Mobb Deep's "Hell on Earth" Album Anniversary
Many conversations were had on this topic between myself and others this year. The question is which album and artist suffered most after "Hit Em Up" dropped? My Stance: Nobody took a L bigger than Mobb Deep in all this. Not even Chino XL.
It’s November 19, 1996 and Mobb Deep dropped their third [yes 3rd] album, Hell On Earth, and from a career standpoint that became symbolic to this period of time.
In '96, an album with Method Man, Raekwon, Nas and Havoc’s production on Loud Records would have been deemed an instant classic for anyone; Especially for a group that put out a certified classic the year before. However, an unstoppable force buried this album, and it’s dopeness. That force was the angry wrath of Tupac Shakur.
By November 19th of 1996, All Eyez on Me was given the crown as album of the year in hip-hop. “Hit Em Up” was being mentioned as the greatest diss of all time, and Pac had been dead for 2 months. Outside of Lil Kim's catalog, the Makaveli album was the only album anyone spoke on. Add that to a group that was now known for being added to Pac’s “Fawk You List” and it was anything but easy for the Mobb to keep momentum going.
"L.A, L.A" was a decent set of jabs while everybody was living. It would also go on to be added to the debut album for Capone-N-Noreaga in 1997.
“Drop A Gem on Em”, the Pac Diss was a featured song and rumored to have a video was stifled because of Pac’s death. At that time in hip-hop it wasn’t cool to speak on the dead. Making diss tracks aimed at a person that couldn’t respond wasn’t honorable. Looking back, it appears that neither Loud Records nor Mobb Deep had a promotional plan in place after Pac passed. Sadly they never mended the fence that the biggest rapper in the world tore down prior to his death.
This album is dope! It’s vicious, melodic, even spooky. “Man Down”, “More Trife Life” and “Get Dealt Wit” are bright gems on the track list. Havoc is a much better emcee on this album, yet it’s critical acclaim and gold status by spring of 1997 couldn’t help its placement in hip-hop memories. This is also one of the first releases to have the “Enhanced CD” that you had to “Put into your CD ROM” to get the “bonus content”. Havoc sampled Tony’s Theme from Scarface on the album. He might have been the first to do that.
Much like the young people understand today, It’s hard to get positive, progressive press when the number 1 rapper in the game doesn’t like you. What Mobb Deep understands better than anybody is how to try to drop an album after that rapper dies.
Media and Music moved a lot slower in 96 and I think Mobb Deep got it worse than Biggie, Junior Mafia, Jay and Nas. Unfortunately in 1996, The people remember:
Oh yeah, Mobb Deep: you wanna f**k with us?
You little young-a$$ motherfu**ers
Don’t one of you ni**as got sickle-cell or something?
You’re fu**ing with me, ni**a
You f**k around and catch a seizure or a heart attack
You better back the f**k up
Before you get smacked the f**k up
and hardly anyone remembers
Havoc
You yell my name, that’s only giving me props
Plus the fans that you got wondering what’s got you hot
It’s too not, knocked out the box and got rocked
Got raped on the Island, you officially got
Kick that thug s**t, Vibe magazine on some love s**t
Keep it real kid, cause you don’t know who you fu**ing withAnd Prodigy with his “Dry Snitch-esque” Bars like.
My rebellion, retaliate, I had the whole New York state
Aiming at your face at the gate
Bottom line off top soon as you came through
Shots flew, don’t even know the half of my crew
I got a hundred strong arm ni**as ready to rock your s**t
Clocks tick, your days are numbered in low digitsand
When you see my clique you need to run behind shit
You got a gat you better find it
And use that s**t, think fast and get reminded
Of robberies in Manhattan, you know what happened
60 G’s worth of gun clapping
Who shot ya? You probably screamed louder than an opera
New York got ya, now you wanna use my mob as a crutch
What you think you can’t get bucked again?
Once again
Pac dying was the “East Coast vs West Coast Beef” going too far and unfortunately Mobb Deep dropping in November after his demise and after the Makaveli album didn’t help their cause on either end. Although the summer of '96 was huge, I truly want to know if Mobb Deep tried to push this album up.
Respect to both Mobb Deep and Hell On Earth. A dope body of work that dropped too late. Click here for more Mobb content on Ruby Hornet.
Vic Mensa performs private show for Summer of Collaboration
Summer of Collaboration presented by AT&T partnered with Vic Mensa for a private show at Chicago's AT&T Michigan Ave store with street photographer Vivian Maier’s.
Maier was street photography’s best kept secret. Maier worked as a nanny in the Chicago suburb North Shore in the late 1990’s. That's where while working she took what would become some of the best street photography.
Maier’s work almost never saw the light of day if it wasn’t for Chicago artist John Maloof. Maloof purchased Maier’s extensive work at an auction. He found an extensive amount of film, negatives, and prints of hundred rolls of film, home movies, and audio tape interviews that all belonged to Maier.
Maloof hosted a presentation going over Maier’s mysterious life and talking about her work and the impact surrounding it. Described as a Mary Poppin’s type, this introverted photographer opened her subjects up in the most beautiful way.
Chicago rapper Vic Mensa when up on stage admired Maloof’s courage and passion for being bold and fearless. Mensa was set to perform only three songs but added an additional for go measure. He performed: 16 Shots, Shades of Blue, There’s Alot Going On, and U Mad.
We recently caught Vic Mensa at The Vic Theater while on his "There’s Alot Going On" Tour. While at the Summer of Collaboration event we witnessed a side of Mensa that most music fans don’t. Pegged as a south side rapper and Kanye West pupil, Mensa is keeping busy with work outside the studio.
Vic Mensa has been politically active when it’s come to personal issues. Vic Mensa participated in the Laquan McDonald demonstrations. He also volunteered at Flint, Michigan during their water crisis. Vic urges young voters to register to vote by offering his latest EP “There’s ALot Going On” for free when they registered to vote.
Vic Mensa made sure his personal efforts were made clear as the Roc Nation rapper treated fans to a stadium caliber performance. With so few attending the private event, from seeing the incredible photographs from Maloof and seeing one of best in the city with Vic Mensa, the Summer of Collaboration was one of the purest ways to end the summer off right.
View our photo gallery of Vic Mensa’s Summer of Collaboration event below!
[Review] Summer Set 2016 brings unforgettable moments
The annual camping festival Summer Set returned for it’s fifth year to Somerset, Wisconsin. Summer Set was a weekend filled of memorable moments.
The camping festival brought out the best in some artist as tents filled the woods and camp grounds with festival goers burning through the three-day festival.
A six hours drive from Chicago, Summer Set brought the same electric and playful atmosphere that were accustomed. With many highlights from the summer coming from local Chicago festivals like Mamby on the Beach, the festival provided one of a kind experiences that made the six-hour drive worth it.
Day 1
The first day was stacked full of incredible performances throughout the day. Festival goers were able to check out early performances from the solid melodic sounds of Mielo. That also included the craziest that is the thrill ride of Porn and Chicken.
Flux Pavillion and Steve Aoki both respectfully, performed their best in recent years. Pavillion, usually a bit shy on the mic, was as vocal as the raving Summer Set crowd. Aoki a stable in electronic music, outdid himself in intensified energy packed set.
Notable performances came from Toronto rapper Tory Lanez. Lanez performed majority on his set in the crowd as dozens of fans rushed under him to hold him up. A true spectacle, Lanez gained many fans the first day due to his wild onstage and in the crowd pleasing antics.
The first night was closed off with Chicago’s favorite Chance The Rapper alongside with The Social Experiment. Seeing the top bill for the first night with other Chicago favorites in The Social Experiment was a real treat. They performed from Chance’s 10 Days, Acid Rap, and Coloring Book. The closing night was transformed into a Chicago listening party. Festival goers also heard records from the band's latest soul filled album“Surf”.
Seeing Chicago’s heavyweight perform a number of times didn’t account in his Summer Set performance. It was like seeing him for the first time as the showcased a number of crowd favorites from “Coloring Book”. Records including No Problem, Blessings, and Summer Friends helped Chance and The Social Experiment cement the first day into a night you couldn’t forget.
The Simpsons Hip Hop episode to air
2016 will go down in history as the year of The Simpsons hip hop episode. It has been revealed that the enduring yellow family will air an hour-long hip hop special in January 2017.
The Simpsons hip hop episode, “The Great Phatsby,” will also be an ode to The Great Gatsby.
In the episode, tyrannical millionaire Mr Burns gets conned into bankruptcy by a music mogul suspiciously similar to Terrence Howard’s character from "Empire."
In order to get his money back, Burns enlists the help of rapper Jazzy James (played by Keegan-Michael Key, of comedy duo Key & Peele), the mogul’s ex-wife (played by Howard’s wife on Empire, Taraji P Henson), and, because they have to be part of it, Bart and Homer.
Executive producer Matt Selman explains the story behind the special episode. “This was just going to be a regular episode, but the table read went so well. In a fit of passion and excitement and ambition and excess, we decided to supersize it." He added that "we haven’t done a huge amount of stories in the world of hip-hop and rap culture, so we just went for it”
The Simpsons 28th season will include the special episode. It will also include the show's 600th episode.
The show’s executive producer, Al Jean, made one quip about the hourlong special. "I just pray it won't be the last thing people see before a Trump inauguration."
[Review] Lollapalooza celebrates 25 anniversary in a big way
The Chicago staple of music festival excellence brought forth yet another unforgettable weekend of music and stellar performances. Lollapalooza celebrating it’s 25th anniversary in the biggest way possible. Extending the festival to four days created a marathon of incredible musical moments.
Lollapalooza had many highlights that came from inside and outside the music festival. Chicago transformed from the city with broad shoulders into, during for the four-day festival, music mecca.
The first two days had rain showers that spanned over a few hours. The temporary muggy start didn’t effect the mega celebration of the 25th anniversary. In fact, the only set backs to the festival were the uncontrollable rain and that the festival is already over.
Over the years Lolla grew not only in size but it also grew in multiple genres. It first started as an alternative rock festival in 1991 as a farewell tour for Jane’s Addiction. Now with over 170 acts and an extended four-day festival, Lollapalooza provided many history making moments.
It was announced by Lollapalooza that next year’s music festival will also be a 4 day festival.
Thursday, July 28 (Day 1)
Lollapalooza fixed up this problem from past years. The clear winner to the first night was hip-hop. Hip-hop actually had a deeper impact throughout the festival but it made a bold statement the first night with performances from Chicago’s own Towkio, G-Eazy, and J. Cole. Danny Brown also gained many fans with his energetic performance. Towkio brought out Chicago’s Joey Purp and Vic Mensa in a complete Chicago music takeover. Towkio from sneaking into Lollapalooza before his musical break to now setting the stage definitely was a crowd pleasure.
Another Chicago artist made headlines closing off the Perry’s stage this time from the electronic music duo Flosstradamus. They didn’t disappoint bringing their signature non-stop thrill ride of electric beats. They also brought out surprise guest Chance The Rapper, Michelle Williams, and Dwyane Wade.
From “Wet Dreamz” to “Work Out”, J. Cole stole the show with non-stop performance of hit after hit. With no back track, fans matched Cole jumping and rapping along with the Dreamville rapper. It’s important to note that Cole was the only rapper to close off the Samsung stage throughout the weekend. The others were Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and LCD Soundsystem. The biggest stage at Lollapalooza was the perfect fit for J. Cole’s unforgettable set.
[RH Video] Chance the Rapper Closes Out Pitchfork Music Festival 2015
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Header by Vanessa Bly, video by J. Frank Visuals
It's been an amazing run for Chance, and his Sunday night-cap performance to close off Pitchfork Music Festival 2015 is just one of the many, many major highlights of his career. Even for just a moment, it felt like Chicagoans in attendance could come together and show support for one of its hometown heroes and ignore every ounce of negativity that has been afflicting the city.
If you couldn't make it out to Pitchfork this past weekend, check out this mini-video recap of Chance the Rapper's AMAZING Pitchfork set, shot and edited by J. Frank Visuals!