Hip Hop Spy

Wanna feel old? A full quarter century has passed since the Beastie Boys first whined about having to fight for your right to party.

While some groups might feel self-conscious about so much time gone by — especially a group that worked so hard to put its first punky slogan behind them — it’s telling that the Beasties went out of their way to emphasize it on the new CD, “Hot Sauce Committee Part Two.”

They open their first all-rap effort in seven years with a piece, “Make Some Noise,” that playfully mangles their original “party” phrase, as if trying to outdo it for drunken outrage. More, they titled the disk’s kickoff video “Fight for Your Right Revisited.”

That’s a genuine dare, considering “Sauce” doubles as the first Beastie release since these “boys” hit their 40s, as well as the first since Adam Yauch was diagnosed with salivary-gland cancer.

Instead of using such things as a spur to maturity, though, the trio zigged in the other direction. “Sauce” represents a flagrant act of regression, not to the snotty sound of “Party,” but to a general sense of fun and youthfulness they haven’t managed in over a decade. Call “Sauce” a comeback, then, following an indifferent instrumental CD (2007′s “The Mix-Up”) and a water-treading retro-electro work from 2004 (“To the 5 Boroughs”).

To be sure, “Sauce” doesn’t show the leaps in creativity of the Beasties’ brilliant first string of four CDs. But it approaches them in danceable and quotable joy.

Once again, the focus falls on electronic hooks over forays into Latin-jazz or rock. But then, the Beasties have always filtered hip hop through the sensibility of stone-cold rock ‘n’ roll. Unlike the synth hooks on “Boroughs,” however, the new ones aren’t so bound to the past. They have a fresh, cartoonish sheen, as futurist as the soundtrack to anything from the world of Japanese animé.

“Too Many Rappers” has oscillating synths that sound like a spaceship taking off, while “OK” makes new wave seem new again. Think: The Cars go hip hop. Likewise, the synths in “Make Some Noise” reinvent the textures of that ultimate totem of ’70s funk, the clavinet.

Yauch’s voice, already rough on “To the 5 Boroughs,” now sounds far scratchier. But that just lends him a husky authority and serves to distance the group from its nerdy roots.

Not that they need that much distance. The Beasties still make a great case for goofy humor, marked by voracious name-dropping. Special kudos to them for offering shout-outs to Tippi Hedren and “leggo my Eggo,” plus two quotes from Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” (perhaps history’s first unconscious rap).

That the Beasties can deliver all this in a terse, 44-minute package shows they’ve made aging disgracefully something to be proud of.

nydailynews.com

ThatCrack.com is back online. We suffered a server meltdown and a lot of tapes were lost. We had to rebuild the site from scratch. The site is back up and running and we will be 100% soon. If you had a tape on the site and it is not there anymore re upload the tape using the new upload tab inside the log in. Thank You for bearing with us we appreciate all the true loyal DJs that call ThatCrack a home.

Two of the Greatest Rappers of All time go head to head who would win ? Who knows, Eminem was a battle rapper but 2 Pac was known for spitting vicious rhymes that still to this day are memorized by his legion of loyal fans. Slim Shady is one of only a few artists on the planet that can fill a stadium for a concert. 2 Pac has sold more albums after his death then most artist alive ever will sell. So who is the Greatest rapper pound for pound round for round record for record out of these two.

Eminem

slim shady lp 4,830,000 million world wide

marshall mathers lp 12,120,000 world wide

eminem show 10,960,000 world wide

encore 5,845,000 world wide

curtain call 3,805,000 million

re-up 1,180,000 worldwide

relapse 2,215,000 world wide

recovery 2,285,000 world wide and counting

Total Albums sold to date  42,970,000 albums worldwide

2Pac

Posthumous albums

Total Albums Sold to Date 75,000,000 albums Worldwide

WINNER 2PAC

VH1 is currently in production on a long awaited edition of “Behind The Music” that covers Ice Cube’s career from the beginning up to 2011. Ice Cube recently spent several days with the VH1 cameras to give one of the most in depth interviews of his career, which promises to make this episode of “Behind The Music” one of the best yet.

The VH1 producers and icecube.com are searching the archives for some of the important moments from Ice Cube’s career. Here’s how you can help. If you have have either of the items below and can provide a high quality, high resolution scan, VH1 will use the item in the upcoming Behind The Music and the item will be returned to you, personally signed by Ice Cube.

1992 interview with the Korea Times

Assorted articles and magazine covers

Video files of the ST. Ides commercials

Your support is always appreciated.

Peace

Icecube.com

Hip-Hop pioneer DJ Kool Herc is currently in the hospital suffering from an unknown health condition.

According to Gangstarr’s DJ Premier, Kool Herc’s health is deteriorating and he is in need of financial assistance, because he reportedly doesn’t have health insurance.

“Kool Herc is very sick,” DJ Premier revealed on his XM Satellite radio show Live From Headqcourterz. “For those that know about Hip-Hop, who we call the father of Hip-Hop, Kool Herc, is not doing well. It’s funny how we have a father of a culture that still lives, where as in some cultures they are dead and gone even though they may still be worshipped or reflected on in some kind of way.”

According to DJ Premier, he spoke to Herc, who revealed that he was in need of financial assistance because he didn’t have medical coverage.

Kool Herc, 55, is recognized by music historians as the Founding Father of Hip-Hop for his style of “Break” DJ’ing, which isolates the rhythm of a particular portion of a record.

He is credited for laying the foundation for the most popular genre of music in the world, after a party he hosted at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, in the South Bronx.

DJ Kool Herc is also a community activist who led a multi-year effort to prevent the sale of 1520 Sedgwick to greedy real estate speculators.

In September of 2010, the building received a $5.6 million dollar federal loan that halted the sale of the building, allowing hundreds of tenants to keep their homes.

Additionally, the building has officially been recognized as the place Hip-Hop music during the party, which took place on August 11th, 1973.

Hip Hop artists have shouted his name out time and time again. There are other Hip Hop stars that probaly don’t even know who he is. There are Hip Hop stars who would rather waste there money on a iced out watch or another tacky iced out chain then help Hip Hop OGs like DJ Kool Herc. The Lil Wayne’s,50 Cents, Dr Dre,EminemS,Snoop Doggs,P Diddy’s of Hip Hop should write a check and get the founding father of Hip Hop out of debt. Will they do it ? We shall see. These will be the same people paying tribute to him if he passes away.  Get well soon DJ Kool Herc.