New Anthology Aims to Capture the History of Hip-Hop

If you're feeling down and hip-hop is your medicine of choice,  "The Smithsonian Anthology of Hip-Hop and Rap" may be just what the doctor ordered. 

Released today, the collaboration between the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, the multimedia collection is described by its makers as a first-of-its-kind "collection chronicling the growth of the music and culture from the parks of the Bronx to solidifying a reach that spans the globe."

Featuring 129 tracks spread over nine CDs and over 40 years of hip-hop history, the collection was a natural extension of what the National Museum of African American History and Culture aims to do and a necessary one according to NMAAHC director Kevin Young.

... our museum is about the past but also about the present and the future. And hip-hop has been around with us for 40-plus years, and so it's just a natural outgrowth of looking at the African American experience through a contemporary lens," said Young of the impetus for the project in an interview with the Washington Post,  adding that, "for Smithsonian Folkways, a lot of the desire around this project is really seeing hip-hop as community music, looking at its birth and its origin stories, really coalescing around the idea of community and finding a voice to express joys, sorrows, anger about the current circumstances.

In addition to the tracks, whittled down from an initial pool of around  900 songs suggested by a committee of scholars, artists, journalists and industry folks in 2014, the collection features essays from leading hip-hop figures, critics, and writers as well as a 300-page book designed by Cey Adams, a legendary visual artist and founding member of Def Jam Records.

While the liner-notes, visuals and essays offer an intimate perspective of how hip-hop has changed, evolved and even challenged the norms of society as a medium over its relatively brief existence, it is the music that is the star of the project in Young's eyes.

For me, as someone who's first record I ever bought with my own money was Run-DMC's "King of Rock," I was just blown away by the  tracks, the real breadth of the collection. I think that's really important," he told the Post.  "And having, you know, paper anthologies of poetry and other things, it's really hard to pick, you know, and to pick out of 50 years really of this music. I think it's just so dynamic and powerful. And the essays alone are worth the price of admission, and so to have that music and the essays in conversation with each other, too, is really important.

The Anthology is the third produced by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings that tells the story of a defining era of music “of, by, and for the people." It frequently highlights the objects and stories of hip-hop displayed in the NMAAHC galleries,  in an attempt to offer perspective on the African American experience and its impact on American culture. 

It is currently available for purchase on the Folkways site for $159.98. A complete track listing for the collection follows:

Tracklist

Disc 1

Fatback - King Tim III

Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight

The Sequence - Funk You Up

Kurtis Blow - The Breaks

Funky Four +1 - That's the Joint

Spoonie Gee feat. The Sequence - Monster Jam

Treacherous Three - The Body Rock

Blondie - Rapture

Grandmaster Flash – The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel

Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force - Planet Rock

Disc 2

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - The Message

The Fearless Four - Rockin It

Cold Crush Brothers - Punk Rock Rap

Herbie Hancock - Rockit

Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force - Looking for the Perfect Beat

Run-DMC - It's Like That

Whodini - Friends

Cold Crush Brothers - Fresh, Fly, Wild & Bold

T. La Rock - It's Yours

The World's Famous Supreme Team - Hey! DJ

Newcleus - Jam On It

UTFO - Roxanne, Roxanne

Disc 3

Roxanne Shanté - Roxanne's Revenge

Fat Boys - Fat Boys

Doug E. Fresh & MC Ricky D - La Di Da Di

LL Cool J - I Can't Live without my Radio

Schoolly D - P.S.K. ‘What Does It Mean?’

Run-DMC feat. Aerosmith - Walk This Way

Beastie Boys - Paul Revere

Ultramagnetic MC's - Ego Tripping

Ice-T - 6 'N The Mornin'

Kool Moe Dee - How Ya Like Me Now

LL Cool J - I Need Love

Eric B feat. Rakim - Eric B is President

Mantronix - King of The Beats

Disc 4

Stetsasonic feat. the Rev. Jesse Jackson & Olatunji - A.F.R.I.C.A.

Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - Parents Just Don't Understand

Audio Two - Top Billin'

MC Lyte - Lyte As A Rock

Big Daddy Kane - Raw

Marley Marl feat. Master Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, & Big Daddy Kane - The Symphony

MC Lyte - I Cram to Understand U (Sam)

Tone Lōc - Wild Thing

Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock - It Takes Two

Jungle Brothers – I’ll House You

N.W.A. - Fuck Tha Police

Public Enemy - Fight the Power

The Stop the Violence Movement - Self Destruction

Too Short - Life Is...Too Short

Slick Rick - Children's Story

3rd Bass - The Gas Face

Disc 5

Queen Latifah feat. Monie Love - Ladies First

Public Enemy - Bring the Noise

De La Soul - Me Myself and I

Biz Markie - Just a Friend

The D.O.C. - It's Funky Enough

2 Live Crew - Me So Horny

Digital Underground - The Humpty Dance

MC Hammer - U Can't Touch This

Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby

Brand Nubian - All for One

Geto Boys - Mind Playing Tricks on Me

A Tribe Called Quest - Scenario

Black Sheep - The Choice is Yours

Salt-N-Pepa - Let's Talk About Sex

Yo-Yo feat. Ice-Cube - Can't Play with My Yo-Yo

Naughty By Nature - O.P.P.

Disc 6

Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Doggy Dogg - Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang

Ice Cube - It Was a Good Day

Sir Mix-A-Lot - Baby Got Back

Arrested Development - Tennessee

Digable Planets - Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)

House of Pain - Jump Around

Positive K - I Got a Man

Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)

UGK - Pocket Full of Stones

Wu-Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M.

Cypress Hill - Insane In The Brain

The Pharcyde - Passin' Me By

Eightball & MJG - Comin Out Hard

Common Sense - I Used to Love H.E.R.

Da Brat - Funkdafied

Nas – N.Y. State of Mind

Craig Mack feat. The Notorious B.I.G., Rampage, LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes - Flava In Your Ear

Disc 7

Beastie Boys - Sabotage

The Notorious B.I.G. - Juicy

Gang Starr feat. Nice & Smooth - DWYCK

Warren G feat. Nate Dogg - Regulate

Snoop Doggy Dogg - Murder Was The Case

E-40 feat. Suga T - Sprinkle Me

Goodie Mob - Cell Therapy

Coolio feat. L.V. - Gangsta's Paradise

2Pac - Dear Mama

Mobb Deep - Shook Ones, Part 2

Method Man feat. Mary J. Blige - I'll Be There For You / You're All I Need To Get By

Foxy Brown feat. Jay-Z - I'll Be

Lil Kim feat. Puff Daddy - No Time

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - Tha Crossroads

Wu-Tang Clan feat. Cappadonna - Triumph

Busta Rhymes - Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See

Master P feat. Silkk The Shocker, Mia X, Fiend - Make ‘Em Say Uhh!

Disc 8

Missy Elliot - The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)

Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop (That Thing)

DMX - Ruff Ryders’ Anthem

The Roots - The Next Movement

Mos Def - Mathematics

BG - Bling Bling

dead prez - Hip Hop

Eminem feat. Dido - Stan

OutKast - Ms. Jackson

Nelly - Country Grammar (Hot Shit)

Ludacris feat. Pharrell - Southern Hospitality

Nas - One Mic

50 Cent - In Da Club

Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz feat. Ying Yang Twins - Get Low

Disc 9

Talib Kweli - Black Girl Pain

Kanye West - Jesus Walks

Three 6 Mafia feat. Young Buck, Eightball & MJG - Stay Fly

Rick Ross – Hustlin’

Lupe Fiasco feat. Nikki Jean – Hip-Hop Saved My Life

Young Jezzy feat. Nas - My President

David Banner feat. Chris Brown & Yung Joc - Get Like Me

Lil Wayne feat. Robin Thicke - Tie My Hands

Jay Electronica - Exhibit C

Nicki Minaj - Super Bass

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz - Thrift Shop

J Cole feat. TLC - Crooked Smile

Kanye West - Blood On The Leaves

Drake - Started From the Bottom

Movement for Black Lives Report Finds Feds Targeted Black Lives Matters Supporters

A report from the racial justice organization, The Movement for Black Lives released Wednesday, comes to the stunning conclusion that the Justice Department “deliberately targeted supporters of the movement to defend Black lives during the summer of 2020 uprisings in order to disrupt and discourage Black organizing.”

Source The Movement for Black Lives

Created in partnership with the Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility Clinic at the City University of New York School of Law, the report analyzed 326 criminal cases filed by federal prosecutors in connection with nationwide protests from May 31 to Oct. 25 of last year in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and found the White House to be the motivating force behind the prosecutions. 

Much of the drive to use federal charges against protesters stemmed from top-down directives from former President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General William Barr, states the analysis. These directives, meant to disrupt the movement, were the primary reason for the unprecedented federalization of protest-related prosecutions seen in 2020.

Furthermore, the report claims that rhetoric from the DOJ in the form of press releases regarding the Black Lives Matters protestors painted an image of “violent radicals” in stark opposition to the language used surrounding Covid-19 anti-mask protestors during the same time period when then-President Trump referred to anti-mask protestors as “very good people.”

That difference in language was matched with a difference in response according to The Movement for Black Lives.

… the government justified the expanded use of its authority and deployment of federal enforcement due to what it claimed was local and state leaders’ “abdication of their law enforcement responsibilities in deference to this violent assault,” read the report, going on to note that President Trump urged local officials to negotiate with anti-mask protestors.

Amara Enyia, The Movement for Black Lives’ policy research coordinator told the Associated Press that the point of it was to show how the U. S. government has continued to persecute the Black movement by surveillance, by criminalizing protests, and by using the criminal legal system to prevent people from protesting and punishing them for being engaged in protests by attempting to curtail their First Amendment rights.

 It is undeniable that racism plays a role,” Enyia said. “It is structurally built into the fabric of this country and its institutions, which is why it’s been so difficult to eradicate. It’s based on institutions that were designed around racism and around the devaluing of Black people and the devaluing of Black lives.

Read the entire report here.

Isley Brothers Cover the Hits in ‘Tiny Desk (Home) Concert'

 

Times are tough all around, but whoever scheduled the latest episode of NPR’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert made a valiant attempt to put a little boogie back in our steps by bringing funk, soul and disco legends The Isley Brothers into our homes, from theirs.

Filmed at the group’s home studio in St. Louis, Missouri, the four-song set that began streaming Wednesday morning, attempted to put the hump back in Humpday, as the Isleys opened with their classic bed burner “Between the Sheets” before moving on to “Footsteps in the Dark” followed by 70s classic “For the Love of You” and closed out the set with a showstopping version of “That Lady.”

Along the way the Isleys shared stories about the songs and made several callouts to the legion of popular artists who have sampled them, including Ronald Isley (aka Mr. Biggs) opening “Between the Sheets” with, “I like it when you call me Big Poppa,” in a nod to the late Notorious B.I.G. who sampled the song in his breakthrough hit. 

While the runtime on the concert is just under 13 minutes it stands as an adequate reminder of the power, poise and talent of this iconic band which has been putting out hits for nearly seven decades.