Flashback: We're All In The Same Gang

The cause of the violence they are talking about in this video is much different than what we are seeing now but the message remains the same. This blog is meant to spell unity - multiple skin tones, the blood is one. We're all in the same gang. Treat others with respect and get respect back.

The Greatest

"Your Preteen Hip-Hop Fan May Be Headed for Trouble"

Interesting research from Pacific Standard magazine: 

Concerned that your 12-year-old is on the road to delinquency? Newly published research suggests an easy way to either assuage or confirm your fears:

Check what’s on their iPod.

“Music choice is a strong marker of later problem behavior,” a research team from Utrecht University in the Netherlands writes in the journal Pediatrics.

Specifically, the scholars report, kids “with a strong early preference for music types that have been labeled as deviant—hip-hop, heavy metal, gothic, punk, and techno/hardhouse—were more engaged in minor delinquency in late adolescence” than their Beyonce- and-Bieber-loving peers.

The study featured 149 boys and 160 girls attending urban high schools in the Netherlands. They took surveys at ages 12, 14, 15 and 16, in which they rated their appreciation of various musical genres. They also reported “how many times they had committed minor offenses, such as shoplifting, petty theft and vandalism in the previous year.”

50 Cent - Financial Freedom

This is certainly a step up for Curtis.

50 Cent - Major Distribution

Heh. Alot of 50 posts alot lately. If 50 channels his anger at having people not listening to him any more, people might listen to him more.

Orbital - New France

I don't really know what to say about this song except the things that strike first. One, Orbital seems to have updated their sound flawlessly for changing times. Two, Where The Wild Things Are may well be the inspiration for most M83 and Orbital videos - i.e. small time adventures with stuffy animals awkwardly doing human activities.

Check out M83's recent video "Wait" if you have the time, as well. 

50 Cent's "We Up" Is A Serious Departure

This song is so weird. On one level, going with a house beat matches the marketing angle that 50 is going for with by naming his album with the same title as his headphones - SMS Audio - but on another level, it's just weird as hell. Who exactly is he threatening? Who is actually trying to kill him now? And does he realize tough talk doesn't fit with the song at all?

Not sure what the rest of the song sounds like - Lamar and Kidd Kidd are usually pretty good and 50 is an OG compared to both of them. In this version, 50 literally cuts it off before they enter the picture. 50's flow is better here than ever before and it's definitely worth a listen. He seems to switch up his flow to match a different sound, even if his lyrics are pretty much the same.