Category: Hip Hop
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Beats, rhymes, & life along the journey… & goodbye to Facundo Cabral
My good friend DJ Moonbaby was spinning some gems tonight and she inspired me to write a blog post and share some of the musical wealth with you. Some beats, rhymes and life to help push us through as we walk along this sometimes bumpy and unexpected road…Speaking of journeymen, I have to acknowledge the…
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Imagining New York City with Rakim & James Brown
When I first started this blog, I did for the pure joy of sharing my passion for music, culture, and history. In the past year, I’ve felt joy leave and posting has become more burdensome as I’ve felt pressure to commercialize it in some way. As the blog steamed along, I got more and more…
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Bringing the (City of) Angels back to higher ground: DJ Moonbaby
Los Angeles native DJ Moonbaby (Angela Jollivette) has been exposing Angelenos to the finest of soul, jazz, r&b, hip-hop and electronic music since she was in grade school hiding her boombox under the desk. Today she has her own inspirational soul/gospel radio show “Worry Free Wednesdays” on www.churchbeatradio.com, every Wednesday at 11 a.m. and 4…
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From DC to Digable Planets to DJ LadybugMek
Having lived in Washington DC for five years, I love the unique mix of musical culture and history of that city as well as Maryland and Virginia: Shaw Neighborhood, Adams Morgan, Mt. Pleasant, U St. Cardoza, Takoma Park, Mt. Ranier, hip-hop, R&B, 9:30 Club, Black Cat, Blues Alley, spoken word poetry, salsa, Afro-beat, Bossa Nova,…
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Somalia: K’Naan, Magool, & the meanest streets in the universe
“The people of Somalia just do not have a voice….They are to me the most forgotten people in the world.” ~ K’Naan In ancient times Somalia was a land of riches, the main suppliers of frankincense, myrrh and spices, highly valuable trade in those days. Today Somalia is one of the poorest countries in the…
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Música Boriqua & Nuyorican love
Recently I saw the PBS special “Latin Music USA!” It was a great series on the origins and influences of the diverse styles of Latin Music in the United States. The episodes covering New York City had me reminiscing about my time living there in the late 90s. When I moved there for graduate school,…
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