2 Chainz is often featured in series that take a look at some of the most expensive products in X, Y, Z category, a nice way for him to flex his taste and bands. Most recently, he took a look at some of hip-hop’s most high-priced memorabilia on the latest episode of GQ’s “Most Expensivest” series. One of them is the iconic glove (or one of them, at least) worn by LL Cool J in his iconic music video for “Mama Said Knock You Out.” It even came with a certification on it that demonstrated it had been authenticated as the legitimate glove from the visual. “That looks like the sticker to me, man” the College Grove rapper hilariously said to the presenter.
Furthermore, 2 Chainz scratched his head at the potential asking price for the glove: $75,000 to $95,000. Overall, the tone of the video is quite comical, even though the iconic nature of glove in question is priceless. Still, it’s far from the first time that the 45-year-old MC has reacted strikingly to a particular artefact’s price. For example, he heard about veganic weed that cost about $1,000 an ounce and had a simple answer: “Hell no!“
However, the “2 Step” artist definitely has the bucks to choose whether to indulge in these luxuries or not. One of his most recent checks came from his appearance on Metro Boomin’s excellent soundtrack for Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. Specifically, he appears on the track “Givin’ Up (Not The One)” alongside Don Toliver and 21 Savage. It was one of many notable collaborations across the tracklist, and both the film and the soundtrack’s success could not compare to the artistic acclaim garnered. That said, it certainly deepens the Drenchgod’s pockets.
Meanwhile, he and his son Halo have gotten a lot of love for their dynamic duo relationship on their podcast. They often provide some hilarious debates and takes, like Halo’s take on his dad’s fame. “My dad,” he answered a question form Issa Rae about who his dad is to him. “Just a rich a guy in the house. The richest guy in the house. Almost,” as he said he has more money than him. Maybe Halo will want to buy LL Cool J’s glove, then. For more updates and the latest news on 2 Chainz, keep checking in with HNHH.
This year marks the 39th anniversary of the movie Beat Street. Released in 1984, the film was one of the first to depict hip-hop culture on the big screen. It set the standard for films that would follow decades later, like You Got Served, the Step Up series, and more. Breakdancing, DJing, MCing, and graffiti art were all showcased in the movie. The film’s depiction of hip-hop culture helped spread it to global audiences.
Additionally, it features multiple appearances from popular hip-hop acts from its time, including Doug E. Fresh, DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Melle Mel and The Furious Five, and more. They shot the film on location in New York, with scenes even being shot in the subways. The movie was produced by Harry Belafonte and directed by Stan Lathan.
What Happens In Beat Street?
Beat Street is a movie that follows the lives of siblings Kenny and Lee and Kenny’s best friend, Ramon. Kenny, AKA Double K, is a DJ who also MCs, and Lee is a break dancer. Ramon is a graffiti artist. Kenny and Lee have a slight age gap, but Lee typically finds his way to events where his brother is DJing and dances to the music he provides.
Double K dreams of ascending in his DJ career, and his friend, Chollie, is always looking for places for Kenny to perform at. Kenny meets a woman named Tracy, who is from City College of New York. The two of them form a romance, and he learns their musical backgrounds are not so different after all.
Why Beat Street Is Important
The movie Beat Street was important because of its showcase of hip-hop culture. There were also multiple notable figures from the culture at the time in the film playing characters and themselves. Many of them had scenes dedicated to full performances from them, such as Us Girls, The Treacherous Three and Grandmaster Melle Mel, and The Furious Five. DJ Kool Herc plays himself in the movie, too.
The New York City Breakers and Rock Steady Crew also showcased their dance skills in scenes. For many people who were a part of this time in history, the movie holds a special place in their hearts. They remember dancing to the songs from the soundtrack or being inspired to start dancing by the movie itself.
The Impact Of Beat Street On The Culture
The movie Beat Street influenced hip-hop culture decades after it was released. Other movies centered around hip-hop and culture soon followed. One of the most significant examples was how Public Enemy’s “Fight The Power” was written for Spike Lee’s film Do The Right Thing (1989). Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg wrote “Deep Cover” for Bill Duke’s film of the same name in 1992. Hustle and Flow (2005) was a film about a rapper from the South on the come up and the soundtrack featured several Southern rap artists from the time. Other culture-focused films like Roll Bounce (2005), ATL (2006), and more would follow, bringing dramatized versions of reality and culture to the big screen. Viewers who could relate to these stories praised and celebrated the movies. More directors and writers continued to bring stories like this to audiences all over.
Beat Street Exposed The Culture To The World
The movie Beat Street also accurately represented society outside of the music. In one scene, Lee and his crew have a dance battle with their rival crew in a subway. The police interrupt the battle because they view it as “fighting.” Lee and his crew end up in holding cells – they are all teenagers. In all of Beat Street’s party scenes, they showcased people of all cultural backgrounds. Hip-hop culture was something people of all backgrounds enjoyed. Beat Street helped introduce hip-hop culture to multiple audiences outside of New York – even those as far as Germany. The movie highlighted a piece of culture that was once regional and made it global.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of J. Cole’s second studio album, Born Sinner. The album was released on June 18 via ByStorm, Columbia, and Roc Nation. In addition to those labels, Born Sinner was the first album released on Cole’s Dreamville Records. Before he notoriously went Platinum without features for three albums straight, Born Sinner was the last album of his to have features until 2021. The album notably contains features from the likes of Miguel, Kendrick Lamar, TLC, James Fauntleroy, 50 Cent, Jhené Aiko, and more. Like most of his albums, J. Cole produced most of Born Sinner alongside Jake One, Elite, Syience, and Christian Rich.
Born Sinner ranks high among J. Cole’s consistent discography and is currently sitting at 2x Platinum status, making for his second biggest album behind 2014 Forest Hills Drive. Singles like “Power Trip” and “She Knows” remain some of J. Cole’s biggest songs. We’re looking back at J. Cole’s Born Sinner for its 10th anniversary.
J. Cole Reached New Heights With Born Sinner
J. Cole’s 2011 debut album, Cole World: The Sideline Story was a culmination of the artistic potential he showed on his mixtapes. The album spawned multiple hit singles, including “Work Out” and “Can’t Get Enough.” He fulfilled his potential with major cosigns and songs with Missy Elliott and JAY-Z on his major label debut. Born Sinner was a turning point creatively for J. Cole, ending the basketball theme of his albums and mixtapes until The Off-Season.
With an impressive tracklist with high replay value, Born Sinner has it all: introspective tracks, clever rhymes, and catchy hit records. J. Cole’s versatility can be highlighted in the album’s opening bars. He raps, “Sometimes I brag like Hov, sometimes I’m real like Pac / Sometimes I focus on the flow to show the skills I got / Sometimes I focus on the dough, look at these bills I got.” These lyrics come from the song “Villuminati,” which arguably still remains one of J. Cole’s all-time best rap performances.
While Cole World: The Sideline Story is on par with the sound and theme of his mixtapes, Born Sinner can be described as more artistic than Cole World. When promoting the album, J. Cole said that he had more creative freedom making this album than his debut. The album’s title track speaks to the entire album. He raps, “Born sinner, was never born to be perfect.” In addition to the title track, album highlights like “Crooked Smile” also embrace one’s imperfections and look inward to J. Cole’s own personal feelings to spread a powerful message. The music on the album is true to its title as choirs contribute stunning vocal performances on standout tracks like “Trouble,” “Crooked Smile,” and “Born Sinner.”
J. Cole Positioned Himself As A Hip Hop Great
Making a name for himself with a JAY-Z cosign and the hit singles from his debut album, J. Cole had proven himself a promising name, but he positioned himself as one of the greats with Born Sinner. In addition to the quality of the music, J. Cole aligned himself with the legends when he moved his album release date a week early to compete with Kanye West’s Yeezus. He raps about the decision to move the date on “Forbidden Fruit.”
While Kanye did beat J. Cole in first-week sales, Born Sinner continued to climb the sales charts, eventually overtaking Yeezus. Born Sinner featured respected names like 50 Cent, who appeared on “New York Times,” as well as “Forbidden Fruit” with Kendrick Lamar, who only does the hook because Cole had to turn the album in. The project is riddled with classic hip hop samples on tracks like “Forbidden Fruit,” “Land of the Snakes,” and “Sparks Will Fly.”
He Made Nas Proud
One major highlight of Born Sinner is the song “Let Nas Down,” which begins with a sample of “Nas Is Like.” Cole raps about idolizing Nas at an early age before meeting him for the first time. After feeling pressure from his label, J. Cole dropped his first hit with “Work Out” but felt gutted after hearing that Nas didn’t like the song. In the second and third verses, Cole raps about what Nas’s music meant to him and how he is committed to not sacrificing his music for anything, writing from the heart.
As a result of letting Nas down, Cole raps about re-adjusting his target audience on “Villuminati” after trying to chase a hit and losing sight of his core fanbase. Nas’s response to “Let Nas Down” was nothing short of positive, releasing a remix titled “Made Nas Proud,” giving J. Cole the ultimate stamp of approval. Overall, Born Sinner lives up to the hype created by his debut, surpassing it in quality. It was the first glimpse of J. Cole at legend status.
Upon tossing in the headphones for Yeezus, the listener is immediately thrown into the intergalactic ballad of the retro video game distortion and menacing bars of “On Sight.” By 2013, Kanye West’s audience quite literally went beyond this planet. You had astronauts blasting his sound in a zero-gravity environment while the rest of the world admired the focused grandiosity of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Unsurprisingly, Yeezus’s headfirst focus on an unparalleled blend of electronic and hip-hop soundscapes didn’t initially connect with audiences. Twenty-four hours after its release, fans were calling it a flop. They were hoping for the old Kanye but didn’t get it. Instead, they caught him in the middle of a quarter-life crisis.
However, Kanye West’s Yeezus was never going to live up to the initial expectations of fans. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was resoundingly met with 10/10 ratings. In addition, his studio efforts were stop-gapped with Watch The Throne and Cruel Summer with Jay-Z. Once a broke Chicago kid, Kanye West was now touring with his childhood idol in front of millions of lights. The reality? He was as mentally unwell as he’d ever been. That caused strife in Ye’s persona. On Yeezus, West harshly realizes that his endless pursuits weren’t aiding his baseline happiness. If anything, Hollywood was making him as hopeless as ever.
Yeezus Had A Poor Initial Reception
Yeezus was an emotional output of these feelings, featuring a level of honesty from West that we hadn’t seen since The College Dropout. His sixth studio album is an electric power grid, where he delivers some of his most saddening ballads to date. In many ways, it’s a continuation of the initial experimentation he tapped into on 808s & Heartbreak. However, he’s taking it even further. “New Slaves” is a confrontational protest to the systematic racism of the prison-industrial complex, where Kanye menacingly bars out amidst heavy distortion and loophole keys. “Hold My Liquor” is a self-deprecating indictment regarding Ye’s issues with alcohol. His level of drunkenness parallels his crumbling personal relationships.
Yeezus also got its hits in the form of “Bound 2” and “Black Skinhead.” Sampling The Ponderosa Twins’ “Bound” on the former, the discography-defining hit is an ironic contrast to the foreboding narratives of the project. The record reads as an interlude-esque outro, a sunny world that’s very much distinct from the distorted synthesizers of Yeezus. With My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Ye was partaking in several iconic press tours. Making various outlandish statements, he visualized his most commercially successful record to date. Even if My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy has been hailed a classic by Kanye loyalists, there wasn’t even one top-10 hit on the album. The eventual success of Yeezus is concrete proof that it’s almost impossible to predict commercial reception in the creative space.
Kanye West Is Painstakingly Vulnerable
At its core, Yeezus was all about audacious rule-breaking. He knew that fans would hate it. He knew that it likely wouldn’t stand with his most profitable endeavors. However, he made Yeezus for himself. That overarching purpose even shows up in the project’s surprising collaborative choices. Even if Rick Rubin and Daft Punk are famous producers, they’ve always had a knack for their turn-left personalities. There are also exciting once-and-comers like Hudson Mohawke, Young Chop, and Arca. The crew was a perfect fit, finding a way to deliver Kanye’s electric world in a somewhat cohesive manner. Of course, Yeezus is also blatantly inspired by the electronic classic that is Random Access Memories.
Kanye was a nerd growing up. Even if he were blending in with the gang-infused streets of Chicago, he would go home and exist in the solace of Akira. Yeezus directly reflects that world, a vulnerable project about a headspace that is sometimes downright nightmarish to exist in. It’s not his cohesive masterpiece, but it’s who he is. It was during the time of 808‘s release that Ye reportedly told VIBE, “I’d rather piss a bunch of people off and make myself happy than make everyone else happy and be pissed off inside.” With time, people have come to regard tracks such as “Blood On The Leaves,” “New Slaves,” and “Bound 2” as some of his greatest songs to date.
2023 marks the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, and over those five decades, we’ve unfortunately seen no shortage of beef between those working in the industry. Some situations become so tense that they result in violence or even death, while others are able to work through their issues and laugh about them years later. As one of the biggest names in music, Jay-Z is someone who’s been caught up in his share of drama. Thankfully, all the experience has made him a pro at handling it in true New Yorker style.
During an interview with Breakbeat Media last month, Irv Gotti’s brother, Chris, recalled how Hov handled his sibling’s attempt to sign Nas to Murder Inc. in the earlier days of their careers. At the time, there was beef between the two artists, but still, the record exec argued to the father of three that it would be “good business” for Gotti and Nas to work together. According to Chris, Irv was too focused on making money to realize that Jay-Z was “just saying” that the beef between him and the King’s Disease artist wasn’t so serious that he wouldn’t want to see them link up.
While his words told one story, the 4:44 hitmaker’s actions revealed his true feelings. Shortly after the situation unfolded, he and 50 Cent (who’s notoriously known for his own beef with Gotti) went out on tour together. In addition to that, the east coast rappers released a joint sneaker and filmed a commercial around the same time.
“He came back to Irv and said, ‘It’s good business,’” Chris revealed, causing the interviewer to crack up along with him. Gotti may have thought he won that battle, but clearly, Jay-Z was thinking 10 steps ahead of his friend.
Tap into Irv Gotti’s brother’s full interview with Breakbeat Media on YouTube below. Do you think Jay-Z properly handled his beef with the 52-year-old DJ? Let us know in the comments, and tap back in later for more hip-hop/pop culture news updates.
Q-Tip has always existed outside of the traditional sonic tropes of hip-hop. Sauntering around in a button-down t-shirt and a flat-capped fedora, his jazz-induced persona surmounted the hip-hop status quo during A Tribe Called Quest’s initial rise. That sort of oddball appearance has pierced through the succeeding decades of the peak of his relevance, influencing modern-day acts such as Tyler, the Creator. In fact, Tyler credits Grammy-winning Call Me If You Get Lost as being directly affected by the career of Q-Tip. “[He] was the weird backpack ni**a that put this album out where he was like, ‘Hey y’all, don’t get it twisted. I’m f**king whoever, I’m driving whatever, I’m doing whatever,’” he said during his recent appearance on Rap Radar. “And without that album, Call Me If You Get Lost wouldn’t exist, so thank you, Q-Tip, for setting the blueprint.”
Tyler is certainly right. Q-Tip was that weird, introspective figure in hip-hop that pushed its sound beyond James Brown sampling or looping sonic collages. Instead, a young Kamaal Fareed was crate-digging for jazz records in Queens, New York. Q-Tip’s music directly reflected his childhood influences with his father collecting jazz playlists while his mother danced to the blues. Initially, that interest manifested in the form of his writing. From inscribing stories to singing at church on Sundays, he was unconsciously laying the groundwork for his influential career.
A Tribe Called Quest Shifted Conventional Hip-Hop
Similar to many other Big Apple MCs, his concrete interest in hip-hop began at electric block parties. Jumping around to Grandmaster Flash joints, it would be another decade until he met eventual A Tribe Called Quest members Ali Muhammad and Phife Dawg. Existing on a foundation of taking non-conformist risks, the trio began their embarkment with 1990’s People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. Q-Tip was rapping about veganism, domestic violence, and imaginary French conquests amid unheard-of jazz chord progressions. Nothing about the art was traditional, yet the eclectic trio quickly moved to the top of the rap game. The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders were even more successful.
Hip-hop needed a new sound; it just didn’t know it until Q-Tip and A Tribe Called Quest arrived. The trio’s iconic three-album run didn’t just deliver a new sound to the ever-evolving genre. It proved that different techniques could still warrant chart-topping numbers. Their work later would morph into the soundscapes of MCs such as Common, Mos Def, The Fugees, or even modern-day acts such as Lupe Fiasco and Kanye West. Q-Tip was in the driver’s seat, acting as the primary producer. Even if he got his creative start as a writer, he’s since morphed into an MC who prefers to be behind the sticks. In fact, most of his modern-day unreleased tracks are devoid of lyrics, simply focusing on the sound.
Q-Tip Is A Mentor In Hip-Hop
Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Phife Dawg and Q-TIp of the hip hop group “A Tribe Called Quest” pose for a portrait session in September 1993 in New York . (Photo by Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
After A Tribe Called Quest’s iconic three-album run, the lackluster success of their fourth project signed the death warrant of the group. While Beats, Rhymes, and Life contained their familiar electric blend of turntable jazz and introspective raps, the exuberant flair of their early works was gone. As Q-Tip clarified with SPIN, “It just became a seriousness. Whereas prior, there was a lightheartedness to Tribe.” A combination of inflated egos and Q-Tip’s further commitment as a Sunni Muslim altered the calm energy of the group. In essence, it was time for Q-Tip to pursue a solo career.
After the inevitable slowdown of A Tribe Called Quest, Q-Tip’s solo career just as much entailed producing for others as it did curate his own sound. Most notably, he executive-produced Mobb Deep’s The Infamous. As Mobb rapper Prodigy put it with Complex back in 2011, “Most of the songs on there—but not all of them—had his input. Like, ‘Yo, I think y’all should do this to this, add a little snare here, or a delay there.’ Little things like that. It just came natural.” Q-Tip also opened doors into the music industry for Prodigy and Havoc, introducing the duo to members of Def Jam Records. By the mid-1990s, he had settled into his role as a stoic mentor in the hip-hop space.
Q-Tip Had A Highly Successful Solo Career
LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 22: Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest performs onstage during day 2 of FYF Fest 2017 at Exposition Park on July 22, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for FYF)
That mentor role would eventually morph into Q-Tip becoming the artistic director of hip-hop culture at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. Sitting down with NPR, he stated, “For so long, the creators and practitioners of [hip hop] were looked down upon as degenerates and provocateurs. To be able to have the Kennedy Center institutionalize the platform helps people understand what Black complexity is.” In many ways, Q-Tip personifies Black complexity, proving that uniqueness can still succeed in hip-hop.
His solo career wouldn’t go on to be as consistent as the ATCQ days, but he reached the top of the charts. Amplified and The Renaissance did modest numbers, likely spurned by the nine years between their respective releases. Yet, their singles like “Vivrant Thing” and “Breathe & Stop” have become classics. Additionally, Tip’s collaborations with artists like Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott, and Janet Jackson would further propel him into legendary hip-hop history.
However, his solo efforts’ tight refining of classic boom-bap with experimentation warranted critical acclaim amongst Q-Tip loyalists. In addition, A Tribe Called Quest returned for a last hurrah in the form of We Got It from Here…Thank You 4 Your Service. Q-Tip is timeless, a permanent stamp in hip-hop with a sound just as important today as it was during the early ’90s. From pioneering the entrance of boom-bap jazz into the hip-hop world to his work as a mentor and executive producer, Q-Tip deserves his flowers.
50 Cent may no longer be hip-hop’s go-to supervillain, but he certainly was throughout the ’00s. Through a slew of gritty diss tracks, he amassed a portfolio of enemies in his home territory of New York. Nas, Kanye West, Diddy, and even Oprah were speaking out against his antics. In fact, that polarizing personality would go as far as beefing with former crew members of G-Unit. With 50 Cent being G-Unit’s general, The Game, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, and Young Buck have all made statements against him at one point or another over the past few decades.
While fans have been hoping for a reconciliation and a newfound project, 50 Cent has consistently squashed these rumors. While speaking to The Breakfast Club in August 2022, he stated, “I probably won’t do a project with them. I’m done with carrying them around. My back hurt.” The relationship between G-Unit’s members has deteriorated since the ’00s between many of its respective members. However, 50 remains close with Yayo, who he cites as the more mature member of the quintet.
50 Cent & The Game’s Beef Turned Violent
G-Unit’s downfall began all the way back in 2004. 50 Cent and The Game had each reached stardom as solo acts, morphing their young personalities into ones that were ego-driven. The Game signed to Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Records in 2003, where 50 Cent was the label’s biggest star. Later that year, G-Unit was working on the eventual multi-Platinum album Beg For Mercy. At the time, The Game wasn’t a part of G-Unit. However, Dr. Dre decided that having him join the chart-topping hip-hop act would be a genius marketing move. In addition, 50 Cent began working with The Game on his debut album, The Documentary.
While Dr. Dre’s business moves looked good from a marketing perspective, 50 Cent and The Game had friction that would eventually scale into a full-fledged beef. The Game’s The Documentary was reaching a significant level of hype behind lead singles “Westside Story,” “Hate It or Love It,” and “How We Do.” Aftermath Records was certainly happy, but 50 Cent wasn’t. Having played a significant role in the success of the songs, he began to feel as if he was being controlled. Having to scrap and claw his way from the streets of Harlem to stardom, 50 Cent was overworking for others’ profits. 50 Cent’s album The Massacre was pushed back a month to accommodate for The Game.
The Group’s Members Lost Motivation
LAS VEGAS, NV – SEPTEMBER 20: (L-R) Rappers Tony Yayo, 50 Cent, Young Buck, Kidd Kidd and Lloyd Banks of G Unit attend the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 20, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
The burgeoning tension rose to the surface on February 28, 2005. While 50 Cent was on Hot 97 with the G-Unit crew, he venomously claimed that The Game hadn’t been loyal to the group. Recently, The Game had expressed a desire to work with the likes of Nas, Jadakiss, and Fat Joe, who were all well-known rivals of G-Unit. Considering this a direct betrayal, 50 kicked him out of the group live on air. While still on the air, The Game showed up with his crew to confront the G-Unit’s leader. After the squad wasn’t let in, The Game’s associates got into a shootout outside Funkmaster Flex’s building. The situation catapulted a slew of disses from The Game, including mixtapes Ghost Unit and Stop Snitchin, Stop Lyin.
However, The Game was only the first member to be dropped from G-Unit live on air. In 2008, 50 Cent would also drop Young Buck on Hot 97 after Buck exposed the group’s inner workings. In addition, Young Buck’s role had been diminishing over the past few projects. Moving into the 2010s, 50 Cent would begin beefing with remaining members Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo. By this point, 50’s career had vastly taken off beyond the constructs of hip-hop. He was acting in blockbuster films and creating a variety of businesses. In an interview with XXL, he stated, “They [Banks and Yayo] just sit there and wait. When someone works for you, you have the habit of dealing with things by not dealing with them. You may get in the regimen of coming over and doing it for them.”
50 Cent’s Solo Career Was Popping Off
NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 13: (U.S. TABS OUT) 50 Cent and G-Unit appear onstage during “Spankin’ New Music Week” on MTV’s Total Request Live at the MTV Times Square Studios November 13, 2003 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images)
Of course, another primary reason for G-Unit’s demise was the iconic success of 50 Cent’s solo career. His studio album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, was far more successful than any of the G-Unit projects. In fact, 50 Cent was leaving money on the table by working with the group for as long as he did. G-Unit’s slow-burning fallout occurred for a wide variety of reasons. 50 Cent felt as if he was carrying the quartet on his shoulders. With his solo career growing daily, working with G-Unit made less and less sense. In addition, Yayo and Banks struggled to reinvigorate their notoriety as MCs over time. While the fallout wasn’t pretty, G-Unit introduced an iconic bling era of hip-hop.
Somehow, Warren G has fallen under the radar when hip-hop heads discuss the hallmark rap pioneers. Of course, you have the likes of Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, 2 Pac, Eazy-E, E-40, and Snoop Dogg. However, hybrid rapper-producer Warren G doesn’t get his flowers for pioneering the sub-genre of G-Funk. Warren introduced Dr. Dre to Snoop Dogg in the early ’90s, playing an instrumental role in curating The Chronic. Regarding his lack of attention in the modern-day, he told Billboard, “I’m not saying I’m the one who did everything over here because I’m not, I just want people to know who I am and what I contributed to hip-hop. That’s it.” That contribution reached stardom with Warren G’s Regulate…G Funk Era.
Oddly enough, Warren G’s hip-hop career took off at a Dr. Dre-hosted bachelor party. With stacks of cassette tapes missing, the party was threatened not to exist at all. With Dre’s sound usually driving the dance floor, it’s hard to imagine G-Funk pioneering in a ballroom. However, that’s precisely what happened. Warren, the relatively unknown stepbrother of Dr. Dre, was asked if he had any music in his car. Tossing a friend his car keys, Warren instructed him to dig through the messy ride for his demo tape. With the cassette player booming in the adjacent room, Dr. Dre was immediately caught off guard by the sound.
Warren G’s Career Took Off At A Bachelor Party
Warren’s demo tape appeared in the right place at the right time. In years prior, Dr. Dre had shot down attempts from Warren to get his music noticed. However, things were changing by the early ’90s. New Yorkers were no longer wearing Raiders hats, as N.W.A.’s influence was drying out. The pervasive Compton rap didn’t quite contain its potent sting of the late ’80s. As a result, Andre had opened his perspective to a potential new wave of hip-hop, one he would discover in Warren G. It was ideal timing for the understated pioneer of G-Funk, who’d been working day jobs at McDonald’s and El Pollo Loco while scraping for appearances in local shows at night.
It wouldn’t be much longer before the trio of Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Warren G grafted in the studio to fully fledge out the new sound. As Warren G explained to Pitchfork, Dr. Dre was their business tycoon and icon. He said, “We knew that if we could make Dre more successful, then we’d make it ourselves. There was a lot of drink, a lot of smoke, beautiful women, chicken breasts from Popeyes. Anything that came to our minds, we wrote about. We poured our hearts out.” Each with struggling backgrounds in the streets of Los Angeles, their chemistry was immediately apparent in “Gangstas Life.” Dr. Dre’s The Chronic did exactly what Warren G predicted, propelling him to mainstream stardom.
Regulate…G Funk Era Was Distinctive From Snoop Or Dre
CANNES, FRANCE – JULY 18: (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE) Warren G, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre attend the Beats By Dre Party at Gotha Club on July 18, 2011 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Toni Anne Barson/WireImage)
By 1994, Warren G’s debut studio album was long overdue. The rhythmic ballad “Regulate,” the lead single for Regulate…G Funk Era, remains one of the biggest breakout rap songs to this day. With lifelong friends Warren G and Nate Dogg trading bars about the endless violence of their hometown, the Grammy-nominated “Regulate” would later become the film soundtrack for Above The Rim starring Tupac Shakur. In many ways, Regulate…G Funk Era is synonymous with West Coast rap. From violent bars, lush instrumentation, and rapid exchange of bars, it had everything fans sought.
The hit single was just the beginning. During this time 29 years ago, Regulate…G Funk Era became the sound of the summer. The Death Row release was a smooth trilogy to The Chronic and Doggystyle. Warren G had officially arrived and finished as the year’s fourth most popular album. Even more impressive? He did it without Dr. Dre or Snoop Dogg. Even if he was latching onto Dr. Dre to make it big, Regulate…G Funk Era proved that Warren G could be a hit without his older brother standing over him. In addition, his sound stood out from his fellow G-Funk contemporaries. Warren was the softest of the bunch, employing a softer sampling of ’70s soul icons such as Gil Scott-Heron. “Do You See” finds Warren frustrated at the reality of aging, finding him on a looping nostalgia trip. On the other hand, the commercially successful “This D.J.” is a coming-of-age Long Beach groove.
G-Funk Doesn’t Exist Without Warren G
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 17: Warren G attends VH1 Hip Hop Honors: The 90s Game Changers at Paramount Studios on September 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John Sciulli/Getty Images for VH1/Viacom)
Warren G delivered his own take of G-Funk on Regulate…G Funk Era. More personal and smooth in comparison to Snoop or Dre, G-Funk arguably doesn’t exist without his presence. From a bachelor party to the fourth most popular album of 1994, his hit success behind “Regulate” highlights Dr. Dre’s ability to discover new talent. Warren G’s rightful place is amongst the greatest West Coast MCs of all time, a title which doesn’t seem to be associated with the 52-year-old enough.
2 Live Crew’s reputation was unlike any rap group before or after them. The quartet made the lyrics of MCs such as N.W.A. or 50 Cent seem tame. The Miami group was well-known for their improper and sexually implicit lyricism, leading to arrests and fines. In 1987, a record store clerk was even charged with a felony offense for selling 2 Live Crew’s debut album to a 14-year-old girl. The predicament spoke volumes about how offensive 2 Live Crew was then. Ultimately, their refusal to compromise positively changed hip-hop for good. As Rock the Vote’s Ashley Spillane put it, “It’s tough to imagine a similar effort even gaining support today, let alone getting to the point of banning albums and arresting artists for performing their music. That’s a direct result of young people exercising their political power.”
In fact, a few counties in Florida attempted to outright ban their 1989 album, As Nasty As They Wanna Be. Even the simple prospect of performing their music was dangerous, with its members frequently being arrested during live acts. Their arrests spurned much controversy over space in areas beyond hip-hop. It raised a philosophical question surrounding the validity of the First Amendment. How far did the amendment go in solidifying freedom of expression? Seemingly enough, the First Amendment was taking a backseat in favor of court rulings that deemed 2 Live Crew’s lyricism as overtly offensive.
2 Live Crew Were Known For Their Verbal Obscenity
However, 2 Live Crew’s wild adventure onto the front steps of the Highest Court in the Land was for a slightly different issue. In 1989, 2 Live Crew released a non-explicit version of their hit album in the form of As Clean As They Wanna Be. The clean version served two purposes. Firstly, the record expanded the group’s audience beyond the federal bans thrown on them. In addition, the release was a slap in the face to the bureaucrats who wanted to see 2 Live Crew erased from hip-hop. As a part of As Clean As They Wanna Be, they recorded a parody of Roy Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman.” The collective contacted Acuff-Rose Music for permission while promising royalties and credits. However, Acuff-Rose would sue 2 Live Crew a year later.
Eventually landing in the Supreme Court, 2 Live Crew had shockingly ended up there for copyright violations rather than verbal obscenity. Ultimately, the group would win Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music. The victory was significant for hip-hop as a whole, solidifying the idea that there shouldn’t be limits to creative expression. The court deemed the parody of “Oh, Pretty Woman” as “a comment on the naiveté of the original of an earlier day, as a rejection of its sentiment that ignores the ugliness of street life and the debasement that it signifies.”
They Enforced Creative Freedom In Hip-Hop
UNSPECIFIED – CIRCA 1970: Photo of 2 Live Crew Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
2 Live Crew’s lasting influence on creative expression exceeded their chart numbers. Back in the 1980s, artists were beginning to express their creative sides more clearly than ever before. Madonna was rolling around stage while vocalizing “Like a Virgin” on MTV’s Video Music Awards. Prince and the Motley Crue pushed controversial boundaries regarding their experiences with sex or violence. However, parents were worried about the impact of the subjects on kids. All of a sudden, hip-hop had begun to enter the political sphere. By the end of 1985, The Recording Industry Association of America deemed it would include “Parental Advisory” labels on albums it determined needed them.
However, the ruling wasn’t enough for Florida activist Jack Thompson. Marveling at 2 Live’s As Nasty As They Wanna Be, he was trying to eliminate the flamboyant Miami group. All of a sudden, the government was blockading creativity like never before. Nicki Minaj, Miley Cyrus, and the Eminem’s of today were under threat to never exist in the first place. However, 2 Live’s victory in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music hushed suffocating political activists for good. The case didn’t directly surround freedom of speech. However, it silenced future detractors from attempting to limit the creative freedom of artists. In addition, it set the precedent that The First Amendment was King regarding creativity.
Run-D.M.C. are headlining New York’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop on August 11. Taking place near the borough where the cultural revolution that is hip-hop was born, Hip Hop 50 Live will feature additional performances from Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Ice Cube, Lil’ Kim, EPMD, Ghostface Killah, and more at the iconic Yankee Stadium. That very borough surrounds where the career of Run-D.M.C.’s de facto leader D.M.C. got his start. Run-D.M.C is arguably the most influential rap group of all time, driving culture from their sonic-bending projects to the oversized Adidas streetwear.
Darryl McDaniels was born in Queens to a single mother. However, at a young age, his mother sent him to the New York Foundling Home. The care facility took in children who were abandoned. Soon, he was adopted by the McDaniels family. Raise as a Catholic, he had the resources and the environment of the burgeoning scene of hip-hop at his exposure. Inspired by early icon Grandmaster Flash, a young McDaniels taught himself how to DJ in his parents’ basement. However, his DJing days quickly pivoted to a focus on rapping under the D.M.C. moniker. Attending local block parties and DJ sets, he joined up with Joseph Simmons and Jam Master Jay.
Run D.M.C. Steered Rap In A New Direction
By the early 1980s, the trio of Run-D.M.C. were trailblazing their own path in the hip-hop world. Their 1984 self-titled debut set the stage for as iconic a run as we’ve ever seen in hip-hop, becoming the first rap group to go Gold, Platinum, and multi-Platinum. At the time, hip-hop was still frequently viewed as a dangerous form of sonic rebellion. Parents denounced the violent or outspoken nature of the genre, with national radio stations ardently avoiding hit hip-hop songs. With McDaniels at the helm, the trio kicked the door down. They were going to be recognized whether you liked it or not. By the time Raising Hell rolled around, Run-D.M.C. was on the front cover of Rolling Stone while rotating as a rapping mainstay in MTV’s slew of shows.
Run-D.M.C. played an instrumental role in stripping away from its disco roots. In many ways, hip-hop sounded like a looping extension of an existing genre before the trio’s arrival. Instead, their self-titled debut and succeeding records focused on stripped-down electronic production. Of course, this isn’t to say that every project sounded the same. If their debut was their most raw record, their sophomore effort ushered in rampant electric guitar strings and glossy synthesizers. The wildly commercially successful Raising Hell recruited Rick Rubin, adding a host of sly musical touches. Specifically, Run-D.M.C. was consistently ahead of their time during their initial three-album run.
Rapper D.M.C. Blended Hip-Hop With Rock
There was also the Run D.M.C. and Aerosmith collaborative re-working of “Walk This Way,” an initiative that would change hip-hop forever. Rubin entered their studio and noticed the three writing verses over the iconic Aerosmith ’70s jam. The collaboration improved hip-hop culture, introducing the sound to rock audiences that traditionally strayed as far from rap as possible. D.M.C. was a culture driver, a direct product of the melting pot of sonic influences he had grown up around. In essence, Run D.M.C. propelled hip-hop from being an underground best-kept secret to a true mainstream force.
However, personal issues for D.M.C. began to bubble up to the surface as the trio’s peak came to a close. By the mid-1990s, the trio’s primary period of relevance had ended. After a failed film initiative and a draining battle with their record label, they had suddenly fallen behind hip-hop’s ever-changing landscape. Mentally and physically burnt out from touring, D.M.C. developed a deep depression. He had long been known for struggling with alcohol abuse, something he’s more than willing to own up to today. D.M.C. told The Guardian, “For most of my early life, I smoked and snorted and guzzled my way through almost every day. If your soul is not right with what you’re doing, you will fall apart, like I did.”
He Overcame Substance Abuse Issues
Due to the years of recording and heavy drinking, Run-D.M.C. died slowly. Inspired by bands such as The Beatles or Bob Dylan, he aspired for the group to dive into a softer sound to complement his deteriorating voice better. Falling into a deep state of depression, it took fellow Run D.M.C. member Jam Master Jay being murdered in a recording studio to inspire him to turn his life around. Seeking therapy, he eventually became sober and pulled himself out of depression. Even for his up-and-down struggles throughout his life, he’s headlining Hip-Hop’s 50th Anniversary for good reason. D.M.C. is a true hip-hop pioneer and legend, from delivering the genre into the mainstream to pushing forward its ever-evolving sound.
