A little over a month ago, we reported that Guru had slipped into a coma.  This awful news was followed up positively when AllHipHop claimed they had a source saying that Guru had successful surgery and was expected to make a full recovery.
Unfortunately that was not true.  Apparently, Guru had been suffering from cancer for some time, and never made it out of the hospital.  After two months, he passed away.
This is an unimaginable loss for hip hop.  Guru was an inspiration to many and made some of the most …

So Pitchfork is reporting that Definitive Jux Records, the amazing indie hip hop label, is going on an indefinite “hiatus”.  To make matters worse, El-P is stepping down.
While it’s true that they’re not exactly over, they’re also not planning on releasing any new music on physical media.  Hopefully this still means some digital distribution, and may actually lower their operating costs a lot.  However, it also means that a lot of dope hip hop will no longer be found on vinyl.
Despite assurances that Def Jux isn’t shutting down and is …

So…in the law school world hip hop is not that crazy a thing.  There’s a lot of amateur tracks and mashups, trying to make a good impression.  But Andrew Black over at the law school at the University of Windsor (in Canada) has been making some serious waves.  After interviews on the CBC and some other media outlets, and plus re-posts on tons of sites (including Maclean’s magazine and some law blogs), this thing is really taking off.
Considering how much I’m not down with Pharell, I can honestly say this …

99problems.org, the news website of The League of Young Voters Education Fund (LYVEF) - an American organization dedicated to empowering ”young people nationwide to participate in the democratic process” – has launched a new “online intiative”  to educate urban youth about the importance of the 2010 Census.  According to a press release, the campaign will feature

a viral video PSA series hosted by DJ Willie Shakes (Core DJs, Star Trak’s Chester French) … [that] will enable each featured interview (sic) to give their own spin on why the 2010 Census is important to them, as well as the …

Yesterday, we posted that Blogger had rather surreptitiously shut down several popular music blogs.  Today, Pitchfork is reporting that Blogger has issued a statement in its defence.  In the statement, the Google-owned service explains its policy for enforcing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the controversial American copyright law), noting that when it receives multiple DMCA complaints about the same blog, and has “no indication that the offending content is being used in an authorized manner,” they will remove the blog (italics mine).
In other words, the burden of proof is on the blogger.  The …

Earlier today, Pitchfork reported that Blogger, the venerable Google-owned blogging service, has shut down several music blogs, including Pop Tarts Suck Toasted, I Rock Cleveland, Living Ears and It’s a Rap (none of which I have admittedly ever visited).  Apparently, the free music offered on the blogs violated Blogger’s terms of services.  As of about 11 a.m. PST, attempts to visit the blogs returned one-line ’Blog not found’ error messages.
The website The Daily Swarm has compiled several responses to the move, as well as a copy of an email sent from Blogger to I …

I know this is a bit of a dated post, being that the earthquake happened some time ago, but I thought I would take the opportunity to highlight some of the work being done, hype up some fundraising opportunities, and talk about the tight connection between hip hop and Haiti.
I’m sure most of you have heard about Yele Haiti, the charity started by Wyclef Jean.  He is probably one of the most prominent hip hop artists with direct Haiti ties, but certainly not the least.  And yes, there has been …

This may not be something that really affects any of us, in the end, but I think it’s worth noting nonetheless.  You may have noticed that we’ve embedded quite a few tracks from imeem over the years.  It’s been a simple and convenient to showcase a whole variety of tracks.
But imeem isn’t gone.  They were bought by MySpace for a rather low sum, and it seems like MySpace is intending on keeping some aspects of it.
In the coming weeks, our team will be working as quickly as possible to take …

It’s hard to compete with a bio like this.  Despite the fact that hip hop is replete with heart wrenching stories of growth and struggle, gritty determination and oddball success, it’s somehow even more persuasive when it comes from a place like Iran.  Perhaps it’s the stereotype of it being “exotic”, or perhaps it’s because I feel like I understand the North American experience more than I do growing up there.  No matter what, Yas has a story that is bound to tug on you a little bit.
Born In 1982 …

Yes, it is true.  Lou Dobbs, CNN Anchor, hero of the birther movement and, generally speaking, an anti-immigrant toolbag, has quit CNN.
I can’t even begin to say how much of a relief it is to see him gone, and not because he’s conservative.  I think a major news network on CNN deserves and requires a responsible conservative viewpoint.  I think MSNBC sucks precisely because it’s so openly liberal, and Fox sucks for many other reasons.
I have my problems with CNN, sure, but many of them are being addressed precisely because …