bigted

:word: It always seems to be that way, Johnny Cocran died the same time as the Pope and now Obie Benson dies the same time as Luther Vandross'! :thatsux:

I find that to be shocking that people weren't feelin' "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It", that song's classic, everybody loves that song and JJFP represent Philly, there should be more love from the hometown crowd, I thought that JJFP should've had more time to perform, I thought it was gonna be a 20 minute set, and they only broadcasted "Switch" and a minute of "Summertime" on MTV while they showed Jay-Z performing with Linkin' Park all the way through. :mad: Well anyway it's nice to see all the artists comin' out to support this cause, that's the main thing about this day.

Friday, July 1, 2005 BY BRIAN McCOLLUM FREE PRESS POP MUSIC WRITER Motown lost a musical pillar Friday. Renaldo (Obie) Benson, who for more than half a century provided the bass vocal foundation to the Four Tops' lush harmonies, died Friday morning at Harper Hospital in Detroit. He had turned 69 on June 14. Benson had been battling a sudden onset of medical problems. Last month, he suffered a heart attack after the amputation of a leg because of circulation problems. He was subsequently diagnosed with lung cancer, and began intense, stage-four chemotherapy last week. Abdul (Duke) Fakir and Levi Stubbs remain the two surviving members of the Four Tops, founded in 1954 on Detroit's northeast side and heralded as one of the longest-running acts in the history of American popular music. Vocalist Lawrence Payton, Benson's closest boyhood friend, died in 1997. Benson "enjoyed every moment of his life," Fakir said through a publicist Friday. "He put a smile on everyone's face, including my own." The outgoing Benson, who played a key role in directing the Four Tops' concert choreography, was known as a reliable source of comic relief within the group, which was a veteran ensemble by the time it signed to Motown Records in 1963. The quartet's statistics on the Billboard pop charts remain formidable: 24 hits in the top 40, seven in the top 10, and two No. 1s. Many of the songs Benson recorded with his group mates remain radio staples, including "Reach Out I'll Be There," "Standing in the Shadows of Love" and "Bernadette." Benson rarely slowed down during his tenure with the Tops, who celebrated their 50th anniversary with a bash at the Detroit Opera House last summer. Even as he hit his 60s, he continued to spend more than a third of each year on the road, performing Four Tops shows across the world. His last significant performance came on April 8, when the group played "Late Show With David Letterman." As his condition worsened in recent weeks, Benson was replaced onstage by Payton's son, Roquel Payton. Benson is survived by two daughters, Eboni Benson and Tobi Benson, and an ex-wife with whom he remained close, Valaida Benson. Funeral arrangements are not yet available.

Damn there's a lot of guest appearances on this album, Paris was really involved with this album it seems, it'll be interesting to see how it sounds! :jazzy:

RIP!

What up Jazzy Jeff, nuff props for all the hard you put in to entertain us fans, I wish you continued success and I hope that there's another JJFP album one day and I hope to see y'all perform live one day, one love! -Big Ted From New Jersey

:word: Nobody was talking about him until he got arrested, he might go platinum now though.

Hey I found the tracklisting for "Rebirth Of A Nation" on the EnemyBoard and they said on mtv.com that the album is gonna come out on August 23rd now: "Rebirth Of A Nation" tracklisting-released on August 23rd 1. Raw S*** - (featuring Paris/Mc Ren) 2. Hard Rhymin' - (featuring Paris/Sister Souljah) 3. Rise 4. Can't Hold Us Back - (featuring Paris/Dead Prez/Kam) 5. Hard Truth Soldiers - (featuring Paris/Dead Prez/Conscious Daughters/Mc Ren) 6. Hannibal Lecture - (featuring Paris) 7. Rebirth Of A Nation - (featuring Professor Griff) 8. Pump The Music, Pump The Sound 9. Make It Hardcore - (featuring Paris) 10. They Call Me Flava 11. Plastic Nation 12. Coinsequences - (featuring Paris) 13. Invisible Man 14. Rules Of Engagement - (featuring Paris/Dead Prez/Immortal Technique/T-K.A.S.H./Sun Rise Above) 15. Field N**** Boogie - (XLR8R remix, featuring Paris)

'The Definition''s holding me over pretty well, especially now that it's summertime, I been bumping this album more lately, this album's great for the ride, barbeques, parties sorta like "Big Willie Style", I don't expect the next album to sound like that though. I'm hoping the next album LL will come a lil' bit more personal and he needs to address the people who rank Kanye West and Jigga ahead of him, he's still the main attraction in hip-hop, "The rappers you idiolize they idiolize me"

i think it's great that Will went gold in 3 months but i think it took a little too long. faith evans "the first lady" took less than 2 months and of course the nimrod 50 cent went platinum plus in a week. other artists like Coldplay went gold in a week so it depends. i think Will still should be around 2 million at this point but this music industry is wack. it's all about politics and butt-kissing and Will has too much integrity for that. ← If it was 1989 going gold in 3 months would be amazing since rap albums didn't hit #1 on the charts then, but this is 2005 where albums could go gold in a week sometimes if they hit #1 on the chart the 1st week, but Will's the only rapper from the late '80s to still sell like it was 1989, lol, by staying on the charts for a year and going double platinum which could still happen, if you look at De La Soul and KRS-ONE sales for their last albums it wasn't pretty, who used to go platinum the time JJFP was back in the '80s, now they're selling less than 100,000 in almost a year with their latest efforts, sure they're on independent labels but they're legends, people should buy their albums 'cause a lot more people know who they are, so it's amazing to see Will Smith relevant still 'cause most ol' school hip-hop cats get no love on the charts, btw Faith Evans didn't go gold yet, this is her latest sales, she only sold 400,894, it musta shipped gold: 166 EVANS*FAITH FIRST LADY 6,067 -17 7,346 400,894

:word: He should be #1, go Big Willie, go! :pony:

LL's the "G.O.A.T." without a doubt, a lot of rappers have come and gone in his career but he always remains a force, always bringing more heat, it'll be interesting to see what his future releases'll sound like, there should be an "All World 2" for the 20th anniversary this year and all of his albums should be re-mastered.

I heard some songs from Jean Graye, she deserves to blow up 'cause she's an intelligent female mc that rhymes 'bout more than just sex.

Aight here goes my final statements Before I steer towards my victory parade to begin Me comin' up short would be like Big Daddy Kane half steppin' When my lyrics pour its way off the pen again My spirit shines toward the game I'm representing If you question my name your time will be diminished The clock for you has already ended I'm giving you a shock like a power outage I'm staying on top from outshining competition Will Is Ill is saying that rhymes are simple Well your skills are exterminated, so your lines are forgettable When you try debating you sound pitiful You should try to “Pump Ya Brakes” kid before it gets critical Nothing you say I find to be truthful Running through my lane'll make you continually burn slow Like Nasir Jones I'm providing the “Ether” flow It's “Summertime” so you're 'bout to melt like a popsicle Winning the battle this time for you is a Mission Impossible When I'm playing Schnazz on his own Game System, I still take control The only credit he gets is being a long time fan of the greatest duo When this battle's finished, he'll be a fan of us for making moves to roll With respect for determinance to stay true to our goals There's no confusion when we break the mold Being average isn't what we claim to settle for It was a nice try but your run is up You'll have to humble this time as a runner up It took a lot of pride to even show up Since fuq and I got this game sowed up It's better if you finish your ride and pave the road for us Don't resist what we provide, just claim to show love 'Cause if you even try to hate, you'll roll over to bust

:word: That's cool if it's just done to try to make himself cool to get a date, as long as he doesn't put out an album. :lolsign:

It's great that "Party Starter" is gonna be released soon, I'm not a big fan of Ludacris but he's the best platinum rapper out there right now so if there's a remix, he earned the right to be on it 'cause he did a great job producing a song, come on even Ja Rule was on a song with the "G.O.A.T." LL Cool J that turned out all right a few years ago, but I think the original should be released first and then the remix could come out on mixtapes.

That was obviously a publicity stunt then, he didn't know how to freestyle or write a song until he got a coach? Why can't cats like me that've been rapping for years get a break? :thumbsdown:

It's dissapointing to see Eminem's album on the charts approaching 5X platinum, selling more than KRS-ONE has in his entire career off of 13 albums, "Ass Like That" is pure garbage enough for Em's fanbase to abandon him, idiots! :mad:

I'm hoping that Queen Latifah could release another album this year and take the throne once again as the queen of hip-hop!

:word: MTV probably just did this for ratings, there's a million kids trying to make it, but if they show a white kid on the show they figure it'll spark more interest, talent should be colorblind.

I'll bump this up since this comes on tonight.

Thanks, I'll look out for it! :2thumbs:

"Notorious B.I.G. to Be Honored at VH1 Show NEW YORK - Both Big Poppa and Big Daddy Kane will get their props from VH1 this year. The late Notorious B.I.G. - also known as Biggie Smalls, also known as Big Poppa - and old-school rapper Kane will be feted at the second annual VH1 Hip Hop Honors on Sept. 22 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. The show will air Sept. 26 on VH1. Other honorees include LL Cool J, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, Ice-T, Salt-N-Pepa and the 1991 film "Boyz n the Hood." "Our first Hip Hop Honors proved to be an incredible success not only for the channel but also within the hip-hop community. It was a long overdue celebration of the genesis and roots of a genre that has permeated world culture," said the show's executive producer, Lee Rolontz, in a statement Tuesday to The Associated Press. "This year's honorees run the gamut from MCs to trailblazing duos to an iconic motion picture - all of which have had a massive impact on the hip-hop music landscape." Last year's honorees included the late Tupac Shakur, Public Enemy and rap pioneers Run DMC. "

The Pied Piper Of R&B is back y'all! :1-say-yes: