Lauryn Hill | Hip-Hop and Politics

Some Funky Christmas and Holiday Songs To Keep You in Step

December 25, 2013 By mrDaveyd

There’s been scores of Hip Hop Christmas songs ranging from Run DMC‘s Christmas in Hollis to Eazy E‘s Merry Mutha…. Christmas.. I put a few of them together to bring that Holiday cheer.. Enjoy.. Feel free to add your own… Davey D

Beat Street Christmas Rap

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh8hB1tAip8

Kurtis Blow Christmas Rap

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFtA7IHZgzw

Run DMC Christmas in Hollis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR07r0ZMFb8

Santa Baby Rap

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kkv16y7iV4

Sypda D ‘Ghetto Santa’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_eVXv5MF98&feature=related

Snoop Dogg & Nate Dogg & Tha Dogg Pound

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVkg5FM59NA

Grace Jones Little Drummer Boy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98JrWm9IMMA

James Brown ‘Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz48PR__uSo

James Brown ‘Soulful Christmas’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jasq79LAxtg

Jimmy Jules & the nuclear soul system

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iemv2C6IYc

Jive Turkeys ‘Funky Christmas’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBkV-gmyr7w

Lauryn Hill ‘Little Drummer Boy’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nWqBy3PoAQ

Cee-Lo Mary ‘Did You Know’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmBWqRoENl4

Surf MCs ‘New Years Day Song’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBeBhyWsPAE

**For Adults only..Here’s a couple of dirty Holiday songs that may make you laugh or cringe but nevertheless are classics of sorts including the new Too Short

Eazy E Merry MuthaPh— X-Mas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO8D12FefUI

Master P Christmas in the Ghetto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fs4HIKEKhA

Too Short – Hanukkah Favorite Time Of The Year

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzskzVOlSA4

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News Tagged With: Funky Christmas songs, Holiday songs, James brown, Lauryn Hill, Surf MCs

A Rare Speech from Lauryn Hill.. She’s Dropping Lots of Jewels

May 23, 2013 By mrDaveyd

This speech from Lauryn Hill given back in 2000 is nice, timeless and very refreshing..She seems to be light years ahead of her peers at such a young age.. as she talks about her spiritual growth, the music industry, being independent, being in service to your community, love and conquering the enemy within..

What stood out for me is her speaking about the importance of being righteous vs being right and how we can expect resistance whenever we root ourself in truth.

I imagine she still has a lot more to say..Its a shame the judge decided to make an example of her and remove her from her kids and make her endure the trauma of jail.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1cq0bhSrq4

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News Tagged With: A Rare Speech from Lauryn Hill.. She's Dropping Lots of Jewels, Lauryn Hill, music industry, Newark New Jersey

Lauryn Hill Drops a New Song.. Are You Feeling It? Lauryn to Do Jail Time

May 5, 2013 By mrDaveyd

Lauryn Hill is making moves.. She comes with a new song.. perhaps a teaser as to what we can expect in future offerings which will hopefully help her retire her tax debt.. What do y’all think of this new joint..

Important Update.. On May 6th 2013 Lauryn Hill was sentenced to three months in jail for tax evasion’.. The song that is released below was supposed to help her stay out of jail, but apparently not..The judge wants the mother of 6 to spend 3 months in jail.. Not sure what that will accomplish.. Does the US want its money or do they want to disrupt someone’s family life? When will some of these corporate tax cheats do time for not paying taxes? Thus far a slew of artists ranging from Wesley Snipes to Beanie Segal to Ja Rule all have been sentenced for not paying taxes..The message should be clear.. If you’re not a rich white corporate CEO the government will come and get you..

If thats not enough Lauryn Hill is also being ordered to undergo counseling to deal with her ‘conspiracy theories’.. lauryn who recently talked about the music industry being overly commercial and part of the illuminati raised concerns and now they want her to do counseling on top of the 3 months jail time and 3 months home confinement read about that HERE

One would think some of these lawmakers who ran around with crazy theories like economic trickle down or rape having a variety of categories including legitimate rape would be required to take counseling, but alas such is not the case in America

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl0u_m0TeB4

Filed Under: 2012 Daily News Tagged With: Corporate tax, Grammy Award, Lauryn Hill, Lauryn to Do Jail Time, Sony Music Entertainment, Tax, Wyclef Jean

Lauryn Hill Pens Open Letter About Her Sony Deal and Money Woes

May 1, 2013 By mrDaveyd

Many folks have taken shots at Lauryn Hill for a variety of reasons.. It may be because she is notoriously late for her shows.. For me it’s always been a good 2 hours. For others it’s because at times she’s come across as disjointed and not always clear with her thoughts. When folks heard that she might be going to jail for not paying taxes, the jokes continued, with the aforementioned problems being cited as the likely cause for her dilemma… Lauryn Hill decided to set the record straight and she does so in fine fashion.. Here’s her open letter.. A lot of ground is covered here, especially around the issue of artist freedom and commerce..

It has been reported that I signed a new record deal, and that I did this to pay taxes. Yes, I have recently entered into an agreement with Sony Worldwide Entertainment, to launch a new label, on which my new music will be released. And yes, I am working on new music.

I’ve remained silent, after an extensive healing process. This has been a 10+ year battle, for a long time played out behind closed doors, but now in front of the public eye. This is an old conflict between art and commerce… free minds, and minds that are perhaps overly tethered to structure. This is about inequity, and the resulting disenfranchisement caused by it. I’ve been fighting for existential and economic freedom, which means the freedom to create and live without someone threatening, controlling, and/or manipulating the art and the artist, by tying the purse strings.

It took years for me to get out of the ‘parasitic’ dynamic of my youth, and into a deal that better reflects my true contribution as an artist, and (purportedly) gives me the control necessary to create a paradigm suitable for my needs. I have been working towards this for a long time, not just because of my current legal situation, but because I am an artist, I love to create, and I need the proper platform to do so.

The nature of my new business venture, as well as the dollar amount reported, was inaccurate, only a portion of the overall deal. Keep in mind, my past recordings have sold over 50,000,000 units worldwide, earning the label a tremendous amount of money (a fraction of which actually came to me).

Only a completely complicated set of traps, manipulations, and inequitable business arrangements could put someone who has accomplished the things that I have, financially in need of anything. I am one artist who finds value in openly discussing the dynamics within this industry that force artists to compromise or distort themselves and what they do, rather than allowing them to make the music that people need. There are volumes that could (and will) be said.”

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News Tagged With: Arts and Entertainment, Business, Economic freedom, Lauryn Hill, Lauryn Hill Pens Open Letter About Her Sony Deal and Money Woes, Music, Recording contract, Sony, Sony Worldwide Entertainment

Beats for the Revolution: The World Must Hear the Words of a Sista

March 8, 2013 By mrDaveyd

Today is International Women’s Day and and we wanna celebrate with Beats for the Revolution. Hopefully all of us take time out to not only reflect on the challenges facing our mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, aunties and grandmas on the daily. Ideally we take time out to reflect on the constant war that’s being waged on them.

Sadly that war manifests itself in the form of sexist and over the top abusive remarks to physical assaults and rapes. It manifests itself institutionally as predominantly male law makers stand in the way of ensuring women get equal pay, equal protection, have full control and say so of their bodies or have opportunities to escape rampant poverty.

Hopefully all of us take time out to not only reflect, but take bold decisive steps to help eradicate the conditions that cause the women such hardships…A society is judged by the way it treats its women and children and right now as advanced as America likes to think she is, we are seriously lacking in the way we engage our sisters.. If you don’t believe me, take some time out and do something really revolutionary-Try listening to what our mothers, sisters, daughters aunties and grandmas have to say..That’s right Listen.. Don’t talk. Don’t object. Don’t make excuses.. Listen, Learn, Embrace their words and Step Up…

We did our thing the other day on All Day Play radio with our show Breakdown FM. We call its Beats for the Revolution and we dedicated it women rocking the mic..The point we wanted to get across was there is lots of good music out hence it’s unbelievable..There’s no excuses for those who say its lacking. With all the new technology, good music is there for the embracing..

Hundreds of female emcees are out there.. no excuse to say they are not.. From Dessa Darling to Kellee Maize to Vanessa German to Raw G to Aima the Dreamer to Devynity there’s a lot of sisters catching wreck.. One of the things we in Hip Hop must do is see our music as timeless and without limits..The music industry wants us to retire artists and dope jams from 5 or 10 years ago and act like they never existed.. That’s done so that we can develop the mindset of a consumer vs having the mindset of a cultural preserver..The saying Old is New and New is Old applies here.. As we continue celebrating Women’s History Month, enjoy this mix.. Its a gem among gems and our second offering in a 4 part series..

Special shout out to Aisha the Raptivist who gave me some killer drops in the form of speeches and sayings..

Playlist Part 1

Mixes to celebrate Women’s History Month

01-Sweet Honey & the Rock ‘I’m a Woman’
02-Shirley Chisolm and Aisha the Raptivist ‘Speaking Truth to Power (Menahan Band remix)
03-Kofy Brown ‘Playing Fields’ (rmx)
04-Roxanne Shante Independent Woman
05-Monie Love ‘Detrimentally Stable”
06-Monie Love ‘Swiney Swiney
07-LA Star ‘Fade to Black’
08-Sonya Blade ‘ Blade is the Name’
09-Bahamadia “spontaneity’
10-Mystic ‘Ghetto Bird’
11-Lauryn Hill ‘Lost ones’
12-Hurricane G ‘Whateva’
13-Poetess ‘Simply Poetry’
14-Heather B ‘Glocks Down’
15-Conscious Daughters ‘Come Smooth Come Rude’
16-Queen Latifah ‘Wrath of My Madness’
17-Sweet Tee ‘Its My Beat’
18-Lady of Rage ‘Sure Shot
19-Medusa ‘Fix is the Fiend’
20-Da Brat ‘Give it 2 You’
21-Queen Latifah ‘Just Around the Way’
22-Queen Mother Rage ‘Slipping Into Darkness’
23-Sista Souljah Speaking Truth
24-Aima the Dreamer ‘All you Need’
25-Dessa ‘The Crow’
26-Godesa ‘Social Ills’
27-Vanesa German ‘Two Wings’ (Zion I remix)
28-Jezzy P Ecatapec ‘La Formula’
29-Melina Jones ‘Rock w/ Fire’

Beats for the Revolution Women’s Day Mix pt1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qWUj_ZXNvU

Part 2

01-Angela Davis ‘Incarceration’
02-Lauryn Hill ‘Killing Me Softley’
03-Angela Davis ‘Women Are Targets’
04-Aisha the Raptivist ‘Who Wants Freedom’
05-Poetic Pilgrimage ‘Freedom’
06-Rosa Clemente w/ Aisha the Raptivist ‘Rosa Meets Schoolly D at Hot 97’
07-Eternia ‘Spring Fever’
08-Brand New Heavies ‘I Don’t Know Why I Love You’
09-Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings ‘Somethings Change’
10-Kellee Maize ‘Mad Human’
11-Maria Isa ‘Die Not Kill w/ Lolita’
12-Aya De Leon ‘My name is Viegues’
13-I Was Born w/ Two Tongues ‘Excuse Me Amerikka’
14-Jennifer Johns w/ Mystic ‘Ghetto Tales’
15-Kellee Maize ‘Third Eye’
16-Jezzi P Ecatapec ‘Entre Ximbo’
17-Invincible ‘People Not Places’
18-Maria Isa ‘Esto Suena’
19-Nah-ee-lah ‘Jehrico Wall’

Beats for the Revolution Women’s Day Mix pt2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lz9IB5FdI8g

Part 3

01-Laura ‘Piece’ Kelly ‘Sound Awake’
02-Mystic ‘Fatherless Child’
03-Kellee Maize ‘Story of Me’
04-J Ross Parelli ‘Home is Where’
05-Dessa ‘Children’s Work’
06-Desmonda ‘Faulty Fuses’
07-Queen Latifah ‘Nature of a Sister’
08-Devynity ‘Heard em Say’
09-Brigette Gray ‘Shades of Gray’
10-YoYo ‘ Don’t Be No Fool’
11-Medusa ‘Mine to Give’
12-T-Love ‘When You’re Older-Ode to the Picanniny’
13-Kofy Brown ‘Turned Out’
14-Raw G w/ Aima the Dreamer ‘Connexiones Subterraneas’
15-Kemelo ‘Audry Funk
16-Cihualtl Ce ‘Rise Above’
17-Cihualtl Ce ‘Dreamah’
18- Women’s Roundtable’

Beats for the Revolution Women Day Mix pt3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlq1n19r2dE

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News, Breakdown FM Music Mix Tagged With: Beats for the Revolution: The World Must Hear the Words of a Sista, Kellee Maize, Lauryn Hill, Monie Love, Queen Latifah, Sonya Blade, women's history month

Rollingstone Magazine Fails by Having Only 4 Women featured on its 50 Greatest Hip Hop Song List

December 6, 2012 By mrDaveyd

This is the time of year a lot of publications put out End of Year and Best of All Time lists. They’re fun to read as they can take you down memory lane or give you some new perspective on things… At this point in time, you understand there will be a certain bias and there may be one or two names tossed in a list to get people talking. You try to take these things with a grain of salt..

The other day Rollingstone Magazine put out a The 50 Greatest Hip Hop Songs of All-Times. It’s a list that was compiled from a panel of 33 artists, journalists and industry experts. You have luminaries like Def jam co-founder Rick Rubin, former Source editor James Bernard and legendary A&R Dante Ross. Also in the mix were artists like Busta Rhymes, Q-Tip, Nas, Questlove, Boots Riley of the Coup and Chuck D of Public Enemy just to name a few..You can peep the entire list of judges HERE

You can peep the entire List of 50 songs HERE

When the list came out I went from panel to panel and and what stood out was the glaring omission of women. In fact we don’t have a female artists being ranked for the first 38 entries. That came in the form of Missy Elliot and her song Get Ur Freak On…Personally I thought Missy who definitely deserves a spot has better songs.

The next entries are Lauryn Hill‘s ‘Lost One’s (45) and Salt-N-Pepa‘s ‘Push It’ (46) . The Greatest Hits list list rounds off at entry 47 where have Funky 4 Plus one More. The ‘one more’ of course is pioneering female emcee Sha Rock..

Initially I wasn’t gonna weigh in on this, but damn in 2012 and you would think at this point in time folks would know better and do better. Its time to expand our mind and make room for other voices, mainly women in our collective thinking. I don’t know what the process was when RS did the final editing, but no one at that magazine looked at that list and asked ‘Where’s MC Lyte’s ‘Cha Cha Cha‘ or ‘Cappuccino‘? Did anyone at RS bother to check out her site Hip Hop Sisters?

No one at RS or on that panel gave a second thought about Queen Latifah‘s ‘Ladies’ First‘ which featured Monie Love and its impact? No one thought about UNITY…No one? Really? Cmon now..

None of the folks at the panel gave a thought about the 33 songs that were released around the whole Roxanne Roxanne saga? Some of those songs were landmark. They gave birth to artists like; Sparky D, Roxanne Shante and the Real Roxanne.. None of those women were good enough to be included? There was no room for an artist like YoYo? No Lady of Rage‘s Afro Puffs? No love for Mystic’s ‘The Life’? No choice cuts from Foxy Brown, Eve or Lil Kim made the list?? How is our collective thinking so narrow in 2012?

Luther Campbell of the 2Live Crew was among the panel of experts that Rollingstone assembled. Did he or anyone mention Anquette‘s Janet Reno? Luke in the past has been very clear to talk about how that song which was done by his cousin helped Reno win an election for DA against a lawyer named Jack Thompson. Luke explained that Thompson became enraged as a result of this and wound up coming after 2Live crew for having obscene material. The case against 2Live crew went all the way to the Supreme Ct.. If one record be the source of all that, should it not be on the RS list?

Lauryn Hill

With respect to Lauryn Hill who won more Grammys than many of the artists featured and the experts assembled should’ve been further up the list, like in the top 15 or 20. I would’ve picked Doo Whop (That Thing) which charted on Billboard as number 1 or Everything is Everything..

Considering Rollingstone’s glaring omissions I guess it would be too much to expect them to have even considered a Jean Grae, Bahamadia, Rah Digga, Conscious Daughters or Medusa?

All I can say at this point is to Rollingstone and its panel of experts which included only 2 or 3 women at the most. that was big miss to only have 3 or 4 females on that list of 50 Greatest songs. It was a big miss and just plain wack.. For those who need more info on women making moves.. Here’s playlist I put together earlier this year.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4DA130E1819B4915

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhW_ph0ipp8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8cHxydDb7o

Filed Under: 2012 Daily News Tagged With: Afro Puffs, Female rappers, Hip Hop, Lauryn Hill, Luther Campbell, Queen Latifah, Rolling Stone, Women rappers

Is Lauryn Hill Back? Is it Unfair to Expect Her to Return?

September 1, 2010 By mrDaveyd

Is Lauryn Hill back? It’s a question so many of us have been asking since she released her landmark album, ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill‘ and she won all those Grammys. The fact that so many keep asking the question is a testament to how dope she was.. and also how there is such an absence of female artists within the mainstream. She left folks with a lot of questions when she hit the stages for Rock the Bells in both SF and NY..

During her performance in San Francisco she started out strong, but many of her songs took on vastly different flavors from the original causing many to complain. The sista standing near me during her set was over heard complaining she did not recognize any of her Lauryn’s songs.

“She’s doing too many remixes”, she said.

During her New York performance on Governors Island similar complaints came up. Popular reporter Toure said she “was more Twista than Lauryn Hill” beccause of the uptempo remakes of her soulful songs.

Artist and TV talk show host Amanda Diva said: “Lauryn let me down bcuz her performance was completely disconnected from the sound that folks love her 4. + Band was sloppy/vocals strained”

Her tweet was in the same vein as many who were at the NY show and tweeting about it.

However Sway of MTV and the Wake Up Show who saw her during the San Bernardino show near LA tweeted that Lauryn had killed it.

Again the question, Is it unfair to expect Lauryn Hill in 2010 to be the same as the one we admired in 1998? Is she not allowed to grow and experiment as a musician or should she stay locked in a box?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKIZu0eUrM8&feature=related