Apple 500

Who would have thought that 3 guys in a garage would form a company that would change the way we live? April 1, 1976, marked the founding of Apple Inc, which Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne would use to launch the sale of the Apple I computer. Apple grew competitive in the computer industry, but declined for a decade after Steve Jobs' departure in 1985. Jobs resigned after a long power struggle with CEO John Sculley. From 1986 to 1997, Apple saw its reputation decline under the leadership of three different CEOs (Sculley, Michael Spindler and Gil Amelio). In late 1997 Amelio chose to buy the company NeXT Inc. which Steve Jobs founded in 1985 after his departure. This acquisition brought Jobs back to Apple as an advisor. The board of directors eventually removed Amelio and Jobs became CEO thus reclaiming the company he co-founded. 1998 marked a new beginning for Apple with Jobs promoting English designer Jonathan Ive as Senior Vice President of Industrial Design. Ive transformed the face of Apple computers into what is now known as the iMac. Following the iMac came their line of laptop computers called MacBooks. Apple revolutionized the way the world listens to music single handedly making CD-ROM practically obsolete with the iPod. At the turn of twenty-first century as cell phones became more common in the public, Ive took innovation further combing the iPod with the cell phone for the iPhone. 37 years after its inception, and 27 years since the beginning of its decline, Apple finds joins elite company as the #6 company in the top 10 of the Fortune 500. Almost two years since Jobs passed away it's clear he left his beloved company in good hands.

Apple Cracks Top 10 of Fortune 500

For The Love of Money

June 25, 2009, the King of Pop died of cardiac arrest at age 50 in Los Angeles, CA. The nation along with the entire world morned his passing and celebrated his life. From September to November 2011 Jackson's personal doctor, Conrad Murray was on trial and was sentenced to 4 years in prison on a charge of involuntary manslaughter. Murray lucked out with serving a smaller sentence due to overcrowding in California prisons. Amid the controversy surrounding the true cause of Jackson's death, his family turned attention to AEG Live. AEG Live is the concert promotion company that was in charge of Jackson's "This is It Tour" as well as paying for his doctor (Murray). The Jacksons suspected foul play on the part of AEG Live accusing them of giving priority to their profits from his tour instead of his health and safety. AEG denied hiring Dr. Murray and claimed Jackson chose and paid for his service on his own.  The trial of wrongful death against AEG revealed that they asked the Jackson estate to repay them $300,000 in doctor's fees just three weeks after Michael's death. Other evidence shows that they had an option to hire another doctor for $40,000 a month, who wanted the job as long as Jackson was clear of any drug abuse. Instead, they hired Murray who initially demanded $5 million but settled for $1.5 million at $150,000 a month. The central issue of the trial is determining whether AEG knowingly pushed for Jackson to receive any medication he asked for in order to be ready for his tour. AEG was allegedly aware of Jackson's declining health, but they were focused on money. This trial is certainly about to shed light on the dark side of the music industry.

AEG Execs Face Questioning

Still Kind of Blue

On this day 87 years ago one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century was born. On May 26, 1926, Cleota Mae Davis gave birth to Miles Dewey Davis in Alton, Illinois. At age 13 Davis learned to play the trumpet under the guidance of Elwood Buchanan, a family friend. Buchanan encouraged Davis to play trumpet differently than the style popularized by Louis Armstrong. As his trumpeting skills grew at age 17 he got a chance to play trumpet in a band with Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. At 18 Davis headed to New York to attend the Julliard School of Music. While at Julliard he teamed up with Charlie Parker to play at nightclubs in Harlem. After recording numerous times he consulted his father and dropped out of school to be a musician full-time. Davis formed a band of his own and recorded songs which would eventually be featured on the album Birth of the Cool in 1957. In the 1950s Davis fought a long battle with addiction to heroin that ended in the assembly of one of the greatest jazz bands ever. The Davis sextet consisted of himself, pianist Bill Evans, drummer Jimmy Cobb, bassist Paul Chambers, and saxophonists John Coltrane and Julian Adderley. In 1959 Davis released what many consider to be his magnum opus with the critically acclaimed Kind of Blue. In this masterpiece Miles Davis' sound is almost entire modal jazz as opposed to his previous style of bebop jazz. It received perfect reviews from critics all across the board and as of 2008 it has sold over 4 millions copies giving it 4x platinum certification. After the release of this album Davis' career sky-rocketed and he went on to win 7 Grammy awards before his passing in 1991.

Kind of Blue 50th Anniversary Edition

2013: Year of the Movie

The year 2013 meant a couple things to me: One, it meant the end of my undergraduate career and two, it meant the world was not destroyed by cataclysmic events on December 21, 2012.  After going to see the last blockbuster of 2012, The Hobbit, nothing could have prepared me for the previews of movies to come in 2013. For the first time ever, I sat through movie trailers and I wanted to see every single movie. The first teaser showed the Man of Steel. Director Christopher Nolan did such an incredible job with the Dark Knight trilogy that he joined director Zack Snyder's team as a producer. The film is set to release on June 14, 2013. Next in line was The Lone Ranger. When the trailer first started it opened up with Johnny Depp in costume leading many to believe this would be another "Pirates of the Caribbean" film. We later found out that the TLR's director, Gore Verbinski, directed the "Pirates" films. Depp's character in this film is a quirky Native American whose tendencies remind us of his role as Captain Jack Sparrow. It was a great marketing strategy to lure the audience in with a new but similar character.  The following trailer was none other than The Great Gatsby. After reading the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 10th grade, my wish came true the story had new film adaption. With an actor like Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role, this movie's appeal only grew. The next few trailers which followed Gatsby showed an onslaught of movies set to release in the month of May. Iron Man 3 on May 3 (which picks up where The Avengers left off), The Great Gatsby on May 10, Star Trek: Into Darkness on May 17, Fast and Furious 6 and The Hangover Part III on May 24, and Post-Apocalyptic Earth film starring Will and Jaden Smith, After Earth on May 31. June and July will carry on the momentum with Man of Steel (June 14) , World War Z (June 21) and The Wolverine (July 26).  

Rotten Tomatoes TOP 100 Films of 2013

Globalization

Globalization is defined by merriam-webster's dictionary as "the development of an increasingly integrated global economy marked especially by free trade, free flow of capital, and the tapping of cheaper foreign labor markets". It is defined by wikipedia as the process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture. Music is the world's most universal form of communication. If you listen to songs in different languages you might not understand what the lyrics mean, but you can understand the emotion behind it. Now take music and combine it with images and you'll have ideas for anyone with eyes and ears to adopt. Japan is known for its ancient traditions as well as its modern technological empire and perhaps its most popular export, anime. Anime started in Japan at the beginning of the 20th century when Japanese filmmakers experimented with animation techniques that were being explored in the West. In the 1970's Japan's anime grew to look differently than its western counterparts and then became mainstream in Japan by the 1980s. The popularity of anime in the U.S. in the late 90's and early 2000's came from shows that were adaptions of anime novels called "Manga". Fans could read ahead in the storyline while waiting for the release of the english version of the anime. For more impatient fans there were released Japanese versions with sub-titles. Along with other popular exports from Toyotas and Hondas to Nintendo and PlayStation, Japan had left its mark of western culture. However globalization is not a one way street and western culture has crept its way to the land of the rising sun. Hip-Hop culture has taken Japan by storm prompting some of the younger generation to take on the fashion and music originating in the South Bronx.

History of Japanese Anime

Buffalo Soldier

68 years ago Cedella Booker gave birth to Robert Nesta Marley. 18 years later Bob Marley and his friends formed the Wailing Wailers. 9 years after that they sign a contract with Island Records. Marley and the Wailers sold over 20 million records throughout their career. Their union was brought to a tragic end 32 years ago with Bob Marley's death May 11 1981. He death was caused by a skin cancer known as melanoma. Marley's music was posthumously released after his death in the form of an album named Confrontation. Today marks the 30th anniversary of the album's release May 23 1983. The album contains 10 songs compiled from unreleased material. The most famous of these songs is "Buffalo Soldier". The song was Marley's homage to the U.S. Cavalry's African-American regiment who fought in the Indian Wars in the late 1800's. He felt that his life's journey was relative to their fight for survival. The album's cover depicts Marley's version of the tale of St. George and the Dragon. The dragon is meant to represent "Babylon"(corruption), which Marley is slaying with his music. Though he died at the age of 36, his legacy lived on through his friends and his children. Marley had 11 children, 3 of which followed in their father's footsteps and gained notoriety. Those three are Ziggy, Stephen and Damien Marley. All have inherited their father's love for music and for Rastafari and taken their family to the status of royalty in Jamaica. Reggae is one of my favorite genres. The way it sounds and the messages it preaches can bring people of any race, gender or creed together. That was the mission of the late Bob Marley. That's the message of the surviving Wailers and of Marley's sons, and that's a message worth spreading.

MTV :This Day In Music We Remember Bob Marley

Not A Real Job?

When I finally decided that music would be my life's work, I was very careful about who I shared that information with. There were two reasons for that: One because I hadn't planned it out in detail , and two because people don't really see working in the music industry as an obtainable career. When I first brought the idea to my mother, her reply was something along the lines of "There's no guaranteed money in that". She was right. The life of a musician is tough when you're trying to make it on your own and trying make ends meet because you get paid according to how many shows or "gigs" you do. I gave this a great deal of thought and I came up with phase one of what I knew would develop into a master plan. I figured since I'm talented in the area of composing, why not combine that with honing skills in songwriting and production. More recently after doing a bit of research I decided that it would be better to try and build an entertainment company from the ground up instead of trying to get discovered by a major label. Major labels have a music monopoly going and the only music they are endorsing is the materialistic, decadent side of rap music. I think fans are getting fed up and up and coming artists are starting to push the genre in another direction. Now that I am a college graduate I can focus on a career in music but it's going to require a lot of hard work and dedication. I searched the web to look up the salaries for different occupations in the music industry and i found a career guide from Berkeley College of Music in Boston, MA. An A&R representative makes between $25,000 and $85,000 a year. They are responsible for scouting talent and trying to sign the prospect to the label they work for. An audio engineer makes between 25,000 and 150,000 a year. They are responsible for helping with planning how an artist's project should sound. A Record Producer makes between 25,000 and 1,000,000 a year. They are responsible for assisting an artist with all details of a project. 

These were just three of the many jobs in the industry that aren't your typical 9 to 5s. My advice to anyone with a passion in music is to aim high. You never know, people may aspire to be you someday. 

Berkley Salary Guide

Planning The Future: IAR Vs. SAE

Institute of Audio Research

School of Audio Engineering

Graduation two days ago meant two things for me: One, my summer job orientation was breathing down my neck and, two, it was time to solidify the next step in my education. I entered St. John's University as a psychology major, and after taking an intro class I decided that my interest in psych was not a passion. My freshman year was a time I considered to be the greatest of my life, but it also turned out to be the most painful experience I've ever had. I started off like a majority of young men in college. I was just looking to have fun and I wasn't looking for a serious relationship, but I met a girl in my english class who captivated me and unlocked a side of me I never knew possible. I became so comfortable with her I didn't realize I was suffocating her by being around too much. Unfortunately she never communicated this with me and instead chose to break up with me, and immediately after she started dating her best guy friend from high school. I took the end of the relationship pretty badly and I had to rebuild my social life from scratch. First I had to deal with the overwhelming storm of emotions and the only way I could do that was by composing and writing. As a sophomore I used music to propel me forward and it was then that I decided to switch my major from psychology to communication arts. As a junior with the help of Mass Communications chair Dr. Monteiro I found out about an audio production class I could take through St. John's at the Institute of Audio Research. I enrolled in the class and got an A. To fulfill the requirements of my major and graduate on time I had to take 18 credits each semester until graduation. For my final semester I hoped to be able to take 5 classes at IAR for 15 of my 18 final credits. Unfortunately, in order to receive credits from IAR I would have been required to complete their 30 credit program. That door to my dream had been closed but not locked. Now I find myself a college graduate looking to further my knowledge and hone my skills to get into the music industry. My two options: IAR and SAE. Last Saturday I went to the School of Audio Engineering for an open house which consisted of a tour and a chance to ask questions about financial aid. When campus director, Michael Morrell introduced himself he explained their programs and provided a great deal of useful information, but he came off a bit cut throat. He seemed to emphasize the school's reputation and how they quickly expel students whom they feel can't handle the work load. He even said he wouldn't recommend having a job and taking classes full-time.  Over all I like what the school has to offer, but I didn't get the right vibe. I then turned to a place I was familiar with: IAR. When I called IAR to inquire about admission I spoke when a rep named John Lupo. He was very engaging and animated and he made me want to come in and discuss applying. We had an appointment today and after a conversation with him I felt like he believed in me just from my explanation of my goals and aspirations. The two biggest reasons I'm leaning toward IAR are because I love their familial vibe and their tuition is 17,000 dollars less with textbooks and materials included( SAE tuition is 24,400). But before I choose I'll study both schools in more detail. I would recommend either one for those interested in a career in music. 

School of Audio Engineering Info

Institute of Audio Research: Talk with a Studenf

From St. John's to Midtown: An Alumnus' Journey

"Born Sinner" [Album Cover]

J.Cole's Logo

"Born Sinner" [Deluxe Edition Cover]

As I sat outside in continuous rain from 9am to noon this past Sunday, restless grunts from my peers and brisk wind distracted me from the biggest moment in my life to date, my graduation from St. John's University. The forecast was originally supposed to be partly cloudy with a 30% chance of rain. Mother Nature, on the other hand, had a different plan in mind. Myself along with the rest of the Class of 2013 expected to have favorable conditions for the celebration of our achievements, but instead we were administered one last test, a test of patience. Of the six schools within the University, my college, the College of Professional Studies, happened to be the last to be conferred degrees. After about an hour of waiting, I finally walked across the stage and became a part of an exclusive group of individuals, I became a St. John's Alumnus. 6 years ago a young man from Fayetteville, North Carolina by the name of Jermaine Cole walked across the very same stage. Cole came to Queens, NY chasing a dream many deemed to be far-fetched, a career in the music industry. Despite outside skepticism,10 years later he finds himself less than a month away from releasing his sophomore album "Born Sinner". His debut album "Cole World: The Sideline Story" received gold certification in December 2011 selling over 650,000 copies. After the two year wait, Cole's fans will finally get their hands on the music they've coveted for so long. "Born Sinner" was initially supposed to be released in January 2013, but it was pushed back to June 25 due to sample clearance issues. On May 20 J.Cole confirmed via Instagram that the album has been moved up to be released June 18. He also released the album cover along with an alternate cover for a deluxe version. This created quite a buzz on social networks as June 18 is also the release date for other artists such as Kanye West and Mac Miller giving Hip-Hoppers a variety of new music all in one day. Another topic of discussion was the deluxe version of Cole's album. It depicts a small child with horns and a halo-crown drawn above the child's head. Many people deem this to be a satanic message, but anyone who is a fan of J.Cole's music knows that his logo is a set of horns and a halo. The significance of this symbol is Cole's belief that there is a devil and an angel inside us all along with the fact that there's hell before there's heaven. In other words, things tend to get better before they get worse, and Cole's taste of heaven is just beginning as his patience is now being rewarded. The 28-year-old rapper now lives in an upscale apartment in Midtown.

J.Cole Interview with New York Magazine

Man on the Street: Soft Drink Ban

Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposes ban on 32oz soft drinks. St. John's Track and Field athlete Rikka Lovely weighs in.

 

  Supreme Court Rejects Soda Ban

Photo Essay

Brooklyn Bridge (Close up).

Brooklyn Bridge (Far away).

Me on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Brooklyn Bridge Historic Plaque.

Walking behind my girlfriend on the Brooklyn Bridge (In Motion)

From left to right: Jackson Willis (Second Cousin), Kathy Willis (First Cousin), Rob (Kathy's husband)

Mahalia Willis (Second cousin). [Group photo at Christmas]

Radio Commercial: WSJU

TV Commercial: St. John's Women's Golf

Boston Bombing Interview Pt. 2

Boston Bombing Interview Pt. 1

Interview/Discussion with Josh Carter and Justin Allison of Rochester, NY and Jamila Coar of Toronto, CA.

A Walk in Their Shoes

" Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (far right) and his friends pose for a photo in Times Square."

After a complete shutdown of the city followed by a metropolitan manhunt, Boston finally has their man. On April 19th Boston Police captured 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was hiding out on a boat in Watertown, Massachusetts. He and his now deceased older brother Tamerlan, 26, originally planned to set up a bombing on the 4th of july but, due to the construction of explosive devices at a pace quicker than expected they chose the marathon on Patriot's Day. Speculation of the motive of these two young men automatically points to terrorist organizations overseas, yet there has been no concrete evidence supporting such theories. Investigation thus far seems to point to self-radicalism. Living in a Post 9/11 America can be a difficult thing for practicing Muslims. The religion of Islam is often portrayed by the media to be one of vengeance and hate. Ironically in a nation made up of so many different cultures, races, and religions we still discriminate against one another. From tragedies such as the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings we've learned that the individuals behind them often felt alienated or bullied. While the threat of terrorism is very real, we have to understand that by feeding into stereotypes we can create the very terrorist we're trying to protect our country from. The Tsarnaev brothers seem to have disapproved of the U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan but being Muslim their personal opinions most likely would have them labeled as terrorists without them committing a single crime. Most of us Americans have no idea what it's like to have someone come to our country with an army and blow things up. We've been attacked but no war since the American Civil War has taken place on U.S. soil, so how can we really understand? How many of us have thought about if we were overseas and are hated us because we're American or Christian or Jewish? 

For CNN Article Click Here

Boston Bombing Recap

April 15th in Boston, Massachusetts. It was Patriot's Day and the city was bustling in the wake of the 117th Boston Marathon. At 2:50pm most of the winners had crossed the finish line but as more runners came to the finish line, two bombs went off killing 3 people and injuring 264 others. Of those people injured 14 needed amputations and 17 were in critical condition. On April 18th the FBI released a surveillance video revealing two subjects, the Tsarnaev brothers of Cambridge, MA. The brother hail from the small country of Kyrgyzstan just below Russia. The older brother, Tamerlan, had no known occupation while the younger brother, Dzhokhar, attended UMass Dartmouth. After identifying the suspects the city of Boston was shut down. The brothers' aunt and uncle spoke to the media in a press conference to provide more background information. A manhunt ensued which eventually resulted in the authorities and the suspects in a shootout where the older suspect was killed. The younger brother fled, but was later surrounded while hiding out in a boat in Watertown, MA. Shots were exchanged, but law enforcement managed to convince the young man to surrender. Dzhokhar was taken into custody and rushed to the hospital for his wounds. While in the hospital, he told authorities that he and his brother had originally planned an attack on July 4th but chose to act sooner because they built the explosives quicker than expected. The one thing many Bostonians and perhaps the nation waited for was their motive. Tsarnaev claims he and his brother disapproves of U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. Family members claim the two brothers were Muslim but had no connection to any terrorist networks.  His older brother's body remains unclaimed leaving many to debate whether he should even be buried.

For CNN Article Click Here

Gold-Hatted Gatsby

"The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald is arguably one of the best American novels of the 20th Century. It takes place during the roaring twenties following narrator Nick Carraway. Nick is a bond salesman from the midwest who moves to Long Island and ends up living next to millionaire party thrower Jay Gatsby. Carraway's second cousin Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan, a man of inherited wealth. After a night at one of Gatsby's super soirees the stories of these characters intertwine for an emotional tale of glamour, decadence, infidelity and poetic justice. The novel has inspired for five film adaptions including this year's by Baz Luhrmann. Hip-hop icon Jay-Z join the project as executive producer of the film's soundtrack, teaming up with a star-studded lineup with big names such as his wife, Beyonce and Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas. There have been songs released as a teaser for its release and a standout track is "Young and Beautiful by native New Yorker Lana Del Rey.The soundtrack is slated to be release on May 6th and will be available for digital download on iTunes.

See Rotten Tomatoes Review Here

 Tracklist:

1.   100$ Bill - JAY Z

2.   Back To Black - Beyoncé x André 3000

3.   Bang Bang - will.i.am

4.   A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got) - Fergie + Q Tip + GoonRock

5.   Young And Beautiful - Lana Del Rey

6.   Love Is The Drug - Bryan Ferry with The Bryan Ferry Orchestra

7.   Over The Love - Florence + The Machine

8.   Where The Wind Blows - Coco O. of Quadron

9.   Crazy in Love - Emeli Sandé and The Bryan Ferry Orchestra

10.  Together – The xx

11.  Hearts A Mess - Gotye

12.  Love Is Blindness – Jack White

13.  Into the Past - Nero

14.  Kill and Run - Sia

Interview with Alyssa Goldrich (unedited)

Two Feet, One Goal

 

"It's not soccer, it's football"

Robert Nesta Marley and James Marshall Hendrix, Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix. Two men from two different backgrounds, cultures and genres, yet they still seemed to have the same charisma when it came to music. This photograph claims to be a meeting of the two icons entertaining themselves with a soccer ball in a dressing room. I thought the idea of those two in the same room was incredible, so I did some research to find out more about the encounter.  Unfortunately, what I found out was that the man in the photograph is not actually Hendrix, but someone who was made to look like him by blurring the side of his face. I was a little upset that I was misled, but the idea still sat with me for the rest of the day. I thought to myself: "How awesome would that have been, being in a room with those two? What kind of conversation would take place?" Both of these men were known for their open use of marijuana so I imagined a chat between them would be along the philosophical lines. It seemed like another one of my outrageous fantasy scenarios but I thought about it longer than expected. I closed my eyes and imagined again. A sold-out concert with screaming fans, everything is dark. Suddenly the spotlight shines on the stage as Jimi Hendrix plays the opening melody for Bob Marley's song "Exodus". The crowd goes crazy as Bob joins in with vocals, revealing the entire stage and supporting band. Even though the story behind promoting this image was false, I loved where it took my imagination.

What's Real? What's Not?:The Current State of Hip Hop

Much has been said about the current state of mainstream rap music. If you ask the fans, you may get mixed reviews. Some people think the music that goes viral on your local urban radio stations "Isn't real hip-hop/music", or you may hear people say they like the music that plays on the radio because it puts them in a good mood and they don't have to do much thinking to listen to it. Unfortunately, that's the problem. Most people are ignorant of the distinction between hip-hop and rap, and many see the two as synonymous. While the two are connected, to say that they are the same thing would be incorrect. Hip-hop can be defined as "a culture which allows self-expression through many different avenues." The three main pillars of the culture are: DJ'ing, Breaking (incorrectly called break dancing), and MCing (informally known as rapping). The word "rap" itself is used to describe the music an MC (master of ceremonies) performs over. So basically rap is the music within the culture of Hip-Hop. The unique thing about rap music is that there is a wide spectrum when it comes to content. When it first began in the south Bronx in the 70’s and 80’s it was more centered on the struggles of the middle class and growing up in such a rough era. In the mid 80’s to the mid 90’s there was a period of mass innovation called  “The Golden Age”. Everything about rap music was new back then because so many artists were finding ways to reinvent the genre. As the 90’s came to close, "gangsta rap" took a choke-hold on the industry in what would be the beginning of a decline in the culture which held so much promise. Through the early 2000’s rap music saw the heavy presence of innovation dwindle to a sound of heavy bass drums as southern rap held the crown for a decade. Southern rap was a huge catalyst to the industry going into the 2010’s as most mainstream music surrounds booming bass and synthesizers combined with materialistic subject matter. Despite this imbalance within the culture, one shouldn’t say that mainstream music “isn’t real”. The music designed for party scenes and nightlife serves its purpose. Unfortunately due to a high demand from big record labels to feed this monster, fans miss out on the music that relates to real-life situations and issues which most rich and famous rappers of today’s industry cease to mention.

MTV's Hottest M.C.

On March 7th MTV released its annual "Hottest MCs in the Game" list which ranks rappers based on their commercial success over the previous year. After a brief period of anticipation, brought on by the suspense of revealing the list one artist at a time, the full list is finally here. MTV’s Top 10 Hottest MCs are the following: 10. Meek Mill. 9. Future. 8. A$AP Rocky. 7. Kanye West. 6. Big Sean. 5. Drake.  4. Nas.3. Rick Ross. 2. 2 Chainz. 1. Kendrick Lamar. The list created quite a buzz around with hip hoppers as well as the artists themselves. Kendrick Lamar, the newly crowned “hottest MC in the game” was shocked when he heard the news. Kendrick was told he was coming in for an interview on the Hottest MC TV special when MTV personality Sway surprised him and told him that he was voted the best and Kendrick’s reaction: “That’s craazy”. The 25-year-old rapper from Compton, CA was all smiles and seemed very humbled and appreciative. Meanwhile, artists like Kanye West whose rank was #7, and Drake whose rank was #5, had a different kind of reaction. Kanye West called New York City urban radio station Hot 97 to share his thoughts with DJ Enuff. The interview made West sound a bit bitter and ungrateful stating that Lil Wayne is the number one rapper and that Big Sean and himself should have been placed higher. In the midst of the list debates, north of the border, Canadian rapper Drake released a track called “5am in Toronto” in which he aggressively lets off some steam directly addressing the list: “I swear f*ck them n*ggas this year, I made Forbes list n*gga, F*ck your list, everything is looking gorgeous”. Kendrick Lamar being crowned the hottest MC means one thing: Lyricism and real life issues are shifting back to the forefront of rap music. There may be hope yet.

Watch the video Here:

Music News

Interview with Alyssa Goldrich

Check out my interview with Multimedia Communications classmate Alyssa Goldrich.

Intro

My name is Daniel Muhammad. I'm from Rochester, NY, and a St. John's University senior, majoring in Communication Arts.  I have many interests but the one I want to focus on is music. I love listening to music, I love creating music, and I love talking about it. Primarily, I listen to Hip Hop, Dancehall and R&B, but I listen to other genres as well such as Rock, Oldies, Jazz, Blues etc. If you can't tell already, my blog will be about music and I can't wait to share my love for it with you.