So first, I’ll hit ya with a brand NEW live performance featuring Lupe Fiasco above! It is the FULL, 27 minute set he did in Glastonbury the other day, but trust me, it is worth the time because Lupe turns in yet another amazing performance. And not only Lupe as well because his guest stars shine just as bright with Matthew Santos and especially Sarah Green lending their talents 2 the set. I gotta say, the more I see and hear Sarah Green, especially in this video and up close, in person at the Glow In The Dark Tour, the more I am impressed by her. The way she enhances the live performances of some songs is incredible. Case in point, “Streets On Fire” - my favorite song from the live set, quite possibly because I didn’t see it at Glow In The Dark, but it is ridiculous nonetheless with Sarah Green echoing the chorus! Other favs include, “Hip Hop Saved My Life” and “Little Weapon” where he goes a capella. I was further impressed with the outdoor venue and HUGE crowd and how Lupe had the crowd going! “Hip Hop Saved My Life” AND “Superstar” especially, when DJ Simonsayz drops the beat and Lupe lets the crowd sing, that’s just chilling! It reminded me of an old school performance that I included below for Old School Sundays, featuring fellow Chicago rapper, Kanye West. When I watched Lupe’s performance, I was reminded about Kanye’s electric performance in front of an even bigger outdoor crowd from last year. All I remembered was that it was somewhere in England and he performed “Stronger” live for the first time. After a series of Google searches, I re-located this video and included the medley below! Performing in front of a crowd that large has got 2 be a thrill for the artist and such an experience for the fans that it makes me want 2 experience that atmosphere as well. This was another sweet performance by Mr. West and like I said, the debut of “Stronger” live, but also the ‘Stronger Shades’, haha! Peep the videos above and below and enjoy!
Kanye West LIVE Medley @ Concert For Diana
(OLD SCHOOL, ENTIRE LIVE SET FROM 2007 f/ “Gold Digger”, “Touch The Sky”, “Stronger”, & “Diamonds From Sierra Leone”)
FULL, CDQ, Track from upcoming mixtape, That’s Stupid!*Tibs Fav.™
First off, I’m really feelin’ the cover art (I got that Michael Jordan Dream Team USA jersey! :D) for The Cool Kids’ upcoming That’s Stupid! mixtape and the first track leaked from there is a hot one! The beat reminds me a lil of The Neptunes-produced “Money Maker”, the smash hit by Luda & Pharrell, but it’s not nearly the same also. Definitely a fresh beat and a song that would be even more ridiculous seen live! Below is more from the abundance of old, unreleased trax from Lupe, Kanye, etc., and it’s old Lupe on his G swag, but still comin’ thru w/ some intellect (Napoleon Bonaparte, haha!). (Some more props 2 Andrew & Boogz!) Furthermore, check out the latest from Obie Trice, Papoose (some solid bangers I mite grow into..), and R&B singer, Colby O’Donis! Old School Sundays coming late 2nite! Enjoy!
Here’s a clip of a speech by Lupe Fiasco stressing how hip hop belongs and people will be entertained by hip hop as much as rock or whatever other genre. It’s a nice lil’ clip with the crowd going nuts. Head over 2 lupEND for downloads of the speech and performance and peep the small blurb on BET about his performance that is the biggest news of Lu’s performance in the U.K. last night…
“During his set at the Glastonbury Festival in the U.K. last night, rapper Lupe Fiasco spoke out about “tyrannical world leaders”, clumping Zimbabwe’s longtime dictator and the American president in the same category “F*@K Robert Mugabe, F*@K George Bush,” he said. F*@k politics, democrats, socialists, the Labor party. Music’s what it’s all about.” It’s likely there won’t be any blowback from his American fans for his comment considering the current political climate. But remember just a few years ago the Country music group, Dixie Chicks, were bashed for much milder comments they made about the President in the U.K. Fiasco drew an excited crowd to his performance which included his hits “The Cool,” “Food and Liquor,” “Hip Hop Saved My Life” and ‘Kick Push.’”
Wow, some strong words then from Lupe Fiasco and more power 2 him. He’s truly a strong and passionate artist as u can tell above and in his music. Down below, check out a few NEW trax, with my favorite of the bunch being the NEW version of “Diamond Girl” including a better, less repetitive beat than the original. Definitely a MUST-HAVE for the R&B fans! Peep the rest of the trax below and the Day26 video premiere! Enjoy!
Damn, how can u dislike the song above? Now that the video is out, you may like it even more, associating T.I.’s deep first-person experiences with a straight-forward video that further illustrates T.I.’s emotions in the song. The video is solid, the song is even better as the recent charges and conviction of the ATL rapper may just bring the best out of him. I hope for some more heat in the coming months as Paper Trail’s tentative release is just right around the corner (August 12th). Thankfully, there will be a boom of Nas comin’ up as his album, Untitled is due out in just a few weeks on July 15th. Nas is rightfully considered one of the all-time great lyricists and rappers overall and I’ve been impressed with all of his recent records. He’s not losing a step over time and “Fried Chicken” below is further evidence. The song was released by Mark Ronson a couple weeks ago, but it was the clean, LQ version w/ Mark having no choice but 2 shout over the track. Well 2day, the full, dirty version has leaked and u can DL it below. 2gether with another old, unreleased freestyle from Kanye West and w/ T.I.’s video above, the lyrics are at a high level and if ur in the mood 2 just sit back and listen, no better place than 2 start than right here. And 2 contrast it, take a listen 2 Ludacris’ freestyle over the Rick Ross/T-Pain hit “The Boss”. I’m a fan of Luda, but he sounds pretty weak on this, just rappin’ about his wealth and assets… same ol’ same ol’. I’ll stick 2 “Runaway Love” for my Luda fix. Anyway, enjoy!
***Boogz just dropped yet another old, unreleased track from Lupe Fiasco. Seriously, all this old Kanye & Lupe can make an album, its ridiculous, haha. But hey, can’t complain, and this Lupe track has a unique, choppy beat as Lupe goes at it pretty hard and I love the way he delivers the words in this track. Anyway, I just added it below (bout half an hour after the orig. post time), so DL and listen for urself!
“Hold your horses, like Trojan forces.”
- Lupe Fiasco “4 Real” (hah, that line just jumped out at me on 1st listen!)
My brief hiatus is finally over, (haha, been mad busy the last couple days, sry!) and as I’m sure many ppl know by now, our hometown Chicago Bulls made it official last nite, making hometown prince Derrick Rose the number 1 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft! As u can imagine, I’m beyond excited for Rose (nice suit btw, Derrick) in Chicago and the entire city is buzzing about the homecoming of the best Chicago high school player in years! Yes, it’s off-topic but as big basketball and Chicago fans, it is quite an exciting day for us and an exciting weekend as well with the Crosstown Rivalry starting up again as well as the Taste Of Chicago (see below.) And Chicago remains the theme for this post as I gotcha all caught up on the latest music from some of Chicago’s finest MCs (props 2 FSD & Boogz!) NEW, unreleased (quite possibly records from years ago, however) music featuring Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West (pre-accident), Rhymefest, Mikkey Halsted, Bump J as well as Chicago’s finest R&B group, One Chance! A bunch of Tibs Favs 2 be had below, as the listener can really see the talent of Lupe & Kanye at such a young stage in their careers with the below trax. Also make sure 2 get the A-Trak / LUPE version of “Me & My Sneakers” in the post below.. straight up ridiculous! I threw up a lil’ Kidz In The Hall video as well as they just completed a tour out in Europe! Below that, MORE NEW music featuring some of the mainstream artists with Usher covering One Chance, Nas, Joe Budden, and maybe my favorite track outta that bunch, Gym Class Heroes collaborating w/ The Dream! Plenty 2 DL and plenty 2 like, so check it all out below! Enjoy!
Above are a couple Chicago tidbits with the hilarious rap battle between the famous managers of the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox - Lou Piniella and Ozzie Guillen. Both are funny for their own reasons and a quick view of that 30 second commercial spot that’s been airing here will simply show u how. (Cubs lose 2day but still up 3-1 in the season series!). Also, it warrants mentioning that the world’s largest food festival starts 2day - the 28th annual Taste Of Chicago! The festival features food from the various, unique restaurants around Chicago, dipping into all forms of ethnicity, and also includes many outdoor activities. The one most relevant 2 u Chicagoland readers is the musical performers each day of the Taste (June 27th-July 6th) and the notable ones include Estelle on July 2nd, Joss Stone on July 1st, and Stevie Wonder 2morrow on June 28th! So if u are planning on going 2 the Taste, but don’t know which day yet, maybe one of those would be a good time for ya! It’s a good time for everyone and a good time 2 vacation 2 Chicago! And maybe you’ll see us there!
The FiveOne Band did an outstanding mix with Lupe’s “Fighters” song. It’s excellent as always. When you expect FiveOne expect Greatness. If I had a bunch of $$ I’d sign them, and make more $$$. Haha check it!
Producer: The Neptunes? - FULL, CDQ, Rumored track off upcoming album, Invincible Summer *Tibs Fav.™
“This is hip hop baby! I’m finna take it 2 the tip top baby!” - Common
MORE heat from Common and Pharrell! More of a traditional hip hop track than the previously released “Universal Mind Control”, Common and Pharrell both spit some verses over a slow, addicting, Neptunes-sounding beat. The lyrics are real nice, as u can expect from Common. They are an instant hit on your ear and it is definitely a track I’ll be listening 2 quite frequently. The song is supposed 2 be off his album, Invincible Summer, but it has since been pushed back 2 the fall, which may cause the title of the album 2 change as well. Below is a verse from Lupe Fiasco that I’ve never heard before over the Common song “The Corner”. It’s short but sweet as Lupe hits us with a dope metaphor on wrestling, more specifically the Ultimate Warrior, as well as shouting out a bunch of friends, including John Legend (my dream collabo that hasn’t happened yet is Lupe & Legend..!) So that got me all excited for no reason, but both the Common and Lupe songs are MUST-haves for ur collection! Oh, and btw, u may have seen the “Absolute Freestyle” around other blogs 2day, but that track is mad old from 2006. I’ve had it on my iTunes since then, but for all I know, “The Corner RMX” could have definitely been out there as well before 2day, but it was floating around as well 2day. That’s just a track I’ve never heard before and I have everything by or featuring Lupe Fiasco. Just thought that warrants mentioning. Anyway, below is a collabo between arguably the 2 biggest stars on the radio 2day… T-Pain & Lil’ Wayne, and u should expect more from them in the future as the rumor is that they will be working on a joint album 2gether. As GWHH visitors can tell by now, I’m not really high on either of them (not that I hate them) and I’m not really feelin’ the track, but I’m sure many of the masses will enjoy a surprising slow jam from the 2 mega-stars of music 2day. Finally down below, the video premiere of “Eat To Live” from Talib Kweli off his last album, Ear Drum! Enjoy!
A couple notes… sry for the delay on posts 2day. I’ve been out or working all thru the night and this was as soon as possible for me. More of the same 2morrow as I will be workin’ in the day and at nite, watching my hometown Bulls hopefully select the hometown prince, DERRICK ROSE! Can’t wait, but stay tuned for more NEW music and cool features…!
First off, be sure 2 check out Max G.’s post, where we celebrate the 1st anniversary of Gowhere Hip Hop! It’s a must-read so please take the time 2 check it out and don’t just skim it looking for music. As for the music, FSD drops another old, unreleased song featuring a Chicago rapper, this one a freestyle with Lupe Fiasco. Likewise w/ Kanye West, it is very interesting 2 hear the growth and differences of old Lupe vs. NEW Lupe. As u can see in this freestyle, Lupe flows like his usual, top-notch self, but surely with a harder edge than the Lupe you’re prolly used 2. Of course he comes thru w/ some nice lines that is delivered on point as well. Below, u can check out some more NEW trax featuring T.I., Akon, Jennifer Hudson, Christina Milian, & MORE! The vid section contains the already much-talked about (and hilarious) Shaq freestyle where he disses former teammate Kobe Bryant. In case u haven’t seen it, u can see it below, but the statement Shaq released about the freestyle also warrants mentioning (u can see that below the video). U can also view a behind the scenes look at the making of the video for “Paris, Tokyo” by Lupe Fiasco. Enjoy!
I saw some Lupe Fiasco track requests of songs that were supposed 2 be on Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor but were pulled b/c of the infamous leak. The 2 I picked were one of my all-time favorite Lupe trax “Spray Paint” f/ Ghostface & Mike Shinoda (Of Linkin Park & Fort Minor). I still can’t decide which rapper gets the nod for the best verse on this song, but they’re all so so sick. And another fresh track that I liked was “Lupe The Killer” (Killa.. Killa.. Killa..!), especially w/ lil sample voice going, “…and you ain’t dressed for this aff-air..”. Haha, I love that. If you don’t have these, please add them 2 ur Lupe collection and DL below! Enjoy!
“I was freestyling. That’s all. It was all done in fun. Nothing serious whatsoever. That is what mc’s do. They freestyle when called upon. I’m totally cool with Kobe. No issue at all. And by the way, don’t forget, six albums, two platinum, two gold. Anybody who knows me knows I’m a funny freestyler. Check the NBA DVD when I was wrapping about Vlade Divac during my first championship run. Please tell everybody don’t make something out of nothing.”
Today commemorates our 1 Year Anniversary of the birth of this beautiful thing we are proud to call Gowhere Hip Hop! It’s a very motivational day for us here as we reminisce about the history, the obstacles, and the heart of what is GWHH. It began with a positive idea, and was fueled by the ambition and the determination that is Chicago; the ambition to be the best.
—————————————————————————————
It all began 1 Year ago today, when gowhere? created his first blog site called gowhere.blogspot.com. His intentions were simple and positive; to create an outlet for sharing real hip hop for hip hop heads who got tired of hearing the same recycled music over and over again. This music was fresh at one point I might add, but it became so recycled that people didn’t care about what’s “real” anymore, but rather got used to the idea of being fed “feel good” music. There’s nothing wrong with that, but like the Oracle at Delphi said, “Nothing In Excess.”
—————————————————————————————
During this time many were saying how Hip Hop was dead, but I think it turned out for the best. Society gave the message that Hip Hop was not about the passion and the love of the game anymore, but about the money. About how to make the money, and about the best way to make it. Now by late 2006 there were fool proof formulas set in place by the music industry people of how to make a “hit” and how to make that “hit” bring in millions of dollars. They weren’t worried about quality, they were worried about quantity. How many to sell, and the best way to do. It got to the point where artists adapted to the music industry’s formula, and started putting out this “feel good” music that didn’t mean anything, but made you brainwashed by it. The originality and creativity weren’t that big of an issue, because everyone was doing it. Everyone that was “big” that is. These artists would recycle the same sound until there was nothing but a facade left. A facade that rained down money. A facade that didn’t make anyone truly happy.
—————————————————————————————
Once people started to realize this, and started to complain about the lack of passion left in the game; society gave the opportunity for “FRESH” to come back! The only city that wasn’t affected by this bland, industry corrupted formula was undoubtedly Chicago. The reason being was because Chicago had too much soul, which wasn’t ideal for the industry’s formula. It wasn’t ideal to make money that way during that time, which is why I think Chicago was slept on for so long. I mean Lupe did a back flip on the mattress that the industry slept on him on.
—————————————————————————————
The reason Chicago was put on the map, was the most simple reason of all. It is undeniable. The city is known for it’s passion, and it’s determination to succeed with the knowledge that no one will help Chicago except Chicago. This kind of environment breeds Titans. People who do it to be the best, people like Kanye who do it for the belt. The money is secondary to the positive competition to better ourselves as a human race. When you have this kind of mindset, you will not only bring a positive change to the world and open up the eyes of those that cannot see, but you will most importantly be genuinely happy. I am happy to be living now in the Age of Aquarius, my sign, the water bearer sign, which will undoubtedly continue to bring and create the NEW GOLDEN AGE that is our time for the next couple thousand years.
—————————————————————————————
We are proud to be part of this new era of CHANGE, which will transform our modern soul-less world to the passion and happiness that is life. Chicago in my eyes is the center of the world right now, and it is the catalyst that will and has already begun to manifest itself as an object of light that will revolutionize the World whether the World gives it credit or not. Chicago, The City of Light.
—————————————————————————————
We here at GWHH commemorate our 1 Year Anniversary by giving thanks to all those here in Chicago, and to all those that are with us in sharing the same passion to be the best at what you do, in order to inspire positivity, creativity, beauty, truth, and the knowledge to better ourselves as a people.
—————————————————————————————
After gowhere? created the blogspot site, it was the synergy of myself, Sgt. Tibs, and gowhere? that truly made us an unstoppable force. It is a beautiful thing when you bring a few people together who are passionate about the same ideal with the same goals to virtuously better each other. We fueled each other, and motivated one another to bring it as hard as we could with what little resources we had. GWHH is such a beautiful thing to us, because it started as an idea, which became and grew through our hard work into a positive snowball of events. For those readers and artists that have been with us since the beginning will know how much GWHH has evolved from a simple idea.
—————————————————————————————
We have spent countless hours, problem solved countless issues, dealt with constant failures, and yet we will succeed in that our goals are unbreakable. 1 Year today this is where we stand, and 1 year from now we hope to stand that much higher. Thank You to all of our supporters for being with us, and sharing your creativity, positive reinforcement, and bringing your own unique voices to our domain. We hope everyone will grow with us and celebrate the 2nd Birthday of GWHH one year from now as we continue to try and revolutionize the World as best we can. Peace and Much Love to Everyone!
—————————————————————————————
Below are some motivational lines from these Chicago greats that are the ideal examples of Humanity rising to a peak performance that no one thought possible.
—————————————————————————————
—————————————————————————————
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
—————————————————————————————
“Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential.”
—————————————————————————————
“If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.”
—————————————————————————————
—————————————————————————————
“All of us have to recognize that we owe our children more than we have been giving them.”
—————————————————————————————
“The American people are tired of liars and people who pretend to be something they’re not.”
—————————————————————————————
“You show people what you’re willing to fight for when you fight your friends.”
—————————————————————————————
—————————————————————————————
“My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.”
—————————————————————————————
“If you want your life to be more rewarding, you have to change the way you think.”
—————————————————————————————
“The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be.”
—————————————————————————————
“What we’re all striving for is authenticity, a spirit-to-spirit connection.”
—————————————————————————————
“What I know for sure is that what you give comes back to you.”
—————————————————————————————
—————————————————————————————
“KNOW YOUR WORTH! People act like they’re doing more for you than you’re doing for them. Ask yourself this question, “Why would they do that?” Obviously, you bring something to the table for them to even do business with you.”
—————————————————————————————
“Life is 5% what happens, and 95% how you react!”
—————————————————————————————
“You should be Happy right? I refuse to accept other people’s ideas of happiness for me. As if there’s a “one size fits all” standard for happiness. Regardless of your position in life, no one but you is qualified to determine your happiness. I think it’s great to never be completely happy or satisfied in life. If I ever became completely satisfied with the work I put out as an artist…that is the moment I would suck!”
—————————————————————————————
—————————————————————————————
“They tryna censor the influencer. Makes me sicker, influenza.”
—————————————————————————————
“I’m just trying to do the opposite of left, as long as there’s the opposite of death, ya know? Yes, ya test and I just might bring the opposite of life, til’ there’s no one the opposite of right.”
—————————————————————————————
“From the cradle to the cage, we bring our sons up to get gunned down.”
—————————————————————————————
—————————————————————————————
“I can accept failure, but I can’t accept not trying.”
—————————————————————————————
“Heart is what separates the good from the great.”
—————————————————————————————
“Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation.”
—————————————————————————————
“I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it is an illusion to me . Failure always made me try harder next time.”
—————————————————————————————
“Be true to the game, because the game will be true to you. If you try to shortcut the game, then the game will shortcut you. If you put forth the effort, good things will be bestowed upon you. That’s truly about the game, and in some ways that’s about life too.”
—————————————————————————————
“To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish. Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don’t isolate.”
—————————————————————————————
“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.”
—————————————————————————————
—————————————————————————————
“All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me… You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”
—————————————————————————————
“I have been up against tough competition all my life. I wouldn’t know how to get along without it.”
—————————————————————————————
“I do not like to repeat successes, I like to go on to other things.”
—————————————————————————————
“I’d say it’s been my biggest problem all my life… it’s money. It takes a lot of money to make these dreams come true.“
—————————————————————————————
“Life is too short to be living somebody else’s dream.“
Old School Sundays: Lupe Fiasco & Kanye West LIVE
but still up 3-1 in the season series!). Also, it warrants mentioning that the world’s largest food festival starts 2day - the 28th annual Taste Of Chicago! The festival features food from the various, unique restaurants around Chicago, dipping into all forms of ethnicity, and also includes many outdoor activities. The one most relevant 2 u Chicagoland readers is the musical performers each day of the Taste (June 27th-July 6th) and the notable ones include Estelle on July 2nd, Joss Stone on July 1st, and Stevie Wonder 2morrow on June 28th! So if u are planning on going 2 the Taste, but don’t know which day yet, maybe one of those would be a good time for ya! It’s a good time for everyone and a good time 2 vacation 2 Chicago! And maybe you’ll see us there! 
