Hot off rocking the BET Awards Red Carpet and his recently announced XXL Freshman Cover (10th spot winner), Skilla Baby continues to heat up the summer with his new “Misfits” video with Polo G. “Misfits” is off Skilla Baby’s latest mixtape The Coldest. Skilla Baby is currently on the Vultures Eat The Most co-headline tour with Rob49.
Skilla Baby is a 25-year-old rapper from Detroit, Michigan signed to Geffen Records. Skilla has his own unique sonic lane with his searching growl, world-weary rhymes, and ability to crunch out both party records and introspective records with depth. He’s been co-signed by the likes of Lil Baby, Moneybagg Yo, Offset, Travis Scott, Lil Tjay, City Girls, Flo Milli, GloRilla, Rylo Rodriguez, Rob49, Jack Harlow and more. Jack even shouted him out on the number 1 record “Lovin On Me” while Skilla’s collab record with Rob49 and Tay B “Mama” charted in the top 15 on Urban Radio.
On this date in Hip-Hop history, Houston legends the Geto Boys released their most popular album to date, We Can’t Be Stopped, on J. Prince’s Rap A Lot Records.
With Bushwick Bill’s self-inflicted gunshot wound to the eye on the album cover and their uber-popular “Mind Playin’ Tricks On Me” dominating airwaves, Bill, Willie D, and Face’s most revered album helped re-define the term “hotter than July”.
The 14 track classic was certified platinum less than a year after its release, making Geto Boys a household name and making room for Brad Jordan to drop his debut album, Mr. Scarface Is Back.
Rest In Peace to Bushwick Bill and NJ-born DJ Ready Red, who was an original member of the Geto Boys, who left the group during the reocrding of this album. Salute to Uncle Face and Willie D for giving us such a timeless piece of Hip Hop history!
According to a recent interview with Art Of Dialogue podcast, 1999 Club NY shooting victim Natania Reuben says that not only was Diddy the person who pulled the trigger and not Shyne, but Reuben contends that the Bad Boy mogul intended to hire a hitman to kill her.
Reuben suffered a gunshot wound to the face during the Club NY shooting in 1999 and won a $1.8 million settlement in a civil lawsuit against the music, fashion and spirits mogul. Former Bad Boy artist Jamal “Shyne” Barrow served eight years in prison for the shooting, however, Reuben asserts that Diddy was actually the one who pulled the trigger on that fateful night just days before the turn of the millennium.
In the most recent episode of The Art Of Dialogue, the shooting victim says that the troubled living legend put ahit out on her during the trial, which forced her to relocate.
“I was born in Brooklyn [and] I was raised in Brooklyn,” she said. “I had no intentions of leaving, and probably had this [not] happened, I probably would have never left, but when the District Attorney’s office gets information from one of their confidential informant sources saying that there’s a bag on my head, and I’m calling the District Attorney’s office and I’m calling everybody because I look out my window where I was living in Canarsie, Brooklyn and there’s four, stretched, blacked-out SUVs — I lived on the corner — there’s one on that corner, that corner, one in front of my house, one on the next corner.”
“What should I do? Sit there and wait for them to come get me or submit to the will of people who have my best interest and want to move me and my family to preserve my safety? […] I had businesses. Why would I pick up and just leave everything I knew but for the fact that my life depended on it?”
She also is adamant that even with her criticism of Diddy, it by no way is a claim that Shyne is innocent.
“I said on my TikTok, Shyne did not shoot me because he didn’t, but Shyne is a con artist,” Reuben said. “Everybody’s like, ‘Oh, we knew Shyne was innocent.’ No, you don’t know a damn thing because he’s far from innocent.”
Caribbean Elite Group unveils the night’s highest honors for the 2024 Caribbean Music Awards. These honors are given based on a rigorous selection process that considers the artists’ impact on the Caribbean music scene, their profound cultural contributions, and their overall career achievements. This year, women have taken all three honors!! The esteemed Marcia Griffiths will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, Alison Hinds will be honored with the Elite Icon Award, and Cedella Marley will receive the Legacy Award. “The recognition of women in this year’s awards underscores the importance of their contributions to our culture and heritage. Their voices are vital to the vibrancy of Caribbean music.” – Caribbean Elite Group
The legendary Marica Griffiths has a decade-spanning career that continues to flourish to new heights. She is recognized for her critically acclaimed songs “I Shall Sing,” “All My Life,” holds the record for highest-selling single by a female reggae singer of all time with her rendition of “Electric Boogie,” and is widely known as a vocalist for the I-Threes collective who supported Bob Marley with backing vocals. Alison Hinds, known as the “Queen of Soca” for her impact on the genre, has become synonymous with Caribbean culture for her breakout hit singles “Fuluma,” “Roll It Gyal,” and more. Her musical contributions have since become embedded within the D.N.A. of Caribbean carnivals worldwide. 3x Grammy-winner, philanthropist, and more, Cedella Marley continues to persevere and enrich the heritage of Caribbean culture through music and social responsibility to fashion, arts, and beyond. The prestigious honors to each of the world-renowned, highly acclaimed artists will recognize the robust achievements of each artist unequivocally, with more honors set to be announced within the coming weeks.
Since its inception last year, the “Caribbean Music Awards” has been a platform to celebrate the rich musical heritage of the Caribbean and honor the artists who have contributed to its evolution. For the inaugural 2023 event last year, Buju Banton received the first honors of the night with a Humanitarian Award, which highlighted the invaluable efforts of his philanthropic foundation, the ‘Buju Banton Foundation.’ Kes delivered a heartwarming speech honoring Trinidadian artist David Rudder with an Elite Calypso Music Award honor. Carel Pedre saluted and honored the late Mikaben with a Kompa Music Award honor. Morgan Heritage welcomed a special tribute to Beres Hammond, which included performances by Dexta Daps, Kranium, Toni-Ann Singh, and Romain Virgo. Hammond was officially honored with the Elite Icon Award by the president of V.P. Records, Chris Chin. Furthermore, DJ Stephen and Doug E. Fresh welcomed an honor to Machel Montano with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Dexta Daps leads the Caribbean Music Awards 2024 nominations with eight outstanding nods. Click HERE for the complete “Caribbean Music Awards” 2024 nominees list. The celebration of the nominees will peak at a star-studded event on Thursday, August 29, at King Theatre, where music enthusiasts and industry insiders alike will come together to honor the extraordinary talents and tracks that have graced this prestigious list.
On this date in 1983, pioneering rap trio Whodini, who then was sans DJ Grandmaster D, released their self-titled debut album Whodini on the Jive Records imprint.
Produced primarily by Grammy-nominated British producer and composer Thomas Dolby, Whodini’s first album never really saw any commercial success, however, the album’s “Magic Wand” track did climb to #11 on the Dance Club Songs and number 45 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs while the Willesden Dodges-produced track “The Haunted House of Rock” peaked at number 27 on the Dance Club Songs and number 55 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs.
The eight-track album’s duration is less than 45 minutes, something that was virtually a no-no in all genres of music during the early 80s, however, as one of Hip Hop’s first-ever full-length albums, the duration for each song is extensively longer than the average Hip Hop song today.
Salute to Jalil, Ecstacy(RIP) and Grandmaster D for their timeless contribution to Hip Hop history!
On this date in 1983, pioneering rap trio Whodini, who then was sans DJ Grandmaster D, released their self-titled debut album Whodini on the Jive Records imprint.
Produced primarily by Grammy-nominated British producer and composer Thomas Dolby, Whodini’s first album never really saw any commercial success, however, the album’s “Magic Wand” track did climb to #11 on the Dance Club Songs and number 45 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs while the Willesden Dodges-produced track “The Haunted House of Rock” peaked at number 27 on the Dance Club Songs and number 55 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs.
The eight-track album’s duration is less than 45 minutes, something that was virtually a no-no in all genres of music during the early 80s, however, as one of Hip Hop’s first-ever full-length albums, the duration for each song is extensively longer than the average Hip Hop song today.
Salute to Jalil, Ecstacy(RIP) and Grandmaster D for their timeless contribution to Hip Hop history!
In a shocking video that has the blogosphere in awe, a 10-year-old boy who is believed to be the son of Chicago drill music king Lil Durk, appeared to have shot his stepfather.
The stepfather, Joshua Pippens, shared a video on IG on July 1 of a domestic altercation that eventually led to him allegedly getting shot by the child.
“As y’all can see I was not the aggressor,” he captioned the video, “and y’all also can see how I still had my gun on my hip he grabbed my gun off my hip following his moms lead and tried to shoot me and then actually shot me I advise y’all see it before they take it down #buildawareness.”
In another post, Pippens posted a photo of a document proving that Jerome Harris Jr., reportedly the son of Lil Durk, was questioned by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Office “as part of the assessment investigation.”
The boy admitted that he picked up a gun that Pippens dropped during an argument between him and his mother and ended up shooting Pippens.
In a shocking video that has the blogosphere in awe, a 10-year-old boy who is believed to be the son of Chicago drill music king Lil Durk, appeared to have shot his stepfather.
The stepfather, Joshua Pippens, shared a video on IG on July 1 of a domestic altercation that eventually led to him allegedly getting shot by the child.
“As y’all can see I was not the aggressor,” he captioned the video, “and y’all also can see how I still had my gun on my hip he grabbed my gun off my hip following his moms lead and tried to shoot me and then actually shot me I advise y’all see it before they take it down #buildawareness.”
In another post, Pippens posted a photo of a document proving that Jerome Harris Jr., reportedly the son of Lil Durk, was questioned by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Office “as part of the assessment investigation.”
The boy admitted that he picked up a gun that Pippens dropped during an argument between him and his mother and ended up shooting Pippens.
On this day in Hip Hop history, one of the culture’s most influential musical masterminds was born. Wu-Tang Clan frontman Robert Fitzgerald Diggs a.k.a. RZA was born today (July 5) in Brooklyn, New York, 49 years ago. Since stepping on the scene in 1989, RZA has done more than just create an outrageously successful career for himself and his affiliates but has also forever shaped and changed the way a lot of things are handled in the music industry. From branding to merchandising to mastery of one’s craft, RZA stands as a pillar example of how someone given nothing but their own mind can rise to be a titan in the entertainment industry.
In honor of his birthday, we’ve compiled a list of five of RZA’s most important power moves that helped to build and strengthen his empire. Spanning from music to video games, RZA’s influence can be felt across culture, color lines and international borders.
-Signing With Tommy Boy Records
RZA signed with the famous Tommy Boy Records in 1991 under the moniker Prince Rakeem and released one EP, Ooh I Love You Rakeem. Although this may not have been the most eventful or productive period of RZA’s career, his tumultuous relationship with Tommy Boy is what helped RZA to formulate his own plan to monopolize Hip Hop. His time at Tommy Boy allowed him to build vital connections with artists and executives that can been seen lasting throughout the remainder of his career. Tommy Boy gave RZA a necessary first glimpse of how the music industry works as a whole, which helped him to finesse it into something that worked for him.
-The Five-Year-Plan
In his autobiography The Tao of Wu, RZA detailed a majority of the events surrounding the ridiculous success of Wu-Tang Clan, the most prominent of these being his “Five Year Plan.” This plan, enacted in 1992 following the success of the RZA-produced Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers, was RZA’s scheme for his group to become the most powerful figures in Hip Hop as a whole and individually. In an analogy, RZA explains, “I want all of y’all [Wu-Tang] to get on this bus. And be passengers. And I’m the driver. And nobody can ask me where we going. I’m taking us to No. 1. Give me five years, and I promise that I’ll get us there.”
At the end of the five year period, Wu-Tang Clan had released the Grammy Award-winning, number one Wu-Tang Forever LP (which sold four million copies in its first six months on shelves), GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, ODB and Ghostface Killah all had Top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 chart, and Wu-Tang Clan had a successful comic book, clothing line and video game under their belt.
-Wu-Tang Clan Record Deals
As Wu-Tang’s popularity continued to grow exponentially, major labels were breaking down the door to get a piece of the action. For a short while there was a question of where the group and its members would sign. In an attempt to divide and conquer the corporate music world, RZA came up with the idea to have the majority of the members sign with competing record labels. Although from the outside this plan may seem risky and convoluted, RZA was again right on the money with this decision. Having Method Man sign with Def Jam, Raekwon sign with Loud, Ghostface Killah sign with Sony, ODB sign with Elektra and GZA sign with Geffen/MCA allowed for maximum promotion of each artist. No one company had to divvy out the funds to try and support the promo of each of these rap icon’s solo work. This also allowed record labels to work together like never before when pushing Wu-Tang Clan (who remained under Razor Sharp Records) albums because of the number of companies involved with its production. Never before or since has there been a group to sign a deal of this nature.
-Wu-Wear
In 1995 Wu-Tang released their clothing line Wu Wear, which quickly became one of Hip Hop’s most coveted streetwear brands. The brand’s importance, however, doesn’t come from its popularity but its pioneering. With Wu Wear, Wu-Tang became the first rap group to be laced from head to toe in their own gear. This again gave the group another step ahead of their competition. Even today, Wu Wear is international worn and recognized as a prominent Hip Hop streetwear brand and can be found in stores across the globe and online on various outlets.
-Hollywood Takeover
RZA’s most recent and ambitious endeavor to date is his dabbling in acting and filmmaking. As an actor, RZA has appeared in 21 films and has written and directed three. His popular The Man With The Iron Fists Kung-Fu series has proven he can successfully take his love for traditional Asian martial arts films and put his own spin on them to create something of his own. His partnership with famed director Quentin Tarantino only further validates his abilities and potential as a filmmaker and opens the door to the possibility of future projects.
RZA has yet to stop shaping Hip Hop’s culture and sound over the years, although he may not be as visibly active as he once was. His prominence in this culture is known and felt by anyone with knowledge of Hip Hop, its origins and its success as a genre. From everyone here at The Source, happy born day RZA, thank you for building such a godly culture.
On Independence Day in 1986, Daryl McDaniels, his partner in rhyme Joseph Simmons and their DJ Jason Mizell, who are best known as the legendary Hip Hop group Run-D.M.C., released one of the most successful singles of their career; “Walk This Way”, which guest stars rock n’ roll vets Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith.
The rap version of the single, which appeared on Run-D.M.C.’s third album Raising Hell, was a very groundbreaking track that helped pioneer the fusion of rock n’ roll and Hip Hop. The original song of the same name appeared on Aerosmith’s 1975 Toys In The Attic album.
