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Git Up, Git Out
OutKast Southernplayalisticcadillacmuzik
written by KT

While people were paying attention to the East and West Coasts for their rap diet, Outkast was getting down in the ATL back when the south wasn’t the home of ring tone rappers and the like. Yes, whether you know it or not, 3 stacks and Daddy Fat Sacks were making names for not only themselves, but for the future of the genre as a whole.

Rewind back to 1994 and to Outkast’s debut album with LaFace Records: Southernplayalisticcadillacmuzik. These two eccentric dudes coming from the south were very different from what hip-hop was used to. Drum machines and g-funk were the order of the day and Outkast bucked that trend with a heavy reliance on fractured poetry, live instrumentation and old school funk. This was a landmark album for them, but the song that puts me in a frame of mind I’m sure many of us who are on our respective grinds can relate to still rings in my ears to this day, since the very first time I’d heard it. That song? “Git Up, Git Out,” the second single off the album.

In all fairness, it’s not necessarily the most inventive song that Kast has come up with, but as a young man on my grizzly, listening to this track puts the journey to success in perspective. While Cee-Lo Green of the Goodie Mob croons, “how will you make it if you never even try?” one can’t help but focus on the uphill battle towards the goal, whatever it may be. Even as I sit here and acknowledge the extensive resume Kast boasts, this remains one of my favorite songs for the simplicity of the message and its significance to the culture they were representing.

This may be a shorter post than what you’re used to from me, but only because I wanted to focus not on the lyrics this week, but on the whole of the song and what this album meant for this group. At this point in hip-hop, at the beginning of the mid-nineties, Outkast was ushering in a new brand of the music we love. I’m going to go zone out off this track one last time. Do yourselves the favor and do the same.

Oh Oh Oh oooooo....

I was just going through my iTunes and this song came on. I don't know how many people even really knew about this track it goes back a couple years, but Kanye killed it. Ill let you be the judge.
Kanye - Ohh Drama

Dust off the tape cover son...

Nyquil Mixtape of the Week – (noun) A group of five (5) songs that you are currently sleeping on. Either you've never heard them or forgot how much you really love them. Regardless, you need to brush the dust off your CD rack and play them or add them to your collection.

1. "Bucktown (Remix)" – Smif n Wessun ft. MOP
What happens when the hardest meets the most gangster? Put the children to bed for this one.


2. "Boom" – Royce the 5'9
An extremely talented and underrated rapper, Royce delivers his best over this Premo beat.


3. "The Most Beautifulest Thing in this World" – Keith Murray, The Most Beautifulest Thing in this World
How dope was this? I shouldn't even have to explain it to you. Get with the lyrical lexicon


4. "Give it to You" – Da Brat, Funkdafied
Often gets lost when the conversation about the best female rapper comes up but she deserves a seat at the table.


5. "Spit These Bars" – Drag-On
He might have disappeared but at one time he was the hottest rookie in the game.


Come back every week for a new mixtape!

Fresh Tuesday...

photo by Nena Nguyen

Fresh tuesday, I will try to bring you a new album or mixtape whenever you see these post. Music is scarce right now! Lets pray for some quality soon!

Hot Rap Tracks
(Billboard.com)
#1
Flo-Rida Featuring T-Pain - Low

#2
Webbie, Lil' Phat & Lil' Boosie - Independent

#3
Fat Joe Featuring J. Holiday - I Won't Tell

#4
Shawty Lo - Dey Know

#5
Lupe Fiasco Featuring Matthew Santos - Superstar

Artist Profile

John Jackson

(born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Growing up from the Brooklyn area of New York City, he was among the first east coast rappers influenced by southern hip hop sounds and first became popular through his hit single "Can't Deny It" in 2001, from his debut album Ghetto Fabolous. His music has crossed into pop rap as well. His rap style has been compared those those of rappers Loon and Mase.

Born of mixed African American and Dominican descent, Jackson grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. When Memphis Bleek officially signed to Roc-A-Fella Records, Fabolous decided that it was time for him to start rapping seriously. He would call into DJ Clue's radio show in late 1998, he ended up freestyling for Clue, who would immediately sign him to his newly-formed Desert Storm Records. He would be featured on several DJ Clue mixtapes and mixtapes with Roc-A-Fella artists. This would earn Fabolous and Desert Storm a distribution deal with Elektra Records. In 2001, they began to promote Fabolous and his debut album, Ghetto Fabolous, first by placing him on the remix to popular label-mate, Lil Mo's "Superwoman (Remix)."

Discography
* 2001: Ghetto Fabolous
* 2003: Street Dreams
* 2004: Real Talk
* 2007: From Nothin' to Somethin'
Fabolous MySpace

Download
Fabolous & DJ Drama - There Is No Competition

Video: 9th Wonder & Buckshot video shoot...

State your biz...

Lil’ Kim: Friend or Foe?
written by JusHH

Hip-Hop has always been seen as a “boy’s club” where female emcees are seen as welcomed guests rather than active participants. But it was never this bad. It never got to the point where we looked around and saw no females rapping on a major stage, and award shows had to literally discontinue its best female artist category because there was no one to give it to. There used to be a meritocracy for females where if you could spit, you would get a chance to make music. In 1995, a certain girl from Brooklyn picked up the mic and changed the game forever. When Lil’ Kim came on the scene she forced all of Hip-Hop to address the female rapper differently. However looking back 13 years later, was her influence a good or bad thing for women in Hip-Hop?

Prior to 1995, female rappers came in all shapes and sizes. From to MC Lyte to Queen Latifah to the Lady of Rage, females had a visible and diverse presence in Hip-Hop. Add in groups like Salt-N-Pepa and women were even topping the charts. They spoke about a wide range of topics and many garnished respect from their male counterparts and true Hip-Hop fans. These female rhymesters did not have to fit into the small pigeonhole of “sex object”. Sex was more of a topic of discussion rather than the focal point of their image. This is not to say that they weren’t up against sexism and bigotry. It was very hard to avoid seeing videos like “Rump Shaker” or having rappers explain how a woman should lick or suck something. Although the chauvinism in Hip-Hop was prevalent, there was at least an outlet for people if they wanted a more positive viewpoint on women.

In 1995 everything we knew about gender politics in Hip-Hop was turned on its head. Lil’ Kim burst onto the scene as a hyper-sexual vixen that was in control of her body and sexuality. It was like a revolution of sorts where men were no longer allowed to determine how a female is viewed. She literally knocked people on their asses with her hardcore lyrics. (“I used to be scared of the d**k, now I throw lips to the s**t, handle it like a real b***h.”) The men in her raps were just play toys, objects whose only purpose was to please her and finance her lavish lifestyle. Never having seen this before, Lil’ Kim became one of the biggest stars in Hip-Hop and arguably the most controversial. Her unapologetic rhymes and strong demeanor gave females in rap another voice and perhaps another avenue to express their sexuality through the music.

Unfortunately, Kim’s impact might have been too powerful. Her debut album reached number 1 on the Billboard charts and her first week sales set the record for a female rapper. This had the music business salivating. The multi-faceted female emcee was replaced by this new breed of rapper that executives felt they could make a killing off of. A woman couldn’t get a deal unless she was wearing a thong or talked about how she performed in the bedroom and the raunchier the better. This sexual empowerment that Kim started completely disappeared. The female rapper became a one-dimensional object whose role was to satisfy the fantasies of their male listeners. In many circles, Lil’ Kim was no longer being viewed as a symbol of strength but rather the embodiment of the very words used by rappers to which we now protest. With an emphasis on the “porn star” image, having actual lyrical talent became expendable. What remained were these inept women with ghost writers being paraded around as actual artists and it completely destroyed what was left of the true female emcee.

Years literally went by as women who at one point would have been welcomed into Hip-Hop, found themselves on the outside looking in because they were unwilling to compromise themselves. The result is what we have today – nothing. No prominent, successful female rappers worth mentioning, just frustration and nostalgia. It’s probably unfair to place the entire blame on Lil’ Kim but we’re responsible for our actions even if we cannot predict the outcomes that our actions will have. Most likely she didn’t intend to have a negative impact. She was probably just being Kimberly Jones, a girl from BK expressing herself through music. But as artists like Jean Grae and Lil’ Mama fight tooth and nail to undo what the Queen Bee did to their image and respectability, they might have asked her back in 1995, “Friend or Foe yo, state your biz?”

Video: Behind the scenes, Kidz In The Hall

Kidz In The Hall - Sweet 16 (Making of All My Ladies)