Real Rap Newz: April 2008

Big Boi speaks about new Outkast album

Big Boi speaks about new Outkast album "Where is all that talk now ?" Big Boi asked MTV concerning the rumors of a break up that have followed Outkast for a few years now. "Outkast are stronger than ever." Both Big Boi and Andre promised a new Outkast album for 2009. "We got a few songs we already picked out," Big said. "We pick the beats first. I drop my [solo album] in July, Dre puts his out [later this year], and we drop that (...)-Hip Hop...
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[Source: Hip Hop News from HipHopGalaxy.com

1 shot dead, another critical after Dr. Dre book signing party

1 shot dead, another critical after Dr. Dre book signing party
A party to help promote a book about rapper Dr. Dre turned into a homicide scene early Sunday as one man was shot to death and another was critically injured outside a crowded Tukwila golf course restaurant. Officers fought their way through more than 200 people to reach the victims.

Holy Intellect

Many moons ago, rap music was infl uenced by a NYC-based sect known as the FIVE PERCENT NATION OF GODS AND EARTHS. From the World’s Famous Supreme Team to Rakim to Wu-Tang Clan, the Gods sought to inspire and courted controversy. A look back at an era—and at the spiritual heart of East Coast hip hop itself.

"We can never fall off,” said Brand Nubian’s Sadat X to Fab 5 Freddy, “’cause this is God right here.”

Filming a 1992 episode of Yo! MTV Rapsin front of the Five Percenters’ headquarters, Allah School in Mecca (aka Harlem, NYC), the dreadlocked Lord Jamar ran down the long list of classic Five Percenter MCs. It read like a hall of fame from the East Coast’s golden age: the World’s Famous Supreme Team, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Poor Righteous Teachers, and Lakim Shabazz—rappers who used their consider- able skills to espouse the street gnosticism of the Five Percent Nation. And it don’t stop.

Though condemned as heretics by Sunni Muslims and demonized by law enforcement, the Five Percenter move- ment has thrived in various forms until the present day, due in large part to the sense of purpose and dignity that gods brought to the microphone. “The music just sounded really intelligent, with some of the terminology that they used,” said 50 Cent in 2006.”

They studied their lessons, so they speak a certain way,” he said, causing Five Percenters like Rakim to “ap- pear a lot more intelligent than the other artists who were out there just rappin’.” The Five Percenters bridged the gap between hip hop’s humble beginnings and New York’s long tradi- tion of black Muslim consciousness. Alternately known as the Nation of Gods and Earths, the movement began in the early 1960s with Clarence Edward Smith, a decorated Korean War vet who joined the Nation of Islam’s Harlem mosque under its minister, Malcolm X. As Clarence 13X (the 13th member named Clarence to drop his “slave name”), he became absorbed in study of the mosque’s secret “Supreme Wisdom Lessons.”

In these tran- scribed dialogues between Elijah Muhammad and his teacher, W.D. Fard, who established the fi rst NOI mosque in Detroit in 1930, Clarence was taught that images of God as a white man in the sky were only a trick of the “devil.” “There is no mystery God,” read the lessons. Rather than waste time searching for someone who did not exist, Clarence learned to recognize himself and all black men as living gods. As the “best knower” among the Gods, Fard was elevated to the status of “Allah.”
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Bun Bs II Trill Review

Bun B is discovering more sides to his story. The rap elder statesman’s second solo album shows growth and maturity, positioning him as a multifaceted stylist. While his solo debut, Trill (Rap-A-Lot, 2005), showcased collaborative clout, II Trill affirms his versatility. Hungry for Street Bun? See Another Soldier,” where he fires off a warning shot to suckers. Happy Bun? Try the syrupy “Good II Me” with R&B songbird Mya. For a mournful dose, there’s “Angel in the Sky,” a warm paean to his UGK partner, the late Pimp C. “Get Cha Issue” will satisfy conscious fans, as he rails against a corrupt justice system and proselytizes about religious responsibility. “Pay your tithes, put rings on your fingers and rims on your ride,” he raps.

The most arresting manifestation though, is Hopeful Bun, which shows up on “If It Was Up II Me.” Accompanied by slow-rolling church organs and a powerful Junior Reid chorus, the Port Arthur veteran dreams of a world where “everybody’s gettin’ money and everybody’s smiling.” II Trill draws its cohesion from its production, a sonic stew of juicy grooves, synth patches, and gumbo-thick basslines. But what makes the album tick is an emotional complexity: Like an old sage, Bun B gracefully vacillates between raw fury and weathered wisdom.