Apr29
Emanuel E asked:
As a fan of rap growing up, I wonder why. I can understand about the more contemporary stuff that’s been going on for the past five or so years, but in general, people give hip-hop a bad name. Apart from subject matter, which I am aware of, people get on the style because of the fact that songs use samples of other songs. By that, I mean the beats, but I have no problem with it. Also, people seem to say that it isn’t really music, but we let judges decide on that. If that were the case, then House music isn’t really considered music either, since it isn’t done in melody. Of course, I can understand if someone doesn’t like the genre, that’s fine. But there are other rappers who don’t rap about the cliched subject matter, but about stuff that’s meaningful. Sometimes, I even think that the gangsta rap from the late 1980s early to mid 1990s was better than most of the so-called gangsta rap of the present day. It’s like what I heard before, hip hop has been around for over 30 years and it still gets no respect.
Honestly, there are rappers out there who rap about stuff that has nothing to do with b***hes and hoes or shooting people and such. Try listening to guys like Common, The Roots, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Immortal Technique, or even legends like Run-DMC, Public Enemy, KRS-One, etc.
Apr29
Steve Hochman asked:
One of the most frustrating things is to attempt pulling on a pair of jeans and finding that they slide over your hips and butt fine, but fastening them over bulging abdominals is almost impossible. You lie on the bed, tuck your tummy flat and fasten them. So far so good, but that isn’t the end of it, you stand up and…OMG, the bulge hangs over the top of your pants.
You pull your top down and hope for the best, but you know it is there and you can hardly breathe!
Abdominals are the most difficult muscle groups to train, but they are also very important. The stronger the abdominals the more stable the back and overall physique. Strong abdominals contribute to “core strength”; this is the ability of the abs and back to correctly support your spine. When core muscles are weak an imbalance is created, you have to take care of this. One way is exercise, I know it is a dirty word, but it’s the only way to help with or prevent back pain and other problems. Here are 6 of the quickest ways to strengthen your abdominals/Core.
Improve posture – Bad posture is a problem. To improve posture, while in the standing position, line up your ears above your shoulders, your shoulders over the hips, hips over the knees and finally knees above ankles. The shoulders remain open as though a shirt on a hanger. Bring the navel in towards the spine while evenly distributing weight over the feet. The result makes you appear leaner, quite simply standing up straight. When shoulders are back and the chest is up, the abs naturally pull inwards. Good posture improves energy levels and lung capacity.
Think whole-body exercise – The body should not be trained in isolation, it is a misconception that strong abs means doing thousands of crunches. Abs have to be seen as a 360 degree core.
Plank – Come up into the plank position from hands and knees, line the wrists up under shoulders, keep the back straight, abs and glutes taught. Breathe out for 10 seconds while pulling the navel into the spine.
Leg lowers – Lie back down, curl chest over ribs with hands behind the head, keep knees over hips and ankles and knees level, knees bent at 90 degrees. Lower knees to the floor and lift back up.
Seated Rotation – Sitting with bent knees and legs together, place the arms in front, tuck in the tail bone, roll back slightly and rotate the spine right and left.
Bicycle exercise – lie on the floor face up, hands behind the head. Bring knees in towards the chest and lift shoulder blades off the ground. Bend alternately the left leg to 45 degrees and turn the upper body right, bringing left elbow into right knee, switch sides, alternate using a pedaling motion.
Ball crunch – face up, ball resting under the mid/lower back, cross arms over the chest. Contract the abs, lifting your body off the ball; pull the bottom of the ribcage down to the hips.
Vertical leg crunch – Lying face up on the floor stretch the legs straight up with crossed knees. Contract abs, lift the shoulder blades off the floor and pull the navel into the spine.
Reverse Crunch – lie on the floor placing hands behind head. Bring knees into chest at 90 degrees, feet crossed. Pull in abs and curl hips off the floor while reaching upwards with legs.
Examine Diet and Digestion – You may have great abdominal strength and posture but still have abdominal fat, to get a flat stomach you need to lose fat by diet, i.e. eat less while moving more. It is unfortunate that fat does accumulate in the abdominal area.
Props are optional – It is not necessary to have fancy props to have flat abdominals, it is great to have gear but gimmicks and gym memberships are superfluous. You hardly need much space and you don’t need fancy clothes.
Take things slow – There is no such thing as a “quick fix”, slow progression is the only way to achieve a flat stomach and meet goals.
Set Realistic Goals – Genes play a role in the determination of body shape, but this doesn’t mean you are unable to improve your appearance, set realistic expectations and rather do something than nothing.
Having fit and tone abdominal muscles will not only build your core strength it will also build you strong sex abs, stronger back and best of all you won’t have to worry about fitting into your jeans.
Apr27
andrew.regan.2006@googlemail.com asked:
Houston, Texas is home to one of the most prominent and independent hip-hop scenes in the world, largely influencing both gangsta rap and the larger southern hip-hop community.
The man credited with being the central figurehead for the uprising of hip-hop is the late DJ Screw (real name Robert Earl Davis Jr). Screw was the creator and pioneer of a new style of hip-hop, which was christened “screwing” after its creator. This method involves the key tracks of a cut being slowed down when remixed. DJ Screw began making mixtapes of the slowed-down music in the early 1990s. Originally, this process involved mixing two copies of the same record, slowed down either on the turntables using pitch shift or later through use of an after-mixer device. Phasing, flanging and echo effects were originally the result of the two records being played at millisecond intervals.
Many Houston area artists, such as Big Love, Willie D and Ganksta NIP began to incorporate the slowed tempo into rap songs. Willie D’s song “Die”, from the album ‘I’m Goin Out Lika Soldier’, featured a slowed-down sample of the line “all I have is my balls and my word” from the movie ‘Scarface’, well before “screwing” gained more mainstream acceptance.
The genre was associated with both the use of marijuana and the consumption of “syrup”, a cocktail of cough syrup, mixed with the prescription drugs codeine and promethazine (DJ Screw’s death in November 2000 was attributed to either an overdose of codeine, or a gradual build-up of codeine in his body’s system as a result of years spent abusing the drug). This has been credited as influencing the genre’s psychedelic style.
DJ Screw made a significant number of mixtapes (purported to be in the thousands), usually with a theme. This provided a significant outlet for MCs in the South-Houston area, and helped local rappers such as ESG, Lil’ Flip and Z-Ro gain regional and sometimes national prominence, and it is likely that hotels in Houston would have played host to several record labels’ talent spotters eager to check out the genre for themselves.
Early tapes were often “screwed” versions of instrumentals over which rappers would later freestyle, but later tapes were mostly vocal tracks with occasional toasting or freestyle intermissions, and by the time of Screw’s death, the genre had become widely known throughout the southern United States.
Currently, the style is best exemplified in the music of Swishahouse DJ Michael 5000 Watts and Chamilitary DJ OG Ron C. Their work has helped establish current rappers Chamillionaire, Paul Wall, Mike Jones, Slim Thug – all of whom achieved massive mainstream success and placed Houston firmly back on the hip-hop map, as well as rap groups such as The Colour Changin’ Click and The Screwed Up Click. More major recording labels have embraced the genre, and chopped and screwed albums occasionally outsell the unmixed version.
Apr26
Todd A. Smith asked:
It is no secret that high incarceration rates are an epidemic in the Black community. Many of today’s biggest celebrities, from sports to music, are survivors of this epidemic. Some of today’s biggest hip-hop stars often rap about their struggles growing up in the Black community, but few return to their old neighborhoods and mentor children about avoiding the temptation of street life.
Few rappers have been criticized as much as Long Beach legend Snoop Dogg, whose early success led to the popularity of “gangsta” rap in the early 1990s. Despite the raw lyrics of Snoop’s early records, he is determined to see that the youth in the Black community do not follow in his footsteps, which led to his incarceration before achieving international fame.
According to reports, the West Coast rapper has teamed up with documentary director Gabriel London, filmmaker Alex Munoz and Black Entertainment Television’s (BET) Urbanworld Film Festival to present Bigg Snoop Dogg’s Youth Authority: California, an autobiographical streets-to-prison documentary production.
According to a released statement, “The resulting documentary weaves together Snoop’s experiences growing up in the midst of daily violence and gang activity with the stories of young men still caught up in the streets-to-prison cycle. Bridging generations, London has painted an intimate portrait of Snoop and the ‘young G’s,’ current prisoners and parolees who struggle to find their way in a system that is too often focused on punishment rather than education and rehabilitation. The film is Snoop and the filmmakers’ attempt to break a vicious cycle that leads to over 10,000 youth being locked up annually in California alone.”
Before signing to Death Row Records in the early 1990s, Snoop was active in the nefarious street gang the Crips, experiencing frequent run-ins with the law. The rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, actually spent time inside California’s infamous “Youth Authority” (also known as CYA).
Not long after high school graduation, the future rapper was arrested on cocaine possession charges and spent the next three years in the judicial system. Unlike so many others in the Black community, Snoop was able to find an alternative lifestyle when he discovered a love for hip-hop. Snoop, along with Nate Dogg and hip-hop producer Dr. Dre’s step-brother Warren G, founded the group 213 and began recording mixtapes hoping to impress Dr. Dre. At a NWA house party, Warren G persuaded the disc jockey to play a 213 mixtape, and Dr. Dre was so impressed with Snoop’s rhymes and charisma that he collaborated with him on his debut solo single “Deep Cover.”
Snoop would go on to become an overnight sensation in the world of hip-hop. However, he could not escape his violent past, and at one time was charged with the murder of a rival gang member, Phillip Woldermarian, a charge he was later acquitted of because of self-defense.
Despite his numerous run-ins with the law, he is determined to see a change in the mentality of youth in the Black community. Snoop’s idea for the documentary was to use his personal story to teach children in the Black community that there are alternatives to the criminal lifestyle.
Bigg Snoop Dogg’s Youth Authority screens Friday, September 12 at the Urbanworld Film Festival.
Apr20
djone3 asked:
www.HeadzUpFM.com
WHAT in the ham sandwich show?
HeadzUp Nites?
The Gangsta Boogie mixtape Show?
Holy Hip-Hop Transfusion?
The Live Mix Show?
U-Turn Mixtape Show?
Spin3:16?
Revelation hip-hop? Which one?
