Rap and Raptors- Toronto, Canada.

Rap in Canada really seems to be on the rise, and this is especially true in the nation’s biggest city- Toronto, Ontario. At the same time, Canada is also making a noticeable and increasing contribution to basketball with more and more talented Canadians playing college basketball; while some are even picked to play pro in the draft (Anthony Bennett for example). 

Yes, it seems that now more than ever Canada is really starting to establish a reputation for being more than just a good hockey team.

Another example of the power Canada seems to have on pop-culture today is Drake and Justin Beiber. They hit the industry like a storm, and since have become two of the biggest celebrity’s in the world. In Toronto, Drake is doing all he can to put the city on the map for good. He’s signed/ worked with suck local artist as: The Weeknd, PartyNextDoor, P-Reign. Along with what Drake has been doing for the city with his music, he is also working with the revamping Raptors as marketing partner. The Raptors have always been a slightly poor team, but the fans support has never been stronger and the playoffs are perhaps still in the cards for them this season. Every year since Drake’s establishment in the game, he throws an annual musical festival in Toronto for all the fans that brought him from the bottom to here. With surprise performances from major names, the festival is a huge draw and the fans couldn’t be more supportive.

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBkyKTf4oFo 

Tracks 

1.      Crew Love- Drake ft. The Weeknd.

2.      R.A.I.N. - PartyNextDoor.

3.      In My Hood- P- Reign.

Rap in the city and the ball for the Raptors both seem to have quite a bright future, and I’m excited to see the impact both have on culture at home and around the world. 

Top 20 Rappers- Dead or Alive.

Hope everyone is doing well this week; for a change, I would like to touch base on the toughest question for any hip-hop fan to answer with 100% certainty- who are the best rappers of all time? The reason why it’s the difficult question it is; is because, there are too many variables to account for to determine who the best really is. For instance, when I compare Tupac to Biggie, I always say Tupac is the better artist because of the type of power he had in culture and his musical content which is more immense than biggies. 

Although it is basically impossible to create a top 20 list of the best rappers and not feel like you’ve messed everything up; however if you follow a criteria, the list starts to make a little more sense. The criteria I will use for this particular list will be: Content, Success and Cultural Impact. 

This is my list of the Top 20 Rappers, dead or alive.

1. Tupac
2.  Nas
3.  Eminem
4.    Jay- Z
5.    Biggie
6.    Jadakiss
7.   Guru (Gangstarr)
8.    AZ
9.   Big Pun
10.   Big Daddy Kane
11.   E-40
12.   Common
13.   Cam’ron
14.   Bun-B
15.   LL Cool J
16.  Dr. Dre
17.  Snoop Dogg
18.   Lauryn Hill
19.   Lil Wayne
20.   Left Eye

As I stated before, this list only represents the top rappers that fit into the qualification criteria. This is by no means the order or selections in which I would pick for the best-ever list. Until next week, keep safe and keep your ears perked for fresh sounds and eyes open for crazy news.

Dueces…

  

http://quoteko.com/tupac-shakur-mini-poster-beautiful-black-and-white.html

Vybez Kartel, Guilty of Murder.

Welcome to another week of hip- hop weekly, this week I’m going to be talking about some music your ears should hear; however, the big story this week is that of Vybez Kartel!

If you don’t know who Vybez is, he is a Jamaican artist that has makes dance-hall music and has had a 15 year career as one of the superstars of the genre. He has worked with artists such as: Rhianna, Pitbull, Missy Elliot and Busta Rhymes. 

Before I go any farther, I will reiterate that I was a big fan of some of the stuff he made and the story that follows is one of opportunity and talent gone completely to waste....

This Thursday, Vybez Kartel’s 65 day trial for the murder of 27-year-old, Clive "Lizard" Williams, ended with a verdict of guilty. Kartel and 3 members of his entourage were found guilty and are awaiting sentencing. The incident happened in 2011, in-front of Kartels home and that’s where Williams was beaten to death by the men over two missing guns. Busta Rhymes was in attendance to show support for the country and people that raised him, and to support, both the Kartel family and the victim’s family. I think it was good for Busta to show support, and as he hints to, being in support of the system if it works. Vybez killed a man, and should face any and every consequence of that action. Here’s some track that Vybez’ has ‘killed’ ha-ha. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4PZ4CD8uqk#t=47 

Tracks:

1.      Summertime- Vybez Kartel

2.      My Crew- Vybez Kartel

3.      Go Go Wine- Vybez Kartel

4.      Let Me Out- Vybez Kartel

http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/vybz-kartel-found-guilty-of-murder-news.9757.html

Meanwhile in Hip-Hop…

In the world of hip- hop, there never seems to be much of a dull moment for long. This genre is ever evolving, and throughout all the changes, I have no fear about the future of this genre. At very least I know I will always see or hear something interesting.

This week, I will be talking about Carmen going after Nas for “back- child support payments”, Kendrick gives some insight to when he will be dropping his next album and victim of Da Brat cant won’t be getting paid..? Huh.

Nas’s baby momma is after the rapper for $11,000 in unpaid child support, Carmen is looking to take him to court for this but I have a feeling this should be solved pretty fast! Head up Nas! Kendrick Lamar said he will be releasing his next album in September of 2014 and this a good time to do it. Kendrick is very relevant and his debut album did very well and was very well done. I’m excited to see what he can come up with next. If you didn’t know, Da Brat bottled a women not to recently and ruined this women’s career as a model; however, the victim will receive anything because.. Well she’s really broke.. You can’t just be that irrelevant for that long and have money, so invest your money kids and don’t assault people. That poor women, getting bottled by a washed up artist that’s an even poorer women. This story almost has poetic value, but it definitely has a clear moral to it. Get money, and stay relevant and don’t be a victim of ‘when keeping it real, goes wrong’!

Tracks:

1.      Money Trees- Kendrick Lamar.

2.      G- Code- Scarface.

3.      Thuggish Ruggish Bone- Bone Thugs N Harmony.

http://allhiphop.com/2014/02/28/hip-hop-rumors-a-new-hip-hop-baby-is-born-and-more-quickies/