The Daft Punk Console is a pretty fun little flash thing to play with.  The folks over at Najle.com put this together.
Basically, you use your keyboard to control the buttons on the screen.  Each key corresponds to a different word from “Harder Better Faster Stronger”.  There’s no beat to it, so that’s something you’ll have to do on your own.
Still, it’s amusing for about 5 minutes.  And I’m sure the more creative of you out there may be able to figure out a different way to use it.

Imitation is clearly the most sincere form of flattery, and even Ice Cube is not immune to it.  It has become a bit of a meme to do “clean” covers, or at least very satirical covers of ancient and angry hip hop anthems.  NWA is a particular favourite because of the unrivaled vitriol of some of their lyrics.
Adam Buxton of the BBC showcased this trend in his show Rush Hour.  His version Help the Police, is decently funny but really surprisingly well-executed.  And perhaps it highlights more than just an …

This is not a lie.  Somehow, someone thought it was a great idea to get Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer together for a show.   And that someone thought that Utah was a good place to have the show.
That someone was right.
Orem, Utah, about an hour drive from Salt Lake City was the host to an epic reunion.  One that will leave people talking.  Because they managed to see MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice perform together.  In 2009.
Newsweek does a pretty good job of summing things up, and the author seems …

MF Doom is going the way of Lil Bow Wow and changing his moniker.  No, he’s not going back to Viktor Vaughan, he’s decided to rename himself DOOM.
That’s right.  According to Pitchfork, it’s DOOM, all in capitals.
It’s a strange choice, but one that may kind of work for him.  He’s been away from the music scene for quite some time now, and this may be just the way to get back into music.

About.com,  that internet dumping ground for random trivia has released a “Most Anticipated Hip Hop Albums of 2009″ list and, in my opinion, they made some terrible choices.  Henry Adaso, the author, fills his list with popular choices that don’t really reflect much in the way of critical thought.
Especially albums 10-20, many of these albums are ‘anticipated’ mainly because of their mainstreamness and not because of any actual talent.  Somehow, Chamillionaire’s follow-up effort sneaks in at number 20.  I don’t think I know anyone who is waiting for the Ridin …

Seriously, if you’re in the mood for some old school jams head over to the Hip Hop Collection.
There’s something intensely nostalgic about cruising around to old Mase jams or some ancient N.W.A.
Please be aware that this site is a bit ethically dubious, considering they do promote downloading.  We here at 4080 want to caution you that buying the music is the legal way to go.

Peter, Bjorn and John, one of the biggest indie darling groups around has apparently tossed in a brief “hip hop” track on their latest album.
Rolling Stone is all over it.  They describe the new track as:
“Nothing to Worry About” layers a heavy boom-bap, some funked-up bass licks and electro hand-claps with a crew of children turning out some Bollywood-esque chanting on the chorus. “Doing this thing, this type of thing,” they yelp. “Put a little money in this type of thing/ I got nothing to worry about.”
I’ve never been super …