Tuesday 24 February 2015

THE CULTURE OF RAP AND HIP-HOP

         
            The argument between the differences of Rap and Hip-Hop have been going on for years because of the contrast in artists, sounds, the culture and also the way the music is produced. Also important are the messages that the artists are trying to portray in the music. Rap is more of a vocal delivery and hop-hop is a culture, anybody can rap but the culture of hip-hop is a movement that started years ago in the south Bronx. Hip-hop incorporates 5 elements: the D.J., the dancer, the graffiti artist, the M.C (the rapper) and the fifth element is the knowledge of it all. With that, everything connects. Hip hop culture is defined by the late 70s, early 80s beat-box style of music where the artist talked about more positive notions and also talked more politically in the songs. Hip-Hop is seen as a more knowledgeable form of music style in general. Rap on the other hand focuses more on what is going on in popular culture and talks about the prevalence of drug dealing, gangs and the areas they represent. These are not topics that all artists represent but if we are talking in terms of the early stages of rap music, in most cases this was usually the subject matter they touched on. Rap music is more about “telling it like it is” and talking about the current day's conditions. Rap also tends to have a more depressive outlook than Hip-Hop music.
               

           Hip-Hop is more technical in terms of the lyrical delivery of the artist. It has simpler instrumentals and is considered the foundation of today’s Rap music. The controversy around Rap music is very prevalent in this day and age because of the mass media blaming the artists for lyrical content containing notions of drug use, violence and gang activity. There is such a huge discrepancy surrounding Rap music and the types of things that these artists promote. The music is often blamed for increased crime rates, violence, gang activity and the influence it has on our younger generations. There are so many different artists and styles of music in the Rap and Hip-Hop scene that as time goes on we get to see a variety of rap and Hip-Hop styles begin to develop. The list of unique styles and musical artists is already so vast that I couldn’t begin to explain them all. It is amazing to see how far Rap and Hip-Hop has come since its humble beginning.
               


The lifestyle of a Rapper or Hip-Hop artist can be a very dangerous one; it all depends on the type of artists you are or choose to be. Most artists come from a lifestyle or background where drug dealing and gang violence is just part of their everyday lives. We call these artists gangster rappers. They are called that because of their lifestyle and the violent or otherwise vulgar lyrics depicted in their songs. Most gangster rappers talk about the lifestyle they live within their music because that is all they have ever seen, done or known. Not all artists actually live this way. Some just like to portray this type of image because it is seen to be “cool”, and because of the popularity of the style of music. There are also many artists who just love making music and don’t necessarily try to portray any type of image. Although it is common for artists to try and depict a certain type of image because of the popularity of that style. 


          Most people love listening to Rap and Hip-Hop because it provokes a certain feeling or emotion within a person. Usually because of the relation between the person listening and the artist’s lyrics in the music. Certain artist’s may also inspire people to start creating their own music. It is truly amazing to be able to create; anybody has the opportunity to do so. Rap and Hip-Hop gives people and outlet to express themselves creatively through music, which is the reason why we have so many amazing artists in the music industry today. Rap and Hip-Hop gives artists the chance to tell their stories and have the creative freedom to do so in any way they see possible.


         Rap and Hip-Hop has grown so much since its beginnings and continues to thrive throughout the modern day culture. As artists evolve so does the music. It’s very interesting to look back on the early days of Rap and Hip-Hop and to see just how much it has changed and developed over the years. Rap and Hip-Hop has defined many people’s lives. It has helped us get through all of our own personal problems that we all face on a day to day basis. The artists, the sounds, the culture, the way the music is produced and the messages that the artists are trying to portray have all come together to create the culture we know today as Rap and Hip-Hop. Music is truly amazing. It has the power to take us somewhere else. Just turn on a song or listen to an album and you are able to lose yourself in the music and escape from reality, even if just for a short while. Rap and Hip-Hop will continue to change and develop and so will we as new generations begin to expand, so will new styles and genres. I believe Rap and Hip-Hop has the power to change the world and I believe it has, and will continue to throughout history. 




Thursday 19 February 2015

THE ASTROID BOYS: WAKE UP + CF10 E.P

Early this morning the Astroid Boys dropped their new music video for their new single entitled "Wake Up" and I was not disappointed by any means, they have come through with an even more lyrical more hard hitting single than i could of ever expected. The Astroid boys also announced that their upcoming E.P entitled "CF10" will be released on April 13, 2015. Everyone is buzzing about this E.P for the simple fact that it will be the first E.P they will be releasing since member Benji has been out of jail. I will be keeping everyone up to date in the days leading up to the release. let me know what you think of the new music video did you like it, did you hate it? let me know in the comment section below.

 I guess we all just have to patiently wait for the release, but in the mean time how about we listen the Astroid Boys new music video Wake Up! I hope you all enjoy the video.Once again let me know what you think in the comment section below.

ASTROID BOYS - WAKE UP ✞

  ^^^MUSIC VIDEO LINK^^^

Thursday 5 February 2015

NOISEY ATLANTA: TROUBLE WITH THE ATL TWINS


Hey everyone, I stumbled upon this video after going onto noisey.vice.com to see if I could find anything that may intrigue me, and i did. I watched a video about the ATL Twins as well as Gucci mane, also an artist known as the devil and also Atlanta rapper Trouble and his crew from Duct Tape Entertainment. For those who don't know who the ATL Twins are you can watch a documentary Vice.com did on them awhile back in the link here (VICE- THE ATL TWINS). The ATL Twins are two twins from Atlanta who nobody is quite sure exactly why they are famous, they are kind of like the Paris Hilton's or Kim Kardashian's of the rap game. We know who they are but don't understand why? Most people have no idea why they are so popular despite their past skate videos they have been featured in as well as being cast in the movie Spring Breakers. These guys basically just party their ass off and get with as many women as humanly possible, and for some reason I love it. The character we meet in this video known as "The Devil" takes Thomas (The Interviewer) to an Atlanta trap house to meet rapper Trouble and his crew, Duct Tape Entertainment where we get an inside perspective on what the Trap life is really all about.


I hope you guys enjoy the video, if you want to see more from Noisey click on this link (Noisey) and check out some other stuff by them. Once again thanks for reading and let me know what you think in the comment section below.


Tuesday 3 February 2015

INTRODUCING THE ASTROID BOYS


 If you don’t know who the Astroid boys are let me catch you up to speed. The Astroid Boys are an independent Welsh hip-hop/rap collective hailing from Cardiff which is the capital and largest city in the United Kingdom. The geniuses behind the astroid boys are the main frontmen Benjamin Kendal A.K.A Benji Wild and Philipe Constantinou A.K.A Traxx, also their producer Dell and D.J Comfort along with some other band members. This group sounds like hard-core, Rap, Hip-Hop and Dubstep all mixed together on meth and I love it more and more with every track this dangerous duo releases, I can honestly say I have never heard a group quite like the Astroid Boys. After listening to their Bacon Dream E.P released on October 5th 2013, I was absolutely blown away by how they seemed to have created their own lyrical style and how well Benji and Traxx worked so well together as lyricists. I later looked up some of their live radio interviews where the radio interviewer asked them to spit some freestyles of their own. I was instantly intrigued upon how they were able to spit out such fast hard hitting verses and were still able to keep the flow so steady and really pronounciate every word so clearly. The beats that the Astroid boys use also really threw me for a loop, not only have they created their own lyrical style but the beats themselves were a thing all their own. Every beat on the Bacon Dream E.P was so unique and hard hitting in their own way, All these different styles of music mixed together into one track was overall amazing to hear and refreshing considering most E.P’s or albums I listen to end up lacking in terms of consistency and enjoyment from one song to the next. Benji was sent to jail for reasons that still remain unknown before the Bacon Dream E.P was finished or released, leaving Traxx to headline most of the shows that went on after the release of the E.P. Benji said before going to jail “Being as I’m a rapper, I suppose going to jail is the only option.” Benji has since been released from jail as of November 11th 2014 and has got right back into the groove of things and has begun making music with the group once again. The Astroid Boys recently announced they will be releasing a new E.P within the spring of 2015 but have yet to give us an exact Date or a name for the project. Overall this group has impressed me extremely in almost every aspect of what they do, I highly suggest everyone check them out and go listen to the Bacon Dream E.P as well as their multiple music videos located on Youtube.


Ill be keeping you up to date on the release of their new E.P as soon as it drops and also any other Astroid boys news. Once again thanks for reading and also don't forget to check out the latest music video by the Astroid boys which is located below as well as a link to their Bacon Dream E.P on BandCamp.com. Once again let me know what you think about the article, leave a comment or drop a me a line in the comment section below.



Astroid Boys - Dusted

Monday 2 February 2015

HOPSIN RETIRING FROM THE RAP GAME?

American Rapper Hopsin has recently been trolling the hell out of all his fans by saying he was going to be retiring from “The rap game” and moving to Australia. When Hopsin announced his retirement via social media, fans were literally devastated to hear the news. Hopsin then put a video out on Youtube with other Funk Volume artist Jarren Benton. The two artists basically created a spoof of a scene from the new film "dumb and dumber to" that was recently released starring Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrie as the main actors. In the scene Jarren walks up to Hopsin sitting in a wheelchair and confronts him about his recent announcement of his retirement, Hopsin replies back saying “Gotcha”. He then goes on to explain that he was fooling us the whole time and announces the release of the new album entitled “Pound Syndrome”. Although Hopsin has not released the album quite yet, he says that it is complete and should be released sometime in 2015.  Hopsin said later on, "I'm extremely happy to announce that I have already completed my 2015 album "Pound Syndrome" for you guys! I didn't wanna tell anyone I was working on it because I didn't want ANY pressure at all. The Funk Volume team is about to come strong as fuck! Shout out to @threekingsdr for the artwork! #PoundSyndrome#FV2015.”

        Check out the video Hopsin made with Jarren Benton above.

I’ll be keeping you up to date on any new information about the album and it’s release, until then let me know what you think about how Hopsin went about releasing the album. Was this a good way to announce the album release? What are you guys expecting the album to be like? 

MACHINE GUN KELLY

Richard Colson Baker otherwise known as Machine Gun Kelly aka MGK is an American recording artist out of Cleveland Ohio known best for his rapped fast lyrical style, hence the name “Machine Gun Kelly”. MGK is most known for his hit single “Wild Boy” released in September 27, 2011 off his debut E.P Half Naked & Almost Famous featuring rapper Wacka Flocka Flame out of Atlanta, Georgia. In August 2011, Machine Gun Kelly secured a recording contract with Interscope and Bad Boy Records. MGK also signed a deal with Young and Reckless Clothing the same year. He rose to fame after releasing his first four mixtapes, Stamp of Approval (2006), Homecoming (2008), 100 Words and Running (2010), and Lace Up (2010). His debut album Lace Up was released on October 9, 2012, the album debuted at number 4 on the US Billboard 200 and also sold 57,000 copies in its first week and has sold a total of 178,000 copies to date. He then followed up the success of his album Lace Up with a mixtape entitled Black Flag (June 26, 2013), playing off of and clearly inspired by the American hard core punk band “Black Flag”. Machine Gun Kelly then released a statement about the Black Flag mixtape saying "This project is dedicated to love, because for my entire life it has been taken from me. Granted, when it was given, I pushed it right back. I couldn't handle it. This was until I experienced the loss of love for what I love doing most: music. That was the one thing worth fighting for, even more-so than the love of my father. I've found that love again. And I plan on never surrendering it. Find what you love and fight!! Black Flag". Machine Gun Kelly has since announced he is currently working on his 2nd album as of January 22, 2014 but has yet to give us any more information on it. There is no doubt that Machine Gun Kelly has stayed true to himself and his music throughout his career as he continues with his rapped fast lyrical style and “Wild Boy” persona, Myself and many other fans throughout the entire world must now wait patiently to see just what this diverse artist has been cooking up for us next.

















There is no doubt that Machine Gun Kelly has stayed true to himself and his music throughout his career as he continues with his rapped fast lyrical style and “Wild Boy” persona, Myself and many other fans throughout the entire world must now wait patiently to see just what this diverse artist has been cooking up for us next.


Check out Machine Gun Kelly's video for his new single "Till I Die" 

Thursday 29 January 2015

NEON ICON-TOUR


We all know that Riff Raff is notorious for being very flamboyant and out there in terms of his style and persona, which makes it hard for anyone to hate the Neon Icon. We have to give it to the guy, Riff is a genius in his own right he knows how to market himself very well. Riff Raff has come up with a way to make his Neon Icon tour a very profitable and fun experience for his fans. The neon icon himself has come up with a way for the fans to get their braids done just like riff himself, He has also gave the fans a chance to get their own custom grillz done by T.V Johnny and Paul Wall himself. Riff also claims that he will personally shave your beard in the classic Riff Raff style. Now that all sounds great but it comes at a price, Riff is charging 100$ to 200$ to get your braids done by his personal hair stylist, 20,000$ to get a personal set of grillz done at his show and 1000$ for him to shave your beard personally.Would you pay these kinds of prices? well I guess it depends who you are. There is no doubt Riff Raff has some die hard fans, He also has a TON! of haters as well. This makes me think to myself, is Riff doing this to make a better experience for the fans? or is he doing all this for the cash?. Well It's probably a bit of both, This is why I credit Riff as such a marketing genius Like I said before he knows how to sell himself very well. I personally love Riff Raff for the fact he is always keeping me intrigued, the Neon Icon is always coming up with new projects, videos, songs and gimmicks to keep the fans interested. No one can say that Riff Raff is not one of a kind, From his fashion style to his lyrical style and his overall personality, Riff is funny entertaining and has created a very successful career for himself thus far. We have seen him grow from M.T.V to the Neon Icon he is today and personally I can not wait to see what he is up to next.






















To purchase tickets for the neon icon tour visit the link below
Also check out Riff Raff''s new music video: