Soul Hop Essentials

                                                 

Digital not your thing?

For DJs, wax enthusiasts, vinyl collectors, and music connoisseurs, Soul Hop Essentials, Vol. One is being made available as a limited edition vinyl release from QRATES.

Eminem vs. Agent Orange: A True American Horror Story By Shelah Moody

Eminem vs. Agent Orange: A True American Horror Story
By Shelah Moody
Call it the Trumpapocalypse.
From August 25 to September 3, Hurricane Harvey ripped through Texas, Louisiana, Belize, Nicaragua, and Honduras, causing 77 deaths and leaving thousands displaced in its wake.
September 16 to October 3-Hurricane Maria became known as the worst natural disaster on record in Dominica, causing catastrophic damage and a major humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico; estimated death toll:  90.
On the night of October 1, a lone gunman opened fire from his Mandalay Bay hotel room after knocking out the windows and rained down a hail of bullets on revelers  at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas strip, leaving 58 people dead and 489 injured.
        Last week, a series of wildfires burning across the northern California, raging throughout Napa, Lake, Sonoma, Mendocino, Butte and Solano counties, destroyed homes and property and killed 32 people; hundreds are reported missing. 
Welcome to the terrordome!
With such violent endings and beginnings of summer and fall, it seems like America barely had time to recover from one large-scale tragedy when another struck. It is safe to say that we all suffered from PTSD in one form or another since Donald Trump was elected U.S. president number 45 almost a year ago.
Enough is enough, said Marshall Mathers, a.k.a., Eminem, a white rapper from Detroit. On Oct. 11, the Grammy-winning hip hop artist unleashed his fury on the right wing Donald Trump administration via a cypher which made its televised debut at the 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards. https://www.bet.com/video/hiphopawards/2017/cyphers/eminem-vs-Donald-Trump-hha17.html.
“It’s the calm before the storm right here,” Eminem freestyles, while strolling through an underground parking garage as a group of young black men look on. “Wait, how was I gonna start this off? I forgot. Oh yeah. That’s an awfully hot coffee pot, should I drop it on Donald Trump? Probably not, but that’s all I got, ‘til I come up with a solid (expletive).”
Dressed in a basic black hoodie and gold chain, Eminem takes a few steps and a deep breath and then delivers the second blow.
“I got a plan and now I gotta hatch it like a damn Apache with a tomahawk, Ima walk inside a mosque on Ramadan and say a prayer that every time that (expletive) talks, aggh! !! Ima stop. But we better give Obama props cause what we got in office now’s a kamikaze that will probably cause a nuclear holocaust and while the drama pops and he waits for shit to quiet down, he’ll just gas his plane up and fly around till the bombing stops...”
Eminem, who achieved mainstream popularity via the Dr. Dre and Aftermath Entertainment produced “Slim Shady” LP in 1999, is no stranger to controversy. Several years back, he came under fire for perceived homophobic and misogynistic lyrics and redeemed himself via duet with Elton John on the televised 43rd annual Grammy Awards ceremony at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.  Currently, Eminem is rumored to have a host of Trump supporters as fans, but he and his alter ego, Slim Shady, left no strings untied during his rant and made it clear who’s side they are on.
“The fact we’re not afraid of Trump, F— walkin’ on eggshells, I came to stomp, That’s why he keeps screamin’ ‘Drain the swamp’, ‘Cause he’s in quicksand, It’s like we take a step forward, then backwards, But this is his form of distraction, plus, he gets an enormous reaction when he attacks the NFL so we focus on that instead of talking Puerto Rico or gun reform for Nevada; All these horrible tragedies and he’s bored and would rather cause a Twitter storm with the Packers; then says he wants to lower our taxes; Then who’s gonna pay for his extravagant trips back and forth with his fam to his golf resorts and his mansions? Same s— that he tormented Hillary for and he slandered, then does it more from his endorsement of Bannon, Support for the Klansmen….”
Following the BET HIP Hop Awards, the Eminem anti-Trump cypher became the number one trending video on YouTube was the subject of more than two million tweets; it was also the subject of morning talk shows on CNN, ABC and other major networks. Eminem’s contemporaries tweeted their reactions, the most vivid coming from Snoop Dogg via video: “Detroit! Stand up!  Eminem! Real Muthaf_____ nigga!”
Whether you love it or you hate it, in this writer’s opinion, Eminem should be commended because at least he took a stand. Whether you thought his verse was dope or whack, at least he said something. At press time, Trump, aka Agent Orange, has not responded on his favorite platform, the Twittosphere.
Eminem is not the only pop culture artist taking shots at the Trump administration.  Season 7 of Ryan Murphy’s “American Horror Story: Cult” (my fav. guilty pleasure) http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/american-horror-storycenters around how fear mongering and mayhem have gripped a small midwestern town, similar to the one the rapper grew up in, following the November, 2016 election.
Listen to Eminem on Big Hop Radio! www.streetwisesd.com/radio

NEW MUSIC - AFROBEAT - "Wuk up my Body" DJ Rocky feat CK,Sheeba, Bucho DEGO

                                          NOW PLAYING ON THE BIG HOP

The sexy songbird CK gets ready for Summer 2017 as she fuses her African and Jamaican culture and teams up with some of Africa's finest on this uptempo production "Wuk Up My Body" s produced by Ugandan Elites Kron and DJ Rocky.

This hit also features one of East Africa's Rising stars, Female Singjay,Sheeba, Nigerian sensation ,Bucho DeGo.

Rootwords

                                                                             
                                                                         

ROOTWORDS BIOGRAPHY

“What's your name again?” Chuck D.

Described as "Hip Hop Elegante" by the program director of Peru's largest music festival, the artist ROOTWORDS has earned a reputation for performing a repertoire of high stature, with an absolute commitment to communicating the essence of music at it's most organic level.

“Bonobo likes the track.” Manager 

The epitome of a "world citizen" (born in the USA of Zambian heritage and raised in Switzerland), ROOTWORDS began rhyming at the age of 16. He studied international relations and law, only to drop out in a radical rebellion against the system, with the intent of focusing on music. Ever since that drastic decision of 2007, having gathered a fair amount of underground experience in the music scene, ROOTWORDS released his frst solo album The Rush in 2014.

“It sounds like real Hip Hop.” The Procussions 

Since winning the renowned M4 Music “Urban Award”, as well as multiple other accolades, the lyricist has become a favourite of Swiss music lovers and more - having graced the stages of many regional and international festivals with his live band The Block Notes; including Paleo Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Rototom Sunsplash, Reggae Sun Ska, and Selvamonos Festival.

“Never stop rhyming.” Common 

His Wu-Tang style British Clarks, reminiscent of the years he lived in the once ghetto but now trendy Hackney East London, have travelled with him from Beijing to New York, Berlin to Adelaide, Lima to Paris; all of which are places where he has performed and shared his music.

“A great groove with an important message.” Phil Collins LVO

In autumn 2016, in an effort to support UNHCR in response to the refugee crisis, ROOTWORDS teamed up with jazz composer John Aram and virtuoso Jacob Collier for a humanitarian collaboration with the intention of raising money and awareness to the cause, while sharing a message of hope through the music. Otherwise when in his hometown, ROOTWORDS can be found teaching the basics of Hip Hop to the youth of today in his workshop, or hosting jam sessions.

 “Come kick a freestyle on stage with me.” Jay Electronica 

In the continuation of pursing his passion, fulflling his life ambitions, and living his dream, ROOTWORDS is on the brink of releasing his second opus in 2017, which is guaranteed to further plunge his auditors and supporters deeper into his evolving universe of inspiration.

"Now playing on Streetwise Radio a song that really caught my attention with strong words and killer beat". Michael K. Ealey Program Director 

ROOTWORDS
 Layer Cake feat. Dubmatix 

Corruption is everywhere. Have a look around. Where can you not see any corruption? Nothing is pure anymore, not even the air. We are constantly being forced to choose the lesser of two evils, and some of us don't even question our choices. We are a lazy generation, and machines do the majority of the work for us. We no longer depend on the natural cycle of the seasons for our needs, instead we violate the cycle of life by requesting what we want whenever we want. The world is off balance, and we continue to push the tilt.  The root of the problem is at the top of the pyramid. That is where the corruption is most rampant. The decisions and delinquency of those at the top trickles down and effects those at the bottom - who get hit the hardest. This is the layer cake.  Inspired by a fantastic digital new age riddim by Dubmatix, I wrote this song to remind people of where they are, what they are doing; and especially to ask themselves if they are aware of what is going on. The devil you know is better than the devil you don't, so please just open up your eyes!