Rock & Rap

beastie boys: no sleep till brooklyn

run dmc & aerosmith: walk this way

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2007

Van Halen, R.E.M., Grandmaster Flash, Patti Smith, & The Ronettes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 12th. To pay attribute to two of the next acts being honored, here are a few songs:

• MP3: Grandmaster Flash: The Adventures of Grandma
• MP3: Grandmaster Flash: Freedom
• MP3: Grandmaster Flash: The Message
• MP3: Grandmaster Flash: New York New York
• MP3: Grandmaster Flash: The Roof is on Fire
• MP3: Grandmaster Flash: White Lines

Jay Z, Def Jam Records Pres, said this while inducting Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five: “Thirty years later rappers have become rock stars, movie stars, leaders, educators, philanthropists, even CEOs,” he said, reading his induction speech from his Blackberry. “None of this would have been possible without the work of these men.”

“There were some that called it a fad. They called it a flash of brilliance, excuse my pun. I think the significance of going into this organization is it’s the final place for corporate respect,” he said. “They all finally accepted and embraced this wonderful culture we call hip-hop.” - Grandmaster Flash

“He didn’t say bass or FREEZE!” Shaun of the Dead

• MP3: R.E.M.: Daysleeper
• MP3: R.E.M.: Everybody Hurts
• MP3: R.E.M.: I Walked With a Zombie
• MP3: R.E.M.: It’s the End of the World As We Know It
• MP3: R.E.M.: Losing My Religion
• MP3: R.E.M.: Man On the Moon
• MP3: R.E.M.: What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?

The Jon Stewart Show, MTV, 1993.

Kurtis Blow: Legend

Kurtis Blow is my one favorite rappers of alllll time. How can you not love a man that sports a stache as magical as that one. He was hip hop’s first mainstream star, advertising his industry with a commercial for Sprite.  Forget Lebron James’ ads or Britney’s infamous Pepsi commericals, he was way ahead of the game. He was also the first rapper to record a full length album on a major label. He is a legend!!! This blog is named after his single “8 Million Stories”. He appeared in films Krush Groove and The Show. I can’t stress how important he is to hip-hop or how much I appreciate his music. Here’s just a few of the most essential popular hits he has had:

• MP3: Kurtis Blow: 8 Million Stories
• MP3: Kurtis Blow: Basketball
• MP3: Kurtis Blow: The Breaks
• MP3: Kurtis Blow: Christmas Rappin
• MP3: Kurtis Blow: Krush Groovin

Special props if you find LL Cool J - Hint Purple Hat

Infamous Vanilla Tax Rap

“I swoop on suckas like an eagle not a sparrow” - Classic!

Think you can rap better than Vanilla Ice? Everyone does apparently and for some reason a lot of individuals claim their grandmas rap better than the Ice Man in the comment section. I honestly don’t think my grandmother has even heard of Tupac, maybe Vanilla though. Was it really necessary for him to drop the f bomb in there? All you got to do in this contest  is submit your very own tax rap for TurboTax and you can win $25,000. That’s a lot of ice ice, baby. Basically your competition is the Vanilla Man and the many, many thirty year old white guys that will make a parody video. Be sure to represent in your funky hip-hop apparel.

I actually got to hand it to Mr. Robert Van Winkle, I love him on the Surreal Life Games. I am a complete sucker for “I Love New York” and “Egotrip’s White Rapper Show” had me hooked. Rob is the only contestant worth watching on the show. He’s a little a bitch, “so white, white baby”.

Listen for 1:00 - ”Go White Boy, Go White Boy Go”