Richard Pryor Archives - New Hip Hop News

Young Guru has a bulletproof reputation within the hip-hop community. Not only has he produced and mixed for rappers like Jay-Z and Kanye West, but he’s dedicated his time to teaching the next generation of artists. He knows the history of the genre, and is able to contextualize it with a clarity that few mixers are capable of. This pedigree is what makes Young Guru’s comments on the new Kendrick Lamar diss “Euphoria” so insightful. There are plenty of insulting touches that resonated with listeners, but Guru pointed out two he felt have been overlooked.

Young Guru shed light on these two aspects via Instagram Stories. The first post addressed the audio that opens the song. The words are played in reverse, but Genius confirmed that they say “everything about me is true” when played forward. Guru confirmed the line to be taken from the 1978 film The Wiz, and explained the larger statement that Lamar is making about his opponent: Drake. “The dance scene in Oz is incredible but it points out that pop culture is fake,” he noted. “The Wiz changes the colors and people just go along with it. Richard Pryor later admits that he is a fake and a phony.”

Young Guru Broke Down Dot’s Cultural References

Guru does not say he explicitly agrees with Lamar. He does, however, assert that the rapper is making parallels between Drake and Pryor’s character. Drake has been able to stay relevant for a decade and a half by embracing different sounds and trends, and K. Dot posits that he is changing the colors like the Wiz. The second part of Young Guru’s analysis had to do with the “Euphoria” beat. The song samples the Teddy Pendergrass classic “You’re My Latest, My Greatest Inspiration.”

It might not scan as a big deal on the surface, but the producer notes that Pendergrass suffered a debilitating injury late in his career. “Teddy Pendagrass [sic] got into a car accident,” he wrote. “And had to live the rest of his life paralyzed in a wheelchair.” Guru interprets this historical context as yet another dig at Drake, who rose to fame playing a wheelchair-bound character on Degrassi. The Toronto rapper also referenced Pendergrass on his 2016 single “Child’s Play.” The layers of meaning in “Euphoria” are seemingly endless, and Guru wants to remind listeners to keep digging.

The post Young Guru Reveals Hidden Meanings In Kendrick Lamar’s “Euphoria” appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

Ex-NFLer Prevents Attempted Murder

Arizona Cardinals running back Rashard Mendenhall runs with the ball(28)during an NFL game between the Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, Arizona November 24, 2013. (Photo by Tom Hauck/Getty Images)

However, Mendenhall is not the only former NFL player who has been in the news as of late. Police in Detroit have praised former third-overall NFL pick Braylon Edwards for intervening in an attempted murder at a YCMA. Edwards was in the locker room last Friday when he heard an elderly man arguing with several younger men about their music. After the altercation turned physical, Edwards stepped in. “And then I see the guy for what I was thinking was reaching for a phone underneath the victim grabs the back of the victim’s head by the hair. And he was about to slam it down on the counter,” Edwards told local media.

Speaking after officers arrived at the scene, Framingham Hills police chief Jeff King said that Edwards “absolutely” saved the man’s life. A 20-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder as a result of the incident. When asked why he intervened, Edwards said “That’s just what you do.” Edwards played eight years in the NFL and is a beloved alum of Michigan.