Benz and a Backpack

“You never thought that hip-hop would take it this far,” and I imagine nobody in the first thirty years of hip-hop did. Radio play? Yup. Magazines? Okay. Grammys? Probably. But fellowships at Harvard?

If anyone deserves a fellowship at an elite institution it’s 9th Wonder, who is one of the premier educators and practitioners of hip-hop. 9th has been teaching a soul sampling course at Duke University, and over the course of his career he has approached his music with an unparalleled level of intelligence and devotion. That devotion will be on display in The Harvard Fellowship, a film directed by Kenneth Price (who collaborated with 9th on The Wonder Years) that will document 9th’s year at Harvard, and hopefully dispel with the idea that “hip-hop” and “entertainment” are synonymous.

“The Harvard Fellow follows one of hip-hop’s most dynamic artists, 9th Wonder through a year of lecturing and research at Harvard University. While at Harvard, 9th will have an office on campus, teach a class on the history of hip-hop, complete a research project and further explore hip-hop’s history and culture in an academic setting.”

The research component to the project is especially interesting. 9th will spend the year unearthing and cataloguing the samples that make up his 10 favorite albums. For more information on The Harvard Fellow, visit the project’s website, and be sure to make even a nominal donation to The Harvard Fellow’s Kickstarter, because after all, money only grows on trees after you get a degree from Harvard.

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Straight from Clutchamatic at MTVHive:

“MTV Hive just published an interview with Compton’s Kendrick Lamar. In it, he talks with Andrew Nosnitzky (Noz of Cocaine Blunts) on Section 80, the Reagan era, religion, and the secrecy behind Dr. Dre’s Detox. Here’s an excerpt.”

Are you tired about people asking about the Dr. Dre shout-out yet?

No, I’m not tired of it. It’s an accomplishment, I’m blessed for a West Coast legend that I always looked up to acknowledge my work. But what I don’t want people to misunderstand is that you’re hearing Kendrick Lamar’s name because Dr. Dre said it. This is something I’ve been building from the ground up since I was sixteen. I’ve been putting out music, and in order for him to even say my name he had to hear the music first, the same [way] everybody else did.

Do you have any Detox secrets you can reveal?

Aw, no, I can’t reveal no Detox secrets! He gon’ be mad at me. Just know the shit is classic. It’s fucking incredible.

Really? Because the singles haven’t inspired much hope.

Right yeah, I see the people saying that but they won’t be disappointed once they hear the album.

Read the rest of the interview over at MTVHive.com.

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Big ups to Devan from FOV on this one. Watch as French beat box sensation EKLIPS runs through a relatively comprehensive history of hip-hop in just four minutes, imitating everyone from Slick Rick to Meth, Preem to Busta, nailing every beat.

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I did a little bit of research on the internet to try and find the highly anticipated single off of Dr. Dre’s Detox album which features Jay-Z called “Under Pressure”. There is an instrumental floating around the internet that some claim to be “Under Pressure”.
Dr. Dre and Jimmy Lovine in an interview with a French radio station said that the single has been pushed back because of Eminem’s “Not Afraid”.

Here is the suspected instrumental…

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If your NCAA men’s bracket didn’t quite turn out how you expected, here is you chance to redeem yourself with Vibe’s “Greatest Producer of All-Time” bracket.  The picks are seeded and broken up into 4 different sections; homegrown sound (Dr. Dre, Mannie Fresh), soul sample (Kanye West, Just Blaze) , mass appeal (Neptunes, Timbaland), and boom-bap (DJ Premier, RZA).

Like Vibe’s “Best Rapper Alive” bracket, this one has already started some controversy.  Producer Bangladesh, the man behind “A Milli”, has already stated he is the best.  Don’t be surprised when some Joe Budden vs Method Man type drama arises as a result of this.

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In the classic Jaylib song “The Mission,” Jay Dee spits: “Come see the Dilla lay with the fifth / Maybe you can write an article about how Jay play with them whips / And who said producers ain’t supposed to rap? / They don’t want the Ruger to bang well close your traps.” A lot of artists now learn the trades of rhyming and beat-making simultaneously, giving them an unprecedented versatility (see: J. Cole, Evidence, Blu, B.o.B., et cetera).

Then there’s the other group of artists who are primarily producers, or who made names for themselves as producers first, but then began dabbling in the art of spitting as a means to fill out their careers, and their corners in the industry. Most recently, North Carolina native 9th Wonder of the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League ventured into the realm of rapping under the moniker 9thmatic, dropping a couple tracks (one produced by DJ Premier) featuring his skills on the mic:

9thmatic (9th Wonder) & Khrysis – It’s On [prod. DJ Premier]

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Big Remo ft. 9thmatic – Go

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It’s only natural for producers to feel the urge to spit, seeing as they’re constantly surrounded by emcees and surely have beats on deck that nobody could spit on correctly but themselves. Who are the best producers-turned-rappers? Hit the skip for the Top 5, then vote for your favorite.

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Both the week between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day and Thanksgiving week compete for the title of busiest travel week of the year. While some may use this as an excuse to avoid holiday traffic by all means necessary, I’ll hop on the chance to give you Part II of the “Let Me Ride” edition of Throwback Thursday. (For Part I, check out THROWBACK THURSDAY- Vol. 12: Let Me Ride)

Yours truly, Miss AKW, is making that traffic bearable! Because, let’s face it, you know you wanna be that guy with your bass boomin’ in dead-stopped traffic..

ridiculous.

Warren G feat. Nate Dogg: Regulate

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Canibus: Let’s Ride

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Masta Ace: The B-Ride

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M.O.P.: Ride With Us

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If you haven’t seen this already, here it is:

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People have been calling it a cheap version of the video for Pac and Dre’s California Love (and make sure you peep Chris Tucker at the beginning):

I don’t know if their similar, especially in terms of tone. What do you think?

Blueprint Volume 3 Album Artwork x Tracklist

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