Busted Headphones

By Quentin B. Huff

The Messengers

[12.Oct.09] :. K'naan's The Messengers series is a trilogy of episodes designed to highlight the genius of Nigeria's Fela Kuti, Jamaica's Bob Marley, and the United States' Bob Dylan.
 

Hip-Hop Marketing in the Digital Era

[21.Aug.09] :. In the Digital Age, music and information sit at our fingertips. How do rappers use tools, new and old, to distinguish themselves from the competition?
 

It Ain’t Hard to Tell: The Legacy of ‘Illmatic’

[20.Jul.09] :. The "half-man, half-amazin'", Nas' persona is part myth and part "everyday kid" from the Queensbridge projects.
 

Prince’s Paisley Pals

[9.Jun.09] :. Minneapolis, Minnesota was the center of Prince's musical kingdom, but there were a lot of musicians associated with his purple music. Here's a short list, with a few ground rules.
 

Janet Jackson: Regain Control

[11.May.09] :. With the musical world filled with young "divas", there's little room for Miss Janet, an innovator who popularized the Sexy Diva With Choreography paradigm in the first place.
 

T.I.‘s Winding Road to Redemption

[13.Apr.09] :. The road to Grammy-winning rap star Clifford "T.I." Harris, Jr.'s positive outcome may be paved with good intentions, but self-interest fuels the journey.
 

Hip-Hop Hooray: Tributes in Rhyme

[13.Mar.09] :. Forget the beef, let's talk about honoring our hip-hop icons. Perhaps the best way to pay homage to hip-hoppers is to let them speak in their own words.
 

Biggie Gives Us One More Chance

[16.Feb.09] :. Biggie Smalls' mythology hasn't afforded him a dreamy endgame à la Tupac or Elvis. Nobody imagines Biggie pulling the ultimate Machiavellian coup by making the world believe he's dead while he's secretly chillin' in Jamaica.
 

Seven Ways to Detox

[19.Jan.09] :. It's 2009, and that means it has now been a full decade since Dr. Dre's last official release. Here are some suggestions for survival while you continue to await his long-gestating follow-up, Detox.
 

We Don’t Die, We Multiply: Posse Tracks

[5.Jan.09] :. Having more than one rapper on the scene enhances and galvanizes a song, as the central theme is strengthened with each successive verse. As the saying goes, there's strength in numbers.
 

Hip-Haute Couture

[18.Nov.08] :. Although "hip-hop" means different things to different people, everyone seems to be confident that they know what "it" is. Through this subjective lens, there is also a unique brand of investment and ownership in the meaning of "hip-hop".
 

Songs in the Key of Rap

[23.Oct.08] :. The relationship between singing and rapping has had a transforming effect on hip-hoppers and singers alike.
 

We Don’t Die, We Multiply: Heartbeat Props

[29.Sep.08] :. The Digital Underground party has apparently come to an end. If so, we must acknowledge the group for more reasons than popularizing "The Humpty Dance".
 

We Don’t Die, We Multiply: Hip-Hop Groups

[20.Aug.08] :. Group identification creates interesting scenarios within hip-hop culture, from the formation and maintenance of group identity to the difficulties of promoting the lyrical skills of a group's various members.
 

Truth in Humor

[11.Jul.08] :. The second season of The Boondocks tackles issues that are important to the hip-hop community with contributions from numerous hip-hop artists. Boondocks Response Syndrome explains why we react to this series the way we do.
 

Daytime TV Goes Gangsta with Snoop Dogg

[26.Jun.08] :. Hip-hop's top dog touches down in soap opera territory for two days of music and melodrama.
 

Mama Said Knock You Out: Hip-Hop & the Family Unit

[16.May.08] :. There are four hip-hop rules for families. One: Fathers, take care of your children and their mothers. Two: Don't talk about other people's mamas. Three: Be good to your own mother. Four: Repeat as necessary.
 

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: Hip-Hop’s Fight Against Time

[11.Apr.08] :. Hip-hop fights haters, record labels, rival emcees, and even the law. Time, however, has proven to be a formidable opponent.
 

The Ballot or the Beef

[14.Mar.08] :. It's possible that hip-hop and the US government have been engaged in the longest running beef of all, from the infamous FBI letter sent to NWA in 1998 to the Congressional Hearings in 2007 seeking to investigate hip-hop lyrics.
 

El Che & the Thriller

[15.Feb.08] :. Rhymefest's mixtape tribute continues hip-hop's longstanding affection for the Jacksons.
 

101 Hip-Hop Albums of 2007

[16.Jan.08] :. A hundred and one reasons why hip-hop is not dead, say these three opinionators.
 

For the Love of the Art

[4.Jan.08] :. How cool is it to go to the "Self Help" section of a bookstore and get a book with life lessons from N.W.A., Little Brother, and Ghostface Killah?
 

Yo! Your TV Raps: Hip-Hop on US Television

[9.Nov.07] :. Hip-hop's TV exposure has been strong, giving us a mixture of critique, celebrity, and celebration. Who, in the '80s, would've guessed that hip-hop would have such cultural presence?
 

A Righteous Boy’s Hip-Hop Journey Through Babeland

[26.Oct.07] :. Songs, more songs -- the prolific singer-songwriter and musician Ani Difranco keeps coming up with them. Here's some help for finding the best of Difranco, especially if you also like De La Soul.
 

From Boogie Down to Tinseltown

[10.Sep.07] :. Rappers in showbiz: Did hip-hop land on Hollywood or did Hollywood land on us? For those in 'the land', some of the 4,079 hip-hop laws of crossing-over.
 

Hip-Hop at the Crossroad: Time, Testimony, & Identity

[22.Jun.07] :. In the '90s, X-Clan took us "to the east". This year, the group returns from Mecca in "vanglorious" fashion.
 

P.M. Mixtape, Vol. Two: Love and Trouble

[9.May.07] :. Since relationships are tough, we need all the help we can get. Sometimes the best advice comes from listening to the right song.
 

P.M. Mixtape, Vol. One

[20.Mar.07] :. Maybe the sun has set on the days of the cassette tape, a format that made you work for your music. Huff, feeling nostalgic for the "fast forward" and "rewind" buttons, makes his own theoretical cassette mix of oddball hip-hop tunes.
 

The Purple Experience: Your PopMatters Primer on Prince’s Pop Life

[5.Feb.07] :. So many Prince albums, but where do you start? Here's a funky little list designed to aid your quest.
 

Word Problems: The Snitch’s Dilemma

[5.Jan.07] :. What if you and your friend were arrested and you were offered leniency in exchange for information about your friend or "the streets"? The hip-hop community believes the very existence of the deal begs us to reconsider our concepts of loyalty and law enforcement.
 

Please Call It a Comeback

[5.Nov.06] :. That scene in Superman III, with the boy yelling words of encouragement to the struggling protagonist? That's how I feel when I think of Lauryn Hill.
 

Unsung Heroes: The Band of Extraordinary Women

[2.Oct.06] :. Huff fantasizes about wielding Diddy-like power to create a supergroup of underrated, under-the-radar female musicians. Danity Kane, eat your heart out.