RapFix › RapFix Influentials

Odd Future, Prodigy On RapFix Live Weekend Rotation

Posted 3/12/11 8:20 pm EST by in Interviews, Music News, RapFix Influentials, RapFix Live

This past Thursday (March 10), southern spitter Yelawolf graced the RapFix Live show with his cool southern charm. During the “Weekend Rotation” segment where Sway inquires about what industry insiders are checking out in the world of hip hop music, our host then turned the attention on what Yela has been listening to shortly after.

Entertainment producer for AOL Black Voices Brennan Williams has been playing the new Raekwon and Nas collaboration from Rae’s latest album Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang – the track “Rich and Black” reunites the two powerhouses who worked together on Raekwon’s classic debut Only Built For Cuban Linx and the timeless “Verbal Intercourse” track. Brennan also shouted out the recently freed Prodigy of Mobb Deep, digging into the crates to rock the classic Mobb Deep album Infamous. Read More...

Tags , , , , , , , , , , , ,

J Dilla's Legacy Remembered

Posted 2/10/11 7:21 pm EST by in Interviews, Music News, RapFix Influentials, Uncategorized

by Paul Cantor

Today marks five years since J Dilla’s passing from an incurable blood disease. The man born James Dewitt Yancey (commonly credited as Jay Dee, although now almost universally known as Dilla) is revered for changing the sonic landscape of hip-hop in the mid-90s and early 80s. Musically, the Detroit-bred producer mined jazz, funk and soul records for his sample sources, and was known for his off-beat drum programming, where kicks and snares arrived either early or late in the pattern, and created a lazy laid-back feel. Before Dilla, that sound, which is so common throughout music today, not just hip-hop, didn’t exist. In the late 90s Dilla was the bridge between underground rap with neo-soul, and though he never won the Grammy for it (producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis received it instead), Janet Jackson’s “Got Till It’s Gone” was perhaps his biggest coming out party.

Here we take a trip down memory lane and list some of Dilla’s finest musical contributions, in no particular order, because they’re all great in their own way. Rest assured, there are way too many to list. Read More...

Tags , , , , , , , , ,

CyHi The Prynce 'Couldn't Listen' To Outkast Growing Up

Posted 11/16/10 11:00 am EST by in RapFix Influentials

By Hillary Crosley, with reporting by Jayson Rodriguez

As the sole Georgia native in Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music crew, CyHi The Prynce has a lot to live up to. Recently, the Southern spitter said that he draws inspiration from Outkast, but wasn't allowed to listen to them as a kid.

"Coming up from that area, my sister used to love ‘em but I couldn’t listen to them a lot because mom dukes wasn’t playing that," remembered CyHi. "I don’t know why, but now she’s like 'OK I’ll let you rap' 'cause she hear my music, like 'OK, you saying something, so, I’ll let you slide.' I love Outkast, they're pioneers and I always respect ‘em."

RapFix caught up with the Decatur MC, during his Mixtape Daily interview in Brooklyn for RapFix Influentials, a series where MCs reflect on hip-hop's best and brightest, and describe how rap's history has affected their lives. As for CyHi, the lyricist says that Big Boi himself is now a supporter of Kanye's protégé. Read More...

Tags , , ,

Busta Rhymes And Jay-Z Battled As High School Students

Posted 10/8/10 1:30 pm EST by in RapFix Influentials, RapFix Live

You just never know about people. Busta Rhymes hit "RapFix Live" yesterday (October 7) and shared that not only did he, Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z attend the same Brooklyn high school, George Westinghouse, he and Jay battled for the lunchroom crown.

The two went head-to-head in rhyme and Jay-Z emerged victorious, handing Busta his first significant loss, the MC admitted.

"One day, somebody came up to me and was like, 'Yo, Hov is in the cafeteria,' " Busta Rhymes told MTV News' Sway during "RapFix Live." "They weren't calling him Hov at the time; they were calling him Jay. 'Do you want to step to him on some rhyme sh--?' So I go. At the time, when we were rhyming, it was speed rap. That was the thing to do. I knew how to freak it, and he knew how to freak it. And at the time, he was so ill, 'cause of the people he was with at the time, Jaz-O and them, it was their thing [that style]. He kind of got the best of the situation. I got to give it up. He was so ill and his arsenal was so long that he had more than what I did. I spit my one rap, and my tank was empty real fast. He came with two or three after that, and I was like, 'Here we go.' But I gave it my best."

The two, along with Biggie, eventually went on to bigger things, scoring platinum album sales, big hits and worldwide adoration. But the defeat clearly stuck with Busta Rhymes. Although his style had traces of hip-hop and dancehall (his reggae MC name was Chirpy, yes, you read that right) and he wasn't primarily an MC at the time, Busta thought Jay-Z's victory was impressive nonetheless.

"That was probably the fist time that I lost a battle that mattered," he said. "[Jay-Z] always exemplified greatness as an MC. He was a scientist with it."

Tags , ,

Waka Flocka Talks Favorite Geto Boys Song 'Mind Playin' Tricks On Me'

Posted 10/7/10 2:00 pm EST by in RapFix Influentials

Even Atlanta's hottest rapper has a favorite childhood song and for Waka Flocka Flame, it's the Geto Boys' "Mind Playin' Tricks On Me."

The ATL rapper stopped by 1515 Broadway for RapFix Influentials, a series where MCs reflect on hip-hop's best cuts and what those songs meant to them growing up, and spoke on the Southern rhyme veterans.

"You could just close your eyes and say that [chorus] right there," Waka told Sway. "That just make you think about your neighborhood and everything. I guarantee if anybody closed their eyes, that'll put you there if you've been there."

Flockaveli went on about the trio's motivations.

"Them boys was different," said Waka, who's actually taller than one might think. "Them boys was passionate about what they was talking about. They wanted to change their environment, where they came from, their surroundings."

During a vintage "Yo! MTV Raps" interview, Fab 5 Freddy asked the Geto Boys how the state of their hometown influenced their work.

"That's the reason why it works so good because the chemistry's there," said group member Willie D. "We have three boys from the ghetto."

Waka also likened the plain language the Geto Boys used to describe their tough dilapidated surroundings in Texas to he and his Brick Squad crew's story telling.

"I just liked it, they speak from the heart," said the "Hard In The Paint" rapper. "That reminds me of us, we Brick Squad and we just talk from the heart."

Do you love the Geto Boys' "Mind Playin' Tricks On Me"? Tell us in a comment below or tweet us at @MTVRapFix and let us know.

Tags , ,

12

About

RapFix is MTV News’ hub for breaking hip-hop stories, features, exclusive behind-the-scenes content and everything in between. The conversation begins on the blog and continues on our weekly show “RapFix Live,” hosted by Sway Calloway.

Follow us on Twitter:
@MTVRapFix

Like us on Facebook:
Facebook.com/RapFix

Watch full episodes of “RapFix Live”:
RapFixLive.MTV.com

Managing Editor
Nadeska Alexis

SPONSORS
AD:
©2013 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. MTV and all related titles and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.