'Original Gangstas' is sure to age like a Dre track.
RUTHLESS PEOPLE: ON THIS 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF TUPAC’S DEATH, AN IMPORTANT NEW BOOK TAKES A GRITTY LOOK AT LOS ANGELES HIP-HOP
Check the Technique
WHEN THE MOB RAN RAP MUSIC IN BOSTON: TDS MOB WAS THE HUB’S FIRST HUGE HIP-HOP HOPE …
I interviewed Kool Gee the day after he rocked Wally’s. At his request, we met at the place where the TDS Mob story begins—the stoop of the old Tower Records on the corner of Newbury Street and Mass Ave. From there, he took me back to 1989, when TDS ran the calendar with a year of rap perfection.
LAWTOWN’S FINEST: THE LYRICAL RISE AND TRAGIC DEATH OF MASS RAP LEGEND SCIENTIFIK
"He was gone before his time ... People didn’t really get to experience his full potential like we did … He was right on the cusp of doing some even bigger stuff musically [that] could have been commercially successful.”
THREE RAP HISTORIANS AND A MICROPHONE: TURNING THE TAPE RECORDER ON HIP-HOP AUTHOR BRIAN COLEMAN
With the publication of Check the Technique Volume 2 on October 14, Coleman puts forth an impressive 544 pages and 25 chapters of new material, complete with more than 350 images for 80 interviews with rap legends ranging from Ice Cube and 3rd Bass, to Stetasonic and Mantronix, to MF Doom and Mos Def.
EXCLUSIVE BOSTON EXCERPT FROM BRIAN COLEMAN’S ‘CHECK THE TECHNIQUE 2’: ‘LIFE OF A KID IN THE GHETTO’ BY ED O.G
When I went about compiling my list of hopefuls for this next volume, Ed’s classic from 23 years ago was at the top of my list. And the more I analyzed it, as well as interviewed the people who helped make it happen, the more its classic status was confirmed to me.
THE UNTOLD STORIES OF HUB HIP-HOP
Like so much history about communities of color, the narrative of Boston hip-hop has been largely buried, ignored, forgotten. Thankfully, there remain innumerable artists, writers, fans, and even academics who, in the storytelling tradition rap music is rooted in, have kept dope alive via marvelous multimedia tributes. This whole package is dedicated to them.
LAWTOWN’S FINEST: THE LYRICAL RISE AND TRAGIC DEATH OF MASS RAP LEGEND SCIENTIFIK
"He was gone before his time ... People didn’t really get to experience his full potential like we did … He was right on the cusp of doing some even bigger stuff musically [that] could have been commercially successful.”
WHEN THE MOB RAN RAP MUSIC IN BOSTON: TDS MOB WAS THE HUB’S FIRST HUGE HIP-HOP HOPE …
I interviewed Kool Gee the day after he rocked Wally’s. At his request, we met at the place where the TDS Mob story begins—the stoop of the old Tower Records on the corner of Newbury Street and Mass Ave. From there, he took me back to 1989, when TDS ran the calendar with a year of rap perfection.
