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Category: Spotlight

Reprints Reviews Spotlight

On Quasimoto’s The Unseen

mreeves June 13, 2020 No Comments MadlibQuasimoto

Twenty years ago today, Madlib released this landmark album under the guise of Quasimoto. This San Francisco Bay Guardian essay was published during the time of its initial release.

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Reprints Scenes Lists & Things Spotlight

Anti-Crack Raps

mreeves June 7, 2020 No Comments 80s rap

This chapter from a 2014-2015 series on early rap music focuses on how artists responded to the crack plague of the mid-to-late 1980s. It’s an example of how the culture has always illustrated current events throughout its history.

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Interviews Profiles Reprints Spotlight

Strictly Business: The Alchemist

mreeves May 3, 2020 No Comments On the BoardsThe Alchemist

In a 2002 URB interview, the producer talks about the business of making beats, his relationship with Mobb Deep, and the “We Gonna Make It” controversy.

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Scenes Lists & Things Spotlight

Rap Songs for Home

mreeves April 26, 2020 No Comments coronavirus

As the coronavirus epidemic continues to roil the globe, home has taken on a new urgency. This playlist assembled around a word is fraught with meaning.

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Spotlight Visuals

Rap Art in the Coronavirus Era

mreeves April 26, 2020 No Comments album artcoronavirusMoney Mantopical rapYoung Dolph

As the world adapts to life under a global pandemic, the album art of several recent rap releases is having a noticeable impact.

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  • The 100 Best Rap Singles of 1990
  • 80s Black Pop Crossover
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  • Strictly Business: The Alchemist
  • Bay Area Mobb Music

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On Deck

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  • Nico, “Purple Lips”

On MF DOOM

On Duke Bootee

On Leroy Hutson and MLK

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