you people will have to forgive me…im just kinda writing from the heart….sporadic thoughts tears and snot are spilling out and whatnot. im certain dream and toure and nelson will do his legacy justice in print….i just felt the need to write something.

Check out the whole blog and pics here.

RELATED POSTS:

?uestlove Airs Out Tina Fey And Prince [VIDEO]

?uestlove & Tina Fey End Their Beef On Jimmy Fallon Show [VIDEO]

?uestlove Wants You To Cook For Him [VIDEO]

On the other hand, he wasn’t so nice to Tina Fey. Questo commented that Tina Fey and The Roots haven’t bonded like most Philadelphians do when they meet each other. Check out the clip below. Was Questo right to bring that up on national television or should he have handled that in person?

RELATED POSTS:

Questlove On Bachmann Beef: “I Will Still Let The Snark Fly” [VIDEO]

?uestlove: “D’Angelo Taught Me To Embrace Sloppiness” [EXCLUSIVE]

Top 10 D’Angelo Songs

Now NBC is asking to hear any songs The Roots plan to play before the shows air. But is this censorship of The Roots?

“I will let the snark fly still,” Questlove said. “We’re a comedy show in the same building as Saturday Night Live where that type of satire and humor runs rampant, and even worse. So they’re not going to censor me, but they definitely want to know.”

Quest also says the band chose to stop touring and work on the Jimmy Fallon show because they’d spent eighteen years on the road.

“Once you can navigate the Japanese subway system without help that pretty much means you’ve been there too many times,” he said. File that under #Firstworldproblems.

The Roots new album Undun is in stores now.

RELATED POSTS:

?uestlove Wants Black Thought To Get His Male Lauryn Hill On [EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW]

The Roots f/ Big K.R.I.T., “Make My”[NEW MUSIC]

The Roots’ “undun” Tracklist And Artwork

Though many know the drummer, Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, for his wild afro, some might not know dude has a serious record collection. Some might even venture to say he’s drifting into hoarding territory. The Urban Daily spoke with Questo yesterday where we discussed his support for Occupy Wall Street, the new Roots album, and why Black Thought should sing more often.

TUD: I’m excited to do this interview because if there was any musician’s music collection I would want to raid, it would be yours. I feel like you have every record known to man. Your apartment must be full of records.

QL: My library is just so overwhelming that a lot of people would love to raid my music collection. I have some property in Philadelphia and one of the main criteria for moving out of that house was I was always running out of space.  Plus, when Q-Tip had a fire back in ’97, that scared me. I thought about getting another house for my records. One of the setbacks of having an apartment in Manhattan is I’m far away from my record collection. A little bit at a time I’m sneaking records to my apartment and I find myself getting back into dangerous territory.

That’s not really dangerous territory. It’s just a lot.

You don’t know me, bro. Guests that are frequent are like, “Okay, this used to be where the dining room table was.” Now, it’s become a turntable station.

See, that sounds like a good time to me. I love places like that.

Yeah, I love it too. That’s not sexy when your girl comes over though.

That’s true. I hear The Roots are working on an exclusive track for the upcoming Captain Morgan ‘Life Love and Loot’ campaign. How did you guys link up?

They approached us about doing music for the campaign and the thing was having been familiar with the visual campaign, the challenge was to make the song match the visual. When you think of pirates and the sea, the normal Roots backdrop of music isn’t necessarily what comes to mind. They told us we could take the liberty to make a song we wanted. The Roots wanted to make sure we stepped out of our comfort zone to fit the spirit of the campaign. The real challenge was having to make this song with only three instruments-a guitar, tuba, and a drum.

Did you guys come up with the track jam session style, like a lot of your records are known for?

Absolutely. We prepared for three days. We tried seven or eight different sketches of the song. Once we came up with the sketches, we played them for our Captain Morgan liaison and he decided he liked one over the others. Then, we went into the studio and fleshed it out. It took about eight takes to get it right.

Was is it a conscious decision to have Black Thought sing instead of rap on this song?

It wasn’t in the beginning, but because of the nature of the song, just to yell out the lyrics didn’t feel natural. Since he is a singer as well…it’s kind of hard for me to coax him to sing. I don’t know why he’s shy about it, but Black Thought sings as good as he raps. That’s always been a head scratcher for me as to why he won’t get his male Lauryn Hill on. I told him it would sound much more natural with him singing it as opposed to him rhyming it. He did both and the singing does have better energy than him not singing and that’s what we went with.

Will the Captain Morgan track be available for download?

Yes. It will be available for download on the Captain Morgan USA Facebook page. People can also see the making of it there. They can see some clips and photos of us recording it and jamming out.

When you heard about the whole ‘Life Love and Loot’ campaign, what did you take away from it? What did it mean to you?

We decided that the campaign is pretty much our thing. I guess that would make us pirates too. [laughs] We had to put ourselves in that position and define it for ourselves. If anything, we’ve been pirates too. We’re always on the road, always working to survive, and loving what we do. We’re also running a business. That’s what so many people tend to forget because we’re having so much fun doing what we do. We run a very tight business as well. But usually when we are given a set of perimeters, we just put ourselves in that position and see how it applies to us.

The Roots have a new album, undun, coming out soon. Does the sound d of this Captain Morgan track reflect the sound you’re working with on the album?

Nah. We finished our record at 4:30 this morning. It’s being mastered right now. We actually did this track at the same time we recorded our album and one of the advantages of doing this track was it provided us a relief because the sound of the album is very somber and serious. There really wasn’t a high adrenaline moment on the album. Doing this on the side kind of scratched that itch for us.

Besides being on Jimmy Fallon, the new album, and the song for the ‘Life Love and Loot’ campaign, what are you guys doing to stay busy?

That’s a big list you just gave right there. [laughs] I heard it myself and was like, “Whoa! When am I going to sleep?!” We’re really trying to focus on the album. Fallon is everyday so there’s no escaping that, but our priority is with the new album, undun.

The Roots have worked with a very wide range of artists. Who haven’t you worked with that you want to work with?

I’ll be honest with you. As far as the studio is concerned, John Legend and D’Angelo are the two artists under the age of 50 I enjoy working with. I enjoy working with Erykah Badu whenever she wants to collaborate. As  of late, I’ve been having a ball doing these soul records. As soon as Al Green gives us the word, we’ll probably work on his next record. We just did Betty Wright’s record. Her album comes out in December also. It sounds incredible.

The Roots have always been more of a politically conscious band. What are your thoughts on the whole Occupy Wall Street movement?

Yeah, I’ve been down there a few times to support them. It’s taken 99% of the people long enough to finally wake up and see the power that they hold in their hands. A lot of people think revolution and change will be the next man’s fight. They want to hang back and see what happens and it doesn’t work that way. You’ve got to get your hands and knees inside the mud. You have to be apart of the change you want to see. We’ll see what happens because this is just the beginning.

Related Posts:

?uestlove Says He’s Back In The Studio With D’Angelo

Top 10 Lauryn Hill Songs Lauryn Hill Has Butchered [ORIGINAL]

D’Angelo, Raphael Saadiq, ?uestlove & Ali Shaheed Muhammad “Lady” [THROWBACK]

The Roots “Make My” featuring Big K.R.I.T. by okayplayer

RELATED POSTS:

The Roots’ “undun” Tracklist

Black Thought Eager To Perform With Nas At Roots Picnic

?uestlove Wants You To Cook For Him [VIDEO]

From performing as the house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to recently hosting a Pre-Emmy Awards jam session, the legendary crew has returned with their latest musical creation, a new album entitled undun (Island Def Jam).” undun is the “re-telling of the short life of one Redford Stephens (1974-1999).” Look for the album on December 6th which seeks “to illustrate the intersection of free will and prescribed destiny as it plays out!”

Top 10 Hip Hop Love Songs

Jimmy Fallon’s “Dance Avenue” Spoofs “Soul Train” [VIDEO]

TRACKLISTING:

1) Sleep
2) Make My
3) One Time
4) Kool On
5) The Jump
6) Stomp
7) Lighthouse
8) I Remember
9) Tip The Scale
10) Redford

On the other end of the spectrum Black Thought also anticipates that fellow Pennsylvanian Wiz Khalifa, who is sure to give an energetic performance of his  Rolling Papers debut.  Other musicians and bands, such as Sweden’s Little Dragon and Man Man of Philly, will entertain the festival’s audience.  However, there will also be plenty for the hip-hop purist.

“There’s always an element of The Roots Picnic that’s tailored to our [musical] tastes as The Roots,” says Thought. “And for me, that part of the festival is going to be doing the set with Nas. I look forward to that.”

His Grammy award-winning band will back Nas during his performance at the picnic.  Even though the band and Nas have previously collaborated on unreleased material, Black Thought hopes that The Roots will record with Nas again soon.

The Roots have been busy as the house band for “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” but are already working on their next album. The group members are tossing around creative concepts and a core idea for the upcoming project, which will be their tenth studio album. Their manager Rich Nichols allowed TheUrbandaily to preview some “roughs” on his iPod and from the sound of things, the time working on the show continues to pay off for the group. Their first Fallon-era project, 2010′s How I Got Over, is considered by many to be their best work.

“The band is actually physically together for ‘x’ amount of hours a day, five days a week, and it affords us the ability to collaborate on whatever we might come up with,” Black Thought explains. ” And the means with which to record it immediately and be able to catalog it and refer back to it at a later date.”

While looking ahead, Black Thought takes time to look back in honor of Black Music Month.  He reflects on the recently deceased Gil Scott-Heron, who The Roots have toured with in Europe on various occasions.

“Gil Scott and The Last Poets and what they brought to the table represents radical, youthful expression of the 60s and 70s.  In many ways, it kind of reflects what’s going on right now.  But it’s very different—there’s an innocence in what they were doing back then that I feel has been lost now.”

Tariq’s words underline why we need to celebrate our artists while they are still with us, so any fan of The Roots should make their way to Festival Pier tomorrow afternoon to take in some of the best acts that Black Music has to offer.

RELATED POSTS:

BLACK MUSIC MOMENT #89: The Roots Release First Album

?uestlove Wants You To Cook For Him [VIDEO]

Nas, Wiz Khalifa, Esperanza Spalding To Perform At 4th Annual Roots Picnic

When: May 19, 1993

What: Though often overlooked, the Roots’ debut album, Organix, was originally sold at the band’s shows in Europe and earned them enough buzz to garner them offers from major record labels, after which they signed with DGC Records and released their sophomore work (and what most folks mistakenly believe to be their first album), Do You Want More?!!!??!

In celebration of Black Music Month, TheUrbanDaily’s “It’s All Black Music” presents100 Rewarding Black Music Moments, sponsored by Southwest Airlines.

Each Black Music Moment is associated with an actual place that you can visit. During the month of June, check in to at least three of these places on Foursquare to unlock TheUrbanDaily’s exclusive “It’s All Black Music” Badge. Check out the locations and details on our Foursquare page!

10-Jay-Z & Beyonce “03 Bonnie & Clyde“- Jay and Bey, now Hip-Hop’s power couple, teamed up for Jay’s Blueprint 2: The Gift And The Curse. This duet produced by Kanye West featured samples from Tupac and Prince.  Released in 2002, the single hit number 4 on the U.S. Billboard hot 100, becoming Beyonce’s first top ten single as a solo artist.

9-A Tribe Called Quest- “Bonita Applebum”- The leading single off People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm album. The track was rumored to be about a girl the crew wen to high school with.

8-The Roots ft. Eve & Erykah Badu- “You Got Me”- Off the 1999 “Things Fall Apart” album, co- written by Jill Scott who recorded vocals for the chorus as well. The label wanted a big feature and being that Jill was not known at the time, Erykah Badu was called in to feature on the track.

7-Whodini- One Love- One of three singles released off the platinum 1986 “Back In Black” album. “One Love” had become a universal phrase and helped the group obtain a platinum plaque for this album. Even almost a decade later on Nas’ “One Love” the phrase was being used and had even become a way to greet someone or say goodbye.

6-OutKast- Ms Jackson- The second single off their 2000 release “Stankonia” album which debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200, and sold over 500k its first week. The hit was rumored to be a response to Erykah Badu’s mother after Andre 3000 and Erykah broke up. The song is about what couples go through and the feelings a mother can have against their daughters ex-husband/boyfriend.

5-DMX ft. Faith Evans- How its Goin’ Down- The third single off  DMX’s debut album “It’s Dark and Hell is Hot” . The single was a hit in my opinion because if you were from the hood and in love you could relate to the plot. How many of you had to steal your current love away from their girlfriend/boyfriend?

4-LL Cool J- I Need Love- The second single from LL’s second album “Bigger and Deffer.” “I need Love” was considered the first rap ballad hitting number 1 on the hot r&b/hip hop charts. It was also one of the first rap songs to see mainstream success in the UK. LL also won a Soul Train Music Award for the single.

3-Slick Rick Teenage Love- The first single off Slick Rick’s 1988 debut album “The Great Adventures of Slick Rick,” produced by the Bomb Squad. Taking the number 16 spot on Hot Black Singles and 8 on Hot rap singles, it was a hit and would be followed by a bigger hit “Children’s Story.”

2-The Fugees- Killing Me Softly- The original by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel is a track that had been covered by many artists. Roberta Flack had topped the pop charts and won a Grammy covering the track. The Fugees later released in 1996 off The Fugees multi-platinum, Grammy award winning album “The Score”.  The cut had climbed to the number 2 spot on Us Airplay charts. Sampling A Tribe Called Quest Bonita AppleBum,  Lauryn Hill singing the lead vocals secured her top spot in Hip hop.

1-Method Man & Mary J Blige- Your All I Need- Originally recorded by R&B/Soul duo Marvin Gaye and Tami Terrell, this hip hop classic just may be the most memorable hip hop love song in history. It could also be argued the most successful rap/r&b duo to date. Method Man and Mary told the love story of many of us who come from the hood and the music video captured the story perfect. A Puff Daddy remix was later created which sampled a track from The Notorious BIG’s “Me & My Bitch” as well as a “Razor Sharp Mix” produced by the RZA.

Recent Post:

Top 10 Nate Dogg Guest Appearances

Top 10 50 Cent Songs

Top 10 Chris Brown Songs

Jimmy and members of Late Night‘s house band, The Roots, participated in the sketch by donning Soul Train inspired costumes and dancing down the line.  The Roots’ ?uestlove, an admitted Soul Train geek, certainly had his hand in making this spoof as authentic as possible.  Keep an eye out for such Soul Train staples like a dancing Asian lady, and a random dancer wearing an E.T. costume.  Honorable mention definitely goes to The Roots’ Black Thought in his captain’s outfit.

We also gotta give props for the song the band recorded specifically for the show, “Doing Lines,” an obvious double entendre referencing the Soul Train line and the ever-present 80′s drug of choice, cocaine.

Peep the video below!

Source: LateNightWithJimmyFallon.com

RELATED: Jimmy Fallon Thanks Tiger Woods For Comedic Inspiration [VIDEO]

RELATED: ?uestlove Remixes The Best Charlie Sheen Soundbites [VIDEO]

The man who holds down the drums every night on NBC’s “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” wants you to send in a 90 second video explaining why you could make the best meal for him.

Let ?uesto explain it himself:

If you think you have the culinary skillz, send your 90 second video to questlovesfood@gmail.com or send him a message on Twitter: @cook4quest.

RELATED: ?uestlove Remixes The Best Charlie Sheen Soundbites [VIDEO]

RELATED: ?uestlove’s New Nike Dunks Hit Stores On Saturday [PICS]

Spalding, who is making her second appearance at the picnic, and Nas will be backed by The Roots during their sets.

Jeff Redd On Making, “You Called And Told Me” [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO]

Samples of History: Hip-Hop Mines Afrobeat

Rounding out the bill will be Yelawolf, XXL freshman pick Mac Miller, Swedish electro-soul outfit Little Dragon, indie psych rock band Nicos Gun, Philly based experimental rock band Man Man, the recently reunited Washington DC indie rock band The Dismemberment Plan, the uncategorizably weird Ariel Pink, electro soul singer (and ?uestlove’s sister) Donn T, and DJ J Period who will be doing his famed “live mixtape” with Black Thought of The Roots.

RELATED: The Legendary: A Film About The Roots [Video]

RELATED: Who Is Esperanza Spalding?

For a trio of guys in their 40s, they still move around like it’s the New Edition era.  You can also tell their from the old school of entertainers by the matching outfits.  Nobody does that anymore! *sad face*

Top 9 Music Videos Of The 1990s

25 Reasons We Loved the Arsenio Hall Show

“Poison”

“Do Me”

RELATED: Singers From The 90’s Who Need Reality Shows

RELATED: HOT OR NOT?: Bell Biv Devoe “Hello”

Top 9 Black Television Talk Show Hosts

Starting off with Saadiq & D’Angelo duetting on Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home To Me,” the one-off performance was an amazing preview of what D’Angelo had in store for the world 3 years later with his Voodoo album and the album’s supporting tour.

RELATED: Raphael Saadiq & D’Angelo “Be Here” (Hi-Tek Remix)

RELATED: D’Angelo Finally Speaks! “I’m Cookin’ Up Somethin’ Real Nice”

25 Reasons We Love Michael Jordan

During The Legendary Roots Crew’s acclaimed Hennessey Artistry Tour, where they were joined on different dates by the likes of Ron Isley, Eve, Mary J. Blige and Erykah Badu, film maker Can Be and journalist/presenter Jeff Baraka came together to film and document the Grammy award winning band.

Top 9 Must-See Black Films

[props to Soulculture.uk]

The Legendary: A Film About The Roots from Cam Be on Vimeo.

RELATED POSTS:

Roots Member Dice Raw Injured In Car Accident

?uestlove Remixes George W. Bush “Today” Show Interview

25 Reasons We Love Blaxploitation Films

Odd Future’s Tyler The Creator and Hodgy Beats performed the song “Sandwitches” on the show backed by The Roots.  Their high-energy performance included skimasks with inverted crosses drawn on them, a lawn gnome randomly chilling on a monitor, and a ghostly looking white girl in a hospital gown who just kinda walked around aimlessly.

The OFWGKTA crew has built a considerable grassroots following, having sold out shows in Los Angeles, London, and New York with their brand of shock-value hip-hop, reminiscent of the failed early 90′s subgenre of hip-hop, Horrorcore.

* OFWGKTA stands for “Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All.”

RELATED: Lil Jon & Nene Play Charades With Donald Trump & Jimmy Fallon [VIDEO]

RELATED: R. Kelly Sings His Heart Out On “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” [VIDEO]

“I’m a couple weeks in [on my next album], I worked with Kanye for a week, and I’m going back in March. And, we’re really excited about it,” Legend told Sway of MTV News. “We worked together pretty closely on it, he’s executive-producing it, and co-writing a lot of stuff with me, and I think it’s going to be fun. We have some good songs, got some good records that I really like.”

John Legend took home three Grammy Awards last night for his collaborative album with The Roots, Wake Up!

RELATED: Eminem Lands 10 Grammy Nominations

RELATED: John Legend & The Roots “Little Ghetto Boy” [VIDEO]

Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman, Wanya Morris and Michael McCary captivated audiences with their flawless harmonies and dance moves.  Each member of the group was given the opportunity to sing lead vocals on the album, a rarity at the time.  Their vocal prowess was proudly displayed on the bridge of “MotownPhilly” which featured a vocal riff many singers, amateur and professional, tried to duplicate.

The “MotownPhilly” video debuted the group’s preppy look, dubbed the “Alex Vanderpool Era,” and also featured an early cameo appearance from a former classmate of the group at Philadelphia’s High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, ?uestlove of the Roots who is seen playing drums in a bathroom. “MotownPhilly” peaked at number 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, solidifying the group as one of the breakout groups of 1991.

The group followed up the success of “MotownPhilly” with an acapella cover of G.C. Cameron’s “It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday.”  Cameron’s original version was featured in the 1975 film Cooley High. The song took on a deeper meaning for the group when their tour manager, Khalil Roundtree, was murdered in Chicago while they toured with MC Hammer.  “It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday” was another number 2 hit for the group.

Cooleyhighharmony‘s third single was the steamy ballad “Uhh Ahh.” While the song shot to number one on the R&B charts, it stalled at number 16 on the pop chart.

Two more singles, “Please Don’t Go,” and “Sympin’,” but neither song managed to storm the charts like the initial three.

Though Boyz II Men’s debut was incredibly successful, there was nowhere for the group to go but up. Their biggest success came a couple of years later thanks to “End Of The Road,” featured on the soundtrack to the 1993 Eddie Murphy film Boomerang. “Road” stayed on top of Billboard Hot 100 chart for 13 weeks, beating Elvis Presley’s 36 year record. The group wouldn’t hold on to that record for long as Whitney Houston‘s “I Will Always Love You” held the number one spot for 14 weeks beginning two weeks after “End Of The Road” left the number one spot.

In 2009, Motown’s reissue department released an expanded 2 CD version of CooleyHighHarmony which featured the original album, plus several remixes and unreleased songs.

RELATED: The 12 Jams Of Christmas: Boyz II Men “Let It Snow”

RELATED: Boyz II Men Bring “Sing Off” To End Of The Road

Spalding was born in Portland, OR in 1984. By the age of five, she was a self-taught violinist, already playing with the Chamber Music Society of Oregon. She picked up her signature instrument, the bass, at age 14.  Though she’s very skilled at many other instruments, once she began playing bass, it became her sole focus.

Esperanza left school at age 16, got her GED, and enrolled the music program at Portland State University on a scholarship where she was the youngest bass player in the program. She later enrolled at the prestigious Berklee College of Music and received a full scholarship. Spalding became one of the youngest professors in the school’s history being brought on to teach immediately after graduating at age 20.

Though she won Best New Artist award, Spalding has released three albums over the course of her career, beginning with 2006′s Junjo.  She began getting notoriety outside of jazz music circles with her 2008 release, Esperanza.  Her latest album, Chamber Music Society, was released in 2010.

Spalding has also received co-signs from some of music’s most influential.  The Roots asked Spalding to perform at their annual Roots Picnic in 2008.  Prince asked Spalding to open for him on his recent string of shows in the New York City area.  Spalding also paid tribute to Prince at the 2010 BET Awards, performing his song “If I Was Your Girlfriend” on the show.

RELATED: Kanye West Disappointed With Grammy’s Best New Artist Winner

RELATED: Prince Announces “Welcome 2 America” Tour With Janelle Monae, Others

Kravitz stars as Sweetness O’Hara, a teenaged girl who is left to take care of herself after her mother and sister escape her abusive father. Sweetness becomes determined not to make the same mistakes as her mother and father and takes control of her life.

The film’s writer and director, Victoria Mahoney, received the Lynn Auerbach Screenwriting Fellowship to produce the film, which will be shown at the SXSW festival this year.

Here are our top 9 music videos of the 1990s.

9. The Roots “What They Do”
The Roots’ perfectly skewered the fantasy world of hip-hop music videos in their 1996 clip for “What They Do,” but found themselves at odds with The Notorious B.I.G. who, according to Roots drummer ?uestlove, thought the video was retaliation for a line in his “Flava In Your Ear” remix verse that many perceived to be a dis towards the group. Big Poppa passed before both sides could set the record straight.

8. The Pharcyde “Drop”
Directed by famed video director Spike Jonze, The Pharcyde were able to pull off the backwards “Drop” video by learning the song in reverse, and shooting the video in reverse. Hands down one of the most creative music videos in hip-hop, and one of the first videos we wrote down when putting this list together.

7. The Notorious B.I.G. “One More Chance”
Not since the classic Kid & Play film had a house party been captured on film so well that everyone who watched it wished they had been in attendance. Sporting cameos from everyone from Heavy D & D-Nice to Mary J. Blige and Aaliyah, “One More Chance” was an instant classic.

6. Snoop Doggy Dogg “Doggy Dogg World”
Snoop’s final video from his debut album took everyone back to the 1970s with cameos from The Dramatics, Pam Grier, Rudy Ray Moore, Ron O’Neal, Fred Williamson, Fred “Rerun” Berry and Antonio “Huggy Bear” Fargas. This was definitely another one of those video shoots we wish we had been at.

5. TLC “Waterfalls”
TLC’s special effects heavy video for “Waterfalls” earned the group the 1995 MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year. The video features cameos from actors Ella Joyce and Bokeem Woodbine plus Wu-Tang affiliate Shyheim.

4. Wu-Tang Clan “Triumph”
Wu-Tang Clan kicked off their second album with the “Triumph” video which featured the clan (and some Wu-Tang killer killah bees) invading New York City.

3. Busta Rhymes “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See”
Director Hype Williams parodied Eddie Murphy’s classic 1988 film Coming To America for Busta’s 1997 video for “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See.” Williams’ unique style of direction became synonymous with music videos in the 1990s.

2. Michael Jackson “Remember The Time”
Boyz N The Hood director John Singleton shot the second video from Michael Jackson’s Dangerous album, “Remember The Time.” The video takes place in ancient Egypt and stars Eddie Murphy and Iman as the pharaoh and his queen. Magic Johnson, Tom “Tiny” Lister, and Imani from The Pharcyde also appear in the video.

1. Missy Elliot “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)”
Missy Elliot’s reign as queen of weird music videos began with this Hype Williams directed clip. The oversized garbage bag suit, the fish eye lens, the distorted mouths and eyes… “The Rain” proved that hip-hop videos could be more than just a bunch of dudes mean-mugging the camera.

Share this post on Facebook! CLICK HERE:

According to Dice, a young woman ran a red light while making a turn in North Philadelphia and smashed head-on into the rapper’s new Jaguar XK convertible luxury vehicle.

“It happened so fast – I was turning and this silly b***h decided she couldn’t wait two seconds and swerved around someone that was stopped and blew through the red light,” Dice Raw told AllHipHop.com. “My car got totaled, my face got all cut up, my ankle and knee are fucked and I still can’t walk.”

But that wasn’t the worst part. Read more and see photos of the wreck at Allhiphop.com [CLICK HERE]

RELATED POSTS:

?uestlove Remixes George W. Bush “Today” Show Interview

?uestlove Remixes Jimmy “Rent Is Too Damn High” McMillan [VIDEO]

Bobby Brown Joins The Roots & Q-Tip On Stage In Miami [VIDEO]

It’s kinda difficult trying to remember every album that came out this year that I listened to, and which ones are worthy of ending up on a year end list.  However, in 2010, this list was surprisingly easy to make. Was it because I didn’t listen to as much music this year, or did these albums just do such a good job of satisfying my musical needs?

10. H.I.S.D. “The Weakend”

The Houston, TX hip-hop quartet, Hueston Independent Spit District (H.I.S.D. for short) released their second full length album in 2010. The Weakend was quite the breath of fresh air in a year filled with stale and predictable hip-hop albums.  While it definitely has a throwback sensibility in the fact that it sounds like the love child of Slum Village’s underground classic Fantastic Volume 2 and Outkast’s Aquemini. However it sounds like the album that child would’ve recorded after reaching the age of 25.

Dope beats and rhymes that don’t insult our intelligence… That’s all I ask for from hip-hop, and The Weakend definitely delivered.

9. The Foreign Exchange Authenticity

With his hip-hop group Little Brother officially dead in the water, Phonte turned his full attention to his Foreign Exchange project with producer Nicolay.  Their third album together, Authenticity, moves even further away stylistcally from their 2003 debut, Connected.

Delving into more of an adult-contemporary sound, without entering cheeseball territory (hello Kem!), Authenticity continues Phonte’s mission to give a voice to the regular Joe going through the same emotional ups and downs that life hands all of us.

8. Jamie Lidell Compass

Hailing from the UK, Jamie Lidell started out doing heavily experimental electronic music under the name Super Collider.  Over the years, he’s evolved into quite the unexpected soul man, beginning with the release of his 2005 album Multiply.

On Compass, Jamie continues to put his own spin on soul music, channelling Prince on “I Wanna Be Your Telephone,” D’Angelo on “It’s A Kiss,” while “Enough’s Enough” sounds like a song that could’ve fit in the Jackson 5′s repertoire.

Considering the cast of characters enlisted to help out, mostly white indie-rock darlings like Beck and Leslie Feist, the album is one of the most surprising and satisfying listens I had all year.

7. Blue Six Noesis

Jay Denes’ Blue Six project has gone on to define the sound of deep, soulful house music over the last 10 years.  His third project under the name, Noesis, is simply the soundtrack to a fun and sexy night.

The songs are sparse, the guest female vocalists deliver breathy and sensuous performances over the smooth four-on-the-floor beats.

Frankly, the whole thing sounds like sex on a tropical island paradise, and there ain’t nothin wrong with that.

6. Cee Lo Green Stray Bullets

Before releasing his The Lady Killer album in November, Cee Lo Green and DJ Greg Street dropped the Stray Bullets mixtape which featured Cee Lo singing over embellished tracks from the likes of Esthero , the B-52s, and others.

For as much as we have been enjoying The Lady Killer, the Stray Bullets mixtape edges it out due to the versatility on display.  Cee Lo goes from being a lounge singer on “Talking To Strangers” to getting funked up on “Sophisticated B*tch.”

Even if it was just meant as an appetizer The Lady Killer, I got full off of the many tasty morsels included on Stray Bullets.

5. Onra Long Distance

French beatmaker Onra hopped into a time machine with his drum machine and went back to the early 1980s on his 2010 release Long Distance.  The album is solely made up of samples from obscure and not-so-obscure songs from the post-disco era.

The S.O.S. Band’s “High Hopes” gets looped up and updated to amazing results.  Five Star’s “Let Me Be The One” is turned into a Slum Village-esque jam that just so happens to feature SV’s T3 on vocals.

Since most of the tracks are instrumental and barely last for 2 minutes, none of the tracks overstay their welcome, and the guest vocalists never feel like they were just tacked on to add name recognition to the project.

4. N*E*R*D Nothing

Though many casual fans of the Neptunes seem to like each subsequent album from their N*E*R*D project less than the one that preceded it, I, on the other hand think they get better with each record.

What bothered me most about previous N*E*R*D albums were the cringeworthy and juvenile lyrics that would find their way into songs.  While they are still there on Nothing, they are surrounded by what just might be the most sophisticated production ever committed to tape by Pharrell & Chad.

3. Janelle Monae The ArchAndroid

The ArchAndroid was my most anticipated album of the year.  The concept album continues the story of an android named Cindi Mayweather who falls in love with a human that Monae first introduced on her Metropolis EP.

Easily the most ambitious album released all year, Janelle Monae doesn’t let the listener get comfortable as each song seems to be a completely different genre than the one before, or the one that comes after it.

That everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach would ruin most albums, but somehow it manages to work and feel cohesive.

2. The Roots How I Got Over

?uestlove is notoriously anal when it comes to every aspect of putting an album together, and it’s obvious that on How I Got Over, the one detail he probably lost the most sleep over was the album’s sequencing.

Every song is perfectly placed on the album.  The first half being quite a bit introspective and somber, but by the second half, the album’s title begins to make even more sense. The songs begin to take on a hopeful, optimistic, and dare I even say fun tone.

The album does begin to drag towards the end, but I gotta give them props for sampling the auto-tuned crying baby on the album’s closing track, “Hustla.”

1. Erykah Badu New Amerykah Part 2: Return Of The Ankh

Where Badu’s 2008 album New Amerykah Part 1: 4th World War addressed societal issues in a cold, almost robotic manner, the analogue girl in a digital world explores the tried and true topic of human emotion on Return of the Ankh.

The album’s deceptively organic feel made for a moving listen throughout 2010, and I’ll probably still be listening to it throughout the duration of 2011, something I can’t say about most albums released this year.

RELATED: Jerry’s Top 10 Albums Of 2010

RELATED: Shamika’s Top 10 Albums Of 2010

We’re a fairly diverse staff here at TheUrbandaily.com so make sure to look out for Top 10s from Bill Johnson, Shamika Sanders and many of our contributors as well.

If you hear the name Skillz and think “ghostwriter” you have some catching up to do. With his last two albums, especially this years The World Needs More Skillz, the VA vet has quietly debunked the notion that “lyrical” MCs can’t make good albums. One listen to the flirtatious “Call Me Crazy” and you know he’s left the 90s behind. And the euphoric synth of “Going Up” can go toe-to-toe with anything on the radio. But it’s bars like “How could one kid be so nice and keep screamin on niggas like Monique at night” that still make him your favorite rappers favorite rapper. If you’re tired of having to choose between Oxygen network emo rap and mind-numbing misogyny Skillz has come to save the day.

The irony of this album’s title is that it’s the least tape friendly collection of 2010. Skyzoo’s couplets like “the corner said ‘Sky you can’t grow up to settle/it’s like, why win if you can’t show off the medal?’” inspire so much spontaneous rewinding that no TDK would last more than a month. Conceptually the BK MC embodies a variety of blue-collar hustlers from the graffiti artist (“Krylon”) to the gunman (“Now Or Never”) and is convincing in each skin. Sonically !llminds futuristic boom-bap makes the project almost sonically flawless rendering fast-forward obsolete. From the filtered Dilla-esque bassline of “Winner’s Circle” to the figure-four funk of “Barrell Brothers” you’ll be glad  20 D batteries aren’t required to keep it in rotation.

On Airtight’s Revenge Bilal carves out a wonderfully new lane that renders the “neo-soul” tag obsolete while not alienating fans who fell in love with his previous works, First Born Second and the tragically scuttled Love For Sale. The soul emanates from Bilal’s voice and emotion and the music is forced to comply. The binary funk of “Cake & Eat It Too” hints enough at his George Clinton influences while sporting  a surprisingly seductive and melancholy groove. “Restart” and “All Matter” are up-tempo laments of love gone wrong that defy compartmentalization. The gem of the album is the unintentionally hilarious “Flying” that may initiate the campaign for strippers to get worker’s compensation.

By assembling a team of his peers and influences for his Beautiful, Dark Twisted Fantasy Kanye West has achieved the logical next step in his evolution as an artist. Anyone who listened to Graduation and 808′s and Heartbreak should not be surprised at this ambitious mix of soul, rock and classical sounds. Where West wins is that he takes us to the brink of the event horizon without losing us in a black hole.  While the project is sonically in the upper atmosphere (“Power, ” All Of The Lights”) the themes of power”(Monster”), lust (“Hell Of a Life”) and love (“Blame Game”) are executed for the surface dwellers making it a a compelling and accessible rock opera. From the start of his career Kanye has been pining for recognition, but with thought-provoking output like “Gorgeous” he may finally be confident enough to let the music speak for itself.

There is a different album for every mood and Aubrey Graham gave the ladies their Friday night album of 2010 with Thank Me Later. From “Fancy”  to “Show Me A Good Time” Drake provided the soundtrack for party prep, but he won big by actually speaking to the ladies, not at them.  Tracks like “Karaoke” and “Unforgettable” showed a vulnerability that women haven’t seen in a rapper since…nobody? and they rewarded him with a Platinum debut. So why do I like it? I like girls. And Like Katt Williams said, sometimes you  have to keep some Alize in the fridge or the silk pillow case stashed for “company.”  Plus his producer’s  40 and Boi-1Da are beasts.

In 2010 it’s becoming standard practice for rappers to perform with a band or live instruments so it’s only right that the best hip-hop band  ever  drops arguably their best album. How I Got Over benefits from the road-tested crew actually having to rehearse for their gig at Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and the result is a cohesive and musically balanced project that sacrifices none of what we’ve come to love from The Roots. The introspective “The Day” and “Walk Alone” are musically and lyrically superior and offer evidence that hip-hop can evolve without completely abandoning its…well…roots.

Ras Kass’s A.D.I.D.AS. (All Day I Dream About Spittin) is the album the Illuminati doesn’t want you to hear.  The double CD is 26 tracks of middle-finger to the rap industry from one of the best pure lyricists alive. If you’re judged by the company you keep Skillz, Royce Da’ 5’9, Kurupt, Canibus, Strong Arm Steady, and Xzibit are just a few of the guests he invites to stomp on your dreams of being an MC.  With a sound that goes from  bi-coastal boom-bap (“Life’s A Bitch”)  to Michael Jackson Samples (“He Say, She Say”) Razzy covers all the bases but the flurry of punchlines will keep you reeling for days “I even sleep in a circle/ I’m the nicest around…”

If there was a hip-hop dictionary, right under “guilty pleasure” would be Rick Ross’s bearded mug.  I’m the first to admit that half of what Rozay raps about doesn’t really jibe with me but the man knows how to make a catchy song. Clearly he has a bright future as an A&R recruiting producers J.U.S.T.I.CE. League, Lex Luger and veterans like DJ Clark Kent and NO ID to make Teflon Don one of the most listenable albums of the year.  Ricky isn’t that bad with the wordplay either  but when he needs someone to help move the song along he doesn’t skimp. Jay-Z, Cee-Lo, Kanye West, T.I., Jadakiss, Drake, Ne-Yo, Erykah Badu and Chrisette Michele is the strongest supporting cast you can get and they all sound great on this album. Not to mention he made MC Hammer cool again (at least until he put out that lame diss record).

Cee-Lo Green finally did it. Ever since the days we heard him singing on songs with Goodie Mob and Common we figured he was going to give us one hell of an R&B album on day. While he did provide some good collections of him singing like Perfect Imperfections and his two as Gnarles Barkley they were a bit too out there for some folks. But on the Lady Killer he finally delivers with that yester-year soul tailor made for his voice. The viral sensation “F*ck You”  “Bright Lights, Bigger City”  and “Fool For You” make it impossible to sit still but when he slows things down  like on “Bodies” you can just draw the chalk outline around the evidence and die the little death.

Erykah Badu is out of this world. Her fusion of hip-hop, jazz and alien secretion made Return Of The Ankh her best album since Mama’s Gun. But make no mistake, this is not the same old Badu.  She used conventional means to make an unconventional album. The rules are broken left and right, from 1:05 long comedic interludes about “fuckin your friend” to the 10:22 long thesis on love “Out Of My Mind Just In Time,”  that says more about the complicated state of relationships than some entire albums.  Badu continues to defy expectations and breaking out of any box you try to paint her into one naked verse at a time.

RELATED POSTS:

Prison Break: Hip-Hop Behind Bars In 2010

Top 10 Award Show Moments Of 2010 [VIDEO]

Best & Worst of 2010

This time, The Pied Piper brought out two of his biggest hits from the last ten years, the remixes to “Ignition” and “Step In The Name Of Love,” and performed them with The Roots on back up duties.

Now we’ve never doubted that R. Kelly was a talented guy, it’s just that some of us felt that he wasted his talent on some pretty low-brow songs. We’re all very glad we watched this performance though because it reinforced a few things that we may have forgotten amongst all the scandals and episodes of Trapped In The Closet: 1) R. Kelly sure knows how to write a catchy song.  2) R. Kelly can SAING when he wants to. (Check out the impressively restrained and tasteful vocal run he does at 3:50! Take notes Beyoncé!) and 3) We forgot to dig up our Loveland bootleg last night.

Source – Mr. World Premiere

RELATED: R. Kelly Sings His Heart Out On “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” [VIDEO]

RELATED: R. Kelly “Love Letter” [AUDIO]

Hip-hop artists have an unprecedented presence in all of the major categories this year with four of the five “Record Of The Year” nominations going to B.O.B, Eminem, Cee Lo Green, and Jay-Z.

Eminem leads all other nominees with 10 nominations.  Jay-Z and the  Roots received 6 nominations. John Legend received 5. B.O.B. and Cee Lo Green both received 4 nominations.

Check out the list of nominees (that we care about) below! Who we want to win the award is in italics. Who we think will actually win is in bold.

Record Of The Year
B.O.B. feat. Bruno Mars “Nothin On’ You”
Eminem feat. Rihanna “Love The Way You Lie”
Cee Lo Green “F*** You”
Jay-Z & Alicia Keys “Empire State Of Mind”
Lady Antebellum “Need You Now”

Album Of The Year
Arcade Fire “The Suburbs”
Eminem “Recovery”
Lady Antebellum “Need You Now”
Lady Gaga “The Fame Monster”
Katy Perry “Teenage Dream”

Song Of The Year
(Awarded to the songwriter, listed in parenthesis)
Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs “Beg Steal Or Borrow” (Ray LaMontagne)
Cee Lo Green “F*** You” (Cee Lo Green, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars)
Miranda Lambert “The House That Built Me” (Tom Douglas & Allen Shamblin)
Eminem & Rihanna “Love The Way You Lie” (Alexander Grant, Holly Hafferman, Marshall Mathers)
Lady Antebellum “Need You Now” (Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott)

Best New Artist
Justin Bieber
Drake
Florence & The Machine
Mumford & Sons
Esperanza Spalding

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Sara Bareilles “King Of Anything”
Beyonce “Halo (Live)”
Norah Jones “Chasing Pirates”
Lady Gaga “Bad Romance”
Katy Perry “Teenage Dream”

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
Michael Bublé “Haven’t Met You Yet”
Michael Jackson “This Is It”
Adam Lambert “Whataya Want From Me”
Bruno Mars “Just The Way You Are”
John Mayer “Half Of My Heart”

Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
Glee Cast “Don’t Stop Believin’ (Regionals Version)
Maroon 5 “Misery”
Paramore “The Only Exception”
Sade “Babyfather”
Train “Hey, Soul Sister (Live)”

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
B.O.B., Eminem, Hayley WIlliams “Airplanes Pt II”
Herbie Hancock, Pink, India.Arie, Seal, Konono No 1, Jeff Beck & Oumou Sangare “Imagine”
Elton John & Leon Russell “If It Wasn’t For Bad”
Lady Gaga & Beyoncé “Telephone”
Katy Perry & Snoop Dogg “California Gurls”

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
Faitih Evans “Gone Already”
Fantasia “Bittersweet”
Monica “Everything To Me”
Kelly Price “Tired”
Jazmine Sullivan “Holding You Down (Going In Circles)

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
El DeBarge “Second Chance”
Jaheim “Finding My Way Back”
Kem “Why Would You Stay
Kirk Whalum feat. Musiq Soulchild “We’re Still Friends”
Usher “There Goes My Baby”

Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
Chuck Brown, Jill Scott & Marcus MIller “Love”
Chris Brown & Tank “Take My Time”
Ronald Isley & Aretha Franklin “You’ve Got A Friend”
John Legend & The Roots “Shine”
Sade “Soldier Of Love”

Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance
R. Kelly “When A Woman Loves”
John Legend & The Roots “Hang On In There”
Calvin Richardson “You’re So Amazing”
Ryan Shaw “In Between”
Betty Wright “Go (Live)”

Best Urban/Alternative Performance
Bilal “Little One”
Cee Lo Green “F*** You”
Carolyn Malachi “Orion”
Janelle Monae & Big Boi “Tightrope”
Eric Roberson “Still”

Best R&B Song
(Awarded to the songwriter, listed in parenthesis)
Fantasia “Bittersweet” (Charles Harmon & Claude Kelly)
Jaheim “Finding My Way Back” (Ivan Barias, Curt Chambers, Carvin Haggins, Jaheim Hoagland, Miguel Jontel)
El DeBarge “Second Chance” (E. Debarge & Mischke)
John Legend & The Roots “Shine” (John Stephens)
Kem “Why Would You Stay” (K. Owens)

Best R&B Album
Raheem DeVaughn “The Love & War Masterpeacce”
Fantasia “Back To Me”
Jaheim “Another Round”
John Legend & The Roots “Wake Up!”
Monica “Still Standing”

Best Contemporary R&B Album
Chris Brown “Graffiti”
R. Kelly “Untitled”
Ryan Leslie “Transition”
Janelle Monae  “The ArchAndroid”
Usher “Raymond V Raymond”

Best Rap Solo Performance
Drake “Over”
Eminem “Not Afraid”
Ludacris “How Low”
T.I. “I’m Back”
Kanye West “Power”

Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group
Big Boi & Cutti “Shutterbugg”
Drake, T.I. & Swizz Beatz “Fancy”
Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz “On To The Next One”
Ludacris & Nicki Minaj “My Chick Bad”
Young Jeezy & Plies “Lose My Mind”

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
B.O.B & Bruno Mars “Nothin On You”
Chris Brown, Tyga & Kevin McCall “Deuces”
Eminem & Rihanna “Love The Way You Lie”
Jay-Z & Alicia Keys “Empire State Of Mind”
John Legend, The Roots, Melanie Fiona, Common “Wake Up Everybody”

Best Rap Song
(Awarded to the songwriter, listed in parenthesis)
Jay-Z & Alicia Keys “Empire State Of Mind” (Shawn Carter, Angela Hunte, Burt Keyes, Alicia Keys, Jane’t “Jnay” Sewell-Ulepic
& Alexander Shuckburgh, Sylvia Robinson)
Eminem & Rihanna “Love The Way You Lie” (Alexander Grant, Holly Hafferman & Marshall Mathers)
Eminem “Not Afraid” (M. Burnett, J. Evans, Marshall Mathers, L. Resto & M. Samuels)
B.O.B. & Bruno Mars “Nothin’ On You” (Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Bruno Mars & Bobby Simmons Jr)
Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz “On To The Next One” (Shawn Carter, J. Chaton & K. Dean, G. Auge, X. De Rosnay)

Best Rap Album
B.O.B. “The Adventures Of Bobby Ray”
Drake “Thank Me Later”
Eminem “Recovery”
Jay-Z “The Blueprint 3″
The Roots “How I Got Over”

Best Short Form Music Video
Johnny Cash “Ain’t No Grave / The Johnny Cash Project”
Eminem & Rihanna “Love The Way You Lie”
Gorillaz, Mos Def & Bobby Womack “Stylo”
Cee Lo Green “F*** You”
Lady Gaga “Bad Romance”

Read the full list of nominees at Grammy.com!

Who do you think will win?  Let us know in the comments!

RELATED: 2010 Soul Train Awards Performances [VIDEO]

RELATED: Dr. Dre & Eminem “I Need A Doctor” [AUDIO]

Each week, ?uestlove takes funny video clips found on the internet or on television and puts them to a beat.

And we’ll be damned if the results aren’t always pretty funky and catchy.

This week, ?uesto takes a crack at George W. Bush’s interview on the Today show, a weatherman being “attacked” by a cockroach, an overly enthusiastic contestant on “Family Feud,” and a reporter who makes a rather interesting mistake in identifying President Barack Obama’s parents.

RELATED: ?uestlove Remixes Jimmy “Rent Is Too Damn High” McMillan [VIDEO]

RELATED: Jimmy Fallon & Justin Timberlake Perform Hip-Hop’s Greatest Hits [VIDEO]

Soulja Boy Talks Lupe Diss, [from TheBoxHouston.com]

This year’s line up is a bit more diverse than in previous years and includes Jimmy Fallon & The Roots, Gladys Knight, Jessica Simpson, Arlo Guthrie, Victoria Justice, Juanes, and Big Time Rush.

An NBC spokesperson said that the diversity in the show’s line-up was intentional to better mirror the estimated 53.5 million people that will see the parade in person or on NBC’s live broadcast of it.

The spokesperson went on to say that parade coordinators are ensuring that each act’s performance is “family-friendly.”

We’re hoping that Michael Jackson float from the Runaway film is incorporated somehow.

Source: MTV.com

On this week’s installment of the series, ?uesto tackles candidate for New York governor, Jimmy McMillan of the “Rent Is Too Damn High” party and turns the song into a house music anthem about a party where there’s too much weed smoking going on.

Check out the master at work!

Part 1: Jimmy introduces the clips.

Part 2: ?uesto remixes the clips.

RELATED: Jimmy “Rent Is Too Damn High” McMillan Is Now A Doll

RELATED: Jimmy “Rent Is Too Damn High!” McMillan Spoofed On SNL [VIDEO]

It all started with a simple question from Jimmy about whether or not Justin grew up listening to hip-hop and ended with an impressive trip through the history of hip-hop as performed by the duo.

Watch as Jimmy & Justin tackle everything from Sugarhill Gang’s “Rappers Delight” to A Tribe Called Quest’s “Award Tour” to Soulja Boy’s “Crank Dat” to Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind.”

Source: www.mrworldpremiere.net

RELATED: Comedian Craig Robinson Used To Teach Kindergarten??

RELATED: Battle Of The Drummers: ?uestlove Vs Justin Bieber???