| The 15 Greatest Internet Rap Lists | January 6, 2012 |
Abe Beame is talking square biz. It’s hard to keep up with the internet in 2011. Both music and its criticism changes faster than truths can even be registered. By the time you figure out what’s happening, the herd has already moved on. So it should come as no surprise that since I started writing […]
| A Love Bizarre: R. Kelly and Experimentation | January 4, 2012 |
Abe Beame is a lover and a fighter. DOWNLOAD: A Love Bizarre (Disc 1) What did “Let’s Get It On” sound like in 1973? Today, it’s a golden oldie, something a cotton-stuffed Jack Black can croon with adorable affectation to close out romantic comedies. But when it first came out, how did it feel and […]
| The Feminine Mystique: Lil Kim- Hardcore | November 23, 2011 |
Abe Beame interrupts his series of obsessive nerding out to bring you a think piece on “Hardcore.” It’s difficult to gauge how responsible Biggie was for its composition. He executive produced the album, shows up with small, perfectly placed touches, lends Kim his delivery and cadence, but gets no explicit writing credits. But to ignore […]
| A Story to Tell: Biggie Smalls & Narrative – “Get Money” | November 1, 2011 |
Abe Beame beat Cease-A-Leo at Tecmo Bowl Biggie followed Ready to Die with Junior Mafia’s Conspiracy—a spotty album with two great singles, but one notable for being one of the first times a crew got a deal exclusively due to their friendship with a talented, successful rapper. Ultimately, Junior Mafia birthed one decent personality in […]
| A Story To Tell: Biggie Smalls & Narrative — “Suicidal Thoughts” | October 26, 2011 |
Abe Beame likes black Tim’s and black hoodies. Ready to Die ends with a bang. After an album of unbridled aggression and desperation, the climax is delivered through a quiet, inverted moment of reflection. Throughout his masterpiece, there are demons chasing the protagonists of Biggie’s songs. Though we never hear their deaths explicitly, we can […]
| A Story To Tell: Biggie Smalls and Narrative — “Friend of Mine” | October 19, 2011 |
Abe Beame does the blunts and brews thing, knocking that Wu-Tang. My favorite moment on Ready to Die comes at the end of the “Fuck Me” interlude. Biggie and Lil Kim simulate sex on a chair in the studio. As the skit reaches its climax, Kim intentionally or unintentionally falls off. Biggie immediately apologizes, and […]
| A Story to Tell: Biggie Smalls & Narrative — “Respect ” | October 13, 2011 |
Abe Beame hollers respect to all the con men. There’s a hypnotic quality to the bounce that anchors Poke and Puffy’s brilliant flip of George Mccrae’s “I Get Lifted.” Understandably, the beat and Biggie’s effortless wordplay have always mesmerized me on more casual listens. As a fan, it can drain the fun from a song […]
| A Story To Tell: Biggie Smalls and Narrative — “Me & My Bitch” | October 11, 2011 |
You don’t want to hear Abe Beame’s demos. Biggie was unpredictable. A demo called “Love No Ho” could have tenderness, compassion, romantic tragedy and darkness. While we remember “Me & My Bitch” for its rawness, intensity, and palpable loss in every bar. But it also gives us perspective on an ugly, destructive element of young […]
| A Story to Tell: Biggie Smalls & Narrative — “Juicy” and “Everyday Struggle” | September 27, 2011 |
Abe Beame apologizes to those who have been enjoying this series. He lost a hard drive with nearly half the articles, and it took him this long to extract them. Biggie’s most important stories were his own. Prior to 1994, rappers had largely been entrenched reporters relating facts on the ground. Biggie defied the tradition […]
| “If You’re HIV Negative and You Love Hip Hop, Put Your Hands Up”: Kendrick Lamar at SOBs | September 2, 2011 |
Abe Beame hails from Section 84. Summer ended suddenly on a Wednesday night in Tribecca when Kendrick Lamar, a self-appointed Dylan for 80s babies, took the stage at SOBs, one of the last venues Manhattan has left to a dedicated Hip Hop stage. And hip hop, in its strange 2011 iteration was in the building. […]
