5 COMEBACK ARTISTS Biz Markie While Biz had been holding it down as a great DJ, his artistry hadn’t been seen since ’94. Biz’s biggest budget album (minus the sample suit), is something to warm your winter. Thank you for making the record funky Biz. Kool G Rap G Rap’s album last year was too little, too late. But his new group, 5 Family Click, and guest drops has the streets of New York, and everywhere else, talking. MC Lyte One of the greatest MC’s to ever do it, let alone females, Lyte still finds her place in the scene fifteen years deep and got a Grammy nomination. MF DOOM DOOM dropped not one, not two, but three plus albums in ’03. And all three were welcomed, unique, and celebrated. DOOM is a champion of the underground. We’re looking forward to three more in ’04. Ja Rule The Hate Monster reared its ugly head at Ja for all the wrong reasons. His 2003 album, Blood In My Eye, saw the return of the hardcore rhymer we loved on “Holla, Holla.” Even though it was a lil’ heavy on the 50 Cent, this one can be considered a comeback even though in 2004 the “regular” Ja plans to come back. 6 ALBUMS WORTH ANTICIPATING FOR 2004 Nas Untitled (Columbia) Beef aside, when Jigga steps down, will Nas reign? It’ll take a hard album to prove it. Will he poke shots at 50 Cent? Will he have an ode to Kelis? Hopefully Nasty Nas learned a thing or two from the remix albums of ’03. Take it back back back. O.C. – The Professional (Grit) We’ve heard part of it. Expect an album comparable to "Word Life" with O.C.’s triumphant return. Production will be handled by Soul Supreme, 9th Wonder, and maybe even Large Professor. Can we get a Buckwild track? Whatever, O.C. is DOPE! Still so funny when it comes to the snaps. Kanye West – College Dropout (Def Jam) This album will either be bananas or peels. Kanye’s performances on Def Poetry Jam, and his lead single were impressive. Too many guests may hinder this album (and internet leaks…thirsty bums, but timing is everything) soon as dukes gets his mouth fixed, we wanna hear what comes out. A Tribe Called Quest – Untitled (Violator) For five years people refer back to Native Tongues as a point of GREAT, MISSING hip-hop. Tribe and De La Soul will give us both a reason to be joyful. Hopefully Tribe will keep it in-house and very consistent with their previous work, heavy on the bass, low on the treble Konfusion – Untitled (Grit) Like Tribe, Organized Konfusion is another group we need back. Pharohe Monch, Prince Poetry, and newly added affiliate, O.C. will be on to bring the heat. Preemo, Large Professor, and others are already on the production bill. Grit is what Rawkus could’ve been. Ghostface Killah Pretty Tony Wallabe’s are still a staple but colorful robes and the ill Versace piece always puts Tony Starks in a class of his own. If “Run” with an amped Jadakiss is any indication then the Wu’s king of abstract but voracious lyricism will drop another scorcher. 5 ALBUMS YOU SLEPT ON (Just Cop Them) Sheek Louch – Walk Witt Me – Sheek crafted a solid foundation for D-Block Records. Memphis Bleek – M.A.D.E. – Honestly, some of us have been rockin’ Bleek more than Jay. State Property – The Chain Gang – Radio rocked the single but missed the album. Raekwon – The Lex Diamond Story – Damn near classic. Macho Man – Randy Savage Be A Man – Macho Man made the funniest album of the year. Hot beats too. 5 ARTISTS WE EXPECTED TO SEE, BUT DIDN’T (The AHH C.P. Time Award) Kanye West: We’ve heard it and it’s banoodles. Foxy Brown: Please, baby, please, please, please. Find a label! Rakim: Dre rejects Primo beats only to never even put a single out? We still believe in The R. Method Man: we’ve been waiting on this one since 2002. Beanie Sigel: Humbly falls back to let his protégés get some shine. Stay free Beans. And let’s not forget…Dr. Dre, Skillz, Redman, Black Rob TOP INDIE LABELS Seven Heads ABB Records Grit Records Duck Down Babygrande Shark Award for Companies Making Beaucoup Bucks Off Hip-Hop Culture Universal Music Group: this music conglomerate has their hands in some of the years biggest release by owning some of the games most successful labels [Interscope Records (Shady, Aftermath, G Unit), Def Jam (Roc-a-Fella), Geffen (Common, The Roots) MTV: Try as they might (they did give Little Brother & our own Jean Grae some shine) any given week you will find only find videos from about 7 rappers on this channel. And as entertaining as it was, Making the Band with “Da Band” was not a good look. Reebok: Since Nike has the athletic endorsers on lock, Reebok gave rappers their own sneaker lines and have been laughing all the way to the bank since. The A-1 Award for Silliest Beef Ja-Rule vs. 50/Eminem/Dre: Sitting down with Farrakhan on the day his album dropped was just not a good look for your favorite balladeer…ahem, rapper. The Source vs. 50/Eminem/Dre: This is like GQ bringing it to Pierce Bronsnan. XXL vs. The Source: A pen can take an eye out but can you really beef on paper? The Sausage Award This award is for throwaway beef no one really cared about or was just unnecessary Lil’ Kim v. 50 Cent: We liked “Magic Stick” but alas it was never an official single, thus Kim’s ire Fredro Starr v. 50 Cent: Noticing a trend here? Da Eastsidaz v. Snoop: Come on Snoop, Tray Deee and Goldie Loc – the West needs you. The Top Trends We Would Like to See End Soon Trucker Hats Leg Warmers in the Summer Spinners on station wagons Shout Outs to Jacob the Jeweler on wax Big Trucks, Benz, Beamers & Maybachs: only because our […]

PERSON OF THE YEAR (ALLHIPHOP ICON AWARD): FREDDIE FOXXX Freddie Foxxx ain’t for the kids. Rather he is for old, young, and in between all at once. This Hip-Hop immortal veteran celebrated his seventeenth year of recording with his third official album. The Konexion provided social commentary, hip-hop assessment, and Bumpy Knuckles still stuck it to ’em with "P.A.I.N.E.," which was named after AllHiphop’s own Jake Paine. Bumpy is the link between Eric B. & Rakim and the future. Foxxx has proved that he has done better without a deal than with. May the AHH Breeding Ground and all you unsigned MC’s take notice! AllHipHop commends Freddie Foxxx for making classic records, rocking unforgettable shows, and being one of the select few who backs up every last word he spits. Freddie Foxxx is not only the truth, he’s the punishment for the liars. ALBUMS OF THE YEAR Immortal Technique – Revolutionary Vol. 1 (Viper) To say Immortal Technique is ill is just oversimplifies the man, but its so appropriate. The Latino lyricist has rocked the industry from the New York underground up. With an unwavering message coupled with a ruthlessly obnoxious style, Immortal’s technique will be rockin’ for years to come. Ok, for those that need a late pass, here is a lyric. “You aren’t half the man that I am/I’ll throw your gang sign up, and then I’ll spit on my hand.” Just get it. Gang Starr – The Ownerz (Virgin) Gang Starr returned from a five year break to update the formulas. This album made bold progressions, with some success. Still, a good album from Gang Starr outshined a lot of great albums from others. "Who Got Gunz" and "In This Life" gave great reminiscent guest drops from Snoop and Fat Joe. This album will grow on the masses after the year cools down. Outkast – Speakerboxx – The Love Below (Arista) As every other genre toils with hip-hop to sound better, Outkast reversed the trend. Arguably the most daring creators in music today, Big Boi and Andre packaged solo efforts together to give us fire & ice. Both albums step in different directions, but please even the most conventional head. The wordplay, the production, the eclectic guests, the fashion: Outkast is the new Parliament Funkadelic. David Banner – Mississippi (SRC) His name dubbed after the Incredible Hulk’s weaker half, but there is nothing lame about David Banner. Although he’s been around for years, Mississippi: The Album solidified his position as a legit rapper and a surprisingly talented producer. He’s one of the few rapper’s that could get away with the mack daddy anthem "Like A Pimp" and the conscious "Cadillac on 22’s." Word to Emmitt Till. 50 Cent – Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ (Interscope) Everybody knows that 2003 was 50 Cent’s. What more can really be said? He’s broke sales and airplay records and, even though he started the year in jail, he ended up flying higher than any other by crafting a slice of urban guerrilla. Like Em, 50 was a marketers’ wet dream with his ability to hold the attention of men, women and children with Get Rich Or Die Tryin.’ Runner Ups: Jay-Z The Black Album, Missy Elliot Under Construction INDEPENDENT ALBUMS Of THE YEAR (The A-Train Award) Little Brother – The Listening (ABB) This album may be the most timeless of those released in 2003. Organic, soulful production mixed with lyrics that chronicle the lives of ambitious twenty-something MC’s. At the beginning of the year, Little Brother was the "Who?" topic of conversation. By year end, they were a part of Jay-Z’s blockbuster. Coincidence? No. This album is a classic. Brother Ali – Shadows on the Sun (Rhymesayers) This LP has lyrics influenced Nas, delivery by Ice Cube, and beats that compete with anything on the radio. Brother Ali’s first official full length came with a lot of emotion, a great deal of arrogance, and some fabulous storytelling. This album celebrates what is expected of an MC, but doesn’t sound pretentious or basic. Rarely is there stuff so good that you need to hear it to be a better liver. Check "Forrest Whitaker" and "Picket Fence." Soul Position – 8 Million Stories (Fat Beats) Ohio and Hip-Hop can be in the same sentence without the word, "Bone". This album, like Joe Buddens’, was fueled by emotional tracks. Blueprint proves himself as one of the most versatile MC’s in terms of content. RJD2’s productions are rock/blues inspired, which will be a popular oncoming trend after Eminem’s forthcoming promise. Black Moon – Total Eclipse (Duck Down) Everybody wanted Black Moon to reunited, and they replied with this album. The group displays their veteran skills, without being afraid to experiment and keep pace with today’s stars. Tracks like "Confusion" and "Pressure Iz Tight" remind us why Black Moon is a group that was able to change hip-hop in the 90’s and stay for the ride. Swishahouse – Madsh*t! (Swishahouse) We can honestly say that we don’t know which of their albums we like the most or when these albums actually came out. They have a deep crew with names like Pall Wall, Chamillionaire, Mike Jones and Magno. But we can say for certain that the Northern world needs to hip itself to the sounds coming out of the Swishahouse. They didn’t invent screwed music, but they can make a New Yorker feel like he sipped on some sizyrup. Just head over to Swishahouse.com for a sample and you can even cop their albums over there too . Runner Ups: Baby Blak Once You Go Blak, Tragedy Khadafi Still Reportin’, Jedi Mind Tricks Visions of Ghandi, Louis Logic Sin-a-Matic, Canibus Rip the Jacker, Cunninlynguists SouthernUnderground TOP 5 ARTISTS OF 2003 (ARTISTRY) Outkast Their album contorts the conceptions and conventions of what hip-hop is supposed to sound like. After Jay-Z Jigga’s concept for The Black Album returned to the traditional format: No guests. No filler. Shorter albums. Artistic Immortal Technique Immortal Technique will be likely to make […]

AllHipHop.com: Big Boi, on “Reset” you have Khujo and Cee-Lo who are rumored to have beef due to the break up of the Goodie Mobb. Were there any problems getting them together to do the song? Big Boi: Actually they got a lil something goin on but it ain’t really nothing. Basically it’s like, Cee-Lo wants to step out and do his solo thing, and Gipp wanna do his thing, and Khujo gonna do his thing. So it ain’t no real beef <I>beef </I>like that. But to do the song “Reset” I wanted to have an old-school Dungeon Family type feel to the song and I wanted to get Cee-Lo and Jo, and I woulda had one more on there like T-mo, but the song was too long, so we just kept it like that. It was actually love. I had told both of them about it, cause there was the whole sub rift thing going on, but they was like, ‘man, whatever. Cool folk, we family’. So they let it happen. But, we gonna have to sit down and talk to them and try to see what’s goin’ on with the Goodie for real. AllHipHop.com: Ya’ll did a lot of production on your albums. Andre, you produced your whole joint? How long have you guys been producing, and what made you decide to jump it off on this album? Andre: It’s not common knowledge but we’ve actually been [producing tracks] since ATLiens. Like “Elevators” and “Extra Terrestrials”, those were some of the first beats I ever worked on. And so now, since it’s not under the same name or companies, people think we just jumped and produced our own albums. And Big Boi has been producing tracks since that time as well. It’s funny cause for us it ain’t nothing new! It’s just different names. AllHipHop.com: Big Boi, you worked with Jigga on his last album, and he’s featured on your side of the album on the track “Flip Flop Rock”. I’m sure ya’ll are aware of his plans to retire. Do you think he’s really throwin’ it in? Big Boi: As far as Jay-Z retiring goes, this is ‘bout what, the third time he done retired, right? Raheim the Dream retired bout two or three times, Too Short did bout two times, I think this is ‘bout Jay-Z’s second or third time retiring. Michael Jordan retired like two or three times. You never know what they’re gonna do. Good artists, musicians, lyricists, the whole nine. I dunno if it’s to wake people up like, ‘This is my last one. You better go out and get it.’ Or if he’s like, “F**k it. I don’t wanna do it no more. I made my mark”, you know what I’m saying? But there’s always something about it that might bring you back to the game. So you know, you could retire and jump back in whenever you feel like it. So, much love to Jay-Z. Dre: We ain’t retiring no time soon, but I definitely don’t wanna be no old man rappin.’ I will tell you that! I’m only 28 but boy, sometimes them rhymes get rough. Sometimes you gotta find something to talk about. And that’s when you get the ‘woobitydoopty and dippitydipty’ on the microphone. I think certain things can drive you to retirement, but at the same time, certain things can bring you out of retirement too. So, I mean, I don’t think he’s lyin or that it’s just a bullsh*t line, I think at this point he really feels that he wants to do something [else]. But man, sometimes you can be at home watchin’ a video and be like, ‘Maaaan these n##### are really bullsh*ttin on the microphone’ and that will be the day when you’ll be like, ‘Lemme say something’. And that’s when you come right up outta retirement. You never know. AllHipHop.com: What’s up with Killa Mike, Slim Cutta Calhoun, and Konkrete? Big Boi: Killa Mike is workin on his album right now. It’s comin along and it’s harder than a b####. My boy Ray from Organized Noise is heading up the production on it right now, he’s like about four or five songs in, but it’s like Killa Mike, so hard. Slim Calhoun, he’s collecting tracks, I think he’s a track collector now. And we tryin to get it together with him. There were plans to send him to the West Coast to work with DJ Quik and E Swift, somebody like that, to try to give him a different feel. Cause he’s in Atlanta and it’s hard to get him to go in the studio when there’s so much jumpin’ so we gonna have to send him out of town to work. Konkrete’s album is about 80% done now. What we bout to do is go in and lay the hot sauce on it; all the music and everything, and kinda like, pull it together. AllHipHop.com: Big Boi, for the brothas, who is shorty in the video for “The Way You Move?” Big Boi: That’s like, a friend of the family, really. That’s my kid’s auntie. I ain’t chop her though. She’s like real cool. You’ll see her soon though, she gonna be out with us in a minute when we hit the road. Her name is Toi Johnson. She was in XXL and King magazine. AllHipHop.com: For the both of you, what is your favorite track that you’ve done out of your entire career? And what has affected you most through your evolving from <I>Southernplayalistic…,</I> your first joint, to now? Dre: To ask what’s a favorite track, that’s gonna be very hard to answer because it changes from time to time, and album to album. Right now it would be this album and I would have to say, (chuckle) “Spread”. And to answer the other question, honestly, I would have to say time has affected me the most. No event has really shaped the sound, it’s really just been time; time […]

AllHipHop.com launches its recap of 2003 with OutKast and rightfully so. As one of the few acts that captured the elusive and fading art of melding creativity with endless commercial capability, the group moved millions of units and moved the souls of those that listened. At one point the duo of Big Boi and Andre were “just two dope boys in a Cadillac,” but with the release of their album, <I>Speakerboxxx/The Love Below</I>, the group returned, reinvented itself and painted further outside the lines. Yet, with this LP the brothas split their art in half and packaged it as a double set, one half Dre and the other Big Boi. Opting to do separate albums this go ‘round, the pair further pushed the envelope until it was rumored that they were breaking up. Not true. Truth is OutKast was a beacon of hope for hip-hop and a blueprint for those that want to do their own thang. Here are 2,249 words with OutKast – don’t miss one. In the heart of Times Square, AllHipHop sat before the dynamic team and they discussed a myriad of topics from their thoughts on love and war, artist retirement, and the real deal with <I>Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.</I> AllHipHop.com: The process for this album was different than the others. What were the big differences with this process than on past albums where you were working totally together? Andre 3000: Had to write more verses. That was the real challenge with the whole thing. While we were recording the album I was letting Big Boi check the songs out and he was letting me check songs out and I was askin him ‘What you like, what you like? Like I heard his stuff the whole time, I produced three tracks on his side, so there was involvement the whole time. AllHipHop.com: Dre, you didn’t rhyme much on your side of the album, why is that and will you keep rhyming? Dre: I’m still rhyming like I used to, I’m just not rhyming on this album. These songs had to come out. This is what I was writin’ at the time so this is what it was. God told me to give you these songs at the time so that’s what it was. But rhyming is still in full effect just gotta build up some new ideas and new concepts that’s all. AllHipHop.com: Andre ain’t rhyming on this joint, but Big Boi what made you stick to the script? Big Boi: I really didn’t stick to a script. I just went in and did music how I do it. There really is no set formula that’s just how we do music. As far as me personally, I’m still into lyricism and rhyming and making songs and all aspects of it so I just go in and whatever is the funkiest sh*t that jumps out, that’s what I’m gonna use so that’s what I did. AllHipHop.com: Big Boi, on “War” you really attacked some current social issues. What was your inspiration to do that track? Big Boi: It actually stemmed from the election of 2000 and we were in between records at the time. The way the election went down it was like a whole blanket of conspiracy that’s thrown over things and then something else happened. So what I was doin really was letting out a little frustration from watchin the BBC and NWI, and things like that, checkin out what’s goin on in the world. Say for instance the election, it was a controversy. George Bush’s brother down in Florida, however that went, it was up in the air, then all of a sudden 9/11 happened, right? Ok throw a blanket over the election, f**k it, we ain’t got the election no more, 9/11 happened we gotta go get these people cause they’re tryin to kill us. Okay, so not only do we go look for Osama Bin Laden, who we still have not found to this day. Where is he? We’re like okay, Bin Laden done did it but we gonna come over here and f**k with you. So they go to Iraq. Why you goin to Iraq for? They didn’t bomb the buildings. “Well, they got weapons of mass destruction so we need to go over there before they come over here and kill us and our kids and all the beautiful Americans.” Okay, we go to Iraq. We go to war, throw a blanket over the World Trade Center, now we in Iraq lookin for weapons of mass destruction. And we conquered em, and you the know the battle is “so-called” over, but you know we got 10 to 15 soldiers dyin’ a day. That’s what they tell us. We don’t know the real number you know. We go to Iraq, conquer, but there are no weapons of mass destruction, you know what I’m sayin? Throw a blanket over that, now what’s gonna happen now? It’s gonna be some sh*t. That’s why you see the terror alert is elevated now and I really feel something is about to go down, and then they gonna throw a blanket over that sh*t. It’s really about getting somebody competent and responsible to run this country man, that’s what it’s about. AllHipHop.com: As a group you all are known for addressing socially conscious topics, but Andre, on your side of the album you focused on the search for love. Have you given up on love? Dre: Well honestly, I can’t say that I’ve given up on anything. I can say that the situation that I’m in, and being the person that I am, it doesn’t look very bright. (They laugh). But one thing I know is God is love, and love is God. If that is true, then it’s not even what I think. So, I mean, I can give up on it, but once again what <I>The Love Below</I> stands for is that deep down feeling below that we have no control over that’s gonna bubble […]

This year was a big year for hip-hop in many ways. Between 50 Cent’s blockbuster and Outkast’s double CD opus, rappers held it down on the music end. But 2003 also saw an unprecedented number of rappers launch clothing lines, get involved in politics, get robbed and get into trouble. Here’s a list of what rappers did politically over the past 12 months and who found themselves in trouble and some other interesting tidbits that we know you forgot. Activism (in no order): -Lauryn Hill emerges out of no where and tells the Catholic church to repent, at the VATICAN in Rome! -Black Panther Party launches record label -Ghostface gave away 1000 sleeping bags to NY homeless -The Source drops their Eminem bombshell, featuring the rapper using the word N##### -Irv Gotti drops Murder from Murder Inc, renames label The Inc. -Slick Rick was released from prison after being detained for over a year by the INS -Diddy ran a 26 mile marathon, raising $2 million -Eric B took on Universal, claiming that he and Rakim never received a dime for the classic album Paid In Full -Farrakhan’s meeting with Ja Rule to mediate the beef between Murder Inc. and 50 Cent -For the first time in the Billboard’s chart history, the top ten songs in one week were all by African-American artists.With the exception of the number 1 song, Beyonce’s "Baby Boy" which features Sean Paul, the other 9 songs are by rappers -Dead Prez launched their own record label -Nelly’s Pimp Juice was the subject of a nationwide boycott -Hollis Day in Queens, New York was renamed Jam Master Jay Day -Atlanta’s T.I. launched a construction company -The Birmingham Hip-Hop Summit, which drew almost 50,000 people -Rakim took his career under control and bounced from Dre’s Aftermath camp -KRS-1 won an injunction against Koch and actually held up his own release date because he wasn’t happy with the version the label was releasing -Red Alert was inducted in the Bronx Walk of Fame -Nas got down with anti-gun Public Service Announcements -Canibus showed how much he loved the United States by joining the Army -Afroman gave up weed for God -Nelly launched a non profit, Jes Us 4 Jackie, hoping to find bone marrow donors -Russell Simmons’ "Countdown to Fairness" took on New York’s Rockefeller Drug Laws -The West Coast spoke up via a Fred Wreck production featuring Everlast, Daz, RBX, Tray Deee, Dialated peoples entitled "S.T.O.P." (Stop The Oppressive Politics) -Eminem and Russell hosted the Detroit Hip-Hop Summit, drawing almost 20,000 people -UPN was almost boycotted over the hip-hop television show "Platinum," but it was taken off the air due to poor ratings before the boycotters ever had a chance -Rappers put their beefs aside to protest the war with Iraq -The boycott and caving in of Pepsi over dumping Ludacris as a spokesperson Clothing Lines: -Ice T started Ice Wear -DMX launched Bommer, a clothing line for dogs -Eminem launched Shady Clothing -Eve launched Fetish -Steve Rifkind launched Street Team, -50 Cent launched G Unit Clothing line -Bow Wow launched Shago -Def Jam launched Def Jam University -Run launched Run Athletics -Nelly launched Apple Bottom -Roc-A-Fella launched Roc-A-Wear Red Label, Wash House and Team Roc Rappers or Friends We Lost This Year: -RBL Posse member Hitman was gunned down -Camoflauge was shot and killed in Savannah, Georgia -Half-A-Mil found dead in Brooklyn -Soulja Slim gunned down -Spooks member Water Water was killed in a car accident -Barry White -Fred "Rerun" Berry -Kenyan rapper Krupt -DO Cannon -Honorable mention: Matthew Hall, the Zulu member gunned down in Harlem for no reason Jack The Rapper!: -Lil Kim lost and recovered $250,000 worth of jewels -Trackmaster producer Tone’s house was robbed of $100,000 worth of cash and jewels -Chingy was robbed after crowds mob’s him at Philly performance in the Gallery Mall. All he lost was an $800 ring -Trina was robbed of $300,000 worth of jewels in a North Carolina hotel -Big V’s $20,000 Chicken Claw chain stolen -Nelly robbed of $1 million dollars in jewels from his hotel in Las Vegas Odd News: -Loon reveals that the Harlem Shake dance craze was actually created by an alcoholic named Sisqo, who would do the dance if someone bought him liquor -Man who claimed he was blackballed from the "video acting industry," after 50’s bodyguards roughed him up on the set of a video -A man who wrecked Missy Elliot’s $300,000 Lamborghini Diablo was sentenced to three years in jail after a late night tryst that ended in disaster. -Xzibit being rescued at Bondi Beach in Australia after a rip tide carried him out into the Pacific ocean -New Jersey FBI dubbing a serial bank robber Eminem -Chicago police issuing a statement that a serial rapist looked like Ice Cube -Eminem’s mom going on television and saying that the rapper has a drinking problem -Latifah got a breast reduction (we liked em La haha) -Rodney King releasing an album: Rodney King, The Living Legend Arrested or in Trouble: -50 Cent and Llyod Banks were busted the first week of the New Year -Murder Inc.’s headquarters were raided -Fabolous was busted 2 times in one weekend -Juvenile was arrested for drug possession -Latifah was sentenced for DUI -Ras Kass went on the run due to a 3rd DUI charge. While on the lam, he tried to get out of his contract with priority. He eventually surrendered to do 9 months in the can -Trick Daddy was busted for assault charges. Later in the year he was arrested again after getting bent in the stands of a high school football game. The cops found cocaine in his shirt pocket -Luke Campbell was hit with Felony obscenity charges and banned from performing in South Carolina -Rapper Drama was arrested and charged with 6 armed robberies -Dame Dash was arrested after his son allegedly brought weed to school -Funk Flex pled guilty for smacking rival DJ Steph Lova -Freeky Zeeky was shot in […]

AllHipHop: Well, I really hope to see this book take effect to the fullest magnitude. KRS-One: Well, you’re taking the first step now. Because this interview, based on how you write it, is gonna be what it takes to galvanize the movement called Hip-Hop. A lot of Hip-Hoppers read AllHipHop.com, and this is a very important discussion we’re having right now, which by the way – we’re fifty/fifty in the leadership role. Whatever you write, people are gonna read. What is written is about Hip-Hop as a movement, is what’s going to galvanize around an agenda around, “this is what we want”. We want a two dollar minimum artist royalty. We don’t want artists getting thirty cents a record [which] sells for $10.35. We want a Hip-Hop guild, where one of us from [major Hip-Hop] organizations sits upon the guild. The guild takes a point or two from every single Hip-Hop artist in existence, period! That money then goes into a legal defense fund, health insurance, life insurance, home insurance, and maybe something – if you want to go into a plan, that you can have your kids going to college off of your first album. That needs to happen, that’s what we’re working for, that’s what takes up the bulk of our day. It’s a longer process, but in the end, we win. Right now, you turn on the television, you’d think it was hopeless. But hold on, it’s not. If I can get one message across to the readers of AllHipHop.com, it’s not hopeless! It only takes people time to grow up and become conscious. AllHipHop: Amen. KRS-One: For instance, AllHipHop.com, this is an excellent example or point. Last year, AllHipHop listed it’s best albums and its worst albums (Year End Wrap Up of 2002 / Thread in Ill Community), KRS-One’s “Spiritual Minded” was one of the worst albums depicted by AllHipHop.com. Spiritual Minded was a complete waste of time for AllHipHop.com, according to [you]. But I did see that other work of mine was very highly treated or praised. But Spiritual Minded – that was crazy, that was garbage. There was even comments about it on AllHipHop.com. I read that. I thought, “Wow, they missed the point.” But I said, “They’re gonna get the point eventually. Because if they truly love Hip-Hop, they will see that KRS-One does not use art to sell it, he uses art to galvanize a movement.” KRS-One: I asked Russell [Simmons] why he didn’t run for governor or run for mayor of New York or something like that, and really get that party started. And he chuckled and he laughed and said, “I smoked too much dust. Ain’t nobody gonna elect me.” AllHipHop: These days, they’ll elect you FOR that! KRS-One: I told Russell! I told him that! That’s the conversation me and Russell had at The Source Awards. It’s the truth. Maybe Russell should run. And I would call him out right here in this interview and say: “Russell you need to run for governor so Hip-Hop can have that political base, so we can at least have somebody to vote for!” Once we get our Hip-Hop vote together, we need to get somebody in the office. Russell, I think you’re the candidate. Start with mayor then to governor then to senator. Visit the Temple of Hip-Hop at http://www.templeofhiphop.org

We all know about KRS-One: The master, the teacher, the poet, the philosopher, the B-boy. But to what degree do we appreciate Kris? While he’s never been short on his zeal, Kris doesn’t ask much in return. How active are most MC’s approaching their twentieth year of making records? In KRS’ own words, “Why is that?” KRS is doing a lot more than making records these days though (though he still has dropped at least one a year for five years). KRS wrote yet another book. He’s overwriting a plan to make Hip-Hop into a union: spiritually and in terms of labor benefits and pensions. But like the old owl, KRS is always watching. He has very specific goals and visions, and he knows who is with him and against him. Speaking with KRS-One is a lot like being in a cypher. Throw away the outline, and see where the words take you. When caught in the cypher, a lot of people get pigeon-holed and run out of rhymes. In his third decades, KRS can’t be muted, he’s still WORD PERFECT. AllHipHop: Not many books written by Hip-Hop artists sound as fulfilling to the reader as your book, “Ruminations.” Tell me more about the project, and how it differs from your previous literary work. KRS-One: It’s called “Ruminations.” Because, to ruminate means to turn an idea over and over again in your head, to look at something from a variety of perspectives. I called it Ruminations because the book does not focus on one particular idea, the book focuses on a variety of hot topics that are being discussed on college campuses and amongst people, and so on. Some of [the topics are] spirituality, politics, voting – there’s a chapter called “rocking the vote”, there’s a chapter called urban inspirational metaphysics – which talks about metaphysics in the inner-city as opposed to the suburbs or the rain forest somewhere. There is what’s called, “right supremacy” which is a play on the term, “white supremacy”, but it’s about reparations to African Americans, I take the argument out of whether we are owed something, I took it to the level, “what does it mean to be civilized?” Are African Americans civilized [according] to the true definition of the term civilized. Are we civilized in the sense of asking for reparations, trying to obtain reparations, to ask another government for reparations? Where’s our government? Where’s our constitution? Where’s our leadership in the sense that we’ve been reperated. But then it also goes over to United States government and law and the fact that if we are citizens, then why is our grievances being ignored? An inquiry is not even being done [relating to] reparations. How civilized is the American society when it feels that slavery as a question, a race question, can be left out there with no real answer? So it talks about that for a little bit, from both perspectives, and the theme being civilization. Then of course, there’s a state of Hip-Hop, where we talk about Hip-Hop and poverty – and how the recording contracts basically keep us in a state of poverty – no matter how rich or popular we get. I also added “The Science of Rap” in the same book that was originally printed in ’95 and has become sort of a collector’s item, that’s become out of print. I printed an updated version of that book, not the entire, but the meat of it, some fifty pages of that book, in the back of Ruminations. Tavis Smiley did the forward for the book, and Dr. Cornel West introduces the CD which accompanies the book. The CD [is of] my lectures. [Dr. West] did one of my lectures with me – him talking about Hip-Hop. That’s really the book. It’s out right now, it’s in stores. People have been having a good time with it so far. AllHipHop: What have we to look forward to in this May’s Hip-Hop Appreciation Week? KRS-One: I think it’s the sixteenth to the twenty-third [this year]. The theme this year is faith. Actually, that’s it. We’re all gearing up for that. The Temple of Hip-Hop has its own meeting this week about the agenda for 2004 is. One of which, we’re very happy about is we’ve completed The Gospel of Hip-Hop. This was a lot of members of the Temple of Hip-Hop that wrote this book that I kinda oversaw and edited in some ways. But about eight people got down on this book. It took us about six-seven years to write it. It’s finally coming to a finishing point. We’re really happy about that. This book actually accompanies the Hip-Hop lifestyle. If you really want to live Hip-Hop and raise a family by Hip-Hop, master the elements, know the true meaning of the consciousness of Hip-Hop, this book is for you. This is the ultimate Hip-Hop manual. In addition to that, we’re gonna start distributing that right around Hip-Hop Appreciation Week. May, we’ll start distributing it to Temple members only. AllHipHop: Right now that book isn’t available to the general public though? KRS-One: Eventually, it’ll be public. But in about three or four years. Just the Temple members themselves will be able to have the book. Mainly, because the information that is in the book – the Hip-Hop community is not yet ready for it. I say that respectfully. We have a seven year plan (ending 2010), to educate the Hip-Hop community on knowledge of itself. The plan has been very subtle. I can reveal portions of the plan now and you’ll see it. – In 1994, we had a “Meeting of the Minds” with Afrika Bambaataa, Kool Herc, Crazy Legs, Grand Wizard Theodore, a whole bunch of other people was also there. We realized that Hip-Hop needs to have a book that outlined what we wanted our children to know in the future of Hip-Hop. We also came to a few other conclusions as how to guide Hip-Hop for […]