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 …

by Angie B. Fresh
[Ed: Angie B. Fresh is the host of 'The Corner' on CFUV 101.9 FM in Victoria, B.C.  She's also the newest contributor to 4080 Records!  Read on for her inaugural post: a passionate, articulate survey of the last decade's best hip-hop.  And if you know what's good for you, tune in to her show every Friday from 5-6 p.m.]
Being a child of the late 80’s, this past decade has been the first I can remember from start to finish.  And while I can’t speak for my generational …

Yes, even the venerable writers over here at 4080Records aren’t immune to holiday gluttony and laziness.  So to apologize, here’s a mega post with a bunch of stuff that we failed to post over the holidays that you may find interesting.
Guess who loves 2Pac?
It is literally the last person you would think of (besides the youngest Jonas brother).  Apparently 2Pac’s Changes is so popular that even the Vatican chose it to be on its official MySpace playlist.  I’ll hold off on the snarky comments about the Vatican having a MySpace …

In what has to be one of the better things I heard over this Christmas break, Introducing is a 9-piece live band that goes around and performs the entire Endtroducing album.
I’m assuming most of you are familiar with Endtroducing, which just so happens to be one of the greatest albums of the last 20 years.  You’ll hear deejays and emcees talking about this album all over the place, saying it’s one of their biggest inspirations or just that they feel it’s dope.  And I must agree.  That album is part …

Holy dopeness.  This is one new hip hop album I’m truly excited about.  Souls of Mischief have just dropped their newest album titled Montezuma’s Revenge.
The album is shaping up to be great Tour Stories is one of the best tracks I’ve heard.  Not even just this year.  It’s an unbelievable effort from some aging hip hop legends.  I’m not even going to bother giving you a hip hop history lesson for the Souls of Mischief, because if you don’t know who they are then you and I may just …

Wale, the widely-acclaimed D.C. rapper, has finally dropped his debut album, Attention Deficit.  The darling of the indie hip-hop crowd (are they still called backpackers?), Wale has spent the past two or three years meticulously engineering a reputation as a talented lyricist and astute pop culture scrutineer.  From “doing justice to Justice,” to dropping a Mixtape About Nothing, to rising up with The Roots, Wall to the A (whose real name is Olubowale Akintimehin) has mastered the art of raising expectations; to say that his first major label attempt was …

On November 8, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, by a razor-thin 220-215 margin.  It sounds good, but what does it actually mean?  Has free, universal health-care finally arrived in the States?  Have Obama and his cabal of socialist advisers pulled the wool over the eyes of an unsuspecting public and converted America into a full-fledged worker’s paradise?  Well, not really.  In fact, despite what you may have heard from any number of teabaggers (whose scare tactics seem increasingly desperate), comprehensive health …

The rest of 2009 is shaping up to be pretty exciting in the world of hip hop.  Not only have we finally seen the release of Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 3, we’ve got way better stuff coming down the pipe.
Jay-Z – The Blueprint 3
This is, by far, not Hova’s best work, and generally the press seems to agree.  Basically speaking, it’s a totally servicable album and one that isn’t likely to raise too much controversy, but Jay-Z has definitely done better.  AllHipHop seems to love it a little more than I …

I admit that this is probably going to be one of those sanctimonious posts where I do my best to persuade you that hip hop has gotten a bad rap (no pun intended).   I just want to get it out there that hip hop is still the voice of millions of disaffected people, regardless of whatever ridiculous pair of shoes Kanye is promoting these days.
Ignore the fact that the most commercial successful hip hop artists are not always the best role models.  Forget the fact that the so-called gangsta rappers …

I think it’s about time that I get around to writing this post.  I’ve done seven or eight drafts of it but keep tossing it out because, quite frankly, I just don’t know what to say.
Michael Jackson is both legendary as a performer and confusing as a person.  He is, quite literally, the fundamental reason why people are obsessed with celebrities.  He is, by definition, the physical embodiment of schadenfreude.
Like most child stars, Jackson had trouble keeping it together as he aged.  I can only imagine how hard it must …