LAURYN HILL-BEYOND BEING WOKE

LAURYN HILL-BEYOND BEING WOKE

In the pantheon of albums Lauryn Hill’s seminal album, The Mis-Education of Lauryn Hill (1998) can be rightly classed as a classic.  It’s a word we are all too ready to attribute to numerous albums/tracks. In many ways it’s damn irritating particularly when said...
BIGGIE ‘THE BON APPÈTITÈ’

BIGGIE ‘THE BON APPÈTITÈ’

In his second piece #itchysilk writer Amar discusses the enduring love affair that some have with Biggie. April 1997 his sophomore album Life after Death (1997) reached the number one spot on the Billboard charts. It was a sophomore helping Biggie along the...
GANGSTER RAP-HEGEMONY CIRCA 1980 PART 3

GANGSTER RAP-HEGEMONY CIRCA 1980 PART 3

In the last of his three part exploration of gangster rap, #itchysilk writer Malik Crumpler delves further into the wormhole that is gangsta rap and brings us up to the times with names like, Cardi B. Indeed as she rises through the ranks to rap royalty we have to ask...
GANGSTER RAP-HEGEMONY CIRCA 1980 (PART 2)

GANGSTER RAP-HEGEMONY CIRCA 1980 (PART 2)

In the second part of Malik Crumpler’s extensive exploration of Gangster Rap, he takes a look at the impact of crack and home policies meant to curtail (in part) the crack epidemic. Ironically these very same policies meant to bring order helped (to  a degree)...
GANGSTER RAP-HEGEMONY CIRCA 1980

GANGSTER RAP-HEGEMONY CIRCA 1980

In the first of a three-part feature, #itchysilk writer Malik Crumpler discusses gangster rap hegemony. In many respects as a genre it should be vilified. After all, it glorifies violence, degrades women and revels in the taking and selling of drugs. Contrary to logic...