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2008 HipHopDX Awards

HipHopDX .com — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:48:37 -0000

The 2008 HipHopDX Aawards

Giovanni Hidalgo took the played out formula of luxury cars and voluptuous vixens and flipped it on its head with this clip. Featuring only Killer Mike against a plain white background and some great editing, this video kept the focus on the strong visuals inspired by Mike and Ice Cube's verses. Nine times out of ten, the average "music" network is playing some reality program instead of any programming with actual music. If you don't want to be bothered with the day-to-day troubles of airhead "celebutantes," do yourself a favor and watch this.

Pressure - Killer Mike

The New Jersey luminary gave us a non-album masterpiece with "Who?" Budden took Nas' proclamation from 2006, and started investigating who killed Hip-Hop. From examinations of T-Pain's Auto-Tune use, to 50 Cent's endorsement of money over skills, both parts of the the no-holds-barred, 11-minute song created anticipation for an album that's been hyped for years.

After the sneaky success of last year's Below The Heavens, Blu released two albums this year. Whereas C.R.A.C. left some a bit unsettled, Johnson & Jonson, a collaboration with rookie producer Mainframe, was the Supreme Clientele of the underground. Dynamic '70s sampling, cocky-yet-vulnerable rhymes and age-old life lessons made this reportedly shelved project from 2006 sound like brand new funk, with some revisions and updates.

Nine years removed from Amplified—and six from the shelved Kamaal The Abstract— Q-Tip had been more seen than heard in the in the new millennium. Much like Kanye West or Black Milk, Tip challenged the genre and made soulful music that several generations of fans could bond over in The Renaissance. With some cherished work from J Dilla being unveiled, Q-Tip pushed his own production envelope in a mixture between samples and instrumentation to show that a 38-year-old can still sound and look young, with the wisdom and poise not found in the young bucks.

It took over 30 years for Hip Hop to deliver a national star from the Washington, D.C. area. With his slow-building hit "Nike Boots" combining a self-aware style with principles and cultural awareness, Wale Folarin began the year grinding. In the journey, he landed an Allido/Interscope deal, support from Jay-Z, his first official appearance with The Roots, and mixtapes with both Nick Catchdubs and the legendary 45 King; the Capitol City's mark came exact with a capital W.

FIND OUT WHO WON ALBUM OF THE YEAR, COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR, EMCEE OF THE YEAR, MIXTAPE OF THE YEAR, PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, AND MORE AT HIPHOPDX

Kidz In The Hall - Kiddin' Around

HipHopDX .com — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:59:55 -0000

During their interview with HipHopDX, the members of Kidz In The Hall were laughing and goofing off more than they were answering questions. But the emcee/producer duo of Naledge and Double-O has reason to be happy: about a year after making noise with their Rawkus debut and with a couple of solid mixtapes to hold listeners over, they’ve got a new deal with the legendary Duck Down Records. Their sophomore disc, The In Crowd, features them continuing their versatile, fundamentally sound brand of Hip Hop with guest shots from their Duck Down label-mates and the likes of Masta Ace, Phonte of Little Brother, Black Milk, Guilty Simpson and more.

Though one-time wallflowers, perceived by some as an aspiring Lupe Fiasco and a Just Blaze/Baseline Studio understudy, the Kidz have grown up into that popular crowd. The proverbial braces and zits have vanished, and the Chicago and New Jersey duo now can bask in the glory of comparing condom brands, sprinkling game on the freshmen and making an album that needs no comparisons or protege comments. New gear, new sounds and new swagger could position Naledge and Double O as independent Hip Hop's best bet. Like their Canadian namesake suggests, it's all sketch comedy for these gentlemen, and while their brand of Hip Hop remains intelligently crafted, nobody is seemingly looking at the Ivy League diplomas - posted next to the dartboard on their walls.

HipHopDX: I last interviewed you guys a little more than a year ago, and a lot has happened since then. What’s been going on with y’all?
Naledge: A lot of good vagina.
Double-O: It’s basically like that. We figured out a way to crawl out of the womb and crawl back in when we want to, and it’s been a great experience because of that.
Naledge: And we need that Magnum sponsorship real quick, right now.
Double-O: I’ve realized Magnums are a lie. They only equate five millimeters or some shit larger than regular condoms, and that’s a lie. Tell them they need to make every condom feel like natural lamb. If every condom felt like natural lamb condoms, we wouldn’t have the problems in the hood that we have now.
Naledge: That’s how our album feels, it feels like natural lamb.

DX: [Laughs]
Double-O: No, it does. You listen to that shit, and you think, “Wow, it shouldn’t feel this good, it’s so how unsafe [sic], but at least I won’t get pregnant." Nah man, we’ve just been livin’. That’s really all we’ve been doing. You grind for so long so that you can wake up every day and make music, so we don’t take that for granted at all. We have fun with this shit.

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