Blogs and hip-hop are both known for being incendiary. But one hip-hop blogger is doing his best to bring thoughtfulness to both endeavors. He’s known as Jay Smooth, and his blog is called Ill Doctrine. Even people who don’t consider themselves hip-hop fans visit the site for Smooth’s take on politics, the music industry and society in general.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106057582
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This interview was originally broadcast on March 29, 2006. The Beastie Boys released a new album, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, on May 3, 2011.
To film The Beastie Boys’ 2006 concert movie, Awesome; I… Shot That!, fans attending a concert at Madison Square Garden received 50 cameras.
Awesome, described as "an authorized bootleg," includes more than a thousand edits, as footage was spliced together to give an omniscient view of a Beastie Boys concert. The Hi-8 cameras capture the scene as the rappers tear through a 24-song set.
From standard stage shots to multiple visions of a crowd going wild, the images flow with the music, forming a pastiche that’s not unlike the sampled, tweaked beats of hip-hop.
Courtesy of the artist In the concert, Mike D, MCA and Ad-Rock — who go by Michael Diamond, Adam Yauch and Adam Horovitz when they’re not rhyming — are backed by Mix Master Mike, Keyboard Money Mark and percussionist Alfredo Ortiz. The set also includes an appearance from rapper Doug E. Fresh.
Awesome had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, and its director is listed as Nathaniel Hornblower — the nom de cine of Adam Yauch, a.k.a. MCA. It’s the first full-length film for Yauch, who created much of the art and video associated with the group.
The Beastie Boys have been making music since the early 1980s, and their catalog includes party songs like "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right To Party)" and "Brass Monkey," which is performed in the concert film.
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Intelligent, abstract, underground hiphop. 80 minutes, 112 MB 2004 http://thetastates.com/#anchor_lftg
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A few weeks ago, Morning Edition launched a new feature that explores popular music and the cultural phenomena surrounding it. After addressing Justin Bieber, talk turns to a discussion of Nicki Minaj, whose "Autobiography" remembers a childhood filled with trauma at the hands of the rapper’s father.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126315106
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