Though the channel debuted in the early ’80s, MTV really found its groove in the ’90s when it still balanced music coverage with its burgeoning original reality, comedy, and animated programming. Because we can’t resist looking back fondly on the wild and wacky on-air incidents that shaped our adolescence, here are ten mind-blowing moments from MTV’s second decade that make us pine for those halcyon off-the-wall… Read More
Lil’ Kim
20 Classic Female-Fronted Hip Hop Tracks
Oh, Rolling Stone. Sometimes you make it so easy. We try not to spend too much of our time nitpicking the amusingly out-of-touch pontifications of Jann Wenner’s empire, but occasionally something comes along that annoys us so much that it’s hard not to react. So it was recently, when the magazine’s editors came back from the mountain with stone tablets purporting to contain “The 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs of All Time.” In fairness, reading RS for hip hop recommendations is like reading Trucking Monthly for advice on bicycles, but even so, if you’re going to claim to make a definitive list, you don’t relegate Nas’s “NY State of Mind” to #31 (11 places behind 50 Cent’s risible “In Da Club”) — and, more annoyingly, you don’t make the mistake of including only three songs featuring female vocalists. … Read More
Minimalist Posters Documenting Life’s Color Changes
As we’ve previously admitted, we’re just a tad bit color-obsessed here at Flavorpill. If you also happen to be the kind of hue-minded person who geeks out over Pantone color swatches and can passionately debate the difference between eggshell and ecru, then you’ll want to check out Shades of Change, a new graphic design project from New Orleans-based artist Marin Dearie. The eye-catching, minimal series is intended to highlight “the various stages of color changes that occur in nature, popular culture, and elsewhere.” From Lil’ Kim’s ever-evolving hair to the full color spectrum of a Tootsie Pop, click through to check out Dearie’s fascinating work. … Read More
Literary Mixtape: The Wife of Bath
If you’ve ever wondered what your favorite literary characters might be listening to while they save the world/contemplate existence/get into trouble, or hallucinated a soundtrack to go along with your favorite novels, well, us too. But wonder no more! Here, we sneak a look at the hypothetical iPods of some of literature’s most interesting characters. What would be on the personal playlists of Holden Caulfield or Elizabeth Bennett, Huck Finn or Harry Potter, Tintin or Humbert Humbert? Something revealing, we bet. Or at least something danceable. Read on for a cozy reading soundtrack, character study, or yet another way to emulate your favorite literary hero. This week: Chaucer’s bawdy grand dame, the Wife of Bath. … Read More
Open Letter to Nicki Minaj Re: Lil’ Kim
Dear Nicki,
We’ve had our differences in the past, but we like your style and have high hopes for you, so we’re going to pass on to you some advice our dear parents once bestowed upon us: If you ignore the bully, she’ll eventually just go away. While this might not hold true when you’re an uncool sixth-grader, we assure you that as a platinum-selling rapper feuding with a has-been, it will always work. … Read More
Lil’ Kim Finds New Medium for Dissing Nicki Minaj: Documentary
It’s official: Nicki Minaj is the best thing that’s happened to Lil’ Kim since Biggie Smalls. First, she lashed out at Minaj with a diss track called “Black Friday.” Then, she released a full-length mixtape of the same name for $9.99, which she claims sold over 113,000 copies in 28 hours — despite the fact that her most recent studio album, 2005′s The Naked Truth took about a week to do similar numbers. And now, her official street team has come out with “Carbon Copy,” a documentary so sloppy it verges on incomprehensibility, that muddles photos of the rappers, snippets of their music, and interviews in a quest to prove that Minaj totally stole Kim’s schtick.
Listen, we’re as happy to see the Queen Bee make a comeback as anyone. But now that she’s registered her complaint, she can either move on and start writing about something different or cement her place in the 21st century as “that lady who’s scarily obsessed with Nicki Minaj.” … Read More
Nicki Minaj vs. Lil Kim vs. Foxy Brown: Whose Diss Track Wins?
For a while there, all of our great female rappers had dropped off the map. But ever since Nicki Minaj came on the scene, it seems like they’re finally coming out of the woodwork. Lauryn Hill has been performing again, and this week, Missy Elliott “re-introduced” herself on a new Timbaland track, “Take Ur Clothes Off.” And Lil Kim is back, too, picking fights with Minaj. Now that those two ladies have exchanged disses, it’s time for Foxy Brown to show up again, to tell her old rival to lay off of Nicki. So, whose diss track hits the hardest? Let’s listen to all three and decide for ourselves. … Read More
What’s On at Flavorpill: The Links That Made the Rounds in Our Office
Today at Flavorpill, we wished that we had a job that required more pretty pencils. We celebrated the sartorial greatness that is Forever 21. We listened to Lil’ Kim diss Nicki Monaj in a track entitled “Black Friday.” We made a mental note to DVR Bob’s Burgers,… Read More
The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories
1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs played a 10th anniversary show in Williamsburg last night. Here are some live clips and the set list.
2. Katy Perry’s music video with Elmo will not air on Sesame Street because her massive cleavage — which is actually covered by flesh-colored mesh — is causing complaints with… Read More
What’s on at Flavorpill: Links That Made the Rounds in Our Office
Today at Flavorpill, we downloaded a free compilation of rare, unreleased, and hard-to-find music from Ghostly’s vaults. We wanted to know when Coney Island became a trendy New York neighborhood. We were thrilled by this 8-bit Sonic the Hedgehog office prank at Sega. We thought a few of
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