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Nov 29, 2010

Trueschool Monday #44


Little Shawn is a New York hip hop artist, who released an album called "The Voice In The Mirror" in 1992. He is remembered for singles such "I Made Love (4 Da Very 1st Time)", and "Hickeys On Your Chest", the later of which received a high profile mention in The Notorious B.I.G.'s song Party & Bullshit: "Can't we just all get along / so I can put hickeys on her chest like Little Shawn / get her pissy drunk off of Dom Perignon". Shawn worked as a ghostwriter for many Uptown Records and Bad Boy Records under Sean Combs.

Nov 22, 2010

Trueschool Monday #43


"We came a long way from not givin a fuck
Sellin tapes out of a trunk to movin this far up

Now we got the whole world starstruck

Made a million plus and still don't give a motherfuck..."


N.W.A., the unapologetically violent and sexist pioneers of gangsta rap, is in many ways the most notorious group in the history of rap. Emerging in the late '80s, when Public Enemy had rewritten the rules of hardcore rap by proving that it could be intelligent, revolutionary and socially aware, N.W.A. capitalized on PE's sonic breakthroughs while ignoring their message. Instead, the five-piece crew celebrated the violence and hedonism of the criminal life, capturing it all in blunt, harsh language. Initially, the group's relentless attack appeared to be serious, vital commentary, and it even provoked the FBI to caution N.W.A.'s record company, but following Ice Cube's departure late 1989, the group began to turn to self-parody.
With his high-pitched whine, Eazy-E's urban nightmares now seemed like comic book fantasies, but that fulfilled the fantasies of the teenage, White suburbanites that had become their core audience, and the group became more popular than ever.
Nevertheless, clashing egos prevented the band from recording a third album, and they fell apart once producer Dr. Dre left for a solo career in 1992. Although the group was no longer active, their influence -- from their funky, bass-driven beats to their exaggerated lyrics -- was evident throughout the '90s.
Ironically, in its original incarnation NWA was hardly revolutionary. Eazy-E (b. Eric Wright), a former drug dealer who started Ruthless Records with money he earned by pushing, was attempting to start a rap empire, by building a roster of successful rap artists. However, he wasn't having much success until Dr. Dre -- a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru -- and Ice Cube (b. O'Shea Jackson) began writing songs for Ruthless. Eazy tried to give one of the duo's songs, "Boyz N The Hood," to Ruthless signees HBO and when the group refused, Eazy formed NWA -- an acronym for Niggaz With Attitude -- with Dre and Cube, adding World Class Wreckin' Cru member DJ Yella (b. Antoine Carraby), the Arabian Prince and the D.O.C. to the group.
N.W.A.'s first album, N.W.A. and the Posse, was a party-oriented jam record that largely went ignored upon its 1987 release. In the following year, the group added MC Ren and revamped their sound, bringing in many of the noisy, extreme sonic innovations of Public Enemy and adopting a self-consciously violent and dangerous lyrical stance. Late in 1988, N.W.A. delivered Straight Outta Compton, a vicious hardcore record that became an underground hit with virtually no support from radio, the press or MTV. N.W.A. became notorious for their hardcore lyrics, especially those of "Fuck Tha Police," which resulted in the FBI sending a warning letter to Ruthless and its parent company Priority, suggesting that the group should watch their step.
Most of the group's political threat left with Ice Cube when he departed in late 1989 amidst many financial disagreements. A nasty feud between N.W.A. and Cube began that would culminate with Cube's "No Vaseline," an attack on the group's management released on his 1991 Death Certificate album. By the time the song was released, N.W.A., for all intents and purposes, was finished.
In the two years between Ice Cube's departure and the group's dissolution, N.W.A. was dominated by Eazy-E's near-parodic lyrics and Dr. Dre's increasingly subtle and complex productions. The group quickly released an EP, 100 Miles and Runnin', in 1990 before following it up early the next year with Efil4zaggin ("Niggaz 4 Life" spelled backward). Efil4zaggin was teeming with dense, funky soundscapes and ridiculously violent and misogynist lyrics. Naturally, the lyrics provoked outrage from many critics and conservative watchdogs, but that only increased the group's predominately male, White suburban audience. Even though the group was at the peak of their popularity, Dre began to make efforts to leave the crew, due to conflicting egos and what he perceived as an unfair record deal.

Dre left the group to form Death Row Records with Suge Knight in early 1992. According to legend, Knight threatened to kill NWA's manager Jerry Heller if he refused to let Dre out of his contract. Over the next few years, Dre and Eazy engaged in a highly-publicized feud, which included both of the rappers attacking each other on their respective solo albums. MC Ren and Yella both released solo albums, which were largely ignored, and Eazy-E continued to record albums that turned him into a complete self-parody until his tragic death from AIDS in March 1995. Before he died, Dre and Cube both made amends with Eazy.

Nov 20, 2010

Nov 15, 2010

Trueschool Monday #42


"Take it back to two A.M. fill in the 3D outline in the park
A year later drug raiders set off black and silver sparks

Somehow it just changed the culture ripped the whole movement apart

from it's origins, begin that gave the four elements its start..."


Company Flow was an American underground hip hop group from Brooklyn, New York City at one time associated with the independent record label Rawkus Records. Rapper/producer El-P and DJ/producer Mr. Len founded the group in 1992 in Queens, New York and rapper/producer Bigg Jus later joined.
El-P had gone through a disastrous experience with a record label in an attempt at a solo deal, and founded the group after serving as an intern for an entertainment lawyer. With DJ Mr. Len, Company Flow released their debut single "Juvenile Techniques" in 1993. The follow-up, "8 Steps to Perfection", and their debut EP, Funcrusher (1996), were underground hits. Subject to a major label bidding war on Libra records, Company Flow waited until they could get a contract on their own terms. They eventually signed to Rawkus, and helped revitalize underground rap with labelmates like Mos Def. Their full-length debut album Funcrusher Plus, released in 1997 on Rawkus, is widely recognized as one of the most important and ground-breaking hiphop albums of the late 1990s. After two years of pushing the album and touring, group member Bigg Jus decided to strike out on his own and the group amicably dissolved. El-P and Mr. Len followed up their debut with the instrumental album Little Johnny From the Hospitul (Rawkus).

Nov 12, 2010

Street Mirror Tattoo Expo 2010

UPDATED!!
Check out the PRDS Studio photo report of Street Mirror Expo 2010 HERE!



-TOMORROW!-
Come check us out in Street Mirror Expo 2010 at Rock Café (Tartu mnt 80D)! You can find there Big Mora and Dr.Elbing (Beebilõust) on tattoo machines & Sboy and Fresh1 on airbrushes! There's also Pirados Brand clothes with us and of course...GREAT atmosphere!!
Start 12.00

Nov 8, 2010

Trueschool Monday #41


"The streets, the cops, the system, harrassment
The options, get shot, go to jail, or getcha ass kicked
The lawyers, the part, they are, of the puzzle
The release, the warning, "Try not, to get in trouble"..."


Earl Simmons (born December 18, 1970), better known by his stage name DMX also known as Dog Man X or Darkman X or The Dog or just simply X, is an American rapper and actor who rose to fame in the late 1990s. His stage name pays tribute to the Oberheim DMX drum machine, an instrument he used when he made his own rap beats in the 80's. To date, his best-selling album is his 1999 album ...And Then There Was X, which featured the hit single "Party Up (Up in Here)". As an actor, he also starred in the films Belly, Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds, Cradle 2 The Grave and Last Hour, and his own reality television series Soul of a Man on the American cable television network BET. In 2002, DMX wrote an autobiographical book titled E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX.

"Who We Be" was released as the third single from his fourth studio album The Great Depression. peaked at 10 on the Hot 100. It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance, but lost to "Get Ur Freak On" by Missy Elliott.

Nov 3, 2010

Nov 1, 2010

Trueschool Monday #40


"Damn! That's the fattest stog' I ever seen
The weather's heat in Cali; gettin weeded makes it feel like Maui
Now we feel the good vibrations
So many females, so much inspiration..."


Souls of Mischief is a hip hop group from Oakland, California, that is also part of the hip hop collective, Hieroglyphics. The Souls of Mischief formed in 1991 and is composed of emcees A-Plus, Opio, Phesto, and Tajai.
Oakland native Tajai began rhyming with future band mate A-Plus at age 8, while both were in elementary school. Tajai and Phesto met later in junior high school. Tajai later introduced A-Plus and Phesto to the remaining Souls of Mischief member, Opio, and the group informally formed in high school before making their major-label debut on Jive Records with their well-received album 93 'til Infinity, in 1993.

93 ’til Infinity is the group's highest charting album to date (#17 Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums; #85 Billboard 200), and in January, 1998, was named one of the Top 100 Rap albums by The Source magazine.