Potholes In My Blog: Listen: Black Thought’s Interview On The Champs Podcast |  |
- Listen: Black Thought’s Interview On The Champs Podcast
- Kendrick Lamar Shares A New Song “The Blacker The Berry”, Produced By Boi-1da
- Watch: The New Trailer For N.W.A.’s Biopic ‘Straight Outta Compton’
|
Posted: 10 Feb 2015 12:57 AM PST
 For a guy with an illustrious career spanning over twenty-years, Black Thought rarely does interviews, as Questlove is the frontman for The Roots. All these years later I can’t point to one definitive Black Thought interview outside of maybe a Juan Epstein appearance for the Undun album promo run, but that interview was surface at best. Thought recently sat down with comedian Neal Brennan on his fantastic Champs podcast. They discussed his childhood in depth, growing up in Philly, losing both his parents at an early age, The Tonight Show, battling Boyz II Men in early talent shows, and aspiring to be a visual artist way before pursuing hip-hop full-time with The Roots. They also delve into his working relationship with Questlove, outside endeavors and the whole Soulaquarian movement with Common, Talib Kweli, Mos Def and others. Overall, it’s a pretty funny and revealing interview from one the best emcees currently in the game. You can stream Black Thought’s interview here  |
|
Kendrick Lamar Shares A New Song “The Blacker The Berry”, Produced By Boi-1da
Posted: 09 Feb 2015 05:02 PM PST
 With all the conversations about last night’s Grammy’s and Kanye West’s antics, Kendrick Lamar drops a new song out of nowhere. Thanks to Taraji P. Henson we get some new music from Kendrick to start off this new week. “The Blacker The Berry” is produced by Boi-1da, with additional production by Terrace Martin. Kendrick definitely sounds more emphatic on here in comparison to the self-love and folksy feel of his earlier single “I”. “The Blacker The Berry” sounds a lot closer to what I think most expected from Lamar after GKMC. Lamar tackles hatred and racism that comes with being black, an African-American, as well as the exploitation of black culture over an uptempo production. But he also declares himself; “the biggest hypocrite in 2015″. The chorus really has that Yeezus feel to it from “I’m in It ” with an artist singing in patois like Beenie man. Everything Kendrick is saying in the song speaks to racial discourse in America, and it’s all valid, but I was also left wondering what’s the end game here? Because if it’s just spewing what’s already evident to most in regards to race, then it’s just mildly entertaining. And we have Dead Prez or old Ice Cube songs that achieve that goal with similar themes. In the third verse Kendrick discusses gang violence in the urban community using the bloods and clips, reference, as well as the Xhosa and Zulu reference; “Beefin’ with Piru’s, only death settle the score”. Instead of focusing on a known system of oppression, he touches on the reality that black people are also still at war with one another. There’s clearly respectability politics in play here, because with the last two lines in the song he’s equating black on black violence with violence perpetrated by the system, and that’s really problematic. Kendrick Lamar in the second verse; “I’m the biggest hypocrite in 2015 / Once I finish this, witnesses will convey just what I mean / I mean it’s evident I’m irrelevant to society /That’s what you’re telling me, penitentiary would only hire me / Curse me till I’m dead / Church me with your fake prophesying that I’mma be another slave in my head / Institutionalize manipulation in lies / Reciprocation of freedom only live in your eyes”You can stream Kendrick Lamar ‘s “The Blacker The Berry” below:  |
|
Posted: 09 Feb 2015 11:54 AM PST
 We finally received the first official trailer for the N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton as it aired during last night's Grammy’s Awards broadcast. Ice Cube and Dr. Dre provide a brief introduction in the trailer, followed by cameos from The Game and Kendrick Lamar. As Ice Cube, co-producer of the film notes, “The same thing we were going through with the police in the '80s these people are going through now." Kendrick Lamar notes; “When I think of N.W.A, it wasn't really music to me. It was more like a real lifestyle of brothers from my neighborhood that made it out.” I was initially skeptical as music biopics are usually a 50/50 proposition. And personally I thought a documentary might’ve served the group’s legacy better, but we’re here. Straight Outta Compton is directed by F. Gary Gary and also stars Paul Giamatti. The film will be in theaters August 14th. You can watch the new trailer for N.W.A.’s biopic Straight Outta Compton below:  |
No comments:
Post a Comment