Hip-Hop Trax
By: Jason Jeffers

Gang Starr

Hip-Hop is not kind to its veterans. Sure, you can become something of an elder statesman, making the rounds from documentaries to talk shows and the like, but actually MCing? Come on now. Aside from the chameleonic LL Cool J, few MCs or groups have sustained a career from the eighties into the new millennium. Still trooping ahead however is Gang Starr, demanding respect on their sixth album “The Ownerz.” There’s some fury here, as DJ Premier’s chopped samples and anvil breaks bang heavier than usual, and Guru’s rhymes - improved, but still rather simple - seethe at the mere possibility that you may have considered them down for the count. There’s nothing revolutionary here, but to-the-point bangers like “Riot Akt,” “Rite Where U Stand,” and “Who Got Gunz” deliver the raw goods: bare bones hip-hop. At times, it gets a little too bare with a few lazy cuts creeping into the mix, but they don’t pull the disc down. This may be formula music, but the results have a steely consistency that’s a plus rather than a minus. Fret not, “The Ownerz” is no croak from wheezy pioneers, but in fact another strong missive from some of the best that have ever done it.

Hip-Hop News

Hip-Hop Trax will make no more mention of the new Outkast album until it
actually hits the streets. We promise. That’s actually going to be a little later than originally expected however, as “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” has been pushed back until September 9th. In the meantime, make do with the singles “Ghetto Musick” and “She Lives In My Lap.” In the vein of “Bombs Over Baghdad,” “Ghetto Musick” is all over the musical map, blending sly funk, rave music, and even Patti LaBelle into a whirlwind jam. “She Lives In My Lap” is another story altogether, as it features no actual rapping, just Dre 3000
crooning about his personal muse. Don’t worry about whether this is hip-hop or not (it is) as both tracks are certified fire, upping the anticipation for the group’s fifth album.

Everything just hit the fan for Roc-A-Fella MC Beanie Siegel. Last month, Siegel was arrested for attempted murder after witnesses reported seeing the MC shoot a man in the foot and stomach outside of a nightclub. Beanie is currently out on bail, but court dates loom ahead.

The God has left the building. After at least three years of hype, the storied collaboration between Rakim and Dr. Dre has fizzled away. Last month, Rakim announced that he was leaving Aftermath Records due to those ever-pesky “creative differences.” The legendary MC is already shopping around for a new label to release his long awaited “Oh My God” album, but there’s no word on whether or not any of the Dre produced tracks will make the final cut.