Rakim Explains How To Maintain Longevity In The Game

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The Roots' Black Thought also explains how the God MC changed the rap game for other spitters.

Rakim recently celebrated the 25^th anniversary of his 1987 classic Paid in Full with Eric B. by performing the album in its entirety alongside The Roots and J. Period. Speaking with MTV News, the God MC explained that it’s a “blessing” to have had such longevity in the game.

“It's a blessing to be in the game this long and to have your work recognized after 25 years,” he said. “It's a big thing. The MC's lifespan in the game is maybe seven years, 10 years, 12 years, so to be around and to get respect at this point is a blessing."

The Roots’ Black Thought echoed his sentiments, bigging up Rakim for paving the way for rappers looking inward.

“Pre-Paid in Full, you didn't hear too many records — there were MCs out there, I used to hear some types with MCs rapping about having knowledge of self and dealing with that type of spirituality — but before Rakim, like, pre-Paid in Full, it wasn't out there like that. It was very much still a rarity,” he said. "I'm not saying lyrics or rap was simple or simplistic before that, but the complexity of it, the musicality of it changed after Rakim came out."

-Steven J. Horowitz

Rakim: My Favorite Verse (Soul Culture TV)

Beat made with nothing but bicycle sounds. CRAZY!!

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Exclusive: Jimmy Henchman Associate Admits to Shooting Tupac; Apologizes To Pac & B.I.G.'s Mothers

(AllHipHop News) A man has admitted to shooting rap star Tupac Shakur in 1994 after allegedly being paid $2,500 dollars by James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond inside Manhattan's Quad Studios in November of 1994.

Dexter Isaac, a former friend of Rosemond, is an inmate currently serving life in prison for murder, robbery and other offenses. 

Isaac came forward Wednesday (June 15th) with the information on the eve of what would be Tupac's 40th birthday. 

He confessed to his involvement in the November 30th, 1994 shooting of Tupac Shakur to AllHipHop.com, after Jimmy Henchman identified him in a statement, relating to Henchman's indictment for dealing numerous kilos of cocaine. 

"I want to apologize to his family [Tupac Shakur] and for the mistake I did for that sucker [Jimmy Henchman]," Dexter Isaac told AllHipHop.com from prison. "I am trying to clean it up to give [Tupac and Biggie's] mothers some closure."

Henchman, who is currently on the run from Federal officials, claimed that Dexter Isaac, along with other incarcerated inmates were cooperating with the government in an investigation of his alleged drug dealing activities. 

"If the government is relying on informants like Winston “Winnie” Harris, a convicted drug dealer and Jamaican deportee, who came to me and motioned via hand signal that he was forced to wear a wire and begged me to skip town or Dexter Isaac who is serving life in prison plus 30 years, then I’m sure I will not be offered a fair trial,"Henchman said in a statement released to AllHipHop.com in May of 2011. 

Dexter Isaac told AllHipHop.com that he decided to confess to the robberies to prove Jimmy Henchman's involvement, in addition to clearing his conscious for the shooting. 

Isaac said he was comfortable going on record relating to the robbery and shooting, since the statute of limitations had expired. Legally, no one can be prosecuted for the assault at this time. 

Isaac was a lifelong friend of Jimmy Henchmen, who helped the former mogul set up his first company, Henchman Entertainment, in 1989. 

Isaac claims he never cooperated with the government in any investigation, and Jimmy Henchman's allegations infuriated him. 

Isaac, who is also from Brooklyn, has long been suspected of being involved in the Quad shooting of Tupac Shakur, along with an associate name Spencer "Scooter" Bowens, who is also serving a life sentence. 

According to the confession below, Dexter Isaac not only knows what happened to Tupac Shakur's jewelry, but he claims he is also in possession of the Hip-Hop star's chain that was taken during the altercation on that infamous night on November 7, 1994. 

The shooting on November 30th, was the start of a deadly feud that resulted in the murders of both Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. 

Their murders have never been solved. 

Isaac was indicted by the government in 1998 and was subsequently sentenced to life in prison for murder, robbery, fraud and witness intimidation charges.

[Editor's Note: His entire admission involving his role in the Tupac Shakur shooting in 1994 is listed below, along with his contact information for verification purposes.]

-By Grandmaster Grouchy Greg and Nolan Strong

8 Minutes with Q-Tip

8 Minutes with Q-Tip from Real Frequency on Vimeo.

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PUSHA T - ALONE IN VEGAS

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How They Came Up: The CyHi Da Prynce Story

It seems like CyHi Da Prynce came out of nowhere in the last couple of years but he has actually been CyHi in the making years before his collaboration with Yelawolf on his ‘I wish’ remix, which followed a co-sign by Kanye West on his blog. Before CyHi gained a major buzz he was signed to Def-Jam through Jazze Pha’s label Sho’nuff Records and then Akon’s record label Konvict Music for 2 years. Perhaps CyHi’s career transformed through luck; or maybe it was it his pure lyricism and originality that allowed him to gain notoriety and prove himself as a powerful MC in the game. You be the judge.

• CyHi Da Prynce was born Cydel Young on September 15, 1984 in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia called Stone Mountain.
• He played football, basketball and track and field growing up.
• He also sung in his school choir, played in a band, and was involved in school plays and dances.
• CyHi’s was raised in a Baptist church and his parents were very strict.
• He was not able to listen to rap music until the age of 12.
• He got kicked out of school for fighting, skipping school, and cussing out teachers.
• Got into rapping through being a good poem writer.
• Says a guy from Philly taught him how to put his poems in song structure and write raps in bars.
• Came up with the name CyHi Da Prynce because him and the Prince of England were born on the same day, same year, and have the same name (since his middle name is Charles), so he took the ‘del’ of his real name and added ‘hi’ from highness.
• His mentor was a DJ named Greg Street who consulted him and introduced him to a lot of people in the industry.
• CyHi was in a group called Hoodlum and signed to Def Jam through Jazze Pha’s label Sho’nuff Records before the group broke up.
• Met Akon in the streets and was signed to Akon’s label Konvict Music for 2 years.
• In 2009 he released his first mixtape named ‘Wat Da Dec Been Missin’ hosted by Greg Street.
• It was his collaboration with Yelawolf & Pill that got CyHi Da Prynce noticed by Kanye West in early 2010.
• In 2010 CyHi released his second mixtape ‘The Prynce of Jacks’ and gained a huge buzz by Kanye posted it up on his site.
• Released his third mixtape in late 2010 called ‘Royal Flush’
• Was featured on Kanye West’s ‘So Appalled’ (My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy) along with Jay-Z, and Pusha T and on ‘Take One for the Team’ (G.O.O.D. Music leak) also featuring Pusha T, Big Sean, and J. Cole.
• Was then featured on Bobby V’s ‘Outfit (Fly on the Wall, 2011) and on Yelawolf’s ‘Gangster of Love’ (Radioactive, 2011).
• He has also been featured on Kanye West’s ‘Christmas in Harlem’ (featuring Cam’ron, Jim Jones, CyHi the Prynce, Pusha T, Teyana Taylor, Big Sean, and Musiq)
• Was featured as one of XXL’s 2011 Freshmen
• CyHi Da Prince is expected to release his album Royal Flush 2 in 2011 and a short film that he is shooting to go along with the album.
• “Stay focused and level headed, and keep pushing. A lot of artists be like, ‘How did you get signed to Kanye?’ They think I’m the new guy. But I’ve been rapping forever and I always stayed prepared for the opportunity. And when it presented itself, I took advantage and ran with it.” -CyHi Da Prynce
  
  
  Post by: Rosie J 

LIVE STREAM: HOT97 SUMMER JAM 2011 (NYC)

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Raekwon Speaks On What Attributes Contribute To Success

The Wu-Tang swordsman also explains what the phrase "word is bond" means to him.

Raekwon recently spoke on what attributes contribute to success, explaining what it takes to achieve your goals. Chopping it up with SHHO, the Wu-Tang member shared that it’s not only about your dedication to your craft, but also the people around you.

LET IT GROW: RAEKWON (PART 1 OF 2) from SHHO on Vimeo.

“Just hard work, man. Like I said, surrounding yourself with a strong faculty of guys. That’s one or two who bring out the best in each one of us,” he said. “Wu-Tang was built like that. We all felt, at the end of the day, that we all had a certain piece of energy that helped what we all was trying to do. And everybody just went at it the best way that they could do it and used they mind. So to me, as long as you’re surrounding yourself with people that’s coming with great ideas and really want to have something to prove and achieve, that’s when you know you’re going in the right direction.”

He also shared that confidence is key when it comes to success. “And to me, confidence always makes anything successful. Confidence. So if I sat here and said to myself this is what I want to do and I know I can do it if I put my mind to it, and then I got my peoples constantly around me adding nothing but positive things and great energy, it’s going to happen,” he continued. “We’re going to go outside and something’s going to guide us in that direction to showing us that what we want to do is going to make it. So it’s always confidence.”

The Chef explained what the phrase “word is bond” means to him. “That’s one of the biggest words to me. Because bond to us is life. when you put your word on something, that’s your bond. It’s like dealing with stocks and bonds, but now it’s verbally. It’s valuable when you say these words right here because your bond to us is your life. You give your life, you give your bond. Your bond is everything that you built and everything that you stand for that you care about.”

ATCQ Official "Beats,Rhymes&Life" Trailer

LLOYD GIVES YOU A TOUR OF MICHAEL JACKSON'S STUDIO

Singer Lloyd takes you on a brief tour of Westlake Recording Studios. Michael Jackson recorded some of his biggest records there. Its cool that there is a skylight in the studio. Also, make sure you support Lloyd's hit single CUPID by downloading it here.

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The Check-In: Rick Ross And Maybach Music Group Reveal The Secret To Their Success

Tags: MTV Shows

JOELL ORTIZ ON HIS LONDON TOUR

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Cool & Dre Team With Interscope To Establish Their Own Label

The production duo's new imprint will be called Epidemic.

Most people believe that the big money in music comes when you step up from being just an artist to also being an executive. Countless rap artists have gone that route, seeing their bank accounts swell when they start seeing returns on their signees’ releases. Now, AllHipHop.com is reporting that Miami-based hitmakers Cool & Dre have reached an agreement on a distribution deal with Interscope to release records from their own Epidemic Music imprint.

The producers already have two acts signed to Epidemic. The first is Don Trip, a rapper from Memphis. The second is K-Rose, an 18 year old R&B singer. Cool and Dre are currently preparing her first album. The duo has also been hard at work on work for other artists. They are scheduled to have beats appear on Rick Ross’ upcoming album, Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV, and Game’s Red Album.

For the full story on Cool & Dre’s new Epidemic Music label check out AllHipHop.com.

Kevin S. Gary

DRAKE TALKS DREAMS MONEY CAN BUY & 8BALL & MJG ON “TAKE CARE”