[video] Making of Buzz Aldrin’s Rocket Experience w/ Snoop Dogg and Talib Kweli

WTF? Like I was saying earlier, it feels like Bizarro world in Hip Hop as of lately. Last year Wayne took us to Mars, this year Snoop is in the booth with Aldrin, the second dude to set foot on the moon. What’s next, a remix with Kanye and The Dream for the “Walking on the Moon” joint? That’ll be a great shoe in wouldn’t it be?

[video] “Homecoming” Talib feat. John Forte

I’ve been overlooking this in this blogosphere but I’m glad I gave it a listen. This sh*t is stupid! Did George Bush know what the f*ck he was doing when he released this lyrical beast back to the streets? Welcome home, Mr. John Forte, I’m sure he got some stories to tell…

more about “ “Homecoming” Talib feat. John…“, posted with vodpod

 

John Forte Plans Youth Outreach, Friend Kweli Celebrates His Release

via Allhiphop

Grammy winning producer and rapper John Forte was released today (December 22) after serving seven years in prison on a drug smuggling conviction.

The rapper gained his freedom after singer Carly Simon, Utah Senator Orrin Hatch and others assisted in getting the rapper’s conviction commuted via a pardon from President George Bush.

Forte learned of his sentence being overturned on November 24 by a fellow inmate who watched the news on CNN.

The Brooklyn rapper began his promising career in 1996 by writing two songs on the Grammy-winning, nine-times platinum Fugees’ classic The Score.

[video] Talib Kweli- EAT TO LIVE

Talib Kweli- EAT TO LIVE

An elder once told me ‘revolution starts in the kitchen’

Mos To Play Chuck Berry in “Cadillac Records”

Source: AP

Brooklyn rapper Mos Def who has a burgeoing movie career(sans Be Kind Rewind) is due to portray Chuck Berry in the Chess Records film biopic due to be released sometime next year. The AP is reporting that filming has already begun in New Jersey.

The Sony BMG film is set in 1950s Chicago and follows the turbulent lives of Chess Records co-founder Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody), and the label’s artists, including Waters (Jeffrey Wright), Little Walter (Columbus Short), Howlin’ Wolf (Eamonn Walker), Etta James (Beyonce Knowles) and Willie Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer).

Darnell Martin (“Their Eyes Were Watching God”) is directing from his own script.

More here

Kweli Throws Support Behind Obama

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During the last presidential race Hip Hop began a formidable voice and overnight a political tool to be reckoned with.  Russell and Diddy were the frontrunners with various voter drives and fashion statements emphasizing the need to get out the vote.  Well, this race has seen a different approach.  While there have been endorsements the fanfare isn’t the same.  Joining the ranks of Common, Will.I.Am, Mos Def and a few other artists in support of Obama Talib Kweli hopes to galvanize the voting base by throwing his support behind Mr. Obama on the eve of Super Tuesday by releasing a statement as to why he is placing his faith in The Campaign of Hope:  

 “It is the last year of the Bush Administration and thank God. I usually rail against being described as simply ‘political rapper,’ and I haven’t voted since Bill Clinton first ran for president. I was following the tradition that black Americans have had of voting for Democrats since we got the right in 1964 (temporarily). Then, Clinton, as president’s go, seemed better than Bush Sr., but I did not like his policies in Sudan or the constant bombing of Iraq. I also did not like the way our government dragged us through the Lewinsky Scandal. I felt betrayed by the system, and I stopped voting, no longer accepting of the lesser of two evils. I knew the two party system was designed to fail us. I knew that politicians must lie for a living, because it would be impossible to make good on their promises. I knew about the lobbyists and the PAC. I did not make it my issue, but if someone asked me, I would explain why I didn’t vote. Most of the time people talked to me like I lost my mind, but every once and awhile someone understood. I knew that our ancestors fought and died for the right to vote, but I didn’t feel like voting for the lesser of two evils in a broken system was the proper way to honor them. It was pageantry, and I wasn’t with it. I wasn’t with Vote or Die, because I knew that voting itself, with no real knowledge of who is paying these candidates to run million dollar a day campaigns, is far from a revolutionary act. I haven’t even started to talk about the electoral college that they taught us about in grade school. In this republic, delegates votes are counted, and states with more land have more votes. You can technically have more votes, but lose the election. When the verdict is in question, the Supreme Court decides, as they did when Al Gore clearly won the election but lost due to bipartisan bullshit. The bankers of the world pay our politicians, and often tailor laws and regulations to line their own pockets. I have often stated that I cannot participate in a system that not only is designed to see me fail, but corrupts itself as well. This was all before Barack Obama threw his hat in the ring. I, like many, appreciated his effort from the sidelines, watching him do the dance on the news. I found myself relating to him and enjoying hearing him speak, but I still remained distrustful of politicians in general. I felt like I could serve my community in many ways on a grassroots level that proceeded politics. I started to see the Obama campaign doing that grassroots work.

Fight The Powers That Be

Check this clip out from QD3 titled “Rappers vs. Bush” capturing Hip Hop artists voicing their contempt for the current administration and their thoughts on the political process…classic

“If you don’t vote you’re not going to die, you’ll just live terribly”                                                                                           -Killer Mike