Thanks to Davey D
We caught up to Immortal Technique at the Malacolm X day parade in Harlem in may of 2006 and talked to him about Black and Brown Unity… He gave us a lot to think about in the areas of colonization and divide and conquer techniques used by those who have enslaved us or colonized us..
Bonus
Fat Joe & Ice Cube On Black And Brown Unity
Ice Cube has announced that he will be releasing a new album.
His ninth studio album will be called “I Am The West”
I AM THE WEST…is the name of my new record. After completing about 65% of my music, this is the perfect title. This shit is cocky, no apologies, West Coast gangsta shit. I can’t help it. That’s what I do. June seems too tight for a release, but July is very doable. We’ll see how things go. Now that I have my title, I can work on the concept of my photoshoot and artwork. I want to provide early merch before the drop date.
For 7 or 8 years now the West Coast has been trying to do music that appeals to the South and Mid-West. The words, “too West Coast” would be heard throughout the industry whenever our music was played. Even by our own dj’s. Left coast MC’s were now trying to change their sound to cater to all the followers. We lost our way. Thank God for b-boys like Snoop, The Game & WC for keeping the West alive, but we were all guilty of over reaching. No more. At least not from me. I do it how I feel it; not how I think it should be done. Radio fucked us up. I hate the politics at radio. I don’t know who to pay to get my shit played. Having a hot song is not enough. Ridiculous.
I AM THE WEST. It’s coming….
Keep It Gangsta
Ice Cube
Hip Hop is no longer a culture, its now a religion. Millions across the global listen to Hip Hop music every single day. The music has inspired us from the the way we talk to the way we dress.
Nokia Music and The Hip Hop Chronicle UK would like to use this opportunity to get involved with the Hip Hop community to compile a list of these Hip Hop albums and to feature them on the Nokia Music Store.
One lucky reader will win 50 music tracks from the Nokia Music store.
The albums dont have to be in any particular order.
We just want to know….
Leave you’re answers in the comment box below.
http://www.comeswithmusic.com/
Things to note:
The Nokia Music Store is only available in 21 countries and so winners will need to be living in one of these countries.
The BET Hip Hop Awards took place last night in Atlanta.
The ceremony saw performances from Jay-Z, Young Jeezy and a reunited Goodie Mob who performed “Cell Therapy”.
This year ceremony honoured Ice Cube who receieved the ”I Am” Hip Hop Award. In his acceptance speech, Cube was humbled,
“When you get recognized by your peers for a life of work, you got to be humbled, I’m honored by this. I have 20 more years of work left in me. I hope (BET) is ready to give out two of these awards.”
DJ AM was also honoured during the ceremony as he won the award for DJ Of The Year.
Jay-Z won ”MVP Of The Year” and during his speech he paid tribute to Mr. Magic who passed away recently.
T.I. scooped up “Best Collaboration” Award for his song “Live Your Life”, which features Rihanna. While Drake took home “Rookie Of The Year”.
The show will air on October 27th.
http://www.bet.com/specials/hiphopawards09
Thanks to Cyrus for interviewing me.
I started with Cyrus when I heard about his charity Hip Hop & Books, a organisation that used the music of Hip Hop to encourage children into education and reading books. There were free music events, book signings and even C-Murder joined the charity.
I have tried my best to lend support to the move from over in the UK but much respect must go to Cyrus Webb and his team.
Full Interview Below
When you really want something there are no limits to how far you can go if you work hard for it. Few peoople that Conversations LIVE! exemplify that more than Sumit of London. In less than 2 years he has built one of the most talk-about Hip Hop sites in the world, having obtained exclusive interviews with some of the biggest names in the business and partnered with MTV and BET along the way.
Sumit and The Hip Hop Chronicle began working with Shadow Play Entertainment, the parent company of Conversations LIVE!, in 2008 with the Hip Hop and Books Literacy campaign. The two organizations are working together again now to promote America’s first literary reality show The Write Stuff. In this interview you will find nowhere else, Sumit talks about how the history he is creating all began.
Sumit, thank you for taking out time out of your busy life in the U.K. to talk with Conversations LIVE! Before we get into your support of The Write Stuff reality show, why don’t you tell our readers a little about yourself.
Firstly let me thank you for giving me the opportunity.Well I am a 24-year-old music journalist from London. I run a Hip Hop site called The Hip Hop Chronicle UK - http://www.thehiphopchronicle.com/
I started the site simply because it was it was tough getting a job in the industry so I decided to carve out my own, especially after completing a post-graduate diploma in Broadcast Journalism at the UK’s top University (for that course). I have a huge passion for Hip Hop and just wanted to provide a platform to showcase positive nature of the genre.
You and I have been working together since 2008 when I began the Hiphop and Books literacy project. The Hip Hop Chronicle has gotten national attention since it began. Are you surprised at how people all around the world have been drawn to it?
Absolutely. It bugs me out that people across the world look at my site. The internet is such a great tool and the possibilities are endless but it still humbles when I meet someone and they say ‘oh The Hip Hop Chronicle, yea, I check out your site’. Recently I was at a Birthday party for a friend. Speaking to a few people there, the conversation got onto Hip Hop and blogs. They didn’t realise that I run the site and they told me, that they check The Hip Hop Chronicle daily.
Also last month I was in New York City and even people there have heard of my site. For me, that means a lot. I still have a long way to go but have support from people like yourself and all my readers across the world, its amazing because they help make the site.
In such a short time you have gotten exclusive interviews with some of the biggest names in the music industry. To what do you attribute your success?
Well, people say I’m lucky (laughs). You know …sometimes I get interviews that magazines in the UK may not get and people say, ‘oh Sumit, he got lucky’ but the truth is, Im doing anything different than other bloggers or online journalists out there. I just work hard. Whether it be putting in long hours or establishing relationships people and companies, its all about the grind.
I started with no contacts, much like many others out there and less than a year later, I’ve been fortunate enough to interview some of the biggest names in the industry. Its great, its fantastic to have had the opportunity but I need to do much more. I’m just a regular guy from London with a passion for Hip Hop and truth is, anyone with the talent can do this.
Out of all of the interviews and celebrities that you have been privileged to talk with, who has stood out the most to you and why?
Oh…now, that’s a tough one. All the interviews I’ve done, I’ve always learnt something more about Hip Hop music. Erm….but if you pressed me for one, I would say Russell Simmons, simply because its Russell Simmons! (laughs)
In all seriously though, that for me was a complete honour. I expected to be interviewing Russell years down the line, not in the first year in operation. To be honest I couldn’t believe it when I was offered Russell and I have thank Live Nation for that. They have been awesome with me and they gave me a huge opportunity. The interview itself, Russell was brilliant and what was the icing on the cake was he offered to meet me at the Def Comedy Jam event. We did, spoke briefly and got a picture taken.
Now, Cyrus if you were to ask me my favourite interviews, there’s a few (laughs). The interview I did with Chuck D, I learnt a tremendous amount. Firstly, he had to personally approve the interview. So he looked my site and decided whether it was worth doing. Thankfully he saw the potential and we knocked a dope interview. He put me on the spot, tested me and we spoke for a while after the interview.
Other interviews … My interview with Bumpy Knuckles was eventful. Again he tested me too and broke the ice and we knocked a good interview. Estelle, wow she’s so down to earth, it was almost like I was talking to a friend, I definitely enjoyed that interview. We did that interview a day before the MOBO awards and I told Estelle I’ll be on the red carpet and told her to remember me. The next evening, she did and its great to see Estelle have the year that she has had, because honestly, she deserves. And….of course my interview with the legend that is Elliott Wilson was a banger. I saw that interview though as more of a personal achievement. For many years I have been picking Elliott’s magazines and to have him agree to do an interview and give me great advise and feedback on the site, its stuff like that motivates. I mean the haters will always motivate me but having people like Elliott and my readers giving me constructive feedback, I cant ask for more.
With that being said, who haven’t you been able to talk with that you would like to?
(Laughs), I’ve got a long list Cyrus (laughs), I call it the ‘hitlist’. In terms of artists, names that roll off the tongue are KRS-One, Rakim, a sit down with Nas and with Kanye, Eminem, 50 Cent, Dr Dre, DJ Premier, Beyonce, Diddy and Snoop. I think a career high right now would be an interview with Jay-Z. I do hear that he isnt a huge fan of internet outlets (and I don’t blame him) but that would be a massive coup for me (as a independent blogger/journalist) to sit down and speak to Jay, I think I could retire after that (laughs).
Hip Hop Chronicle is not just gaining you attention in the U. K. but you have partnered with music television stations in the United States as well. How did those relationships begin, and what do you hope comes from them?
I’ve said many times before but its a roller-coaster ride. My sister site Hip Hossip.com in Canada had a contact at BET. Kemi over at HipHossip.com made them aware of my site and they reached and we decided to be each other’s blogs and I would send them stories and vice versa. Its fantastic to have a television station like BET who place me on their blogs and quote my site as the UK’s Leading Hip Hop Site. They have been so kind to me and to invited to the BET Hip Hop Awards to watch the show surprised me, no many outlets get the opportunity to do that and thankful to BET for all their support.
With MTV, they have a blog called ‘MTV Buzzworthy’ and the Senior Editor over at MTV.com reached out and told me they like my site. And the relationship was established then. Now they pick up my stories and I do likewise.
To have BET and MTV acknowledge the work I have done is humbling, its shows that I’m on the right track and I’m not there yet but their support gives me confidence that I’m on the right track. MTV have invited to a few events of theirs, most notably the Concert For Veterans.
What I hope is that we continue to build on the existing relationship and continue to learn from the fine journalists they both have. Its brilliant to have the support from the States. I hope that magazines and stations in my own country can see what MTV and BET have.
Congrats on all of your success, Sumit. Your hard work has really paid off. If our readers want to find out more information about you and the work you are doing, how can they find you online?
Be sure to check the site which and the url for that is - http://www.thehiphopchronicle.com/
You can follow me on twitter - http://twitter.com/hiphopchronicle
I want like to take this time to thank you Cyrus for giving me this opportunity. I also would like to thank your readers for viewing this interview and big respect to my fellow bloggers and all the readers of The Hip Hop Chronicle UK. Without the readers, The Hip Hop Chronicle UK wouldn’t lasted a day. So I owe it to them.
A biopic of the legendary group N.W.A. is currently in the works.
The project is currently in pre-production and is tentatively called ‘Straight Outta Compton’.
The West Coast rap group comprising of Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren & DJ Yella changed the game in the late 1980’s with their classic album ‘Straight Outta Compton’, which spawned hits like ‘F*ck The Police’.
Reports suggest that Ice Cube, Eazy-E’s widow and Dr. Dre are all on board as producers.
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