Take a look as Ashanti opens up about her 'Braveheart' album and also explains why she considers herself a "Jafakecan," why one fan took her by complete surprise and who she believes is the epitome of the strongest woman.
Taking on the task of singing a legend's song is no easy feat, yet Ashanti never falters as she puts her own delicate spin on Chaka Khan's 'Sweet Thing' for The Boombox's Off the Record series.
Don't think "conscious" rappers can turn up? Well, Talib Kweli's here to prove you wrong. 'Turnt Up' is a tribute to Eric B. & Rakim's money-making jam 'Paid in Full.' Despite its admittedly unfortunate title, 'Turnt Up' is a light-hearted song about getting fly, going out, and having fun. Later for all of the soapboxing and soap operas. Turn up!
When Run of Run-D.M.C. proclaimed himself the “King of Rock” back in the days, he made a bold statement. Now, decades later, rap has arguably usurped rock as the most popular sub-genre of pop music -- but that doesn’t mean that hip-hop heads don’t have anything common with their head-banging counterparts.
Few artists can say that they wrote a hit song and even fewer can say that they created a bona fide anthem. Talib Kweli’s got both of those bases covered with ‘Get By,’ a motivational soundtrack to the lives of strugglers and strivers the world over.
Talib Kweli isn’t just one of hip-hop’s premiere lyricists (just ask Jay Z), he might just be the hardest working MC in the game. Not only does he do nearly 300 shows a calendar year, he also lives up to his “MCEO” title by running his own independent label, Javotti Media, with a hands-on approach to every aspect of the business...
"Friends ... how many of us have them ...?" If you're an old head or just into old school hip-hop, you remember that question from Whodini's 1984 classic 'Friends.' We've already looked at Nas and MF Doom's respective takes on the song and now we get another clever interpretation from Meshell Ndegeocello for our Off the Record Series.