Archives

Fela Anikulapo Kuti Tribute

July 31, 2003

In the summer of 1997 the requiems seemed peculiarly endless: Gianni Versace, Princess Diana, Mother Teresa, and Betty Shabazz. But the death of Fela Anikulapo Kuti resonated throughout the black musical community like none other. When he lost his battle against AIDS on August 2, Nigeria mourned the passing of their “Black President” and the world grieved the death of a political icon. Over one million gathered at his funeral procession in his homeland.

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WEBSIGHTS: Record Breakers

July 31, 2003

Keeping Vinyl Vital One Exclusive At A Time

Location is everything. Ask entrepreneurs Mike Pizzo, 26, and Warren White, 34, who’ve been able to carry hip hop retail into cyberspace as co-creators of HipHopSite.com, an online record store and news destination. “A lot of people in the industry, and a lot of people in general in hip hop,” says White, “don’t understand how effective the Web can be for their artists and their product.”

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The Chocolate "Facts"

July 29, 2003

In an attempt to assuage our own guilt, many of us have boldly proclaimed our refusal to support anyone who preys on prepubescent girls with our hard-earned money. So we bought the bootleg instead.

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Always on Time?

July 29, 2003

When James Brown unforgettably roared, “This is a man’s world, ” his words bit at the heels of reality. But the godfather of soul was quick to mitigate his assertion with reason, “But it wouldn't be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl.” It’s undeniable that the majority of 2003’s urban music scene was pumped with more overemphasized brawn than a gym’s weight room. From hip hop beefs that antagonized masculinity to frenzied 50 Cent hysteria, one could only wonder, “Where da’ ladies at?”

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Roy Hargrove Presents The RH Factor: Hard Groove

July 25, 2003

There’s something steely about Hard Groove. It’s not the usual high brow, hard-bop offering. No, this is “the funk” as filtered through Roy Anthony Hargrove’s jazz mind. Backtrack to when Miles Davis dropped the very funky and electronic In A Silent Way. It was a wrap for his acoustic sound and style. Jazz fundamentalists be forewarned, this could be déja vu looming.

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Vibe Online Interview with Selwyn Hinds

July 25, 2003

Selwyn Hinds is one of the hip hop community’s most respected scribes. His first book, Gunshots In My Cook-Up: Bits and Bites From a Hip Hop Caribbean Life, chronicles his relationship with the music form he discovered as a youth in Guyana. Hinds speaks with Angeli Rasbury about his views on hip hop over a late breakfast in Manhattan.

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Still Serving

July 10, 2003

“Premier always says that hip hop is a fat person and a skinny person on a see-saw and that we’re with the skinny person,” explains Guru just days before Gang Starr’s sixth album, The Ownerz, hits the streets. Critically acclaimed, but not always commercially successful, Gang Starr’s 15-year career has remained solid because instead of serving up digestable hip hop that merely gets excreted with waste products, they serve a brand of hip hop that sticks to your ribs.... (read more)

50 Cent: Get Rich Or Die Tryin'

July 10, 2003

50 Cent arrogantly swaggers into the spotlight with his debut, Get Rich Or Die Tryin'.

A distinctly, lazy slur has hijacked the sound systems of Escalades and hoopties alike. Mesmerized ears fall captive to 50 Cent’s blunt-induced ebb and flow while others resist his dopey, nursery rhyme cadence. In the end, even some skeptics surrender, finding themselves involuntarily humming the sing-songy hooks, despite their better judgment.... (read more)

Lil' Kim: La Bella Mafia

July 8, 2003

For those of us who came of age during the mid 90s, our respective hoods were all we knew of the world. For us, the outer city limits marked the universe. It was a time when hip hop was approaching a crossroad and rappers were deciding whether to remain underground or go commerical. That's when Lil’ Kim was all the rage. Her audacious attitude and verve ushered in a new spirit for hip hop. However, the thrill is gone. With her third installment, La Bella Mafia, the bantam raptress has chosen an exotic title that invokes worldly characterizations, and yet she barely ventures past the Brooklyn bridge.... (read more)

Miss Thang Returns

July 8, 2003

While Monica's single "So Gone," burns up the charts, VIBE Online talks to Monica about her past, present, and future... (read more)

112 Keeps Making It Hot

July 2, 2003

VIBE online writer, Mariel Concepcion interviewed 112 for this story, and now it's your turn. Click to ask 112 a question, and soon you'll see their answers here on VIBE online exclusively . Back in 1996, when the members of 112 were only 15-and-16-year-olds, there were only so many ... (read more)