond the call of duty by granting special performances for soldiers who were on deck. And in support of their efforts, he even invited a few on stage. “When I performed in Kuwait, i met a few artist and let them on stage to sing “Don’t Say No, Just Say Yes.” There were some people that really had talent. It’s just that they just chose a different route.”

The trip afforded Avant memorable moments with the troops, although he didn’t get experience the shooting range as he would have liked. But there were some somber times as well. “The next morning we went to Baghdad. It was like 115 degrees during the day. But [when] I did the show, you could see it in their eyes that they were thinking about the things that were going on in their lives. It was really deep when you think about the nature of war. [And] I’m just ready for the troops to come home honestly.”

A calm Avant has since returned from the war zone. Wearing jeans, a white tee and a red leather motorcycle jacket, today the humble singer is standing at the edge of the stage atop the Capitol Records building in Manhattan’s trendy Chelsea neighborhood. And as industry heads gather around for the special chocolate themed summer evening performance, and he belts out a few songs from his forthcoming fifth album, Avant, they clamor to get closer to him. Avant has fought hard to get here in many ways. But it’s not the fighter that we see on stage, or the director or the songwriter he has become over the years. Instead we find a new man in Avant, who is ready to take on the challenges of the world and who now understands why he’s had to work so hard to get this far.

His reality has never been so sweet.

The post R&B Singer Avant Shares Stories Of His Tour In Iraq (Flashback Nov. 2008) appeared first on The Source.

Interview: Sha Be Allah
This story was originally published in The Source Issue #272

If you’re an art aficionado or just someone who wanders some of America’s most populated metropoles, it’s more than likely that you’ve run across some form of street art, painting or sculpture. Some are random; however, there are a few that seek to send a message to the masses. One that may be surprisingly familiar is the “Protect Your Heart” sidewalk stencil. Created by Queens native, Uncutt Art, aka Understanding, “Protect Your Heart” can be found in every major city, on both coasts, and even a few countries around the globe. Sounds like a lot of work for one man. The Source had a chance to catch up with Uncutt to discuss the origin of the concept, the legality of his work (or lack thereof), and why he’s not a graffiti artist.

What is the real story behind what prompted you to start the slogan “Protect Your Heart”?

It was a gradual story; a thing that came out overtime. I had an aim, and I knew what I wanted to do. I was just looking for the right fit. That was the first step to allow me to get in that zone. The actual quote itself is more of a lifestyle. I wanted everyone to realize there’s more to life than what we physically see and actually feel. So people often push their feelings aside and from this comes anxiety. So, I wanted people to get in the zone of learning their feelings.

Would you say that the movement itself was more emotionally motivated?

Well, it was more spiritually motivated. It had nothing to do with emotion, but more to do with your inner self. When I talk about feeling, I’m talking about knowing yourself. That vibe it could be a good vibe or a bad vibe. It’s like when Jordan is in a zone. I just want people to identify with getting in that zone of using your inner self. I feel like “protect your heart” is a way of telling people without telling them, and have them come into themselves. It puts them in the position where they have no choice, but I choose to love.

I heard you say you were living the “Protect Your Heart“ lifestyle? What do you mean when you say that?

Well, before “Protect Your Heart” lifestyle, I was a loving and giving person. And, I still am, but I wasn’t really protecting myself. Everything I was dealing with wasn’t with self awareness. I had to start learning and loving myself and just be who I am instead of what others wanted me to be. At first, I was living a whole different lifestyle, more physical and more about what I have or possess. But, life is about more than that. I got out of the zone of the industry, the partying, the girls and started coming into myself. I stopped trying to change myself because of someone else’s perception, and didn’t care about what others think. So, changing my lifestyle was becoming more aware of my spiritual side than my physical. My change is my spiritual connection to Nature.

What made you decide to make your concept illegally public?

When I was inspired with “Protect Your Heart” maybe a year and a half ago, I had a street run with the Michael Jackson piece, and you can see it everywhere in New York. Around the afro, I wrote a few words that formed the piece and the words said “All these strange pieces came together to create this beautiful image, and as humans so can we.” So my quest was to make people realize that certain things were already in motion, and to get people’s attention. All I have is my art, so I can use it to do that.

Did you ever write Graffiti?

No, never.

What made you use the medium of spray paint?

When I first started my art I wanted to find a way to get it out to the people but I didn’t know how. I found that street art was the best way to get it across.

The post Protect Yo HeART: Uncutt Art Explains His Emotion Driven Street Art appeared first on The Source.

From working in venture capital to being the person responsible for connecting Skullcandy Headphones and Stance Socks with some of the biggest names and brands in the culture, Clarke Miyasaki, the Executive VP of Business Development shares his journey and tells how hard work, social relationships and applied skills can create successful career opportunities.

INTERVIEW By MICHAEL LASALLE

This article was originally published in The SOURCE Magazine, May issue #272

Can you describe your role at Stance Socks? I identify companies or influencers to put deals together that introduce Stance to new customers and drive revenue while fitting within our brand ethos. Stance has several “Punks & Poets” ambassadors from the worlds of Sport, Art and Music. These partnerships bring millions of new eyeballs to Stance and account for a significant portion of the company’s revenue.

Explain how Hip-Hop helped develop business growth. Hip-Hop culture is driven by authenticity. A brand can’t fake its way into acceptance. At Skullcandy, we partnered with Roc Nation and Jordan Brand to name a few. At Stance, we have many Hip-Hop inspired socks. My favorite Stance sock of all time is a Tupac sock, where you actually tie his bandana over your shin.

Tell us about your career journey. My first consumer brand was Skullcandy. Founder Rick Alden wanted me to work there to close deals with rappers, cool brands and athletes. I told him “I’m a Mormon kid from Sugar City, Idaho, you definitely have the wrong guy!” Thankfully, he was persistent and talked me into giving it a shot. My “big break” came as an intern before my senior year at BYU, where I worked with Jeff Kearl, the founder of Stance. This is the fifth time Jeff and I worked together since that summer internship.

Who are your inspirations? I am inspired by my Pops who taught me to care about others first. I also have a rock star wife, who keeps the trains moving with our four children when I’m spending too much time working and traveling.

What is your advice on achieving success? Success is a big dose of luck mixed with hard work and talent. You never know when your career break is going to happen, so treat everyone with love and respect, and work your butt off every chance you get.

What is your favorite part of the job? Closing deals. I love negotiating and making things work for both parties. The other rewarding part is seeing your product on customers. I’ll never forget the first time I saw the Stance logo on the NBA court. As a lifelong NBA fan, that moment will be hard to top.

What’s the worst part of the industry? Early on I had no idea what I was doing at Skullcandy. It was hard to figure out who was legit. People claim they have a connection to certain artists or athletes, but they really don’t. Luckily, I had people in the industry to help navigate my way.

What can we expect from Stance this year? There are great things coming! It is our first full year as the on-field sock of MLB, so I’m excited to see Stance add its style to classic MLB team uniforms. I’m also excited to see the Rihanna collection each season.

Follow @ClarkeMiyasaki @STANCESOCKS

The post Expect The Unexpected: Happenstance appeared first on The Source.

WORDS BY Shortie
This article was originally published in The Source Magazine, April 1994 (Issue #55)

NAS

Illmatic

Columbia

Producer DJ Premier, Large Professor

Pose Rock, Q-Tip, L.E.S

While the media was hyping Snoop’s album as the most anticipated debut of all time, many of us in the hip-hop core had our eyes on another prize— Illmatic, the debut “reality story book” from Queensbridge’s Nas (formerly known as Nasty Nas). After peeping his soul on “Live at the BBQ,” “Back to the Grill,” and the official bomb, “Halftime,” street dwellers and industry folks alike were predicting Nas’ first album to be monumental.

Now, I’m not one to sweat the next man, but… I must maintain that this is one of the best hip-hop albums I have ever heard. Word. Let me speak on it.

Musically, when Nas hooked up with four of hip-hop’s purest producers, it seems like all of the parties involved took their game to a higher level of expression. Whether listening to the dark piano chords of Pete Rock’s meaner side on “The World is Yours,” or Primo’s sinister bounce on “Represent,” or Large Professor’s old soul sound on “Memory Lane,” or Q-Tip’s Jazzy meringue melody on “One Love”— it all motivates. Your mind races to keep us with Nas’ lyricism, while your body dips to the beat.

Lyrically, the whole s***t is on point. No clichéd metaphors, no gimmicks, never too abstract, never superficial, even the slot-intros are meaningful, and the album’s only guest rapper, AZ, is dangerous in his own right. (And he’s unsigned too? Not for long son). Nas is just the epitome of that “New York State of Mind” in terms of style delivery. But even outside of the “Rotten Apple”— “Listeners, bluntheads, fly ladies, and prisoners, Hennessy holders, and Old School N***as” from all over will be able to relate to Nas’ many techniques, Nas creates fantasy: “I drink Moet with Medusa/Give her shotguns in hell/From the spiff that I lift and inhale.” He philosophizes: “I switched my motto/Instead of saying, “Fuck tomorrow/That Buck that bought a bottle/Coulda struck the Lotto.” He flows: “One for the money/Two for pussy and foreign cars/Three for Alize, niggas deceased or behind bars/ I rap divine god/Check the prognosis, is it real or showbiz/My window faces shootouts/Drug overdoses/Live amongst no roses, only the drama/For real, a nickel plate is my fate/My medicine is the ganja.” And on, and on…

Nas’ images remind me of a lot of personal memories and people, both past and present, so the impact goes beyond the entertainment aspect. All this may sound like melodrama but it’s not just me, I’ve been hearing similar responses all over. While “Memory Lane” is my s***t, my homies claim “The World is Yours,” and if you’ve got peoples doing time, then “One Love” may hit you the hardest. There’s nothing wack though, just different intensities for different people to relate to. The bottom line is this: even if the album doesn’t speak to you on that personal level, the music itself is still well worth the money. If you can’t at least appreciate the value of Nas’ poetical realism, then you best get yourself up out of hip-hop. Keep it. Real. Buddy.

The post Record Report – Nas, ‘Illmatic’ (From The Source Magazine, 1994- Issue #55) appeared first on The Source.

WORDS BY Keven L. Carter
This article was originally published in The Source Magazine, April 1993 (Issue #43)

Atlantic City—we in Jersey call it “Camden-by-the-Sea.” It is a place where old fighters go to get one last paycheck. If they can breathe and stand upright, someone will pay for them to go in and get their heads beat in. Over the past couple of years, I’ve seen a lot of fights in Atlantic City’s casinos. Some of them have been really good fights. Other have stunk up the Shore like the sea creatures that wash onto the beach during hurricanes. Some of the fights have been so bad that instead of booing, people in the crowds have just got up and left.

I’ve been to a lot of shows at the casinos, too. Some of the performers are a lot like those old fighters. And the audiences, sometimes drunk, sometimes agitated, always looking to get paid, but seldom succeeding, walk out. Those are the break, I guess. Unless they walk out on Richard Pryor. Then, something is wrong.

And something was definitely wrong at Donald Trump’s Taj Mahal one Saturday night in January, ’cause that’s what they did to Richard Pryor. And it wasn’t just old people, or white people, or those you might have thought didn’t understand. It was all kinds of people. And Pryor, in the midst of what may well be his last stand-up comedy tour, watched it happen. Helplessly.

See, without Richard Pryor, there would have been no Eddie Murphy, no Charlie Barnett, no Wayanses, no “In Living Color,” no “Def Comedy Jam,” none of that sh*t. There were other funny African-American men and women that come before him, and they influenced the hip-hop generation too. But nobody was better, or funnier, than Rich.

But here was this giant of comedy, this brother with the searing wit, doing a stand-up comedy act after so many years of being out of circulation—and he couldn’t even stand up. The multiple sclerosis that he’s had for the past few years has seriously weakened him. Rich ain’t never been real big, but up there on stage, he looked like half of a man. As he was helped to the middle of the stage, where a chair and a glass of water waited, a cascade of applause came down. “We love you, Rich,” somebody shouted.

“I’m happy to be here, and glad to be alive.” Pryor said. And you know he was. But then, as he started talking about his condition—”This MS sh*t really f*cks with you!”—reality hit. This was Richard Pryor, alright. But it wasn’t RICHARD PRYOR! You know, the one whose tapes you’d hide from your parents, the one who’d make you piss on yourself when you remembered something he said.

Like he always has, Pryor talked frankly about problems he has encounter in his life—drugs, women, heart attacks—but instead of MS being a source of material, it was the thing that kept him from being truly hysterical. He was funny, he made you laugh—a little—but the Richard Pryor who drove you crazy is gone forever.

It was painful seeing him up there. It made you want to cry. But then I remembered something he once said. When asked why he, an obviously diminished talent, continued to perform, he answered simply, “Because it’s what I know how to do.”

And when Richard Pryor was up there, stumbling through Mudbone and talking about how his d*ck no longer works and watching his children being born, he was doing what he knows how to do. And, more importantly, he was undergoing therapy. And if that’s gonna be what keeps him alive: go ahead and let ‘me do it.

The post Reality Check – Comic Legend Richard Pryor Stages Half-Hearted Comeback appeared first on The Source.

Words by Stacy Y. China
This article was originally published in The Source Magazine, April 1998 (Issue #103)

She Stands 6’2″ and has been labelled a “Bad Guy” by her competition. But VENUS WILLIAMS doesn’t care – she’s just winning tennis matches.

The fans love her—they already stop her in the street and come up to her during dinner. The media adores her—every major print and broadcast outlet has already done a story on her, or wants to. The tennis world, her place of business, is on the fence. Women’s Tennis Association Tour promoters hail her as the Messiah of women’s tennis while rival players take potshots at her background, her popularity, her attitude.

Venus Williams simply doesn’t care. That’s not meant in a bad way. Williams, 17, has genuine concern for her tennis career and for her family. But she is well aware that she is in the center of a hurricane-force storm, one that threatens to either cheapen or exhaust anyone who dares to join the fray. So she chooses not to.

I really don’t try to understand it, I just do the work,” said Williams while resting next to her sister Serena’s green clay court at the family house in Palm Beach Gardens. Venus has an adjacent court, and they share a hard court to the right.

She was talking about Algebra 2 at the time, but could have been easily talking about her life. Instead of living in a higher-profile area, dropping out of high school and having the tennis tour consume her, Williams lives with Serena, 16, and their parents, Oracene and Richard, on a 20-acre stretch of land deep in the Florida woods (there are three other sisters, Yetunde, 24, Isha, 23, and Lyndrea, 19, all in graduate school or college). Venus and Serena attend private high school about a half hour away, and Venus has taken some classes at Palm Beach Community College. And the ways of the tennis world will consume her—over her dead body.

Remember, this is the girl who was raised for the first 11 years of her life in Compton, where she and Serena were taught to play tennis by their father on public courts. Venus was the top ranked United States Tennis Association 12-and-under player in Southern California by the time she was eight years old, and had a 67-0 record.

That was enough to attract the first reporters and Reebok, which signed Williams to a contract worth millions—millions that the family used to leave Compton and take up residence first near Boca Raton and now in Palm Beach Gardens. Home is a four-bedroom, split-level-column house with two dogs, two minilakes, and various cars Richard is allegedly working on-about as far from the pastel pink-and-green, Lifestyles-of-the-Rich-and-Famous Florida scene as you can get. At night, personality is the only thing that lights this place up: go outside and it’s pitch black. After moving to Florida, Venus and Serena trained with tennis coach Rick Macci for a year, according to their father, but neither of them played another junior match. In tennis, this way the equivalent of skipping college hoops and going straight to the NBA from the playground. It just doesn’t happen.

Yet it did for Venus. She turned pro at 14 and won her first match at the Bank of the West tournament in Oakland (similar to taking the winning shot in your first NBA game and nailing it). Williams played sporadically after that, never giving up school entirely and traveling on the tour full-time. Nineteen ninety-seven was her busiest year so far, when she competed at three of the four Grand Slam events and lost in the U.S. Open finals to Martina Hingis, the No. 1 player in the world. To some, her Open finish was a promise fulfilled, as Williams put together a show of powerful groundstrokes and strong serves observers believe will make her a top-10 player for years to come. She finished 1997 at No. 22.

The match was so anticipated because Hingis, also 17, has done everything Williams has not. She played a full junior schedule before turning pro and won French Open and Wimbledon titles. She gladly left school behind after turning pro at 14. And despite having an ego only slightly smaller than the past five No. 1 players combined, she has managed to keep her rivals happy by dismissing them with a wink and a giggle instead of a straight face. This impresses everyone except Williams. And before you start, don’t talk to her about having respect for the top players.

“People say I’m disrespectful,” she said. “Is it disrespectful when I want to win matches to get better? No. A lot of players out there have too much respect. They say, “It’s a privilege to play the No. 1 player.” Why are you out there thinking like that? It should be a privilege to play me. That’s a little too much respect.”

You might think that attitude should be attributed to her father Richard, a no-nonsense character who thinks—no, knows—that his child will be the No. 1 player before long. Wrong. Visit her mother, Oracene, instead. “Arrogance is part of her thing,” she said, honey-colored braids swinging with her head. It’s what makes her interesting. It’s what makes people want to write about her and talk about her.”

And Lord, they do talk. The U.S Open turned into a virtual soap opera, with stories of cold eyes and upturned noses given or received from the Williams camp becoming routine. Players complained to the press, saying Venus was “unfriendly” and not “fun to be around” like Hingis. During Williams’s semifinal match with Irina Spirlea, the Romanian bumped her on a changeover and was so angry with losing that she could barely stand to sit in the interview room. “She thinks she’s the fucking Venus Williams, and she doesn’t have to move,” Spirlea spit out.

Venus was exasperated. “They made it sound like there were actually fistfights going on in the locker room,” she said. “None of that even happened.”

Oracene Williams sighs deeply, “Some things I think we should have handled more aggressively and told them where to go,” she said. “I don’t want [Venus] backing down. My child is not a puppet to be told what to do and how to act. That’s what I do. No one should tell my child what to do. Hell, yeah, she’s arrogant. She has a right to be—she’s good.”

When asked about the negative U.S Open publicity, Venus refused to talk about racism on the Tour or about her father’s comments (he called Spirlea a “tall white turkey” after the bump). He apologize later, however, and Spirlea should consider herself lucky. Richard does not apologize for anything often.

A big, burly man of 55, is it not unusual to find him with a More menthol cigarette in his mouth and a racquet in his hand, working with Serena on her slice backhand or encouraging Venus to do better while she practices nearby. He does things his own way, keeping his daughter away from coaches as much as possible. This is another no-no in sports, kind of like Jordan going to Phil Jackson and saying, “You know what? I don’t need a coach. Me and the guys can run this on our own.”

Richard is convinced Venus and Serena can. He has two men hit with the girls when they practice, but they are under strict orders to keep it light out there. No coaching allowed.

“There is no way I would let my kid be coached for four or five years, ‘casue I’d be telling her she’s a dummy,” he said. Williams believes that once a person is taught the basic rules and strokes of the game, it is up to them to improve. Barking orders at them for years will not help and may even hurt their self-confidence in the long run.

Which is why he was ambivalent about a recent story on Macci, who complained that Richard never gives him due credit for coaching the girls as preteens. “I never thought he developed nothing about their games,” Richard Williams said. “If anything, I see what he took away. I don’t know nothing he did. All I know is what Venus and Serena went out there and did for themselves. I’m not trying to tear no one down, but I don’t think he could teach my kids nothing.”

Richard, on the other hand, has quite a bit to teach the tennis establishment about how to market the player. He understands why players criticize Venus and why some reporters and commentators join in. “They really feel that we don’t deserve what we get,” he said. “You need someone to promote you and nobody can promote you in the tennis world better than I can.”

“We definitely sell magazines and newspapers, we know we do,” he said. “I do it better than anyone else.”

In 1997 alone, Venus was on David Letterman, Jay Leno, Montel Williams and 60 Minutes. Was the subject of countless articles, and was on the cover of Sports Illustrated after the U.S Open even though she lost the final. More of the same is planned for Serena, who playing in only her second WTA event in Chicago last November, beat down top-10 players Monica Seles and Mary Pierce before losing in the semifinals. She finished 1997 at No. 99.

“People say they should be [on the Tour] and I agree with them,” Richard Williams said. “But that man managing them didn’t believe they should be there. These people have a right to be jealous but it’s not us. They should look at their own managers. The women in tennis have been held back and taught not to believe in themselves. It took Venus and Serena to bring it out, Venus and Serena are the shining example of what [players] should have been all along.”

And what they should have been, apparently, are goofy teenagers. Never chained to their racquets, the Williams sisters listen to more Green Day than hip-hop, get occasionally serious about their electric guitar lessons, watch funny movies, follow Jenny McCarthy, and do practically all this before 10pm (Venus admitted to never staying up late enough to see Letterman or Leno until she was a guest). They have lots of inside jokes, like most siblings, that send them into stitches while other people smile politely. They also have a good time on the court. Venus jokingly blamed her hitting partner for distracting her and causing her to double fault. “You’re bringing me down,” she said in her best deadpan voice.

Serena has a similar streak. Tall, lanky, and usually beaded like Venus, she is more of a fire-brand and not afraid to let you know. When her partner called her serve out, she glared, shrugged, and said “You get a lot of bad calls on the Tour, too. But you know, champions don’t get bad calls.”

Maybe. But you’d be afraid too when your whole world was about to be turned upside down by players who came seemingly out of nowhere. Not to be outdone by the ascent of her older sister, Serena made her share of noise on the Tour as well. In addition to her success in Chicago in November, she smacked No. 3 Lindsay Davenport before losing to Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the semifinals of a warm-up tournament before the Australian Open. Venus beat Hingis in the first round of the same event and reached the final before losing to Sanchez Vicario.

At the season’s first Grand Slam, Serena continued her streak by beating Spirlea in the first round of the Australian Open, and then played Venus, marking the first time African-American sisters played each other in a Tour event. Venus won 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, but not before they were heralded worldwide as the Next Big Things.

“How will they end up?” Oracene Williams asked. “One and two. Two and one. Venus is a beautiful player to watch and Serena is a powerful player to watch. It’s just a matter of time before they put it all together.”

Venus Williams plans to put it together right now. “I think there are some people who don’t want to accept that I’m here and I’m going to take things over,” she said as the sun set on her sanctuary. There was no boast in her voice, no showing off. Just a simple statement of fact. “They should be more interested in getting their own game right than worrying abut me and what I’m doing. It just doesn’t help them.”

And if you don’t believe that, too bad. “I guarantee them that I don’t worry about them at all,” she said while falling into a fit of laughter. Venus Williams simply doesn’t care.

The post Holding Court – Venus Williams has been labelled a “Bad Guy” by her competition. She doesn’t care – she’s just winning tennis matches. appeared first on The Source.

Words by Sia Michel
This article was originally published in The Source Magazine, April 1996 (Issue #79)

BANGIN’: For Life, Love & A Future
Ice-T relives his gangsta days and looks into the future of peace in the war-torn street zones of the ‘hood’

Ice-T has invaded the White House. A long spiraling road takes you to his proverbial house on the hill, past Tider estates and Spanish missions, Greek temples and swinging ’70s bachelor play pens. Ice-T resides at the very top, in a modern ivory mansion that hangs precociously down a giant cliff, in defiance of everyday L.A. horrors like earthquakes and mudslides. On one side, wall-sized windows promise spectacular views of Hollywood and beyond; on the other, snarling guard dogs keep watch. Beemers and Benzes line the street in front of the house, their insides hidden by smoked glass.

A handwritten sign on the front door reads, “Don’t ring the doorbell. Use the side entrance!” We can’t figure out how to get in. The only other door leads to the garage, and when we climb a set of stairs that lead mysteriously to the roof, the pittbulls go crazy, like they’re about to jump the fence and rip us to shreds. We’re not stupid enough to hit the front buzzer and piss off Ice-T, but we are stupid enough to climb through an addition to the house still under construction, weaving carefully through tools and cements bags. Next we fell into the crater that will one day be an enormous swimming pool.

Suddenly we’re looking right through a glass door into Ice’s TV room. “Who the f*ck is that?” He yells in alarm. As images of that much-rumored arsenal in Ice’s basement comes to mind, we start shouting our names in our most innocent girly voices. Finally, Ice’s wife Darlene lets us in. Suffice to say, security is going to be beefed up at the T residence.

Inside, Ice-T— the touted inventor of gangsta rap. The former gang member who once threatened to sick 150,000 Crips and Bloods on the LAPD, the rapper who brought us “Cop Killer” and “Let’s Get Butt Naked and F***”—is sitting on the couch eating his meat and potatoes off of a blue plastic TV tray. As he tunes into the American Music Awards in his big-screen television, his cute-as-a-button four-year-old son giggles beside him. Meanwhile, Darlene washes dishes in the adjoining kitchen, her infamous assets threatening to bust out of a dress that’s one inch of fabric away from a bathing suit. It’s an only slightly of killer scene of domestic bliss, a symbol of the kind of family life that eluded Ice-T for most of his life.

His parents were killed in a car accident when he was still a shorty. He had no brothers or sisters. His only living relative was an aunt who moved him from Newark to L.A.; she died not long after. “I was living in the ghetto with no back-up.” Ice-T says. “No real friends.” Like many kids who felt adrift in the inner-city, he was lured into gang life by the promise of an immediate circle of friends, protection, status, a code of rules by which to navigate the bedlam of the streets, not to mention the chance to make bank. Feeling especially ostracized, he says, because he was”yellow.” He was determined to get a rep. He became a Crip.

“I was the one who would go into the party and it’d be a perfectly cool one, and I’d just be wanting to knock over people’s aquariums and be out in front shooting,” Ice-T explains. “I just wanted to be known.” That is, to become notorious, his very presence a threat that sh*t was gonna go down. But more than anything, Ice was looking for a surrogate family.

“It was the first place I had somebody tell me the word love,” he says. “I had never really been around a parent who was willing to say he loved me. Now, my kid, I tell him I love him everyday. But there was none of that love, love, love stuff then. Like I wrote in The Ice Opinion, it’s like male love pushed to the pinnacle. When you get into a gang, maybe I’d look at you, and say, ‘We’re down with this ‘hood, and no matter what happens, nothing will ever happen to you…homey. I mean it, and if something does happen, we will retaliate.”

Ice-T’s house is flat-out bella: black leather furniture, black shag carpets, gold records hanging on the walls. When an impressed reporter once asked him where he found his decorator, Ice-T replied, “I done broke into houses to know what kind of sh*t I wanted when I got a f*ckin’ house.” He leads us down into his newly built home studio. Framed pictures of lynched black men int the hallway walls. In one, a hanged man is surrounded by a crowd of laughing, jeering spectators, some of them carrying picnic baskets. Another photo captures the death threats of a bound and torched victim, his face a mask of agony. The studio decor is no less confrontational: there’s an enormous aquarium filled with a stingray and miniature sharks.

“Watch this,” Ice-T says. He turns down the lights until the equipment fades away. “Now look out the window. You’re looking right over the cliff, like you’re floating in space and sh*t.”

He looks exhausted. Earlier today, he flew back from Mexico, where he was recording songs from the upcoming, Body Count album, Violent Demise, then immediately started re-mastering songs for his new solo record, Ice-T 8: Return of the Real. While most rappers are lucky if they make it to their third album these days, Ice-T has been in the game for a decade, always a visible presence even if his records weren’t platinum sellers.

In addition to a prolific film career, which includes starring roles in action films like New Jack City, Ricochet, Surviving the Game, Ice-T found himself a poster boy for free speech during the “Cop Killer” controversy, penned a book called The Ice Opinion, and hit the campus lecture circuit. Now he’s even got his own TV show, Players, on NBC, about “criminals picked up by the government to fight crime with crime.” Ice compares it to The Sting, Charlie’s Angels, Mission Impossible and Miami Vice rolled into one. Would you expect anything less from a fan of Iceberg Slim?

“My motto,” Ice says, “is I’m not turning down anything by my collar—and I’m keepin’ that up too.”

Despite his O.G. Image, Ice-T can be disarmingly friendly in person. Definitely not soft, but down-to-earth. He speaks plainly and directly, with the common sense of someone who’s seen it all, digested it and remained hyper-observant. A clear sense of right and wrong has been integral to his art since the blood-spattered, gun-crazy fables on his second album, Power, Ice has got an opinion about everything as his book title suggests, and he’ll lay it out in long paragraphs.

Ice-T’s persona is a collage of paradoxes: the body-crazed pimp daddy who’s stood by the same woman for 10 years, the high-rollin’ hustle who spins moralistic tales of the ‘hood, the gangbanger who tries to increase the peace, the Black militants who comes off color blind, the gangsta rapper who plays to white kids in a heavy metal band, the rich man in the hills with one foot in the streets. His sheer charisma has always been one of his biggest assets, taking over when maybe his beats were a little flat, his acting a little raw. Ice-T once described himself as the “ghetto friend that kids can talk to.” Black, white whatever. Today, he boasts of “diplomatic immunity.

“I think I get respect because I won’t talk about things I haven’t been through to some extent,” Ice says. “That’s why I don’t try to get up here to tell you I’m the supernatural gangbanger of L.A. ’cause I’ma have to go back these streets, and homey be like, “Yo, Ice-T ain’t killed 25 men.”

“Now, I was never really a hardcore member of the Crips. I never actually went out and did drive-bys, or put in work on nobody but if you went to Crenshaw High School, you was Cripping and that’s just point blank. It was pretty much being run by Crips, and there was no way you could really go to that school without being affiliated with the gang. You kind of had to be down or you’d be an outcast and victimized by other people. But it was cool… It’s important to remember that the gangs weren’t so violent at that time. Now the gangs are extremely violent.”

Ice-T’s experience captures the reality of gang life behind the media hype. Despite the hyper-violent image of the typical gang member, the actually number of hardcore gangbangers—those who actually kill for their colors—is only a small percentage of the gang population as a whole. Most of the kids are in just to kick it, learn the lingo, maybe sell some rock or pull the occasional heist, impress the girls. Ice-T wasn’t in deep enough to have much trouble facing out. When he got his Hoover Criplette girlfriend pregnant, he knew his 3 1/2 year stint was over. Ice-T calls gangs “microcosms of the crazy macho war sh*t that rules the world.” Gang members do learn to love something and risk their lives for an ideal, he says, but those positive qualities are misdirected—they’re venting their frustration against their own people rather than the authority figures keeping everybody down.

“They say god looks after fools and children,” Ice-T says, “and at the time, I wasn’t really aware that some of the stuff we did was causing so much pain to people. Therefore, I think I got a pass. Now when I look back on it. Some of the sh*t I did was foul, but most of it was just based on survival or not knowing. I don’t regret nothing, but I try to make up for some of the sh*t I did by informing other people about it in my music, just trying to tell kids the right thing to do.”

Then again, Ice-T once showed up on the Arsenio Hall show with a blue rag on his head—in the middle of the Crips/Bloods gang truce he was supposedly helping to promote. “Folks was like, ‘Why’d you do that?’ I’m like, ‘Yo homey, they was my people and I wanted to let people know that I wasn’t hiding from the issue. I’m going to put myself right out. This is who I am, but I still want the peace.” Still, doesn’t Ice-T fear that such inflammatory behavior, coming from someone like him, inadvertently glamorizes gang life even as he criticizes it?

“I don’t have no fear of using the word ‘cuz,” he says, ” ’cause I was affiliated with the Crips. I’m not trying to promote ’em though. That’s who I was.” For that reason, Ice says he doesn’t discredit industry players—like Death Row CEO Surge Knight, a Blood, who publicly maintain their gang allegiances. “If that’s what he is and he wants to represent himself,” Ice-T says, clapping his hands together for emphasis, “that’s him, you know what I’m saying?”

“Once you’ve been involved with gangs, it’s for life. It’s not like something you can totally ever really get away from. People die. It’s not like a club; thousand of people have died on each side of the gang scene, so it’s more real than you can possibly imagine. You might never have been in a gang but if you learned that some Crips killed your sister and I was a Crip, you’d definitely have a feeling about me, whether or not I was involved. And when you got groups of men who not only endure murder, but murder together in retaliation, then you’ve got a bond for life.  The ability to turn on your color is really hard. You can embrace the other color, that’s peace, but you got to represent what you are because your boys died for that. It’s as real as any war.”

After the L.A. uprising of 1992, as burnt-down buildings still smoldered and families buried their dead, a group of young gangbangers from Watts, finally sickened by the violence, set out to orchestrate a ceasefire. An ex-gang member named Anthony Perry modeled the blueprint for a truce after an Egypt/Israeli treaty written by a Black diplomat from Watts named Ralph Bunche, who won the Nobel Prize in 1950. Soon, Tony Bogard, an infamous Crip, and Tyrone Baker, a Blood, started the non-profit group, Hands Across Watts. Similar organizations like South Central Blackness, Yes I can and Phase Two also sprang phoenix-like from the ashes. After decades of war, Bloods and Crips were tying their bandannas together.

Ice-T heard about the truce while he was on the road. “I couldn’t believe it,” he says. “I had wanted a truce for a long time, even rapped about it in the song ‘Colors’ and sh*t.” He dashed out a song called “Got a Lotta Love” on the tour bus, and promised to donate all the profits to Hands Across Watts. After a buddy from his crime days introduced him to Bogard and Thai Stick, a well-known Bountyhunter (a Blood set), Ice was convinced to join the board of directors. The problem was, despite all the lip service politicians and celebrities paid to rebuilding inner-city L.A., there was no cash coming in. “No one would give us a dime,” Ice says. “No record labels, no one. It was a wound that no one aired to heal. The attitude was like, ‘Gangbangers? Send ’em off to jail.”

Then, 10 months into the truce, Tony Bogard was murdered. He was shot while confronting a drug dealer in his neighborhood. “That was really dramatic to me,” Ice says, “to see someone who went from negative to positive get killed. I went out there with my own money and spent close to $200,000 but there was no other aid.”

Though most of the peace organizations dissolved for lack of finances, the legacy of the truce lives on. Gang-related homicides decreased drastically; in some neighborhood, they were down 48 percent. And in ensuing years, other young activists grouped together to promote intra-gang peace. If some of L.A.’s estimated 400 sets are still at war, things have definitely chilled.

“The vibe isn’t as negative as it was,” Ice agrees. “you can go to concerts now and there’ll be lots of different gang members, but they won’t set trip as easily. There’s usually someone going, ‘No, no, no. Keep it cool.’ But in the old days, it would be n as soon as the other color was in sight. Now they won’t gangbang unless it’s provoked.”

“As far as a forever truce, this might sound corny, but you gotta give kids something else to do,” he continues. “You gotta reinstate hope and give them something they feel is worth living for. ‘Cause the whole street mentality is like, ‘F*ck it. I’m gonna die anyway, and I don’t got nothing really going.’ You don’t see kids dropping out of law school and stealing cars. You don’t do that when you see a horizon ahead. If you check into the Nazi of skinhead gangs, it’s white kids who just feel like there’s no hope.”

The first thing we need to do, Ice thinks, is to concentrate on the elementary schools, and hire gang counselors to sniff out the first sign of trouble. He says that current  gangbangers are so brainwashed that the only things that will snap them out of it is a death really close to them or moving away. Some of his other solutions—restructuring society so that teaching is the highest paid profession (more than police work, anyway) guaranteeing a free college education to everyone—seem like pie-in-the-sky for a notion under the next government. But his main hope—that gangs will eventually clear themselves out and become as unhip as once cool cracksmoking has—is a distinct possibility.

“Gang membership will change,” he stresses. “Right now, it’s kinda uncool in L.A. to set trip. It’ll have to be uncool to kill another Black man. Otherwise, to paraphrase a Crips slogan, gangss won’t die, they’ll multiply.

There’s an old Sicilian saying that, ‘Man is the only animal that will dine with the enemies.’ Ice-T’s freedom-fighter image took a credibility hit when he gave Time Warner the go-ahead to delete “Cop Killer” from future pressings of Body Count; worse yet, he helped create the history that was doomed to repeat itself. In part because he and Time Warner curbed in to Dan Quayle’s “morality” police four years ago, rap music was an obvious target when the next election year rolled around.

Ice-T says that he realized he had his own “family values” to consider once the shakedown got really bad—his daughter got pulled out of school and questioned by the feds, Darlene was scared, and he was audited three times. “That ‘Cop Killer’ sh*t was an early warning signal that you can’t be connected to a major corporation and speak out against the government at the same time,” he argues. He released the angry, issues-oriented Home Invasion and his own Rhyme Syndicate label in 1993.

Today, he wants to move away from his spokesman image. “When you start rapping on the streets, you rap about what matters to you. Then you get some power, and people are like, ‘his voice drops to a whisper,’ ‘Yo, rap about AIDS.’ Then you go get out and learn about it and then you rap about AIDS. A lop of people will forget what you  care about, I want to help everybody. But after a while, it does become a burden, like you can’t be a person anymore. I wanted to say what I really wanted to on this album and make records for my homeboys.”

If Home Invasion is political, this sh*t is like [the movie] Casino,” he laughs. The 24-song Return of the Real is split into a hardcore “G” (gangsta) side and a laid-back “P” (playaz) side, and, in a new move for Ice-T, includes some laid-back radio-ready singles. Even so, the message is his medium. There are several gang-oriented morality tales, such as “Dear Honey” in which a dead Crip testifies from the grave. “I told you, gangbanging ain’t no joke.”

Ice-T can’t help preaching, trying to convince kids that the disease can be cured, that they’ve got a chance to make a better life if they think straight and put their minds to it. “The reason I live here to this day is that I hated the ghetto so much, all the violence there, that I busted my ass to get out. People always come up and say, ‘Ice, why you live on the hill?’and I say, ‘Look, everyone in the ghetto wants to live in the hills—no one lives there ‘cause they want to. Why do you think they’re stealing  and robbing banks? They’re trying to have a better life.” With that, he escorts us out of the house, past the Samurai statues and the lynching photos, past the gold plaques and sting rays, past his wife and son half asleep in the couch. Away from… his new family.

The post BANGIN’: For Life, Love & a Future – Ice-T relives his gangsta days appeared first on The Source.

Words by Adario Strange
Photo by Chi Modu
This article was originally published in The Source Magazine, March 1996 (Issue #78)

In the mind of the young Black man who caresses the streets of America with his languid form, moving ever between the blackening flame of his own discontent and the ice surrounding his heart made hard by an unforgiving society, resides the most fascinating balancing act known to modern man: that of delicately holding on to your sanity with the wind at your back and finding a reason to live while the audience below screams that you’re crazy not to jump into the depths of your own lunacy. Besides, they yell, it is your nature to lose your mind.

I’m livin’ that thug life baby
Stressin’, smokin’ Indo goin’ crazy
Baby come and hug me when ya rub me
Turn the lights down, lay in the dark when ya love me
Everybody talkin’ ‘bout they know me
But they ain’t down like my motherf*ckin’ homies
Tell me what ya need when you see me
And we can get it on, beeyotch take it easy
Don’t try to hold me, control me
But you can take my number baby call me when ya lonely
‘Cause it’s a man’s world ain’t no need to ask why
I’m high till I die, and strapped with my 4-5
‘Cause you could lose it in the gutter
I wonder if I’ll die by the hands of
another broke motherf*cker
They call me the alcohol I’m all in
Thug for life, n*gga ballin’
I’m gettin’ tired of these h*es tryin’ to play me
You can’t fade me and my n*ggas goin’ crazy
All day I’m straight thuggin’
Breakin’ the b*tches that be buggin’
Tell me
Who do you love
Maybe it’s the thug in me.
-Tupac, from “Who Do You Luv,” 1993 unreleased

Tupac Shakur, who many wish to believe is one of America’s chief outlaws, has just been released from prison on $1 million bail, pending an appeal on a rape conviction he says he’s not guilty of. At around 5’6”, a little yet slightly muscular buck fifty pounds, Tupac’s stature remains one of defiant confidence and unpredictable mayhem. Weathered by his 11 month stint in jail, Tupac has nevertheless retained his classic features and the smooth, earth colored complexion that has drawn many a woman near despite his testosterone-laced verses often spat with errant b*tches and h*es mixed throughout. The women see what they wish to see, a brash hero ready to die. Maybe even, for love, they hope.

Surrounded by his new crew, the Outlaw Immortals— an assortment of young Black men whose foreign dictator and movie gangster monikers color their aspirations in the truest hue— Tupac moves around a small Los Angeles apartment as though it were a war room. These are his soldiers, or at least the beginnings of an army Tupac (now also known as Machiavelli— an obvious ode to the famous political philosopher) hopes to build on his quest to become that “international n*gga.” With the impending release of All Eyez On Me, a 28-cut double album featuring the vocal stylings of Snoop, Redman, Method Man, Jodeci, Faith Evans and Tha Dogg Pound, and the production signatures of Dr. Dre, DJ Quik, QD3, Daz, DJ Prob and Bobcat, Tupac’s worldly aspirations seem only hindered by his open court cases and well-known penchant for the fast life. His crew views him as they wish him to be seen, as their way out of poverty. Not as their way out of the ghetto per se. For them, Tupac may well be the blueprint for a new urban guerilla whose favorite home lies within the slums— a kind of self-induced substitute father mechanism and tactical necessity for the new world order. Ultimately, this is away deeper into the ghetto, that possibly leads to reinventing the meaning of the word.

Many different people see Tupac as many different things: hustler, actor, thug, faker, realist, lover, hater, artist, opportunist. But in reality he is all of these. And while this observation may appear to make him unique, it actually simplifies him into the universal symbol of young Black manhood that he is; American society’s most vibrant and visible symbol of contradiction, one that comes out looking terrible and beautiful all at once.

A prince should have no other aim or thoughts, nor take up any other thing for his study, but war and its organization and discipline, for that is the only art that is necessary to one who commands, and it is of such virtue that it not only maintains those who are born princes, but often enables men of private fortune to attain to that rank.

-Niccoló Machiavelli, from The Prince

Fully immersed within a thick cloud of television noise, sh*t talking and marijuana smoke, accented by a light oily mist emanating from the hot links being fried in the kitchen by 6’4”, 200 plus Syke, Tupac’s ever-present lieutenant, the 24-year-old ex-con seems hardly changed by his time in prison as he settles into the sofa and begins reflecting on the last couple of years. “Back then, I was a soldier, I was going through my stages, still earning my stripes. Now, in ‘96, I’m the Don. Not of the world, but of my crew. I live to be successful in this game, because life ain’t nothing but a game. It’s not what they told us when we was kids. You know, you be nice, people will be nice to you. No, it is a game.”

That very game once took Tupac on his famous rollercoaster ride through several gun possession cases, assault charges, sexual assault cases and numerous studio to street rap wars. Watching him in the present, not humbly converted to some new religion or claiming a brand new way of life, but cavorting with his homies just like before, forces one to wonder if he’s learned from his experiences. “Look, before, I didn’t give a f*ck. Now, I pick the fights I have. Everybody was saying I was such a bad boy, but look how bad they was. I’m locked down in jail, Donnie Simpson telling jokes, Wendy Williams (of NYC’s Hot 97 radio station) telling motherf*ckers I got raped, you got motherf*ckers running off at the mouth. They beggin’ for me to whip they ass. They beggin’ for the old Tupac. But that’s the trick, that’s why I can’t go out like that. I’m coming with an army and I’m coming back my own man, and stronger.”

Energy welling up into the veins in his neck, Tupac digs into the subject at hand. “What made me stronger was getting charged for a crime I didn’t commit, getting charged with shooting two police officers and having every cop in the country after me. It was the dude shooting the cop saying he did it ‘cause I told him to do it. All the moments I spent in cuffs, all the times I woke up broke ‘cause I had to pay the lawyers. All the times I had to pay somebody off ‘cause they was lying but I didn’t have the time to go to court. All the shows I had to cancel, all the mouths I had to feed, you know the struggle had to go on. And I feel like I never stopped when a lot of people would have stopped. I didn’t fall, and that helped move me to the next level. I always thought I had to fight my way to the next level, but you have to think your way to the next level. And that’s when it came to me, when I went to jail. That little stint got me to thinking, I watched my leg heal, I watched holes close up, and I was like, ‘that’s how it gotta be.’ Not that I can’t die, but I lost the fear now, they done blew it for me. I used to be scared of guns. That was one of the things I was scared of, getting shot, they done blew it for me. I need to see some tanks of something, some missiles, I’m not on that death wish no more. I wanna live, but I’m not fin to sacrifice my morals, my principles and what I believe in. I’m not gonna give up on my honor to live.”

A man who wishes to make a profession of goodness in everything must necessarily come to grief among so many who are not good. Therefore, it is necessary for a prince, who wishes to maintain himself, to learn how not to be good…

Much is made of the “bad boy” persona, especially as it relates to young Black men who appear to have elevated the art of being low down to a suave and even chic artifice of attitude, appearance and action. But far from the cool perception, as reality often resides, the sum of many so-called thugs is made up more of pain than cinematic adventures, in this, Tupac is no different. “What put me in this mentality was when the females who my momma raised me to believe were my sisters and were part of my family started suing me, charging me with rape, setting me up, going to the police, anything for the money. That’s why I live this way. For the n*ggas who woof, ‘F*ck you, you little skinny n*gga. F*ck you, you a punk,’  and then I go over and punch them in the mouth, and then they be in court talking about I assaulted them. That’s why I live this way. For my homeboys who are geniuses, who are mathematicians, who can’t get no work. Who the only thing he could see is being a drug dealer, that’s why I live like this. For my homeboys that’s pimps who don’t even know what a real woman is because they never met one, that’s why I live this way. For all of that. For my momma who struggled and starved, for my family. For everybody who could never do, I can, and I’m gonna do.”

A wise prince will seek means by which his subjects will always and in every possible condition of things have need of his government, and then they will be faithful to him.

Where did all this beef with Bad Boy Records come from?

This just stemmed for some gangster sh*t that got caught up in this record company sh*t. And some n*ggas that you thought was strong, that you thought was gangstas, that you thought was Big Poppas, turned into cowards ‘cause some real gangstas came at them.

I remember when I first met you in ‘93, you were rollin’ with Biggie. What killed that?

I was puttin’ Biggie on. What killed it was Biggie got put on. Biggie was in Thug Life. He used to be like, “Thug Life, Thug Life.” He used to be like, “F*ck Bad Boy, I hate Puffy, I ain’t f*ckin’ with him. Sign me PAC.” I just ain’t have no chips for the n*gga and I wasn’t gonna lie to him. He made his album and I was making my album. This is before Me Against The World came out. I used to hear his tracks, he used to hear my tracks. Our styles were totally different. My sh*t was on some, I’m about to die, like you hear me on Me Against The World, but it was even a lot ore sh*t about death. This n*gga album come out, Ready to Die, it’s all my album. And Biggie used to sit up there and ask me, “How do you do them choruses? You the hook man. How do you do this? How do you do that?” I used to tell that n*gga, don’t do none of that gangsta sh*t. You better get at these females. Because the females buy your tape. The n*ggas buy your tape because the females want the tape. And look, he came out on some Big Poppa sh*t. That’s straight up robbery. But even after that, long as he was my homeboy, that was okay. But soon as he started acting like he was his own man… N*ggas knew that I was at the point where I couldn’t just be just ridin’ on n*ggas. I had like 50 gun cases, 30 assault cases, and they didn’t have one. So they was plottin’.

And what about you and Stretch from Live Squad?

Stretch was my closest dog, my closest homie. I did a lot of drama, I got into a lot of cases and sh*t because of Stretch. Money wise, he could’ve had anything. His daughter, was my daughter, whatever she wanted she could have. Then this sh*t happened and the n***a didn’t ride for me. He didn’t do what your dog is supposed to do when you shot up. When I was in jail, n*gga never wrote me, never got at me. His homeboys was coming to see me and he wasn’t coming to see me. And he started hangin’ around Biggie right after this. I’m in jail, shot up, his main dog and he hangin’ out going to shows with Biggie. Both these n***as never came to see me.

And before he passed, you never got a chance to talk to him?

Ain’t no words. The rules of the game are so self-explanatory.

After all that went down, people are trying to say it’s some sort of hit connection…

Nah. Know what happened? Rules of the game, what comes around goes around. I never had no violent thoughts toward Stretch at all. I just didn’t want to f*ck with him no more, but I didn’t want to kill him. He was my dog. He got shot like I got shot. Everybody believed it was just a random f*ckin’ robbery [when I got shot], this n***a get killed, now random sh*t don’t happen.

There are two methods of fighting, the one by law, the other by force; the first method is that of man, the second of beasts; but as the first method is often insufficient, one must have recourse to the second.

What made this an East Coast vs. West Coast thing?

I’m from the East Coast. That why Ican feel like this. To my peoples in New York who got love forme, ignore this. Don’t even trip. But they attacking me in such mass amounts that I can’t no longer call these n***as names out. And they all coming from New York. That’s where I gotta start bangin’.

But even after all this happened, Dre, Snoop and the Pound made peace with Puffy on stage at THE SOURCE Awards…

Biggie got on the radio saying, “This is where them n*ggas is at, they making a video dissin’ New York. Y’all need to get at them.” N*ggas rolled down there and got with them. Funkmaster Flex, all them n*ggas was who ridin’ on the radio and some n*ggas went own there and handled their wax. But nobody got hurt, fortunately. But see, all they did was step this sh*t up a level.

How did Biggie’s wife Faith get into all of this? (On the new album, Tupac performs with Faith Evans on a song entitled “Wonder Why They Call You Bitch.”)

Because them n*ggas be on the radio and in their records and on the videos acting like players. Didn’t Biggie say he was a player? [imitates] “Baby, baby…” Stole my lyrics, I stole his bitch. Took my rhymes, I took his wife. He touched my style, I touched his wife. If he talk all that sh*t about being a player and I got at his wife two days after I got outta jail, imagine that gangsta sh*t he’s talking, how plastic that sh*t is.

Where do you see the end of this?

I’m Black. I believe in the Million Man March and all of that, and I know a lot of kids that are looking up at me…

Did you go?

No I just got outta jail. So instead of being violent, I’m saying do it like this—and I’m doing this because I’m a player and a business man. F*ck the fighting, f*ck the beef. Bad Boy put an album with the East Coast: best. Death Row put out an album. West Coast best. We release it on the same day. Whoever get the most sales completely, that’s the winner. N***as is petrified of that sh*t ‘cause they know we gonna outsell ‘em. There would be no more beef, we’ll hug. Me and Biggie could do Pay-per-view shows for community centers. We could rap against each other on stage, we could box on stage. That’s what I’m willing to do ‘cause he Black.

And while all the Tanions who populate the West and East, who claim to represent their coast, find their own ways to personally escalate the rift between states int isolated violent incidents of ego and misguided aggression, few clicks, G’s, ballers or big willies stop to consider the alternatives as in the true nature of the Death Row/Bad Boy situation. Who takes pause to ponder if an artist who has everything he could ask for might need what actors call “motivation” now that hard times are past? Certainly there is enough to draw from in all our own personal experiences as young Black men, but what moves one to strike an aggressive stance when one doesn’t appear necessary? Why do gangs bang on each other instead of the government which excludes them? To find that such twisted forms of urban angst reach even into the realms of superstars who are looked up by fans is disturbing, yet it typifies the reality that these artists are many times only the magnified versions of the millions of Black man, children who, fatherless and directionless, struggle to find identity and truth through trial and error. The question then becomes how many trials can one endure before error results to death in the form of a jail cell or shotgun shell.

Again it is the contradictory dynamic that holds the streets as a captive audience as they watch their own dreams played out on the electronic stage of radio waves floating across the country from the unknowing mouths of G’ed up performers. Many of these performers are still finding their own identity, and in the process and sometimes tragically perpetuating a fantasy persona that damages the hungry mind of the four-year-old who knows all the words to “Why I’m A Gangsta N***a & Don’t Give A F*ck.” Dealing with unromanticized reality (whether the brand is East Coast Moët or West Coast drop tops), there is one question which looms heavily over the heads of Tupac and every young Black man in the street who embraces the “rebel” code of ethics: Are you really free?

A general rule, which never or very rarely fails, that whoever is the cause of another becoming powerful, is ruined himself: for that power is produced by him either through craft or force; and both of these are suspected by the ones who has been raised to power.

How did the relationship with you and Suge Knight begin?

He always used to tell me to come to the Row. But it was too many stars over there and i know how I am. But watching how New York flipped on me…

What are you saying happened?

They think I rushed on Tribe Called Quest’s stage [at the Source Awards ‘94] and that’s not what happened. They played my music, I’m going on with my music. What the f*ck I look like, Plastic Man? I’ma play my own DAT? But that’s not what I was mad at. I was mad ‘cause they was booing me. I was mad ‘cause those Zulu Nation n***as came out saying if he ever do that again, he’s gonna get his ass locked. Well, whip my ass then.

Even though you knew Death Row had many priorities, what made you go there anyway?

Because the homie [Suge] came to me personally, and I was like, “I gotta get outta here.” He said, “I can’t make you no promises, but if you don’t get out, I’ll look out for you.” I was like, “I’m trying to do my album. Help my moms, I got enemies…” He said, “Don’t worry about it.” And I was like, if you get me out Suge, I guarantee I will put Death Row in a position that nobody can take it to. I will take us where no man has ever been before. I’ll be a soldier for Death Row. To show loyalty. Because he was being real to me when nobody was being real.

How?

Money wise, N***as knew I was getting out, nobody wanted to touch me, nobody wanted to f*ck with me. N***as was all on the radio talking about they was coming to visit me, but they wasn’t coming to visit me. Only MC Lyte, April walker, Nefertiti, Jada [Pinkett], that’s it.

What were you feeling towards the Million Man March?

I was extremely proud of it. My only disappointment—and it’s not a critique of it at all, it’s just a wish—is I wish rappers could’ve had a bigger participation. We who they listen to.

Do you think it will change something?

Yeah, I think it changed something, it just set it up for the next time. I got a lot of respect for Farrakhan and everything them brothers just did. I love them for that.

I’ve heard something about Farrakhan possibly being involved in a mediation between your camp and Bad Boy…

I don’t know nothing about that. When superpowers go to war—we not suckas, we superpowers—once they declare war, they don’t sit down at the table immediately and start negotiating.

Where do you see the Black man in our age group in the scheme of things—in America and in the world?

We are in the midst of a very dangerous, non-productive, self-destructive civil war. And its not just rap sh*t. It’s ideals. And this rap sh*t is just bringin’ it to a head. The East Coast believe one thing, and the West Coast believe one thing. The East Coast got one way of life, the West Coast got another way of life, it always co-existed. We coming to the turn of the century where we gotta mash together.

The post DEATH WISH – TUPAC SHAKUR: LIFE AFTER DEATH, LIVING ON DEATH ROW & KILLING THE EAST COAST appeared first on The Source.

Interview by Neil Strauss
Photo by Jay Blakesberg
This article was originally published in The Source Magazine, April 1998 (Issue #103)

There are no security gates, armed guards or electric fences at Snoop Doogy Dogg’s house in Claremont outside of Los Angeles, just a sweatsuit-clad Snoop, who pulls me into the door and pushes me into his home studio. “I want you to hear a few songs first,” he barks, punching play on his DAT machine. He backs out, under a sign that reads “Home Honey, I’m High,” and I don’t see him again for an hour. Instead, I hear 13 new songs he just finished recording. After a triumphant comeback song—with a silky female chorus cooling “When Doggy Dogg comes, you better answer”—comes a concept album of sorts about his current problems and his solutions to them from embittered Death Row swipes (“you stole my money and my soul”) to anthems of newfound autonomy (“I put out my records independently/ That way ain’t no n*gga yanking me”).

The moment the album skids to an end, Snoop bursts through the door. “Well, did you tape some of it?” he asks.

“Of course not,” I reassure him.

“You should have.”

“What?!”

“Didn’t we talk yesterday about taping pieces of the album and leaking them on the internet?”

“Yeah.”

“Come on, man,” he sighs. “I’ll give you the ones that you want.”

“Should I just leak it on the internet, or do you want radio too?”

“All of it, man,” he replies. “That’s what I want you here for. I ain’t never done that sh*t before.”

Snoop Doggy Dogg is at a strange juncture in his career. Some of his friends say that he’s alone and confused; other says he’s never been more confident and right-headed in his life. Not only is he in the midst of a nasty divorce with the label he helped thrust to the top of the charts, he also has to regain the hip-hop supremacy he once possessed. For some, Snoop Dogg hasn’t mattered since he became Dre-less. Even Snoop seems to have internalized that sentiment to some degree. It comes across in his need for affirmation about the music he plays me, the assurance that his new sh*t is indeed the bomb.

But all of this may be subtext to the real nuts and bolts of the drama: the stranger tussle between Snoop and Death Row. According to Snoop, under the terms of California law he’s a free man. Death Row claims he owes them another six albums. Nevertheless, Snoop’s been running around like a man granted amnesty, embarking on venture after venture while cheerily telling Death Row to f*** off. In the next year, he plans to exercise his independence with his own indie label, Dogg House Records, a new solo album, a movie and soundtrack based on his Death Row experiences called Corleone’s Revenge, a 213 album (with Warren G and Nate Dogg) a long-awaited reunion with Dr. Dre (Break Up to Make Up) and, if his stamina keeps up, a project called Three The Hard Way with Ice Cube and Kurupt.

He is both paranoid and carefree, insecure and confident, frustrated and excited. He has recorded so much new music but no one is hearing it. His wings have been clipped for so long that he seems eager to embark on any collaboration, project or experiment. Another contradiction he embodies is family man (with a wife and two children) and gangsta. Right now, he is a family man.

“Can we use your wheels?” he asks. I gotta go get pampers.”

By the time I realized the situation I’ve been put in, it’s too late because we’re already on the highway in my cheap-as-sh*t Pontiac with Snoop rolling a joint and the tape recorder going. The situation is this: driving around Southern California with Snoop riding shotgun is the equivalent of letting your young child visit Michael Jackson unsupervised. It’s dangerous.

I’m surprised that you’re trying to get me to leak this album because there’s always such high security surrounding rap albums.

It didn’t used to be about that. When me and Warren G and Nate Dogg started, we used to make records and we used to put the motherf***ers out the same day on a tape. I’m trying to put the real sh*t out there now, the sh*t I’ve been making, the sh*t I’ve been thinking about, the sh*t I’ve been doing. That’s one thing I learned from Pac and Puffy—ain’t no such thing as overexposure, ain’t no such thing as doing too much. Them n*ggaz, in the last two years I’ve heard at least a hundred records from them two. And if people ain’t stopped liking them n*ggaz and loving them n*ggaz, that say there ain’t no such thing as overexposure.

So how are you getting out of your Death Row contract?

I got a contract from 1991 I signed with Future Shock Records on it, and Future shock Records was Death Row Records before we came up with the name of Death Row. And under the seven-year statute [a California statute limiting personal service contracts to seven years], I’m outta my contract. And not only that, they breached me: they ain’t paid me, they stole my publishing, and they ain’t never done sh*t for me. But f*** a n*gga cuz a n*gga didn’t know. [David Kenner, lawyer for Death Row, did not respond to Snoop’s allegations by press time.]

What label are you gonna find to put out this new record?

No label will want to put it out. That’s why I’ve got to do it myself. If I get some distribution, I would take it. But this album right here is so on the edge that the average record label wouldn’t want to put it out because of certain sh*t I say and the way I say it. They don’t want to have nothing to do with that.

You’re talking about that “Death Row Killers” song?

Mm hmmmm.

Is that the first Death Row diss record to come from the West Coast?

I ain’t never heard nobody talking about Death Row. Period. Besides Luke. Luke was the only one who dissed me and Dre. Eazy-E was trying, but it wasn’t nothing major, like this sh*t I’m talking about.

You’re Death Row’s biggest cash cow, so aren’t they fighting or trying in some way to keep you from leaving the label?

They’re not trying to take me to court and I’m putting out records right now without their permission, so they must know they can’t beat me in court. But it ain’t about that. It’s about all I asked for is what I asked for, so let me move forward. Don’t hold me down because you’re locked up and you feel everything is against you. I’m not against you homie, I just gotta take care of my family and Death Row can’t provide for me right now.

What did you ask Death Row for?

A lot of sh*t. Man, I ain’t never been accounted for. At all. As long as I’ve been rapping for Death Row Records, they never accounted for me. I never received statements on my money, or none of that, man. They bought a n*gga gifts and sh*t.

What gifts did they get you?

A Rolls Royce, a penthouse suite on Wilshire, a motherf***ing Hummer, gold chains, Rolex watches, diamond earrings, hotel suites, anything a n*gga wanted. Anything to keep your mind off your money. They bought me this and brought me that instead of giving me my motherf***ing money, and when the court case came up. . .

You couldn’t afford the lawyers?

. . .not really afford the lawyers. But I couldn’t fight the system because they would have dropped my case and left me for dead. How am I gonna talk sh*t to the motherf***ers that’s putting up the money to fight for my life? And what was important to me was my freedom at the time.

So you would’ve gotten off Death Row back then if you could’ve?

Hell yeah. Cause I seen where they were going. When Dre left, what the f*** am I gonna be there for? I signed to Death Row Records for Dr. Dre. Point blank. Just like anybody else would have in 1991, when Dre was in N.W.A and they broke up and he went and did his thing. N*ggas would have went and signed with Death Row Records, Future Shock Records, whatever the f*** it was called, for Dr. Dre. I didn’t know nobody else. I was in it for the music.

When Dre left Death Row, did he ask you to go with him?

No, he didn’t ask me to leave. He didn’t say nothing. He just packed his bags and left. If he had asked me to leave, there would have been some violent sh*t. Cause n*ggaz will be n*ggaz. But I mean, I had fun and sh*t on Death Row, man. I can’t say I didn’t. I just hate that it ended like it did, man. I can truly say that to all the little rappers coming up in the game: money is a motherf***er and don’t believe the color, know what I’m saying. You might see a Black record label and be like, “I’m gonna sign with this label ‘cause they ain’t gonna be f***ing me and the white labels just be f***ing us.” Man, n*ggaz will f*** you over faster than white folks will too. We all the same: we all got blood in us and we all dream and think and do the same sh*t in the world, so it ain’t got nothing to do with color. It’s all about the person’s well-being and what their business attitude is. So for all the young rappers coming in, get you some attorneys. Even if you ain’t got no money, you gotta get attorneys so you can read over them contracts and know what you’re singing so you won’t be in the situation I’m in, where I gotta fight these n*ggaz to get my sh*t back.

What’s the main problem? Publishing?

Yeah, that’s the only problem. They don’t want to give that sh*t back to me because I know what is is now. And I’m signed to Suge Publishing, and he knows I know what it is now, so he don’t wanna give it back to me.

At least Dre never signed to Suge Publishing.

Yeah, cause Dre isn’t stupid. He had already been through N.W.A. That was my N.W.A right there.

At what point did everything on Death Row start to go bad? It was a good family for a while.

Yeah, it was a good family when all that gang-bang bullsh*t was to the side. But then n*ggaz start bringing their homeboys, letting their homeboys be a part of our business. When it was just us and we were doing the music, it was the sh*t. I was at fault too because some of my homeboys came and influenced and f***ed some sh*t up too. But all of us was at fault when we started bringing our homeboys who took the sh*t sideway and had n*ggaz doing stupid sh*t. That’s why n*ggaz is where they at right now.

Was there ever any conflict between you and Suge because he was a Blood and you were a Crip?

Never no conflict. We got over that from day one, but a lot of times out homeboys had problems with it and conflicts. That’s where sh*t went bad because some of the homies couldn’t understand how I could be a Crip and he could be a Blood and we could chill and make money and not hate each other. Suge always let a n*gga represent. He never told me to stop representing Crip. He never tried to make me change and represent his hood and claim what he claimed. He was the best businessmen in the world for me at first. I can’t take nothing away from him there. He put me in situations where all I had to do was shine and do what I do best. Without his push I couldn’t have been there. There’s real sh*t that I got from, learned from him, appreciated from him, but then there’s bad sh*t as well. And that’s part of life. It’s like a marriage: it’s good and it’s bad, and you take the good with the bad. Pull over here, I wanna get some diapers.

Snoop leaves the car, returns three minutes later with a bottle of barbecue sauce in his hand and talks to the tape recorder. “I had a diaper run, had to get some diapers for my baby. The store didn’t have none; them motherf***ers was too small.”

If you compare your two albums, Suge’s name blows up on the back and in the booklet to bigger than your name. . .

Exactly. His name is bigger than mine on my record. His name is all over my record: Suge Publishing. Executive Producer: Suge Knight. And he didn’t do a motherf***ing thing in the studio, no records, no producing, none of that. But I’m wrong for wanting my name on there, my logo on there? But Tupac can get it on his sh*t. But then get mysteriously killed a couple months later? So I say, man, those n*ggas was bad businessmen. It was fun while it lasted, but I’m older and much wiser and I’m ready to move on with my life. And I feel those motherf***ers shouldn’t be mad at me. It’s like an athlete. If Michael Jordan don’t wanna play for the Chicago Bulls and he won those motherf***ers seven championships, they gotta let him f***ing go. I won these motherf***ers seven championships. I been down with them since 1991. It’s 1998.

You have so many lyrics on the new record rapping about independence and talking about people like Master P. Do you feel that you’re free now?

Independence is freedom because you’re able to do what you gotta do when you want to. I look at it like I helped Death Row build an empire. I could have been one of the partners in the company when Dre left. N*ggaz know I was there when Death Row started. He [Suge] could have pulled me aside and said, “Snoop, there goes 20 percent of Death Row. Why don’t you take a little bit of Dre’s share. You were here from the beginning, you made Death Row with me. Here’s 20 percent of the company.” Better than that, n*gga could have said, “Here’s 15 percent,” “Here’s 10 percent,” “Here’s five percent,” “Here’s two percent,” “Here’s one percent.”

N*gga didn’t even give me one percent of Death Row and everybody in the industry, in the world, on the streets, in the pen knows you never heard of Death Row till you heard of Snoop Dogg. So how you gonna cheat me out of mine? And then don’t pay me? And then got all of my sh*t tied up in your name and Ms. Knight? All kind of sh*t that they tried to do to me. They just tried to use me.

Did you ever tell Suge that you wanted a piece of the company?

I shouldn’t have had to tell him. He was the business; I was just the artist.

How could you let the wife of your record label president manage you? Didn’t you see the conflict of interest there? That’s the cl*ssic mistake people make when getting started in the business.

Yeah it’s a cl*ssic mistake—when you don’t know. The thing was: I was in a situation where money was new to me, success was new to me and all this sh*t hit me at once. Sh*t was happening so fast she just seemed like she was handling business for me. And of course with his knowledge and him saying, “Well, you should make her your manager,” what am I gonna say? “No?” And we was all family so I’m not gonna second [guess] it. “That’s your wife, so what is she gonna do to harm me? If it get too hectic, I know you’ll pull me out of it.” And he never did, I swear to God, I asked him for a whole year to take me out of the contract with her. “Suge, please man.” Me and Tha Dogg Pound all went through the same thing. Nate Dogg would never sign with her, Rage would never sign with her because she was doing sneaky sh*t. Then tried to sue me?!

Didn’t Death Row freeze your assets because of it?

Man, they haven’t paid me since October. That’s why I don’t give a f*** about Death Row right now. I don’t give a f*** about going on the record—I’ll say it on TV and in public. Y’all should just let me go. If you had let me go, I would have never said f*** Death Row. But y’all don’t even wanna let a n*gga go. You wanna hold onto me like I’m a slave or some sh*t. This is 1998. This ain’t 1898.

It’s crazy because I know when Dr. Dre left they tried to make all kinds of false accusations about him. Trying to say that the n*gga’s gay and all kinds of sh*t. Man, n*ggas be trying to do all kinds of sh*t to bring a n*gga down when a n*gga don’t wanna be with ‘em no more. I wonder what they’re gonna say [about] me now. That’s why I’m shooting off hit rocks at their *ss before they say something about me. I’m just telling the truth though, I ain’t making up sh*t. I’m just straight telling the truth, and I’m getting back with Dre. We gonna make some motherf***ing hit records, and anybody got a problem with it n*gga, you all know where we at.

I heard that new song you did with Dre the other day, “Zoom Zoom,” on the internet.

I ain’t on that song no more. Interscope Records took me off and put LL Cool J on it because Death Row wouldn’t clear me on the record as far as doing sh*t with Dre, because you know they hate Dre because Dre left. Now they gonna be hating me. That’s why I’m doing records about them before they even get at me. I heard what Suge said about me in The Source magazine. What’d he say, that Tupac didn’t like me or something?

No, he said that you and Tupac had a falling out, after the MTV Video Music Awards.

Yeah, we had a falling out because I didn’t feel it was right for him to bring everybody involved into his feud. If he had a problem with Biggie Smalls or Puffy Combs, he was a grown man. He should have able to handle that sh*t on his own. Don’t bring all of us into some sh*t that you can handle on your own. From what I was looking t, them boys didn’t want no problem. Puffy and Biggie never said, “F*** Tupac, f*** Death Row, bring it on.” They always was like, “We wanna be peace, we wanna make it happen.” And I’m a grown man. If a motherf***er don’t wanna quarrel with me or don’t wanna shoot-out with me, why am I gonna force the issue? When I made my statement on the radio out there at the MTV Awards, I let everybody in New York know that Tupac is his own individual and Snoop is his own individual. I’m down with Tupac to the fullest, but if it’s a one-on-one fight, I’m not gonna get involved. That’s not my thing. But if he’s getting his *ss beaten in a one-on-one fight, then I’m gonna get involved. That’s not my thing. But if he’s getting his *ss beaten in a one-on-one fight, then I’m gonna get involved. But they didn’t even wanna fight him, so I didn’t see myself getting involved. And you can call me what you want, but when I have problems with motherf***ers, I don’t ask nobody to help me. All I’ll say is this: gangstas don’t talk, they take care of their business.

What happened to your relationship with Tupac after that?

We didn’t speak after he left New York. But I went to see him when he was in the hospital, all shot up, because I had love for that n*gga and I love him to death to this day. I look at myself as a real friend; a real friend is going to tell you the motherf***ing truth. There’s certain sh*t that Pac told me that hurt my feelings and made me mad, but I loved him for it because he was real and he told me the motherf***ing truth. And Suge Knight can’t speak on me and Pac, because our relationship was genuine, the same way his and Pac’s was. Like I can’t speak on how he had Tupac in the car with him doing stupid-*ss gangbang sh*t in Vegas. That’s on him. Bust a left. If I go in here, I’ll have to sign 8000 motherf***ing autographs and take 18 pictures.

We pull into a grocery store and I run and buy Pampers while Snoop waits in the car. Then we head back to his place, talking about one of his past Source interviews, during which he was driving around gang-banging instead of family-tending. While his wife and children eat lunch, we hole up in the studio and continue.

Were you scared for your life after Tupac and Biggie died?

I’m just an average motherf***er that read, the newspaper; I’m trying to figure out what happened too. So of course I was scared because I thought it was a plot on rappers. But as I got stronger in my faith in God, he took the fear away from me. I’m not fearing nothing now but God. If he ready for me to go, I’ll be leaving. Other than that, I gotta do what I gotta do. And I gotta make hit records.

What happened to the famous armored van you got to protect yourself?

It used to be on the side of my house, but I got rid of it. My armored van is God, man. He gonna get me through everything. ‘Cause if he ready for me to go, that armored van can’t do sh*t. I could be getting out of the armored van getting blown the f*** up.

What’s the closest thing you’ve come to dying?

When I was selling dope, man. I used to get shot at all the time. That’s why I left that lifestyle along because it wasn’t cool to me.  I’ve seen a lot of the homies get shot and all kinds of negative sh*t happen. But that’s part of me rapping about it now because I’ve grown out of it. I want to tell my story. I don’t wanna be a story.

People think that now you’re living behind barred windows surrounded by armed security guards.

Man, you’re here. When you pulled up this morning, I let you in. When we went to the store, it was just me and you. Man, I’m chilling. N*ggaz know where I’m at. I ain’t bringing no problems to nobody, I’m just defending myself. If you say something about me, I’m gonna say something about you. If you steal on me, I’m gonna steal on you. If you jack me, I’m gonna jack you back. That’s just the way I do it. I’m defensive, man. I’m not offensive no more. I’m not the type to go out there and just beat up a n*gga for nothing. I’m just kicking back watching to see what you’re trying to do to me.

I’m just concerned with trying to provide for my family: my wife and my two kids. I’m happy and I’m trying to make the hardest gangsta-*ss music that you n*ggas have heard in a long time. That’s all I’m here for. That’s what you all want, that’s what you’re all gonna get. I think I’m gonna call my album I Apologize. Yeah, Snoop Doggy Dogg, I Apologize, album number three.

What’s happening with the Doggumentary EP Death Row was supposed to release last year?

Death Row or Interscope or somebody f***ed me over. They had me put together a tight-*ss EP and promote it and do a song with Rage Against The Machine. It was the number one song on K-Rock, I did Lollapalooza and take about it, “Midnight Love” was blowing up. And then they f***ed around and didn’t put the record out. That was the last straw right there that made me want to leave. Seeing how they mishandled The Doggfather album. I sold two million records. I’m thankful for that and I’m happy and I’m satisfied. I’m not upset with nothing. I thank those people that bought it and appreciated it. And those that didn’t, f*** y’all.

I was satisfied with that project, and Doggumentary was just a follow-up attempt to show people that I hadn’t went nowhere. But it seemed like Death Row didn’t want me to succeed no more. They didn’t want me to succeed no more. They didn’t want me to put no records out anymore. Then I started trying to do records with other artists and, for instance, the song I did with Jermaine Dupri. I think I was supposed to get $100,000 for that song, and Death Row ended up getting the money and I didn’t get sh*t. And I didn’t get to do the video because Death Row signed off on the papers saying that they would do it, then on the last day changed their mind. So I couldn’t do the video with JD. That’s why he had to do the remix with Usher and Da Brat. And I’m like, man, they just did too much sh*t to me.

But still, what’s the advantage in not releasing Doggumentary, because it’s a guaranteed instant number on record for Death Row?

I don’t know. I guess they’re trying to make me suffer, man, because they know I can’t make no money without no records.

But why do they want to make you suffer in the first place?

I don’t know, man. I’m just trying to be a child of God and do the right things and make good music. You see what I’m about. You’re at my house right there. There ain’t no 34 security people over here. It’s me, my two kids and my dogs in the backyard. We’re just kicking it. I’m not into all that extra sh*t man.

What else did Death Row keep you from doing that you want to do now?

It was tours, it was merchandising, it was all kinds of sh*t that they kept me away from. It was movies. I didn’t know that people want to do movies with me. I look at Menace II Society, them mother*ckers wanted me to be in that movie because the Hughers Brothers is my homeboys. I look at movies that came out that I could have been in or people wanted me to be in, but they was too scared to get at Suge or too scared to get at me because that’s the image that we had. We wouldn’t be f***ed with: we only did chosen sh*t.

I heard Death Row put a record out from a guy Top Dog, I think that’s his name [YGD Tha Top Dogg], where he’s talking about Puffy and he sounds like me. Some n*ggaz in New York think that’s me. That ain’t me. I love Puffy Combs. That’s some fake-*ss n*gga Suge Knight got to sound like me. That’s why God ain’t blessing Suge Knight, ‘cause he’s acting like the devil right now.

Have people said sh*t to you thinking that you did that song?

I had a talk with Puffy and Puffy told me that some of the n*ggaz thought it was me. But he was like, “N*gga, I know it wasn’t you, dog.” I wouldn’t even bust on no wack-*ss sh*t like that. I’m trying to make a song with Puffy, not talking about him.

Now that you’re off Death Row would you do a Bad Boy collaboration?

Hell yeah, I’m trying to do. When he gets this interview, holler at me. Let’s make something happen. I did things with Jermaine Dupri, it turned out well. I did things with Mack 10, Ice Cube, Westside Connection. I’m just trying to do things. When I get on my new label, I’m planning to holler at Warren G, Premier, Dre, Jermaine Dupri, RZA, whoever got the tightest beats. I wanna do a song with Lil’ Kim, I got this bad *ss motherf***in’ record I wanna do with her, some X-rated sh*t. And I’m making movies for home video. So anybody out there with some money that wants to get behind me on these home video projects, holler at a n*gga.

The post IN FROM THE COLD – Snoop Dogg, the rapper who helped make the ‘Death Row’ label a household name, bids for independence appeared first on The Source.

Words by Jerry Lawrence Barrow
Photo by Annalisa
This article was originally published in The Source Magazine, April 1999 (Issue #115)

Imagine, if you will, a place where Natural Borne Killers meets Pee-Wee’s Play House in a demented lyrical orgy. A place where South Park’s Catman teaches at the temple of hip hop and brings in the severed head of a bitin’ MC for show and tell; where the only thing held sacred is a bag of shrooms and a microphone. Welcome to the world of Slim Shady. After years of battling on the underground circuit, Detroit native Eminem has turned a disturbing gift for describing the macabre into a record deal with Aftermath Records and their former dead-man-walking CEO, Dr. Dre. Not content to be just another Caucasian sensation, Eminem stabs you in the funny bone with lines like: ‘My brain’s dead weight/ I’m tryin’ to get my life straight/ But I can’t figure out which Spice Girl I wanna impregnate.” Offended? Good. Cuz Eminem wants you to know that he Still Don’t Give A F*ck.

The Source: How did you come up with the name Slim Shady?

Eminem: I was takin’ a sh*t. I swear to God. And the f*ckin’ name just popped into my head. Then I started thinkin’ of twenty million things that rhymed with it. Everyone in my click had an alias. They was like: “You can’t just be Eminem. You gotta be Eminem a.k.a. somebody else.” Slim Shady is just the evil thoughts that come into my head. Things I shouldn’t be thinkin’ about. Not to be gimmicky, but people should be able to determine when I’m serious and when I’m f*ckin’ around. That’s why a lot of my songs are funny. I got a warped sense of humor I guess.

You released one album independently, Infinite, and the Slim Shady EP before finally hooking up with Dr. Dre. How’d you land your deal?

In 1997 I was in the Rap Olympics in L.A. and I took second place in the freestyle competition. Then I was doin’ a Lyricist Lounge show tryin’ to promote the EP and there was some kids from Interscope Records there and I handed them a copy. They slept on it for a minute. But I went back out to L.A. to do a radio show and Dre caught up with me. I signed in January of last year.

What’s it like working with Dre?

Nobody’s f*ckin’ with Dre, as far as rap producers. As soon as we went in the studio we knocked out four songs in six hours. Every beat he would make, I had a rhyme for. Two of them songs is going on the album. For some reason he knows what type of beats I like. We got good chemistry together.

Both of your videos do some spoofing of the middle-America, “Trailer Park” type of white folks. Did you grow up in that type of environment?

No I’ve lived in trailer parks before, but I grew up on the East Side of Detroit. I come from a nutty family. Besides two bikers next door, me, my moms, and my little brother were the only white people on the block.

What are your influences or motivations for the way you rhyme?

The way my style is now, I pretty much have my own sh*t. When I was growin’ up, I wanted to rap about sh*t people were scared to rap about. Some people will say stuff just for shock value. [But] if I’m thinkin’ it, I’m gonna say it. I make a lot of my own personal business public. There are things I’m gonna say in my life that other people will think is embarrassing to them.

Where’s the strangest place you’ve written a rhyme?

I like to throw my ideas just scattered onto paper. When I was busing tables I’d write ’em on my hand or on receipts. I wrote rhymes on the way in my old house right above my bed. I did it in pencil but one time when I went to wipe it off, it wiped off the paint. My mom f*ckin’ flipped.

You worked your way through the underground battlin’ MCs. What’s your secret for success?

I never got into a battle and didn’t freestyle. That’s how I won all my battles. I cant see anybody winning a battle with written raps. That sh*t is so f*ckin’ corny to me. I don’t wanna be known as an underground battle MC, but you gotta start in the underground. If you don’t build a foundation, your ass is through.

The post Cerebral Knievel – Eminem and the World of Slim Shady appeared first on The Source.

Words by Allen S. Gordon
Photo by Suekwon
This article was originally published in The Source Magazine, October 1994 (Issue #61)

For those who have never been there, envisioning Little Rock, Arkansas, as a major metropolis is quite difficult. And rightly so, considering the misconceptions Hollywood has created over the years. Between the goings on in Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies and Dukes of Hazzard, one would think the South was still Old Dixie: a redneck-governed reservation for millions of cotton-and-tobacco pickin’, Jim-Crow-abidin’, not-knowin’-slavery-is-over-ass n***as. Perhaps this is still the case in places like the backwoods of Louisiana’s Bayou country or Kentucky’s Ozark, but Little Rock is pretty much like any other American city.

Riding through the downtown business district, you’ll see concrete, high-rise towers sporting the familiar logos of IBM, Home Savings of America and AT&T. A few minutes away from the hustle and bustle of the corporate machine, the West Side provides the expected down-home rural atmosphere. In these residential neighborhoods, Black folks sit on the porch, kids do yard work and young males, Nerf footballs in hand, play endless games of touch football. And of course, liquor stores and churches vie for location space on every other corner.

Though many of the Black business on the West Side have been hit by both the recession and the competition from the malls, stores like Soul Brother’s Records and Ugly Mike’s Records have been neighborhood fixtures for over 20 years. While they might look like some old-time candy stores on the outside, inside is a DJ’s heaven. Stacks of Vinyl plates from dusty artists like Donald Byrd, Mandrill, The Watts Poets and the Sylvers share rack space with the latest in R&B and hip-hop.

Make no mistake, Little Rock is alive with music, especially hip-hop.

The culture filtered into the streets the same way it did in every other city outside of New York. “Rapper’s Delight” achieved a foothold; Run-D.M.C. kicked the door in. While New York-style graffiti never really caught on as an art form, the disciplines of breakdancing and rapping were taken up by many. In 1994, Little Rock’s devotion to hip-hop is as loyal and coastally unbiased as one could ask for, with every facet of rap having earned its personal niche. The car culture is the domain of gangsta rap, the clubs are dominated by bass and popular hits, and the lyrics riddles of the East Coast live in the Walkmans of many.  Little Rock has also become an important stop for rappers during their promotional tours. In one week alone in this past summer, fans have been able to see the likes of MC Breed, Domino and 12 Gauge up-close and personal.

But hip-hop is not all that Little Rock has in common with the rest of the country. Not far from Ugly Mike’s, an all-too-familiar slogan slammes its way across a Virginia Slims billboard: 7-2 Hoover Crew York LA gangs have a foothold in the hometown of President Clinton. As a matter of fact, some citizens of the Natural State have gotten caught up in the rapture of gang life that they inspired a recent HBO-produced documentary entitled Gang War: Bangin’ In Little Rock. Little Rock is just like Compton.

Broadway Joe Booker of the city’s number one radio station, KIPR Power 92 Jams, has promoted and sponsored numerous “Peace ND Streets” campaigns over the years. The events are aimed at giving the youth something to do on a Saturday night other than get into trouble. It is this week’s celebrity basketball game/concert at Hall high against Memphis station KJMS Jams 101(another participant in the Peace ND Streets program) that has brought one of rap’s fastest rising starts to town–Coolio.

During a casual lunchtime planning session (at the local Bennigan’s) for the night’s events, Broadway Joe and various members of the KIPR family and Coolio and his family (Manager Spoon, DJ Dobbs the Wino and Lead MC of the Forty Thieves, Billy Boy) get to know one another. Minutes later Coolio gets a taste of what it’s like to be a famous rap star.

“Hey, Coolio,” shouts a young man as he approaches the table. “Man, they bumpin’ your sh*t hard down here. I like your sh*t. What’s the single out now? ‘County Line’?”

A little surprised, Coolio answers the question in a friendly manner.

“New,” he smiles. “‘County Line’ was the first single from the album. The current single is ‘Fantastic Voyage’.”

It’s hard to earn your props in rap. Even if your engaging personality has catapulted you into the role of MTV hip-hop poster boy of the minute. Even if you have a hit video in constant rotation on BET. Even if your debut album is about to ship gold. Even if your platinum single is #3 with a bullet; and even if you wear your hair in such a manner that you have become the most recognizable rap tar since Snoop Doggy Dogg. None of this will stop people from missing the boat most of the time.

As the lunchtime conversation shifts to more serious social matters, another young OJ warns Coolio not to throw up any gang signs during the game or concert tonight. Little Rock’s East Side is a “big tornado,” he explains. Blood territory, “Man, I ain’t even bangin’,” Coolio retorts, displeased at the young man for assuming that he was a banger. “How these fools bangin’ and killin’ each other down here in the belly of the real redneck cracker? These n***as got a chance to live, man. This sh*t is crazy.”

Until just then, Coolio didn’t even know that there was gang activity in Little Rock, but having been raised in Compton, he is well versed in the trappings of gang life and its limited amount of success stories. He’s seen many of his homies socked up, killed, smoked-out and downright disappear from the hood and the fact that this lifestyle has permeated the South disheartens him. “Man, we gotta break this cycle,” he says sadly. “N***as down here got a chance to live, why do they wanna go and get into some stupid sh*t like that for? They didn’t have to grow up with no Crips and Bloods. Now they’re gonna make it harder for the young ones.” He then shifts the subject to how out-of-hand the gang situation has gotten back home. “There are n***as at the house doing assassinations for $500, fool. You say to them, ‘I want this n***a dead’ and break him off $500, and whoever you want will be dead. That’s how crazy sh*t is gettin’.”

“What happened to the truce?” Broadway Joe asks in reference to the cease-fire among some LA-based gangs following the ’92 rebellion.

“N***as ran out of beer and BBQ,” jokes Dobbs the Wino. Everyone laughs. “But for real though,” he continues. “They’re tryin’, but it’s hard… it’s just hard to explain. I don’t even want to talk about it.” He turns his eyes back to his food in silence.

Coolio moved from South Central to Compton with his mother and sister when he was eight. As time passed on and as school became less and less interesting and the gang scene intensified, Coolio began carrying knives to school and earning his respect with the swiftness of his hands. When Coolio was exposed to hip-hop via the Sugar Hill Gang at the age of 14, it changed his life. Rapping became not only a form of expression but also a means to keep him out of trouble. Hooking up with a brother maned Jazzy D who had just moved to the CPT by way of Brooklyn, NY, Coolio formed his first crew, The Soundmasters. By the time LL Cool J hit the big time, they were making a name for themselves as the NUSKOOL (New Underground Systematically Killin’ Old Lyrics). They were pulling down gigs at house parties, club openings and working with a performing arts program. Then Jazzy D moved back to New York.

With potential gigs still rolling in. Coolio was forced to search for a replacement DJ, which led to a meeting with his current righthand man, Billy Boy. “It was kinda strange ‘cause I had met Bill right after he been shot in the stomach over some gang activity.” Coolio recalls, “We had booked three parties and Billy came over to the pad like this [acting out the scene, holding one arm over where the wound was]. He had just came out of the hospital and the DJed the whole night with one arm, sitting down. After he started doing that Jam Master Jay scratch, I was like, “You’re my DJ.”

After recording numerous demos, Coolio and Billy eventually got picked up by Primo Records, and independent label. It didn’t last long. By that time, Coolio and Billy were doing strong arm robberies. Coolio ended up getting fingered for a robbery that one of his homies had committed and did a bid at the youth camp. He got out just as the local hip-hop scene was starting to take off. He continued to MC but it wasn’t long before he was caught up in the street’s latest craze. “Cocaine came out and we’d rap and do parties and take the money, go buy some rock or some weed and roll up primos and get high,” he remembers. “That’s what we used to do, N***as was wearing Pro Wings, stealing batteries and radiators and during the whole time we didn’t even know we were hooked, it was just a bustic to us.”

The threat of gang violence put a danger on the amount of house parties being thrown. When that source of revenue dried up, Coolio and Billy went their separate ways. To make ends for his cocaine habit, Coolio took a job at the airport. It was the wrong time to be hooked on cocaine. The weed shortage in 1985 helped to make crack the choice of a new generation. “I hit the pipe once and didn’t feel s***t. About two weeks later, I hit the pipe again and felt a head rush. Next thing I know I was hooked,” he says quietly.

At age 22, realizing that his life was leading to a dead end, Coolio quit his job and moved North to San Jose to be with his father and escape his drug and gang-riddled environment. He stayed with his pops for about a year and willed himself off of cocaine before moving back to Compton. “I made myself hate cocaine to the point where if someone was to start smoking some right now, I’d start wratchin’ and throw up everything in my stomach.” He also jumped right back in to the rap game.

Coolio was cool with a local hip-hop tailor named Scotty D, who made personalized sweatsuits for LL, Run-DMC and Whodini when they were in town. Scotty D hooked Coolio up with a rapper named WC, who, along with his partner DJ Alladin, had just formed a group called Low Profile. “They wouldn’t let WC tap back then, just beat box. So WC and me used to kick freestyles over the phone. See, everything back then was Old School hip-hop. When all the techno s***t came out in LA, I never got caught up in that because my roots are in New York hip-hop, that’s where it all started and where I learned from.”

In 1990, when Low Profile inked a deal with Priority Records and released the critically acclaimed Payin’ Dues album, they put Coolio down as their front man. But internal conflicts (ego tripping, mismanagement, hook a*s contracts and poor promotion) put an end to the group’s short career.

Still determined to make it in the business, Coolio and WC formed the MAAD Circle, released Ain’t A Damn Thing Changed and once again didn’t blow up. Coolio blamed this on a lack of company support. “When we finished the album, we sat around and listened and was like, ‘This M********a finna go gold, man.’ Then here we go again.” The album ended up selling over 200,000 units, but Coolio questions those numbers. “I know we sold more than that, because I go to record stores now and they’re still reordering Ain’t A Damn Thing.”

Embittered by the failures of both Low Profile and the MAAD Circle, WC stepped away from the rap game and encouraged Coolio to do a solo album. Takig WC’s advice, he went to some well-established homies from Compton to get a deal but was “ruthlessly” played to the left. After hooking up with Dobbs the Wino, who helped him define his sound, Coolio began work on the five-song demo that eventually led to a deal with Tommy Boy. And the rest is history.

Although he seems like and overnight success, Coolio has been making sacrifices to the altar of hip-hop for over 15 years. He considers himself an MC and not just a rapper. He believes that while rappers can go into studio and make records, you have to be an MC to control the crowd, freestyle, write rhymes and still be able to go into the studio and make records. He also thinks that videos should be banned (which is surprising since “Fantastic Voyage” is one of the most popular videos out right now) because they give false impression of an artist being a dope live performer. “If your show is a*s, then your s***t is a*s,” he says. “Every time I listen to your album and think back at your wack performance, it makes me not like your s***t, even if it’s the bomb. It’s all about the music.”

And now that he has his foot for real this time, he is not about to let any of it get away from him either. He keeps up with all of his paperwork and has formed his own management company, Crowbar Management, whose motto is: “We’re getting in one way or another.” “You’ve got to have m********as around you that you can trust,” he asserts. “If you don’t have anyone you can trust, then you need to have somebody you can scare. Fear is a weapon, and it’s been used on us for so long.”

After lunch, Coolio and company decide to forgo the scheduled sound check in order to spend some time exploring the local mall. The sound will just bounce off the gym walls anyway, they reason. Billy has his own reasons for going. “Let us break to thine mall,” he announces in a mock Shakespearean accent. “For it is rats for which I seek.” As Coolio walks through the mall, all eyes are on him— or rather the crazy matrix of braids that leap from his head. A group of males dressed in red observe him from the terrace and wonder if they are really seeing who they think they are seeing. Two young girls know for sure and approach Coolio with the question that the Hip-Hop Nation has been dying to ask: “Why your braids so crazy?” Coolio— who began growing his hair long back during the MAAD Circle days (no members were permitted to cut their hair or beards until the album was completed)— casually replies, “They look crazy because they won’t stay down. I’ve been growing my s***t for a long time, since day one, and I already see m********as bitin’ me.”

With that out of the way, the group heads to the nearest Foot Locker. (Where else Black males go in the mall?) since everyone, with the exception of Tom (the Tommy Boy label rep), is young and Black and with Wino’s Max Julien fro and Coolio’s braids, it doesn’t take long before the posse attracts attention of another sort. Two minutes after stepping into the Foot Locker, the crew is surrounded by two mall securities guards and three city police officers. “Damn! They didn’t waste no time calling you,” Wino remarks. “We haven’t been here three minutes. [Imitating the voice of a white man] “Yeah, Rob, We’ve got five n*****s down here, of course they look suspicious, they’re Black.” Officers Dingler (badge numer; #362) and Adams (badge number; #374) smile and continue to follow the party around the store. Agitated, Tom asks the officers what the problem is. Wino interrupts and suggests that the officers probably thought that they had taken Tom as their hostage. Officer Dingler arrogantly informs them that Who’s “East Side” cap might cause problems in the mall because of the gang situation.  “Somebody from the West Side might mistake you for a rival member and it could mean trouble,” he tries to explain.

Wino begins laughing. “Man, I’m from LA. I’m just shoppin’. Ain’t nobody trippin’ on any Arkansas gangs. Any hat with a logo can represent a gang. Look at those kids over there.” He points towards three separate groups of kids outside the store who are all wearing baseball caps with various logos; Phillies, UNLV, Arkansas. “Why aren’t you harassing them?” he asks. Who is told that if he doesn’t remove

His hat, he will be escorted out of the mall. Wino leaves after purchasing a North Carolina hat (which he didn’t want). Officer Adams shakes his hand and apologizes for any inconvenience.

While waking out towards the van, one of the mall kids swings back and hands Wino a little sack. “I asked that n***a where the weed was at and he gave me his last,” Wino explains. “These n***as is on another level, man. This one fool told me he was from Compton and lived on Tree St. and moved out here. I was like, ‘For real?’ There ain’t no Tree St. N***as is tryin’ so hard to be down. He also told me that some of they Bloods wear green, and the OGs can wear whatever color they want and can go anywhere as long as they tattoo ain’t showin’.” Coolio, sick of the subject, just climbs into the van without saying a word. The ride back to the hotel is short and rather quiet.

 The bleachers of Hall high are filled with high school students eager for tonight’s Peace ND Street festivities to begin. Due to the difficulty of determining the ages of many of the young women in attendance, everyone agrees that it is best not to step at all. As the shoot arounds begin, a few mothers take their places, and the men who have put this event together, Broadway Joe Booker of KIPR and Terry Base of KJMS, parlay through the warm-ups. The refs flip a coin to see which team will take Coolio and Spoon, and which team will take MC Breed and his homie.

KJMS looked like the better team–especially with their secret weapon, a 6’7″ NBA-ready DJ with a sharp-shooter’s touch–but the home team, KIPR, was able to control the first quarter. During the first two minutes of the game, MC Breed hit a perimeter jumper, Spoon hit a turn-around jumper and Coolio stopped on a dime and pulled up for a trey that was all net. Unfortunately those were the last points on the court any often saw for the rest of the night. They wouldn’t score with the crowd again until the half-time show.

While performing ‘FantasticVoyage’ in front of the enthusiastic crowd, Coolio takes a few moments to hammer home a point, just before the key verse–”You don’t understand bout runnin’ wit’ a gang/ ‘Cause you don’t gangbang/ And you don’t have to stand on the corner and slang/ ‘Cause you got your own thang”–Coolio approaches the section where six maroon-clad gangbangers are sitting and stands in front of them. They don’t seem the least bit faded by his words, but the point is made, nonetheless.

A father of four, Coolio would rather not see anyone’s children go through some of the things he did, if he could, he would try to stuff them all into the trunk of his ’65 and take them to a better world.

“The whole motivation for this album was really for my kids, man,” he explained later at his hotel room. “I realized that I have a responsibility to my kids. In order to make their life better, I have to break the cycle of hate that we’ve been born in. Look at me, I’m on the road all the time and I don’t get to spend no time with my kids. But when I do see them, I try to make an impression and talk to them like young adults. I don’t baby talk my kids it’s all that ‘ga-ga-goo’ sh*t because that ain’t preparin’ them to the world to come. I’ve already been to the bottom. I cant get any lower than I’ve been, and when you’ve been there the only direction to go is up. I feel good about myself, but whether this album goes platinum, gold or sells a few hundred thousand–I don’t care about me. I just want everything to be right for my kids. I’ve got to break the cycle for them.” He pauses and takes a swig of water. “I don’t know, man… God’s been watching me. I mean by all rights, the way I grew up, all the sh*t that I’ve seen, all the shit I’ve been through… I should be dead or in jail, selling drugs or smoked out some-goddamnwhere. By all rights that’s what was supposed to happen, but God was with me and I broke the cycle. And I’m just tryin’ to break it with my kids.”

The post BREAKING THE CYCLE – Coolio takes a fantastic voyage to President Clinton’s backyard appeared first on The Source.

Words by Eric D. Hatcher
This article was originally published in The Source Magazine, April 1993 (Issue #43)

Backstage at New York’s Academy Theater, I find comedian-actor Martin Lawrence maxin’ between tapings of “The Russel Simmons Def Comedy Jam”. He’s flanked by several tall, beefy brothers watching his back. We’re all packed in his fan-proof dressing room watching an Atlanta Hawks game. Besides the TV, lies a lavish spread of fruits, veggies and a variety of other eats. The walls are covered with streakless mirrors and a striking black and white Herb Ritts print of a bare-chested beauty. A cool grin slips across Martin’s mug. Laughing heartily with his boys, he plans new jokes for the next taping and gets a shape-up from a lean kid with clippers in hand.

All the while, more of Martin’s extended East Coast posse pile into the private space to chill. We’re joined by New York Knicks’ Charles Smith mink-clad wife Lisa. Noting their entrance and Lisa’s obvious fondness of fur, Martin quips. “Wazz-up Lisa! Where you get that dog?” An embarrassed Lisa just laughs, as do we all.

This is typical Martin.

Off camera, Martin, the man himself, enjoys a lifestyle of absolute realness. Employing various childhood partners as security, Martin credits his close-knit crew of friends, family and management for keeping him levelheaded. “If anything has truly helped me it’s having good people around me that are not afraid to say what they feel about me. If my friends disagree they’ll let you know in a minute and say, ‘Hey. I think we need to talk about this.'”

When Martin arrives on stage to a standing ovation of cheers and laughter, the crowd inside the theater is hyped. His timing as the show’s host is precise, almost rhythmic. When he’s at the mic, no one is safe from his razor-sharp audience inclusive monologues, including gays, virgins, nerds nymphs, and oh yes, the less-endowed crowd.  “No one is immune to a joke,” he confesses. “When you look at laughter, you look at hurt. With a smile comes a frown. So if something happens that is terrible, I can take it and find a way to make you laugh at it and say, ‘Hey, yeah it is f****d up, but let’s try to laugh while we’re up here.”

Earlier that day, I met up with Martin in the Soho offices of The Source. Surrounded by his own backup, he sits comfortably in our makeup chair, sporting a brown pulllover and a Cheshire Cat smile as he prepares for an extensive photo shoot. The brother is still on a high from his Fox show “Martin” having just won the coveted NAACP Image Award for Best New Television Series. We’re grooving to Dr. Dre’s album The Chronic—especially the cut, “Lil’ Ghetto Boy”—as Martin strikes a few poses for our cameraman. Martin is dancing and laughing, appearing as he is. A natural.

After the shoot, he easily confides, “When I accepted the Image Award I couldn’t believe I was up there.” His surprise stemmed largely from the fact that it was only mid-season when “Martin” won its nomination and later its award. “To be doing a show a show the way you want to do it was lettin’ me know I’m followin’ my instincts all them years have finally paid off.” Long gone are the days of his youth in Landover, Maryland where trying to get discovered meant buffing floors at the local K-Mart by day and doing the stand-up comedy thing by night.

In high school, Martin was the class clown who electrified the classroom when things got boring. “I was always a hyper kid and could never stay still,” he boasts. ” I’d much rather be up in front of the class makin’ them laugh, so it became practice for me.” Today viewers can see the results of that same practice weekly on “Martin,”  in which he portrays an assertive Detroit radio talk show host and a number of other eccentric characters. Among them is Sheneneh, television’s only real “around the way girl.” Despite this season’s explosion of new sitcoms featuring Black casts, “Martin” is perhaps the only one that successfully portrays a slice of urban reality. The  show tends to exemplify the comedian’s own beliefs in love, cultural pride and the Black family unit. And the onscreen love thang between Martin and upscale girlfriend Gina (Tisha Campbell) is a true-to-heart depiction of a ’90s brotherman, his woman and their relationship.

Couch potatoes may recall Martin back in the day as the smart-ass busboy in Raj and Shirley’s diner in the TV series “What’s Happening Now?” His raw candor and bawdy comedy style earned him his first film role in Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing, which led to memorable roles in House Party, House Party II, and last year’s smash summer hit Boomerang with co-star Eddie Murphy. At age 27, Martin has carved out an incredible career that continues to make him hip-hop’s favorite flavor in comedy entertainment.

In person, Martin doesn’t appear to be suped, despite having so often been compared to Eddie, “To finally work with Eddie Murphy was a dream come true for me,” he says. Although he may have aspired to be as successful as his heroes, Murphy and Richard Pryor, Martin quickly points out that the comparison ends there. “It’s a compliment in one sense, but I know I’m not Eddie Murphy. I can’t be Eddie Murphy. I can only be Martin Lawrence. I had to adopt my own style. I had to go for it and that’s what I did. I constantly worked on bein’ myself and now I’m gettin’ the respect of my peers.”

At one point during our interview, Martin seems distracted. I look up, and he is blowing kisses and smiles to the hungry wails and shout outs of onlookers who spotted us from an adjacent window. “I think success has made me more aware of my value in the business,” he says. “It’s made me more business-oriented and look at life more seriously. You can get so caught up in the success of things that you don’t stop to take a look at the big picture.” For Martin, “family values and stability with the right woman” are the things that really matter in his life.

The source: You appear so at ease. Are you a very spiritual person?

Martin Lawrence: Most definitely. I’m not perfect. I’m only a man. I have my faults, but I know without God none of this is possible.

What was your childhood like, growing us as an army brat?

Well, you know, what can I say? My father was in the service and I was born in Germany, but that’s all I remember about the service. Once he and my mother split up, you know hey, I’m like every other kid without a father. Mom’s playin’ a mother and a father.

What about your family? How have they responded to your success?

They are very happy. I wouldn’t say surprised, because when they found out this is what I wanted to do, they always told me, ‘You can make it, you can do it, you have to keep pushing.’ My family is very supportive of me. I’m the only one that’s in the entertainment business. They’re like, ‘Wow! We thought you could be successful, but wow! Things are really happening for you.'”

Do you see yourself giving back to the community? How are you paying your dues today?

I give back to the community in ways that I don’t have to talk about. I think when you got to talk about it or point the finger at what you did and what you give to, and you want to call a conference ’cause you’re giving money to this charity…I mean yo, who you want to know you’re doin’ good is God and yourself. That’s all that matters, and the people you’re giving to. So the things I do for people I don’t need to talk about. They know.

Do a lot of people challenge your input as one of the creative consultants behind your TV show?

Most definitely.

How do you deal with that?

I just stand my ground. But most definitely I have input. If it’s something I don’t believe in, you can’t pimp me in the game. I will not submit to what you want me to do. I have to do it my way and I have to feel good about it or I won’t do it at all. You see, I love what I do and what makes it easier for me to do these things is that I am doing what I want to do. All coming up in the business I had people telling me what I could say, what I couldn’t say, what I could do, what I couldn’t do. Now I’m doing things the way I want to do them. So when I go out on the road and thousands of people come to see me perform, I am doing exactly what I want to do, and I try to give them a helluva show.

Do you miss having a private life?

I still have a private life because I’m constantly around my friends and family that allow me to have private time. If I want private time I go on vacation. If you say private time as in walking down the street and people calling your name and stuff like that—hey, when you choose to get in this business you choose to accept all of that. So yeah, when you’re out in the street your private time is your fan’s private time, you gotta respect that. You can’t get pissed off at them.

So do you feel you have ‘arrived?’

Yeah, I feel like I have ‘arrived’ any time Michael Jackson asks to meet me.

What was that like?

That was a trip because I never thought in a million years Michael Jackson would send somebody to get me and want to meet me. So yeah, but I don’t go ‘I have arrived’ in the sense where I could just sit back or whatever. I don’t feel that I have peaked yet. I think the best is yet to come for me, especially in movies, as long as the fans continue to support me and what I’m doin’. In ’93 I will be shooting my concert movie, which I am very excited about. I’ve always wanted to give people a quality concert movie and to hopefully bring concert movies back on the map. Oh, most definitely, the best is yet to come.

The post You Go Guy! – At 27-years-old, Martin Lawrence has the world laughing to his naughty-but-nice brand of hip-hop humor appeared first on The Source.

We lost a Hip-Hop legend this Tuesday (June 20th) with the passing of Prodigy, one half of New York’s own Mobb Deep.

In honor of his life and influence, here from the archives is The Source‘s Unsigned Hype showcasing their skills when Prodigy and Havoc were just 16 years old rapping all over the city as the group Poetical Prophets later to be renamed Mobb Deep.

“The unsigned flavor of the month came unquestionably from the dynamic duo of MCs, Prodigy and Havoc, better known as the Poetical Prophets. Straight outta Queens, New York, these two little 5’3″ sixteen year olds are fast making a big name for themselves in talent shows and radio stations in the New York area.

Yes they’re young, and they look even younger, but understand that this is no ABC. Poetical Prophets rhyme from the hardcore perspective of two little street soldiers who like to bug out, puff blunts, and sip forties. Peep the lyrical flavor: ‘Baby Grand Puba / Little Rick the Ruler / And in my pocket is a crazy fat bag of Buddha.’ The beats, produced by an un-named associate from Coney Island, are hooked up kinda lovely too.”

Rest in Peace Prodigy. You will be missed.

The post In Honor of Prodigy, here is the Poetical Prophet’s (Mobb Deep) Unsigned Hype appeared first on The Source.