Category: History

Here’s why the Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito Kickstarter is worthy of your money

STRETCH AND BOB POSTERHip-hop radio icons Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Garcia have launched a Kickstarter campaign for contributions towards the launch of their anticipated documentary film, Stretch & Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives. Its a project worthy of your cash, and here’s why.

Goofy, sometimes ridiculously immature, but always bringing the freshest music from new hip-hop artists, the Stretch & Bobbito show on Columbia University’s WKCR radio station ran for the best part of the 90s.

Much has been made about how the show was influential in helping to launch the careers of many who would go on to be huge, most notably Jay-Z, Nas, Biggie Smalls and the Wu-Tang Clan.

More importantly, at least in our eyes, the show also supported independent and alternative hip-hop artists, championing the likes of Kool Keith when he reinvented himself as Dr. Octagon, and showing much love to groups like Company Flow, Juggaknots, J Treds, Godfather Don and countless more.

Bobbito even founded his own label to release a lot of the underground material that was appearing on the show. The much-missed Fondle’em Records helped to introduce the world to MF Doom, and laid the foundation for labels of a similar vein, including Rawkus, Stones Throw and Def Jux.

It’s therefore no exaggeration to say that Stretch and Bob played perhaps the most important role in creating that classic mid-late 90s indy boom of creativity that many of us are still stuck on today. And that is surely reason enough to throw some money their way.

Donate here, and read more about the documentary here, including upcoming screenings.

The Elephunk in the Room: We need to talk About The Black Eyed Peas

BLACK EYED PEASA couple of weeks ago, The Black Eyed Peas released a new video. The same The Black Eyes Peas that many moons ago was a genuine hip-hop group, before changing beyond all recognition into a pop act that polarized rap fans.

Nothing strange about that so far. But on closer inspection the new song is without Fergie, references and covers many hip-hop classics, and has a throwback video to match. Oh, and it also happens to be awesome. We let it sit there for a while, but we can’t ignore what just happened any longer.

Here’s the dilemma. As fans of what we all like to call ‘real’ hip-hop (however ridiculous that makes us sound), we can’t possibly like a The Black Eyed Peas song, can we? Of course we can. We’ll just take a bit of time to admit it.

Its easy to blame everything on the evil Fergie, but in reality, the driving force behind the move towards pop has been will.i.am, an artist at times so unbelievably pretentious its a wonder he hasn’t yet disappeared up his own back passage.

But the hark back to their hip-hop roots, and even further back to Golden Era rap, is a curious one. Its difficult to tell if this is a new (or old) direction for the group, sans Fergie, although its hard to imagine they’d turn down further mainstream success just to keep it real for a small section of hip-hop heads. It may also just be part of the celebrations for their 20-years-in-the-game anniversary.

Only time will tell. But one thing can’t be denied: Yesterday is a good record, and its ok to admit it.

If you haven’t seen it yet, watch it here.

Madvillain – ‘Untitled’/’Travis 911’

  What appears to be two new Madvillain tracks have surfaced online, and now us and everyone else is losing their shit. No word if this really is the first taste of a new project from MF Doom and Madlib, but here’s to hoping it is. Listen to both tracks on the links below. 

Untitled feat MED

Travis 911