The Roots Run Deep

The Roots are set to release Rising Down, their 10th album(!), on April 29th, so it’s only right that we give you some knowledge on the subject. While we think it’s safe to assume that plenty of fans have already downloaded the leak, zip, rar, torrent, or whatever it is that the kids are using these days to get those new fangled albums, we’re hoping that they take a few moments to check out the album cover. It’s a pretty powerful image to use considering it’s origin, although we’re not sure if it’ll go over peoples heads, offend them, or what… That said, NTMV salutes The Roots for taking the road less traveled and actually inspiring thought rather than going the generic route.

“This drawing is entitled NEGRO RULE and it pretty much sums up the feeling of the Confederate Union towards the newly freed slaves and the idea that if given power they would reek havoc and chaos on the country.”
-?uestlove, the drummer and co-founder of The Roots

Prime Time Players

A: The Funky Four Plus One
(Q: What group gave the first hip-hop performance on national television?)

Nope, not the Treacherous Three. Or the Furious Five. Or the Audio Two, for that matter

The Funky Four Plus One introduced American television audiences to hip-hop back in 1981. As musical guests for a Debbie Harry-hosted episode of Saturday Night Live, the group performed their classic hit “It’s The Joint”.

That night was only one of several firsts for Funky Four + One. The group was also the first with a female member (Sha Rock) and the first to sign a recording deal, with the legendary old school imprint Sugarhill Records.

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The Real Roxanne’s Revenge

A: Roxanne Shanté
(Q: What old school femcee is now a practicing psychologist?)

Roxanne Shanté was only 14 when she ethered UTFO over their own beat and then went on to battle future greats like LL Cool J and KRS-One . Even then, she was smarter than the label execs who hired her.

When negotiating her first deal with Warner, she insisted on a clause that the label would provide for her education. The label, calculating that Shanté would only take a few courses and quit, agreed to the idea. Instead, Warner ended up paying for her studies through the PhD level at Cornell University. The satisfaction in her voice as she describes how she played the system is priceless.

Today, Roxanne Shanté runs her own psychology practice, in addition to owning an ice cream parlor in Queens. And hip-hop’s coolest where-are-they-now story just might be Roxanne’s revenge on the music industry.

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Edumacated Rappers

A: Columbia University
(Q: What do Lauryn Hill and Original White Rapper Prime Minister Pete Nice have in common?)

Once upon a time not long ago, school was cool in rap.

Plenty of hip-hop stars went to college and didn’t hide it. Chubb Rock, EPMD, Souls of Mischief, Chuck D, and Young MC were just some of them.

Rappers back then like Intelligent Hoodlum (aka Tragedy Khadafi) and UTFO’s Educated Rapper, wanted to be seen as smart even if they were thuggin’ after class. And before the money in hip-hop got so big, it actually made sense for artists to have an education to fall back on.

Pete Nice was a several years ahead of Lauryn Hill at Columbia University; by the time Lauryn Hill got to Morningside Heights, hip hop had graduated from part-time hobby to big business.
While Pete got his degree first and then released his first album with rhyme partner MC Serch (as 3rd Bass), Lauryn and The Fugees were already on the verge of global stardom in her sophomore year.

For Lauryn, sticking around for commencement just wasn’t a good look anymore.

Fugees: Nappy Heads

3rd Bass: Gas Face

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Little Big Man

A: Andre the Giant
(Q: What sports icon inspired underground rapper A.G.’s ironic name?)

Andre the Giant has a posse and its name is Diggin’ In Tha Crates (DITC).

By any measure, Diggin in the Crates is a heavyweight crew. DITC was one of the few Golden Era collectives that managed to straddle the increasingly separate underground and commercial hip-hop scenes with some success. With its fingerprints on rap classics like Low End Theory, The Chronic, and Ready To Die, as well as pop hits like Fatboy Slim’s “Rockefeller Skank” DITC’s relevance endured even as New York-style boom-bap rap faded in popularity.

Comprised of supersized characters like Lord Finesse, Big Pun, Fat Joe, Diamond D, and Buckwild, DITC was never a place for the meek. So naturally, its smallest members - the late Big L and Showbiz’s partner in rhyme, A.G. - chose puffed-up aliases to keep up with their comrades. In A.G.’s case, the inspiration was the freakishly large wrestling hero and pop art icon, Andre the Giant.

Showbiz & A.G. “The Next Level”

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Ballin’ Outta Control

A: Shaquille O’Neal
(Q: Which baller-slash-rapper sold the most albums?)

This was an easy one, because you know you own at least one Shaq album. Shaq Fu was the originator of the baller/rapper and arguably the only B-ball MC to be taken seriously in hip-hop.

Shaq appeared on the music scene in 1993 overshadowing the Fu-Schnickens on their song “What’s Up Doc? (Can We Rock),” a minor hit and the biggest hit for the Fu’s. By the end of that year Shaq had released his first album, Shaq Diesel, which was certified platinum.

Shaq went on to release 3 more albums over the rest of the decade and performed on collabos with Method Man, Redman, Jay-Z, Mobb Deep, and The Notorious B.I.G. (Biggie killed that track, and Shaq definitely held his own; the remake was ill-advised.) He’s probably the only ballin’ rapper to get respect from hip-hop’s elite. Anyone remember Kobe’s, Iverson’s or Chris Webber’s albums? Didn’t think so.

We couldn’t find the video for our favorite Shaq single, “Biological Didn’t Bother,” so here’s Shaq “Strait Playin’”:

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Hip-Hop Ferdinand

A: Tim Dog
(Q: What super magnetic MC started hip-hop’s first bi-coastal beef?)

When speaking of 90’s rap feuds, invariably talk goes to the Notorious B.I.G./2Pac and the sensationalized East vs. West “beef.” However, the first shot fired in the coastal rivalry occurred years before Pac was reppin’ for the West and before anyone but Ms. Wallace knew Christopher was a prodigy.

Gangsta Rap’s MTV-arrival in the late 80’s shifted the regional balance of power in the hip-hop industry, and New York rappers quietly resented losing influence and opportunity to Los Angeles-based crews like NWA. Tim Dog, a Bronx MC who had made a name for himself on the NY scene by being affiliated with the Ultramagnetic MCs, released the single “F*** Compton” from his 1991 album Penicillin on Wax.

The song attacks several Compton rappers including Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, and Ice Cube, and the West Coast scene in general. (However, Tim Dog notably gives Ice-T a specific pass.) After “F*** Compton” became an underground hit, it triggered a period of furious creativity on both sides, including combative classics like Tha Dogg Pound’s “New York, New York” and Capone-n-Noreaga’s “LA, LA.” The song even indirectly lead to Mobb Deep’s intra-coast showdown with Jay-Z. (”New York’s been soft ever since Snoop came through and crushed the buildings….”)

Some even say Tim Dog inspired a young Midwesterner by the name of Common Sense to go after Ice Cube. I wonder if we should nickname Tim Dog “The Archduke”?

The first shot…

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From Houston to Baku: The World Is a Geto

A: Willie D
(Q: What MC went from block hustling in the South to real estate sales in the Middle East?)

No your mind is not playing tricks on you. Willie D has a real estate business in Baku, Azerbaijan where he now lives with his family.

The Republic of Azerbaijan, is located at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, and is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south. It’s a place that would seem to have little appeal for a former member of the legendary Houston group the Geto Boys. However, Willie D has made it home for the past three years, and found success there; just not in the rap biz.

“He who controls the land, controls the man….When I went to Azerbaijan, I didn’t say, ‘Hey, I’m gonna go to Azerbaijan today and do some real estate.’ I just went down there and did what I did.”

In addition to his real estate ventures abroad, in 2006 Willie D founded Relentless Music Ventures and signed the groups Nay Nay and Huntzville. He also became the Director of Sports & Entertainment for Dream Flights Luxury Travel, a charter jet service that utilizes a network of over 5,000 private jets worldwide. So it would seem that Willie D is still making big money and driving big cars.

We couldn’t find a quality version of the Geto Boys’ biggest hit, so please enjoy this parody/tribute. We thought it was cool.

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Friday: C(M)-Stylez

A: DJ Premier
(Q: What supa-star hip-hop producer shares a name with a celebrity-husband rocker?)

DJ Premier is a high priest of hip-hop, simply put. From all corners of the culture, hip-hop’s Christopher Martin gets maximum respect. That’s because everybody sounds like a god MC (or at least like a good MC) on a Premier track. For milk carton candidates like Group Home and Jeru as well as platinum-plus legends like Nas and The Notorious B.I.G., Primo beats guaranteed instant classics. Even Christina Aguilera got blessed with an almost classic.

Jay-Z, who has some Premier classics of his own, apparently has so much respect for Christopher Martin, that he added another one - aka Coldplay’s lead singerdude, Chris Martin - to his stable of collaborators on Kingdom Come. Although that was not Jigga’s finest offering (life is like a beach chair??), and needed more of the first Chris, less of the second Chris, Mr Gwyneth Paltrow is like, totally cool with us.

Dope would be if Premier did a song with Coldplay, or remixed some of the band’s hits. We only draw the line at stuff like this…

While you try determine exactly what Ray J was thinking about, please enjoy the classic sounds of DJ Premier:

My Favorite DJ Premier Beats (Part I)

 

My Favorite DJ Premier Beats (Part II)

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Dead End Kidz

A: Young Black Teenagers
(Q: What controversial 90’s group was led by another MC called Kamron?)

No question, Cam’ron is a unique figure in hip-hop, setting fashion trends and coining new lingo as easy as Stephon Marbury macks Knick interns. Not too long ago though, the name Kamron signified someone entirely different to hip-hop fans than the Diplomats‘ Killa-in-Chief.

The Young Black Teenagers were a quintet of kids from New York produced by Hank Shocklee and co-signed by Public Enemy, who also happened to be not black at all. Four of the YBT’s, including the dreadlocked, gold-fronts sporting Kamron were white; the remaining member was Latino.

Public Enemy’s camp was no stranger to provoking controversy, so their endorsement of this group was a bit of a puzzle. Were Chuck D & co. staging an elborate protest over the commercialization or were they just trying to cash in on its spread to suburbia? More importantly…were these YBT’s joking or what? Radio deejays and video show hosts weren’t amused; they gave the group a hostile reaction that never really subsided until the group disbanded in 1994.

YBT’s may be a punchline now, but their one hit song “Tap The Bottle & Twist The Cap” still (kinda, maybe, sorta) knocks. Check it out:

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