Hip Hop / Rap

DuranDuran

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Attrell 'Prince Be' Cordes, P.M. Dawn Rapper {May 19, 1970 - June 17, 2016}
By Daniel Kreps | June 17, 2016 | Rolling Stone
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Attrel "Prince Be" Cordes, founding member of the chart-topping hip-hop duo P.M. Dawn, died Friday in a New Jersey hospital following a battle with renal kidney disease. He was 46. A representative for the group confirmed Cordes' death to People.
"Prince Be Rest In Peace forever more, Pain from Diabetes can't harm you anymore," Cordes' cousin and P.M. Dawn member Doc G wrote on the group's Facebook page following Cordes' death. "My Heart is at Peace B-Cuz U suffered so long, Tell Grandma I said Hi & Stay Blisstatic & Strong."

Formed by brothers Attrel and Jarrett "DJ Minutemix" Cordes in their native Jersey City, New Jersey in 1988, P.M. Dawn became only the third hip-hop act ever – and first black rappers – to top the Billboard Hot 100 in 1991 with their single "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss," which revolved around a sample of Spandau Ballet's "True." The band's critically acclaimed 1991 debut LP, Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience, achieved gold status, as did its well-received follow-up, 1993's The Bliss Album…?.

P.M. Dawn once again climbed to the upper reaches of the Hot 100 again – Number Three – with their ballad "I'd Die Without You," which gained popularity after first appearing on the 1992 soundtrack for the Eddie Murphy film Boomerang. The track later featured on The Bliss Album…? alongside "Looking Through Patient Eyes," another Top 10 hit and a cover of the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood (The Bird Has Flown)."

The Cordes brothers released two more albums in the Nineties, 1995's Jesus Wept and 1998's Dearest Christian, I'm So Very Sorry for Bringing You Here. Love, Dad, neither of which attained the critical or commercial success of its predecessors. Although health problems stemming from diabetes took its toll on Prince Be – he suffered a stroke in 2005 that paralyzed the left side of his body, and his one of his legs was amputated below the kneecap – but P.M. Dawn continued to have a considerable impact on contemporary hip-hop, including its "cloud rap" offshoot.

"Kanye West, T-Pain, Outkast... but you can't mention P.M. Dawn without mentioning De La Soul, and you can't mention Arrested Development without mentioning P.M. Dawn," Doc G said in a 2011 interview of the artists P.M. Dawn inspired. "Everybody begets somebody. We had the weirdness. Now it's okay to be weird; it's okay to wear bizarre things."
 
E-40 - Choices

There's a new Drive Time car commercial that is based on the E-40 hit.

 
Kate Tempest - Europe Is Lost

I just saw her on Jimmy Fallon's show
 
Ice T.I. - O.G. Original Gangster / Bring Em Out (Mash Up Monday March 2017)

 
Used to love rap until 1992 or so, but ever since the stuff got commercialised and all these shit hop songs about gangstas, drugs, degrading women, crass materialism, disrespect towards authorities and racism, I have hated it.

Same with one hit wonder rap dance songs like Silento, Juju on that beat, Dougie, Stanky leg, chicken wing, all that shit. Also it has degraded from guys with style, low and finesse on a mic, to people talking shit along to a drum machine beat and some looped samples.

I loved old school acts like Run DMC, Young MC, LL Cool J, even early gangsta like NWA's first album, Biggie, 2Pac, Warren G, the First Snoop Dogg, ce Cube and Dre albums. Okay the stuff was gangsta and negative, but you had to admire these cats skills on the mic. Pac and Big could flow, they knew the rhymes and the combinations of words and had a gift for rapping. The arrival of guys like Puffy, Mase etc was the end of all the skillz. Jermaine Dupri, R Kelly and all this neer rap R and B can be blamed for it too. Sad as I just love 80s Rap (Songs like Alice by Full Force) and R & B.
 
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my two favs right now would be childish gambino and Kendrick Lamar!
 
by Nate Santos, June 20, 2017 Ebony
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Hip-Hop has sadly lost a legend today. Mobb Deep emcee Prodigy has passed away at the age of 42. A representative for the rapper has confirmed his passing with the following statement: “It is with extreme sadness and disbelief that we confirm the death of our dear friend Albert Johnson, better known to millions of fans as Prodigy of legendary NY rap duo Mobb Deep,” the statement read. “Prodigy was hospitalized a few days ago in Vegas after a Mobb Deep performance for complications caused by a sickle cell anemia crisis. As most of his fans know, Prodigy battled the disease since birth. The exact causes of death have yet to be determined. We would like to thank everyone for respecting the family’s privacy at this time.”

The initial news of the rapper’s passing broke when Nas posted a photo of him on Instagram with a caption that read “QB RIP King P.” Nas’ post was followed shortly after by another post by his younger brother and fellow Queens rapper Jungle.

Prodigy co-founded the iconic hip-hop duo Mobb Deep alongside rapper/producer Havoc in the early ’90s. The duo arrived on the scene with their debut album Juvenile Hell in 1993. The duo went on to release a series of critically acclaimed albums that included Hell on Earth and The Infamous. The latter featured the duo’s most popular track to-date, “Shook Ones Pt. II.”

Although the group disbanded in 2012, they had since reunited and continued to actively record and tour, releasing their last album, The Infamous Mobb Deep, in 2014. The duo recently performed at Hot 97’s Summer Jam on June 11, and had a number performances scheduled in the coming weeks.

Widely considered one of the greatest rap duo’s of all-time, Mobb Deep’s impact on hip-hop is immeasurable. From his rhymes to his cadences, Prodigy will be remembered as a Hip-Hop pioneer and a true East Coast original. Rest well, P. We’ll miss you, dun.
 
^ May he rest in peace. I do not really know his music, but I've seen several interviews over the years. I wish he had won that fight. I hope there will be a cure soon. :(
 
By Jon Blistein July 13, 2017 Rolling Stone
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DJ Mr. Mixx (David Hobbs), Brother Marquis (Mark Ross), Luke Skyywalker (Luther Campbell), Fresh Kid Ice (Chris Wong Won), of the rap group "2 Live Crew" pose for a portrait session on January 30, 1989.

Christopher Wong Won, a.k.a. Fresh Kid Ice, the pioneering Asian rapper and co-founder of the influential Miami hip-hop group 2 Live Crew, died Tuesday at the age of 53. 2 Live Crew's longtime manager Debo confirmed Wong Won's death to Rolling Stone. According to Debo, the cause of death was a "medical condition," but the rep declined to elaborate.

Fellow 2 Live Crew member Luther "Uncle Luke" Campbell wrote on Twitter, "My condolence goes out to the family Chris Wong Won Fresh Kid Ice of the 2 Live Crew who just passed away people we lost a legend."

“I just got the word that my long time friend and rap legend Fresh Kid Ice the Chinaman has passed away,” said member Brother Marquis (via Vibe). “I would like to say that I love him and extend my condolences to his family. He truly loved all of his fans. I’ll always remember and cherish all of the good times we had together and all of the history we made. I would like to express my true love for him.”

2 Live Crew rose to prominence in the late Eighties with a rumbling Miami bass sound packed with samples and hyper-sexualized lyrics that helped them sell millions of records and earn the ire of politicians and family advocacy groups. Their 1989 album, As Nasty As They Wanna Be, was so controversial, a Florida judge ruled it obscene, leading to both the arrest of a record store owner who refused to stop selling the album and Campbell and Won after a live show. Eventually, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the obscenity ruling and the Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal.

In 1994, however, 2 Live Crew did make it to the Supreme Court, though not on obscenity charges. On the clean version of As Nasty As They Wanna Be, the group added a track, "Pretty Woman," with an unapproved sample of Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman." That track's publisher, Acuff-Rose, sued 2 Live Crew, but the Supreme Court deemed "Pretty Woman" parody, which qualified it for fair use.
[video=youtube;k5Ef25T6eaE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5Ef25T6eaE[/video]
Wong Won co-founded 2 Live Crew with DJ Mr. Mixx (David Hobbs) and Amazing Vee (Yuri Vielot) while still living in California. However, their 1984 debut single "The Revelation" became a surprise hit in Florida and the group relocated with the help of Campbell (but without Vielot). In Florida, Fresh Kid Ice served as the group's de facto leader on singles like "Throw the Dick" and "What I Like." 2 Live Crew would add rapper Brother Marquis to their lineup and in 1986, Campbell's Luke Records released the outfit's debut LP, The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are.
[video=youtube;qIxuHw-l5sI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIxuHw-l5sI[/video]
[video=youtube;JfTVztqQ34Q]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfTVztqQ34Q[/video]
Campbell would eventually join 2 Live Crew as an official member and the group's success and infamy grew with their next record, 1987's Move Somethin'. Even before the controversy over As Nasty As they Wanna Be, authorities were cracking down on record store clerks for selling 2 Live Crew albums, although the charges never stuck. After the platinum-selling As Nasty As They Wanna Be, Campbell took full control of 2 Live Crew and released their next LP, Banned In the U.S.A., essentially as a solo record (it also became the first record to bear the black-and-white parental advisory sticker).

While Wong Won continued to record with 2 Live Crew, he released his debut solo album, The Chinaman, in 1992. Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Wong Won's family was of Trinidadian and Chinese descent, and Fresh Kid Ice is often credited with being the first prominent Asian rapper.

Campbell would eventually join 2 Live Crew as an official member and the group's success and infamy grew with their next record, 1987's Move Somethin'. Even before the controversy over As Nasty As they Wanna Be, authorities were cracking down on record store clerks for selling 2 Live Crew albums, although the charges never stuck. After the platinum-selling As Nasty As They Wanna Be, Campbell took full control of 2 Live Crew and released their next LP, Banned In the U.S.A., essentially as a solo record (it also became the first record to bear the black-and-white parental advisory sticker).

While Wong Won continued to record with 2 Live Crew, he released his debut solo album, The Chinaman, in 1992. Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Wong Won's family was of Trinidadian and Chinese descent, and Fresh Kid Ice is often credited with being the first prominent Asian rapper.

"When we first started, a lot of people didn't know I was Asian," Fresh Kid Ice told Vice in 2016. "But when the videos came out, it basically crossed the group over. Other people could be like, 'Damn, that could be me. I didn't know an Asian dude was rapping like that!'"

2 Live Crew underwent various lineup changes during the Nineties and in 1994, the group even re-billed themselves as "the new 2 Live Crew" for their LP, Back at Your Ass for the Nine-4. Despite the shifts, Fresh Kid Ice remained with the outfit until they officially split after 1998's The Real One. He continued to perform as a solo artist and launched his own label, Chinaman Records. In 2004, he released Freaky Chinese, which notably featured several appearances from a pre-fame Flo Rida.

Fresh Kid Ice suffered his first stroke in 2008 and then another in 2010. Though the incidents impaired his ability to speak and move, he retaught himself how to talk and walk and eventually reunited with Uncle Luke and Brother Marquis in 2012. Last year, he published his memoir, My Rise 2 Fame, while in January, the rapper released a Chinaman Records compilation, Breaking Glass Ceilings.
 
LL Cool J - 2017 Kennedy Center Honors

LL is the first rapper to recieve an honor. He's also tied with Stevie Wonder as the youngest honoree at 49 years old.
 
Bri Steves, Neelam Hakeem, Sharaya J, Chika, Erykah Badu at 2018 BET Hip Hop Awards

 
DJ Kay Slay ft. Melle Mel, Raekwon, CeeLo Green, Grandmaster Caz - Hip Hop Frontline

Here's a new song that has early rappers Melle Mel (Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5) & Grandmaster Caz on it
 
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