hip-hop

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'Dork' White Rapper Finds College Niche

(Newser) - Asher Roth’s image isn’t classic hip-hop: He’s a white kid who wears sweatshirts and calls himself a “dork.” But that image, along with the breakout hit “I Love College,” has earned him a top-10 spot on iTunes and millions of MySpace streams, the...

Eminem 'Nails' Palin in New Song

Rapper to Alaska guv: 'Say hello to my little friend'

(Newser) - Eminem’s back, and he’s got a political message: He wants to sleep with Sarah Palin. In the song We Made You, off his forthcoming album Relapse, Eminem asks for “my venom, an inhaler, and two Xenadrine/ And I’ll invite Sarah Palin out to dinner, then/Nail her....

20 Years Later, Young MC Still Busts a Move

(Newser) - It’s been 20 years since self-described “1 Hit Wonder” Young MC released Bust a Move, but the rapper is happy the song has held up as well as it has, he tells Rolling Stone. People aren’t “going to get a babysitter to go to a club...

Teen Fans Blame...Rihanna
 Teen Fans Blame...Rihanna 

Teen Fans Blame...Rihanna

Experts stress need for education

(Newser) - Who deserves the blame for Chris Brown’s alleged attack on Rihanna? Not Brown, say many teens. A recent survey showed 46% blame Rihanna, while 52% placed blame on both parties, the New York Times reports—and the level of support has parents worried. "She probly ran into a...

Hip-Hop Fans Get Own Guitar Hero

Scratch 'could reinvigorate DJ culture'

(Newser) - Could DJs be the next Guitar Heroes? The publisher of Scratch: The Ultimate DJ hopes so. "I know that Scratch can reinvigorate DJ culture," turntable icon Mix Master Mike tells Ars Technica of the videogame, due out this summer. It'll push kids "into getting real turntables to...

Hip-Hop Comes to Late Night
 Hip-Hop Comes to Late Night 

Hip-Hop Comes to Late Night

But Fallon's band will branch out from rap Roots

(Newser) - When it comes to music, late-night talk shows have long been the province of the Great American Songbook—with some rock and jazz mixed in. But when Jimmy Fallon takes the stage next week, it will be with longtime hip-hop band the Roots. “The show's going to be a...

LL Cool J to Obama: 'You Must Deliver'

Rapper has stern words, advice for president in open letter

(Newser) - These are challenging times indeed for Barack Obama, but LL Cool J's got the answers, reports the Daily Mirror. The 41-year-old rapper offers some advice in an open letter cautioning the leader of the free world against disappointing those inspired by his message of hope: “You have shifted the...

MIA Has a Boy; Will She Make the Oscars?

Baby's sex not yet public

(Newser) - MIA is now an M-O-M, reports Hitfix. The 31-year-old Sri Lankan singer and hip-hop artist delivered a healthy baby boy on Wednesday, notes People. It's her first child, and there's no word on the name yet. Now the big question: Can MIA—who performed at the Grammys on her due...

Phoenix On 'Internal Exploration' Tour

(Newser) - Bizarre behavior aside, Joaquin Phoenix does have ambitions for his new career in rhyming, as he revealed in an interview with ABC News. “I want it to be big,” he said of his debut album, which is in the works. “Not big like popular. I want it...

Rapper MIA Gives Voice to Tamil Tigers

Rebel leader's daughter walks fine line of glorifying terrorism

(Newser) - America knows MIA as the rapper who dropped rhymes—and nearly a baby—at the Grammy Awards, but she’s a far more divisive figure in Sri Lanka, the New York Times reports. MIA's father is a leader in the Tamil Tigers and critics say the rapper, whose videos are...

Phoenix Denies Hip-Hop Is Hoax

Actor-turned-rapper says he has made his last film

(Newser) - Actor Joaquin Phoenix insists he really has quit Hollywood for hip-hop,  AP reports. He’s made his last movie and is busy recording rap tracks in his home studio, said the star. Rumors that the career change was actually an elaborate practical joke swirled after video emerged of Phoenix...

Notorious Aims Too Small
 Notorious Aims Too Small 
MOVIE REVIEW

Notorious Aims Too Small

By-the-numbers rap biopic fails to bring Biggie's world to life

(Newser) - The Biggie Smalls biopic Notorious efficiently recaps the murdered rapper's short life, but it's not a movie significant enough for one of rap's greats, say critics. Brooklyn rapper Jamal Woodard turns in a convincing performance, Chris Richards writes in the Washington Post, but he's rapping to a script that seems...

Run-DMC, Metallica Make Rock Hall of Fame

(Newser) - Run-DMC and Metallica will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, MTV.com reports. The two groups—along with Jeff Beck, Bobby Womack, and Wanda Jackson—will receive rock’s highest accolade in a ceremony April 4 in Cleveland. The two headlining picks may be...

Beyoncé Hit Is Soundtrack for More Market Chaos: Prof

Analysis of pop charts finds steady songs predict turbulent finance

(Newser) - Beyoncé’s smash hit "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" might be the harbinger of continued chaos in the financial markets, the Guardian reports. Hit songs with steady, regular rhythms—or “low beat variance”—throughout correlate with volatility in the American markets, an NYU professor...

Run-DMC's Christmas Jam Made Rap American
Run-DMC's Christmas Jam Made Rap American
OPINION

Run-DMC's Christmas Jam Made Rap American

Enmeshing the genre with America's one real tradition sealed the deal

(Newser) - If Christmas is one authentic American effort to create traditions in a nation that has mostly imported them, Christmas music is about as American as it gets, writes Morgan Meis on the Smart Set. “When you do the Christmas song you are solid, you are in the club,”...

Akon Pleads Guilty, Fined for Tossing Fan

Singer avoids trial for throwing teen off stage in 2007

(Newser) - Singer Akon pleaded guilty today to charges stemming from a 2007 fan-tossing incident, TMZ reports. At a concert last year, the crooner grabbed a teenager and threw him from the stage; his guilty plea for harassment nets him a $350 fine and 65 hours of community service. Akon apologized, and...

Female Rappers Can't Beat 'Boys Club'

For women in rap, carving out an identity is no easy feat

(Newser) - Queen Latifah is about to release her first rap album since 1998, but female rappers are still no better represented on the hip-hop charts now than they were 30 years ago, laments Jonah Weiner in Slate. No female artists received BET nominations this year, and they face an uphill struggle...

Ringtones Killed NYC Hip-Hop
 Ringtones Killed NYC Hip-Hop 
OPINION

Ringtones Killed NYC Hip-Hop

Southern rap out-blasts urban beats

(Newser) - Once the king-maker of neighborhood phenoms, New York no longer spawns hip-hop's best, and the rise of ringtones is the culprit, writes Matthew Mundy in the New York Press. Because Big Apple beats are less pop-friendly than their Southern counterparts, they're not making it to teenagers' cell phones. "Hip-hop...

Simmons Bangs Drum for Black Entrepreneurs
Simmons Bangs Drum
for Black Entrepreneurs
Glossies

Simmons Bangs Drum for Black Entrepreneurs

Russell Simmons thrives during market mayhem

(Newser) - For the "Godfather of Hip-Hop," success on the streets is like winning in business: It's "all about believing in your vision," Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons tells the Economist. Now the music-mogul-turned-financier is trying to inspire go-getters with a new bestseller, Do You!—which...

Powell Busts a Move at Concert for Africa

General says it's Africa's time to prosper; takes to stage for Yahooze

(Newser) - Colin Powell wowed the crowd at a concert showcasing African music in London last night by singing and dancing with a Nigerian hip-hop band, the Daily Telegraph reports. Before climbing on stage, the former secretary of state made a speech highlighting his African-American heritage and calling on the world to...

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