It’s time to listen to the ladies.

  "In any field women must work TWICE as hard to get even HALF the respect that their male counterparts get" - Nicki Minaj. Nicki Minaj  took to twitter in October last year, to express her frustration with the sexism present in the rap industry …

Victor J – “Something like David with his slingshot in a Goliath industry”.

  “Tell me why you listen to my words Can I really tell you something you have never heard?” Not many rappers today would be brave enough to ask their audience this, let alone have it as the first lyrics of their album.  However, Victor J …

‘Threatening nature’ – feminism in rap?

Recently i rediscovered an old favorite by Ab-Soul called ‘Threatening nature’ (lyrics) and it prompted me to think more deeply about the sexism present in the music i was consuming.  The reason being is that this rap song was one of the first ever overtly …

J. Cole drops album 4/20

SOOOOOO… If you don’t already know J Cole has officially released KOD.  It was a very unexpected and surprise release. This is J. Cole’s fifth studio album and is the follow up to 2016’s similarly surprise released 4 Your Eyez Only, which was his fourth consecutive Number …

Kendrick Lamar becomes first rapper to win Pulitzer

Just popping in to tell you the great news. Kendrick Lamar won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in music for his album DAMN., making him the first non-jazz or classical artist to win the prize. The Pulitzer Prize board called the album “a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular …

We could be free; #MARCHFOROURLIVES

 The autobiography as told by Vic Mensa. An issue currently at the forefront of mainstream media (particularly in America) is gun violence and the issue of the American youth utilizing firearms to kill their own peers in classrooms. According to CNN, “there have already been …

Playlist, melancholic moods

(Painting by: Lesya Poplavskaya ) I’ve been feeling pretty low lately and my playlist reflects this.  These are my go to songs when I’m down.  Some of them embrace the sadness, whilst others offer motivation.  I have always enjoyed listening to my idols put my …

The origins of rap as a culture of resistance

Using the sub genre of Gangster Rap to speak out about social issues. When i first told my family that i liked rap music i could see the mild discomfort/ shock/ WTF moment happening right before my eyes.  They themselves had never been exposed to …

VMIX: a soul project on the crest of local rap

Interview with upcoming rapper and Hip-Hop artist Luvuyo Cindi about his latest mixtape and single. Rap artist Luvuyo Cindi, better known by his stage name VMIX, released his first commercial project on the 8th of November 2017. The twenty-track mixtape titled “These Things Happen” was …

Hi my name is what? my name is who? Chika Chika… Kendra Stewart

Just a little about myself and the direction of this blog A typical rap song accommodates three verses, of sixteen bars each, as well as courses allowing for 48 lines of beautifully woven and often thought provoking poetry. This gives rap an enormous amount of …