Word: hops
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
When gangsta rap came under fire as a threat to America's moral values, a few people stood up and defended hip-hop artists as troubadours of the ghetto, even if artists that truly deserved that tag were few and far between. Nasir Jones (aka Nas, aka Nasty Nas, aka Nas Escobar, aka Nastradamus) was one such rapper. Nastradamus, his newest album, cements his reputation as urban troubadour or, as "Come Get Me" announces, "America's foremost young poet." From "The Prediction" to "The Outcome"--prophetic and apocalyptic spoken-word joints from poet Jessica Care Moore--Nas' album...
Forget the braggadacio of "Hate Me Now" and the "damn I've got money now" sentiment that seems to have infected every other major hip-hop artist; Nas has started wrestling with the issues at the core of life in places like the Queensbridge Projects, where he grew up. This is not to say that he has completely abandoned mindless thug banter, such as the "Kill, Kill, Kill/Murder, Murder, Murder" refrain of "Shoot 'em up," but he has certainly clawed his way into hip-hop's most elite circles of lyricism. Any doubters should check out "Project Windows," a track...
...Black on Both Sides (Rawkus), Mos Def's cultural concerns reveal themselves in every number. The opener, Fear Not of Man, delivers a manifesto: "We are hip-hop. Me, you, everybody... So the next time you ask where hip-hop is going, ask yourself: Where am I going?" On the song Mr. Nigga, Mos Def raps along with Q-Tip about the myriad indignities faced by young blacks at the hands of policemen, waiters and others, even when the young black men in question are rich and successful. "Even if it's never said and lips stay sealed," he raps...
...Next Wave is also getting screen time. Q-Tip is set to star in a film for New Line, which he co-wrote, titled Prison Song. He describes it as a "hip-hop opera" that explores the pressures of the penal system. Mos Def and the Roots' Thompson have roles in Spike Lee's Bamboozled, a film that satirizes television. The Roots' Black Thought has a starring role in Brooklyn Babylon, the forthcoming film by Marc Levin, director of the edgy Slam...
...kind that flush when you move away. Korn is drawn to the dregs, society's emotional refuse, exploring--none too deeply--such issues as suicide and child molestation. There's even a new song titled Trash. In the past, the group's music has been tinged with hip-hop. Issues is virtually all yowling, sludgy rock. In fact, it's almost undifferentiated white noise, as if the band were content to echo the roar of its crowd. This CD has a few intriguing moments of raw energy. Still, I'm waiting for the flush...