KRS1, the teacher, will be hosting the third Hip Hop Summit at SOBs in NYC.  5$ at the door to get in.  It will have people from all areas of hip hop discussing records sales and the state of hip hop.  Check it out: http://www.sobs.com/urban/2007/0606.html

Read his article here.

The genre mosty directly linked to the early formations of hip hop, was ska.  DJs in Jamaica experimented with toasters where people would talk over beats, and Kool Herc brought this to New York.  Laurel Aitken, the godfather of ska, is a very important artist for any hip hop fan to know about.  Check out this video with him:

Simmons has been quoted a lot lately supporting censorship in hip hop of certain words, which seems very anti-hip hop, but this interview makes him sound a little better as he says “What we need to reform is the conditions that create these lyrics.”

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Wikipedia describes Fela Kuti’s style as “…essentially a fusion of jazz, funk and Traditional African Chant. It is characterized by having African style percussion, vocals, and musical structure, along with jazzy, funky horn sections. The “endless groove” is also used, in which a base rhythm of drums, muted guitar, and bass guitar are repeated throughout the song. This is a common technique in African and African-influenced musical styles, and can be seen in funk and hip-hop. Some elements often present in Fela’s music are the call-and-response with the chorus and figurative but simple lyrics. Fela’s songs were almost always over ten minutes in length, some reaching the twenty or even thirty minute marks.”

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Also check out this documentary (in 6 parts on youtube):

*Special thanks to Bob Mendelson for this find.

Read the NYT article here.

This 10 minute video is a segment from an upcoming full-length documentary to be released in the Spring of 2007. The video includes interviews with a ton of DJs, MCs, a musicologist, an illegal art show curator, and legal professionals who discuss the relationship between intellectual property law and creativity in music and art. Among other musicians, you will see Sage Francis, Aesop Rock, Eyedea and Abilities, Mr. Lif, and RJD2. You can visit the official website for the documentary here: http://copyrightcriminals.com/

Shocking images and lyrics have America asking if hip-hop has gone too far. “Hip-hop: Art or Poison?” A Paula Zahn prime time special. Tune in tonight at 8 p.m. ET.  More.

The New York Times article today, written by Samantha M. Shapiro, describes: “The CDs made in the Aphilliates’ studio are called mixtapes — album-length compilations of 20 or so songs, often connected by a theme; they are produced and mixed by a D.J. and usually “hosted” by a rapper, well known or up-and-coming, who peppers the disc with short boasts, shout-outs or promotions for an upcoming album. Some mixtapes are part of an ongoing series — in the last few years, the Aphilliates have produced 16 numbered installments of “Gangsta Grillz,” an award-winning series that focuses on Southern hip-hop; others represent a one-time deal, a quick way for a rapper to respond to an insult or to remind fans he exists between album releases.” Read more.

After much discussion about the production style of underground versus popular hip hop songs, the defhiphop staff did a little research. Underground artists like MF Doom, Madlib, and Felt (Producer Ant) seem to have a style that is hard to describe, but is very different from the highly structured mainstream hip hop production. The defhiphop staff found an NPR review of Madlib’s album The Further Adventures of Lord Quas, which is an album that represents the extreme unstructured style that underground hip hop songs often contain.

Oliver Wang describes hip hop artist Madlib’s style on NPR saying “Afterall, what’s brilliant isn’t what’s said so much as how it’s said. The stutter step pace of the album, the frenetic beats that Madlib splices and loops… Compared to the hyper strategized formulas of other hip hop albums, The Further Adventures of Lord Quas isn’t a tidy package; neat, but innert. Through his alter ego, Madlib puts his creative process on display as a cackling stream of consciousness that only relents long enough for you to catch your breath before plunging you back into the murky giddy depths of his psyche.” Listen to Oliver Wang’s full review of Madlib’s style here.