Party Season

Summer is almost here and the musical vibe has changed. No more rhymes about drinking in crowded bars on cold winter nights. Now its margarita's on the beach, and watching beautiful bodies in tiny bikini's.

Welcome to party season!  This is a short three month period of festivals, concerts, and massive outdoor events. Speaking of events...tomorrow RA The Rugged Man and Shabaam Sahdeeq are giving a concert in Amsterdam. Both artists were once on Rawkus records and both get busy on the mic. This will be my first time seeing them live, and I'm looking forward to the show.

RA is certified MC who was once co-signed by the late great B.I.G.. He mixes humor with hardcore lyricism to make listeners feel what he's saying but not take it to seriously. But don't get it twisted RA can spit knowledge also but that's not his lane. 

Shabaam Sadeeq aka S-dub is on a different side of the spectrum. He's not a gangsta or conscious MC, his style is a mix of both. He is one of those MC's who can hide the medicine in the candy. What that mean's is, Shabaam can spit some spiritual verses and deliver them so tight that the message doesn't sound preachy.

To honor the coming season of festivities, I posted music from RA The Rugged Man (ft. Talib Kweli), Shabaam Sahdeeq, Donnie B, E Class, PlayBoi Weez, C.M.F (Cream Mob Family), Styles P (ft. Jadakiss), Sensato (ft. Pitbull), and 360 (ft. Freddie Gibbs, Jadakiss).

White Boy Rap

For those puritans and racially sensitive people who take offense to the title of this post...Fuck You and stop reading my blog. This post is recognition of Hip-Hop's cultural diversity. When I use the term white boy, it refers to any rapper of mostly Caucasian descent. I say mostly cuz almost every being on the planet is mixed with more than one race.

The reason white rappers were always associated by their race is because Hip-Hop started out as a minority music genre. It was composed of a diverse group of Blacks, Latino's and a few Asians that were down with the culture. The first white rappers I ever heard were the Iconic 80's group 3rd Bass. It was composed of MC Serch, Pete Nice, and DJ Richie Rich (who was Black). Serch and Pete Nice were groundbreaking at the time cuz there were no other white rappers exposed to the mainstream and successful.

Their success along with the group Beastie Boys opened the door for artists like Vanilla Ice,  Mark Wahlberg aka Marky Mark (who back in 1992 had a hit single called Good Vibrations) and numerous other rappers. Due to the stigma that white guys couldn't rap, there was a lot of negativity from insiders on the whole phenomenon. Vanilla Ice was rumored to have been held over the balcony at his hotel by goons because he lied about being from the hood, when he was really a rich kid from the suburbs. Marky Mark had friction from numerous rap groups cuz although he was from Boston he wasn't known in the hood. Plus the fact his older brother was in boy band New Kids on the Block didn't help his gangsta persona.

Since then there have been many white rappers, but few (House of Pain) who have sustained a presence in the music industry.  One guy who never let his race (or the stigma around it) stop his hustle is R.A. the Rugged Man. He has never been known as a white rapper he is always referred to as a dope MC. R.A. has spit with legends Biggie, Kool G. Rap, Wu Tang Clan, Mobb Deep and to many more to mention. He is one of the MC's along with Kid Rock that championed the white rapper movement and changed how people view white boy rap. The reason he is globally respected is because he can actually rap. Their efforts opened the doors for Eminem, Machine Gun Kelly, and other white rappers currently experiencing success. 

Below are videos from MC's Slaine, Ill Bill, Celph Titled, Sage Francis, Vinnie Paz and R.A. the Rugged Man. They are all MC's that prove you can't judge a person's talent by their color.

Hardcore Hip-Hop

I've been listening to mixtapes lately cuz i'm not feeling allot of peoples albums. There's always five or six dope tracks and the rest are just fillers. I miss the days of Hardcore Hip-Hop! When I use the term "hardcore," I mean a hard beat, hard rhymes and hard delivery like classic tunes "Ante-Up," by M.O.P. or "Slam,"by Onyx.

Below are songs "60 second Assassins" DJ Kay Slay ft. Busta Rhymes, Layzie Bone, Jaz-O, and Twista. "Uncommon Valor" by Jedi Mind Tricks ft. RA The Rugged Man, "Ego Trippin," from Tech N9ne, and "Perception" by my homie NLZ. A MC and producer whose been making hardcore tracks for a minute. He produced the song "Young and Hungry" off my last album Sinister Ambitionz.  

Check out the tunes below and if you want to know more about the artists, click on their name.