We’ve seen a ton of indie/rock album covers get the redesign treatment, but it feels like the hip hop world hasn’t been made over quite as much. We first spotted Jeff Rochester’s collection of iconic hip hop album covers reimagined over at Voices of East Anglia. The designer has given several classic groups a new face, including De La Soul’s Three Feet and Rising, albums by Madlib and LL Cool J. MF Doom’s redesign is impressive — and works, because he literally dropped bombs on that album — but we prefer the original. It’s hard to beat the hilarity of a B-boy Dr. Doom holding a mic and wearing a hoodie with fat gold chains as the drawstrings. The new artwork for Jeru’s The Sun Rises in the East is far better than the original, making it less obvious and a great compliment to the MC’s smart rhyme style. The Wu-Tang redo evokes the old kung fu film aesthetic that colored that album much more effectively than the original cover. Eric B. and Rakim’s Paid in Full has us torn. When the album dropped, most had no idea what the duo looked like so it was cool for people to finally see their faces — particularly with Rakim’s unique voice. See all the albums and decide for yourself in our gallery after the jump.
No matter your parents’ political persuasion, hip-hop can be a hard sell when it comes to co-opting the stereo at home — liberally inclined parents will complain about the genre’s perceived misogyny, glorification of crime, and naughty language, while conservatives will rant and rave about… well, basically the exact same things, albeit for different reasons. Still, with the release of The Roots’ undun this week, we got to thinking about hip-hop that can help change — or at least — challenge these broad conceptions. Here’s a few of our picks. If your parents aren’t quite ready to embraced the Based God quite yet, you can get them started with the records you’ll find after the jump. Read More »
It’s been called “bastard pop” and “bootleg remixes,” but since it’s been appropriated to describe any kind of combination of media, the most common term we have for it is “mashup.” Originally, it was used to describe unauthorized mixes where the vocal track from one song is laid over the instrumental track of another (or more than one) song to create a new tune.
You can get into all sorts of arguments over where this began or what was the first mashup record, but a pretty good educated guess traces it to computer/electronics wizard Mark Gunderson, who founded the group Evolution Control Committee in 1987. Four years later, a landmark legal case, where dreary singer/songwriter Gilbert O’Sullivan’s publishing company successfully sued rapper Biz Markie’s label over a sample of GOS’s 1972 hit “Alone Again Naturually,” drove the hardcore art of sampling (especially the unauthorized kind) underground, which is where ECC comes into the picture again.
Three albums in, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s animated superstars are still going strong, roping in Mos Def, De La Soul, Lou Reed, and Snoop Dogg for a stay on their Plastic Beach.
Other guests include Fall legend Mark E. Smith and Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys, plus the Clash’s Mick Jones and Paul Simenon. As always, equal attention is given to the band’s visual side, as represented by an immersive online game and a stunning video for lead single “Stylo,” which blends animation and live action and stars quintessential badass Bruce Willis.
Copyright Criminals looks at the creative and monetary debates over musical sampling, mashing up music videos, studio visits, history, and talking heads including George Clinton and De La Soul.
The documentary on beat mining rounds up more issues than a town hall meeting, poring over everything from the best props for a sampled artist, to the basic merits and methods of the omnivorous art. The tone leans toward pro, with persuasive soundbites that liken sampling to archeology (the listener digs through the aural layers) and the democratic fact that “all these legendary musicians are in my band.” As Picasso once said: good artists borrow, great artists steal.
French website Grandcrew.com provides a growing archive of exclusive, professionally filmed concert videos, with artists ranging from Roots Manuva to the XX.
All of the site’s videos are available to stream instantly for free, with the option to skip from track to track making the interface even more user-friendly. Covering nearly every genre of modern music, Grandcrew offers a wide variety of the best performances to hit France, with plans to expand to cover all of Europe in the near future.
