B13 Peer Review

Educators/activists/rapper Dr. Cornel West and the Rev. Jesse Jackson are leading a group of artists and executives who are demanding cultural diversity from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). NARAS is the organization that produces the annual Grammy Awards, which honors the top performing music artists, producers and engineers, in a variety of categories. But The Grammys has been under fire for sweeping changes the organization has made to the categories. Dr. West and Rev. Jesse Jackson are working with artists/organizations like Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Grammywatch.org and now, Presente.org, in the battle to restore diversity to The Grammys. Presente.org, which is the largest online Latino advocacy organization in the U.S., has joined in the growing criticism of The Grammys. The artists and activists are upset that NARAS eliminated a number of categories, comprised mostly of ethnic music. Categories like Gospel, R&B, Traditional and...

Saving is caring. Warren Sapp -  He earned millions upon millions and is still owing $6.5 million to the IRS. And he has a job on NFL Network too! Vince Young -  He was on Twitter saying he needed a job because all of those $5,000 Cheesecake Factory Allen Iverson -  He’s losing $300K a month and making 1/5th that much. Lauryn Hill -  She’s heading to the clink for refusing to pay taxes…smh. Young Buck -  He can’t even hardly afford his own damn name. Terrell Owens -   He got cut by his minor league team and can barely pay all that child support. Evander Holyfield -  He also has damn near a baker’s dozen of kids and he had his house foreclosed because he can’t deal with all of that. Beanie Sigel -  He’s also going to clinktown for not paying off his taxes. Not gangsta, Beans. Chris Tucker -  He is on tour right now to pay the IRS and get over his debt to the...

Wax’s latest release  Continue  brings the same confidence, and fluidity he presented when he first started to make waves on YouTube. The viral, indie wunderkind’s major label attempt might have been stalled, but he’s only back to where he belongs. B-13 PEER REVIEW WHERE YOU HEARD IT FIRST Noting Wax’s background as a band front man in the past, the album’s overall aural theme ties around catchy guitar riffs decorated with feel-good pop sentiments. Its display of casual deliveries, conversational anecdotes, with singsong hooks widely showcase the artist’s versatile musicality, while at the same time delving into hip-hop’s uncharted realms. Perhaps, a good mixture of Beastie Boys’ controlled rowdiness, and Gym Class Heroes’ easygoing humor, with hints of aggressive battle-rap brilliance (as exhibited on “Straight to Paradise”) is a fair way of summing up this project. Continue  clearly understands the audience it’s meant to reach. It grasps those who have regular ni...

W illiam Lloyd Garrison was born December 10, 1805 in Newburyport, Massachusetts.  In 1830 he started an abolitionist paper,  The Liberator . In 1832 he helped form the New England Antislavery Society. When the Civil War broke out, he continued to blast the Constitution as a pro-slavery document. When the civil war ended, he at last saw the abolition of slavery. He died May 24, 1879 in New York City. Early Life Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison was born the son of a merchant sailor in Newburyport, Massachusetts on December 10, 1805. When Garrison was only three years old, his father Abijah abandoned the family. Garrison’s mother, a devout Baptist named Frances Maria, struggled to raise Garrison and his siblings in poverty. As a child, Garrison lived with a Baptist deacon for a time, where he received a rudimentary education. In 1814, he reunited with his mother and took an apprenticeship as a shoemaker, but the work proved too physically demanding for the young boy....

Machine Gun Kelly looks like he is having a lot of fun in his latest visuals for “La La La (The Floating Song)” off  Lace Up. Directed by Spordy 19XX, the Bad Boy rhymer is seen riding around on an ATV and hanging out by the beach. Can summer be here already? Watch the video above. Download Mixtape | Free Mixtapes Powered by DatPiff.com

Two weeks ago, Fabolous released “Get Ready” the first single off of what will be his sixth studio album,  Loso’s Way 2 . It’s been nearly 12 years since Fab first arrived on the scene via DJ Clue’s stamp of approval and the game has certainly changed, particularly the landscape of New York hip hop. We caught up with Loso at Def Jam last week to talk about the his new album and the Big Apple’s current state of affairs. Here’s what he had to say –  as told to Neil Martinez-Belkin  @Neil_MB How has your approach to making an album changed since you came out in 2001 with  Ghetto Fabolous ? I definitely have more control than I did in 2001. When I dropped  Ghetto Fabolous  I was really just a young kid coming in who knew how to rap. I needed direction at that time. Now, I know what I can do. I know what my strengths are and what areas I need to touch on more. And that just comes over time. Getting to know yourself and getting to know your music. So now ...

YMCMB’s newest artist Caskey releases a video for “The Truth.” The song dedicated to his father finds him rapping his reflective rhymes while walking the city streets. Check it out above.