Rapsody

DJ Premier Kicks Off Hip-Hop’s 50-Year Anniversary With An EP Featuring Lil Wayne, Nas, And Slick Rick

by
DJ Premier
Getty Image

It’s widely acknowledged that the cultural phenomenon known as hip-hop officially began at a house party in The Bronx, New York on August 11, 1973. That means hip-hop is nearly 50 years old, and to celebrate its impending golden jubilee, Mass Appeal has announced the Hip-Hop 50: The Soundtrack project, 10 EPs produced by some of the culture’s biggest names to commemorate hip-hop’s longevity (the ha, the ha). The first will be DJ Premier: Hip-Hop 50 Volume 1, produced by… I mean, it’s right there in the title… dropping on July 15 via Mass Appeal and The Orchard.

The project’s five tracks will feature appearances from old-school legends like Nas and Slick Rick, contemporary craft masters like Joey Badass, Rapsody, and Run The Jewels, and cross-generational all-timer Lil Wayne. In a statement, DJ Premier said, “It’s an honor to kick off this iconic Hip Hop 50 music program. Hip Hop continues to inspire fans across the globe and it’s incredible to think of what the next 50 years will bring.” It seems likely that the new track Premier and Nas previewed last week is actually “Beat Breaks,” their collaboration from this project.

Future EPs in the Hip-Hop 50: The Soundtrack will include entries produced by Hit-Boy, Mike Will Made-It, Mustard, No I.D., Swizz Beatz, The-Dream, and more. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Universal Hip-Hop Museum, as well as other charitable organizations. Other arms of the Hip-Hop 50 initiative include live event programming and a slate of documentaries with Paramount + and Showtime, including the Supreme Team documentary that premiered on Friday, July 10, as well as the Spotify Original podcast, The Bridge: 50 Years of Hip-Hop, hosted by Miss Info and Nas.

DJ Premier: Hip Hop 50 Volume 1 is out 7/15 via Mass Appeal Records and The Orchard. You can pre-save it here. You can see the tracklist below.

01. “Lettin’ Off Steam” Feat. Joey Bada$$
02. “Remy Rap” Feat. Remy Ma & Rapsody
03. “Beat Breaks” Feat. Nas
04. “Terrible 2’s” Feat. Run The Jewels
05. “The Root Of All” Feat. Lil Wayne & Slick Rick

Rapsody Highlights The Stellar Women In Sports On ‘Dust To Diamonds’ With Faouzia

by

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the passing of Title IX. According to the Department Of Education, it declared that “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” This declaration helped to push female sports in motion all across the country, and while there’s still work to be done to build female sports programs and leagues up to a more equal status with their male counterparts, many are still taking the opportunity to celebrate the half-century mark of Title IX.

That includes Rapsody who partnered up with ESPN’s Fifty/50 Initiative to release her new song “Dust To Diamonds” with Faouzia. The track debuted live at the espnW Summit in New York City, and on it, Rapsody takes a moment to shout out and praise some of the best athletes in women’s sports. Serena Williams, Diana Taurasi, Florence Griffith Joyner, and more all receive some love through verses on the song while Faouzia holds down the hook as she helps to also uplift the women in various sports. “This track was created to honor some of the greatest women in sports, but also acknowledge the struggles they faced to succeed,” Rapsody said about the new record according to Complex.

“Dust to Diamonds” will also appear in ESPN’s upcoming film 37 Words, which is directed by Dawn Porter and Nicole Newnham. The film is set to arrive next month in June.

You can listen to Rapsody’s new song in the video above.

Faouzia is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group

Robert Glasper’s ‘Tonight Show’ Performance Included Guests Rapsody And DJ Jazzy Jeff

by

After announcing the release date for his upcoming album, Black Radio III, and sharing its latest single, “Black Superhero,” Robert Glasper brought the new music to a national television audience with a star-studded appearance on The Tonight Show. Playing a medley of “In Tune” and “Black Superhero” (minus Big KRIT and Killer Mike, two of the three featured guests on the latter), Glasper invited guests Amir Sulaiman, BJ the Chicago Kid, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and Rapsody to perform with him.

After Sulaiman opens the set with a passionate spoken-word piece, BJ joins in to sing his verse and the chorus from “Black Superhero,” and Rapsody shows up to add her own verse to the song in place of the missing KRIT and Mike, all while DJ Jazzy Jeff adds his signature scratches and Glasper tickles the ivories. “All my superheroes Black,” Rapsody rhymes as she and BJ bop to the bluesy piano riff and old-school beatbox vibes. It’s a cool rendition of the new track, and should Black Radio III continue the trend that most of Glasper’s music has stuck to, it’ll be a shoo-in for another Progressive R&B Album nomination at the next Grammys.

Watch Robert Glasper’s Tonight Show performance of “In Tune/Black Superhero” above.

Halle Berry’s Film ‘Bruised’ Will Feature The First All-Female Hip-Hop Soundtrack

by
Halle Berry 2021
Getty Image

When the film Bruised comes out in theaters on November 17th and then on Netflix a week later, it’ll mark Halle Berry’s directorial debut on the big screen. She’ll also be playing the film’s starring role as the maligned mixed martial arts fighter, Jackie Justice, looking to make a return to the octagon as she looks to get her life back on track.

Along with Berry’s breakthrough as a director, the film’s soundtrack, out November 19th, will also be making history as the first all-female hip-hop soundtrack to a major film release. Co-executive produced by the Academy Award winning Berry and Cardi B (who will be hosting the AMAs this month), the soundtrack will feature songs by Cardi, Saweetie, City Girls, HER, Flo Milli, Latto, Young MA, Baby Tate, Rapsody, Erica Banks, Big Bottle Wyanna, Ambre, and DreamDoll. Of the 13-tracks on the album, six are original cuts written specifically for the movie and seven additional tracks that were inspired by the flick. The single “Scared” by City Girls, is out tomorrow night.

The Young MA track on the film’s trailer, so check that out below.

Bruised (Soundtrack From And Inspired By The Netflix Film) is out 11/19 via Warner Records.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Jay-Z Recruits Diddy, Lil Uzi Vert, Bobby Shmurda, And Others To Celebrate The 40/40 Club’s Anniversary

by
Getty Image

Later this month, Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club will celebrate its 18th anniversary. The venue is one the Roc Nation founder opened back in 2003 with Roc Nation Sports chief Juan Perez and Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez. In addition to being attached to the rapper, the 40/40 Club gained additional popularity thanks to multiple references in rap songs from the likes of Jay and more.

The venue flaunts itself as a space that combined “the lavish warmth of a New York City penthouse with the vivacity and glamour of court-side seats at a championship game,” as a press release reads.

Image From Complex

In a little over a week, the 40/40 Club will commemorate its 18th anniversary with a celebratory event at the venue. The club reopened back in August after it was shut down in early 2013. Guests who received an invite to the celebration, which takes place on August 28 at 8 p.m., were gifted a special black and white hourglass that represents the time that went by between the club’s closing and reopening. Some of the names of the guest list include Diddy, Lil Uzi Vert, Bobby Shmurda, Rapsody, Remy Ma and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

The news comes after Jay-Z hired Tory Datcher, the former senior vice president and chief customer officer of Clorox, as the CEO of his Monogram cannabis company. This made Datcher the first Black CEO to lead a major public cannabis company in the United States.

Lil Uzi Vert is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Rapsody And Lil Kim Pay A ‘Ladies First/UNITY’ Tribute To Queen Latifah At The 2021 BET Awards

by

Rapsody, Lil Kim, MC Lyte, and Monie Love paid lyrical tribute to Queen Latifah at the 2021 BET Awards as she won a Lifetime Achievement Award, performing Queen Latifah’s culture-defining hits “Ladies First” and “U.N.I.T.Y.” Rapsody and Monie Love opened things up with “Ladies First,” rocking gender challenging looks inspired by athletics, then Lil Kim and MC Lyte rapped “U.N.I.T.Y.,” with Kim ironically being the one to yell the iconic line, “Who you callin’ a bitch!?” The quartet’s tribute was followed by an acceptance speech from the pioneering Queen herself, who shouted out her partner, and wish fans a happy Pride Month.

Rapsody, who’s been a fixture of BET’s award shows over the years, last performed on the network in 2020, at the BET Hip-Hop Awards Cypher, spitting socially conscious bars alongisde Chika, Jack Harlow, Polo G, and Rhythm + Flow finalist Flawless Real Talk. Throughout 2020, Rapsody made impressive appearances on a number of other artists’ projects, including Public Enemy’s What Are You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down?, Reason’s New Beginnings, and T.I.’s The L.I.B.R.A., as well as Stevie Wonder’s social commentary, “Can’t Put It In The Hands Of Fate.” Meanwhile, she also made her own social commentary on the song “12 Problems,” ensuring she stayed in the conversation, even without having a new album out.

Watch the 2021 BET Awards tribute to Queen Latifah above.