Ma$e Celebrates 17 Years Of Classic Album "Harlem World"

Image Credit: stizzlifestyle.tv

By: Kai Jones

October 28th,17 years ago TODAY, Bad Boy Records dropped one of hip hops greatest albums, Harlem World. Harlem World was the debut of Harlem rap legend, Ma$e. This album was looked at as Puff Daddy’s showcase, of his new protégé to replace the legendary Notorious B.I.G. 

Ma$e had “big” shoes to fill, and he filled them masterfully...

While Ma$e was seen as the replacement for B.I.G., he gained national notoriety off of B.I.G.’s posthumous number one hit: “Mo Money, Mo Problems”. Harlem World’s lead single was “Feel So Good," a track produced by Puff Daddy himself; topped out at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song was ranked 67^th on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop. The other 2 singles from that album, “What You Want” and “Lookin’ At Me," both hit Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Harlem World debuted at #1 on Billboard Pop and R&B charts selling over 270,000 copies. While Harlem World was commercially successful, it was also an album of substance; which as bad as that sounds, commercial success doesn’t always mean the music is good.

While Harlem World is 17 years old, I can’t help but listen to this album and still hear his influences upon current artists, such as Kanye West and Pusha T. Puff Daddy’s influence upon the project is clear as it has a lot of themes and concepts that are similar to B.I.G.’s classic debut album Ready To Die. 

Harlem World also seemed to be a showcase for young talented artists. The Lox, DMX, Jay-Z, Lil Kim, Monifah, Black Rob, 112, Billy Lawrence, and Lil’ Cease. It also featured known artists such as Busta Rhymes, 8 Ball and MJG. The production also featured a great panel of producers with Puff Daddy, Stevie J, Jermaine Dupri, and D-Dot just to name a few, and was also the first surface of the legendary production team The Neptunes. All these reasons are why Harlem World has stood the test of time and quickly became a classic hip hop album.

17 years may not seem that long, but consider 17 years ago gas was not even a $1.50. 17 years in mainstream music is a lifetime considering how quick it changes. While I can’t say that this album is a Top 10 candidate in hip-hop, I must say it’s a album that deserves its place in anyone’s hip-hop catalogue.

Edited by: Dana Pellotta (E.I.C.)

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Hip Hop Pioneers Steer The Genre Back In The Right Direction With Their Performances At The Source360

If you're an avid Hip Hop fan, all your dreams would have come true on the evening of September 20 as The Source Magazine hosted their first annual Source360 concert at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. The magazine racked up one hell of a roster as they recruited notable hip hop pioneers  like the Wu Tang Clan and Lil' Kim to grace the stage for a night of good ole fun—  and HipHopShortStop.com was front row and center taking it all in.
The streets of Brooklyn were greeted with sounds straight out of a stereo as notable group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony kicked things off to a great start being that they were the first act to reunite and hit the stage. The group put the crowd in just the right mood as they performed hits like "Crossroads" and "Notorious Thugs" featuring the late and great Biggie Smalls.

Following the Bone Thugs-n-Harmony set, the next group up held nothing back cause it's Dispet for life ya heard! The Diplomats members Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, and Cam'ron did the crowd right after they tossed hit after hit after hit; you couldn't help but to sing along. Not only did the boys have the crowd going crazy , their chemistry and interactions were so strong that on-lookers couldn't help but to acknowledge them as brothers.

The Queen Bee was the life of the party as she showed the crowd that age nor a newborn baby girl was going to slow her down from letting you know that she has still got it going on. Lil' Kim knows how to put on a show as she performed her hit singles from her Junior Mafia Days all the way to her latest tracks off her Hardcore Mixtape. Kimmy Blanco is an entity on her own but she made her set even more memorable by bringing out a couple of celebrity guests on her set like rappers Maino, Havoc of Mobb Deep and Bobby Shmurda.

And finally the moment you've all been waiting for; the headliner of the show—  Wu Tang Clan. With this reunion performance, Wu proves that they're still boss. All living members of the clan were present and accounted for as they passed the mic off to their brothers spitting hard-hitting lyrics that ultimately made history in not only the hip hop genre but also in the music industry. The chemistry the guys possessed on stage put the crowd at a lost for words and instead focused on the group in a positive light as fans held their Wu Tang forever signs high up in the air for the rest of the night.

Watch all the Source360 action come alive here.

— Brittany C. Jackson (@___PXC)

Lil' Kim Shuts Down The Internet With The Release Of Her 'Hard Core' Mixtape

Image Credit: Lil' Kim's Instagram (lilkimthequeenbee)

Playtime is over and ish just got real Hard Core. Lil' Kim is no longer taking time out to individually address her haters and rather is set on delivering some real, hard-hitting bars. The release of the Queen Bee's new mixtape on September 11 literally shut the internet down. The Brooklyn rappers 12 track mixtape received an out pour of love from both old and new fans alike. The hype around Kim's mixtape lead

​​

its host website 

​MEGA​

 to crash after being over capacitated due to the high volume of activity the arose from the tape's release.

Lil Kim tweeted:

@lilkim:" #HARDCOREMIXTAPE #TeamLilKim Please stand by. The website crashed because of high capacity. My team is working on it now!!! Love U " and adding three bumblebee emotions at the end of her message.

The mixtape is a sequel to her 1996 debut album titled Hard Core as well. Kimmy Blanco's latest project features real  bars from legendary hip hop artists like Jadakiss and Cassidy in addition to Billboard chart toppers French Montana and Yo Gotti.

Check out what's all the hype about by streaming or downloading Hard Core at this link.

— Brittany Chanel Jackson

Twitter: @xPlatinumChanel

T.I. Talks Possibility Of His Protégé Iggy Azalea Collaborating With Both Lil' Kim & Remy Ma

Image Credit: T.I.'s Instagram (troubleman31)

Uh oh, T.I. looks to be cooking up some trouble. The rapper recently sat down with Hot 97.1 FM's Ebro in the Morning (August 8) and when asked how his rising protégé Iggy Azalea is handling all the negativity that is being thrown at her recent success, he powered in to answer the questions head on. 

After rapper Nicki Minaj's shady 2014 BET Awards acceptance speech for the 'Best Female Rapper' award, there has been much speculation that the "Anaconda" rapper has some sort of animosity towards Iggy. Although Iggy has yet to address her opinion on any beef with Nicki Minaj head on, her mentor T.I. sure did enough of it on his own during his recent Hot 97 interview.

T.I. told Ebro in the Morning: 

"I got a call from Kim. She said it's time to find that record to get done."

Nicki Minaj's long-time rival Lil' Kim holds nothing back when she's coming for the YMCMB first lady who she recently accused of "swagger-jacking" her style in her latest single "Identify Theft." The Queen Bee is very blunt in telling her fans straight up who she is looking to put back into their place; so if there is any truth of a Iggy and Lil' Kim collaboration, they're about to go in for the kill.

T.I.'s not one to usually promote drama but he definitely seems intrigued on what is to come from this situation as he schools his mentee on how to protect herself within the industry. 

"Well, in the game of chess, you must think five moves ahead, protect your pieces and cover the board."

He also briefly touched on the possibility of Iggy collaborating with Remy Ma, who was recently released from prison and immediately jumped right back into the Hip Hop game, in the near future.

Yeah, she's a fan of the sport, I believe she's gonna be eager to show support...She with the nonsense. 

With official word coming from The King of the South his self, an all out female MC war may just happen sooner than we think. Do you think Nicki Minaj is ready to eat all the fire that is about to be thrown at her?

Watch T.I. speak on his protégé Iggy Azalea in his latest Hot 97 interview here. 

-Brittany C. Jackson

Twitter: @BChanelJackson

Lil' Kim Puts Her Spin On Bobby Schmurda’s ‘Hot N*gga’ Track

Photo Credit: Lil’ Kim’s Instagram (@lilkimthequeenbee)

After recently giving birth, rapper Lil’ Kim seems to be on the prowl! She’s returned from the creases of motherhood and now you can’t tell this little firecracker NOTHING, as she swoops back into the Hip Hop game.

The female MC was arguably the greatest thing to ever happen to her era of music from the mid 1990s, to the early 2000s. Similar to some of the greatest female Hip Hop artists of all times like Foxy Brown, Missy Elliot and Lauryn Hill, Lil’ Kim has always been known to stand her ground, whether or not it cost her her claim to fame.

With all the excitement going on in the industry today from Nicki Minaj’s latest musical releases, to Remy Ma’s prison release, we have yet to see what Lil’ Kim is really bringing to the table in this era of Hip Hop besides diss tracks, since she’s been on maternity leave.

The Queen Bee recently released two diss records targeting her rap rival, Nicki Minaj in less than a week of each other. First she remixed Beyoncè and Nicki Minaj’s “Flawless Remix” and days later, she shaded Nicki once again by accusing the YMCMB rapper of swagger-jacking her style in her new single “Identify Theft.”

In addition to the cut-throat disses she threw down on these tracks, Lil’ Kim hinted that she would soon have something in store that would leave everyone on the edge of their seats!

From the looks of it, Lil’ Kim seems to be cooking up some bars in the kitchen. She’s looking to take her flow back to her hardcore/uncut “Junior M.A.F.I.A” days; and her latest release just might do it.

Kim has been very consistent with her music releases this past week, and she just decided to add one more to her portfolio—a remix to Bobby Schmurda’s “Hot N*gga.” The “Crush On You” rapper chose to give her shady bars a break for this particular song and instead gives a couple of shoutouts; most notably to Philly rapper Meek Mill who was recently jailed back in July for a probation violation.

Listen to Kim’s flow as she gives you a "taste of a storm," that is soon to come on her new track “Hot N*gga Remix” here.

By: Alexis J. Robinson

Twitter: Theywant_BOOSIE 

Edited By: Brittany C. Jackson (@BChanelJackson)

Lil' Kim Calls Out Nicki Minaj For Lack Of Originality In Her New Diss Track 'Identity Theft'

Image Credit: Lil' Kim's Twitter (@lilkim)

The Queen Bee strikes again! Lil' Kim is fresh off maternity leave and coming for the kill. Just a few days after remixing the remix of Beyoncé's "Flawless" featuring her fellow rap rival Nicki Minaj, Lil Kim held no mercy as she called Nicki out once again in her new single "Identity Theft."

Lil Kim tweeted out the diss track on August 6 along with single art and photos that seem to expose Nicki Minaj imitating the same fashion and hair styles that the rapper originally sported. In "Identity Theft," the Queen Bee accuses the first lady of YMCMB of swagger jacking her style in the Hip Hop game all while letting her know she's coming to reclaim her fame.

The rapper shows her hatred towards Miss Minaj throughout the entire track but the end of the first verse seemed to bite the most.

These swagger jackers give the game a bad look./Pop sh-t on Twitter and apologize on Facebook/And now they wanna send me requests/Telling me that I'm simply the best./I won't stop till I see my enemies rest./They probably get locked up for identity theft/ I ain't got time for bum b-tches/ The gun hidden, I come with it/ Anything you tryna do, I done did it/ I'll let you live for a while but I'm done with the crown/ The queen's back, b-tches, come get it.

Lil Kim's beef towards Nicki Minaj now seems to be at an all time high. Releasing two diss tracks towards the same person in literally the same week is not turning out to be such a good look for Kim but it's definitely getting her tons of publicity. We'll just have to wait to see if Nicki will give Kim's recent antics the time of day by releasing a diss track of her own in the coming days.

Listen to Lil' Kim's "Identity Theft" here.

-Brittany C. Jackson

Twitter: @BChanelJackson

Lil Kim DISSES Nicki Minaj on a BRAND NEW "Flawless" Remix!

So literally about a DAY after Beyoncé dropped her new remix to "Flawless" featuring Nicki Minaj, Lil Kim has dropped her own verse, and didn't have many nice things to say. It appears as if she was taking shots at SOMEONE, and by the subliminals she threw, it sure as hell sounds like she's talking about NICKI!

Take a look at the link below, to listen to Kim's verse on the new remix! Who do YOU think Kimmie is dissin?

http://youtu.be/b1OIiohdI0Y

by:: Dana Pelotta

Editor In Cheif/ Blog Owner