Most Recent Articles
Follow Urban Cusp!
PHOTOS: Featured Events
Questions of the Day
Profiles: Featured Artists
Entertainment
Devotionals & Faith Matters
Follow Urban Cusp!
Hip-Hop
Video Pick of the Week: Khaled M's 'Cloud Conversations Pt. 2' ft. Peter Frank
The much anticipated video for Chicago-based rapper Khaled M's "Cloud Conversations Pt 2" featuring Peter Frank. Read morePosted in: Life, Life.Style, Pop CultureComments: No commentsTags: black women, Hip-Hop, Neo Soul, Philly, Videos
VIDEO: 'Lady Walk' Empowerment Anthem by Philly Hip-Hop Soul Artist Badia
Badia, Philadelphia born and raised, is an independent hip-hop soul artist that expresses herself through rhyme and song. In this video for "Lady Walk," she offers a powerful female empowerment anthem. Read moreWATCH: Talib Kweli's Out-the-Box Video for "Come Here" ft. Miguel
New video released for Talib Kweli's "Come Here" featuring Miguel from Kweli’s latest album, Prisoner of Conscious. Read morePosted in: Life, Life.Style, Politics & Policies, Pop Culture, Race and IdentityComments: No commentsTags: Hip-Hop, NYC, Police, Yasiin Bey
Video Pick of the Week: Yasiin Bey (fka Mos Def) on NYPD's Stop-and-Frisk
Don't Tread on Me: Yasiin Bey (fka Mos Def) public service announcement on the harmful impact of stop and frisk on communities and how New Yorkers are taking the fight for their rights to the courts. Read morePosted in: Class & Economy, Global Matters, Opinions, Pop CultureComments: 2 commentsTags: Beyonce, Cuba, Hip-Hop, Jay-Z
Must Read: An 'Open Letter' to Jay-Z from Cuban '21 Jump Street' Director
Jay-Z responded to critics of his Cuba trip with a song called "Open Letter" and now "21 Jump Street" director Phil Lord has responded with an open letter of his own, blasting the rapper. Read morePosted in: Life, Life.Style, Pop Culture, Race and IdentityComments: One commentTags: Beyonce, Hip-Hop, Lil Wayne, Marc Lamont Hill, Rahiel Tesfamariam, Rick Ross, Rosa Clemente
WATCH: HuffPost Live Segment on Rick Ross, Lil Wayne and Beyonce's Lyrics
From Rick Ross to Lil Wayne, rappers are catching flack about their socially insensitive lyrics. But when do words cross the line and should lyrics be policed? Read morePosted in: Life.Style, Pop CultureComments: No commentsTags: Actvism, Hip-Hop, Rape, Rick Ross, Women
VIDEO PICK OF THE WEEK: Rosa Clemente on Rick Ross' Lyrics Condoning Rape
Hip-Hop activist responds to Rick Ross's song where he raps about using Molly to have nonconsensual sex with a woman, which is better known as rape. #EndRapeCulture Read morePosted in: Life, Life.Style, Race and IdentityComments: One commentTags: Hip-Hop, Jasiri X, New York, Videos
Video: The 10 Frisk Commandments by Jasiri X
Released last summer, this "video by the rapper-activist Jasiri X takes on the New York City Police Department's controversial stop-and-frisk policy, by flipping the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Ten Crack Commandments. Read morePosted in: Life, Life.Style, Pop CultureComments: No commentsTags: Hip-Hop, HuffPost Live, Jean Grea, Marc Lamont Hill, Videos, Women
VIDEO: Jean Grae on the State of Underground Hip-Hop
Hip-hop artist Jean Grae joins Marc Lamont Hill and the community to discuss her two new albums, the launch of her new company, and the state of underground hip-hop today. Read morePosted in: Opinions, Pop Culture, Race and IdentityComments: No commentsTags: Christianity, Hip-Hop, Mark Jefferson
New God Flow: Where Biggie, MLK and Rodney King’s Dreams Collide
How do we reconcile our aspirations of material success (Biggie’s dream), pushing the world around us into living more righteously (Dr. King's dream), and to find peace in or reconstruct the toxic environment that seeks our violent destruction (Rodney King's dream)? Read morePosted in: Life, Life.Style, Pop CultureComments: No commentsTags: Hip-Hop, Jean Grae, Talib Kweli, Videos
WATCH: Talib Kweli, Jean Grae and Others in BET's The Cypher
Talib Kweli, Jean Grae, Ab Soul and Sarkodie bring their verbal wizardy to BET'S The Cypher. Read morePosted in: Opinions, Pop Culture, Race and IdentityComments: No commentsTags: Hip-Hop, Lupe Fiasco, Toby D. Sanders
Flipping the Script: Toby D. Sanders on 'Radical Melioration'
The practice of rhetorical script-flipping is a powerful tool. Some might even say it is a vital form of mythopoesis, that is, restructuring reality through language. It is profoundly under-examined intellectually and most often rather shallowly discussed as an aspect of culture-making or pop commentary. Read morePosted in: Global Matters, Pop Culture, QOTD, Race and IdentityComments: One commentTags: Africa, Hip-Hop, QOTD, Rick Ross
WATCH: Is Rick Ross Exploiting Nigeria in 'Hold Me Back'? [VIDEO]
Facebook and Twitter have erupted with critiques of Rick Ross' "Hold Me Back" video, which was shot in Nigeria. By showcasing slums in the backdrop of his opulent verbal imagery, is Rick Ross exploiting Nigeria? Read morePosted in: Opinions, Pop Culture, Race and IdentityComments: No commentsTags: Chief Keef, Hip-Hop, Julius Bailey, Lupe Fiasco, Pop Culture
Let's Keep Lupe Fiasco's Music Alive and Retire Chief-Keef-Like Artistry
What Chief Keef posits in his “art” is tantamount to an evisceration of human care. And as Lupe weeps at the sight of “ghosts” from his past, we get haunting reminders of art’s inability to move beyond stereotypical imitation. Meanwhile, real life carnage transforms streets into graveyards. Read morePosted in: Opinions, Politics & Policies, Pop CultureComments: No commentsTags: Election 2012, Hip-Hop, Mitt Romney, Politics & Policies
How Rick Ross Wrote the Blueprint for Mitt Romney’s Convention [VIDEO]
Jay Smooth on how the Maybach Music boss wrote the blueprint for Mitt Romney’s convention. Read moreLupe Fiasco’s “B---- Bad” and the ongoing fight to protect the B-word
Lupe doesn’t always get it right, but I appreciate his meaningful, politically charged contributions to hip-hop. Read morePosted in: Health, Life, Life.Style, Pop CultureComments: No commentsTags: Hip-Hop, hot cheetos and takis, Videos
Is ‘Hot Cheetos and Takis’ a Model for Kid-Friendly Rap Songs? [VIDEO]
"Hot Cheetos and Takis" is a catchy rap by kids in a YMCA after-school program in Minneapolis that has gone viral. Is it a model for kid-friendly rap songs? Read morePosted in: Life.Style, Pop Culture, Race and IdentityComments: No commentsTags: Hip-Hop, Race & Identity, Videos, Women
WATCH: Lupe Fiasco's 'B---- Bad' Depicts Modern Day Minstrelsy [VIDEO]
Lupe Fiasco recently released his video for "B---- Bad" on MTV, offering a thought-provoking message about modern day minstrelsy within Black America. Read morePosted in: Life, Pop Culture, Race and IdentityComments: One commentTags: Glory, Hip-Hop, Jamall Calloway, Jay-Z, Nas
