Tamara McIlwain remembers a time when powerful young female rappers ruled the airwaves with positive messages. It was the late ’80s and early ’90s. The queens were Latifah, MC Lyte, Yo-Yo, and the sassy Salt ‘n Pepa. “Women like that — they had something to say,” says Mcllwain
Beat Generation in the Generation of Beats
Chuck D looked at me quizzically, his furrowed brow barely showing beneath the bill of his black Raiders cap. “Sure,” the rapper said as I handed him a yellowed copy of Allen Ginsberg’s Howl. “I’ll read it. Sounds interesting.”
The Death of Sampling
TweetIn December 1991, Judge Kevin Thomas Duffy ruled that rapper Biz Markie’s song “Alone Again” violated copyright law when it took a digital sample from […]
Hank Shocklee: The Bomb Behind Public Enemy’s Squad
Tweet In 1991, when I interviewed Hank Shocklee — the Bomb Squad production crew member who Chuck D once called the “Phil Spector of […]
The No. 1 human rights issue today is racial justice — as it’s always been
Tweet“Is there a problem, officer?” “Damn straight, it’s called race.” — Mos Def, “Mr. Nigga” I can’t shake my despair over the Trayvon Martin verdict. […]