Blogg för Hip Hop Legacy

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den 3 september

Artist Bio-Jurassic 5

Following a successful album is never easy, no matter what the style of music. In hip-hop, the challenge is arguably more difficult since the whims of the genre are constantly shifting, the sounds ever-evolving. On their second full length album, Power In Numbers, Jurassic 5 prove up to the task of answering one remarkable album – their first, Quality Control – with another. Nobody could really doubt the result. The Los Angeles-based outfit has always displayed a blazing ingenuity and inventiveness in their craft, earning the four MCs and two DJs of the group a loyal, dedicated following that reaches throughout the world.

Jurassic 5 – MCs Chali 2na, Zaakir (Soup), Akil and Marc 7 and DJs Cut Chemist and Nu-Mark – conjure an energy that recalls a throwback era in hip-hop, when the only thing that seemed to matter was the music and having fun. The time of park jams and block parties, of willful braggadocio and stylish wordplay, of crafty disc jockeys and handclap beats. J5 have always displayed characteristics of those back-in-the-day jams, like their powerful vocal harmonizing and amplified funk beats, but what the group embody more than stylistic flourishes is that era's spirit: making good music that connects with the people.

That sentiment is especially true on Power In Numbers, which the group describes as an all-together different sounding album but one still is very much a part of the Jurassic 5 tradition.

"We all knew we wanted to do something different than what we had done before, with a whole new sound and a whole new texture to the music," explains Cut Chemist. "We were kind of starting from scratch with no regard to what we had done before, experimenting with technique and sound."

Jurassic 5's roots lie in the L.A. Underground, a hip-hop movement centered around The Good Life Café open-mic space in the heart of South Central Los Angeles' old jazz district, where dozens of MCs and DJs would congregate regularly to perform. During its most prolific period (1991-1994), the L.A. Underground was a Mecca of musical innovation, spawning groups like The Pharcyde and Freestyle Fellowship; more importantly, the movement encouraged its artists to constantly balance progressive styles and good music – an idea that still resonates with J5, the most successful group to emerge from that scene.

Jurassic 5 formed in 1993 as the union between two separate hip-hop groups, Rebels of Rhythm and Unity Committee, both frequent participants at The Good Life. The two groups came together to release a spontaneous, one-off single, "Unified Rebelution," which made a deep impression with true hip-hop heads everywhere. Its success emphasized the chemistry each of the artists had with one another and they decided to form Jurassic 5 as a singular musical unit.

The rest is well documented. Their self-titled EP was released in 1997 on the group's own independent imprint, selling tens of thousands of copies around the world. Signed to Interscope Records shortly thereafter, with a re-release of their EP, J5 found themselves mentioned in the same breath as groups like The Roots, De La Soul, Mos Def and Talib Kweli – artists who served as an important and welcomed counterpoint to the prevailing standards of hip-hop music.

With Power In Numbers, J5 prove themselves to be more than just someone's alternative. Their fans proudly display the J5 symbol on t-shirts as if it were a superhero's call for something grander and better. Which is why Power In Numbers, recorded over about 18 months from 2001 and 2002, will strike a chord with listeners who find something about themselves in the organic sincerity of J5's music. "If anything, this album has a darker, harder edge to it," says Marc 7 of the new work. "It's a sign of the times. Things are happening in the world and, of course, it affects us on an artistic level."

Jurassic 5 are using their skills to be deft cultural commentators while still rocking the party. "What means the world to me is being free / Live and let live and just let it be / Love, peace and harmony one universal family," Akil says on "Freedom," and his words echo the sentiment of the entire group.

Elsewhere, the new sounds abound. "One of Them" questions the motives of some of their peers, a vindictive edge to the group many haven't seen. "Hey," meanwhile," is a refined, mellow excursion into mood music, it's soulful melody and soft organ touches making it a defiantly new style for the group. "Thin Line" fits in the same category, featuring the talented, sinewy vocals of singing sensation (and J5 fan) Nelly Furtado, who helps create an infectious pop song contemplating relationships between men and women.

"I never thought that we could do a song like that," admits Cut Chemist. "But I'm listening to it and I'm thinking, 'This is a really good SONG,' a pop song when it was healthy to do good pop songs."

Power In Numbers features a little bit of everything. "Break" could be described as a classic J5 song with its metered beats and lyrical playfulness, but its heavier sound makes it bounce harder. "A Day At The Races" features classic lyricists Percee P and Big Daddy Kane as guest MCs. The song is based on a beat Cut Chemist created ten years ago, his homage to "fast-rap" artists like Kane and Kool G Rap. "That was a dream come true, to work with the two of them," says Marc 7.

J5 included new producers on their album, including JuJu from the Beatnuts (If You Only Knew, One of Them) and SA-RA Creative Partners which consists of Shafiq, Ommas Keith and Taz Arnold (Hey). However, the bedrock of the J5 sound lies with Cut Chemist and Nu-Mark, both of whom relished the opportunity to create a new palette of sounds for the new album. Their ingenuity in mining new sounds out of old records is unparalleled in hip-hop – almost a lost art considering the sparse minimalism dominating hip-hop music these days – and Nu-Mark's fetish for exotic instruments always adds another layer to the group's sound. This time around, the album was recorded entirely at Nu-Mark's new home studio in Los Angeles.

As always, Jurassic 5 remains dedicated to their live shows: energetic, tightly performed, can't-miss affairs that emanate infectious vibes. The summer of 2002 features the group on the road as part of the Smokin' Grooves Tour, with Outkast, Lauryn Hill and The Roots. That J5 can do this kind of tour, as well as something like the Vans Warped Tour in past years, only underscores the versatility they exhibit as a group and the breadth of listeners who appreciate their sound.

It all bodes well for their latest, Power In Numbers. "It's such a struggle every day because no matter what we've accomplished, we're still striving," says Marc 7. "It's not to be at 'the top,' because that means you have to fail. We're striving for consistency, to make a solid record every time. Every time out, J5 won't disappoint."

den 2 september

Hip Hop Timeline-1969-1975

1969

Don Campbell had become a well-known street dancer in Los Angeles and invented a dance called "Campbellock".

1970-1973

Hip Hop "Grandfather" Afrika Bambaataa (Godfather of Hip-Hop culture, Father of the Electro Funk sound, founder of the Universal Zulu Nation, visionary, historian, and the Master of Records) starts to DJ.
1970 - The Last Poets, pioneers of hip-hop, record their self-named LP on Douglas Records, using a mixture of spoken word and jazz drumming and instrumentations.
The origin of tagging, began in New York City in the early 70s by Vic, a mail courier who rode the local subways and buses to deliver his packages. He set a goal for himself to visit every subway and ride every bus in NY. (aka "All City") He began to write his name (Vic) and his courier ID number (156) on every subway and bus he rode on.
Phase 2 (bubble styles), Case 2, Tracy 168, Sly II, Chain 3, Lee 163d, Julio 204, Frank 207 and Joe 136 were many early NYC tag names as well as originators of various styles of piecing such as: bubble, wildstyle and computer style.
No one knows who started graffiti during this era but we do know who made it famous. It was TAKI 183, a Greek teenager from Washington Heights named Demetrius.
One of the most revered graffiti crew and earliest group to form was the Ex-Vandals.
"Independent Writers" indicated their crew affiliation by writing "INDS" after their tags.
Graffiti group "Wanted" was founded by TRACY 168 in 1972. Tracy was a white kid who was so tough that he was allowed to hang out with the Black Spades (At its peak in the seventies "Wanted" had over seventy members.)
The Graffiti bombing movement began in the mid to late '60s in Philly, PA by writers CORNBREAD and COOL EARL.
Breakin' makes its first appearance in the clubs, Plaza Tunnel and the Puzzle. The earliest moves were the "Drop" and the "In-and-Out" (Top Rocking).
1973
Kool Herc, Father of Hip-Hop, aka Clive Campell, deejayed his first block party. He played soul, old funk and R&B records on his turntables. He was born in Jamaica and immigrated in '67 (age 12) from Kingston where he brought his knowledge of the Jamaican soundsystem scene to the Bronx.
Kool Herc played the 'break' or 'getdown' sections - the part where the break beat or percussion part of the song was played in its rawest form. But because the breaks of the songs weren't very long, he expanded them by using two turntables with double copies of the record. The "breakbeats" he rocked layed the foundation for the B-Boys (Break-Boys - The dancers who rocked out on the dancefloor during these breaks.
Official birthday of The Universal Zulu Nation is November 12,1973.
1974
After seeing Kool Herc play at parties Grandmaster Caz (Cold Crush Brothers), Bambaataa (aka Kahyan Aasim - born 1957) and Grandmaster Flash (innovator of the quick mix and cutting, master of the "wheels of steel") are heavily influenced by Herc's DJ skills.
Herc, Caz, Bambaataa and Flash play at block parties, parks, and house parties all over the Bronx neighborhoods.
Afrika Bambaataa reorganized "The Organization" and renamed it to the "Zulu Nation". Bam, a previous gang leader (Black Spades) and social activist, created a collective of DJs, breakers and graffiti artists to bring social conscienceness to hip hop. Five b-boys joined him who he called the Shaka Zulu Kings, there were also the Shaka Zulu Queens which along side the "Nigger Twins", were the very first B-Boying crews ever.
Graffiti Art has become widely visible on New Yorks subway cars.
Influenced by the Carribean style of "toast" and "boast", the pioneers began taking their turntables and speakers into parks and lightly rhyming over records. ("To tha beat y'all" or "And ya dont stop.")

1975

"Emceeing" evolved from party shouts like "'Kool Herc is in the house and he'll turn it out without a doubt".
Coke La Rock and Clark Kent (aka Tyrone Smith, not the DJ for Dana Dane) formed the first emcee team. They became known as Kool Herc and the Herculoids along with their DJ named Timmy Tim. (source: Phyllis Wilder)
New York City was broke with a poorly maintained transit system. Bubble lettered throw up pieces appeared all over the cars.
"Throw ups" peaked from '75 thru '77 from throw up kings IZ, PI, IN, LE, TO, OI, FI, CY, TEE, PEO, TI 149 and DY 167.

Artist Bio-Grandmaster Flash

Beginnings
During hip-hop’s nearly 30-year history, few names have become as well known to music lovers across the globe as that of Grandmaster Flash. Not only is he responsible for inventing the musical genre called Hip Hop but his pioneering use of the turntables make him The First DJ to play the Turntables as a Musical Instrument thus helping to elevate the status of the DJ to a masterful, artistic position. He is also responsible for assembling one of the earliest and greatest rap groups of all time – The Furious Five – these are some of the hallmarks of a career which has extended from the Bronx in the early 1970s to all corners of the globe into the 21st century.

Of Bajan decent Joseph Saddler, professionally known as “Flash” was born and raised in the Boogie down Bronx, and it was the area’s streets and nightlife that provided his inspirations. He developed his first crush on vinyl when he was just a boy playing with his Fathers records. By the time he was a teenager, studying electronics and engineering in school by day, he was already spinning records at block parties and in public parks.

Studying one particular DJ, known as Kool Herc, one of his greatest influences apart from his very own Father, and monitoring the crowd’s responses, led him to create and elevate this turntable art form as he developed such innovative turntable techniques as rearranging the arrangement of recorded songs and by extending the break in those recorded songs. He did this by using duplicate copies of a vinyl record and by manipulating his wrist and elbow moving it back and forth.. As early as 1971 he was scientifically inventing and demonstrating such methods and concepts he collectively called "The Quick Mix Theory " which encompassed the innovative technique of "Cutting" which laid the foundations for what became known as "Scratching" ( along with its many off shoots; "crab scratching"; "transforming"; and "flaring" ) as well as the "Doubleback/Back Door"; "Phasing"; and "Backspinning". Then came the "Clock Theory" which allowed Flash to find the break of a recorded song quickly by eye, by marking the vinyl with tape or a crayon. .. This manual display of taking a song apart and rearranging its structure live on stage contributed to the early development and rise of the DJ as a Remixer, Artist, and Producer.

These innovations quickly became recognized worldwide, and put both Flash and the Bronx on the worldwide musical map. Bill Gates, founder and chairman of Microsoft Corporation, recently honored Flash with the DJ Vanguard Award for being the First to utilize the turntables as a musical instrument.

Hip-Hop Culture was created in 1971 by three DJs , Flash being one of them, and then, contrary to popular belief, came the graffitti writers and the breakdancers, and the MCs followed much later. Flash recorded the unique sounds he created, and in 1977 began experimenting and collaborating with local MC's and put together his own group who became known as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Their reputation grew around Flash’s unrivaled DJ skills and the group’s blending and trading of lyrics. Flash also gained notice for the visually dynamic and acrobatic way he could spin and scratch records using his feet, toes and elbows.

1981’s “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel” was the first record to feature complex cuts and scratches, and introduced the name Grandmaster Flash as their originator. Following the group’s demise, Flash continued to make his mark by releasing solo albums, and was immortalized in Blondie’s hit song of 1980, “Rapture”: “Flash is fast, Flash is cool!”

Recent Activities and Accomplishments

Grandmaster Flash has remained one of the world’s most-respected musical innovators by never stopping his touring and performing for appreciative crowds around the world. He played the 1998 Super Bowl, and was invited by comedian Chris Rock to be the musical director for Rock’s groundbreaking HBO-TV series, where Flash could be seen onscreen spinning during the show’s four-year run. He performed for the closing of the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England in 2002 for more than 40,000 in attendance, which included Prime Minister Tony Blair and Queen Elizabeth, and billions of television viewers around the world.

In 2002, Flash designed and launched the Grandmaster Flash Signature Empath mixer for Rane Corporation, adding to previous endorsements by Louis Vuitton and Helmut Lang (for a signature-logo record carrying case), Sprite, Tommy Hilfiger, Gemini Sound and Kangol caps.

In recognition of his role in music history, Flash has been invited to contribute artifacts to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio and the Experience Music Project in Seattle, WA. Among his many awards are the Pioneer Award from Source magazine, the New Music Seminar Hall of Fame Award, the DMC Hall of Fame Award and B.E.T.’s Diamond Award. In June 2004, he was inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame with a plaque dedicated at 161st St. and the Grand Concourse, and a street named after him in New York City!.

Flash’s trailblazing sounds were recognized with the 2002 Strut Records release of The Official Adventures of Grandmaster Flash, a critically acclaimed collection of tracks which hark back to the block party tapes and sounds he created early in his career. Also during 2002, the label ffrr released Essential Mix: Classic Edition.

Since 2001, Grandmaster Flash has been a national radio DJ for Sirius Satellite Radio's Beat Box Channel 61 where he hosts "Flash Mash" and blends Pop, Rock, Jazz, Blues, Funk, Hip Hop, R'n'B and various genres of music into one continuous mix. Prior to this Flash was on WBLS and Hot 97 Radio. He has recently announced the formation of his new record label, Adrenaline City Entertainment. As a keynote speaker at the international MIDEM 2004 music conference in France, Flash outlined his plans for the label, which includes discovering, recording and releasing music by groundbreaking new talent.

During the summer of 2004, Flash was featured on the cover and in an interview in the new high-end, hardcover cultural magazine Swindle, whose motto is “timeless content".

Flash has produced the first hip-hop track in the 5.1 audio format for Microsoft, to be launched in Fall 2004 on www.msn.com.

In September 2004, Flash will be honored at the 7th anniversary of the Mix Show Power Summit in Puerto Rico with the Mix Power Summit Salute in recognition of his significant contribution to hip-hop culture, and his dedication to mixshow radio and the art of the DJ.

On October 1, 2004 Flash will be presented with a key to the city of Cincinnati, OH, by city official "Councilman Smitherman" and honored on October 2nd , 2004 with “Tha Blast Community Award” for his pioneering contribution to urban arts and culture. The award will be presented to Flash by musician and local hero Bootsy Collins, who received the award in 2003.

On May 9th 2005 CONVERSE will debut its brand new television commercial during the NBA Playoffs featuring Grandmaster Flash and Miami Heat basketball player Dwayne Wade. Music for the spot was created and produced by Flash.

On June 9th 2005 the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame will host Flash at the Museum in Cleveland where he will be presented with a Life-Time Achievement Award courtesy of the RIAA.

On September 22, 2005 VH1 will honor Flash for his contribution to DJ culture and Hip Hop at their annual Hip Hop Honors Awards Show which will be televised live around the world.

In 2006 Flash will release his much anticipated memoirs in a Book - penned by famed author David Ritz who wrote Marvin Gayes and Ray Charles' autobiography and titled "The Message: The Grandmaster Flash Story".

In 2006 Flash will launch his very own signature clothing line - called "G.Phyire" in association with Five Pointz.

And to top it all Joseph Saddler - DJ Grandmaster Flash has been nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame making him the First DJ and Hip Hop Artist to ever be nominated along with the Furious Five.

With 22 Awards under his belt, honoring Flash for being the First DJ to make the Turntables a Musical Instrument its easy to see why this man is such an icon and great inspiration to many around the globe.

This is My Tribute to the World of Hip Hop

Welcome everyone to this page which I have created to give love to hip hop, rap, artists, and everything else that encompasses the HUGE world of Urban Life. Enjoy and comment and give me requests of artists you would like to see.