therealeternia:

I am honored to host World Hip Hop Women: From the Sound Up presented by @nomadicwax @WorldHipHopMkt & @DJLajedi

A lot of my sisters on this compilation, and it definitely disproves the misinformed theory that there are only a few to none dope female emcees rippin it… 

Listen & Judge for Yourself :-) 

WHHW Bandcamp Link: http://nomadicwax.bandcamp.com/track/world-hip-hop-women-from-the-sound-up

WHHW Artist Profiles Link: http://worldhiphopmarket.com/world-hip-hop-women-mixtape-artist-profiles/5771

Track Listing: 

1. Eternia + MoSS – “The BBQ Remix (ft. Tiye Phoenix & Jean Grae)” (Canada/USA/prod: MoSS)

2. M.C. Melodee – “Cha Cha Cha 2011” (Netherlands/prod: Cookin Soul)

3. Masia One – “Warriors Tongue” (Canada/Singapore/prod: Che Vicious & Travis Von Cartier)

4. Mad Muasel – “Soloyo” (Spain/prod: JML)

5. Ana Tijoux + Invincible – “Sube” (Chile/USA/prod: Hordatoj & Ana Tijoux)

6. Raw-G AKA Gina Madrid – “Conexiones Subterraneas (ft. Aima the Dreamer) (Mexico/USA/prod: Cubo)

7. Shadia Mansour – “Al Kufeyyeh 3Arabeyyeh” (UK/Palestine/prod: Sandhill & Johnny Juice)

8. Soultana – “Sawt Nssa (Women’s Voice)” (Morocco/prod: Itoube Music)

9. Sa-Roc – “Fine Line” (USA/prod: Sol Messiah)

10. Bella Shanti – “Saint or Sinner” (New Zealand/prod: Soul Chef)

11. El Gambina – “Sunny Days” (Korea/USA/prod: Jony Fraze)

12. Mana, Mia Lone, Triple Threat & Opal Rose – “Young Girl” (Iran/USA/prod: Blackheart)

13. The Foundation Of 5E: Taneesha, Insite The Riot, Jade, Nik Nak, Mahogany Jonz, DJ LaJedi - “The Foundation” (USA/prod: AEetech)

14. Black Bird – “H-Town Hustler” (Zimbabwe/S. Africa/Zambia/prod: Jusa Dementor)

15. Peridot (formerly Queen Herawin of The Juggaknots) – “So” (USA/prod: SINQUE)

16. Invincible + Waajeed – “Emergence” (USA/prod: Waajeed)

17. Las Krudas Cubensi – “No Me Dejaron” (Cuba/prod: Odaymara Cuesta, Olivia Prendes & DJ Mike)

18. Lithal Li – “Eye The Con” (South Africa/prod: Yves Adler)

19. Black Athena, Versy, Burni (Jitzvinger, Caco) – “Disputing Claims” (South Africa/prod: Shaheen Arifdien)

20. EmpresS*1(الامبراطورة الاولي) – “Rap Renaissance/Bent Belady” (Egypt/UK/prod: Silent Sym/Asteeka)

21. DJ Naida – “Done” (Zimbabwe/prod: Xndr)

For interviews, media inquiries, or for more information please contact DJ LaJedi at unlimitzzzzz@gmail.com and Greg Schick at greg@worldhiphopmarket.com

(via femalerappers)

From Toussaint to Tupac: The Black International Since the Age of Revolution

ebookcollective:

Transcending geographic and cultural lines, From Toussaint to Tupacis an ambitious collection of essays exploring black internationalism and its implications for a black consciousness. At its core, black internationalism is a struggle against oppression, whether manifested in slavery, colonialism, or racism. The ten essays in this volume offer a comprehensive overview of the global movements that define black internationalism, from its origins in the colonial period to the present.

From Toussaint to Tupac focuses on three moments in global black history: the American and Haitian revolutions, the Garvey movement and the Communist International following World War I, and the Black Power movement of the late twentieth century. Contributors demonstrate how black internationalism emerged and influenced events in particular localities, how participants in the various struggles communicated across natural and man-made boundaries, and how the black international aided resistance on the local level, creating a collective consciousness.

In sharp contrast to studies that confine Black Power to particular national locales, this volume demonstrates the global reach and resonance of the movement. The volume concludes with a discussion of hip hop, including its cultural and ideological antecedents in Black Power.

[Link]

stayingunderground:

GZA & Neil deGrasse Tyson Talk Astrophysics and Hip-Hop

okayplayer: Over the last few years, world renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and GZA have become BFF’s thanks to a shared love of science.  Tyson and GZA have spoken in interviews before, but this interview from NdGT’s Star Talk show is the first one I’ve seen on video.  Throughout this lengthy 34 minute clip, GZA demonstrates how science, specifically astrophysics, has informed not only his own music but that of other members of the Wu-Tang Clan.

Related articles

• Wu Tang Clan’s GZA Teams with Columbia Univ. Prof to Use Hip-Hop to Teach Science (atlantablackstar.com

This is why the GZA is called the Genius. This is also why he is my favorite member.

(via insaniyat)

tobia:

Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap (2012)

Directed by Ice-T
Starring: Bun B, B-Real, Afrika Bambaataa, Common, Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, Ice Cube, Mike D, Chuck D, Joe Budden, Kanye West, Nas, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Rakim, ….

“Ice-T is infatuated with the clever wordplay associated with rap music. So the rapper-actor takes offense when people – including his wife Coco – only pay attention to the beat of the song and not its lyrics. He says spewing out rhymes for several minutes is not as easy as it looks: There’s more to the craft of rap. That is why Ice-T wants to show the importance of lyricism in rap music through his new documentary, “Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap.” In the documentary, Ice-T goes from New York to Los Angeles to Detroit to talk-one-on-one with acts ranging from Run-DMC, Eminem, Dr. Dre, KRS-One, Melle Mel, Kanye West to Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def). The result is an insightful, insider take on the rap game.” —Jonathan Landrum Jr. for The Huffington Post.

“Loosely organized by geography, “Something From Nothing” consists of Ice-T’s visiting famous practitioners he knows, and asking how they do it, and what it was like back in the day. But he also asks them to show off their skills: Almost everyone featured, from KRS-One and Doug E. Fresh to Nas, Q-Tip and most fiercely Kanye West, freestyles — in unbroken takes — or trades favorite lines or anecdotes from some deeply felt influence. As history, hitting the usual beats with legendary Bronx origins, East-West distinctions and so on, the film’s account can be shallow. Likewise, the bumper shots of city streets and helicopter views grow tiresome. But when the theory and practice come out in equally full force, “Something From Nothing” gets closer to the heart of the matter than you might expect from its famous roster.” —Nicolas Rapold for NYTimes.

(Source: Tobia)

thepoliticalnotebook:

Some musical accompaniment while you pay attention to the electoral developments coming out of Egypt… This awesome song is “Rebel”* by Egyptian hip-hop/rap trio the Arabian Knightz. The chorus samples a portion of a Lauryn Hill (of The Fugees and The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill) performance of her 2002 MTV Unplugged track “ I Find It Hard to Say (Rebel).” This song has stuck with me as one of the classic pieces to come out of the eighteen-day uprising against Mubarak, and remains relevant to revolutionary politics in Egypt right now. This particular song really exemplifies how suited the Arabic language and hip hop are to one another. Give the original Lauryn Hill track a listen, too. What a voice.

The Arabian Knightz code-switch between Egyptian dialect Arabic and English. The first half of the song is in Arabic and the second is in English. Below is my own translation of the first half, which may be imperfect.

Egypt is revolting against the shadows of darkness.
The people want the fall of the regime.
They killed us, they slaughtered us, they imprisoned us, they tortured us, they made us afraid, they terrorized us, and they ignored us.
The Egyptian people will not die.
The desire of the people must prevail.
My country, your country.
My money, your money.
This must end: my slavery and your slavery.
My pains and your pains, we are healing them.
We have peaceful dreams that should be shouted.
In the spirit of Nasser and Salah El Din.
We are calling for freedom, shoulder to shoulder united.
Egyptians are revolting, steadfast in certainty.
Restrained from expression: we are soldiers, we are armored.
How can you today, brother Egyptian, be a barrier to your rights and the rights of your fellow Egyptians?
This is your Egypt and his Egypt!

*The command verb, not the noun.

"Even if everything else is taken from you, even if they throw you in jail and strip you of your clothes and your freedom, they can’t take away who the fuck you are and who your people are and what they have done for the world. That’s culture motherfucker."

Immortal Technique 11/19/11 (via little-fighter)

super-eklectic1:

~ The Soulquarians ~

Left to Right: Talib Kweli, Common (kneeling), Mos Def, James Poyser, Erykah Badu, Questlove, D’Angelo, Q-Tip, J Dilla (kneeling), Bilal

hip hop

(Source: djrenaissance, via super1eklectic)

thepoliticalnotebook:

Listen of the Day. The popular and often political Cairene rap group Arabian Knightz, posted a new song this morning to their YouTube channel: “Sisters” ft. Isam Bachiri and Shadia Mansour. A song made up of their trademark mix of Arabic and English lyrics, they rap in support of the experiences of Arab women and Arab women revolutionary activists. 

[via]

"

.
I can’t create and not live….we’re all trying to get to this next level without the next level finding us. Life is like peaks and valleys. Some people explain that as good times/bad times, but I actually think it is learning/mastership or study/mastership. In hip hop (life) every body is like I’m the master, I’m not moving, I’m dope, I’m hot,I’m here, I’ve arrived, I’m not going anywhere and that is when you stay stuck on one hill, one mountain. I went from the top of one mountain I had mastered something and people appreciated it. So here I am descending this hill and everybody is like “where are you going? we’re suppose to be on top of the hill.” But it is an exciting time for me, because I am at the foot of another hill. This hill is different, you got to navigate it different, but I get to learn. Once you learn and go through that you are at the top of another one. Never be afraid of not knowing…find out, because that is how you get to mastership. Think big and think in doses (experiences). Don’t be afraid of experiences that teach you. Our generation is so cool and we know everything…that’s just not realistic, no one knows everything. When you are uncool that is the road to cool. When you’re cool already that’s the road to not being cool anymore.

I pray more now to understand than to be understood…I pray more now to learn how to love than to be loved

Snips from a speech given by Lauryn Hill 10 years ago

"

Lauryn Hill (via eclecticalexandria)

(Source: sensualproverb, via kaiulanioya)

karnythia:

charquaouia:

Rolling Stone Middle East | The Passion, Politics and Power of Shadia Mansour

“You can take my falafel and hummus, but don’t f***ing touch my keffiyeh,” declares 26-year-old British-Palestinian MC Shadia Mansour from a New York stage as she introduces her song, “El Kofeyye 3arabeyye” (The Keffiyeh Is Arab), written when she discovered that an American company had created a blue-and-white version of the iconic Arab scarf with stars of David on it. Then she starts rhyming. Arabic words emerge like a burst of machine-gun fire.

Mansour only became an MC by chance. But today she’s regarded as one of the luminaries of the Arab hip-hop scene, a platform she has used to declare a musical intifada [uprising] against oppression – be it the occupation of her people’s land, the repression of women, or conservative opposition to her music.

“I’m like the keffiyeh/However you rock me/Wherever you leave me/I stay true to my origins/Palestinian,” she raps from the stage. 

In response, numerous red-and-white and black-and-white checked scarves appear above the crowd at Galapagos Art Space in Dumbo, Brooklyn, where Mansour is performing. This is the first concert on a fundraising tour for the organization Existence is Resistance, which organizes hip-hop tours in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Mansour is part of a crew of MCs from the Arab diaspora performing both their own songs and collaborations with each other.

“This is how we wear the keffiyeh/The Arab keffiyeh,” she sings. Her voice, so uncompromising and stern just a second ago, has switched to soft velvet. The audience is rapt. “Every single man, woman and child that the Israeli government kills will give birth to another rapper/Because we are the new generation,” Mansour shouts.

The keffiyeh has become an important focus of Mansour’s image and her music, as it has for many Arab MCs. She received her first keffiyeh from her grandfather in Nazareth. Originally, it had purely personal, sentimental connotations for her. “Now when I put it on, it’s like a statement. It’s Arab,” she says. “Our image is still being distorted, and I am not going to allow that.” 

“The keffiyeh represents struggle now more than ever before,” says Mansour’s friend Yassin Alsalman, the Iraqi-Canadian rapper who goes by the stage name The Narcicyst, with whom Mansour collaborated on the track “Hamdulilah” (Praise God.) “At first it represented nationalism, but for our generation it represents the oneness of nations.” That explains the anger Mansour expresses in her lyrics:

Now these dogs are starting to wear it as a trend
No matter how they design it, no matter how they change its color
The keffiyeh is Arab, and it will stay Arab
The scarf, they want it
Our intellect, they want it
Our dignity, they want it
Everything that’s ours, they want it
We won’t be silent, we won’t allow it
It suits them to steal something that ain’t theirs and claim that it is.

“It’s cultural appropriation,” says Alsalman, of the current clamor for keffiyehs among non-Arabs. “There is a thin line between showing respect to a culture and appropriating it because you assume it is cool or hot or chic.” Both artists agree that wearing the scarf and singing about it is their way of reappropriating and reowning it.  

I have thoughts about the mention of appropriation & hip hop going global, but they should probably wait until morning when I can be articulate & work out why I am okay with the use of it for politics, but not okay with the lack of support for political rappers of any color.