2008 HipHopDX Awards
Posted in
Interview on Dec 30, 2008 at 8:48 PM
The 2008 HipHopDX Aawards
Giovanni Hidalgo took the played out formula of luxury cars and voluptuous vixens and flipped it on its head with this clip. Featuring only Killer Mike against a plain white background and some great editing, this video kept the focus on the strong visuals inspired by Mike and Ice Cube's verses. Nine times out of ten, the average "music" network is playing some reality program instead of any programming with actual music. If you don't want to be bothered with the day-to-day troubles of airhead "celebutantes," do yourself a favor and watch this.
Pressure - Killer Mike
The New Jersey luminary gave us a non-album masterpiece with "Who?" Budden took Nas' proclamation from 2006, and started investigating who killed Hip-Hop. From examinations of T-Pain's Auto-Tune use, to 50 Cent's endorsement of money over skills, both parts of the the no-holds-barred, 11-minute song created anticipation for an album that's been hyped for years.
After the sneaky success of last year's Below The Heavens, Blu released two albums this year. Whereas C.R.A.C. left some a bit unsettled, Johnson & Jonson, a collaboration with rookie producer Mainframe, was the Supreme Clientele of the underground. Dynamic '70s sampling, cocky-yet-vulnerable rhymes and age-old life lessons made this reportedly shelved project from 2006 sound like brand new funk, with some revisions and updates.
Nine years removed from Amplified—and six from the shelved Kamaal The Abstract— Q-Tip had been more seen than heard in the in the new millennium. Much like Kanye West or Black Milk, Tip challenged the genre and made soulful music that several generations of fans could bond over in The Renaissance. With some cherished work from J Dilla being unveiled, Q-Tip pushed his own production envelope in a mixture between samples and instrumentation to show that a 38-year-old can still sound and look young, with the wisdom and poise not found in the young bucks.
It took over 30 years for Hip Hop to deliver a national star from the Washington, D.C. area. With his slow-building hit "Nike Boots" combining a self-aware style with principles and cultural awareness, Wale Folarin began the year grinding. In the journey, he landed an Allido/Interscope deal, support from Jay-Z, his first official appearance with The Roots, and mixtapes with both Nick Catchdubs and the legendary 45 King; the Capitol City's mark came exact with a capital W.
FIND OUT WHO WON ALBUM OF THE YEAR, COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR, EMCEE OF THE YEAR, MIXTAPE OF THE YEAR, PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, AND MORE AT HIPHOPDX
