With intense and complex flows, Biggie delivered tales from the hood in a way that made you feel as if you were there with him every step of the way. The ultimate story teller, B.I.G.’s influence and lyrics have been sampled and quoted by a variety of hip-hop, R&B and pop artists including Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, Fat Joe, Nelly, Ja Rule, Eminem, Lil Wayne,  The Game, among many others. Although his career was cut short after 3 years in the game, hip-hop fans were laced with two dope albums and a myriad of features that have continued to compete on “Greatest of All Time” lists for more than a decade.

In celebration of the life and birthday of Biggie, RESPECT. is listing some of his top classic songs that not only have led to being quoted by other heavy hitters in the game, but also still keeps the party jumping.

“Juicy”

Notorious B.I.G officially arrived on the scene with the first single off of his major debut Ready to Die, literally kicking in the door with lyrics blazing. Utilizing the soulful sample of  “Juicy Fruit” by Mtume, Biggie told his life story in a way we all could relate, catapulting him to instant fame and being noted as the next to become one of the greats.

“Big Poppa”

The follow up to “Juicy,” Biggie once again changed the game introducing the player mafioso style to the masses in a way that only he could. Over a sample of “Between the Sheets” by the Isley Brothers, Biggie made the big guy with verbal skills sexy, as the self proclaimed “ugly as ever” emcee showed that you don’t have to be a model to get the ladies to show you love.

“Who Shot Ya”

Despite the rumors of this being a diss toward Tupac, “Who Shot Ya”( which Diddy explained was recorded prior to the infamous Quad City Studio shooting) burned up radio airwaves and DJ mixes. The track, which was considered an instant classic, is credited by Jay-Z as inspiring him to get serious about his career due to the lyrical gems dropped.

“Story to Tell”

“Story to Tell” is hands down one of the great examples of Biggie’s ability to tell a great story. His recollection (no matter how embellished it may or may not be) of a creep turned accidental robbery left hip-hop fans guessing for almost twenty years on who the NBA player was in the story. It wasn’t until recently when Fat Joe revealed the true identity of the player, as former New York Knicks Forward, Anthony Mason.

“Warning”

Another example of  Biggie’s story telling ability, “Warning” chops a sample of Isaac Hayes classic “Walk on By” and makes it a hip-hop classic and a track on everyone’s soundtrack for their haters. The story telling style coupled with mic passing rhyme style introduced fans to yet another side of the Notorious B.I.G’s talent and creativity.

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The post Happy Birthday Biggie! Check Out Some of His Greatest Songs appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

In the Summer of 2015, three beautiful women joined forces for one common goal..

…to save radio.

Normally, when you’d hear the names James Brown, Isaac Hayes, and Millie Jackson together, you’d instantly think of the word “classic.”  But here’s the twist: imagine the daughters of these three legends collaborating for a radio show.  Recently, our staff from RESPECT. Magazine was able to get the scoop on the trio.  They discussed what it was like growing up as a child of a legend, their personal views on today’s society, and what RESPECT. means to them.

Dr. Yamma Brown, Heather Hayes, and Keisha Jackson ARE Soul Sisters Radio.

RESPECT Magazine: So, what is the purpose of the show?  I see that you guys touch on real subjects.  What makes you say that, “Ok, this is what we’re going to talk on today. This is the content that we’re going to use for the show.”

Heather Hayes:  It just depends on what’s going on that particular week. Some things just pop up when we’re having personal conversation about whatever’s going on in the world, personally, or a friend that we know…Or something we’ve seen…and then, of course, everything that goes on daily. Because there’s always something going on, in this particular country…

…Whatever sparks our interest or what we can personally relate to.

Keisha Jackson:  We have a thread and we put ideas up in the thread and we decide from there what idea we want to tackle this week…Current events are always [what] we talk about at the top of the show.  Whatever is happening in the news right now…(music, industry news, politic, etc) the top 4 or 5 subjects are what we focus on at the beginning of the show and then we hone in on the main subjects. We’ll tackle anything from: domestic abuse, eating disorders, polygamy…

Yamma Brown:  And how it relates to music. To soul music. That’s why we pull the songs, and relate it back to our subject.

RM: So would you consider your show as talk radio?

KJ:  It’s talk radio with music. But it’s a very good balance. I’d say it’s more talk…60% talk 40% music… as it relates to the subject that we’re talking about.

RM: What makes Soul Sisters Radio necessary?

YB:  A voice. A voice for people, not just in our age bracket, but all people. Like Heather was saying, we touch on so many different issues. It’s not just going to be what African-American women or men are talking about…From kids to adults, anything that’s important to our community, we’re going to talk about [it]. Just to [the] community, at large.

It’s a necessity because people look up to our parents in music…in life.. .So, I think our perspective and coming from us, it just sheds a different light.  It allows people to look at it a different way.  If we can be that vessel to do that, then it’s needed.

KJ:  I think it’s necessary because, like Yamma said, it’s a different perspective.  So, people tend to view us as one thing…Something different than what we really are, people don’t really view us having the same issues as..

RM: (Interrupts) Like you’re not human!

KJ:  Yeah! Like, “Ya’ll don’t know nothing about being broke…” It’s just a different perspective. Well, I’d say because of the environment that we grew up in, but most things are very similar. We’re very relatable. I think it’s important for people to see us as human beings…as relatable. We’re not out of touch, but we do have a different perspective when it comes to certain things.

HH:  I think, just like she says…It makes us human, but I think also, it makes our parents human.  Because nobody looked at our parents as they were humans.  They were parents.. They were husbands, wives. They spanked us. They disciplined us. I mean, they were normal people and I think so often people look at celebrities as “others” when they have the same problems.  Sometimes more problems, because of their status in life, than somebody else.  So their pain hurts. Our pain hurts…[We] are just like everybody else. It’s no different, we go through the same ups and down, valleys…And all those types of things in our lives. I think it’s important that people hear that from us, So, that’s why we pick subjects that are relatable to everyone and, some subjects and personal things that we’ve been through that we can relate to.  That, oh well, “I knew a friend that had an eating disorder“ or “I feel like I almost had an eating disorder…,“ or just very personal things…Because “you’re not immune to that because you grew up with famous parents…“  I mean, anything can happen to you, just like to anybody else. So, I think it’s just important that people start seeing everyone as human beings first and everything else that they do is just an extension of that.

(Listen to the entire interview below)

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As I got further along, the interview got interesting.  When I touched on the subject of radio today, Keisha reminisced on the how she misses music and how stations became more divided versus more variety. Heather spoke on the watered down rotation of songs on radio and the lack of exposure of great music to the youth.  Meanwhile, Yamma spoke on how radio syndication contributes to the disconnect between radio and the community.

Expect to get wowed, as we touch basis on subjects like: personal space being violated, what it’s like seeing their parents’ death announced on CNN scrolls, and more!

Check out the trio on Dash Radio’s Pure Soul station every Thursday 5-7p EST with replays on Saturdays at 2 p.m. and Tuesdays at 5 p.m.

The post RESPECT. Interview: Soul Sisters Radio Speak on their Legendary Parents appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

We challenged someone to rap over Isaac Hayes‘ “Run Fay Run” from the Kill Bill soundtrack and Layne Harper rose to the occasion, using the legendary track to allude to the source material as well as declare some grievances against the police and the IRS. Admittedly, he had Luke Witherspoon III muddle the beat a little bit, which wasn’t exactly what we had in mind when we initially made the challenge, but shame on us for not specifying and kudos to him for taking a swing. Listen below. And follow us on Twitter for more moments like this.

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TVOne’s Unsung is one of my personal favorite shows.  If you are unfamiliar with the concept of the show, think VH1’s “Behind The Music” with an urban twist and with artists who weren’t necessarily mainstream success stories.  The show has exposed audiences to the stories of artists like: Sly Stone, Tammi Terrel, Midnight Star, Isaac Hayes, and more recently, the show has put the spotlight on hip-hop fixtures like: The Fat Boys, Big Daddy Kane and now EPMD.  

On last night’s episode, viewers were able to see the rise of EPMD with iconic albums Strictly Business, Unfinished Business, and more.  The show also exposed their fallout: the break-in at Parrish Smith‘s house, which was rumored to be plotted by Erick Sermon. It also profiles their last video, “Headbanger”, which was ultimately the break up of EPMD. The show also showed their reunion and why they came back together after four years of not speaking.  Great episode and as a avid watcher and fan of the show, this is probably one of my top five favorite episodes.

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