Sick video, although its been rinsed to death on every other blog, its got to go up here! (Now Nas just needs to record some more music with Premo... and AZ.... and Swizz Beats... and Lupe Fiasco)
"Cuz I'm an ace when I face the bass, 40 side is the place that is giving me grace, Now wait, another dose and you might be dead, And I'm a Nike head, I wear chains that excite the feds And aint' a damn thing gonna change" - Nas "Halftime"
Portraits De Cite' (2008) French Hip-Hop City Photos from the 1990's With work by: Bakir Ziani, Richard Hort, Ambroise Mendy, Jean-Paul Gentile, Abdel Ben Massaoud & Mohamed Boughamni
On a recent trip to France I found this in a book shop, they really celebrate a varirty of French people representing Hip-Hop culture. Here are some of the highlights.
Raiders Caps
From an outsider, the French Hip-Hop scene has always looked amazing. In the 1990's Movies like La Haine, Graffiti Books like Paris Tonkar,groups like NTM, Assasin, Iam, MC Solaar, DJs like DJ Dee Nasty, Crazy Fast Camel (DMC Finalists); Graffiti Writers like Tran, Nasty, Color, Kay One GT (and his French Hip-Hop shop in London) and U.K. legend Mode2 (moving to Paris); and the many French B-Boy/B-Girls making a huge presence in the International Hip-Hop scene.
Headspin
Obviously France is a huge country, so the market is enormous and so can support a proper functioning Hip-Hop industry. Unlike the U.K., the French government also passed a law forcing French Radio Stations to play a large percentage of French Language music. This in turn has created a large selection of French Hip-Hop artists, and labels to sign them.
B-Boys
In the 1990's French Hip-Hop only Radio stations like SkyRock and others supported this progressive movement, and many local councils all over France have laid on big budget community Hip-Hop Events that feature B-Boy, Mcing, Dj and Graffiti. It is common for French Artists to do collaborations with high profile MC's like Nas, CNN, Wu-Tang, the late Guru and many others, French Graffiti Mags can be bought in the smallest village News Agents, and B-Boys who travel the country and world doing showcases. It would be useful for the UK scene to take note and learn from our French Family!
An in-depth look at the life of the hip-hop MC known as Tragedy Khadafi, aka Intelligent Hoodlum, the youngest member of the Juice Crew and founder of 25-Life that gave the world CNN. The Documentary is about Tragedy's life and the history of the infamous Queensbridge housing projects in New York City.
Killer Queens native Mic Geronimo tears up a sweaty NY club in 95' with fellow Blunt recording artist Royal Flush, performing tracks off of his 1st album "The Natural." Songs are Three Stories High feat. Royal Flush & Sh*t Is Real. Mic Geronimo was one of the new generation of Hood lyricists from the East Coast that defined the age, people like Big L (R.I.P.), O.C. & Nas.
Support the artists featured: Mic Geronimo http://www.myspace.com/mgeronimo
Royal Flush http://www.myspace.com/streetboss
Thanks to Tizer One I.D. & Solo One V.O.P. for the transfer...
Ghost Writer –noun a person who writes one or numerous speeches, books, articles, etc., for another person who is named as or presumed to be the author. Also, ghostwriter. Origin: 1895–1900, Americanism Mad Skills- Ghost Writer Came up with Timberland, VA native, smashed NY MCs at Open Mic battles, produced by the best of the era, think Large Professor. Wrote lyrics for alot of BIG rappers and called them out on this live version!!!!! Come!
The Game - Ghost Writer
Ghost Writer Rapper - Sauce Money Sauce Money is an MC who for the late Versace era was getting alot of Magazine coverage. He released a few independant underground 12"s on rare labels, but got a name Ghost Writing, or writing lyrics for other "Made" Rappers. It was a while ago but I remember him saying he wrote for Mase, Lil Cease and no doubt several Rocafella Records affilliates, Jay-Z?
Sauce Money - Last Real N**** Alive Freestyle Kay Slay Drama King Freestyle "It was my man Jay(-Z) who discovered me, I remembered the Rock(afella) used to cover me..." Sauce exclaiming the lack of support from Rocafella records that he claims he helped write hits for, "without clearance (credit)". Perhaps hinting that he ghost wrote for Beanie Seigal, amonst others??
Big Jaz/Jaz-O Marcy Projects old School MC guests on Sauces 1999 album he also claims Jay-Z didn't support his career once he blew, allegedly... Read more here
Sauce Money (DJ Premier) - Against The Grain
Sauce Money VS. Nature (The Firm) OOOH No! Nature (The Firm) calls Sauce one of the Fat Boys... "You're claim to fame is that you call me fat?!!! Well anyone who can see n***** can call me that! Well heres the thing Purse Snatcher...." - Sauce Wins! Hilarious! Purse Snatcher.... Pwaaaaaahhahahaha!
Marcy Projects representer Jaz-O is holding his own against the multi-billion dollar steam roller that is modern Rap industry. Some might say that youtube disses and expose videos are cheap fame moves, and we tend to agree but when you are up against a giant, sometimes you have to do David steps...
Brooklyn's The Jaz is known to many as "the Mentor of Jay-Z", but there is much more to him than that, he came to the publics attention in the late 80's as a concious rapper in a period when the scene was dominated by Queens borough MCs. So whether he was talking about Police brutality in "Its Your Nature"; or in the Originators video wearing the crown and regalia of Dr. Malachi Z. York-El'sNuwaubian Nation of Moors organization, you know he was on some serious knowledge.
Jaz-O - The Originators Feat. Jay-Z
"Are you men living in God realities or Gods with man mentalities?" Jaz-O Love Has Gone
Texas born DJ Premier who has made Brooklyn his home, has done production for many Brooklyn old Schoolers Just-Ice, Big Daddy Kane (pictured), and in 2002 produced Jaz-O and the Immobilaire underground banger Love Is Gone. Since the not so subtle Love is Gone record about Jay-Z, where Jaz-O laments the break up of their longtime friendship, there have been many back and forths between Jaz-O and Jay-Z that you may have heard. Jaz-O going at the whole of Rocafella when they were at their most Tonka on Nore's "Nothin'", Jay-Z and Rocafella all at him in return. Jay-Z mentions the fact that Jaz-O was 40 years old at that time but that would come back to haunt him when he fell out with Camron and Dipset though...
Jaz-O explains his side of the story
It seemed to have ended a while back with this freestyle , but recently with the Dame Dash & Jaz-O "Happy Birthday" video, Jay-Z has dissed him again on Ludacris's recent song I Do It For Hip Hop co-starring Nas and JAY-Z. And so on and so on and so on....
