June 21st, 2012 | 12:50 pm by Bené Viera

Slaughterhouse Celebrate The Good Life In “My Life” Video

So, Slaughterhouse’s “My Life” video is awkwardly weird…at first. There, we said it. Yet even with all of its awkwardness it’s lovable. Sure, instead of a six and a half minute video it could have been four. At the start of the video Joell Ortiz is watching Eminem on Rappers Are Richer Than You, a Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous-esque program. Since Eminem doesn’t have a verse on the track we probably could have bypassed the wonky show where Em owns 300 Chrysler 300s, and is chills with T-rex dinosaurs as pets in his mansion. But then we wouldn’t have the classic clip of Em dipping his hands in a white bowl while the narrator says, “By bathing in the tears of other rappers.” That alone is worth the two minute Eminem Show intro. Read more…

June 4th, 2012 | 2:17 pm by Bené Viera

Summer Jam Concert Review: Nas And Lauryn Hill Perform In Lieu Of Nicki Minaj

Nas and Lauryn Hill At Hot 97 Summer Jam

In a chain of events few would have expected, Hot 97 Summer Jam was as much about who was performing as it was about who wasn’t performing. By the time Tyga performed “Faded” and “Rack City” there was a dark cloud looming over the nearly 80,000 attendees, and that cloud had nothing to do with the weather. Tyga’s boss, Lil Wayne, had just abruptly pulled the plug on any of his artists performing, including the show’s headliner–Nicki Minaj.

Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg, known for his loose (opinionated) lips introduced Kendrick Lamar during the pre-show and dropped a bombshell that set the tone for the rest of the night. “I know there are some chicks here waiting to sing “Starships” later. I’m not talking to y’all right now. F*ck that bulls*it,” he said to the crowd. “I’m here to talk about real hip-hop s*it.” The YMCMB president got whiff of the perceived diss and tweeted, “Young Money ain’t doing summer jam.” With that one tweet the boss had spoken. But the show did in fact go on. And in a major way.

Opening acts like Maino, Joe Budden and Joel Ortiz rattled through their old hits to a barely there crowd. That didn’t keep Budden from declaring  he and his crew were the “best rappers in the universe.” People started filling in once Waka Flocka hit the stage with the wild, crazy, party energy he seems to carry with him anywhere he goes. The signature Waka Flocka move–shaking his dreads from side to side–was in full effect during “Bustin At Em,” “It’s A Party,” “Hard In the Paint and “I Don’t Really Care.” “No Hands” served as a segue into Wale’s set as the two shared the stage. J. Cole proved he’s studied in the School of Jay-Z as he was the first to perform with a live band. No entourage needed, he commanded the stage with his mere talent.

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