Hip hop veterans Wu Tang Clan, Nas and Busta Rhymes have created a mini documentary showcasing their NY State of Mind Tour. Live Nation made an 8-minute movie that gives viewers an inside look at the legendary tour and the bond between the musicians through privileged and personal interviews and behind-the-scenes backstage footage. The mini documentary shows the artists discussing what “NY State of Mind” means to them while they were on-site in St. Louis for the tour’s launch last month. They discuss how significant it is to highlight the fact that hip hop originated on August 11, 1973 in the Bronx and has had an impact on all five boroughs of New York, how the city’s native Hip Hop titans forever shaped the rap scene, and the culture outside the Empire State that has culminated into this tour. The 2022 NY State of Mind Tour continues this week in Phoenix, Irvine, Oakland, Wheatland and Los Angeles before wrapping up on October 6 at Gallagher Square at Petco Park. Tickets are available at LiveNation.com.
Kid Cudi released his highly-anticipated new album, Entergalactic, a project in support of the artist’s new animated television event, which was also released on Friday (Sept. 30) on Netflix. The album features guest appearances by Ty Dolla $ign, 2 Chainz, Steve Akoi, and Don Toliver.
The album includes 15 new Kid Cudi songs, including a bonus track called “Burrow,” which is dedicated to Cudi’s longtime friend and Cleveland Browns’ quarterback Joe Burrow. The project’s breakout tracks are the previously released “Willing To Trust” featuring Ty Dolla $ign and the feature-length theme song.
The animated TV special is a romantic comedy executive produced by Black-ish creator Kenya Barris and Kid Cudi-himself, who prefers to go by his birth name Scott Mescudi. Cudi voices the lead role of Jabari who is chasing after the “new girl,” who is voiced by Jessica Williams (The Incredible Jessica James) in the familiar love story comedy. Entergalactic co-stars include Jaden Smith, Ty Dolla $ign, Timothée Chalamet, Vanessa Hudgens, and Keith David. Check out the album artwork below.
Prodigy of influential hip-hop group Mobb Deep’s new posthumous album, The Hegelian Dialectic Volume 2: The Book Of Heroine, has been released. Released by the Estate of Prodigy new release is a follow-up to The Hegelian Dialectic (The Book Of Revelation), which was released in 2017 ahead of his death.
The new album features DJ Premier, Faith Evans, Big Daddy Kane, Remy Ma, DJ Scratch, Berto Rich, Chinky, and Big Noyd.
The album is the second chapter of Prodigy’s The Hegelian Dialectic trilogy. Prodigy’s three-part project, The Hegelian Dialectic, was conceived over the past few during his lifetime.
Prodigy reveals his amazing wit and lyrical ability in The Book Of Heroine. The album describes the emotional problems that males have in connection to drugs, relationships, and other distractions associated with lust.
Earlier this month, the estate released the very special new single “Walk Out” video. DJ Premier, one of the most lauded beat producers in hip-hop history, produced the song. This track is a valuable treat for true fans of Hip Hop’s Golden Era because the two renowned performers rarely had the opportunity to collaborate throughout their careers.
Due to legal conflicts between the Estate, which the late artist’s family maintains, and his former associates, the famed MC’s work was taken from all streaming sites in 2019, depriving millions of admirers of the infamous MC’s solo efforts. Prodigy is one half of one of the best Hip-Hop groups of all time, Mobb Deep. Alongside Havoc, the two made their debut in 1993 with Juvenile Hell, then returned in 1995, with the bonafide classic album The Infamous. The two stand as one of the most influential groups in rap history. Prodigy’s solo releases carried the same level of quality, throughout the H.N.I.C. saga and more.
Albums like H.N.I.C. and The Bumpy Johnson Album are once again available for streaming on services like Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, and others, thanks to the management of L. Londell McMillan of The NorthStar Group and a new distribution deal with ADA, Warner Music Group’s independent services and distribution arm. The albums will also be available for purchase on the websites of all digital retailers. Check out the album artwork below.
Symere Bysil Woods, known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper/singer/songwriter from Philadelphia, PA. He has released the albums “Luv Is Rage 2” (2017) and “Eternal Atake” (2020).
Rhonda Clark is an American R&B singer from Flint, MI. From the 1980s and onward, Ms. Clark has graced the R&B charts with such hits as “State of Attraction”, “(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right” and “Must Be Real Love.” Clark’s latest single is “Sick Love.”
R&B band Stoke & The Machine just released the single “All My Black”, which is a collaboration with Alegbra Blessett and Lin Roundtree. “All My Black” is a song about centering Black history and giving an accurate account of the nation’s history and the central role that African Americans played in making that history. “All My Black” is a sleek jam that incorporates elements of jazz and R&B into a song that stands as a powerful anthem and a reminder that Black history is American history. Listen to “All My Black” below.
Renowned rapper Coolio has died at age 59, according to a story posted by TMZ. The artist, born Artis Leon Ivey, reportedly died at a friend’s house of a suspected heart attack.
During his career, Coolio had great success with his brand accessible rap songs, including his signature song, “Gangsta’s Paradise,” a rap reimagining of Stevie Wonder’s “Pastime Paradise.” But he also hit it big with such 90s hits as “Fantastic Voyage,” “C U When U Get There” and “1, 2, 3, 4.” Young fans knew him for the popular track “Aw, Here It Goes” from the Nickelodean hit series “Kenan & Kel.”
In addition to recording eight albums in the 90s and 00s, Coolio also appeared in several films and television shows. He even took his fame to food, where he gained fans for his cookbook and his web show, Cookin’ With Coolio. He spent much of the last decade staying in the public’s eye via concert performances and appearances on several reality show appearances, including Wife Swap, Fear Factor and Tipping Point.
While his star as a rapper had certainly faded over the past few years, Coolio remained iconic for a generation of fans; he will always be remembered as a giant in an era of hip-hop ascendancy, when R&B and rap merged into something special that crossed genre boundaries and developed a generation of artists who are still revered today. Rest in peace, Coolio.
