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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: MC Lyte

  • Infatueighties #68: “Self Destruction”

    Get just about every rapper who was someone on one track, lamenting negative images and black-on-black crime. Think you’d be able to put something like that together these days? Not with Young Jeezy-types littering the hip-hop scene. At any rate, this Gold single reads like a who’s who of golden-age hip hop: Doug E. Fresh, Stetsasonic, Heavy D., Public Enemy, Kool Moe Dee, MC Lyte (whose verse was written by LL Cool J) and the Stop the Violence Movement’s founder, KRS-ONE.

    Not only was Self Destruction one of the first (and still one of the best) posse cuts in hip-hop history, but it was for a good cause. KRS founded the Stop the Violence movement in response to the senseless death of his Boogie Down Productions partner Scott LaRock, and for a while, it was almost impossible to find a hip-hop album cover without the Stop the Violence logo on the back. Of course, part of what gives hip-hop its’ allure these days IS violence. Ah well, can’t get the glory days back, but at least we’ll always have this video.

  • The Sunday Seven 10/26/08: Streets is Watching

    1) Dream on Dreamer by The Brand New Heavies (from Brother Sister, 1994)
    After Soul II Soul hit in 1989, there were a bunch of British groups that came out with the same soulful, jazzy vibe.The best among the rest was The Brand New Heavies, who had the benefit of the lovely N’dea Davenport as lead singer. This was probably their biggest pop hit. N’dea made an awesome solo album around 1999 or so, which you should definitely find if you’re an R&B fan, and the Heavies soldiered on for a while with Siedah Garrett (of MJ “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” fame) before welcoming Davenport back into the fold. Also worth checking out is the album “Heavy Rhyme Experience Vol. 1”, which features the band vibing in the studio with a who’s who of early Nineties East Coast hip-hop.

    2) Pretty Fly (for a White Guy) by The Offspring

    (from Americana, 1997)
    Y’know, on one hand I find this song incredibly funny, but on the other it’s like, geez, The Offspring were kind of a one trick pony, weren’t they? Well, I shouldn’t say were, as they just took a spin at the top of Billboard’s Modern Rock charts with their latest single, but if you’ve heard one Offspring single, wouldn’t it be safe to assume you’ve heard ’em all? C’mon Dexter Holland. You have a degree in microbiology or whatever. You should be smart enough to vary your sound up a little. Then again, it still sells, so maybe he *is* the smart one.

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  • MHW Liveblogs The 2008 BET Awards

    If I was Don Cornelius, I’d be really mad at the BET folks. In 2001, the cable network introduced it’s own show that essentially took the Soul Train Music Awards out of business. The shows themselves have been a mixed bag. There have been a couple of major moments-Michael Jackson & James Brown dancing together, Jay-Z & Beyonce tearing up “Crazy in Love”, a Destiny’s Child mutual lap-dance extravaganza on “Cater 2 U”. However, there have been just as many forgettable performances from (name untalented rapping one-hit wonder here). This year’s show promises to be a typical mixed bag. On the plus side, performances from Usher and Kanye West, and a Lifetime Achievement Award to Al Green. On the bad side? Lil’ Wayne. And I’m sure there’ll be a T-Pain performance somewhere. Keep your eye here, as we’ll be updating every half hour or so.

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