We’ll make this quick, yo. We recently peeped Cut Chemist’s new music video for “Outro (Revisted),” which has the rapper Blackbird running like crazy through downtown Los Angeles and it set our minds zooming trying to think of other clips that got rap cats on the run. Of course, N.W.A’s “100 Miles and Runnin’” quickly popped into our heads, but we also came up with a few others, some less obvious than that. In our hurry to post, we probably forgot some, so let us know what we might have missed. OK, it’s time to bounce y’all. Peep these 10 music videos with rappers running, after the jump…

Continue Reading »

These are trying times. The U.S. secret service is undergoing an unprecedented sex-scandal, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton is walking a diplomatic tightrope in China, and Rick Ross and the Maybach Music Clan held a press conference to announce — well, fuck if we know. Something about the due date of his new album. Wale and Omarian were there too, and they got some new stuff bubblin’ (surprise). Oh, and we can’t forget Diddy pushing Ciroc. And a room full of thirsty “journos” just happy to be away from their lonely desks for an hour or so. Wow, what a waste of people’s time. Makes us over here at egotripland pine for some earlier, more entertaining hip-hop press conferences. The ones where people actually made us bob our heads instead of nod our heads (to sleep). Hey MMG, remember these, the ones you took your ideas from…?
Continue Reading »

Earlier today news broke that New York radio station 98.7 Kiss FM would soon be shutting down, its frequency leased by owner Emmis Broadcasting to ESPN and programming to be consolidated with its one-time rival down the dial, WBLS. The move marks the end of an era for New York City radio, as anyone who once enjoyed Kiss’ pioneering club and hip-hop mix shows from back in the day can readily attest. To celebrate the station’s storied legacy, we’ve collected a batch of classic radio promos from over the years – largely celebrating Red Alert and Chuck Chillout’s classic Friday and Saturday night shows, but with a few extras too. Enjoy them, after the jump…
Continue Reading »

He was and still is a rap superstar. Eric “Eazy-E” Wright, who passed away 17 years ago today, was blessed with the charisma and smarts to become a major player in the music industry. Yet, as much as he’s beloved, Eazy is often more remembered for his shining personality than his recorded material. The single “Boyz-N-the-Hood” and his first solo album, Eazy-Duz-It, are of course his most recognized works. But even this classic era featured lesser known gems, including Eazy’s guest verse on the Penthouse Players Clique posse cut, “Trust No Bitch”. Post N.W.A break-up, it very much felt like fans were forced to take sides. More listeners might have rode with Dre and/or Cube, but the hardcore Eazy fans proved without a shadow of a doubt to be some of the most loyal followers the game has ever seen. For them, every one of his songs was something to behold, cuts like “Gangsta Beat 4 Tha Street” and “Cock the 9.” However, to the greater majority E’s later recordings were often unfairly overlooked. Now’s the chance to revisit and celebrate some of these slept-on creations.

PEEP 5 OF EAZY-E’S LESSER KNOWN BUT BANGIN’ SONGS AFTER THE JUMP…

Continue Reading »

Today marks one year since the premature passing of the great Nate Dogg. World renowned for putting the “G” in “guest” appearance, Nate left behind an unmatched recorded legacy of hits upon mega-hits, lending his distinctive crooning to songs by everyone from fellow Long Beach homie Snoop Dogg to Eminem. Right now, however, we celebrate the man’s individual work with a sampling of five of his mos’ slept on solo songs, lesser known joints from his career that deserve recognition alongside his countless classics.

PEEP 5 UNDERRATED NATE DOGG CUTS AFTER THE JUMP…
Continue Reading »

Cartoons have long made their presence felt in hip-hop – from aerosol art masterpieces to countless references in lyrics (Scooby Doo, y’all!). Another manifestation of this influence: animated rap videos. Often jam packed with violence and lewd behavior, these bugged-out visions will never be confused with Disney productions (fall back, Lil’ Mermaid). But that’s, of course, part of their beauty and charm; the ability for these clips to get away with a bit more than the average live action affair. Other times it just makes sense to shoot an animated joint – like when an artist is unavailable for whatever reason. (Not that rappers are unreliable – nope, no chance of that.)

Compiled here in chronological order are 20 cartoon rap vids — some of them funny, some controversial, all with their own unique style — from a 20-year span. ‘Toon in.

CHECK THIS LIST OF 20 ANIMATED RAP VIDEOS… AFTER THE JUMP…
Continue Reading »

Given his newfound status as a celebrated author (and resident egotripland contributing curmudgeon), perhaps it’s easy to forget J-Zone’s history as a skilled producer in his own right. The miracle-working maestro of dollar bin sample fare, Zone’s dense leftfield funk has accompanied raps by everyone from Akinyele to R.A. the Rugged Man, E-40 to Andy Samberg’s Lonely Island. But it’s his own recordings that provide the best platform for his distinctively off-the-wall aesthetic. While J’s 2001 opus Pimps Don’t Pay Taxes remains a classic of the broke baller ethos, don’t snooze on the other projects deeper within his oeuvre – like his exceedingly clever ’06 Hendrix tribute EP, Experienced! Like much of his other work their comic impulses belie a musical intricacy and sophistication that show J to be an ace student of the craft of beat-making. Oh, and let the record also show: contrary to popular rumor this funk fiend hasn’t fully retired from making tracks, he’s just chillin’ in the rap nursing home. Between bingo matches and bedpan changes we hit him up for a list of his favorite sample flips.

PEEP J-ZONE’S 10 FAVORITE SAMPLE FLIPS (AND TWO HONORABLE MENTIONS)… AFTER THE JUMP…
Continue Reading »

Many of us may claim kinship with the music of the late, great J Dilla, a/k/a Jay Dee, but far fewer can claim to have been down with the man himself. Waajeed is one of those special few. A high school pal of Jay Dee’s back in Detroit, and an early member of Slum Village (back when the crew was rolling under the name Ssenepod, i.e. “dopeness” spelled backwards), Jeedo got his start in production when he bought Dilla’s old MPC and taught himself the art of beat-making. His tracks have since graced the efforts of Slum, Invincible, Tiombe Lockhart, and his own band with Saadiq, Platinum Pied Pipers (whose 2005 debut Triple P remains one of the great nu-soul/hip-hop efforts of the aughts). Waajeed’s latest endeavors include his Electric Street Orchestra project – still incubating and featuring collabs with what sounds like a who’s who of underground music luminaries across genres – as well as a documentary film on the life of J Dilla. His newly relaunched site, bling47.com, is the web manifestation of his Bling 47 creative organization (which has included a label and management team), and features an excellent ongoing video series entitled “Bling 47 Breaks” dedicated to sample spotting within the Dilla ouevre. On this, what would have been J Dilla’s 38th birthday, who better to present a special commemorative list of his 10 favorite Dilla sample flips than his friend and colleague, Waajeed. J Dilla, RIP.

PEEP WAAJEED’S 10 FAVORITE J DILLA SAMPLE FLIPS… AFTER THE JUMP…
Continue Reading »

It’s been a sad past few days in hip-hop. Sad because it’s come to light that two of the most civilized gentlemen in rap – Common and Drake – have beef. Oh, lordy – why, rap – WHY?!? Apparently, after catching wind of Common calling out unnamed softees on his song “Sweet” (off his just released The Dreamer, The Believer), Drake – sensitive fella that he is – took offense. His producer, Noah “40″ Shebib, tweeted a few salty rebuttals (because tweeting salty rebuttals is almost like doing a driveby in rap circa 2011), and now luxury hotel spas ain’t safe no more. True to the tony public personae of those involved, some reports have chalked up this whole thing to a love triangle involving a certain four-time Wimbledon champion. But if a Lonnie vs. Aubrey conflict is to truly transcend civility and become a rap spat worth a damn there’s gotta be diss records. Here are the imagined song titles of a few we’d like to see.

PEEP 20 COMMON VS. DRAKE DISS SONGS WE’RE WAITING FOR… AFTER THE JUMP…
Continue Reading »

It just so happens that today Complex.com is running their 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Skits List (which you can check out by clicking here), and lo and behold, it’s written by an egotripland dude, the Alvarez guy. It also just so happens that there was an overflow of skits that couldn’t be crammed into the ‘Plex list no matter how hard everyone tried, so the extra spillage ends up on our turf.

Skits. We all love ‘em, especially if you were addicted to rap back in the late ’80s and throughout the ’90s. Usually hilarious, violent and vulgar, the best skits keep you in awe with their power to project uncensored movies in your skull.

Sadly, skits slowly started to sorta fade away just a few years past Y2K. They’re still around, of course, but their heyday seems to be over. So while we wait for the hip-hop tradition to make a serious comeback, let’s look back at some of those special moments in between album cuts.

PEEP THE 15 SKITS THAT DIDN’T MAKE THE COMPLEX LIST… AFTER THE JUMP…
Continue Reading »