Hip-Hop Media Training
  • Hip-hop fans know well the late rap superstar Notorious B.I.G., who quickly rose to the top of the rap game with the release of his 1994 instant classic Ready To Die and steady stream of hits.

    But Cheo Hodari Coker, who co-wrote with Reggie Rock Bythewood the hip-hop legend's biopic Notorious, wants moviegoers to get to know the man behind the music.

    "My greatest hope is that people walk into the theater thinking about Notorious B.I.G. and leave thinking about Christopher Wallace," Coker said via telephone on the eve of the Fox Searchlight movie's release. 

    Coker conducted a wealth of first hand research on Biggie, having interviewed and reviewed his works in numerous newspaper and magazine articles. Coker was the last journalist to interview Biggie before his untimely death, just 36 hours before Biggie was fatally shot on March 9, 1997 following a music award show afterparty. Coker also authored the biography Unbelievable: The Life, Death And Afterlife Of The Notorious B.I.G.

    Coker

    Read More »from ‘Notorious’ Co-Writer Wants Moviegoers To Meet Christopher Wallace
  • Soulja Boy is tired of being hip-hop's scapegoat. Last year,Ice T claimed that Soulja Boy's success signaled the downfall of hip-hop.Critics, including this one, complained about the rapper's sophomore lyrics.

    But the "Crank Dat" rapper fires back on his new track,"Soulja Boy Tell'em," the theme song from his new show, Soulja Boy Tell'em: TheAnimated Series. The song is also featured on his latest album, iSouljaBoyTellem

    He puts us all in our places, spewing, "I'm doinginterviews, addressing all these critics trying to underrate me saying I ain'tgot no lyrics."

    He argues that his popularity amongst his fans should be ofsome significance: "Three times platinum, yeah I broke the record. If you can'trespect that, tell me what is you respectin'." (It's important to note that thethree times platinum reference he makes is associated to his ring tones sales,not albums.)

    Soulja Boy goes on to claim that he "spits fire," suggeststhat "old washed up rappers" retire, and says he sells more

    Read More »from Toy Soulja: Animated Soulja Boy Responds To Critics
  • Asher Roth wants to make it clear that he was not involved in the incident Wednesday that involved the detaining of a man on aDelta flight to Los Angeles.

    I spoke to Asher Thursday when he stopped by the Yahoo!Music office to preview his highly anticipated forthcoming debut which is dueout in April.

    The fast-rising hip-hop star who taped a performance on Last Call With Carson Daly Wednesdaysaid that some early news reports on the melee incorrectly placed him on theplane and involved in the ruckus.

    Asher clarified that he was not on the plane and did notwitness the incident. He stressed that his band's guitarist Chris Llewellyn isthe hero who should be getting the credit for initiating the take down of apassenger who pushed a stewardess to the ground, attempted to open the exitdoor of the plane in flight and claimed to have a bomb.

    Chris has since been interviewed by Carson Daly and severalmajor entertainment news outlets. This guy better get a BET Award, a Grammy,American Music Award

    Read More »from Asher Roth Was Not Involved In Airplane Melee
  • After years of critical acclaim, Sri Lankan-bred rapper M.I.A. scored a hit when her song "Paper Planes" was featured in the trailer for the Seth Rogen film Pineapple Express. It didn't matter that the song had been released more than a year earlier on her album Kala.The new found hype even earned her a Grammy nomination for record of the Year.

    Well, there is a new female MC from South Asia on the horizon, and she too raps politics.

    Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari is the18-year-old daughter of assassinated Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Bhutto, the first woman to head a Muslim state, served as prime minster from 1988-1990 and 1993-1996. Her widower, Asif Ali Zardari, became president in September.

    Bakhtawar wrote and produced a rap "I Would Take Away The Pain" about her mother, who was fatally shot in December 2007. Bakhtawar's tribute was uploaded to YouTube last week and gives a chilling account of her mother's slaying and also praises her for her courage as an activist.

    When I saw

    Read More »from M.I.A. Isn’t The Only Female MC From South Asia To Reach The States
  • The internet is flooded with 2008 lists--top news, best albums and wildest moments. But for the past five years, none have summed things up better than Skillz.

    The Virginia based MC has dropped his "Wrap Up 2008" that compiles the year's hip-hop highlights. As usual, Skillz' brutally honest account of the year spares no mercy on the newsmakers, leaving Suge Knight, 50 Cent, Rick Ross, R. Kelly and dozens of others victims of Skillz' comic wrath.

    My favorite lyrics are about K-Ci & JoJo and Keyshia Cole's The Way It Is BET reality series. I won't spoil them for you. Check it out.

    Watch an outtake from Keyshia Cole's The Way It Is and see if you agree with Skillz' opinion about the show. 

    Below, see the clip that earned R&B duo K-Ci & JoJo a mention in the song. 

    Read More »from No Hip-Hop Bailout Plan: Skillz Drops ‘Wrap Up 2008′
  • LL Cool J has become a victim of identity theft, and the authorities at Hip Hop Media Training have found the culprits.

    Basically, every rap artist who has released a song this year has borrowed LL Cool J's "I Need Love" hip-hop ballad formula to find their way on the charts. The hip-hop ballad has been the hip-hop artist's no-brainer way to secure radio play for several years, but things have recently intensified.

    Rap artists have continued to produce more easygoing, melodic songs with R&B choruses. However, the likes of Kanye West, Snoop Dogg and Nelly have gone as far as to not only sing the hooks themselves, but to sing entire songs.

    Additionally, almost across the board, rappers from T.I. to Plies to Soulja Boy Tell'em have released songs with the female fans in mind, boasting about their ability to satisfy their women physically, emotionally and/or materialistically.

    Have rappers gone soft?

    Here is my assessment on a few recent examples.

    Kanye West
    "Love Lockdown"

    Kanye has never

    Read More »from Are Rappers Going Soft?
  • Did you see the viral video about a concertgoer who threw a penny on stage during a Kanye West performance?

    Instead of stopping the show, a justifiably angry Kanye just kept singing, but changed the words. "What if that sh-t had hit me in my pretty ass-face," he sang. "If you want to make yourself known, I'll smack you in your f--king face."

    The crowd freaked out with applause. They loved it. They got off on seeing Kanye lose it live. Their near $100 tickets were worth it.

    If you feel even a little bit envious of the troublemaker who interrupted Kanye's set and wish that you too could do something to remind the overconfident rapper and producer that he needs to chill, Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert has an assignment for you.

    Click right here and purchase A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift Of All.

    Last week, The Colbert Report host announced the Humble Kanye campaign where he sought to quiet the egotistical West by knocking his 808s And Heartbreak album out of the Number 1 spot on

    Read More »from Stephen Colbert Takes On Kanye
  • Amy Winehouse's marriagewasn't just the worst thing to happen to her music. It appears to be the worstthing to happen to her personally.

    The controversial singer finallyhas an alibi for being hooked on drugs, and it's a good one. Her husband BlakeFielder-Civil recently admitted to introducing her to hardcore drugs.

    In the U.K.publication News of the World, aremorseful Fielder-Civil takes responsibility for giving his wife crack cocainein addition to other illegal substances. He claims he would divorce her if itcould help save her life.

    Us magazinepicked up the News of the Worldreport in which, in my opinion, Fielder-Civil is conveyed as someone lookingfor sympathy.

    I appreciate Fielder-Civilfor being man enough to admit his wrong. That's always a good starting point.But I question his being so willing to walk away from the marriage. I believethat people need to clean up their own messes. If he is cognizant enough toacknowledge his role in her demise, he should be just as willing to

    Read More »from Winehouse’s Husband Admits Introducing Her To Crack
  • Someone just asked me what I thought of Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak and it was hard for me to answer.

    Last month I blogged that I liked the album's first single "Love Lockdown" but could not get past the fact that the outspoken rap star could not sing. I even joked that "Love Lockdown" was cool, but that Kanye should stick to rapping and absolutely not release an R&B album. Two days later, I found out that 808s & Heartbreak mainly featured Kanye singing, as opposed to rapping.

    808s & Heartbreak isn't so much an R&B album as much as it just features Kanye West singing on the majority of the songs. A lot of rappers sing their way through their rhymes-Nelly, Snoop, will.i.am-so this isn't the first time a rapper has tried this. However, it has to be among the first times that a rapper has released an entire singing album.

    Though Kanye's singing talent is suspect, his production is still among the best. The music is consistently good throughout the album, and Kanye tries keep his

    Read More »from Kanye West Keeps It Real Like Pinocchio
  • I wasn't sure what to think when I heard that Beyonce was already releasing a new CD, a double CD at that. I immediately liked "If I Were A Boy" but wasn't so sure about "Single Ladies." But after listening to the entire double CD set, I have to give her props. Here are my reasons why:

    5. It's a double CD, sorta - There are only 16 songs. Artists generally use the double CDs to force die-hard fans to pay extra to purchase even more wack filler tracks. But I Am...Sasha Fierce is just 16 songs, the length of a regular album. It sequences separately her club and dance tracks which make for a better listening experience.

    4. The quality of Beyonce's ballads evolves - Instead of sophomore lyrics about love, I Am...Sasha Fierce slow jams like "If I Were A Boy," "Broken-Hearted Girl" and "Disappear" are more sophisticated. Beyonce's spin on the classical song "Ave Maria" is dope. In one sense, the thought of attempting to modernize such a classic song is a bad idea. But she pulls it off.

    3.

    Read More »from 5 Reasons Why I Like ‘I Am…Sasha Fierce’

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News for You

  • NYPD investigating actress Bynes allegations

    NEW YORK (AP) — Internal Affairs officers on Saturday were looking into allegations made by actress Amanda Bynes that New York Police Department officers sexually assaulted her when she was charged with heaving a marijuana bong out the window of her 36th-floor Manhattan apartment.

  • Museum starts night tours of signs from Vegas past

    LAS VEGAS (AP) — The junked signs that attracted throngs to old Las Vegas have for years gathered dust in a neon boneyard just a few miles from the sleek mega-casinos on the Strip.

  • A controversial victory lap for Lewis at Cannes

    CANNES, France (AP) — Jerry Lewis, so beloved in France, isn't quite overcome with emotion now that he's back at the Cannes Film Festival.

  • Latest 'Bachelorette' won't say if she's engaged

    NEW YORK (AP) — ABC's newest "Bachelorette," Desiree Hartsock, says it's not hard to keep the details of her experience on the show a secret from her friends.

  • Actress Bynes accused of bong toss out NYC window

    NEW YORK (AP) — Actress Amanda Bynes appeared disheveled in a long blond wig and sweats Friday in a criminal court where she was charged with reckless endangerment after police said she heaved a marijuana bong out the window of her 36th-floor Manhattan apartment.

  • Rare Superman comic found in house insulation

    MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — It's considered the Holy Grail of comic books: Action Comics No. 1 from 1938, featuring the debut of Superman. And David Gonzales found one mixed in with old newspapers insulating a house he was renovating in a small town in Minnesota.

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