Word: rapping
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...most thrilling guitarist in rock today. Because rapper-singer Zack de la Rocha mixes poetry and polemics into song lyrics that would do Chuck D or Bob Dylan proud. Because in a year in which a riot of rockers copped beats from hip-hop, no other band made the rap-rock union resonate with such ferocity and intelligence...
...ROOTS Things Fall Apart (MCA). This Philadelphia-based band named its CD after a novel by Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe: very cool. And while other rap acts rely on canned beats, the Roots play instruments (guitars, drums, etc.), giving their work unique vibrancy and depth. Let the cartoon gangstas cater to suburban stereotypes--the Roots are keeping it real...
...contrast to the multitude of instruments on display, it took just two turntables and two microphones to make for what was perhaps the evening's highlight. Only about half the crowd had stayed for the closing performance, by freestyle rap duo Scott & Chiqui (comprising Scott Roy '99 and Chiqui Matthew '00, with Tyler Wood '01 as turntablist), but as the duo called the audience forward, it became clear that the wait was worth it. Roy and Matthew's rhymes flowed smoothly, and their old-school touches (human beatbox effects and a strong effort at turntablism). Perhaps the best display...
When gangsta rap came under fire as a threat to America's moral values, a few people stood up and defended hip-hop artists as troubadours of the ghetto, even if artists that truly deserved that tag were few and far between. Nasir Jones (aka Nas, aka Nasty Nas, aka Nas Escobar, aka Nastradamus) was one such rapper. Nastradamus, his newest album, cements his reputation as urban troubadour or, as "Come Get Me" announces, "America's foremost young poet." From "The Prediction" to "The Outcome"--prophetic and apocalyptic spoken-word joints from poet Jessica Care Moore--Nas' album...
Underground rap may soon have an impact on television too. MTV is developing a sketch-comedy series based on Lyricist Lounge, a showcase founded in New York City in 1991 by Anthony Marshall and Danny Castro as a place for unsigned rap artists to display their skills. The founders have since taken their open-mike show on tour and released a compilation album of highlights (Mos Def and Q-Tip make guest-star appearances...