Past Industry Articles
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X-Clan -- originally comprised of Grand Verbalizer Funkin' Lesson Brother J, Paradise the Architect, and the late, greats; Professor X the Overseer, and Sugar Shaft the Rhythm Provider -- marked their official debut with the critically lauded premier outing To the East, Blackwards in 1990. Mixed with hard hitting, P-Funk inspired grooves, and afrocentric/pro-black revolutionary lyrics, Brother J and company quickly coined the slang-term "vanglorious."
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| People jumping from windows. 90 year old woman commits suicide. A man killing his entire family and himself from fear that he would not be able to meet his fiscal obligations. While these are extreme examples of America's uneasiness, they are actual incidents that happened out of the recent economic woes that have risen on a global scale. No one seems to be immune to this crisis from the boardroom to the block and rappers are no exception. East Coast, West Coast, Durty South, old school, or new school, our lives are all affected and AllHipHop took a moment to talk to your favorite rappers in regards to the economy. |
| The corporate hacks at Vh1 are at it again. Yesterday, as I’m told, Vh1 aired its annual Hip-Hop ceremony, Vh1 Hip-Hop Honors. For those unaware, “Hip-Honors” is described as a yearly celebration of Hip-Hop pioneers and its many Godfathers/Godmothers. If Vh1 had its way - as it seem to do - Snoop Dogg, Eazy E, Ice Cube, Missy Elliot, Russell Simmons and the Wu Tang clan would fit that mold. It would come as a shock if Lil’ Wayne is not honored next year. This annual exercise of miseducation is a farce at best. The categorization of “New Schoolers” as Hip-Hop pioneers notwithstanding, more insulting is the level of mistreatment rendered to actual Hip-Hop pioneers, at such events. |
| In 2004 VH1 emerged with Hip Hop Honors, in hopes of properly paying tribute to the culture’s past while showcasing its future. The staff had experience in TV, movies and, most importantly, in the streets of Brooklyn, Harlem and The Bronx during Hip Hop’s infancy. In anticipation of the fifth installment of the show, co-executive producer Nelson George broke down what goes on behind the scenes, and why he and his peers are up for the impossible task of trying to please so many discriminating palettes. |
| The Hip Hop Caucus' - Respect My Vote! Campaign, along with Radio One, Inc. and the Hip Hop Summit Action Network, registered more than 30,000 voters during its national "One Vote Day" voter registration drive on September 30th. Thousands of citizens in sixteen cities across the country participated in events aimed at mass voter registration. Radio One stations broadcasted live from central locations in each of the participating cities urging unregistered voters to attend their local registration site to register onsite. |
| Record labels are approaching another financially weak year, as a minimum of 200 million albums in the last quarter is now required in order to break even with last year’s low total. According to Variety, the music industry officially closed out with a total of 297.9 million albums sold for the third quarter making it already 12 percent less than the previous year. 2007 saw a total of 500.5 million in sales with over 30 percent of the records purchased stemming from the fourth quarter. However, this year the industry would have to up that amount to over 40 percent. |
| BET network has confirmed plans to cancel its long-running Hip-Hop series Rap City, effective by the end of this month. Created by broadcasting veteran Alvin Jones in 1989, the video series chronicled Hip-Hop’s growing video music market, competing directly with Yo! MTV Raps. The fledgling series was able to distinguish itself from its larger MTV competitor by not just focusing on mainstream rappers, but also championing videos and interviews from underground and up and coming artists. Originally hosted by “The Mayor of Rap City” Chris Thomas for its first several years, Rap City’s “golden age” was 1994-1999, when the program was hosted by the colorful and knowledgeable duo of Joe Clair and Leslie Segar AKA Big Lez. |
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