Clips

Updated: December 30, 2018

ALBUM REVIEW: No Oomph In Big Boi’s “Boomiverse”

Originally posted on HipHopDX 6/26/2017

For a legend that helped usher in an entire city and region to prominence, Big Boi is comfortably perched within the lexicon of Hip Hop icons. There’s no denying Daddy Fat Sax’s dominance and confidence throughout his career. Unfortunately, the ATLien’s solo game hasn’t paralleled his tenure within the mighty Outkast and his fourth (if you rightfully count the Grammy Award-winning Speakerboxxx) solo effort in Boomiverse isn’t going to change that.

Sonically, Boomiverse traverses through a landscape of overused synths to force a cosmic, universal theme devoid of the “boom” the title alludes to. What should have been a blockbuster affair with all-star Hip Hop production courtesy of Organized Noize, DJ’s Dahi and DJ Khalil, Scott Storch, and Mannie Fresh largely comes up short in an attempt to incorporate too many musical genres into one singular product. The finished result is a clusterfuck of inconsistent harmonies, which will surely bring out the Nick Young puzzled faces.

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Updated: December 30, 2018

INTERVIEW: Starlito & Don Trip Talk Why Rappers Still Sign to Cash Money & Post Malone’s Supposed Culture Appropriation

Originally posted on HipHopDX 5/17/2017

When two accomplished solo rappers come together to record an album together, the outcome isn’t always cohesive. That’s not the case for Tennessee MC’s Starlito and Don Trip. Fresh off the heels of their third collaborative album, Step Brothers THREE, the Memphis and Nashville representatives stopped by the #DXLive set to discuss where they slot their latest album amongst their other group projects, Starlito’s time on Cash Money, and whether or not Post Malone’s platinum, chart-topping single “White Iverson” divulged in the culture appropriation realm.

“I put my all into everything I’m doing and with the Step Brothers project, that’s even more [of a] collective so if we was gon’ go in subpar we’d be wasting each other’s time on top of our own time,” Don says emphatically.

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Updated: December 30, 2018

INTERVIEW: Adrian Marcel Recalls Raphael Saadiq Getting Turnt At Clive Davis’ Grammy Party

Originally posted on HipHopDX 5/16/2017

All it takes is a chance encounter with the right person to change the course of your life. Oakland-bred rhythm-and-rhyme crooner Adrian Marcel knows that all too well when he broke down how he first met Raphael Saadiq with the #DXLive crew. “It was so low key because I really wasn’t [there to do] any business with him like that,” Adrian recalls. ‘We showed up on some other stuff. My manager was talking about another artist with him and we just was chopping it up [like] regular. He asked me where I was from; we got into the whole Oakland conversation, the Raiders [and] all kinds of just random stuff. Then it was just ‘Well what do you do?’ I put [some music] on and everything we were there for just kinda got thrown to the left and he was like, ‘Let’s talk about this. What are you doing with this? What’s the plan?’”

That meeting set his career into high gear as Raphael provided an outlet for Adrian to grow. “It turned into a mentorship. I can always call [and ask], ‘What do you think about this record, what do you think about putting this on this project?’ It’s always a real legit answer [like], ‘Yeah I like that, that’s dope for you’ or, ‘I think you just like that song.’ It’s been a lot of direction he has given me.”

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Updated: December 30, 2018

INTERVIEW: Bay Area Rapper Symba Reveals Origins Of Columbia Records Deal

Originally posted on HipHopDX 5/15/2017

The ultimate dream of signing to a major label is usually reserved and highlighted by the rap stars who’ve already accomplished so much independently — which makes Bay Area rapper Symba’s story that much more special.

The 26-year-old up-and-comer represents a different generation in Hip Hop. One whose formative years were forged in the aftermath of Diddy’s shiny suit era. Coming off his HipHopDX premiere of “Get the Time,” Symba sat down and discussed the origins of his name, how his deal with Columbia Records came about, and his inspiration.

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Updated: December 19, 2018

INTERVIEW: GRAMMY Award-Winning Artist Poo Bear Explains Problems With Streaming Royalties

Originally posted on HipHopDX 5/15/2017

Happy Birthday!

Multiple Grammy award-winning songwriter Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd recently stopped by the DXHQ to chat with the #DXLive team and promote his Red Bull documentary, Afraid of Forever. With his signature icebreaker greeting, “Happy Birthday,” Poo Bear laid out some knowledge about how he met Justin Bieber, his personal fears, and how the music industry is giving music creators the short end of the stick.

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Updated: December 19, 2018

INTERVIEW: “Dear White People’s” Justin Simien Scoffs At The Fake Mad Netflix Outrage

Originally posted on HipHopDX 5/4/2017

For Justin Simien, his path to Hollywood has been one mired in the kind of racism you would expect a black man to experience. After the success of his acclaimed and highly publicized movie Dear White People, Simien has followed it up with a show of the same title on Netflix. While the show currently has a perfect rating on the notoriously critical Rotten Tomatoes, Simien discusses how that path hasn’t always been so kind to him.

“[I experienced backlash] from day one,” Simien recalls during his recent segment on #DXLive. ‘The thing is [that] I incorporated it all into the movie. Anything negative people said, any knee-jerk reaction people had literally verbatim, their words are in the movie. Because, to me, that’s all a part of it. The fact that as a black artist I have to endure the knee-jerk [reactions] from the majority? That’s kind of what I’m talking about here. ‘Stuff White People Like’ I don’t remember that getting backlash [and] I don’t remember seeing people protest Stephen Colbert’s ‘Hey White People’ but because it’s a black guy saying the words white and people together, I don’t know, that just freaks people out.”

Marcel Friday

Social Media Manager Creative & Social Strategist Journalist

ALBUM REVIEW: No Oomph In Big Boi’s “Boomiverse”

INTERVIEW: Starlito & Don Trip Talk Why Rappers Still Sign to Cash Money & Post Malone’s Supposed Culture Appropriation

INTERVIEW: Adrian Marcel Recalls Raphael Saadiq Getting Turnt At Clive Davis’ Grammy Party

INTERVIEW: Bay Area Rapper Symba Reveals Origins Of Columbia Records Deal

INTERVIEW: GRAMMY Award-Winning Artist Poo Bear Explains Problems With Streaming Royalties

INTERVIEW: “Dear White People’s” Justin Simien Scoffs At The Fake Mad Netflix Outrage