What is Hip Hop?

Everyday when I am out and about in Berlin or Atlanta, or even when I just surf the Internet, I get annoyed by these "promoters", "DJ's" and "Rappers" that supposedly are promoting and representing "Hip Hop". One look at their content, one visit to their event and one listen to one of their tunes is all it usually takes to convince me that they got it all wrong. Clearly these people have not understood what Hip Hop stands for or even means. Maybe they just use it to try and get more customers, but anyway this needs to stop. We can't let these people continuously slander the name of Hip Hop. I usually feel a deep urge to educate them but with the ignorant people of today all that this would lead into is me screaming at them, missing the effect that I had hoped for.

"DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT HIP HOP IS

 AND WHAT IT STANDS FOR???"

So instead of complaining and turning into a miserable grandpa one day, I am writing this post to put a piece of my mind out there. I am praying that it not only educates a one or two, but also inspires people to partake in this "lifestyle", this "culture" that true Hip Hop represents.

"Once upon a time
on the planet somewhere

a bombastic beat was born... 

Lets call her Hip Hop!" - Erykah Badu

To get to the beginning of it all we travel back to 1974 when Afrika Bambaataa had just returned from Africa where he was crowned a Zulu King. It is that year, that he turned and formed the world renowned "Zulu Nation".
Besides forming a movement that is still represented to day in most of the countries of the world, he sat down and decided to define the elements and principles of Hip Hop. What he came up with is what we today call the
"4 elements" and the "4 principles" of Hip Hop:

4 elements:

• The DJ
• The MC
• Graphiti Art
• Breakdancing

4 Principles:

• Peace
• Love
• Unity
• Having Fun

Afrika Bambaataa even joined forces with James Brown and made a song about the 4 principles.

Hit it!

As time passed Hip Hop evolved and grew. At this point KRS-ONE made interesting statements about the genre.
KRS-ONE personally said that Hip Hop didn't just include the 4 elements laid out by Afrika Bambaataa anymore, but that people evolved Hip Hop to 9 elements extending the original by 5 and that they are to be included when one speaks on or about Hip Hop. The elements he was talking about are:

• Beat-boxing
• Street-Fashion
• Street-Language
• Street-Knowledge
• Street-Entrepreneurship (not including illegal activities)

Once you include these additional 5 elements, it becomes clear that this is no longer a Genre, but it has evolved into a lifestyle. Please note that there are no mentions of faking the funk, lip singing or any other way to get one unskilled self on a big stage. There is no place in Hip Hop for fakers.

 Hip Hop is such a beautiful thing cause the music alone can be expressed in different forms ranging from "militant" to "conscious" , "joyful" to "sad", "educational" to "dancing & clubbing".

Its about time people started living the lifestyle again.



Before I am done I would like to share this with you:
A MC (Master of Ceremony) is a Rapper, but a Rapper is not automatically a MC.
Hip Hop entails Rap, but Rap is nothing else than "rapidly" speaking over a beat.
Violence has nothing to do with Hip Hop.

"The courage to be yourself is the essence of Hip Hop" 

that means:

"BEEING ORIGINAL" 

is what makes you part of Hip Hop.

Real Hip Hop music comes down to 3 essentials: 2 Turntables and 1 Mic.
(no computers, no effects, just naked skills)

Of course you still need a phat MC on the set!

I myself, born into the CD player and computer DJ age am trying to work my way back to the old way. Out of respect, out of the urge to learn and last but not least out of love for Hip Hop.

The Most "EXTENSIVE" Vocabulary in HIP HOP

Today I came across a very interesting read on Hip Hop DX. A self proclaimed "Data Scientist" supposedly started a project where he analyzed the song texts  from various rappers gathered via "Rap Genius". In this research he was only counting the number of unique words that occur in the sampled rappers "first" 35.000 verses. His results are very interesting yet leave plenty of room for new questions, since this study only reveals the rapper using the most of the vocabulary available to him. Its actually pretty cool to see rappers being put on a scale with our worlds greatest poet Shakespeare.

After I read the article and being a scientist myself I first wonder what the definition of "unique word" is that the author throws around all to happily without defining. Unfortunately the writer did not see it necessary to give us a better idea of what this study actually means and leaves us wondering. "Is a word unique when nobody ever used it before?", if so then why are 90's artists on a scale with artists that came out much later and if there are unique words, then should not all words be unique? Like I said its not a conclusive research but its definitely entertaining.

Also interesting to see would be if there is a correlation to album sales, total number of words used by a rapper or even what rapper keeps using the same words.
After all I am just happy to see that WU-Tang Clan did alright and represent good Hip Hop! Check it out though!

LINK

Live Performance - MT MOTHERLANDBOY

I am glad to present you with some brand new footage of one of MT MOTHERLANDBOY's latest performances. In the video he is performing at a venue called "Vinyl" at Center Stage in Atlanta, GA. If you are in town make sure to swing by on the 25th of May for the next show, because MT will be on stage again performing with energy and emotion. The next show is on the 25th of May, so come hang out with MT and support your local indy artists!

Enjoy!

VIDEO - MT MOTHERLANDBOY "I AM THE HOTTEST SHIT"

My brother from another mother and founding member of Motherland Music
MT MOTHERLANDBOY has released a video to provide some visuals for his big single "I'm the hottest shit" off the Mixtape "Coming To America". The video was shot in Paris, France which holds a lot of influence on MT and his life journey. By now it should be clear that MT or WE mean business. Watch out for us, a new mixtape "Coming 2 America vol. 2" will be released this Summer! So get ready and stay tuned!

If you are not following us make sure to give him a like on FACEBOOK, subscribe to the channel on YOUTUBE and SOUNDCLOUD






ENJOY!!!

Album Debut - RALEL "METHOD TO THE MADNESS"

Amazon                    iTunes

Ralel an artist that I been in touch with for a while now has released his debut album "Method to the Madness"! Dallas definitly has a rapper that is attacking the scene with a new sound. To sum up his style I have to quote KRS-One and say "Knowledge reigns supreme". It will be difficult to understand the album by listening to it just once,  for Ralel takes you on an interesting journey.
The first singles from that I heard was "Letters To Original Man". Once it was over, nothing more had to be said. My interest had been sparked. The beat that Ralel flows nice on uses a smooth sample that is just to my taste. The track made me very interested in hearing the final album to see if he would provide us with some more tunes of that caliber. Ralel did not dissapoint. "Feel Like" is definetly a heavy hitter, followed by "Back to the Basics". I cant wait to see him in a show this year. Maybe even in Berlin, Germany?  We are planning, just stay tuned!
In this album Ralel convinces me with good flows packing a heavy message. His tracks are backed by great production to give the final bang for the buck.

If you like the music, don't forget to support financially!I am happy to announce that this is only the beginning!

Make your own opinion of Ralel and enjoy.

Follow him: FACEBOOK and subscribe on SOUNDCLOUD

Purchase his musik on Amazon.com and iTunes.com

BIOGRAPHY

NEW MUSIC - Smoke DZA - Dream Zone

Check out Smoke DZA's debute Album "Dream Zone"... straight heat if you ask me! Make your own opinion!

Featured on this Album is Cam'ron, Joey Bada$$, Ab-Soul, Kobe, Curren$y, Wiz Khalifa and others. This is a must get LP!!!

DL:
http://www.sharebeast.com/gtf83zg7pj9m

Producer Spotlight: Deady on da Beatz, a Belizean Hitmaker

Belize? Where? Hitmaker? What?

Out there, somewhere between Spanish speaking countries and the Caribbean exists a mysterious country, labelled as "Mother Natures Best Kept Secret". This sub tropical enclave is known for its lush rainforest, the second largest barrier reef in the world  and its culture.

British Honduras, the name that Belize was known as before it gained independence from England in 1964 is still a very young country with plenty of opportunities. It manages to provide us with everything from untouched rainforests and undiscovered Maya cities to struggle, poverty and cities packing over 70,000 people.

Belize is the only  English speaking country south of the USA on the American continent. Its potential for being an hide out for American runaway criminals should no longer be a secret. The Notorious B.I.G. talked about it in " P Diddy's - Young G's ft Notorious BIG, Jay Z ": "I will be in Belize smoking tree's when they find me". (The sample appeared again on "Breaking Old Habits")

Unfortunately Belize's geographical location makes it a choke point for the major drug traffic from South America to the USA. If you ever visited Belize, then you would know that not only do folks only tell scary stories about voodoo and ancient spirits to frighten the weak hearted, but every so often draw on frightening stories related to the drug traffickers. 
 Away from the sun light and the tourism. Away from all the trouble that this young country has to deal with on a daily basis you will find a rich culture with hundreds of years old  rhythms handed down by generations hailing all the way from West Africa. This is where Deady on da Beatz draws his inspiration.

Coming up in the capital Belmopan, Deady, a music fanatic like many of us
managed to overcome the everyday struggle and find his peace and belonging behind a drum machine and keyboard. Like many Belizeans he grew up listening to Hip Hop from the USA and dancehall and reggae from either local or Jamaican artists. He manages to combine all these influential factors into a blend to create true authentic Belizean  hip hop/dancehall/reggae beats. Hearing is believing!

Let me introduce to you the homie, the artist, the Belizean Hitmaker:


DEADY ON DA BEATZ

Hanging out with MT MotherLandBoy in the ATL

On my last trip to Atlanta I took some time out to hang out with MT MotherlandBoy. Watch the video and get to know MT and Selecta Shizzle

 

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT - RALEL

Today we feature an upcoming artist from Texas, USA. He goes by the name RALEL and he truly comes of as a person that loves his art.  The first album in the making, he has released a couple glimses of what to expect. His track "Letters To Original Man" captured my attention through the 90's Hip Hop style beat, topped of with a sweet sample. Ralel then supprised me when he started spitting some real truth! Look out for him as I see a bright future for this artist ahead. Who knows, we might be inviting him out to Berlin for some stage performances, so stay tuned, follow rate and subscribe!
Press play and enjoy!




BIO:
RALEL a.k.a Chaz Aaron was born Feb 5 1991 in the western part of Dallas,TX. His passion for music began at an early age with heroes of traditional hip-hop like Nas, Lupe Fiasco, and Common. His skills in writing, and music composition showed to be worthy to his Highschool peers. August 25 2009 after graduation he entered the United States Air Force. With his discharge in 2012 the information he learned as an intelligence analyst would be his fuel and outline on real hip-hop.

ARTIST:          RALEL
ALBUM:         METHOD TO THE MADNESS
RELEASE:      UNDECIDED MID 2014
AFFILIATES:  COREY CLAYHORN (CEO CLOUT REC)

BRAND NEW -- MT MOTHERLANDBOY - 4 MY PEOPLE

"4 My People", track number 16 on the mixtape "Coming to America" from MT Motherlandboy is truly a banger. It is the 2nd official released music video from the Motherland Music movement. On this track MT opens up and speaks about his motivations and drive in life. In the rhymes he reflects on his life, the influences and ups and downs in the daily struggle.



Enjoy