Rosemary West

Last week, Nas joined Charlie Rose for PBS' tribute to Maya Angelou where the Queens native also took the time to discuss his influences and impact on the game, hip hop culture, and more. During the interview, Nas discussed the current state of Hip Hop in comparison to when his career first began over two decades ago. "Today it's a lot easier to get into the rap game but, back then in '94, it was a lot harder," Nas says when describing his journey to success which began with his first feature on…

In celebration of the 20th Anniversary of his seminal debut album Illmatic, Nas held a contest inviting fans to collaborate and produce the official music video for “Represent,” an influential track off of the classic release. This is the first video ever made for the track and was shot at the YouTube Space Los Angeles. One winner, Brian Katz was chosen, and invited to collaborate alongside Nas and Mass Appeal’s own Jason Goldwatch, who helped bring his video vision to life. Inspired by the…

Do Yall know Jacquees? Well if you dont listen up, I’m going to tell you about his life and career. Jacquees Rodriques was born on april 15,1994 he is now 21 years old. He developed a passion for song and dance when he was just 9 years old. He was influnces from the jackson’s : An american dream and the temptations movies. Jacquees style is reminiscent of a rapper’s swagger but when he hits the stage his uncanny voice mesmerizes audiences leavaving them with an unforgettable performance .In…

John Legend, singer, songwriter, pianist, is a 36 year old extremely talented man who has succeeded in far more than just reaching fame in music. He comes from an interesting historical background; his 4th and 5th grandfathers were born slaves and died freed men. Being that John Legend was always into Classical soul, hip-hop and gospel music since early childhood, he carried that interest into the music he composes today, which makes him one of the few artists in the r&b/hip-hop music industry…

Kanye West is definitely a role model for me. Sure West might seem like an egotistical prick to the general population, but he is much more than that. Kanye West is a creative genius, and has a work ethic unparalleled in the genre he makes music for. He has won 21 grammys and that should somewhat display the work ethic and talent that he has. His lyrics are not the reason he has reached the top level of Hip-Hop. He started off as a producer for Def Jam entertainment, and production would…

Uneven Ground: Appalachia Since 1945, by Ronald Eller explores the devastation of traditional culture and land use in the Appalachian region at the hands of the coal industry and local, state, and federal leaders and policy makers. His perspective comes from one that separates growth from development and is highly critical of efforts to force Appalachia into a national economic model that is not aligned with the regions unique historical situations. After briefly setting the stage in the Civil…

While reading the assigned reading for this week, I noticed a section in Chapter 5 called, “West Berlin: Today Vietnam, Tomorrow Us.” This section was quite intriguing to me because it mentions the facts of the Berlin Wall. The chapter doesn’t however go into great detail about the wall or why it was even constructed. It does mention that West Berlin was the center of the Cold War where the United States and the Soviet Union had constructed their battleground. It goes on to talk about the Free…

Dr. Dre and the marks he will leave on hip hop It’s hard to miss a song or two from the living emblem of hip hop known as Dr. Dre. The classic figure of the said music genre has not only set a new pace when it comes to hip hop music, but also nurtured and supported upcoming artists leading them to the same path he had traversed during the course of his active music career. There is no denying that the prominence of his persona in the music industry is eminent as he was able to flexibly…

When a person can’t accept their vulnerability then they feel forced to cover up the things that make up their identity which cause them to not be the person they want to be because they think that people will just tear them apart. Everyone has some vulnerability in their life but it's how you handle the vulnerability that determines their true identity and whether they can live a more full life. When a person first is affected by their vulnerability it is hard for them to share it with other…

“But the Hebrew word, the word timshel -‘Thou mayest’ that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world,” cried Lee, a character in East of Eden, by John Steinbeck (add citation). Timshel originates from the biblical story of Cain and Abel. The passage in which Lee is speaking, refers to God’s words regarding Cain’s actions. In the Hebrew text, God utilizes the word “timshel” to unveil to Cain that he holds the personal authority to surpass evil, if he chooses to do so.…