Wu Tang Clan | The Whole Story

FULL ANALYSIS AND BREAK DOWN OF THEIR ENTIRE CAREER AFTER THE PAGE BREAK

Footwear Odes | Part 1

"I'm not paying for them... size eight and half." So begins 'Sneakers' by Raekwon, a Pete Rock produced track that has that familiar feel to an old Raekwon crime joint but with some serious overtones concerning his footwear. We are treated to a character study of The Chef entirely through his affiliations and adoration of sneakers. Early confessions to being an "Adidas Freak" with a collection totaling out at a round "multi thousand pair" are the simple bragings of his opening verse. If anything these rhymes are just the declaration of some rudimentary facts, a rightful way of passage before he treats us to the real nitty gritty of it all. It is itself a topic so large that it comes as no surprise that the whole second verse is a flush with individual models and brand names and their connotations within the game. Italian lines Diadora and Elesse get a shout out along with the connoisseurial cops of retro line Patrick and non other than that 80's hip-hop footwear staple, Travel Fox. Pleasingly fellow Wu Tang Clan cornerstone, Ghostface brings his chips to the table this time about that all important moment of copping a fresh deal: "bright fat yellow Air Max's" for "20 bucks off no tax" on "Apollo Kids". That's just credit to the whole game.

   

Caught in Time

Sometimes all that's required to pass the time is for a little dig and rummage within the dusty archives of the internet for some simple sneaker memories. Thus, what's been cooked up here is an insight into how some of hip-hops finest have wanted to immortalise some of their favourite footwear moments. By all means this is just the first installment of this image based exercise but there is more than enough light hearted entertainment to pour over in the chosen 8 below.  

Nike Air Pressure on Audio 2

Air Assaluts Fat-Boys 

Air Jordan 3's on 3 Times Dope

Air Jordan IV's on Ice T

Nike Air flight 87 sighting on EPMD

Air Jordan I's on LL Cool J

Nike Air Assault's on the polished Will Smith

Air Jordan IX's on Tupac (no creases on them toe boxes)

A must see and do! - Round 3

INTRO: Blackstar (feat. Talib Kweli & Mos Def) is a tantalizing bill of Hip Hop royalty accredited with shaping the now acclaimed underground alternative rap scene of the early 1990's. Part of the Native Tongues Posse and rising from the thinking artist's anti violence brand of 'conscious rap with a soul vibe', these two are undoubtedly on anybodies roll call of hip hop's finest and most intelligent team talents. These universally respected artists share the stage to take us on a journey through hit after hit that are lyrically and musically still streets ahead of anything out there today. The songs are as relevant now as they were back in the day, and this show (like all their shows) promises to deliver a timely reminder of Hip Hop's ability to show the possibility of a better world.

Now for the fact and figures. Black Star's Mos Def and Talib Kweli reunite in the UK for the first time since 1999 at the Hammersmith Apollo this Tuesday the 10th of May. As ever if you needed any more reasons not to miss out then here they are...

A must see and do! - Round 2

INTRO:       GZA is one of the most influential lyricists of our time. Serving as a figurehead for the Wu-Tang Clan on several multi-platinum releases and as the creator of one of the most critically praised albums of all time (Liquid Swords), GZA has proven time and time again that he is worthy of the tittle 'Genius'. As Wu-Tang Clan member Method Man attests, "... he's the head. Let's put it that way. We form like Voltron and GZA happens to be the head."   

Throughout the years, GZA has remained exceptionally busy, tourgin the globe, releasing his sixth solo album ('Pro Tools') and appearing on various Wu-Tang releases. Look out for a brand new album this late spring of 2011 from the Genius titled 'Liquid Swords Part II - Return of the Shadow Boxer'

As one might have been expecting, coming this Tuesday the 19th of April is GZA aka the 'Genius". His much anticipated return to these shores will see him celebrate with a heavy dose of lyrical nostalgia. In what may be seen more as a career retrospective, we can expect to be treated with a whole range of material spanning from classic tracks from the legendary 1993 album, 'Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)', to his critically and commercially acclaimed album 'Liquid Swords' from 1995 to his latest release of 2008 'Pro Tools'. We can only hope that this time round, he will take it upon himself to wet our appetites by lifting the veil on his new material of the yet to be released Liquid Swords Part II - Return of the Shadow Boxer'. However, this may be a desperate cry on my behalf for the impossible but there seems little danger in some well placed hope of sorts. 

NAS - Beauty of MixTapes

"Alive & Well" Photoshoot with TT Coles

Something to simply kicks back and enjoy... 

But here's a short intro:

"Alive & Well" is a collaborative project consisting of Liuns Den member, Ekundayo and Dead Prez member, MikeFlo. These two emcees come together to bring you that rawness that hip hop is respectfully known for. But with this clip we go behind the scenes of their photoshoot with photographer TT Coles for their upcoming project.

A Tribe Called Quest Documentary (Preview)... Beats, Rhymes and Fights

During Rock The Bells 2008 tour Michael Rapaport starting filming his A Tribe Called Quest documentary called Beats, Rhymes and Fights: The History of A Tribe Called Quest. We finally get a preview of this much anticipated documentary which is set to be released in 2011. Questlove (The Roots), Large Professor, Prince Paul & Monie Love are all featured in the trailer. As a die-hard fan of the group I can’t wait to see this documentary. Did I mention that Madlib and Peanut Butter Wolf are responsible for the music and original score for this documentary? Yeah, its going to be tight real tight!

Street Struck: The Big L Story

The documentary, produced by Dangerzone Films, chronicles the rapper - real name Lamont Coleman -'s rise to fame. The documentary includes his work with Children of Da Corn (Ma$e, McGruff, Bloodshed and Cam'Ron), as well as his part as a member of the Diggin' In The Crates crew.

The documentary will, in addition, have stories told by family members, friends and other rappers that collaborated with him.

Fans of the deceased rapper will be especially excited to know that the documentary will feature rare footage of Big L performing with Big Pun on stage, as well as conducting an interview from the set of Fat Joe's "John Blaze" video shoot.

Artists such as Mysonne, DJ Premier, Showbiz, McGruff, Cipha Sounds, and Stan Spit, among others, give their insight on the rapper, who was gunned down February 1999 in Harlem.

Tragedy Kadafi - The Story Of Queensbridge

Here is the first part of an in-depth look at the life of the hip-hop MC known as Tragedy Khadafi, aka Intelligent Hoodlum, who hails from the Queensbridge housing project in New York City. The focus is on Tragedy (Khadafi), telling his life storie through interviews with people around him, older footage plus interviews with the man himself inside of prison. At the same time it's a documentation and cultural journey into the story of the hip-hop mecca that is QueensBridge and if I remember correctly there's footage of Marley Marl, Mobb Deep, Capone N Noreaga, Infamous Mobb, the Screwball clique and many others. This is just the first part but all of it can be found on youtube. 

The Tribe Called Quest remix

Mr. Jordan would you please be my mayor? You'll be doing us a real big favor.

The style of music

my Adidas and me, close as can be, we make a mean team, my Adidas and me we get around together, rhyme forever and we won't be mad when worn in bad weather

ADIDAS VS NIKE Round 2: rhyme vs rhyme

Mac Miller - Nikes On My Feet

ADIDAS VS NIKE Round 1: rhyme vs rhyme

Run DMC - My Adidas

LA The Darkman Devil In A Blue Dress

A must see and do!

HMV Forum, Sunday 12th December 2010

Responsible for some of HIP-HOPs finest moments Pete Rock& C.L. Smooth re-unite for a rare and exclusive London show. Hailing from Mount Vernon, New York, they made their debut in the rap world in1991.

Pete Rocks production acumen was highly praised along side of his partner in rhyme [C.L. Smooth] who possessed a distinctive flow matched with a perfect delivery. Classical songs such as 'They Reminisce Over You' (T.R.O.Y.), a tribute song packed with emotions that hasnt been duplicated up to this day and showed the conscientious of the lyrical rhyme slayer C.L. Smooth. After successfully releasing three albums the soul-tight brothers departed ways leaving die-hard fans in a frenzy for the signature horn loops of Pete and the verbal play of the smooth one....