Best Rap/Hip-Hop Solo Artist: Phat Kat
He might be on a label outta San Francisco now, but Phat Kat keeps Motown close to his heart — and based on your votes, it appears you heads keep him close to yours. (Even though about half of you wrote “Fat Cat,” we still counted ‘em.)
Best Rap/Hip-Hop Group: Subterraneous
Of course, Detroit is known for rap — 8 Mile and all that, but you guys know better than to sleep on the ‘Yak. The Pontiac/Detroit label/crew known as Subterraneous (Records) keeps hitting new heights with their conscious lines and smooth, yet passionate, flows. More than a crew or label, Subterraneous is, as they say, a movement.
This is a great video put out by Needilworks to promote Frank N Dank’sXtended Play Ver 3.13.
Its starts with some Detroit history that leads up to the flourishing of Detroit Hip Hop as well as the origins of Frank N Dank. From there we get some great footage of the duo as well as Dilla, a timeline of the group’s career, all leading up to the then upcoming release of Xtended Play.
It might seem like Slum Village have been out of the spotlight for a good minute but you can be sure that thats not the case. SV is known to always be on the move tour wise in North America or Europe but lesser known is their involvement with General Motors.
SV and General Motors came to an agreement before the release of the Slum Village album to cross-promote their products. Radio and television commercials featuring SV’s “Ez Up” were playing in Detroit and elsewhere as a part of GM’s “American Revolution” campaign.
Elzhi and T3 have once again been recruited by the hometown folks at GM to produce a child safety song and video for Chevorlet/Chevy. According to the article the song and video will be made available through a cd and downloads distributed by Safe Kids Worldwide.
Royce da 5′9″ became a father to his second child in recent months. We all remember that amazing track “Life” off of Rock City with Amerie that was written as a lyrical letter to his son. I think its time to hear part two.
You know what I was thinking about the other day, man? It’s really when I get all these letters in when I’m jail, like people writing me letters, cause I’m still on work release. I was thinking like people writing me letters. The actual form of writing a letter is a forgotten form of communication, you know what I’m saying? People like Jay-Z, they talk about how he writes his rhymes in his head… I just thought to myself like how I love writing my rhymes. I love writing my words on the paper, and seeing the ink on my paper wet, and as it dries, it forms my thoughts. Cause I just started to write my rhymes down and memorize them. Like how I write my rhymes down and I would remember them by the piece of paper. Those thoughts on that piece of paper, is how I remember them. Like when I go in the booth, and I’m rhyming, and when I got to memorize them, I’m visualizing that paper in my head. You know what I’m saying? It’s a beautiful fucking experience.
- Royce Da 5′9″
That quote should also put to rest whether is in jail or out. You heard it from himself that he’s on work release - meaning he’s still serving his sentence but gets to leave for certain periods of time to work.
By the way, the song playing in the background of that article is produced by Carlos “6 July” Broady and is called “Street Hop”. Its supposed be on the “Bar Exam” mixtape with Statik Selectah.
Audio: The original “Life” featuring Amerie from Rock City
This weekend, Louis Farrakhan visited Detroit and held a NOI convention, delivering at Ford Field what could be his farewell address. There’s no question why Detroit was chosen for this historical address. The NOI’s founder laid its roots in Detroit and perhaps its most influential (but former) member Malcolm X also had childhood ties to the area. The area has always been a strong support-base for the NOI and black movements in general.
Detroit to this day represents an important political destination because of its demographics. The massive “white flight” spanning a few decades has resulted in Detroit being one of the largest majority-black voting centers in the nation. Its no surprise that Detroit is a must visit for both black and other leaders wanting their social and political views heard. Even Diddy saw Detroit as a vital area for him to spread his “Vote or Die” campaign.
So the question is, where is Detroit Hip Hop making its mark in politics? Sure, several local hip hop artists were in attendence for Farrakhan’s speach, but where is the influence? Do artists from Detroit have that type of power?
Eminem surprised many during the last presidential election with a popular single and video called “Mosh” that many felt would have an impact on youth and encourage them to vote. It is to date probably the most prominent example of a figure in Detroit Hip Hop making an attempt to make people think or bring about a change. Other attempts exist but they seem to be few and far in between.
Apart from maybe some mixtape joints from Royce Da 5′9″ name dropping Barack Obama (see below), we haven’t seen Detroit’s artists and hip hop community make a significant effort to be politically vocal or active. Undoubtedly the upcoming national political campaigns will seek to (ab)use hip hop temporarily to gain votes. The hip hop community has a responsibilty, as the voice of the streets, to make sure the voice of the general public is heard.
Detroit Hip Hop’s power is definitely not in numbers, but in the influence wielded by a handful of highly respected artists. This influence is underutilized as of now, but can go a long way in empowering those plagued with the “American condition” - Detroit as well as the rest of the country. The politicians will no doubt be active in Detroit with their agendas in the coming months. Will Detroit Hip Hop stand up?
