By: CalebDoee

Rising emcee CalebDoee returns to the music scene with a fire new EP titled Test Drive. With a high quality sound  he is ready to show the world how musically gifted he is. Coming off of the release of his Test Drive EP, he is gearing up to have his most successful year yet. I had the pleasure of catching up with him for candid interview below. As he lends more insight about his passion for creating music, it is clear he is a star in the making. Check it out!

Caleb Doee Interview 

Respect: What occurred in your life to make you want a career in music as an artist?

Caleb: One summer I was in Chicago, my cousins showed me some music videos they did. I wrote verses all the time but I figured you had to be famous to rap. When I saw that, it became something I’d try after graduation. I didn’t go all in til 2017 though. 

Respect: What was the inspiration behind your test drive project?

Caleb: The projects I’ve had before were dark, filled with emotion but was something I had to get off. So I used the EP to show the lanes I’m in before the tape drops. More so showing what’s to come. I was too eager to be myself on a song with a clear head space.

Respect: How would you best describe your original sound?

Caleb: Sample heavy, instrument heavy, calm, peaceful vibes with some game to it. I write about what it is, what it was and what it’s about to be. That with the type of beats I like makes my sound different from what mainstream is. To me that’s the best thing about my music.

Respect: Who are some of the people who inspire you musically?

Caleb: I’d say Jay, Kanye, Wayne, Biggie, Drake, Ross, those guys. Rhyme schemes, flows, beat selection and demeanor during their runs gave me a different perspective on music. They put out the blueprint I use with everything I do music. My pops too, he did Jazz and piano when I was younger.

Respect: What was the inspiration behind your cover art for Test Drive?

Caleb: Quarantine I picked up DJ’ing and got familiar with older cars. 2 doors, gold rims, it gets deep. The one on the cover is my favorite; 73’ Lancia Stratos. The car is where I got the concept for the EP actually.

Respect: What is one thing most people don’t know about you?

Caleb: People don’t know I’ve been rapping since elementary school. I used to write love letters to girls back then, started battling at lunch and football games in high school. Took some music classes my last two years but I put it down for a while.

Respect: Where do you see your career in five years?

Caleb: Hard to say, somewhere taking care of my family, still making music. Showing love, teaching what was taught to me. Honestly that’s all I can ask for. Putting everyone around me in the best position they can be in.

Be sure to press play below to stream CalebDoee’s Test Drive EP.

The post CalebDoee Talks New EP Test Drive, Musical Influences, & Ways He Is Staying Creative During Quarantine appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

By: Young Prophit

Elijah Pacheco aka Young Prophit, has officially released his highly anticipated Prophit Season EP. At the tender age of 17, he is becoming one of the hottest rising rap stars to take the music game by storm. Hailing from MottHaven, South Bronx, by way of Charlotte, North Carolina, Young Prophit is taking his talent to new heights on this release.

Within 8 tracks, Young Prophit serves up his most lethal and concrete bars showcasing his best material to date. Being from the east coast and relocating to the south, his musical influences include New York legends Jay-Z, Biggie Smalls, Mob Deep and Rakim. Although he was raised primarily in the south, his east cost roots play out directly in his original sound. One song that stands out the most on this EP is a record titled “Alright’ featuring Styles P and B Notes.

The post Young Prophit Releases Prophit Season EP appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

By: Bink Badd

Rapper, mother and entrepreneur Bink Badd is creating her own path toward infinite success. Being the owner of a thriving resume company called @more4lessresumes, this New York creative is showing people a different way to hustle and survive. Through her music she empowers women and pushes the lines of sexy and confidence in ways like never before. As a mother, she is fighting everyday to make sure her daughter can be successful at whatever she decided to do.

I had the pleasure of catching up with this superstar for a candid interview. As she openly discusses being plus-sized in the industry, rapping and and being an entrepreneur, it is clear of her raw confidence and talent.  Check it out below.

Bink Badd Interview

Respect: What made you want to become an entrepreneur and for how long have you been in business?

Bink Badd: I have been in business for about five years. I had just had a baby, and I was in college nearing graduation, and start anticipating all of the money I would have to pay back because of student loan debt. I had been doing resumes and helping people get jobs for free for years when a friend suggested that I start charging for them. So I started doing resumes as a side hustle, to save money for my daughter’s college fund, so she would not have to experience the stress that I did.

By the time my daughter was three, I had drained a lot of the money on expensive therapies. We suspected she had Autism but because she was not diagnosed until age four, my insurance only covered some of the therapies.

In March of this year, I decided to take my business seriously.  I left my corporate job, working in human resources and recruiting for five years. I was fed up, I got tired of seeing our people get overlooked for opportunities because they did not know how to represent themselves on paper or in an interview. I realized that my business was more than a side hustle, that there was a bigger need, and that I had the means to help make a big impact.

So I quit my job, stepped out on faith, and within months it grew bigger than I could have imagined. I had the opportunity to focus more on my music and do something big for the culture, and I just went all-in with it.

Respect: What does it mean to you being a plus size rapper?

Bink Badd: I am not a plus-size rapper. I am a rapper that happens to be plus-sized. I don’t think that I should be defined by my size or my physical appearance. I am a human being.  I have been through a lot of trauma in my life, and I am an emotional eater.

If I coped with cigarettes or drugs would I be a nicotine rapper? Or crackhead rapper? No Id just be a rapper. I think that we need to stop being so critical of people in the industry, how they look and the standards we place on each other. This is something I feel strongly about and as a rapper that is plus sized I plan to break down these barriers.

Respect: What is one misconception about plus size women?

Bink Badd: One misconception is that we have low self-esteem. People think that we are desperate for men. Like the way that we are approached by men and by women who think they are better than us because they are smaller, reflects a sort of prejudice. When in actuality a lot of men like bigger women, and a lot of smaller women are jealous of our confidence.

Respect: When creating music, where do you draw inspiration from?

Bink Badd: I find inspiration from my life, and past experiences. Music is art and it is a form of expression. I reflect a lot on things I have seen, witnessed, and experienced in my music. I also find creative inspiration from some of the greats: Biggie Smalls, Jay Z, Lil Kim, Nicki Minaj and Nas.

Respect: What are you currently working on?

Bink Badd: I am currently working on my EP. I am also creating opportunities for the world to get to know me better and understand what me and my movement are all about.

Press play below to checkout some of Bink Badd’s music.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6hmrKYnTWv8pgzGIqizr8m?nd=1

The post Bink Badd Talks Balancing Being A Mother, Rapper, & Boss appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Jay-Z and the Notorious B.I.G. Photo Credit: REHAB Online Magazine

DJ Clark Kent drops by Scoop B Radio and discusses producing, the latest and greatest AND producing Jay-Z and Biggie Smalls’ Brooklyn’s Finest. Press Play Below To Listen! 

Jay-Z’s “Reasonable Doubt” had hits! Hov’s first album, released on June 25, 1996 and had hits like “D’Evils,” “Can I Live,” “Can’t Knock the Hustle,” “Ain’t No N***a” and “Feelin’ It.”

While the album had appearances by Mary J. Blige, Foxy Brown and Memphis Bleek, it was also graced by the presence of one of the greatest of all time, the Notorious B.I.G., on the track, “Brooklyn’s Finest.”

Get this though: Biggie wasn’t supposed to be on the track at all. Appearing on today’s episode of the Scoop B Radio podcast, legendary dj, Clark Kent said that the Brooklyn’s Finest track, which he produced was for Jay-Z. “I got to the studio to lay it for Jay, Big heard the track and he wanted it for himself,” DJ Clark Kent told me.

“But I couldn’t give it to him because it was already for Jay. But I said [to Biggie]: ‘If you come to the studio and wait downstairs, I’ll tell him that you should be on the record and we’ll see what happens.'”

Jay-Z agreed to it and so the track was created. “I brought Big upstairs and Jay thought I was a funny guy for not telling him that Big was downstairs,” DJ Clark Kent recalled. 

DJ Clark Kent. Photo Credit: Complex

According to DJ Clark Kent, Jay-Z re-did his verses on the track to accommodate Biggie.  “Everything you hear from Jay on that record was changed 20 minutes after he laid what he laid,” he said.

“So he basically set up every one of Big’s verses with a rhyme and then asked Big was he ready. Big was so blown away by it. He was like: ‘he wasn’t ready’ and said he needed some time. So he took it home and two months later, we went back to the studio and Big laid his part.”

With all of the lyrical firepower on that track, guess what? Neither one of the rappers had a hook. “I had to figure out a hook because they left me in the studio with no hook,” recalled DJ Clark Kent.

“So I was there trying to become a hook guy!” So I went in the booth and did the hook and luckily everybody was happy because otherwise the record would have never happened.”

The story is legendary. But, DJ Clark Kent is legendary too! He’s produced for any and everyone: 50 Cent, Slick Rick, Lik Kim, Rakim and Canibus.

He’s also produced for Mariah Carey. Remember Mariah’s Loverboy song?! Yup, he produced that!

Man, he sampled Cameo’s “Candy” song!? 

DJ Clark Kent talked about that, the state of the New York Knicks, Drake, 50 Cent and more in our interview. Check out our interview via Scoop B Radio by clicking here. 

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The post DJ Clark Kent details how he got Notorious B.I.G. on Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt album appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

From Snoop Doggy Dog, to Grandmaster Flash, we’re hopping in a time machine as we go through Hip-Hop’s 25 Most Memorable Album Covers.

25. Juvenile, 400 Degreez (1998)

From the diamonds and flames, to the Z in “Degreez” being a dollar sign…There’s just something about the WordArt feel of this album that keeps fans coming back.

24. Wale, Attention Deficit (2009)

The obvious shoutout to a digital world reigns as the focal point for this album cover. A strong, yet simple message burns through the vibrant cool colors, and captures your attention immediately.

23. De La Soul, 3 Feet High and Rising (1989)

You’ve probably seen these flowers before, or maybe even these 3 talented young men. Fun fact, rap group De La Soul actually hates this album cover. They felt that everyone would be associating them with flowers, peace, the whole hippie movement, when that wasn’t them at all!

22. Kanye West, 808s and Heartbreak (2008)

The minimalism in this cover is the beauty of it all. Kanye was hurting, simple as that!

21. 2Pac, Me Against The World (1995)

This album shook the charts, and you couldn’t go anywhere in 1995 without seeing it. 2Pac rocked the world right before his unfortunate passing, and sold hundreds of thousands copies of the album.

20. Run-D.M.C., Run-D.M.C. (1984)

Run-D.M.C.; Pioneers, legends, superstars. This classic cover had to make the list!

19. Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)

Firstly, it’s Lauryn Hill etched into a school desk. This album taught everyone a couple of things. No further explanation needed.

18. Snoop Doggy Dogg, Doggystyle (1993)

From the dogcatcher in the back to the Snoop Dogg lookalike on top of the dog house, this album cover is full of style, steeze, and comedy!

17. Eric B. & Rakim, Paid in Full (1987)

Money. Harlem was all about money. Eric B. and Rakim made it clear that they had it, and there was never any problem getting it! The Dapper Dan Gucci sweatsuits, the huge rope chains… The aesthetic of it all represents a very transitional era in the development of Hip-Hop music.

16. Ice Cube, Death Certificate (1991)

Ice Cube next to Uncle Sam’s corpse. No further explaining to do.

17. Missy Elliott, Supa Dupa Fly (1997)

Missy Elliott has always held more swag than most artists in the music industry, remaining humble and subtly stunting on everyone! This cover embodies exactly who she is; chilling for the moment… but don’t forget that she’s fly.

18. Wu-tang Clan, Enter the Wu-tang: 36 Chambers (1993)

This album cover is actually kind of wild. Firstly, no face, no case. Secondly, does the guy in the front have a finger gun? This album cover is great for its immense mystery.

17. Jay-Z, The Blueprint (2001)

Jay-Z wearing a Rocawear jean jacket smoking a cigar. He won.

16. A Tribe Called Quest, Midnight Marauders (1993)

The various facial expressions in the background, the bulging eyes… What do we look at first?! This album cover is great because it leaves so much space for interpretation, the colors on the cover represent so many things, and everyone would formulate their own meaning.

15. Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly (2015)

We need to take over the White House… and keep it. Bring our culture, our families, our music… make it OUR country. Simply put.

14. Kanye West, The College Dropout (2004)

We all know the bear. This bear costume (that Kanye FOUND, by the way) looks like any college student during the longest finals week ever: TIRED. The album cover is warm, relatable, and not complex; perfect in a sense.

13. Grandmaster Flash, The Source (1986)

Do we start off with the fly guy with this legs crossed, or old boy with the red leather hat to match his shoes? This album cover embodies the true start of Hip-Hop. B-boys, spitting bars in New York City’s uptown train station, even down the pager on homeboy’s hip!

12. Snoop Doggy Dogg, The Doggfather (1996)

The Godfather is a critically acclaimed cult classic, and Snoop Dogg actually might’ve done something, by simply switching 2 letters! This was Snoop’s final album on Death Row Records under his name of Snoop Doggy Dogg, and he was owning the game. The West coast made no moves without you hearing about Snoop, rightfully making him the Doggfather.

11. NWA, Straight Out of Compton (1988)

One of the most controversial groups, with one of the most rebellious albums of all time. These young men all banded together and shook the West coast with words that everyone in Compton couldn’t bring themselves to say.

10. The Fugees, The Score (1996)

Firstly, Lauryn Hill AND Wyclef Jean on ONE album cover… That’s art. The beauty lies in the minimal yet intense typography, and the 3 beautiful black faces.

9. Nas, Illmatic (1994)

This kid is too cute. Too cute for the cover, and too cute for the hood he reigns from. Nas showed that everyone was suffering and surviving, even the young.

8. Master P, The Ghettos Tryin To Kill Me! (1994)

The lace bra hanging from Master P’s name, the Boosie fade, my man creeping in the window “Cell Therapy” style… The lo-fi quality wraps it all together, you feel like you’re watching a movie, and you’ve barely even looked at the cover.

7. DMX, Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood (1998)

This album cover is bloody and gory, in every sense. Its beauty lies in the naive state of such a “Ruff” guy, and almost goes to show that the black man is one of the most sensitive species.

6. Redman, Dare Iz a Darkside (1994)

Redman is stuck buried in this Children of the Corn looking field, and its freaking me out. I love it.

5. Outkast, Stankonia (2000)

This album cover is great for 3 reasons: One, Andre 3000 was having an amazing hair day. Two, so was Big Boi. Thirdly, it calls out the entire country, so subtly, being a black and white world. We all knew… But did we really know?

4. Gang Starr, Daily Operation (1992)

Gang Starr is really giving off intellectual and successful vibes, and who doesn’t love that? “The goal is money, and this is how we get it. Don’t ask no questions, I thought this through.” Guys from the hood are smart too!

3. Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Return of the 36 Chambers (1995)

Have you seen the O.D.B tv special, where he took America into the food stamp office in Brooklyn, and got his money right? This man never cared, was never too embarrassed to live his life and let whoever wanted to look come and see. Hoping his unbothered soul is resting in peace.

2. The Notorious B.I.G., Ready to Die (1994)

Foreshadowing? This was Biggie’s debut album, and just as his career was being born, he was ready to die. Sadly, he would pass away 2 years after its release. But in those 2 short years, he conquered the world. He started off on top, and he achieved what he needed to; he was truly ready to die.

1. Geto Boys, We Can’t Be Stopped (1991)

This man… Is in a hospital bed. The rap trio is standing in a hospital, posed for an ALBUM COVER. Who was stopping the Geto Boys? NOTHING! They literally cannot be stopped, no matter the circumstance. This cover is full of hustle and desire to reach success, and has to be respected as THE most memorable. Who’s forgetting this?

Do you have any albums you think should’ve been on this list? Leave a comment below and let us know!

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The post 25 of Hip Hop’s Most Memorable Album Covers appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

One of the best to ever play the game of basketball, NBA Hall of Famer, Allen Iverson is not shy about his love for hip music. He especially has love for Brooklyn’s own, the Notorious B.I.G.

Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the death of the Notorious B.I.G., Christopher Wallace who was shot and killed at the age of 24 in Los Angeles, California on March 9, 1997. His murder still remains unsolved.

At Mitchell & Ness’ unveiling of their section at the NBA Store in midtown Manhattan on Thursday, The Answer gave his ruling on who the greatest was: He was the best,” Allen Iverson told me.

“He was the best ever! Simple as that, I don’t care what nobody say.”

You’ll never guess Bubba Chuck’s favorite Notorious B.I.G. song!

“One of his greatest verses is on the joint with Puff and Jay-Z,” he told me. “What is it? Ghetto Boys?”

While we were both scratching our heads to figure it out, I realize he’s talking about the song, Young G’s. The song, in fact did feature both Hov, Puff and Big and appeared on Puff Daddy’s No Way Out Album.

I yell to A.I.:  ‘Damn it feel good to see people up on it!’

Bubba Chuck took it from there:

“Flipped two ki’s in two weeks and didn’t flaunt it.

My brain is haunted, with mean dreams.

GS’s with BB’s on it, supreme schemes

To get richer than Richie, quickly.”

“He was crazy on that,” Iverson said with a sly grin.

Next to meeting Michael Jordan in the Bulls locker room, rapping a bar with The Answer was probably the coolest experience, ever.

But I digress.

Inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame last year, Allen Iverson is the gap between Michael Jordan who was business savvy and LeBron James; the balance between Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue and the neighborhood corner store.

A pioneer of the arm sleeve and perfecting the crossover dribble, who better to weigh in on the late Biggie Smalls than The Answer? But he’s not just hip hop! “Just like I’m the number one fan of Michael Jackson, I’m the number one fan of Biggie Smalls,” he said.

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The post Allen Iverson On The Notorious B.I.G. “He was the best, he was the best ever!” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the death of the Notorious B.I.G. Considered one of the greatest if not the greatest to ever grace the microphone, the Notorious B.I.G. left an indelible mark on hip hop. Brooklyn, born, Christopher Wallace was shot and killed at the age of 24 in Los Angeles, California on March 9, 1997, his murder still remains unsolved.

Rapper, Too $hort was a fan of Biggie.

Appearing on the Scoop B Radio Podcast , the Oakland legend reflected on the talent of both Biggie and the late Tupac Shakur.

Check Out Too $hort & Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson Chatting on Scoop B Radio 

“A lot of guys that go into the studio, we have our songs, we’re good songwriters, we make great records & we have nice formulas,” Too $hort told me.

“You have a song, you mix it down – the thing about these other guys is they go into a studio and they appear to be like magic or something – like they’re not normal people because they have these super abilities, it just happened to be those two guys. It’s like a lot of them out there but those two guys, both could go in a session and do miracles and Everybody in the room would go “when, where and how did they come up with that? Like how did you just do that?” with BIG, it would be like – that whole technique of not writing raps, he would just sit there appearing to not be working on the song and then he would just go “I’m ready,” and then would just go into the booth…and its perfect – like “what the fuck?! How did you come up with that shit?” 2PAC, he would be in the studio…he would hear the track – the track we were working on, and he would start writing. He would be done in like 5-10 minutes! The fucking verse will take me 30 minutes maybe – 45 minutes to an hour to write one verse. I’m just sitting there trying to do something real tight, trying to make it all make sense … the man writes as fast as he can write. He writing nonstop and its rhyming, and its prolific and it’s a 2pac classic…everybody in the room would be saying the same thing. You can’t write one verse as fast as he can write one song.” 

Although The Notorious B.I.G.’s career spanned only five years but his two albums, Ready to Die and Life After Death left an impact on not just hip hop, but the world. Many discuss the difference between gifted and talented. Too $hort believed that Biggie and Tupac were both! “I would have to say – both guys can be gifted, wouldn’t you just say both,”Too $hort said.

“That’s a gift to have that ability to express yourself in that fashion with 2PAC writing that fast and Biggie being able to put these words together in his head without pen and paper…and it just go right. It comes out and everybody’s like “it’s timeless.” So, I would go gifted on those guys, but I know what you mean … when I think about people who are talented when it comes to making songs, and they just know how to put to together, you start to formulate and you just put it together…but these guys, they’re like something out of earth with that ability to express themselves on a song.”

The Notorious B.I.G.’s  style and grace, his gentle persona and his love for people impacted folks everywhere that he went. He’s still respected globally. The Ten Crack Commandments, Kick In The Door, Juicy, Hypnotize, Warning, One More Chance, Party and Bullshit are Biggie classics still getting spin on DJ’s playlists to this day.

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The post Too $hort on Notorious B.I.G. & 2Pac: “They Had These Super Abilities.” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.