Its been another good week for qualify hip-hop journalism and long-form articles. Here’s our top picks from the last seven days:
Origin Stories: The Neptunes by Chris Williams
This article for Red Bull Music Academy looks at the history of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, and how they came up in the Virginia music scene before changing the commercial forever rap game as production powerhouse The Neptunes. Read in full here. If you also haven’t yet seen the incredible Revolutions On Air: The Golden Era of New York Radio 1980-1988 documentary, watch it here.
Gettin Kinda Hectic: Snap and Chill Rob G’s Epic Power Struggle by Robbie Ettelson
Robbie Ettelson is one of the best writers documenting the history of hip-hop, and here breaks down the troublesome making of monster dance hit Power, which included vocals from Chill Rob G. It appears on the always brilliant Cuepoint, and you can read it in full here.
Why the Term ‘Jazz-Rap’ Needs to be Deleted from the Internet by Seve Chambers
Sparked from a recent twitter debate by 9th Wonder, the article looks at the pointless need for some critics and writers to pigeonhole music into sub-genres, and how ultimately, none of it really matters. Read in full here.
The Evolution of Jaime Meline by Ben Pedroche
Lastly, we’ve gone and included one of our own long-form articles from last week, by our editor. It tracks the many different chapters in the career of El-P, and how he’s one of the few hip-hop artists to stay relevant for so long. Read in full here.
