Hip Hop News

In 2002, Halle Berry made Academy Award history by becoming the first and only woman of color to win Best Actress. She took home the now-legendary Oscar for her role as Leticia Musgrove in Monster’s Ball, but apparently, her win didn’t result in the massive increase in major movie opportunities that she thought it would have.

According to Complex, Halle Berry recently did an interview with Entertainment Weekly, and she discussed the duality between taking on a role in a critically acclaimed and award-winning film like Moster’s Ball and a universally disparaged movie like Catwoman.

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According to Halle Berry, her role in Monster’s Ball may have made history, but it didn’t lead to more opportunities to showcase her true acting talents, calling the lukewarm treatment that she subsequently received in Hollywood “surprising.”

“I thought they were going to just back up the truck and drop them off at my house, right? When you have a historic win like that, you think, ‘Oh, this is going to fundamentally change,'” Halle Berry admitted. “It did fundamentally change me, but it didn’t change my place in the business overnight. I still had to go back to work. I still had to try to fight to make a way out of no way.”

Having struggled to land any roles that would result in both a good payday and good critical reception, the Bruised director eventually landed the lead role in Catwoman, and although her work on that film lives in infamy, she still appreciates the opportunity and notes that it was a great financial move.

“For me, it was one of the biggest paydays of my whole life, which, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Halle Berry explained. “I don’t want to feel like ‘Oh, I can only do award-worthy stuff.’ What is an award-worthy performance?”

Given the cultural significance of both films, are you surprised to learn that Halle Berry struggled to land lead roles after winning an Oscar for Monster’s Ball?

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After a monumental trade that kicked off NBA free agency on draft night, Russell Westbrook is finally home. The trade, in which the Los Angeles Lakers sent players Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and draft picks to the Washington Wizards, in exchange for the 32-year-old, 2016-17 NBA MVP, signaled a shift in focus for the LeBron James-led team – they’re going all in.

A championship ring has eluded Westbrook for most of his career, despite putting up remarkable stats and winning two scoring titles across the three teams he’s played for, which includes the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets in addition to Washington. Joining the Lakers means Westbrook has a legitimate chance to pursue a championship title. Add to that idea, the fact that general manager Rob Pelinka rounded out the Lakers’ free agency with veteran signings including former all-star Carmelo Anthony and the return of athletic center Dwight Howard, and the experienced Los Angeles Lakers are looking to go for it all, with Westbrook spearheading the charge alongside Bron and AD.

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On Tuesday, the Lakers held their introductory press conference for the nine-time all-star, and he remarked the surreal feeling of being able to finally say that he’s playing for his hometown team.

“I think it still kind of hasn’t hit me yet,” Westbrook said. “Being from L.A., growing up not too far from here. Being able to watch the parades. Missed school to try to go to them. Being a Lakers fan, everything’s coming full circle for me, it’s a blessing. It’s a lot of things I can’t put into actual words, just because some of these dreams don’t come true for people like myself. I’m truly blessed and thankful for this opportunity and I can’t wait to get started.”

General manager Rob Pelinka had high praise for Westbrook and outlined why the team pursued him hard during this free agency period, “He’s an incredible leader, and when you talk to teammates from the other storied franchises he’s played for, to a man, the input you get is that he’s one of the great teammates they’ve played with, and that speaks to his character, his leadership. And those are qualities that are incredibly important to our team.”

Speaking about teaming up with LeBron and AD, Westbrook said, “Each year I try to find ways to be able to uplift and make my teammates better around me. And AD and Bron are friends of mine first. And me being their teammate, my job is to come in and uplift them. And they’ll do the same with me, vice versa. And as the season prolongs, we will figure it out. There will be ups, there will be downs. That’s normal, that’s OK. We gonna figure out how to play the best way we want to play in order to win a championship.”

The Lakers’ social media recently shared a video recalling moments in which the trio have interacted in the past, highlighting their tenured friendship. It is fronted by an old photo of the trio together following winning the gold at the 2012 Olympics. Check out the video below.

What do you think about Westbrook’s arrival in Los Angeles? Let us know in the comments.

Today is hip-hop’s forty-eighth birthday, and in an appropriate turn, cultural founding father DJ Kool Herc has stepped up to commemorate the occasion. This afternoon at 12 PM PT/3 PM ET, LL Cool J’s Rock The Bells Radio will be hosting “73 To Infinity,” featuring a live DJ set from Kool Herc. In an effort to adhere to hip-hop’s original mission of community service, Rock The Bells will be teaming up with the New York Edge organization in order to raise resources for students in underserved communities.

A noble goal, and one that stands in line with Kool Herc’s intention all those years ago. Consider that hip-hop was originally born as a means of celebration, an outlet for young people to express themselves away from street life. For Herc, who pioneered turntable techniques that ultimately paved the way for sampling, it began by controlling the dance floor. But first, he had to use the resources available to him, expressing his creativity through the manipulation of existing vinyl records in his collection.

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“The musical landscape was like a green pasture with many sounds and styles to choose from and incorporate into creating the musical sound I wanted,” he explains. Understanding that many breakdancers tended to come alive during a song’s instrumental break, (hence the name), Herc created a technique known as the Merry Go Round which essentially allowed him to combine the breaks of two separate records into one continuous loop. 

“The Merry Go Round was a technique I created from watching the B-Boys and B-Girls waiting for the break beats on the vinyl,” he explains. “I decided to put those breakbeats from different songs together on both turntables and extend the breakbeats.” Such techniques opened the doors for further innovators like Grandmaster Flash to build on Herc’s foundation, and before long, hip-hop had infiltrated the mainstream. 

It’s no wonder he holds so many memories close to heart. “There are so many, where do I begin,” he reflects. “I think a few that come to mind include hearing the song ‘Bongo Rock’ played in the White House for President Ronald Reagan Inauguration.” For context, “Bongo Rock” by the Incredible Bongo Band was a favorite in Kool Herc’s DJ set, and it’s said that hip-hop pioneer played a pivotal role in driving the song’s popularity. 

LISTEN: The Incredible Bongo Band – Bongo Rock 73 

The list of memories goes on. “Cementing 1520 Sedgwick Avenue as the birthplace of Hip-Hop,” he adds, referring to the apartment where he hosted his famous “Back To School Jam” on August 11th, 1973; 25 cent entry for the ladies, 50 cents for the fellas.  “Also, getting to play myself in the movie Beat Street – one of the first Hip-Hop films produced by a major Hollywood studio.”

Though it’s been nearly fifty years since hip-hop’s first birthday, the culture is still going strong, having taken a dominant hold of the mainstream with a vast number of artists vying to capture attention. Though some have criticized today’s brand of rap music as a shell of its former self — be it the golden era of the 90s, the platinum era of the 2000s, or even the quickly-aging era of the 2010s — Kool Herc remains inspired by the innovations that continue to take place.

 Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

“As a musical person, I love all the new sounds that the artist and producers are constantly coming up with,” he shares. “Seeing how they’re continuing to push the culture forward. For me, music is forever changing and change is good. It’s great to see how the different styles and growth between decades open the door for more creatives to get involved and explore. Every artist is trying to outdo each other and it’s incredible. I have not been SHOCKED by modern-day hip-hop yet, and I hope not to get shocked.”

Today of all days, it’s important to reflect on the significance of hip-hop. Forty-eight years of history, a deep reservoir of knowledge, passion, craftsmanship, and creative expression. Hip-hop truly has changed countless lives, and for his role in founding the culture we all know and love, Kool Herc deserves to be celebrated. Be sure to check out his appearance on LL Cool J’s Rock The Bells Radio this afternoon, and share your favorite hip-hop memories in the comments below. 

Dennis Schoder has been a hot topic in NBA circles during this year’s free agency period, yet for all the wrong reasons. Before settling for a one-year, $5.9 million deal with the Boston Celtics to be the team’s backup point guard– after a year of starting for the championship-hopeful Los Angeles Lakers– the German player turned down a four-year, $84 million extension from the team before the trade deadline, with hopes to cash in on an even better play.

Well, after a lackluster showing in this year’s playoffs, which led to a first round exit for a Lakers team that was originally thought to make it to the Finals with relative ease, turning down that $84 million extension is looking to be a horrible decision in retrospect. Part of what likely contributed to his financial demise was a zero-point performance in game 5 against the Phoenix Suns – a pivotal moment for the series where the point guard failed to show up for the Lakers.

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Cognizant of the crucial piece of information that Schroder turned down multiple millions, and settled for a one-year deal in a reduced role with the Celtics, NBA Twitter had lots to say about his free agency decision, which came a full week and some change after most of the movement around the league occurred.

Check out some of those tweets below.

What do you think about Schroder’s free agency decision to sign with the Boston Celtics? Let us know in the comments below.