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Danzel Baker is the First Indigenous Artist to Find Mainstream Success

Donned the “New Fresh Prince of Arnhem Land” this emerging talent is finding mainstream success rapping in his native tongue.

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2 years ago

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21 year old Danzel Baker aka Baker Boy is the first Indigenous artist to find mainstream success in Yolŋu Matha. Yolŋu Matha is one of the languages of the Yolngu (Yolŋu, Yuulngu), the indigenous people of northeast Arnhem Land in northern Australia. The “ŋ” in Yolŋu is pronounced as the “ng” in “singing”.

https://instagram.com/p/BXRh64anI2N/

Baker Boy won the Triple J Unearthed National Indigenous Music Awards competition last year, and his two singles reached number 17 (“Marryuna”) and 76 (“Cloud 9”) in the Triple J Hottest 100 countdown last weekend.

In an interview with indaily.com, Baker Boy talked about his influences and how hip hop impacted his culture:

“Growing up with my dad and uncles, they all started dancing back in the ’80s to hip-hop music and they kind of influenced me.

“Hanging around them so much got me that feeling of falling in love with hip-hop and what it meant to all people from America – African-Americans, in particular.

“It’s an amazing culture that involves all different art forms and performances… making music, freedom of speech, poetry… and that’s why I fell in love with it; it’s got a message behind the song, it’s got what it meant to that person.”

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=dxjFNvwZUhA

He also talked about the importance of rapping in Yolngu Matha language representing his Arnhem Land bloodlines.:

“I rap in Yolngu Matha because there’s young kids at home that don’t really understand English as much as Yolngu Matha. I rap in English and English speakers understand what I’m saying.

“There’s a lot of people who came up to me and said, ‘Do you have lyrics and where is this Yolngu Matha dictionary? I want to learn this language’, and when I heard that it made me feel proud that I actually changed the way they feel and see things.

“It keeps the language strong and continues it for the next generation to learn it and keep it going.”

In Arnhem Land they call Baker Boy the ‘fresh new prince’. His totem is the Olive Python, his moiety is Dhuwa and his skin is Burralung/Gela boy.

Born in Darwin and raised in the remote NT communities Yurrwi [formerly known as Milingimbi and Maningrida]

He is the freshest new Yolngu hip-hop talent from the Top End. Baker Boy is known as a multi-talented artist, working across rap, dance, acting and graffiti, and he hopes to inspire younger generations to embrace their culture and become leaders in their communities.

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Business

Why 2-Chainz Turned Down Jay-Z During “Watch The Throne” Era.

2-Chainz cites “Loyalty” as reason for declining an offer from Roc Nation.

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Published

6 months ago

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March 7, 2019

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In 2 Chainz new YouTube series #CrateTalk, he revealed that he was at one point close to signing a deal with Jay-Z. In the inaugural episode, Host 2 Chainz explained to special guest Steve Stoute how it all happened. The conversation starts at the 5:45 mark.

“Hov told me that he wanted to do business with you and you turned him down,” Stoute says

“I was already speaking with Kanye on and off,” 2 Chainz said, “While they was in Paris working on Watch the Throne, Ye would hit me the whole time talking about my mixtapes and just was speaking to me where we just built a great relationship on the phone because we share some of the same similarities, right?”

It was at this point that Jay-Z asked 2-Chainz to get on a flight to New York. 2 Chainz wanted to bring along his friend and business partner, DJ Teknikz, but the request was denied. Because of this 2-Chainz felt it was only right to decline the business meeting out of respect and loyalty to his friend DJ Tek.

No love was lost however, as the pair have been seen together on multiple occasions including the Roc Nation Pre-Grammy Brunch. On 2 Chainz 5th studio album “Rap or Go To The League” he boasts a Jay-Z sample (Lucifer) on the opening track “Forgiven” ft. Marsha Ambrosius. 2 Chainz wanted Jay-Z as feature on his new album but the timing wasn’t right. Hopefully we can get a collaboration from the two artists sometime in the foreseeable future.

 

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Rick Ross Set To Release “Hurricanes” Memoir – September 3, 2019

The highly anticipated memoir from hip-hop icon Rick Ross chronicles his coming of age amid Miami’s crack epidemic, his star-studded controversies and his unstoppable rise to fame.

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Published

6 months ago

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March 7, 2019

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Celebrities and public figures write memoirs that detail their life stories as well as  focus on issues they may or may not be as vocal about in public. For example, Michelle Obama’s latest literary achievement in “Becoming” is a memoir of her life’s journey as well as recording artist Gucci Mane’s book “The Autobiography of Gucci Mane.”

Recording artist and businessman, Rick Ross, is the latest celebrity involved in hip-hop music to publish a memoir titled Hurricanes and it’s set to be published in autumn (US).

In a statement, Rick said, “My story has always been deeper than rap. With this book I wanted to go deeper than I ever have. I wanted to tell people about the life of William Leonard Roberts.”

“Most people know Rick Ross as a global icon, but few are familiar with his origin story. Hurricanes transcends the conventions of celebrity memoir to offer an intimate and inspiring portrait of an artist who at every turn defied the odds and continues to change the game,” added Peter Joseph, editorial director of Hanover Square Press.

The book will not shy away from the recording artists fair deal of controversy including the rapper’s past as a drug dealer and correctional officer, as well as incidents such as his seizures, celebrity feuds, drive-by shootings, and his 2015 arrest on kidnapping and assault charges.

“From the making of ‘Hustlin” to his first major label deal with Def Jam, to the controversy surrounding his past as a correctional officer and the numerous health scares, arrests and feuds he had to transcend along the way, Hurricanes is a revealing portrait of one of the biggest stars in the rap game, and an intimate look at the birth of an artist,” reads the book synopsis.

Pre-order Rick Ross’s New Book Here.

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Music

Stream Shaggy’s New Song: “Use Me”

Published

10 months ago

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November 29, 2018

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It’s been a while since we last heard from legendary reggae artist, Shaggy. Today, Shaggy has released a new single entitled “Use Me.” The track comes via Lyor Cohen’s, 300 Entertainment and Brooklyn Knights Entertainment

Check out Shaggy’s new single in the stream below:

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