Posted by Infinite Skillz on Mar. 5, 2009, at 7:22 pm
In the hip-hop community, no one really wants to be labeled a hater. While I don’t hate Lil Wayne, I am far from a fan. I respect the fact that he has put out more music than any other major hip-hop artist in the last five years and probably has the best work ethic of any rapper not named Tupac Shakur. But is doing your job really worth the iconic status he seems to have achieved? I’m going to have to say no. So at the risk of earning the not-so-superlative hater label, I present to you my Top 3 reasons why a dead Biggie Smalls is better than a living Lil Wayne.
Lil Wayne has been successful but is he really a worthy successor?
Coattails
Sean Combs might be the owner, but Christopher “Biggie Smalls” Wallace, better known as the Notorious B.I.G., is responsible for the Bad Boy Entertainment empire. The considerable wealth Combs amassed thanks to Mr. Wallace’s efforts funded his Sean John clothing line and propelled Puff Daddy to stardom. Diddy got a Grammy for his No Way Out album that featured Biggie on five songs. He also gave Lil Kim, the most popular female rapper of her time, her start.
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Tags: ashy, baby boomers, Bad Boy Entertainment, Biggie Smalls, bling bling, Cash Money Records, christopher wallace, coattails, dead rappers, diction, Diddy, Grammys, hater, hip hop artist, hip-hop, hot boys, Infinite Skillz, life after death, Lil-Wayne, Ludacris, Making N.O.I.S.E., mr wallace, music, North Carolina, notorious b i g, Notorious B.I.G., radio, rags to riches, rap, Sean Combs, sean john clothing, sean john clothing line, St. Petersburg, State Theatre, Tampa Calling, TI, work ethic, youtube
Posted in Commentary, Making N.O.I.S.E. | 22 Comments »
Posted by btreotch on Jan. 21, 2009, at 5:46 pm
Los Campesinos!
Comfortably packed and full of sweet hipster coats, the Orpheum hosted a Tuesday night show with New Jersey’s Titus Andronicus (see Gabe’s review and pics below) and from across the Atlantic, the Welsh band Los Campesinos!.
Two lead singers, Gareth and Aleksandra, each played a small glockenspiel and microKorg synths – Gareth’s with a floor tom and snare. Neil and Tom shared guitar duties, volleying chords, leads and noise in a Pavement-inspired ethos, though Ollie, the bare-chested and pasty Ron Weasley look-a-like behind the drum kit, kept the tempos faster than typical ’90s indie rock. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: indie, indie rock, Los Campesinos, Orpheum, PBR, Tampa, Tampa Calling, Titus Andronicus, Ybor
Posted in Reviews | 4 Comments »
Posted by Infinite Skillz on Dec. 10, 2008, at 6:00 am
So you think you want to be a rapper, eh? It’s more hard work and hustle than Hennessy and hoes. Gone is the time where you create a little buzz and then sit back and wait for a label/lottery ticket to come and rescue you from your day job. In fact, these days you might want to keep that 9 to 5 even if the majors do come calling. In order to survive, let alone thrive, as an emcee these days, you have to be more and do more than just move the crowd…
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Tags: B.A.S.E. Inc, creative loafing, hip-hop, Infinite Skillz, Making N.O.I.S.E., music success, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Tampa Bay music, Tampa Calling, underground, Upcoming-Shows, Virginia
Posted in Making N.O.I.S.E. | 14 Comments »
