© 1999-2008 Shopping.com, Inc. This feed is subject to our terms of use: http://www.epinions.com/help/rss_terms http://www.epinions.com/user-madtheory Recent reviews written by member madtheory en-us 121 37 http://www.epinions.com/ http://img.epinions.com/images/epi_images/logos/epinions_121.gif http://www.epinions.com/content_285681880708?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - Rappers do not retire. They fall off, get dropped, get shelved, or maybe even get shot, but people who have spent the majority of their lives fiending for the microphone never walk away from it willingly. At least not for very long... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~285681880708 Thu, 30 Nov 2006 14:33:20 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_285681880708?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_264498482820?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - Saying that there are high expectations for Chicago emcee Lupe Fiasco debut is a bit of an understatement. Some more attuned to the underground might have picked up on the burgeoning talent when he took Kanye West’s “Diamonds” single, and... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~264498482820 Wed, 11 Oct 2006 13:24:58 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_264498482820?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_258404552324?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - While the Army of the Pharaohs name may be unfamiliar to the uninitiated, most fans of underground Hip-Hop will recognize it as the loose artist collective that includes Jedi Mind Tricks, Outerspace, Juju Mob, 7L & Esoteric, Apathy, Celph Titled,... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~258404552324 Mon, 25 Sep 2006 15:12:31 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_258404552324?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_244104728196?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - Movie soundtracks. Once upon a time when songs composed for films were actually unique to a film, there was an actual reason to buy the soundtracks. Now that the vast majority of “original” soundtracks are comprised of either cast offs from... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~244104728196 Mon, 24 Jul 2006 18:56:34 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_244104728196?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_236227694212?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - Ladies Love Cool James. Everyone else is sick of his sh*t. Guys who have attended an LL Cool J concert in the last few years or so know what I&#146m talking about. You buy your ticket and hit the front row waiting to see Uncle L rush the mic... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~236227694212 Tue, 13 Jun 2006 14:00:06 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_236227694212?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_231673400964?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - In the mid 1990’s, music aficionados who were both jazz and Hip-Hop buffs were in absolute heaven. Hip-Hop music of this period was abundant with groups that created brilliant work celebrating the commingling of the two genres. Killer cuts from... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~231673400964 Wed, 17 May 2006 16:18:57 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_231673400964?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_225750716036?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - If somehow all the praise, press, and pub surrounding the Bay Area rap duo Blackalicious has managed to pass you by all these years, it’s definitely time to cop a late pass. For over a decade the duo of emcee Gift Of Gab and producer Chief Xcel... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~225750716036 Fri, 7 Apr 2006 13:31:12 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_225750716036?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_223341284996?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - Although not international chess professionals, one can certainly make the case for awarding the ‘grandmaster’ title to Gza and DJ Muggs. One of the best emcees in the NYC-based Wu-Tang Clan rap collective and the premier producer for the... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~223341284996 Tue, 14 Mar 2006 15:54:17 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_223341284996?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_221064760964?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - Although once so fed up with the unethical American music industry that he took up residence in Germany, it seems that acclaimed Philly emcee Grand Agent is now prepared to square off with the beast once again &#150 and this time he&#146s brought... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~221064760964 Fri, 17 Feb 2006 13:29:21 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_221064760964?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_218278104708?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - What The Game’s Been Missing!? Hardly. To the contrary, rappers like Diplomats member Juelz Santana are exactly what the rap industry has had entirely too much of. Mainstream rap nowadays is awash with no-talent, non-rapping cats... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~218278104708 Thu, 19 Jan 2006 19:34:35 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_218278104708?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_215084732036?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - Now working off of his own Blacksmith Music imprint through Koch, the once-underground Brooklyn rap phenom Talib Kweli is free once again to make Talib Kweli music without the pressure, hype, and gravity currently synonymous with a Talib... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~215084732036 Fri, 23 Dec 2005 14:51:00 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_215084732036?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_213817986692?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - One of the most mystifying things about Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Bad Boy rap empire is why it even still exists. Aside from the occasional decent R&B artist, the label’s post-Biggie/Mase mission has been unswervingly dedicated to producing and... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~213817986692 Mon, 12 Dec 2005 19:22:04 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_213817986692?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_209978756740?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - While more and more rappers rush to dumb down lyrics and make their content irrelevant to appeal to their audience&#146s lowest common denominator, their spoken word poet cousins have thankfully remained closer to their roots. One of the most shining... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~209978756740 Tue, 1 Nov 2005 15:32:28 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_209978756740?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_209267297924?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - Once upon a time, the Wu-Tang Clan were poster boys for underground rap even amidst bum-rushing MTV stages. Now under the auspices of longtime affiliate-turned-A&R Dreddy Krueger, the legendary Shaolin collective and their infinite... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~209267297924 Mon, 24 Oct 2005 14:09:03 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_209267297924?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_208785870468?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - One of the best things about Hip-Hop music is the collaborative spirit shared amongst the majority of its artists. Its certainly true that a number of rap unions are more a product of effective marketing than shared artistic vision, but when rappers and... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~208785870468 Tue, 18 Oct 2005 18:56:14 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_208785870468?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_208663776900?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - As even the mass media outlets once dedicated to accurate representations of black life join in with the popular portrayal of Hip-Hop as an endless parade of less-than-musical pimps, hoes, gangstas, and thugs, (BET&#146s answer to The Apprentice?... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~208663776900 Mon, 17 Oct 2005 15:23:03 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_208663776900?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_197603069572?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - As reprehensible as Hip-Hop&#146s obsession with incarceration as verification of the ubiquitous &#147street credibility,&#148 there&#146s no denying it power in the rap industry. Just ask T.I., Beanie Sigel, and Lil Kim. Currently serving 366... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~197603069572 Mon, 3 Oct 2005 15:59:42 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_197603069572?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_197206183556?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - With Enterprise now officially over and done with, some Star Trek fans may be experiencing withdrawal from not being able to regularly partake in the weekly trials and tribulations of the brave men and women of Starfleet. For these sad... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~197206183556 Tue, 27 Sep 2005 18:43:20 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_197206183556?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_196426567300?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - Politics may make strange bedfellows, but lately Hip-Hop makes even stranger ones. Case in point: Miri Ben-Ari. An Israeli-born violin virtuoso, it didn&#146t take long for Hip-Hop music to get under her skin after moving to New York. Soon... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~196426567300 Fri, 16 Sep 2005 18:29:06 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_196426567300?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_196202237572?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - It was 1994 when Brooklyn rapper Anthony Cruz a.k.a. AZ electrified Hip-Hop with a sharp guest spot on &#147Life&#146s a B*tch&#148 off Nas Illmatic debut, then followed up with his own critically acclaimed Doe Or Die. However,... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~196202237572 Wed, 14 Sep 2005 16:47:02 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_196202237572?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_195525447300?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - For most, being arrested a mere twelve hours after being released from prison would be embarrassing to say the least, but for thug rapper Tony Yayo, it&#146s only increased his stock. One of the original members of 50 Cent&#146s G-Unit clique... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~195525447300 Wed, 7 Sep 2005 15:11:31 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_195525447300?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_194770603652?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - Hip-Hop&#146s connection with Kanye West is the epitome of the love/hate relationship. On one hand, we love the way he returned commercial rap production from keyboard mashing back to vinyl sampling, then pushed that aesthetic even further through... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~194770603652 Tue, 30 Aug 2005 18:15:03 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_194770603652?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_194404454020?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - It’s hard to believe there was once a time when West Coast rap was considered to be inherently inferior to its East Coast equivalent. Thankfully cats like Casual were around to help alter that perception. A founding member of the world famous... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~194404454020 Sat, 27 Aug 2005 03:31:44 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_194404454020?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_194245398148?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - Considering the golden period that the Justus League has been having recently with well-received releases from Little Brother, Foreign Exchange, Rapper Big Pooh, L.E.G.A.C.Y., and The Away Team, statistically speaking, something from the North... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~194245398148 Thu, 25 Aug 2005 13:56:55 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_194245398148?linkin_id=8003929 http://www.epinions.com/content_193557139076?linkin_id=8003929 rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author madtheory - Funny thing about Roc-A-Fella Records – people stopped caring about it the day Jay-Z retired. Sure Kanye is still in people’s minds, but the success of G.O.O.D. Records ensures that it won’t be long before West’s name ceases being associated with... http://www.epinions.com/content/submit.html/comment_~193557139076 Thu, 18 Aug 2005 18:00:32 GMT http://www.epinions.com/content_193557139076?linkin_id=8003929