Wrap Up of Hip Hop and the GRAMMY’s

The 57^th annual Grammy Awards occurred on February 8^th, 2015. Hip Hop made a lot of news during the Grammy’s, but nothing was more talked about than Kanye West going on stage after the announcement of Beck’s Morning Phase winning album of the year. Once again the media and the Hip Hop community were focused on a negative image of Hip Hop.

Despite the lack of coverage and hype, there were some positive things that came from Hip Hop artists during the Grammy’s. Common and John Legend had one of the most powerful performances during the ceremonies with a very soulful rendition of their song Glory off of the Selma soundtrack. A song with a wonderful message of overcoming injustices, that should inspire anyone who is feeling oppressed.

Pharrell Williams performed one of the most upbeat pop songs of 2014, with Happy. During the performance Pharrell, took a moment to make a serious statement to support the Black lives Matter movement by having a group of individuals with hooded sweatshirts behind him put their hands up in a sign of surrender. Unfortunately this was rarely discussed, as many in the media seemed more focused on his bellhop uniform.

Hip Hop was treated even worse by the Grammy’s as the winners of the Hip Hop categories were announced prior to the airing of the telecast. The last time this happened was in 1989 when DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince decided to boycott the event in protest of the ceremonies lack of respect towards Hip Hop. It was clear that not a lot has changed over the last 25 years as the Grammy’s snubbed Hip Hop again, when everyone was distracted by the actions of Kanye West.

I personally am not a fan of the Grammy’s and feel that that music awards are pointless since art is subjective. I feel that the individuals voting for the awards don’t really know Hip Hop all that well and that the albums nominated don’t really represent the culture, but alas, it must be something Hip Hop participates in to be respected as a genre of music.

The problem is, even after 25 years of participating, one negative action by a rapper can be the excuse the industry will use to disrespect Hip Hop. It may be time for Hip Hop to start distancing itself from the Grammy’s. If popular artists start boycotting like Will & Jazz did in ’89, maybe the award show will realize just how powerful the genre has become and will start to put a little more effort into accepting the culture.

-Megillah

A Nobody’s Smiling Tour Review for Those Who Still Love H.E.R

Upon hearing the Nobody’s Smiling tour would make a pit stop in Atlanta, and with so much pressure looming over the hiphop community in light of recent oppressive events, I smiled. I anticipated a mature conversation from one of the best emcees of all time that would ease the pain, loosen me up and boost my energy to continue on in this world. Common, Jay Electronica and Sa-Roc did just that.

If Tabernacle was a high school, then Sa-Roc would be a science teacher, Jay Electronica would hold down math and Common would be the fun-loving history teacher. Tabernacle holds a special place in my heart as one of the most intimate large venues in Atlanta. The crowd had the atmosphere of being on a date. Looking at the scope of the whole concert, however, it was hardly targeting a sexual romance. The most love you felt after that concert was love for self and the culture. Although Common went through hits such as “Come Close” and “The Light,” with openers Jay Electronica and Sa-Roc the show stuck with the tagline – Nobody’s Smiling.

Sa-Roc introduced herself in a major way, with always-hyper Fort Knox leading the charge to the stage. As she commenced to dropping science to the audience, arms, eyes and ears began to open wide realizing what kind of party that night would be. In a short set, Sa-Roc fit in a surprise, bringing out singer Anthony David to croon on their track “Her Legacy” off her latest project Nebuchadnezzar. While the crowd anxiously waited for the headliner, heads bopped to the boom-bapping emcee’s set. However, Sa-Roc made her Atlanta presence felt with a separate show on the next day, featuring indie artists Yamin Semali, Boog Brown, Big Rec and surprise guest David Banner.

Jay Electronica’s set took place in the crowd more than on stage, as intended for a storyteller of his caliber. As the DJ dropped the beat to heighten Jay’s already-intense bars, the crowd would go wild after each line of mathematics. Every time he hopped on the railing (or over) the crowd cheered because they felt like a king was ready to speak to them, the people.

Common took his set’s collection back to his Common Sense days, but stopped short of Can I Borrow A Dollar. He began by running through his hits from Like Water for Chocolate, Be and Finding Forever, but outlined the rest of his two hours with various tales. Overall, his set was very cinematic, where selected hits would have storylines, monologues, and/or props. The crowd began to choke up as he performed a monodrama of his accounts with J Dilla, including his last days, in “Rewind That” from his latest album Nobody’s Smiling.

There were a variety of surprises that Thursday night – enough for me to justify skipping out the radio show Verses (my bad, Sonny Cheeba!) – from waiting outside with Big KRIT to get in to jamming out to a surprise performance of “Hip Hop” from Dead Prez’s stic.man to DJ Aktive and DJ Dummy The Genius throw down in an old-school scratch battle.

Hiphop was in the atmosphere, from the bombs of knowledge from the openers to Common’s theatrics and his band of DJs duking it out on the turntables. While I wouldn’t recommend fellas bringing the misses – Common will steal your girl in the smoothest freestyle you’ll ever hear – the love of H.E.R is aptly felt. Philadelphia, New York and Canada, get ready for the best total hiphop concert of the year. Yeah, I said it. BEST. HIPHOP. CONCERT. It’s your last chance in 2014 to feel a mature love for self, others and hiphop through the ever-so-smooth Common.

– Boog Avery