Day: May 29, 2015

[Origins Hip-Hop / Rap:] Lupe Fiasco – Hip Hop Saved My Life (feat. Nikki Jean) & The Die


One you never heard of, I
push it hard to further the —
grind, I feel like murder but,
hip-hop, you saved me…

Our origins post today is some more real hip-hop, this time from the intellectual and controversial Lupe Fiasco. “Hip-Hop Saved My Life” featuring Nikki Jean is one of the standout tracks from Lupe’s legendary album The Cool. This was Fiasco’s last EP before his disappointing release of Lasers where many fans felt Lupe sacrificed his original rapping style and authentic beats for a more mainstream sound. “Hip-Hop Saved My Life” is a great example of true hip-hop music with meaning and significance.

Also notable from The Cool is Lupe’s “The Die”, check it out below:

[Hip-Hop/Rap:] D.R.A.M. – Cha Cha // [Hip-Hop/Rap] Ty Dolla $ign – Never Back Down


D.R.A.M. has recently exploded onto the mainstream music scene after Beyonce featured their single “Cha Cha” on her Instagram. The Super Mario inspired hip-hop/cha cha song was released in March and is already gaining prominent airplay (I heard the song played on ATL’s Streets 94.5 FM yesterday). I’m sure we can expect to see more from this group in the coming weeks.

If you haven’t heard Ty Dolla $ign’s last prominent offering “Never Back Down” check it out above. With a slower, deep and dark beat Ty raps over a trappy instrumental with spacey synths. Quality remixes are bound to be aplenty soon if not already.