Wednesday, April 9, 2008

BIG BOI in a ballet tu tu?? + Rappin Belgium Monks

Usually Hip Hop dance - breaking, poppin', locking, etc., accompany a phat beat, but not this time...The Atlanta Ballet turns Hip Hop on its head with a groundbreaking collabo with Big Boi of Outkast. We reported this a while back, but the actual show goes down tomorrow. He along with members of the Purple Ribbon allstars will share the stage with the company as they (the dancers)bang out ballet moves to hip hop flava. Can we say plie (Plee-ay) pop and lock it, plie pop and lock it... Associated Press out of the US got the 411. Get more info on the event at the Atlanta Ballet myspace page too.


Video from the rehearsal


Wait a second! No Big Boi pas de duex? I wanted to see him bust a ballet move. I suppose we'll only see so much of the softer side of Antwan. Judging from this, both parties apparently stay in their lanes, with MC Ballerina sticking to creating fly physical lines, while dancin' rappers spit 'em

Does this mean that video vixens need to feel threatened? NOT! There is a big difference between a grand jete (a big leap) and the dutty wine. HOWEVER, the collabo does provides the opportunity for the new DVD, Ballerinas gone WILD: Pole Dancing live at Big Boi's strip joint. (You know you noticed that girl swinging from that chin-up bar at :34 and 2:33)


Now all we need is the Rock Steady crew to choreograph a dance to a classical piece with the National Philharmonic. Put that in your Pavorotti pipe and Haaaaahhhllllllllaaaaahhh.

Ok that was corny, but seriously tho, the Big Ballet is cool, but if u want something more daring in its attempt to blur traditional cultural boundaries, check out how hip hop dance, gregorian chant, beatboxing, monestary meditation and more gets all shook in this video. If you didn't know how Hip Hop gets down in Belgium, it's time to recognize. When it comes to originality in its initial concept, it appears that Big Ballet pales in comparison.

Black Monk - Rap Requiem

Flava reppin the global Hip Hop movement!

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Hip Hop & Politics: Condi for US VP?

Barack has inspired so many Hip Hop artists to be actively involved in the political process. Even Jay-Z has reportedly been promoting Barack Obama for President in his show with Mary J Blige. Well recently, hip hop websites are buzzin' about Condi's possible run as VP with John McCain on the Republican ticket. (ABC)


Personally, aside from the Will I AM video, I am starting to hear Barack's name in more and more Hip Hop/R&B songs. Even UK's Estelle makes mention of him in her song with Musiq Soulchild, People Everyday... If Condi gets the nomination, I wonder how she will start poppin up in lyrics....

I'm willing to place my bets that if she does get the nomination, there will be more haterade for her than there has been for Billary, for several reasons. Among them - she's scarier because she's smarter, has more savvy, is more conniving and can probably kick both their azzes in a steet fight. Don't get it twisted, Condi is mo' gangsta than Suge Knight. She'll murder yo a**, defend her own self in a supreme court (or a federal investigation), get off scott free, get paid in the process and be like NEXT!!
**
Flava reppin the global Hip Hop movement!




Hip Hop & Politics: Senegal

Check out this documenatry on the role of Hip Hop in the 2007 Presidential elections in Dakar, Senegal

For Episodes 2-5, peep Nomadic Wax

**

Flava reppin' the global Hip Hop movement!

New Usher video - Love In This Club

Aside from Keri Hilson who is on Timbaland's label, and Jeezy, there are two mo' cameos. C if spot them.


I know Usher is married, but man I would have loved for him and Ciara to be an item wit dey dancin' selves!

New music from MARIAH


Mariah at the Cipriani Restarurant in London celebrating her 18 #1 hits. Will either of these next two songs be #19 or even #20?
**
**
(shouts to lovebscott.com for the music links)
**
Flava reppin' the global Hip Hop movement!

Is Jay-Z going to pull out of UK's Glastonbury Festival?


That depends on who you ask. The organizer Michael Eavis has insisted the rapper is still on the bill to perform. He said: "I spoke to his people this weekend. Everything is fine. I'm excited."

Apparently not everyone shares the same excitement about the three-day music event, set to take place in Somerset, England, on June 28. Last year, it sold out in a record two hours. As of April 6, there were still tickets left.

There's been much buzz about Jay-Z as the headliner. According to Britain's The Sun newspaper, a source says Jay "hasn't liked all this talk of how Glastonbury is more urban and hip this year because of his appearance...He feels it's a bit sad and he's being used to make a point. The straw that broke the camel's back was when he was blamed for the lower registration for tickets and subsequent sales."

Ok 2 things -- first off, Jay-Z ain't turning down that money! No way is he going to pull out of the event over some haterade. I side with Michael Eavis on that one. #2 Who is this source supposedly quoting Jay-Z? A kid of one of the newspaper's editors? Perhaps a self-important wanna be rapper intern who never met Jay-Z in his/her life, just expressing his/her own opinion on the matter. Jay-Z can speak for himself or at least through his publicist. Holla!

The Sun is suspect on this one. In the words of one of my favorite bloggers, Fresh at Crunk & Disorderly, "you need more people" (who are credible sources)
**
Flava reppin' that global Hip Hop movement!

Monday, April 7, 2008

Alicia Keys & Lenny Kravitz in Paris!


http://dailymotion.alice.it/swf/x4x5jk
by delpiero971

It's Official (to us anyway) THEY'RE MARRIED!




It was crazy! It was supposed to be on the hush hush, but c'mon this is NY and this is the internet age so the press swarmed Jay-Z's building for a chance to see the couple and get whatever shots they could. Here are some of them.

Wedding prep
**
Daddy Knowles arrives

**
Jay-Z's mama on her way to the ceremony (He must look like his dad!)

Solange arrives



Jay-Z is rumored to have had his bachelor party in Canada

It is reported that they will also have ANOTHER wedding in France. Plus, if it is true that they are obsessed with the number 4 (see below), then they need one mo' wedding because according to my math, they were already married in Anguilla, now New York, perhaps next in France. We'll see...

Rumor also has it that Matthew Knowles is already negotiating the sale of their wedding pictures to the highest bidder (the life files)

If you are wondering what I mean by thier obsession with 4, peep this (from laineygossip.com)
**
B’s birthday is September 4th.
Jay’s birthday is December 4th.
They have matching IV tats on their ring fingers acquired in Paris…
He owns the 40/40 clubs.
April 4th they marry. 04/04/084+4=8
**
For more details on thier wedding day, peep mtv.com
**
Flava reppin the global Hip Hop movement!

Friday, April 4, 2008

"Frosty Freeze" RIP

B-Boys and Girls worldwide are mourning the death of Break Dance Pioneer Wayne "Frosty Freeze" Frost.


Wayne Frost, a hip-hop pioneer known as Frosty Freeze who helped inspire a worldwide break-dancing craze in the early 1980s as a member of the influential group Rock Steady Crew, died on Thursday in Manhattan. He was 44.
Jorge Pabon, who uses the name Pop Master Fabel and is the vice president of the group, confirmed Mr. Frost’s death, at Mount Sinai Medical Center, saying it followed a long illness, which he did not identify.
Mr. Frost was known for his acrobatic and daredevil moves. One that he created involved a flip in the air that ended with Mr. Frost flat on his back. He called it the Suicide.
Mr. Frost began attracting wide attention in 1981, when his picture appeared on the cover of The Village Voice with an article by Sally Banes titled “Physical Graffiti: Breaking Is Hard to Do.”
He was then featured in early hip-hop music videos, including Malcolm McLaren’s "Buffalo Gals," and performed in films about hip-hop culture, including the groundbreaking 1983 documentary “Style Wars” and the 1983 feature film “Wild Style.” But it was his appearance in the 1983 hit movie “Flashdance,” with Jennifer Beals, that brought him recognition around the world and helped introduce break dancing to mainstream popular culture.
At the time, break dancing, or b-boying, a daring and complex dance form that grew out of the streets of the Bronx and Harlem in the 1970s, was one element of the emerging hip-hop culture, which included graffiti art, rapping and D.J.s scratching and mixing vinyl records on turntables.
Break dancing had its own terminology and was composed of two basic elements: top rock, involving upper-body movement, and floor rock, involving footwork. A b-boy dance phrase finishes with a freeze, hence the name that Mr. Frost adopted. (Read More)
Source: NYT