Nike To Donate To Local Baltimore Charities

Throwing out what might be the best thing about the previously reported Nike Air Force One collabs with Nas, Kanye, Rakim, and KRS-One (and produced by DJ Premier), Nike has announced plans to donate proceeds from the tracks to Baltimore charities including local chapters of The Boys & Girls Club of America and The Salvation Army.

According to the press release, "Known for the pivotal role it played in the popularity of the Air Force 1, Baltimore is home to three of the original Air Force 1 retailers including Downtown Locker Room. In Baltimore the love for the Air Force 1 took the form of a groundswell of support that emerged in the early 80s and eventually spread all over the world. The presence of the shoe on all sides of town turned the AF1 into Baltimore's shoe of choice, a revolutionary footwear product that spoke volumes about the city's love for basketball and made Baltimore a key player in the subsequent resurrection of the Air Force 1 and the flourish of basketball culture."

The track, "Classic - Better Than I've Ever Been" is available on iTunes along with another original Nike song, "The Second Coming" produced by Just Blaze with lyrics by Juelz Santana.

Would have preferred to see smaller, more grassroots charities get the loot, but at least Nike is giving money to our fair city.

The Decline of Hip Hop

In a USA Today report, the newspaper discusses the decline of album sales in rap music, stating that "this year, rap sales are down 33% from 2006." This is even greater than the overall decline in album sales, and cannot be dismissed as simple suffering from digital sales and/or illegal downloads. Culprits include skipping whole album sales in favor of hyping the singles that sell ringtones and digital singles.

The greatest culprit in the declining sales, however, cannot be denied: people are just tired of hearing about bullets and bling. As USA Today puts it, "the young, largely white audience that can make a difference between modest and blockbuster sales ó are tiring of rappers' emphasis on "gangsta" attitudes, explicit lyrics and tales of street life and conspicuous consumption."

And one of my favorite hip-hop artists, KRS-One, puts it this way: "The music is garbage. What has happened over the past few years is that we have traded art for money, simple and plain, and the public is not stupid." You've got that right, Blastmaster! Hip hop as an industry has given up information and education and social activism in favor of being strictly party music. There is no balance in hip hop.

"The public has made a choice," KRS-One says. "They're saying, 'We do not want the nonsense that we see and hear on radio, and we are not putting our money there.' Rap music is being boycotted by the American public because of the images that we are putting forward."

Arguing that the current language of hip hop is blasted because it is a cultural representation of reality, 50 Cent counters "Music is a mirror, and hip-hop is a reflection of the environment we grew up in."

In my conversation with Salim, a Baltimore hip hop artist (the podcast will be available on Any Given Tuesday tomorrow), we discussed the lack of balance in hip hop, and it is clear from the above comments by KRS and 50 that there are different cultural representations that hip hop can make. There is a time for party music, a time for mirroring one's reality, and a time for speaking out against political and social injustice.

KRS-One and Hip-Hop Appreciation Week; New KRS-One Album with Marley Marl: Hip-Hop Lives

As my favorite Blastmaster MC, KRS-One, has represented since 1998, we are in the midst of Hip-Hop Appreciation Week (May 14-21).

According to KRS: "During this time (May 14th-21st 2007) the Hip Hop community refocuses itself through a collective reviewand update of its own history and core principles and elements. Principles- peace,love, unity and having fun. Elements- Breakin, Emceein, Graffiti Art, Deejayin, Beat Boxin, Street Fashion, Street Language, Street Knowledge and Street Entrepreneurialism. The idea is to celebrate Hip Hop itself.

"Let us show our respect for Hip Hop with a sincere respect for one another. Men—support the women in your life. Women, comfort the men in your life. And let us all remain committed to the well-being of our children; they are the reason we do what we do. Love your children. Reserve a special love for them. Give them your time and your attention. Be patient with them. Touch them, hug them, play with them and be sure to teach them, advise them, protect them, discipline them, and most of all LISTEN to them. One of the best ways to teach our children that they are valuable is to value them. Often we must compliment them, point out their special qualities to them, fulfill their prayers, support their legitimate dreams and aspirations and let them know that we are interested in them. They are the future of Hip Hop! The preservation of our children IS the preservation of Hip Hop. HAPPY HIP HOP APPRECIATION WEEK! There it is."

Much respect to KRS-One. He has maintained a legacy of intelligent hip-hop, always challenging and always positive. I, for one, support his work and envy his dedication to his community. With his influence, we will see more positive hip-hop; hip-hop that we can be proud of down the road. Hip-hop we can give to our children as a time capsule of our lives, not boilerplate, commercial hip-hop that glamorizes this moment in life which will surely pass, but that provides a much-needed intellectual stream of good lyrics over quality beats that defy popular culture.

And, in a step showing impeccable timing, KRS-One's joint effort with Marley Marl, Hip-Hop Lives, hits streets on May 22.

Any Given Tuesday's Top 10 Music Icons

Owing a nod to Olympus Mons and to Nick Hornsby's High Fidelity, I present you with Any Given Tuesday's Top 10 Music Icons. These lists always spark debate, but this is what I'm giving you: the view of one Gen-Xer who has been through music from vinyl to 8-track to cassette to CD to digital.

My criteria are limited mostly to certain "I"s: Identifiability, Influence, Individuality and Inspiration.



1) Jimi Hendrix - His appearance at Monterey Pop changed the way guitar was heard and played forever. Suddenly, feedback was a desirable tool for guitar players to add to their repertoire.



2) Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) - Nerdy, defiant outcast who hit in the right place at the right time. Kurt Cobain wrote really simple songs that altered the paradigm of music in the 1990s.



3) Elvis Presley - So recognizable, he is a brand. Arguably due to his race, Elvis was an 'acceptable' face for rock and roll, but nonetheless it was the King who made rock huge.



4) Jerry Lee Lewis - A flamboyant rebel and probably the coolest on this list in my eyes, the Killer is tied inextricably to Elvis, Carl Perkins, and the man in black, Johnny Cash. Piano rockers like Elton John have Jerry Lee to thank.



5) Marvin Gaye - Broke tradition from Motown's wholesome but suffocating image and made some of the most sensual R&B of his time.



6) Jim Morrison (The Doors) - The very definition of rock star, Jim Morrison was not only wildly scandalous but unmatchedly charismatic. Morrison penned some of the most bizarre and provocative rock lyrics of his time.



7) Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) - Reznor's pop sensibility helped to make him a pioneer of industrial electronica, and his magic spans three decades.



8) KRS-One - Still maintaining hip-hop as intelligent and culturally relevant in a positive way, KRS pens intellectual and philosophical rhymes that most popular artists can't touch.



9) PJ Harvey - Continually doing "her thing", writing blues-tinged rock songs with emotion and intensity, and maintaining her credibility as an artist.



10) Madonna - The universal symbol for pop music, Madonna was an awakening for legions of MTV-bred music fans, continually pushing boundaries throughout her career.

KRS-One Settles Beef With Marley Marl, Releases New Album

Having settled an ages-old and infamous beef with Marley Marl, my number one hip-hop head KRS-One has teamed with Marl to deliver an answer to Nas' Hip Hop Is Dead, called Hip-Hop Lives. The album is due may 22 on Koch.

That beef is bigger than 50 Cent and Cam'ron could ever dream. Classic tracks like Marley Marl and MC Shan's "The Bridge", answered by KRS/Boogie Down Productions with "South Bronx". And lest we forget, KRS' "The Bridge Is Over".

Marl and KRS hope to show the young hip-hop set that these beefs aren't that big of a deal, and that battle rapping and dis records are much more productive (and potentially lucrative) than violence. This should be a phenomenal moment for hip-hop, settling the biggest beef ever by collaborating on a record, but will anyone actually listen? I will.

KRS-One, Nas, Rakim, Kanye West Selling Sneakers, Kanye's Mom Writes Book About "Raising Kanye"

I have, for years, been a HUGE fan of KRS-One. I love how his stuff with Boogie Down Productions, and even his albums up through The Sneak Attack had a lot of integrity while keeping a positive outlook and demonstrating a desire to raise hip-hop to another level. But now he's plugging product for Nike.



This business with Nas, Kanye West, and Rakim (et tu, Rakim?) is just bad. The song is spot on, KRS and Rakim especially can show Nas and Kanye who made the scene that they thrive on. But schlepping shoes for Nike? You guys don't need this. Kanye is all about getting his face on anything (even his mom is going to write a book, "Raising Kanye"), but you don't need to sell out like that.