Hip-Hop Made

Back with another installment of Hip-Hop Made to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the birth of Hip-Hop, Busta Rhymes says he is bringing "feel good energy" back to Hip-Hop as he is gearing up to release his new album. Teaming up with some of the biggest names in Hip-Hop, Busta's new album, Block Busta, is not only executive produced by himself but also Swizz Beatz, Pharrell, and Timbaland. "I'm super grateful to each and every one of those gentlemen. My brothers," he said "they been a part of my legacy and my career growth... I'm super grateful, super thankful that my brothers decided to make some time and just really be a part of this body of work." Busta declared that this project is going to "shift the culture." As it should, "that's what it's about, especially during Hip-Hop 50. I mean in general we supposed to do that just continue to add in a significant way to the culture and a productive way." The 51-year-old rapper reflected on being one along with many OGs in the game of Hip-Hop, "as incredible as a run that we've all had learning as we were going along, we the senseis of this s***," he said before asking "you think stopping anytime soon makes sense?" The lead single from his new project, "Beach Ball" featuring BIA is out now. Words by Yasmeen Akbar

Back with another installment of Hip-Hop Made to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the birth of Hip-Hop, Audacy's V-103 Atlanta caught up with Big Boi, 1/2 of the legendary rap duo, Outkast, to talk about how he believes Atlanta influenced the genre. As an Atlanta rapper himself, he believes that "Atlanta influenced Hip-Hop by the diversity of the artists here," he said, citing a range of different artists from Atlanta like Killer Mike and T.I. and it's those artists like so many others helps Atlanta "[keep] it fresh and new and it's just always been evolving."

Back with another installment of Hip-Hop Made to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the birth of Hip-Hop, Audacy's V-103 Atlanta caught up with Big Boi, 1/2 of the legendary rap duo, Outkast, to talk about the song that made him fall in love with Hip-Hop. It was Run-D.M.C's 1984 "Rock Box," that initially made Big Boi fall in love with Hip-Hop. He recalls riding around with his father in a Camaro, "blasting Run-D.M.C.," he said he'd "never forget it."

Back with another installment of Audacy’s Hip-Hop Made, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the birth of Hip-Hop, Fatman Scoop zoomed in to chat with Mike Street all about his Hip-Hop beginnings in Harlem, opting not to work with Diddy, having no plan B if the music biz didn’t work out, and more. Scoop started the conversation off with some back story about being one of the well known rappers in Harlem, his connections to Teddy Riley, Rob Base, and Markell Riley, and how he was supposed to release a project under Teddy but it got dropped when Teddy and Gene Griffin broke up. After that all went down he “went to Puff,” as in Puff Daddy, now known as Diddy. “Puff wanted me to be the first Notorious B.I.G.,” Scoop shared. “He was like keep rapping hard, we gonna put you in a suit and tie and make raps for women — that’s Biggie," he added. “Something in my heart and soul made me understand even though I was rapping hard, I was dancing and performing like Doug E. Fresh. I wasn’t that guy. And something at the last minute told me not to do it. And I went into the music business and now here I am. I become who I was really supposed to be at the end of the day.” After working with Teddy Riley, Scoop got “a regular job” at Mount Sinai Hospital. However after continuously getting written up, he ended up going to intern for Diamond D. After putting in the work and “being such a great intern” for a year and a half, Tommy Boy Records found me and that’s when they gave me a job. Scoop also shared that when it came to his plans, not making it, was simply not an option. “If you’re gonna do something, do it all the way,” he said, of having no plan B. “You’ve got to do this like nothing else is gonna work. There’s no way that you can become successful at anything unless you put your heart, your soul, your time, and your dedication in…. I didn’t even get into women until I was 19, 20 years old, because my whole focus was Hip-Hop.” As for people on the internet telling him he’s a one-hit wonder, Scoop has a message. “Well, I’m a one-hit wonder that wakes up in Osaka, Japan, and go to sleep in Montana. I’m a one-hit wonder that wakes up in New York and goes to sleep in the South of France… I’ve been blessed to do this, and Hip-Hop has brought me there.” Also up for discussion was the current state of the genre. “The fact that we have not had a #1 song this year is indicative of how the marketplace feels about the quality of the music,” Scoop said, simply and plainly. “You can call it hate, you can call it whatever, but the numbers and the facts are never gonna tell a lie.” For all that and more listen to the entire conversation above.

Back with another installment of Audacy’s Hip-Hop Made, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the birth of Hip-Hop, Flo Rida sat down Power96’s DJ Zog to talk Miami Bass & Booty music. As Zog pointed out, “in New York they had Biggie and the East Coast stuff, on the West Coast they had Tupac… but down in Miami…we had our own version of Hip-Hop… Miami Bass & Booty music.” “I actually was the hype man for 2 Live Crew,” Flo Rida said of his relation to one of the greats and Miami native rap group, sharing a bit about their influence on him as an artist. “Just growing up… with what the Dade County Youth Fair used to be, I just remember going out there and watching all the groups perform. And one in particular was 2 Live Crew, that stood out. So for me to be able to go out on the road and perform with Fresh Kid Ice as the hype man, y’know, definitely helped me with where I’m at today.” "One of the videos in particular that was my favorite was ‘Move Somethin.’ Watching that video man, it definitely… just inspired me and make me wanna, y’know, just as we bringing the energy today, that was the energy back then. That definitely made me wanna invest all my time and my passion into Hop-Hop.” Words by Maia Kedem Interview by DJ Zog