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
What’s the Best Cypher in Hip Hop History?
What’s the best rhyme cypher in Hip Hop history? Is it Shades of Hip Hop’s Cypher featuring Big Pun, Canibus, Mos Def, DMX, John Forte and Mic Geronimo? You tell me…
Tagged with: #kurtnicehhl, artist, best, big pun, canibus, culture, cypher, dmx, emcee, hip hop, kurt nice, mos def, rap, rhyme, shadesradio, 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
My Thoughts on Hip Hop History Month
The concept of Hip Hop History Month is lost on today’s society. There is not enough appreciation for the rich culture and economic opportunities afforded by the existence of Hip Hop to properly celebrate its success or awareness. At this…
Tagged with: big pun, canibus, culture, dmx, emcee, hip hop, kurtnice, mos def, rap, shadesradio, video
Posted in big pun, canibus, cypher, dmx, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, john forte, kurt nice, mic geronimo, mos def, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
Posted in big pun, canibus, cypher, dmx, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, john forte, kurt nice, mic geronimo, mos def, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
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
Unsigned Artist Review (Parts 6 & 7)
It’s hard not to diss whack music but I try to be as constructive as I can in criticizing some of the weaker submissions. I don’t know if I was successful, but you be the judge. Most of the reviews…
Tagged with: artist, culture, emcee, hip hop, kurtnice, rap, shadesradio, UAR, video
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts
Unsigned Artist Review (S2 E5)
Each week I try to go through as many post from the HipHopLives.net Group on Facebook and review what people have submitted. I can’t guarantee that I will be in a good mood all the time, and I won’t be…
HipHopLives FB UAR (S2 E4)
From the Facebook group page for HipHopLives.net we check out some of the latest submissions from members in the Unsigned Artist Review. Dope tracks and whack rappers will be defined and singled out in my completely biased True School Hip…
Tagged with: emcee, hip hop, rap, shadesradio, UAR, video
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts
18 Years ago this month
Do you remember the days before the internet? There was a time when communication between people took much longer. Information took days, weeks, and months to circulate sometimes before ‘everybody’ knew what was going on. The only viral videos of…
Tagged with: #kurtnicehhl, 50 cent, culture, emcee, hip hop, kurtnice, nore, shadesradio, video
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, NORE, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, NORE, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
Hip Hop Revolution
This is what comes up when you search for pictures related to the words “Hip Hop Revolution” on Google Images Kurt NiceKurt Nice aka Kurtiss Jackson is a behind the scenes pioneer in the Hip Hop Kulture, creating the…
Tagged with: 9 elements, art, artist, culture, graffiti, hip hop, lives, revolution, shadesradio, society
Posted in 9 Elements, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, mind, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com, truth
Posted in 9 Elements, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, mind, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com, truth
November: Hip Hop History Month
Since November is Hip Hop History month, a time in the folklore of Hip Hop when we celebrate the intricate history of the culture we all dwell in, let us reflect on the past. Many Hiphoppas talk about old-school vs…
Tagged with: 9 elements, afrika bambaataa, art, artist, bambaataa, bboy, breakin, culture, deejay, dj, emcee, graffiti, hip hop, history, lives, rap, shadesradio, society
Posted in 9 Elements, afrika bambaataa, ARTISTS, beatbox, big daddy kane, biggie, Deejays, dj, emcee, fashion, GRAFFITI, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, history, industry, kurt nice, Latest Issue, magazine, rap, rapper, Recent Posts, truth
Posted in 9 Elements, afrika bambaataa, ARTISTS, beatbox, big daddy kane, biggie, Deejays, dj, emcee, fashion, GRAFFITI, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, history, industry, kurt nice, Latest Issue, magazine, rap, rapper, Recent Posts, truth
How Hip Hop entered the Global Economy
The question of international appeal and market segmentation makes me automatically want to examine Hip Hop as a culture. It’s interesting to note how, without marketing specialists and advertising executive’s influence, Hip Hop spread around the World. Still, it speaks…
Tagged with: 9 elements, culture, economy, hip hop, lives, money, shadesradio, society
Posted in 9 Elements, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, history, industry, Latest Issue
Posted in 9 Elements, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, history, industry, Latest Issue
This Week on shadesradio.com – The 80’s pt. 1
In Hip Hop we trace a lot of history through the music we listened to at the time. The music which surrounds the scene acts as a soundtrack to life in that era. Music can sometimes be an interpretation of…
Tagged with: #kurtnicehhl, culture, hip hop, old school, shadesradio, video
Posted in Hip Hop, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
Posted in Hip Hop, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
A Special Night in Radio: October 31, 1973
There were game shows, back then called quiz shows, comedy shows, variety programs, interview shows, and a reality crime show called Night Beat which followed police on the street, similar to Cops today. These shows were new and innovative yet,…
Tagged with: art, culture, halloween, media, Orson Welles, OTR, radio, shadesradio, video, War of the Worlds, WKBW
Posted in events, Halloween, video
Posted in events, Halloween, video
There and Back Again: A Hip Hop Journey
(originally published in 2008 for KRSONE.biz) On our last leg of the Stop The Violence Movement Pre-Tour 2008, we went to California in preparation for the full 20th year anniversary commemoration in 2009. Rather than fly over the…
Tagged with: amtrak, culture, hip hop, shadesradio, travel
Posted in Hip Hop, kurt nice, Latest Issue, Recent Posts
Posted in Hip Hop, kurt nice, Latest Issue, Recent Posts
The beat is better than the lyrics
I wrote in a recent blog that the state of rap music’s beats are much better than lyrics (ORIGINAL POST JAN – 2013). I joked that since this isn’t the new age of the instrumental, rap lyrics still mean something.…
Tagged with: culture, deejay, dj, hip hop, ramsey, shadesradio, skrillex, xecutioners
Posted in Deejays, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, music, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
Posted in Deejays, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, music, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
Hip Hop Appreciation Week Mix 1
Here’s a musical collage celebrating Hip Hop Appreciation Week with some pics from the Worldwide Cypher. If you see yourself or someone you know tag the post. Kurt NiceKurt Nice aka Kurtiss Jackson is a behind the scenes pioneer…
Tagged with: HHAW, hip hop, shadesradio, video
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, mixtape, music, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, mixtape, music, Recent Posts, shadesradio.com
The ethics of bootlegging
Bootleg –1. (verb) Make, distribute, or sell (illicit goods, esp. liquor, computer software, or recordings) illegally 2. (noun) An illegal musical recording, esp. one made at a concert. When cowboys roamed the land, most of them wore tall boots that,…
Tagged with: 9 elements, bootleg, culture, hip hop, lives, shadesradio
Posted in 9 Elements, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, history, industry, kurt nice, Latest Issue, mixtape, Recent Posts
Posted in 9 Elements, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, history, industry, kurt nice, Latest Issue, mixtape, Recent Posts
My Philosophy is more typical than you might remember
A particular classic hip-hop song starts out with a ‘sample’, which is an audio clip borrowed from an unrelated source: “So you’re a philosopher? Yes (deejay scratching). Yes. I think very deeply.”1 Judging from a superficial perspective of mainstream music…
Tagged with: 9 elements, artist, culture, emcee, hip hop, krsone, kurtnice, lives, my philosophy, rap, shadesradio, society
Posted in 9 Elements, ARTISTS, elements, emcee, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, history, krs one, kurt nice, music, rap, remember, shadesradio.com, truth
Posted in 9 Elements, ARTISTS, elements, emcee, Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, history, krs one, kurt nice, music, rap, remember, shadesradio.com, truth
Putting Hip Hop in Perspective via Plainfield
The digital publication below is an example of several principles. Firstly, the format itself is an innovative use of modern technology to relay a story. I have used the digital magazine format for several years in experimentation, but I predict…
Tagged with: culture, hip hop, kurtnice, new jersey, plainfield, shadesradio, society, technology
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts
My theme song from the Golden Era
Over the last year, I have reconciled myself to the idea that in order to move forward we must continuously look back to the past as our guide. We must constantly discover where we went wrong, and where we went…
Tagged with: emcee, hip hop, kurtnice, lives, shadesradio, video
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts, shades of hip hop CDS
Posted in Hip Hop, hiphoplives.net, kurt nice, Recent Posts, shades of hip hop CDS
