The video of Sesame Street’s Bert and Ernie spliced to look as though they were rapping M.O.P’s popular hit “Ante Up” became a global viral hit with over 4 million views on YouTube. I mean, you really haven’t lived until you’ve seen this puppet (are they or aren’t they) couple boast:
Things that we need, money, clothes, weed indeed.
Hats, food, booze, essentials, credentials!
Code of the streets, owners who creep!
Slow when you sleep, holdin the heat!
Well, the Yip Yips have ante’d up and thrown their interplanetary hat into this song’s ring to answer Bert and Ernie’s challenge with their own performance of “Ante Up.”
Brett Domino and Scott Peavis, two of the Brett Domino Trio, nerdify Hip Hop by performing this medley of rap classics such as “Rappers Delight” and “Jump Around.” They are using the Stylophone beatbox, which reproduces sounds that were originally created, not by a computer, but by a MAN, or less dramatically, beatboxing champ, MC Zani, winner of the 2008 Vauxhall UK Beatbox Championships.
Love him or hate him, one thing is for certain: you’ve talked about Kanye West this year. He’s the arrogant buffoon who bullied a teen girl in front of millions. He’s the rap star who at the top of his game turned his back on hip-hop’s school of thought and made a techno-pop album where he sings. He’s remarkably annoying.
American-born, French rapper and singer Uffie recently debuted her first music video for her catchy song “Pop the Glock.” If the song sounds familiar it might be because it received some attention when it first came out in 2006, but even three years later (eons in Internet time or “hella old” as one YouTube commentor wrote), her blend of electro-pop-rap still sounds relevant and holds up today. You can listen to some of the other songs at her MySpace profile, but the album isn’t scheduled for release until sometime in 2010, The sexy music video was directed by Nathalie Canguilhem.
I’ve been watching on repeat lately the music video for Brooklyn rapper Blitz the Ambassador’s single “Breathe” from his new album Stereotype, an iTunes Hip-Hop top ten chart (without label support! Dang, someone sign him UP! ). Before moving to the States for college at Kent State University, Blitz’s musical style was strongly informed and influenced by his experience growing up in Ghana surrounded by the sounds of Afro-Beat and Highlife, as well as playing djembe in drum circles. Speaking of style, if “Breathe” is any indication, he’s got that and then some. The music video and the sound, backed by his band Embassy Ensemble, is brimming with head-nodding, shoulder-shaking, foot-tapping energy.
Blitz recently composed the original score to the PBS documentary, BRONX PRINCESS, which chronicles a Bronx-bred teenager, Rocky Otoo’s journey from New York City to Ghana to reunite with her chief father.
The New York Times today ran an interesting story on an old topic: beef between rappers in the hip-hop community. The article focuses on Joe Budden, a new school rapper, and Raekwon, a 90s rap relic, famous for being a member of Wu-Tang Clan.
Budden has built a following, and a means of attack, via the internet. He actively posts YouTube videos and Tweets about other hip-hop artists. Raekwon, however, is one of the old guard. Then rappers talked shit about one another over the radio or on bootleg records. Times have changed.
After Budden’s recent internet attacks on Method Man, another member of Wu-Tang, Raekwon fought back with fists and camera. He and his entourage jumped Budden, beating him badly. This time it was caught on video and will likely surface online giving Budden a taste of his own medicine. Hip-hop stars are fighting via new media. How very savvy.
