Nuggets [News]

Little “nuggets” of news from the “rap” “game” this week:

• Petey Pablo got arrested in an airport in North Carolina for possession of a firearm. The weapon was concealed and STOLEN! SMH.
• Lil Boosie pleads his case, specifically that the charges against him are part of a complex conspiracy against hip hop. Nah homie, it’s against black men. Welcome to reality, American style.
• 50 Cent beefed it up with GLAAD this past week. GLAAD called out Fitty on a tweet where he cites something about Perez Hilton and shooting up a gay wedding. Yeah, and?
• On the homosexual tip. Nicki Minaj came out and said that there a plenty of gay rappers, they simply reside in closets. True true, the Busta Rhymes rumor comes to mind.
• T.I. appears to be losing his first endorsement deal on account of his recent arrest in West Hollywood. Axe body spray. The pun is too good, you got axed homie!
• Jay-Z and Eminem pulled off a successful performance at Yankee Stadium this week. Reviews have been mixed, but overall, they did well.
• Snoop Dogg will be the first ever hip hop act on the Rock Band video game roster. That’s a dope look. Having ‘Sensual Seduction’ as one of the tracks, not so much.

Bashing Through To The Other Side

A while back I touched on a phenomenon occurring in hip hop, whereby rap was being thrown together with the dramatic arts. Out of that effort to produce a new genre, “Hip Hopera” was born. No doubt Kenzo Digital’s interpretation of a Hip Hopera was far more palatable than MTV’s cruddy cupcake of a film. However, leave it to the people who gave us Shakespeare to take dramatic hip hop to another level. The Arts Council of England in collaboration with Jonzi D Productions have commissioned a hip hop opera in a more traditional sense, simply replace the Italian sopranos with some of London’s young Grime/hip hop and dance talent and you’ll get the picture. This is an excellent first stab at hip hop drama in the true spirit of stagecraft. Check the trailer for Markus the Sadist.

Emcee’s and actors are one in the same, they feel alive on stage and that manifests itself in their performance. Big ups to Bashy for taking this role and really committing to it. For those of you unaware of Bashy’s previous contributions, peep some videos after the jump, educate yourself.

The Serengeti Got Burned

Take a peek outside, through your window to be safe. Keep dogs, cats and small children inside. I give these tips because right now lions, hyenas, elephants, gazelle, giraffes, crocs, wildebeest and leopards have been displaced and are running amok in urban terrains worldwide because the SERENGETI GOT BURNED!!

I realize we’re cubs in this game and I realize there are politics involved in these sort of polls…..but plain and simply put, Zebra Is Food got burned. Vibe’s ranking of the top 50 rap blogs did not include the surging Zebra Is Food. Don’t wanna come off as sour grapes, there are plenty of dope sites on the list, but mark my words, there should have been a spot on that list for us. Vibe’s biggest, flaw, in my opinion was there lack of creativity. I could have named you the top five without even seeing the list. This is preaching to the choir because if you’re reading this you’re down but I truly feel our creative approach to over-chewed topics puts us among the elite. We not only paraphrase, we give editorial essays on topics and cover a wide of array of artists and other cultural phenomena and all of it from diverse points of view. In closing, I guess all there is to do is keep grinding.

Here’s the list:

1. Nah Right
2. Kanye’s Blog
3. 2dopeboyz
4. Missinfo.tv
5. OnSmash
6. You Heard That New
7. Cocaine, Blunts & Hip Hop Tapes
8. Ill Doctrine
9. AllHipHop.com Rumors
10. RapRadar
11. Dajaz1.com
12. The Smoking Section
13. Fake Shore Drive
14. Get Right Music
15. World Star Flip Flop
16. Mixtape Monday
17. H.E.R
18. The Meaning Of Dope
19. The MegatronDon
20. The T.R.O.Y blog
21. The Rap Up
22. Beats and Rants
23. SOHH Blogs
24. Vladtv.com
25. Elitaste
26. KidCudi.com
27. Don’t Get Gassed
28. Kim Osorio’s Blog
29. Byron Crawford
30. Hip Hop Is Read
31. Fat Lace
32. Notes From a Different Kitchen
33. Nola Bounce
34. Rosenberg Radio
35. Xclusives Zone
36. DallasPenn.com
37. So Many Shrimp
38. Zilla Says
39. Unkut.com
40. Bust The Facts
41. Uggh,…Nice Watch
42. Maurice Garland
43. Slang Rap Democracy
44. Mista Jam’s Blogs
45. Metal Lungies
46. ThePressPlayShow
47. Prancehall,com
48. Straight Bangin’
49. Passion of the Weiss
50. Twankie & Glisten