Updates from nieniew RSS
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08:40:44 pm on November 5, 2008 |
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08:31:48 pm on November 4, 2008 |
I just want to say that I felt so good casting my first voting ballot this morning at 8am. During the last election I was only 17-years-old and didn’t realize the power that I will gain 4 years later. I was able to do something that my ancestors lost their lives for. And the fact that there is a black man who could potentially be my next president is something that I will never ever forget. No longer will I have to read about history in text books. I am living it.And Yes, I voted for Obama.
There are so many election parties going on tonight and amongst those is one that will be thrown by Chicago hip hop artist, Common. The fact that he is devoting his rhymes to a historical night is an awesome thing. Plus I feel that if people can stand in line for a club or concert, they can surely stand in line to Vote or attend Common’s event for sure!
A popular song entitled, “SWAGGER LIKE US” came to mind once I cast my ballot. ”Swagger” in today’s hip hop world means to have a sense of style or “cool” aura about you. And I feel as though I just gained 1,000 points worth of swagger and that swagger is better than any rapper out right now!
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11:05:14 am on October 30, 2008 |
Chicago’s own, Lupe Fiasco will be in concert at the Congress Theatre tomorrow on Halloween! I really wish I could attend but have other obligations. I love the fact that Lupe has stayed true to his Chicago roots and has not gone “mainstream” like a lot of artists. This young artist from the West Side of Chicago is doing big things.
Also, I never really realized how popular Lupe Fiasco is on DePaul’s campus. I have overheard so many students talking about the concert! I thought most of the students at DePaul were into mainstream rap, but I guess I was wrong! Go LUPE! What I like about Lupe is that hs is a conscious rapper and is socially aware. Also, his raps are just out of this world in that he words his raps and uses so many lyrical metaphors that are just insane! Well, I hope the concert is good. In fact, I know it will be! I’m just mad I can’t make it. But for those of you that want to attend.. check out this link Chicago Theatre Concert
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01:38:40 am on October 28, 2008 |
I found it to be very interesting how many people are coming out and supporting Barack Obama. Now news organizations, such as the Chicago Tribune and the New York post have shown their support for the man. Chicago artists kanye west and Common both support him too! I wonder what would have been said if these artists did not show support for mr. Obama? In the hip hop world in general, would it have been “non hip hop like behavior” to show support for the Democratic presidential candidate? Or did these news organizations and hip hop artists alike actually do their homework and research Obama’s plans? I sure hope so. With the Election around the corner I’m pondering this more and more. If Obama does become the next President of the good ol’ U S A, will these celebs and news organizations continue their overwhelming support? Will they put their opinions into action? And what if he doesn’t get elected? Will these celebs become silent and angered or will they still put forth the “change” we need in their own ways.
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04:11:59 pm on October 23, 2008 |
A car at the event
WGCI, “Chicago’s #1 Radio Station for Hip Hop and R&B” is holding a Drug-Free Kids fundraising event tonight from 6-8:30 at the Union League Club on 65 W. Jackson street. The event will have special guest R&B artist “Slique” singing. The event will raise awareness about prevention and is an affiliate of the Partnership for a Drug Free America. Not only will the hip hop event have guest speakers there will also be a silent auction and raffle prizes. I think this is a very good event for a radio station such as WGCI to put on. This is because many of their listeners are high-school and middle-school aged kids, I use to be one! I still listen to WGCI when I have the time. This will be a good event and they are most definitely using their popularity with music to attract the young audience. Providing a musical guest is always dope as well.
Here’s the link to the event :
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10:54:13 am on October 21, 2008 |
Chicago hip hop artists “Cool Kids” and “Kid Sister” perform sunday at Empty Bottle located at 1035 N. Western Ave. Tickets are $16-18. These two chicago acts have been under the radar in the national scene, but are now exploding thanks to their MySpace pages and Kid’s Sister’s affiliation with Kanye West.
The Cool Kids, whose members include Antoine Reed (Mikey Rocks) and Evan Ingersoll (Chuck Inglish) met when Reed found a beat that Ingersoll made on the web. It’s been history ever since. Currently they are signed to Independant record label “Chocolate Industries.” To me $16-$18 is a bit much in this bad economy. I’m trying to hold every penny! But, I think I’m going to check them out.
You might have heard their song, “Black Mags” in the Rhapsody commercial??? Check out their video to the actual song and to the commercial below….
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01:34:14 pm on October 16, 2008 |
After waiting what felt like hours for this slow school IBM computer to load, I can now post! Well, being on the DePaul track team, and on any sport rather, you come to know people who have other interests besides their athletic abilities. One such person is my former teammate and rapper, Pro Blak, a.k.a Donnie Smith. He was a short sprinter with me during his junior and senior years and he always had an interest in rapping. He even put out his first CD during, I believe, my sophomore year and it was really good! There were some songs on his album that sounded way better than songs currently played on todays radio. Currently, he is doing shows in the Chicago area, of which he is from and I will definetly go to his shows. Try to get some pics, who knows? I know his as donnie, but I wanna dive deep and find out who Mr. “Pro Blak” is.
Below is one of his videos, entitled, “You Cant Murder Me” that he has posted on Youtube.. Check it out!I also have another friend by the name of Gregory Dagget who is a rising hip hop Chi-town artist. Here is a picture of him in the booth getting down. He too is a current DePaul student. I didn’t know DePaul had so many hip hop heads!
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12:32:00 pm on October 15, 2008 |
My friend Ginger on stage with Common. So Lucky.
I recently found a site called the “Chicago Hip Hop Initiative”. This site is a community organization that uses hip hop to inform, educate and help out the community through events that are put on by local hip hop acts. They use some of their events and the site to gain awareness throughout the community and this year’s presidential election where a Black man is a serious contender is no exception. On their homescreen they have a saying that reads, “just being registered isn’t enough.” I really like how they put this in there because people, especially young people need that extra kick in the you know what. We do need to be reminded that our job is not done especially if we really want the “change” that both candidates say they will provide.
Also, this reminds me of the long history that hip hop has had in chicago and depending on the artist, a lot of the music dealt with speaking out and being aware of the condtions of this world. Such artist is local artist Common. Although he has been hitting a lot of the mainstream air ways like our other hometown boy, Kanye West, he never fails to stay true to his political rhymes that are engraved with a hometown swagger. But his political rhymes and other rappers that do not just talk about the club, cars and girls do not get much air play, but what hip hop and rap heads need to realize is that hip hop has always been political.
I found an article from the Huffington Post where the authour goes into even more detail. You should definitely check it out. Hip Hop and politics is nothing new, we just never noticed it. It is our way of speaking out these days.
Check out the link to the article and the Chicago Hip Hop Initiative below:
Chicago Hip Hop Initiative
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12:50:20 pm on October 9, 2008 |
If you still are not sure about the whole blog thing, don’t worry its cool because even Lil Wayne is dropping a few lines for the cyber world in his blog for the sports show ESPN. How cool is that? Not only does this tap into the hip hop/rap fan base it furthers the relationship with sports fanatics who also love hip hop. In Wayne’s blog, he talks about his love for sports and shares with readers his past experiences.
It’s kind of a different feel to see the tatooed star in a different arena where one hears the typing of keyboards rather than the sounds of bass and catchy hooks. If you don’t believe in ESPN’s strategy still, just look at the 1,111 comments that were posted under Mr. Hip Hop’s FIRST BLOG ENTRY.
Wanna take a look? Check out the link below
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12:29:46 pm on October 7, 2008 |
During our last class we talked about the website “newvoices” and this gave me the idea to look at other blogs that discuss hip hop and its influence and basically, what its about. Bossip.com is one site I found. Its been around for a minute yet I just found it the other day. This site focuses on the gossip and news in the hip hop world, but I noticed that the “bossip staff” shows their opinions about the topics they cover in their stories. Under the stories are the chance for people like you and me to comment. I like this site and I feel like it can really keep us up to date on the daily happenings of beyonce and jay-z! But for real, this site connects the audience to their celebs with up-to-the minute pictures. I don’t really like the overwhelming presence of the “Bossip staff”’s opinions but they get the job done, I guess… They’re not making hip hop, they’re just reporting it with a twist of bias, I guess because we are all human…
