Archive for the ‘Hip-hop’ tag
ODBituary
The news that Ol’ Dirty Bastard had died surprised no one. A friend who knew I was a fan of the Wu-Tang Clan, ODB’s Staten Island, NY rap collective, emailed to tell me the news. I immediately checked the web for a write-up, and found the expected news that he had collapsed of apparent heart failure in a Manhattan recording studio. His passing in such a sudden manner, just two days shy of his 36th birthday, was the inevitable flameout at the end of an explosive career. Born Russell Tyrone Jones, ODB died on November 13, 2004. He left behind the musical legacy of a deranged genius, and an evolving persona that, just a month later, has already been turned into a cultural punch line. Read the rest of this entry »
Tangled Cords, Clear Message
“You know it’s underground when the rappers have to untangle their own microphones,” said Afrobatik, as he and the rest of the Perceptionists, Mr. Lif and DJ Fakts One, prepared for their set at the Def Jux Presents III tour on Sunday night at the Logan Square Auditorium in Chicago. The cables were twisted into a knot after 4th Pyramid and SA Smash kicked off the night, but the Perceptionists managed to deal with the minor inconvenience and deliver an intense, politically charged performance that topped a bill also featuring indie-rap hero Murs and none other than Humpty Hump himself, Shock G, formerly of Digital Underground. Read the rest of this entry »