Category: Whats Buzzing in the Streets

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: The Legacy of Sean “Puffy” Combs

From being Father MC’s backup dancer, to being an intern at Uptown Records back in the late 80’s/early 90’s, to becoming one of the world’s biggest hip hop moguls. Sean “Diddy” Combs, the man behind the greats like Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, The Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, 112, Total, and more, the man behind the music that all started in 1994 when the birth of his label Bad Boy Records started. Bad Boy is not only legendary for its roster of artists but it was a part of the East Coast/West Coast beef that took place in the mid-90’s along with Death Row Records. Musically, Diddy is the man and Bad Boy was shit. If you’re a Death Row fan, we might not get along. LOL! Growing up, Bad Boy took over my apartment. There was Biggie, Faith, 112, Shyne, Carl Thomas, The LOX, Mase, the whole crew, non-stop playing on the radio. Now business wise, I’m not a fan of Diddy. It’s just a little suspicious to me that artists come and go. The most we hear from an artist on Bad Boy from the past maybe 10 years is 2 to 3 albums tops, 5 hot singles, 3 or 4 music videos and then we never hear or see anything else after that. Regardless, Diddy is the go to man for the hottest party records of the year. He knows how to get a party started and he’s definitely a successful businessman whose on of hip hop’s biggest moguls with a legacy that never dies. In his words, “Cause we can’t stop, cause we won’t stop. Bad Boy 4 life!”

Haunted Hill 2016 Presents: Cypress Hill & Naughty By Nature

On the night of October 28th, 2016, I had one of the greatest experiences of my life. It was the Naughty By Nature/Cypress Hill Haunted Hill 2016 show downtown at Terminal 5. Last week, DJ Kay Gee himself direct messaged me inviting me to the show for free. I was so hyped and pumped about the show. Fast forward to yesterday. Last night, I got there around 5:30, the show starts at 7 but the show really started around 8 or 9. I spoke to the supervisor about me not buying ticket and instead I was invited for free. I got a wristband, went inside, told the lady behind the glass window that I got a free invite by one of the guys in the show. I hand her my ID and she pulls out an envelope and gives it to me. The envelope had my ticket already inside with another wristband written “VIP” on it. I go upstairs and wait probably another 30 minutes to an hour and then we go to the place where the show was gonna happen. I get there and Naughty by Nature merchandise was set up so I knew they was gonna perform first. Kay Gee walks out, notices me, points me out and gives me a peace sign. Then one of their men came up to me and gives me another wristband but this one was an invitation to actually get on stage right beside them during the show but I decided to stay in the audience because I didn’t want to lose my spot way in the front. I could’ve kissed the stage, that’s how close I was. Then, Kay Gee starts spinning a couple of classic hip hop joints and out comes Vinnie and Treach and we went ballistic in the crowd. They came out on “O.P.P” but I knew they was gonna perform that joint before Kay Gee played it because he played “ABC, 123” by the Jackson 5 and that’s the sample on “O.P.P.” Hit after hit, classic after classic, Naughty was tearing down the house. Treach even threw “You Down Wit O.P.P.” stickers and his sweaty towel and I caught both. I was too fucking hype. LMAO! At the end of their performance, Kay Gee walks up to me and shows me more love and I pointed at him and yelled “Yo, Thanks Kay Gee!” and then Cypress Hill came out. They tore it down too but to be honest, I don’t know too much about their stuff except for the usual joints. I was 100% turned up with Naughty, with Cypress, I was in and out but regardless I enjoyed the show. My boys Todd and Ashanti from school came through too and we us three left together. I left that show with a O.P.P. sticker, Treach’s sweaty towel and NBN skully hat my boy Todd copped for me. I also left wanting to cry so bad, I had the greatest time of my life. For my first hip hop concert, I got more than I expected and that’s what made it all so amazing to me. I still can’t get over all the love I was given by Kay Gee. Feels good to know that I’m being recognized for my love of hip hop culture. Real definitely can spot the real and I can always say that what Kay Gee did for me was more than real. This is definitely another hip hop moment for me I’ll never forget.

The Evolution of Ciara: The First Lady of Crunk & B

The year was 2004 when she popped up on the scene with her debut single and album with the same name. Petey Pablo provided a verse and Jazze Pha was the man behind the sound. It wasn’t the first time we heard this sound on radio. The first time was Usher’s club banger “Yeah!” featuring Lil’ Jon and Ludacris and was released the same year at the same time but it was this beautiful, young, talented and fresh faced singer on the scene named Ciara who gave us the beautiful sounds of the combination of Crunk and R&B music. Nobody else had pulled off the sound before her and not too many people understand that she pioneered the sound in a dope way and what she brought to the game. When you’re a music fan like myself, it’s easy to point out what’s new, fresh, and dope at the same time and it definitely worked in Ciara’s favor. I can honestly point out that the reason she’s so underrated is because she’s from Atlanta and the South had a lot to prove that they also had something to say, props to Andre 3000. Anyways, when Ciara first came out, I thought she lacked vocal ability and power in her voice. I remember when “Goodies” first came out, the moment I heard it, I wasn’t so fond of Petey Pablo alone and then I couldn’t stand the sound of Ciara’s voice but that song is a reflection of the Atlanta sound and wave at the time. After “Goodies”, there was “1, 2 Step” featuring Missy Elliott, “Oh” featuring Ludacris and my all time favorite Ciara joint “And I.” “And I” was a slow ballad that was the first joint Ciara ever written, that’s what I read a long ago. It wasn’t a hype track like the other singles, it was a slow joint but it was a dope ass joint. Ciara caught my attention full on when she came back with her second joint “Ciara: The Evolution.” This album to me is her best work. She stepped it up a whole lot. She went from being the young Atlanta girl fresh outta high school to being this full on entertainer. She went from the honey brown/blonde hair to jet black. She had the whole futuristic look with the silver and shiny clothes, she was dancing more and stepping out of her comfort zone and showing a more hyper Ciara. Her voice was definitely different too but she sings low like Janet Jackson. This is the Ciara I personally loved. I also remember when her second joint dropped because “Get Up” came out for the “Step Up” movie soundtrack and then there was “Promise”, “Like a Boy” and “Can’t Leave ‘Em Alone” featuring 50 Cent. Ciara had this whole Janet Jackson thing going in this era and it worked. She kept that Janet Jackson vibe up and kept putting out more and more bangers and albums. She’s a dope artist whose very underrated. She’s far from her “Goodies” days and is now a mother to a son named Future, who she named after the Atlanta native rapper, who she formerly had a relationship with. Ciara will go down in history as one of the illest artists of all time. She may not be so appreciated like she should be artistically now but eventually, people will catch on. They should’ve been caught on. She will continue to get more and more dope on this evolution in her career. I’m anxious about what she’s gonna do next.

Miss Thang: Happy Birthday Monica

The year was 1995 when her debut album released. She was a 14 years old, Atlanta native and was a part of the younger artists crew when it came to R&B. It was Aaliyah, Brandy and of course Monica. “Miss Thang” was released in July 1995, and Monica was definitely one of the greatest voices heard at the time. With a string of hits underneath her belt, Monica to me is underrated and doesn’t get the credit she definitely deserves. Hits like “Before You Walk Out of My Life”, “Why I Love You So Much”, “The First Night”, “Just One of Them Days”, “Still Standing”, “Street Symphony”, “Angel of Mine”, and her two very biggest joints to me are “The Boy Is Mine” with Brandy and “So Gone.” Monica to me was always good and I definitely enjoyed her music but she used to be boring to me. She would just sing, she didn’t do anything else but now, today, I can listen to her for a while. Her 2003 album “After the Storm” is my favorite album of her. It was the only album I heard from beginning to end, the only Monica album I own, besides a single CD of “So Gone”, and after hearing her other albums, it was the most dopest one to me; “The Boy Is Mine” would be my second choice. The Monica we all know and see today is married with three beautiful children and she’s still singing her ass off and looks amazing too. I love seeing both hip hop and R&B legends be this person of greatness. We grew up on their music, album after album, banger and banger, and they’re still here with us while we give them all of our love and appreciation. Monica is also seems to be super down to earth and a very cool person. I would love to meet her someday. Salute to a legend. Always and forever will be the legendary Monica aka Miss Thang.

New blogger. Nina Fayli

STREET LINE

Hi my name is Nina Fayli I’m a new blogger for Street Line. I’m an actress/model. I’ve been in Law & Order SVU, Gotham, Blue Bloods, billions, The Get Down, PPRESSED.  I’ve modeled for African American Brides, and Permission to name a few. Follow me @NinaFayli on TWITTER and INSTAGRAM

Unsigned Hype: Poet Deep

Delivery, flow, bars, hunger, ambition, drive, and confidence is something that I definitely look for when I come across dope talent. Sometimes, dope talent comes to me on its own and that’s even better. When I got the opportunity to listen to a guy, whose a dope indie artist named Poet Deep from Baltimore, everything that I look for in talent was definitely heard through this guy. Along with everything this guy has in voice and sound, there’s also self consciousness, there’s aggression, there’s wanting and fighting for a change, a revolution, this is what hip hop is all about. Of course we need our balance of the positive and negatives but there is no balance today. We need more Poet Deep’s if you ask me. This guy is not all about the glitz and glamour, this guy is the real deal. Understand that we need more powerful voices to uplift and empower, more true talent, more positive voices in the game. People only pay attention to mainstream positivity, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing because positive is positive but we need to show more love and support to our unsigned hype as well. Another thing about this guy that’s incredible is his wordplay. The way he uses words in his delivery makes you get lost for a second. You can definitely tell what he’s trying to invoke through his music but the delivery is so dope, you get lost trying to figure out how he delivers; it’s almost like a magic trick. Another plus, he’s keeps your interest. One video, two videos, three videos, non stop dope sounds of Poet Deep. Some deep shit to keep you in tune with him and it almost hypnotizes you to understand what he’s trying to do. Anybody that can start all of these things in me when I listen to them is truly a real artist and I’m definitely a new fan of Poet Deep. You can check him out at iampoetdeep.com and follow this guy on Instagram @iampoetdeep. To not keep up with this guy, to not understand the message, to not feel what he is saying is definitely a dishonor to yourself and him. Fight the power, get into some dope and deep poetry with Poet Deep.

The Legacy of Usher Raymond

When this man’s music is up for discussion, a lot of people seem to think that “My Way” was his first. His first joint was on the “Poetic Justice” soundtrack called “Called Me a Mack.” The next year after that Usher released his first debut album with joints like “Can U Get Wit It”, “The Many Ways” and my all time favorite joint “Think of You.” There is absolutely no better Usher joint than that one, I don’t care what anybody says. That first album of his was extremely underrated. I’ve heard people say it wasn’t a very good album but to me it’s better than his shit after the “Looking 4 Myself” album. He went too pop for me. Besides the singles, “I’ll Make It Right”, “Crazy”, “I’ll Show You Love”, “Whispers”, “You Took My Heart” and “Smile Again” were all bangers too. People need to listen to the first album again. His next joint, 1997’s “My Way” is the Usher everybody started to know, the Usher everybody thinks is his first. LOL! Another banging album from Usher. This is the Usher that inspired me fashionably. He was rocking ski masks, leather outfits, shiny jackets and the infamous “U” chain. That “U” chain is his trademark, it’s like the “S” on Superman’s chest. This is the Usher that got him more recognition as an artist. That “My Way” joint was ill too. The video was more iller. “Bedtime” and “I Will” made me think the girls I had crushes on growing up. This was when we had true male R&B singers. They sung about loving their women. The “Live” album is one of my favorite live albums in music but I wish he performed more songs from his first album. “8701” showed a more mature Usher. This was the “Usher & Chilli” era. Usher was older, much wiser, his material was more serious but it definitely prepared us for his album of all time. That album happened to be 2004’s “Confessions.” Man listen, this album is in my top 10 R&B albums of all time list. This is Usher’s best work til this day. I don’t give a fuck what nobody say. The entire album from beginning to end is a banger. No fucking skips, but replays, rewinds, volume all the way up and singing along to Usher. My favorite joint is “Seduction.” It’s my favorite slow joint from Usher. The chorus and harmonies were smooth as silk but that’s regular Usher style. 4 years later, we got “Here I Stand.” This is the beginning of the “pop” Usher that I personally don’t like but this was definitely a dope album though. “Trading Places” is the best joint along with “Best Thing” featuring Jay-Z. After “Here I Stand”, I never listened to Usher’s entire albums just the singles. The singles are dope, he’s still doing his thing but the spark is gone. Too many club bangers for the younger crowd and not enough grown folk music like he used to deliver. It’s rare to hear that from him now but I’m still a Usher fan. Of all the birthdays in October, I’m always amped about Usher’s because he’s definitely my biggest inspiration as a singer, besides Ricky Bell from New Edition. Usher is the singer I always wanted to be but with a hip hop twist. He’s the ultimate ladies man with almost 25 years under his belt and albums and bangers for days. He’s the Prince of R&B to me. There’s no one like Usher Raymond IV. Yeaaahhhhh man!

The Princess of Hip Hop & R&B: The Wonderful World of Ashanti

Before we seen her face, we heard her singing hooks on joints for Big Pun, Fat Joe, and later on, her label mate Ja Rule. Ashanti Douglas has proved herself to be one of R&B’s most greatest artists of her time. She blew up in the early 2000’s for being the girl who was singing on hooks only. Ashanti’s voice is almost similar to Aaliyah’s, she’s got that soft, sweet, sultry Soprano thing going on but her style musically was similar to Mary J. Blige’s, it is Hip hop soul. Ashanti reminds you of that nice girl in the hood who was a hip hop fan but she could sing her ass off. You’ll see her walking down the street in a fresh pair of Air Force Ones, tight jeans, chewing gum, rocking a varsity jacket and big hoop earrings just without the “ratchet”, not calling those kinds girls ratchet though. LOL! She’s the one all the hardcore guys call to sing hooks on their songs and she does it well with the songwriting as well which is why she was nicknamed “The Princess of Hip Hop and R&B.” A lot of artists both male and female have been on the “hip hop soul” movement since “What’s the 411?” but what makes Ashanti a little more different than the rest is her being a fan of hip hop. She’s not just a singer on hip hop tracks, she embraces hip hop in her attitude and her little bop in her videos. I’ve always been a fan of Ashanti since 2002 when she dropped her debut single “Foolish”, singing over The Notorious B.I.G.’s 1995 remix single “One More Chance” and DeBarge’s 1983 single “Stay With Me.” I remember when she first came out like it was yesterday because I was in the second grade, I was 8 years old and “Foolish” was on BET every five minutes and I remember when the video came out with Terrance Howard and it made number 1 on BET’s 106 & Park Top 10 Live list. I do miss those days. The days of a 90’s born-00’s raised kid. Her next joint “Happy”, turned out to be my all time favorite joint by her. The chorus and hook is the best part of the song. The beat is hard with this happy and catchy whistling sound and the chorus and hook has this beautiful harmony that’s very mesmerizing and gets you lost into the sound, that’s an effect I usually get from Brandy. Ashanti’s entire self titled debut was banger from beginning to end and then she released “Chapter II”, my favorite album from her. Another smash album under her belt. She put out “Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)”, “Rain On Me” and “Breakup 2 Makeup” and the remixes were bangers too. The hip hop in Ashanti’s music were mostly on the remixes. She had everyone and their momma on those joints. When “Chapter II” came out in the summer of 2003, I was in Virginia at my auntie’s house singing those songs. My cousins and one of their friends didn’t wanna hear me though but I was feeling that album. LMAO! That was around the same time Beyoncé dropped “Dangerously In Love” and “Baby Boy” was everywhere too; that and “Rock Wit U.” The joint “Feel So Good” was the best one to me because it came from Black Moon’s “I Gotcha Opin (Remix)”, a certified banger. That one should’ve been a hit from the album to me. Her next joint “Concrete Rose” was another banger. Ashanti was no joke in her prime. She kept coming back to back with albums and bangers but this album had a couple of joints I skipped more than the first two. She blew me away with “Don’t Let Them.” That joint came straight from Raekwon’s “Heaven & Hell.” Another banger from that album is “Love Again” but after that she came out with “The Declaration” but her shit wasn’t the same. She went full R&B now, which is cool but that spark she used to give me with her first three was gone because she wasn’t down with Irv Gotti and the Inc. anymore. She still as beautiful as usual but she’s one gem that people don’t appreciate enough to me. She’s no Mary J., no Brandy, no Aaliyah, Monica, Janet Jackson but she was dope in her own right. I’ll always appreciate Ashanti aka The Princess of Hip Hop and R&B.

Lyte As a Rock: Happy Birthday MC Lyte

Lana Michelle Moorer aka MC Lyte is one of hip hop’s greatest MC’s of all time. I hate when people say “female rapper”, so I’m just gonna say “women in hip hop” instead. When it comes to women in hip hop, MC Lyte has definitely been the catalyst and inspiration to other women to come into the game and do it just as well and gain respect for it, especially when hip hop is mostly a male dominated field. MC Lyte along with Queen Latifah, Roxanne Shanté, Sha-Rock (from the group Funky Four Plus One More), Salt-N-Pepa, and Monie Love, just to name a few, are some of hip hop’s earlier women in the game and these ladies definitely held their own. MC Lyte was the first woman in hip hop to actually release a whole album, which was 1988’s “Lyte As a Rock.” After the success of her debut, Lyte kept coming with albums and more hits making her one of hip hop’s most respected woman in the game and a lot of people consider her their first choice when it comes to women in hip hop. Joints like “Cha Cha Cha”, “I Cram 2 Understand U (Sam)”, “Paper Thin”, “Poor Georgie”, “Ice Cream Dream” (from the Mo’ Money soundtrack), “Ruffneck”, “Keep On, Keepin’ On”, “Cold Rock a Party” and more. Lyte is the fly b-girl from Brooklyn with the attitude that caught your attention and kept your attention too. She was hard on the mic and her rhymes were just as tough as the guys on the mic, especially 1993’s “Ruffneck.” She went the hardest on the joint to me. She was describing the hard hood guy hanging on street corners, hustling with a bad attitude with the hardest voice you’ve ever heard Lyte spit. Lyte had bangers, she don’t have too many joints that was wack to me, almost all her shit was dope. She’ll always go down in history as the one of the realest, dead or alive.

The King of New Jack Swing: Happy Birthday Teddy Riley

They call him the King of New Jack Swing. He’s the man behind the legendary hip hop and R&B groups like Guy, Wreckx-N-Effect, and BLACKstreet, he helped provided sounds for Michael Jackson’s 1991 album “Dangerous”, Bobby Brown’s 1988 album “Don’t Be Cruel” and Queen Pen’s 1997 album “My Melody.” He did a lot joints for others artists including MC Hammer, Mary J. Blige, Doug E. Fresh, SWV, Kool Moe Dee and a whole lot more of other hip hop, R&B and new jack swing artists. This man is my all time favorite producer, for he is responsible for a lot of my favorite joints. His name is Teddy Riley. It was 1985 when Teddy produced his first joint to reach the Billboard Top 100 charts, Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick’s “The Show” and then two years later, the R&B group Guy was born. The group started off with Teddy, Timmy Gatling and Aaron Hall who pioneered the new jack swing style and movement. With only three albums underneath their belt, they had some of the greatest joints between the first two albums. “New Jack Swing” of course, “Teddy’s Jam”, “Groove Me”, “I Like”, “Yearning For Your Love”, and “My Fantasy”, which is a joint not to many can remember unless you play it like “Ohhhh snap! I forgot about this one. This is my shit!” LOL! To those that never understood what exactly was the sound of New Jack Swing, it was basically hip hop production, R&B vocals, pop infused with synthesizers and heavy bass with instrument sounds. It was the early combination of hip hop and R&B until Hip hop soul came along in the early 90’s, thanks to Mary J. Blige and Jodeci. In 1989 Teddy Riley began working with hip hop group Wreckx-N-Effect. Their main two singles were “New Jack Swing”, a song that celebrates the genre and of course partying with a numerous amount of cameo appearances in the music video and in 1992, their next biggest joint, “Rump Shaker.” In the early 90’s, the new jack swing movement and sound was slowly coming to an end. I would say around 1993/1994, the industry was taken over by a new popular sound called “Hip hop sound.” Hip hop soul was more straightforward and more street. It was like church choirs meet the street corner hustlers. This sound was strictly R&B singing over hardcore hip hop production and it is my favorite sound. Teddy didn’t miss a beat and he still put out bangers even with the new sound at the time. He did Michael Jackson’s 1991 album “Dangerous”, he did the remix to Mary J. Blige’s 1994 single “My Love” featuring the late great Heavy D, another artists part of the new jack swing movement, and then came along BLACKstreet, who is one of my all time favorite male groups. Their first two albums, the self titled 1994 album and 1996’s “Another Level”, I ran to death yo. The first joint introduced Chauncey Black and Dave Hollister. Chauncey and Dave had amazing voices but Dave was miles ahead of Chauncey and could hit some of the hardest and coldest notes I’ve ever heard come from an R&B guy. Their definitely influences on me when it comes to singing. The first album was a banger from start to finish. The sound had a west coast vibe but it was a tad bit new jack swing-ish but very, very smooth and R&B on a hip hop tip that makes you nod your head something crazy. Joints like “Baby Be Mine”, “I Like the Way You Work”, “Physical Thing”, “Happy Home”, “Before I Let You Go” man, that shit is a masterpiece. Their second album “Another Level” had the perfect name and it was exactly that but their first joint was more raw and street. “Another Level” had more church vibes but it was still dope. A couple of joints skipped here and there but still a dope body work. This album had the notorious Teddy Riley joint, “No Diggity” featuring Dr. Dre and Queen Pen. Queen Pen is another one of Teddy’s artists. She was incredible on the mic but very underrated. Teddy did her album “My Melody” a year after “Another Level” and “Party Ain’t a Party” took Queen Pen to the top. Her second joint didn’t do so well but she’s still a monster on the mic. BLACKstreet’s third album “Finally”, was an okay album though. I don’t really care too much about it but it was cool. Very R&B all the way and “Girlfriend/Boyfriend” featuring Janet Jackson, Ja Rule and Eve was dope too. I pretty much only celebrate Teddy’s career from 1985 to 1998. That’s when he was in his prime. Album after album, artist after artist, bangers after bangers, Teddy is definitely one of the greatest producers of all time. He’s pretty much the soundtrack and King of my “old soul” life. He provided that sound I love so much and exaggerates it a lot. Those beats of his was perfect to me. His ear is an incredible one and something you never doubt. I always dreamed of someday working with Teddy in the future. Hope I can.