Tribute: The late Clarence Avant’s Tabu Records was a cornerstone of my youth; here are Tabu’s 30 greatest jams!
(August 21, 2023). Clarence Avant, the beloved music entrepreneur who started several record labels and was known by some in the industry as “The Black Godfather,” died August 13 in…
#HipHop50: The first 50 rap songs to reach the Billboard Hot 100…a humble beginning for music’s most boastful genre
(August 18, 2023). It took a whole decade to get there, but hip-hop achieved its 50th Hot 100 entry in September 1989, nearly ten years after its first in November…
#HipHop50: The records that started hip-hop were NOT ‘Rapper’s Delight’ or ‘King Tim III’; they weren’t even rap…check ‘em out
(August 17, 2023). While many people credit Sugar Hill Gang’s groundbreaking 1979 smash “Rapper’s Delight” with being the song that changed the game for rap music and, by extension, hip-hop,…
Today is Hip-Hop’s 50th birthday…or is it? Facts disputing when the genre was actually “born”
(August 11, 2023). Today (finally) marks the long-awaited 50th birthday of Hip-Hop. Nearly eight months of celebration, including trade publication feature stories, awards show extravaganzas, curated playlists, commentary from the…
The Chair’s greatest ‘hits’: a musical answer to the latest Internet sensation…or songs about chairs!
(August 10, 2023). In light of all the memes, pictures and posts of folding chairs spreading throughout social media these days, I thought it might surprise folks just how many…