“This goes out to you, this goes out to you, this goes out to you, and you, and you, and you!” It’s hard being a King, hell it’s hard wearing a crown all the time. I’m not complaining because someone has to do it.  We have all these Carl Thomas ass niggas in the World..they EMOTIONAL. So for this week’s edition of SOTW, I decided to dedicate this to all of you HERBS out there that think King Jerm doesn’t know HIP-HOP? Are you serious? You really think because I fucks with Gucci, Soulja Boy, and other new school acts that I don’t have any knowledge about the “real” artists out there? “YOU STILL RECOUPIN..STUPID!” As always sit back and do what you does and enjoy this edition of Song of the Week!

Download: Notorious B.I.G. – “Kick In The Door”

The remix as defined by Wikipedia…. “A remix is an alternative version of a song, different from the original version. A remixer uses audio mixing to compose an alternate master recording of a song, adding or subtracting elements, or simply changing the equalization, dynamics, pitch, tempo, playing time, or almost any other aspect of the various musical components. Some remixes involve substantial changes to the arrangement of a recorded work, but many are subtle, such as creating a “vocal up” version of an album cut that emphasizes the lead singer’s voice. A song may be remixed to give a song that was not popular a second chance at radio and club play, to create a stereo version of a recording that was previously only available in mono sound, to improve the fidelity of an older recording in which the original mixdown tape has been lost or degraded, or to alter a song to suit a specific music genre or radio format.”

Truth be told, the remix was one of the main reasons I got into one of my deepest loves, DJing. I was amazed at the art of these auditory technicians deconstructing everything I thought I knew about some of my favorite tracks; just to build them up into something more amazing and layered then it started. You’d think the original was a piece of work. Then a sick tactician of the turntable or a hungry producer comes along and tells you, “Fuck you, I got something for that”. They say good music is all in the interpretation and nothing proves that more than the remix.

You’d think the remix would be highly coveted in a day and age where CD’s move like they got Anthrax packaged inside. Remixes have been known to put extra steam on even the most anticipated of albums [R.Kelly has been making a career off of hot remixes] and to turn okay singles into banger status [You think Biggie’s “One More Chance” was that nice originally? No comparison].

I know what you’re saying.

“Jamar, what you mean that the remix is dead?! They remixed “A Milli” like 50-leven times!”

Perhaps I need to be clear about how I define a remix. Yes, the remixes where new rappers are added or the main artist changes his verses are good. They’re needed and in some cases, turn chicken shit into chicken salad. I don’t even pay the original “Dey Know” mind when the hulked up version dropped featuring Wayne, Plies, and Jeezy; it was just a better version by far. I’m talking about the good ol’ days when the song would sound like an alternate reality of what you loved before. I remember cruising with my brother back home around that 9PM hour, back when Power would have the fresh DJ mixes, and they dropped the “Vivrant Thing” remix on my head. I was astounded.

“Vivrant Thing” is one of my favorite Q-Tip songs ever, and among my top ten favorite rap songs ever. Nothing touched it at that time for me. Then I heard the Violator remix of it featuring Missy and Busta and I was floored. The bass hit harder, the drum patterns changed just enough, the verses were wilder. Even the hook changed up with Tip alternating between “viv-a-rent” and “vivrant”. But it was still what I knew, what I loved. Justice done to the source material, but an enjoyable re-imagination of an already good thing.

In a way, a good song is something like a relationship. Lasting relationships have points where your partner displays surprises and changes that draw you back in; making them almost new again, sometimes completely fresh. Like cheating on your girlfriend WITH your girlfriend. Let that sink in for a second.

A strong remix is like when you lady (or guy, for our female readers out there) changes her hair to something sexier than what it started. Or when she takes a step in a new direction you would have never guessed, for the better. Or the best case; when she evolves into something greater than when she started. Same thing with our music.

I see the “remix” today as almost lazy. It’s a general lack of vision in a time where vision is already looked down upon and severely lacking in the Hip-Hop genre. If you take a look at one of our contemporaries, techno music (beep-bop-beep-boop-bop music to some, wake up music for me.), they have songs that stay classics for decades while we’re hard-pressed to remember hot tracks from a few years ago. Why is that? The thing to learn from techno is they have a passionate community and set of artists that aren’t afraid to reinterpret upon reinterpretation of their music. Remix upon remix that keeps a worthy original alive and well, stimulating a new set of listeners while educating them to a track they weren’t there to discover when it was fresh.

The technology is as good as it’s ever been. The mixtape game is booming and a standard of this stage of Hip-Hop. DJ’s and producers are no longer background, but main players and reasons to buy an album based on name value alone. So why am I getting the word rearranged on the same old beat I’ve heard a million times? Is it wrong to want better for my art by having them do something we did better than ANYONE just a few years back?

When I started taking notice that Hip-Hop was growing a little by-the-numbers; I knew the transition was complete when the full-bodied remix died too. Now, artists are too scared to take a chance on what proved itself a sure thing and won’t challenge themselves (or someone else) to attempt something magical. Admittedly, there are some terrible remixes out there just like there are terrible remakes of classic movies. But haven’t the hits been worth more than the misses? I’ve got a challenge for you. Pull up your favorite file-sharing or Bit-Torrent related program.

I’ll wait.

-hold music plays-

Good. I need you to download Paid in Full by Eric B. and Rakim. Really LISTEN to that song, a Hip-Hop classic if there ever was one by two greats in the game.

Now I need you to download “Paid in Full (Colduct Remix)”. Listen to THAT. Tell me that song doesn’t tap a nerve in your soul somewhere? A marriage of obscure sounds, scratch, quotes, and yet still grounded in the story of trying to get those dead presidents.

That’s what I’m talking about. It’s all I’ve been getting at by writing this. I want to be shocked and amazed at what I thought I knew about Hip-Hop. We’ve got talented producers like Terry Urban, Mick Boogie, Ape Blends, and many more that are mashing and remixing some class stuff these days in an effort to give us new ways to enjoy our sound; even making it accessible to people who normally wouldn’t care to hear it. For you Jay-Z fans out there, go out of your way to listen to Viva La Hova. A mashing of Coldplays classics with Jay-Z’s bravado and intricate storytelling, you may find a new favorite band and earn greater appreciation for one of rap’s elder statesmen.

As much as I’ve noticed how the rap community is all about what’s hot at the moment, lets take notice of keeping our heat preserved and remembered so they can EARN those ‘classic” titles being tossed around with little concern. The remix isn’t a solution to what I’m stating, but It’s an enjoyable aid on the path towards it.

Want more from what you enjoy and you just might get it.

I’ll just keep writing waiting for the day Hip-Hop lets her hair down and gives me a new reason to fall in love with her. She shows me from time to time. Can she show me more often?

-Listens to “Luv 2 Luv U (Remix)”, wondering-

I can still remember my ex-girlfriend calling me early in the morning and telling me about Biggie’s death. March 9th 1997. 12 years later, Iam glad to say that Christopher George Latore Wallace’s name is still alive and well. After seeing the trailer for this mixtape, I was definitely interested. Cookin Soul takes the original samples used on Ready To Die & Life After Death and flips them with original appearances from a whole range of rappers paying their respects to Frank White. DJ Drama hosts. Check out the tracklist and then download.

1 – “DJ Drama Intro”
2 – Tek (Smif-n-Wessun) – “Juicy”
3 – Grafh – “Things Done Changed”
4 – LA the Darkman & Willie the Kid – “World Is Filled”
5 – Freekey Zekey & 730 Dips – “Dreams”
6 – CL Smooth & Skyzoo – “Big Poppa”
7 – De La Ghetto – “Ready To Die”
8 – Styles P – “Kick In The Door”
9 – Emilio Rojas – “Young G’s”
10 – Nipsey Hussle – “Another”
11 – Shiest Bubz – “Going Back To Cali”
12 – “Miss Info interlude”
13 – Lil’ Cease & Cardan – “Ten Crack Commandments”
14 – Amanda Diva – “Get Money”
15 – “Dough Skit”
16 – LA the Darkman & Willie the Kid – “I Love The Dough”
17 – Jean Grae – “Hypnotize”
18 – Uncle Murda – “Long Kiss Goodnight”
19 – Chaundon – “Who Shot Ya It’s Over”
20 – “P. Diddy Outro”

Download: DJ Drama & Cookin’ Soul – The Notorious B.I.G. Tribute (Mixtape)

What’s good B.I.G? This is coming from someone you bumped into over 15 years ago at a show at NCA&T. I told you the story about how I found my ticket on the ground and you laughed. I remember meeting you like it was yesterday. I figured since today was the anniversary of your death, you would want to know what has been going on since you left the physical. How is your Mom you asked? She is doing well and keeping your memory alive. Your kids are growing up turning into YouTube stars. Faith? Well she went on to remarry, but she still misses you. Junior Mafia? Well they are no longer a group, but they are still maintaining. Lil’ Cease and Kim fell out over a court case, and speaking of Lil’ Cease he’s a fitness guru now, so you probably wouldn’t recognize him if you saw him now. How is Lil’ Kim you asked? Well she took your death the hardest. She took your whole steez and ran with it, but in the process, she did a stint in jail, and frequented the plastic surgeon. You would not even recognize her at all. Ya boy D-Roc is still holding you down, I recently saw him kicking it with Puff after your movie dropped. Oh, you didn’t know about the movie did you? Yeah, Hollywood came around and made a biopic about your life. They got some cat named Gravy to play you, don’t worry, he did a good job. Back to Puffy, yeah, he is doing well; you probably can find him blogging about how good his life is now. Yeah, he is still MEAN with that paperwork! I knew you were going to ask about the LOX, they are no longer on Bad Boy, they went through some legal issues with Puff, and so they bounced. Do not worry about them; they are still keeping it street. Your boy Jay-Z took over for you after you left. He’s did a good job keeping your memory alive with his music. He catches A LOT of flak from using your rhymes, but he does it to BIG up the borough of Brooklyn. How is Brooklyn? Man, BK is BK. You are the unofficial mayor of Brooklyn so what does that tell you? Do I think the game misses you? HELL YEAH! Come on Big, you dropped two albums and you are considered the GOAT. The game has not been the same since you left. New York has been scrambling to find your replacement since you departed.

Stay up,
King Jerm

Not only did the soundtrack to the movie Notorious take the #4 spot on the album charts, the movie itself also took #4 at the box office (It grossed around 20 million dollars). Well, I guess thats not too bad. Of course we all wanted it to do better but then again it could have been a lot worse (Especially for a soundtrack). In other charts news we see a guy who doing a lot of work in Hollywood; Ludacris. His new album Theater Of The Mind may have not been at the top of the charts but it still went Gold in 8 weeks (In my eyes, the new Platinum for rappers).

Not a lot of movement this week but at least we got a Hip-Hop debut in the Top 50.

#2 Beyonce/I Am…Sasha Fierce (Last Week: #4) – 49,221; Total: 1,634,377 (Platinum) [10 Weeks]
#4 various artists/Notorious [OST] (Last Week: NA) – 43,035; Total: NA [Debut]
#5 Kanye West/808’s & Heartbreak (Last Week: #3) – 39,529; Total: 1,184,874 (Platinum) [7 Weeks]
#8 Jamie Foxx/Intuition (Last Week: #8) – 31,439; Total: 479,611 [5 Weeks]
#9 Keyshia Cole/A Different Me (Last Week: #7) – 31,301; Total: 570,394 (Gold) [5 Weeks]
#12 Akon/Freedom (Last Week: #10) – 23,300; Total: 400,500 [7 Weeks]
#17 T.I./Paper Trail (Last Week: #13) – 20,178; Total: 1,596,820 (Platinum) [16 Weeks]
#20 Rihanna/Good Girl Gone Bad (Last Week: #19) – 17,100; Total: 2,294,600 (2x Platinum) [85 Weeks]
#23 Lil’ Wayne/Tha Carter III (Last Week: #22) – 15,355; Total: 2,933,533 (2x Platinum) [32 Weeks]
#25 Ludacris/Theater Of The Mind (Last Week: #20) – 14,860; Total: 504,118 (Gold) [8 Weeks]
#29 Ne-Yo/Year Of The Gentleman (Last Week: #26) – 14,200; Total: 827,100 (Gold) [18 Weeks]
#32 Anthony Hamilton/The Point Of It All (Last Week: #30) – 13,500; Total: 226,000 [5 Weeks]
#33 John Legend/Evolver (Last Week: #45) – 13,200; Total: 490,500 [12 Weeks]
#41 Plies/Da REAList (Last Week: #32) – 11,100; Total: 217,400 [5 Weeks]

You have to dig in the crates quite a ways back to find out when skits became big on Hip-Hop albums. If I remember it right, I THINK it was De La Soul that pretty much escorted this practice into regular status in Hip-Hop. On some albums, it’s a major player and adds to the quality and on other albums, it’s a part of the reason the FFWD button is damn near naked. Today, let’s talk about classic skits in Hip-Hop and those who have you looking forward to the skits almost as much as the albums (at least the ones that I’ve heard, so don’t come in here talking about MC Local Leonard on his Still Local 6: The Takeover Album.)

5. Lauryn Hill

Stand-Out: Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill
As one of my top 5 albums of all time, the interludes on this album add to the classic nature of Ms. Hill’s first album.  The classroom setting and voice of the children set the tone as Lauryn grows up on this album in front of our eyes.

4. Little Brother

Stand-Outs: “Diary of a Mad Black Daddy”, “5th and Fashion” (Minstrel Show); “Don’t Trust Em”, “The Singing Bums”; (Separate But Equal), “Roy Lee Producer Extraordinaire” (The Listening)
I think LB could be writers or have their own Skit show on TV because these cats are fools man.  One of my favorites is 5th and Fashion that patterns itself after one of those commercials for the Big Big Expo Sale down at your local Convention Center or dome.

3. Kanye West

Stand-Outs: (Any skit from The College Dropout & Late Registration)
Ye is one of the best at using skits to complete his album.  From the (fake ) Bernie Mac intro to Broke Phi Broke, Ye has proved to be one of the purest and most complete fusions of Hip-Hop and creativity to date.  Proven to be more than just filler, this man is serious about his music.

2. Bad Boy Records

Stand-Outs: Mase – Harlem World, The Notorious B.I.G. – Life After Death
The skits featuring the Mad Rapper were so successful, they spawned an album.  The shit was comic genius and would do even better in today’s climate of ringtone rap and one hit wonders.  Not to mention my personal number one skit of all time before “Nasty Boy” on Biggies album kept me teary each time I heard it.

1. Dr. Dre – Aftermath / Death Row Records

Stand-Outs: “The $20 Sack Pyramid” (The Chronic), “Steve Berman” (The Marshall Mathers LP)
The skits with Steve Berman, Paul Rosenberg, and Insane Clown Posse on Em’s CD’s are too funny for words.   When you add in $20 Sack Pyramid, the classic Deez Nuts, and the lead in skits on Doggystyle, I don’t know that any one producer is better at this than Dr. Dre.

I wanna make things clear; I love Biggie. Before people started calling me a “Jay-Z stan”, The Notorious B.I.G. was my hands down best MC of all time (I’ve said this before but still…). But for some reason, I’m still unsure about the Notorious movie. Not to say I’m not curious; there’s a lot of stuff that I’m curious about seeing in the movie (How Gravy/Jamal Woolard pulls off the role as Biggie Smalls is one thing). I guess one thing they might keep me out of the theaters is that the movie has a “should be onVH1” feel (And I’m only speaking from seeing the commercials and trailers). All that aside, one thing I will be doing is checking out the soundtrack. Headlined by Jay-Z’s “Brooklyn Go Hard” & Jadakiss’ “Letter To B.I.G.”, the rest of the album is like a greatest hits album with some unreleased demos thrown in for good measure (and an “Unforgettable”-style duet with his son). We usually don’t review album like this but it’s a slow month. I also won’t go to in depth about the previously released songs. Let’s see how well this soundtrack stacks up.

1. The Notorious B.I.G. feat, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony – “Notorious Thugs”
Produced by Steven “Stevie J” Jordan & Sean “Puffy” Combs
This was originally on Life After Death (It started off the second disc). I probably would have started with “Kick In The Door”, but this works too. Biggie’s verse is still and always will be sick. Shout out to DJ LP in the forums who posted this song up a few weeks ago. “Just Bone and Biggie Biggie!”

2. The Notorious B.I.G. – “Hypnotize”
Produced by Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie, Ron “Amen-Ra” Lawrence & Sean “Puffy” Combs
This also originally appeared on Life After Death. I remember being so excited when I saw the video for this (Big & Puff driving backwards is classic!).

3. The Notorious B.I.G. feat. Lil’ Kim & Puff Daddy – “Notorious B.I.G.”
Produced by Daven “Prestige” Vanderpool
Okay, I see where this is going. I wish they would have went ahead and put the original “Real Niggas” song on the soundtrack . That’s the reason I never really was into this song; I like the original too much to just hear a chopped up verse. I’m surprised they let a Lil’ Kim verse on this album. This song originally was featured on Born Again.

4. The Notorious B.I.G. – “Juicy”
Produced by Pete Rock
“Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis. When I was dead broke, man I couldn’t picture this” Here we go. This is the kind of thing I hope is brought out in the actual movie. This is Big’s first hit and probably should have lead off this album. Originally off his debut Ready To Die.

5. The Notorious B.I.G. – “Party & Bullshit”
Produced by Sean “Puffy” Combs
I figured they would put this track on here. Can you believe this song is from 1993? Do you remember the Who’s the Man? soundtrack?

6. The Notorious B.I.G. – “Warning”
I wonder why they put “Warning” on the soundtrack but left out what might be Biggie most recognizable hit, “Big Poppa” (After the music videos came out, these two songs are like bookends)? They both show the variations of Ready To Die.

7. The Notorious B.I.G. feat. Faith Evans- “One More Chance (Remix)”
Produced by Sean “Puffy” Combs & Rashad Smith
A more updated and refined version “Big Poppa”. Rappers are still following this blueprint today. Now the other version that was on Ready To Die; thats another story.

8. Jay-Z feat. Santogold – “Brooklyn Go Hard”
Produced by Kanye West
This song is supposedly going to be on Jay-Z’s upcoming Blueprint 3 also; I like it. Kanye must be really into sampling “alternative” artists these days since this song is almost in the same vein as “Swagger Like Us” (Where he sampled M.I.A.). A lot of people didn’t like Jay’s flow on this one, but I think it works. This was a good move putting a Brooklyn great on the soundtrack about the life of another Brooklyn great. But where in the hell is that song with MC Lyte?

9. Jadakiss feat. Faith Evans – “Letter To B.I.G.”
Produced by Needlz
Is it me or does Jadakiss make the best Biggie tribute songs? First it was The Lox’s “We’ll Always Love Big Poppa” and now this. It doesn’t sound forced or fake. The beat is the right tempo and mood with Kiss sounding effortless over it.

10. The Notorious B.I.G. – “Kick In The Door”
Produced by DJ Premier
I said it before: “Kick In The Door” is Biggie’s best song ever. Period. Originally on Life After Death.

11. The Notorious B.I.G. – “What’s Beef”
Produced Nashiem Myrick, Carlos “6 July” Broady, & Paragon
I remember when Life After Death first came out and me and my friends were trying to figure out who was in the Commission roll call in the beginning of this song: “Uncle Paulie, P. Diddy, Caesar Leo DeGenero, Tony Baltimore, Iceberg Slim”. I’ve heard people rap on this beat since then and I scratch my head on why they would even try. Biggie murdered this! “Make my name taste like ass when you speak it, see me in the street, your jewelry you can keep it.”

12. The Notorious B.I.G. feat. Puff Daddy, Too Short, & Carl Thomas – “The World Is Filled…”
Produced by Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie & Sean “Puffy” Combs
“When the Remi’s in the system, ain’t no tellin, will I fuck em will I diss em, that’s what these hoes yellin”. I hope we all know by now that this was Biggie’s line first (Not to say Jay didn’t do it justice). I could think of a lot better songs to put here but maybe it relates more to film? Originally on Life After Death.

13. The Notorious B.I.G. feat. Christopher “CJ” Wallace Jr. – “One More Chance/The Legacy (remix)”
Produced by Sean “Puffy” Combs & Rashad Smith
When I first heard about this, I thought it was gonna be terrible. Why not use “Juicy” or another song Biggie’s not say “Sexing me while your man masturbates”. But then after hearing it and understanding that CJ never really got to know his father, the song is kinda…uh, touching. It’s almost exactly what Natalie Cole did with her deceased father, Nat King Cole.

14. “The Notorious Theme”
Composed by Danny Elfman
A score from Notorious by the same guy that made “The Simpson’s Theme”, scored Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, and won a Grammy for scoring Tim Burton’s Batman

15. The Notorious B.I.G. – “Microphone Murderer (Demo)”
16. The Notorious B.I.G. – “Guaranteed Raw (Demo)”
17. The Notorious B.I.G. – “Guaranteed Raw (Demo)”
The next three tracks are previously unreleased demo tracks by Biggie early on when he was still trying to get on. I find it funny that he has a line here that says; “I don’t fuck with Saint Ives” when later he would go on to do a commercial for Saint Ives. It’s good for fans to hear B.I.G.’s early material. Even though the quality is not that good and Biggie was still honing his craft, there are still glimpses of greatness; “It’s Bed Stuy Brooklyn where this rapper was originated. Your rhymes ain’t shit, they must be constapted”

Bottom Line:
I feel this soundtrack could have gone either way. The makers could have released a full Brooklyn bred line up with rappers like Big Daddy Kane, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, & Fabolous. Or they could have released a 3 disc set of all of Biggie’s songs (uncut). They tried to go both ways to so-so results. Most of these songs were already released on Biggie’s Greatest Hits album 2 years ago. Most Biggie fans with just download the new tracks and the ones who are not super fans will also skip the unreleased stuff. Hey, at least is gives light to one of the best to ever do it. Brooklyn stand up.

Download: Jay-Z feat. Santogold – “Brooklyn Go Hard”

Download: Jadakiss feat. Faith Evans – “Letter To B.I.G.”

Download: The Notorious B.I.G. feat. Christopher “CJ” Wallace Jr. – “One More Chance/The Legacy (remix)”

I was checking out Jay’s new song “Brooklyn Go Hard” today and I can’t front, the song is dope once you get past Jay with a Jamaican accent. Only problem is at the end when all of the weirdness sets in. Santogold messed it up. I know I’m going to get stoned for saying all this about the “God MC”. I’ll let you be the judge.

I know this is going to come off as hating…GOOD, it should. I’m tired of people giving Jay passes and crediting the success of other people to him. If Jay was so good at creating success, what happened to Memphis Bleek? What about the fact that he turned Def Jam into a R&B label? Or does he get a pass for that too?

Download: Jay-Z feat. Santogold – “Brooklyn Go Hard”

Download: Lil’ Kim – “Big Momma Thang”

]]> http://www.nappyafro.com/2008/11/19/song-of-the-week-lil-kim-big-momma-thang-by-king-jerm/feed/ 4 http://www.nappyafro.com/2008/11/10/rappers-who-should-have-movies-based-on-their-lives-by-b-easy-king-jerm/ http://www.nappyafro.com/2008/11/10/rappers-who-should-have-movies-based-on-their-lives-by-b-easy-king-jerm/#comments Mon, 10 Nov 2008 11:54:02 +0000 nappyafro.com Staff http://www.nappyafro.com/?p=1640

With The Notorious B.I.G. biographical film Notorious scheduled for release on January 2009, the obvious discussion comes up about what other rappers have big screen worthy life stories. I mean, we kinda had that with 8 Mile & Get Rich Or Die Tryin’. But those movies where loosely based on the lives of 50 Cent & Eminem; that’s also the same case with Krush Groove. I won’t even get into VH1’s Too Legit: The MC Hammer Story. But the thought of what biopics could be made about certain rappers are tempting…

Crank Dat: The Soulja Boy Story (Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em)

Think about it; a Disney backed movie about the kid who made the whole world say “Yoooouuuu!” It’s not as crazy as you think; you could possibly make it a musical and try to get that High School Musical cash: “Watch as DeAndre Ramone Way goes from high school zero to the ‘Superman that hooooooo’” See, it basically writes itself.

Revelations: There’s Light After The Lime (Mase)

Based off the book of the same name, this movie chronicles rapper Ma$e’s transformation to Pastor Mason Betha…then back again to Ma$e….then back again to Pastor. Don’t laugh; this idea isn’t that terrible especially seeing how well the Christian film Fireproof did this year (Budget: $500,000, Earnings: $26,429,043+). Connect Tyler Perry to this project and I hear cash registers from the religious folk. Should they mention the transsexual incident?

Straight Outta Of Compton (Eazy-E & NWA)

After seeing the documentary this year (The World’s Most Dangerous Group), I’m sure that there have been talks about this project. There many subjects to touch on besides the group rise to super stardom (Ice Cube leaving the group, the FBI letters, Suge Knight jacking up Eazy-E, that bullshit about Snoop joining the group, etc). Hey, it’s already been parodied in CB4; might as well make the original.

Kanye (Kanye West)

This one actually has some elements that could be good: Chicago kid has dreams to be the biggest Hip-Hop star in the world, drops out of art school to pursue said dream, struggles at first, moves to New York, gets a little fame, gets in a car wreck, gets more fame…you know the rest. I not even gonna speak on the emotional loses. Who gonna play Kanye? Do you think Kanye West would let anyone else play him? “George doesn’t care about Black people…but he might love this movie”

R (Rakim)

At first I thought this would be a good idea but after thinking more about it, I don’t know. Yeah he raised lyricism in Hip-Hop to a new level but I don’t think his persona will make the best film. Rakim leaves for 5 to 8 years at a time; how do you end that movie? “Rakim dropped an album in 1999, sign with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath, did a few cameos, sat on the sidelines for years waiting, uh, that’s it”.

Killa (Cam’ron)

If anyone says that Killa Season was a biographical film on Cameron Giles, well, that just sad. Let’s just go with the facts: He did have hoop dreams at Manhattan Center High School, that didn’t work out which led him to music that eventually led to the formation of The Diplomats (Maybe we can finally find out what happened between him and Jim Jones). Throw in some cameos from Big L and Murda Mase, and we might have a story.

Walk This Way (Run-D.M.C.)

This won’t be a PG-13 version of the Run-D.M.C. story; we talking about everything here: groupies, drugs, and even the sad murder of Jam Master Jay. They were the first mega superstars of Rap so I know it’s not all clean as Run’s House makes it. Now, if only we can get Rev. Run to sign off on this…

Dilla (J-Dilla)

Even though J-Dilla isn’t a household name, I think that could actually help the movie. I watched plenty of biopics and didn’t necessarily know the whole story and history about the subjects. From working with everybody from Janet Jackson to De La Soul, winning a Grammy, to being Common’s roommate right before dieing of TTP, this movie has a lot to cover. Being that he was a major influence on his peers and that he embodied the neo-soul sound, I’m sure a lot of Hip-Hop heads would love to see this one green-lit.

The Life & Times Of Sean Carter (Jay-Z)

Does anybody remember The Black Book that Jay-Z was supposed to release right around when The Black Album dropped? It was suppose to be a book about his life. I read a few excerpts right before it got canned and they were actually pretty good. I think a lot of people would love a glimpse into the life of one of Hip-Hop’s most successful (and private) stars. We got action (He shot his own brother!), romance (Who’s playing Beyonce?), and betrayal (R-O-C). Maybe it can end with him either getting married or standing on stage with…oh and he did get Nas’ baby mama pregnant; even more drama.

Doggy Dogg World (Snoop Dogg)

Snoop has truly lived the “Hip-Hop” life. After growing up in Long Beach, California, Snoop went from hustling in the hood to being the face of one of the most infamous record labels of all time. We all know about the highs and lows of his life because Snoop has been in the limelight over 15 years and has transformed before us. His story could be a comedy, a drama, and a suspense film all in one. I’m thinking he collaborates with Seth Rogan to make this one. The movie will be a mainstream hit because everyone loves Snoop!

Live 2 Tell (Tupac Shakur)

This one is kinda obvious; after about a million straight-to-DVD movies about the life of one of the generation’s most controversial figures, it seems like he might finally get his turn to the proper Hollywood treatment. Last year it was announced that EverGreen Copyrights has acquired the rights and supposedly are producing a film. Preston Holmes (Hustle & Flow producer) is rumored to be connected so it might be good; if it gets a talented director plus a good actor playing Tupac, I’ll be more optimistic.