Not sure if it's "the Best Website Ever", but ?uestlove's new spill page is definitely entertaining — and, if anything, deserves a design award.
Click the image to get your Hollywood glimpse (through the eyes of an unusually intellectual celebrity musician, of course). See below for our Top Picks.
Top Picks
Nas — This dude was my favorite emcee growing up. I kicked it for two hours with his father, Jazz/Blues legend Olu Dara. I chose his side against Jay. And I've wanted to support him in his battles with Kelis. But damn.
Russell Simmons — This illustrates what so often happens in activist circles: competitiveness and infighting over discourse and collaboration.
Rosario Dawson — Ever since Larry Clark's KIDS, Rosario has been my girl. But this story was more about our insatiable celebrity culture, and the toll it takes on the person behind the celebrity.
Allen Iverson — Cuz this sh*t is too damn funny to miss.
Amy Winehouse — Cuz you can't always believe what you read/hear.
Kanye West — Cuz I knew he was arrogant (read: insecure).
lauryn hill — I was actually nervous clicking this one. And at least it makes you laugh.
dead prez — Been trying (unsuccessfully) to link with these dudes for a minute now, because they're dope emcees with a World View like mine... I've always wondered if they were as revolutionary in action as in lyric. And this story answered the question, kind of.
Robert De Niro — Rather than crumple paper for a night, let's just put it like this. This guy's acting credits include: Mean Streets, The Godfather, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, Raging Bull, Brazil, The Untouchables, Goodfellas, Cape Fear, A Bronx Tale, Casino, Heat, Wag the Dog, Jackie Brown, Ronin and The Good Shepherd, as well as Analyze This, Analyze That and Meet the Parents. Plus, dude is just cool. And he owns one of the best restaurants in my favorite city, Tribeca Grill in Manhattan... And this story, thankfully, confirms EVERYTHING.
James Brown — Fame sucks. So does meeting famous people.
Herbie Hancock — A full story, with compelling lead-in, sorrowful climax and satisfying denouement.
Jeremy Piven — Despite his being a terrible representation of the modern Jew, I can't help but thoroughly enjoy his exploits. And this story.
will.i.am — You can read it, but, if you're like me, you won't believe it.
MF DOOM — Do the masked emcee's secrets get revealed!?
Bob Dylan — Cuz sometimes it's fun to live vicariously.
BB King — Cuz sometimes it's fun to live vicariously. (And because all of this is well-deserved. Salute!)
This is what we have come to expect from the revolutionary hip hop duo dead prez... This particular track means a lot to us, due to AWKWORD's mother suffering from late-stage cancer... And, oh yeah, LOL to dead prez "taking over" B.O.B.'s original single... Go cop that dp album when it drops in June!
This is why we LOVE HIP HOP! Click the image to download.
OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
IN HONOR OF MOTHER’S DAY, DEAD PREZ DEDICATES THEIR NEW SONG, “THE BEAUTY WITHIN”, TO MOTHERS EVERYWHERE. “THE BEAUTY WITHIN” IS FROM THEIR NEW PROJECT WITH DJ DRAMA AND IS A “TAKEOVER” OF B.O.B.’S “NOTHING ON YOU”.
SONG TITLE: “The Beauty Within” ARTIST: Dead Prez & DJ Drama ALBUM: Revolutionary But Gangsta Grillz
THE REVOLUTIONARY BUT GANGSTA DUO DEAD PREZ HAS TEAMED UP WITH SOUTHERN MIXTAPE KING DJ DRAMA FOR A COLLABORATIVE STREET ALBUM TITLED REVOLUTIONARY BUT GANGSTA GRILLZ. IN THE SPIRIT OF DEAD PREZ’S RENOWNED TURN OFF THE RADIO SERIES, THE ALBUM WILL FEATURE A MIXTURE OF TAKEOVER (COVERS) AND ORIGINAL BEATS WITH STIC.MAN AND M-1 LAYING MIND PROVOKING LYRICS WITH REFRESHED FLOW AND RESILIENCE. THE ALBUM WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD ON JUNE 10TH, 2010 AT WWW.DEADPREZ.COM AS THEY PREPARE FOR THE RELEASE OF THEIR SOON COMING FULL LENGTH ALBUM INFORMATION AGE.
On January 22, 2010, AWKWORD appeared live at Southpaw in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York, alongside Jabba (a.k.a. Hip Hop Pantsula) of South Africa, Asheru (of Boondocks fame) and Umi (dead prez affiliate), for a hip hop show benefiting the fight against AIDS in Africa, as well as promoting hip hop in education.
Umi (P.O.W. / People's Army / RBG Fam) was born in Tuskegee, Ala. His rebellious nature helps remind people everyday that their true independence is still waiting to be claimed. He continues to show listeners that music can be used not only to get money, but also to mobilize and motivate the people.
Umi is perhaps best known for touring the globe, performing and recording with now-legendary revolutionary rap group dead prez. But Umi has also opened for -- or shared the stage with -- The Roots, Dave Chapelle, Mos Def, Styles P, Method and Redman, Busta Rhymes, David Banner, Erykah Badu and others, as well as released several street-classic mixtapes, solo and with his group P.O.W. In 2008, Umi teamed up with Sony Red and DJ Child of Project Groundation to take his solo career to another level. His 2009 release, Project Groundation & Umi present "I'm Just A Prisoner" the mixtape/album, features dead prez, Ayatollah, Mistah F.A.B. and 9th Wonder, among others.
AWKWORD was born the same day as MTV. Some say he was made to make music. But AWKWORD is a paradox, an anomaly, a contradiction... Descendent of the 12 Tribes of Israel, I am the fallen angel of hip hop -- my wings are clipped, torn and tattered, bloodied. I am a tragic personality, the Charlie Brown-slash-George Costanza of rap -- that is, someone who has gotten so used to bad luck that he has learned to turn around and laugh at it. I am the Hunter S. Thompson of hip hop -- brilliant but dangerous. I am the modern-day Abba Kovner -- I risk my life fighting for the underdog, the impoverished, the powerless. I am the people's champ. In high school, I had a 4.3 grade point average but was suspended half the time for beating up racist hicks and misogynist jocks. This didn't stop, until I found hip hop. For me, this music, this culture, is, and always has been, my outlet. I love hip hop, because it saved me, and I would therefore do anything to keep the culture creative, instead of destructive.
AWKWORD is the mastermind behind World View, the earth's first 100%nonprofit global hip hop project, brought to you by The Morgan Stanley Foundation and the world-famous EOW (End of the Weak; EODub).
All proceeds from World View, the album, will be donated to Guns 4 Cameras (a.k.a. Aim to Live), a registered 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to eradicating gun violence through the hip hop-inspired education and empowerment of our inner-city youth. The organization's founder, Hezues R' was shot at 22 times at age 22 -- and survived to re-dedicate his life to saving the streets. The organization's Spokesperson is hip hop icon Pharoahe Monch; he and Hezues travel the country speaking to the youth about hip hop and making the right choices.
With World View, AWKWORD is continuing that tradition of using hip hop music to connect people for positive change.
AWKWORD stands behind a decade-plus in the music business. His first release, "the Sub-Way mixtape," featured such hip hop icons such as Raekwon, Killah Priest and Remedy of Wu-Tang, ILL BILL and Necro, Tragedy Khadafi, GURU of Gang Starr, Scram Jones and others, and received rave reviews industry-wide. According to Elemental Magazine, AWKWORD showed the most heart on the album, while Juicy Magazine said standing out from Eminem would be easy...
The AWKWORD solo debut, "See the Light" (an Exit 97.7 Top Album of 2008), was the inspiration for World View, which is growing as a phenomenon on a daily basis.
Throughout 2009, AWKWORD recorded tracks for World View (as well as for other projects, such as the World View promotional mixtape, dropping a month before), with artists such as Jadakiss, KRS-One, Skyzoo, Sha Stimuli, ILL BILL, Pace Won, Main Flow, AWOL One and Josh Martinez, amongst many others. He appeared on the hit single "New York Minute," produced by Harry Fraud and featuring Jadakiss, Vast Aire, Mazzi (S.O.U.L. Purpose) and Punchline. And in January-February 2010, the official World View / Guns 4 Cameras / BloomBars collaboration single (prod. by Harry Fraud) is coming to fruition, featuring AWKWORD, Asheru, Jabba (South Africa), Sha Stimuli, Lil Cease, G Fella, and surprise guests.
When World View drops in First Quarter 2010, it will feature production from 15+ nations and every continent on earth -- along with a number of befitting MC cameos (as referenced aboved). "New York Minute" and the World View / Guns 4 Cameras / BloomBars collabo will appear on the album, which is being digitally distributed worldwide.
THIS is the FIRST time anything like this has ever been done in hip hop. AWKWORD is a revolutionary. And WORLD VIEW is just the beginning of his (our) revolution.
Asheru is widely known for performing the opening and closing themes for the popular TV series “The Boondocks,” as well as his pioneering and innovative efforts to forward the hip hop education movement. Asheru also collaborated with Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder to write and perform several songs for the hit TV series. In 2006, Asheru became the first rapper ever to win the prestigious Peabody Award for Journalism, for his writing of Boondocks's controversial "Return of the King" episode. Asheru (of the famed duo Unspoken Heard) has traveled extensively throughout Japan, Europe, Canada and the United States, alongside Common, Mos Def, Jill Scott, Bilal, Ludacris, Edo G, J‐Live, Wordsworth and The Roots. He has collaborated and been featured on projects with Pete Rock, Talib Kweli and DJ Jazzy Jeff. Asheru’s recent collaboration with international funk and breaks band, Fort Knox Five, played in NBA arenas the last two seasons.
Born Gabriel Benn, Asheru is the founder of Guerilla Arts, Inc., a community-based organization specializing in innovative education, cultural arts programming, and professional development. Since 2005, his Hip-Hop Education Literacy Program (HELP) has partnered with dozens of recording artists, including Common, Jay-Z, Kanye West, KRS-One, Nas and Rakim. In 2008, HELP received a letter of endorsement from President (then, Senator) Barack Obama. Today, HELP can be found in classrooms across the country.
On January 15, 2010, Asheru's new supplemental reading workbook series for HELP was released. The workbooks use hip hop lyrics to help students of all ages improve their reading and critical analysis -- and help teachers improve literacy instruction. One of the books features the lyrics of a collaboration between international hip hop icon Nas and African hip hop icon Jabba.
Recently nominated for an African Grammy and winner of the Best Video Award at the MTV Africa Awards, Jabba’s celebrity is evidenced by his chart-topping songs, regular network and television appearances and acclaim by music critics across the globe. Jabba has shared the stage with Will Downing, Angelique Kidjo, Wyclef Jean, Jamie Cullum, Saul Williams, Snoop Dogg and others. Before the MAMA ceremony, Wyclef, a Haitian-American multi-platinum instrumentalist, rapper and record producer, said he planned to record with Jabba, who, he said, is among the select few “representing the new generation of African music."
Jabba, whose real name is Jabulani Tsambo, practices Motswako-style (or, "mixture" in Setswana) rap -- a combinatin of Setswana, Zulu and English. His music ranges from smooth jazzy vocal harmonies to indigenous rhythms to classic 'American' hip hop.
Jabba has received numerous awards and significant recognition for his community work and charity, such as his effort to combat AIDS or promote education and literacy through hip hop. He was invited by Oprah to lecture to students at her Leadership Academy for Girls.
Outside of the United States, Jabba's a regular in the media. In 2007, he won the third season of the reality dance show "Strictly Come Dancing," with his professional dance partner Hayley Bennett. In 2008, he starred as himself in 11 episodes of the e.tv musical soap "Rhythm City." In 2009, he was one of the featured celebrities on the first season of the South African version of the genealogy documentary series "Who Do You Think You Are?" He also appeared on the National Parenting Test episode of the popular quiz show "Test The Nation," serving as Team Captain for the Fathers.
On January 15, 2010, Jabba, also known as Hip Hop Pantsula (HHP), one of South Africa's leading hip hop artists for the last decade, arrived in Washington, D.C., for a two-week residency at BloomBars, a Washington-based nonprofit organization that works to inspire and unite communities through the arts, while nurturing artists committed to serving the community. The goal of the residency, which lasts through the end of the month, is to build a bridge between the hip hop communities in South Africa and the United States, promoting cross-cultural awareness about critical issues affecting those communities.
