Tha Hip Hop Doc & Dee-1 Present: My Life Is In Your Hands

Since establishing themselves as a formidable rap duo in 2008 with the infectious group collabo, State of Emergency, Louisiana bred emcees H2D AKA “Tha Hip Hop Doc” and Dee-1 continue their mission sans the assistance of the Legion of Health. My Life Is In Your Hands, a decidedly more conscious and introspective stare into the lives of successive generations, provides Doc and Dee the opportunity to make good on a more personal community building initiative. Needless to say, they nail it by delivering inspiring rhymes over equally impressive beats.

A gift even, My Life Is In Your Hands, represents the lecture your son or daughter never knew was coming. Thankfully, it’s one that won’t fall on deaf ears given its platform, clever wordplay and contagious soul riffs. The message is simple, but not too overbearing. “If my life were in your hands, would you do right by me?”

Inclusive of strong choruses, lifelike skits and suggestive material, which offers how life’s pendulum might turn in an instance, “I’m Too Smart For That,” sets an untroubled tone that makes for easy listening… and learning. (continue reading…)

The GraffLife: A Documentary On Urban Hieroglyphics | Devol Productions | www.thegrafflife.com

Hip Hop may have jumped off somewhere near Sedgwick and Cedar some 35 years ago, but rest assured the culture therein spread across the country in light speed. Some 3,000 miles away, as the Big Apple basked in the goodness of its newfound form of art, b boys in the Golden State learned the tricks of the trade with equal enthusiasm.

So goes the award winning documentary The GraffLife, which delves into the heart and mind of the Southern California based graffiti artist. With unlimited access to their daily trek, the film follows a popular crew (Metro Train Assassins AKA MTA or City’s Most Hated AKA CMH) into the wee hours of the night/morning. Very much the sport and a lifestyle, a variety of “bombers” and “taggers,” provide accommodating insight into what makes them tick as masters of the oldest free-form expression of art, otherwise known as modern day hieroglyphics.

While the obvious goal is to express their freedom artistically, crews do have order. Successful ones live by the motto of democracy and like it or not, are often bound by the rules of society. (continue reading…)

The fact that concert promoters were forced to cut ticket prices to two thirds of what they were originally charging, was the tell tale sign that either Ice Cube is not the same draw he once was or they had no business asking for $34 during a recession. Out of complete respect and due to the fact that Cube dropped one hell of an album this year, we’ll assume the latter is the reason for the subpar turnout. Granted, the move from Center Stage was absolutely necessary and The Loft was a good fit for a spirited crowd that was made to sit through opening act performances that were not so California. Kid Kaos got the party started with a backpacker friendly set and Haziq Ali was later met with less than jovial responses. Tolerable, but not so polite that they wouldn’t jeer, shades of “Showtime at the Apollo” emerged as verbal sirens were set off, followed by signature hand gestures that meant “get the fuck off the stage” in no uncertain terms.  

In between sets the music was less than appealing to the West Coast enthusiast. While Notorious B.I.G. and Kangol from UTFO are either classic or nostalgic for different reasons, this just wasn’t the night you wanted to hear them. “Five On It,” “Dopeman” and other classic West Coast material was accepted with better fervor, but not often enough.

Detroit native Trick Trick put a definitive cease to the cantankerous mood of the crowd as he heated the joint up with a commanding performance. Forgive us though if we couldn’t rap along with him. Be that as it may, he almost certainly gained a new handful of fans by not giving a fuck if they’d ever heard of him or his current project, The Villain.  

As Ice Cube emerged onto the small stage, the crowd expectedly packed it in. With little to no room to move, patrons from the front end all the way to the back waved their respective W’s and joined the Don Mega, reciting classic lyrics verbatim. Known as an extremely active performer, Cube was limited as to how much ground he could cover, but made up for it with animated body language and clear, concise delivery on select efforts from America’s Most…, Predator, War & Peace, Death Certificat, Laugh Now, Cry Later and Raw Footage. An unexpected duet with Young Jeezy was met with a healthy ovation as the two rappers did “I Got My Locs On,” but the CTE boss turned in an apathetic performance. Meanwhile, Cube was his normal dynamic self. Kind of made you wish Killer Mike was there instead.

All things considered, including the rain, it was a good day/night. Never a dull moment when Cube hits the stage…

HELLO!

The GAME/ L.A.X. (Los Angeles Times)/ Black Wallstreet
If you’re holding your breath anticipating The GAME might cease the excessive name dropping on this album, you just might turn blue in the face. If you’re expecting another stellar project from the self-proclaimed “King of the Coast,” you got it in L.A.X. (Los Angeles Times) – sorta. (continue reading…)