Jay Electronica declares he is the God of Hip-Hop. Calls out Drake
Live from the cotton field, straight to the space ship Last week Jay Electronica continued the end of his self imposed exile and performed at the XOYO club in London. For us die hard Jay Electronica...
View ArticleThoughts on the passing of Sean Price
The passing of Sean Price has weighed heavy on the hearts of the Hip-Hop nation, mine included. The news was as sudden as it was tragic. We had the pleasure of working with Sean on multiple...
View ArticleNative Tongue Week Part 1
We are still sorting out the editorial direction of the new Bodega. The plan is, each week we will focus on a different aspect of Hip-hop culture from an academic perspective. Next week we are going to...
View Article“Straight Out of Compton”, Tim Dog and getting the story straight
As an advocate for Hip-Hop culture I am thrilled about the success of “Straight Outta Compton”, but as an academic there are several points that need to be discussed so the record will be as complete...
View ArticleAzealia Banks wins in the end. All praise the Agitator.
It was announced today that T.I. had severed his ties from the much-maligned Iggy Azalea. Despite an apparent new album in the works this pretty much puts a period at the end of the Iggy sentence....
View ArticleAngel Diaz is an idiot. And the defense of Hip-Hop purists.
Yesterday there was an interesting dust up between Complex.com writer Angel Diaz, Lupe Fiasco and Talib Kweli. Diaz wrote a rather insulting thought piece defending the recent Drake/Future mixtape...
View ArticleLyor Cohen, Rap Radar, the coonery of Young Thug and the 360 Deal
I know I am wild late on this one. Lyor was on the Rap Radar podcast almost two weeks ago and here I am finally chiming in. Well, at least you know this is no click bait because I imagine... The post...
View ArticleBET sh*tted on the Million March. Who’s surprised?
Okayplayer recently posted an article titled “BET Showed The Hip-Hop Awards Over The Million Man March — Where’s The Outrage?” It is a well written piece that echoes many sentiments I had reflecting...
View ArticleIt’s time to end the era of ‘Get Rich or Die Trying’ in Hip-Hop
There were two pieces in the news that caught our eye this week. One was from WatchLoud about Kendrick Lamar playing to a half full house in Chicago and Brooklyn after iHeartMedia’s Powerhouse...
View ArticleVince Staples and the need to value youth and history.
When I first saw the headline about Vince Staples apparently claiming the 90’s were overrated my first inclination was to go in on the brother. But I knew he was no ignorant whippersnapper. I’ve...
View ArticlePharcyde’s ‘Labcabincalifornia’ changed everything. Give Thanks.
The Pharcyde, as a four man unit (Slim Kid Tre, Bootie Brown, Imani and Fat Lip) only released two full length albums, Bizarre II to the Pharcyde and Labcabincalifornia. However, with those two long...
View ArticleThe Swift Chancellor Report Ep. 4 – Kendrick Lamar and the Translation Business
For those who don’t know, our boss, the big homie Wes Jackson teaches at CUNY-York College when he is not here working on the Festival, or his book, or whatever latest venture he has his eye on. In the...
View ArticleThe Swift Chancellor Report – Tribe, Golden Era, Vince Staples episode
On this episode of The Swift Chancellor Report, Wes discusses the legacy of A Tribe Called Quest as a response to Vince Staples’ attacks on the Golden Era of Hip-Hop with a simple premise: these...
View ArticleSwift Chancellor Report – episode 5 – Public Enemy
This week on the Swift Chancellor Report on YCRadio, Wes gets into the legacy of Public Enemy. Chuck D, Flavor Flav, The Bomb Squad, Professor Griff, Terminator X, DJ Lord, the S1Ws. From ‘Yo! Bum Rush...
View Article“Straight Out of Compton”, Tim Dog and getting the story straight
As an advocate for Hip-Hop culture I am thrilled about the success of “Straight Outta Compton”, but as an academic there are several points that need to be discussed so the record will be as complete...
View ArticleMike Brown and the fear of the Super Negro
For those sleeping under a rock or with the political awareness of Young Thug, last night a grand jury decided that Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot and killed 18 year old Mike Brown this...
View ArticleTamir Rice is another example of modern day lynching, literally
Yesterday Tim McGinty, the Cuyahoga County prosecutor, announced that there would be no indictment in the murder of Tamir Rice after the young brother was gunned down by officers in a park near...
View Article“The Breaks” does not disappoint – Shines positive light on Hip-Hop
So I just finished watching the TV Movie first episode of “The Breaks” on VH1. The whole thing is inspired by the phenomenally thick and excellent book “The Big Payback” by Dan Charnas. “Payback” is...
View Article#OregonUnderAttack? Negro Please!
By now we have all heard about the self styled militia in Oregon who are occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. A lot of has been made about the double standard between the portrayals of the...
View ArticleIn HBO Doc J Cole is Hip-Hop’s Kurt Cobain
A little over 10 years ago I had a conversation with Peter Koepke who used to run London Records. I met Peter when I was managing J-Live in the late 90’s/early 00’s. During that time Peter became a...
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