One of the many things I agree wholeheartedly with KRS about, is the importance of self-creation to the foundation of Hip Hop Kulture. The idea of self-creation is, at least in part, a product of the concept of “knowledge of…
Blog Archives
New Episode: What about non-English Rap?
Ep. 10 In this week’s episode, we look at some new artist submissions from the HipHopLives.net group on Facebook. A few submissions are non-Engish language tracks which beg the question: Can we like a song if we don’t understand the…
Tagged with: emcee, hip hop, kurtnice, media, rap, shades of hip hop, shadesradio, UAR, video
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
Exhibition Open
We made it! The brand new Hip Hop Archive at Plainfield Public Library @800 Park Ave is finally open! On display for the collective is my personal collection of artworks depicting some contemporary Hip Hop history. This material illustrates how…
Tagged with: #kurtnicehhl, art, artist, culture, exhibit, hip hop, kurtnice, media, shades of hip hop
Posted in 9 Elements, exhibit, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts
Posted in 9 Elements, exhibit, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts
Exhibition set up, come visit us!
On display for the collective are some of my favorite moments from the Shades of Hip Hop Archive. Although the full video and audio catalog has yet to be uploaded to the database, you will find digital reproductions from some…
Tagged with: #kurtnicehhl, culture, hip hop, Jay-Z, krsone, kurtnice, lives, shades of hip hop, society
Posted in archive, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts
Posted in archive, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts
What have you learned from Hip Hop?
Since conscious rap music became a recognized force in the American culture, many jewels have been ‘dropped’, so to speak. Many ‘pearls of wisdom’ have educated those who would have otherwise never considered the info being presented. That knowledge has…
Tagged with: 9 elements, art, artist, culture, exhibit, hip hop, kurtnice, lives, shades of hip hop, society, technology
Posted in 9 Elements, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts
Posted in 9 Elements, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts
My Life in Hip Hop
Although my time on this planet has been brief in the grand scheme of things, it has been longer than some who I traveled with before. My adult life has been a mix of highs and lows, like anyone else,…
Tagged with: #kurtnicehhl, art, culture, hip hop, kurtnice, shades of hip hop, society
Posted in 9 Elements, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts
Posted in 9 Elements, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts
How my landline contributed to Hip Hop History
About 18 years ago, in December of 1997, I had a conversation on my ‘land-line’ (phone) that led to something epic in the history of Hip Hop. At the time, I was the cameraman, host, producer and editor of what…
Tagged with: #kurtnicehhl, big pun, canibus, dmx, forte, hip hop, kurtnice, mos def, shades of hip hop, toure
Posted in big pun, canibus, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts
Posted in big pun, canibus, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts
Hip Hop Emcee Sean Price dead at 43
It was reported this morning that Sean Price of Duck Down Records, Boot Camp Clik fame died in his sleep August 7, 2015. Sean P was known as a top-notch Brooklyn-based emcee with massive skills on the mic. Sean P,…
Tagged with: culture, emcee, hip hop, lives, R.I.P., Sean Price, shades of hip hop, video
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, R.I.P., Recent Posts, sean price, shadesradio.com
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, R.I.P., Recent Posts, sean price, shadesradio.com
Breaking Down Ah Yeah with KRSONE (1995)
Speaking of #TBT Throwbacks, here’s a gem from 20 years ago. This is how I spent my time in the days before the digital revolution, social media and YouTube. We used to track down Hip Hip wherever it was at,…
Tagged with: #kurtnicehhl, ah yeah, culture, emcee, hip hop, krsone, kurtnice, lives, shades of hip hop, video
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, krs one, kurt nice, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, krs one, kurt nice, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
Hip Hop and Adult Learning
As I study Adult Learning, I see more and more how it relates to my life in Hip Hop and how the culture itself, in its True School aspect, is a blueprint of learning. Hip Hop in its best aspects…
Tagged with: advice, culture, deejay, emcee, graffiti, hip hop, lives, shades of hip hop, society
Posted in 9 Elements, Deejays, facebook, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts
Posted in 9 Elements, Deejays, facebook, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts
Some Examples of Golden Era Video Remixes
As I explained in the last post about DJ Cheese, the remixes we collaborated on were done on analog equipment. I remember spending hours fast-forwarding and rewinding through numerous tapes to overdub specific frames of video into a particular piece.…
Tagged with: deejay, DJ Cheese, DJ Spunk, hip hop, kurtnice, lives, remix, shades of hip hop, video
Posted in Deejays, DJ Cheese, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts
Posted in Deejays, DJ Cheese, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts
Who is the 1st World Champion Deejay?
DJ Cheese from Plainfield, New Jersey, my hometown. The remixes DJ Cheese and I worked on for Shades of Hip Hop volume 5: CDS, and Shades of Hip Hop volume 6: Da Goodness were done in a unique way for…
Tagged with: CDS, deejay, DJ Cheese, hip hop, kurtnice, lives, shades of hip hop, video
Posted in Deejays, DJ Cheese, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Plainfield, Recent Posts
Posted in Deejays, DJ Cheese, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Plainfield, Recent Posts
Black Moon before their first album in 1992
Here’s another classic Shades of Hip Hop clip to post for #TBT. It features Buckshot Shorty, the 5ft Accelerator and DJ Evil Dee just before their album dropped in 1992. This is when rappers could do in-store promotions at record…
Tagged with: artist, Black Moon, culture, Duck Down, hip hop, rap, shades of hip hop, video
Posted in 9 Elements, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
Posted in 9 Elements, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
When Conscious Women in Hip Hop were Respected
During the Golden Era of rap in the 90’s , which is a little different than the Golden Era of Hip Hop during the 80’s, conscious women in Hip Hop were respected. In the beginning, rappers whether male or female,…
Tagged with: culture, hip hop, kurtnice, rap, shades of hip hop, video
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, rap, rapper, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, rap, rapper, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
Portable Hip Hop Gallery
What is a portable Hip Hop gallery? Well, this is an example based on the Shades of Hip Hop collection. The following is an example of a set-up I am working on that goes beyond the normal table display of…
Tagged with: 9 elements, art, artist, culture, gallery, hip hop, lives, shades of hip hop, shadesradio, society
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
Lil Kim pioneered Hip Hop sex appeal for women
There is really no dispute to who pioneered the sexy image for female rappers. No one before her did it better or as hard core as she did. A live show we captured in 1996 is proof positive that Lil…
Tagged with: culture, hip hop, kim, sex, sexy hip hop, shades of hip hop, shadesradio, society
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, lil kim, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, lil kim, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
New video uploads
Just in case you missed it, here are some new uploads to the shadesradio channel on YouTube. To get notification in your email, please subscribe or connect with me on Twitter (@KurtNiceHHL) to receive updates from the blog. Kurt…
Tagged with: 9 elements, art, artist, culture, hip hop, kurtnice, lives, media, radio, rap, shades of hip hop, shadesradio, video
Posted in 9 Elements, elements, emcee, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, mixtape, new jersey, new york, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com, video
Posted in 9 Elements, elements, emcee, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, mixtape, new jersey, new york, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com, video
Onyx back with the raw on WakeDaFucup
It seems that as I dig thru the archives of video footage from Shades of Hip Hop video mixtapes, I find all sorts of gems relevant to the conversations of today. Back in 1998, Shades caught up with Onyx for…
Tagged with: 9 elements, art, artist, culture, DOD, emcee, fredro, hip hop, kurtnice, lives, onyx, rap, shades of hip hop, shadesradio, sticky fingaz, video, wakedafucup
Posted in 9 Elements, After Pac, After Tupac, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Latest Issue, onyx, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
Posted in 9 Elements, After Pac, After Tupac, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Latest Issue, onyx, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
During the Poison Pen interview a scuffle broke out
Here’s a clip from the upcoming photo journal called Undaground Seen. The full color book is filled with quick captures from the Hip Hop underground in NY and NJ in 2008. One of the times discussed, is when we recorded…
Tagged with: 9 elements, advice, art, artist, bowery poetry club, culture, emcee, hip hop, kurt nice, kurtnice, lives, poison pen, rap, shades of hip hop, shadesradio, society
Posted in 9 Elements, After Tupac, ARTISTS, emcee, eow, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, industry
Posted in 9 Elements, After Tupac, ARTISTS, emcee, eow, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, industry
The Best Hip Hop Convo
After returning from participating in a panel discussion for Hip Hop Education Week at Essex County College in Newark, NJ today, I started to think. Some of the best conversations about Hip Hop have already happened. They happen in schools,…
Tagged with: 9 elements, art, artist, big pun, canibus, culture, cypher, dmx, emcee, forte, hip hop, lives, mic g, shades of hip hop, shadesradio, society, toure, video
Posted in After Pac, After Tupac, ARTISTS, big pun, canibus, dmx, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, industry, john forte, kurt nice, mic geronimo, mos def, new york, remember, truth, wisdom, World
Posted in After Pac, After Tupac, ARTISTS, big pun, canibus, dmx, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, industry, john forte, kurt nice, mic geronimo, mos def, new york, remember, truth, wisdom, World
