Kool G Rap
Photo: Rawkus

While it took two years for Kool G Rap to tell his latest tale, his eighth album, The Giancana Story, will finally see the light of day on November 12.

The record was originally due in 2000 (see "Kool G Rap Preparing New Album"), but problems with his former label delayed the disc's release. The Giancana Story features a variety of guest rappers, including Capone-N-Noreaga, Black Child, Prodigy of Mobb Deep, LES and AZ. Rap also collaborated with Michael Stipe of rock band R.E.M. Producers on The Giancana Story include DJ Premier, Buc Wild and Rockwilder.

Rap made his professional debut in 1987 as a member of Marley Marl's Juice Crew. Two years later, he released Road to the Riches, the first of three albums with DJ Polo. Rap's first solo album, 4, 5 ,6, was issued in 1995.

Respected for his incisive lyrics and storytelling skills, Rap has influenced various prominent rappers, including Nas, who worked with him on the 1995 song "Fast Life."

• Kool G Rap
• Capone -N- Noreaga
• Michael Stipe

The Roots' Black Thought performs at Lincoln Center on 1.17.02
Photo: Johnny Nunez

NEW YORK — At Lincoln Center’s storied Avery Fisher Hall Thursday night, you could tell it was no ordinary night. Amidst the Coogie sweaters and matching fitted caps, throwback sports jerseys, assorted hoodies and Timberland boots worn by the concertgoers, you couldn’t spot any of the aristocrats in furs, suits and evening gowns that usually frequent the home of the New York Philharmonic.

And while ticketholders for the sold-out show were ready to hear crisp sounds, the night was all about hip-hop. The Roots — Black Thought, Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, Scratch, Kamal, Malik B., Rahzel and Hub — called on such friends as Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Kool G Rap and legendary breakdancers the Rock Steady Crew to help introduce the venue to rap. Although DJing squad the X-ecutioners performed at Avery Fisher in 2000, no MCs had ever graced the theater (Click for photos from the concert).

The house lights went low, signaling the crowd to rise from their seats for Philadelphia’s hometown heroes’ entrance.

"We settin' it from Southside/ Pushin' this up North/ From Illadelphian reps, to fly points across the map," the group’s frontman and lead MC, Black Thought, said as they opened with "Respond/ React."

With the house still pitch black, he and the Roots' other MC, Malik B., continued rhyming until the next couple of verses, then as the full crew was revealed onstage, the band switched up the beats, using Mobb Deep’s "The Learning (Burn)" as the musical backdrop.

"We surround your camp/ Assuming the war stance," Thought spit. "And bring it from the chest, now let's dance."

He and Malik then conjured visions of '80s rap world flick "Beat Street" as they battled each other, not with mics, but by dancing, highlighted by backspins, reminiscent of World Wrestling Federation Superstar Booker T.’s Spinnerooni signature move. From there, guests Crazy Legs and two other Rock Steady Crew dancers took over with their trademark poppin', lockin' and breaking.

At that point, the floor seating area looked like one massive sea of bodies. Everybody was standing, and from the balcony you couldn’t see chairs or a piece of the floor, just people dancing.

"We got the hot, hot music, the hot music," Black Thought began to chant on the follow-up number, "The Next Movement." But after a verse, the band switched up the beat again, this time recreating the keys that producer Marley scored big with on the seminal posse cut "The Symphony."

"Next up," said Thought. " ... Kool G Rap light up the mic for the symphony." The legendary verbal pugilist then came on to rehash his lyrical lacerations.

"Yo, Marley gives the slice, I get nice/ And my voice is twice as horrifying as Vincent Price," G Rap said, clad in all black from his Timbs to his pullover sweatshirt.

The back-in-the-day vibe must have gotten to Black Thought — when G Rap finished his verse, Thought went into Big Daddy Kane’s part of the song.

"Settin' it off, lettin' it off, beginnin'," he said. "Rough to the endin', you never been in ..."

G Rap wasn’t the last person the Roots would give time to shine to on the mic — Talib Kweli, singer Jaguar Wright and Jay-Z would also come out.

Jay and the group took the opportunity to perform some of Jigga’s street-flavored album cuts they didn’t have time for on the recent MTV "Unplugged." Jigga started off with "A Million and One Questions" (one of ?uestlove’s favorites) and then went into "So Ghetto."

His set’s closer was "Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)." "Ain’t no love, in the heart of the city," Jaguar returned to the stage to sing. "Ain’t no love, in the heart of town."

"Ain’t no," Jay chimed in, smiling.

With the crowd clapping in unison, Jag roared back, "Ain’t nooo."

"Ain’t no," Jay jumped back in, before rubbing the visibly pregnant songbird’s bulging stomach.

The crowd was alerted that even though the show was hitting the 90-minute mark at that point, it was not time to go home yet. It was jam session time, and the band performed instrumentals ranging from "Iron Man" to Salt-N-Pepa’s "Push It," but not before their most commercially popular hit, "You Got Me."

Although the track’s guest performer, Erykah Badu, wasn’t in attendance, human-sound-effects machine Rahzel imitated her part.

Rahz and Scratch, who replicated much of the turntable scratching with his mouth on the "Unplugged" special, then went toe-to-toe for the crown of Mouth o’ Mighty. Using just their mics, the two dug deep enough in their bag of tricks to make Michael Winslow from "Police Academy" proud.

Besides recreating the beat and hook from Aaliyah’s "If Your Girl Only Knew," the highlight of their time in the spotlight was a performance of the Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader light saber fight, replete with the weapons’ buzzing noise and Darth Vader’s revelation that he was Luke’s father.

The grand finale of Pharoahe Monch coming out to perform "Simon Sez" was almost an afterthought. The song’s chorus chant of "Get the f--- up" was two hours too late; all seats were ice cold by then.

• The Roots
• Jay-Z
• Talib Kweli
• Kool G Rap

Masta Ace
Photo: JCOR

Even though rap dominates sales charts, radio and video play and has infiltrated the fashion and film industries, some hip-hop artists are less than pleased with the typically myopic, materialistic message of many chart-topping songs.

"I feel like the average hip-hop fan is not well-rounded at all," said Masta Ace, whose recently released Disposable Arts album makes keen, pointed observations about the current state of hip-hop. "Their musical diet is not a balanced one. It's a problem and it's unfortunate. There's nothing wrong with having some fun on a given night — I have fun like the next man. But it needs to be about more than that at the end of the day, but unfortunately not enough of our people have figured that out yet. My job in this is to be one of the providers of balance."

Indeed, the follow-up to 1995's Sittin' on Chrome exhibits the balance that such hip-hop acts as KRS-One, Outkast, Talib Kweli, Dead Prez, Mystic and the Coup provide. Disposable Arts contains several interwoven storylines that include one in which Ace enrolls in IDA, the Institute of Disposable Arts, where he studies hip-hop. Through skits, Ace's journey at the school is detailed, while the songs feature Ace's signature brand of clever phrasings, punchline-heavy lyrics, gripping tales of ghetto life and insightful political commentary.

Greg Nice delivers the chorus on the festive hip-hop commentary "Don't Understand," while the somber "Dear Diary" has Ace questioning his place in hip-hop's pantheon. The latter is a rare hip-hop moment, one where an artist portrays himself as vulnerable and confused. "Eh, yo, Ace/ Don't tell me you thinking about a return," Ace raps on the cut, assuming the role of his diary. "I'm kind of concerned/ When will you old cats ever learn?/ It's time to hang it up."

"It was self-analyzation," Ace said of "Dear Diary." "The lyrics on that song are the way I feel some days when I wake up. 'Why are you even considering making records anymore? Nobody's really checking for it anymore. You're wasting your time. There's maybe 10 cats that are going to buy your record.' I wake up sometimes and I feel that way. I'm being honest about my feelings and maybe saying some stuff that people might be saying."

Looking back at his career, which includes collaborations with Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, Marley Marl and others, Ace offers the thankful "No Regrets," a reflective history of sorts where he gives praise to all of those who contributed to his better musical memories.

On a less explicit narrative line, Disposable Arts explores the relationship between Ace's character and his roommate at IDA, portrayed on the album by MC Paul Barman, a white, Jewish, Prince Paul affiliate. Some of the interaction between Ace and Barman was inspired by Ace's own trip to college. He graduated from the University of Rhode Island and interacted with many Maine and Vermont natives who had never been around black people and had a cursory knowledge of hip-hop, at best.

Barman's character actively pursues hip-hop, though. In fact, he's even performing a freestyle rap when Ace first meets him in their dorm room.

The interaction between Ace and Barman is sometimes tense and always entertaining. Like the songs on Disposable Arts, these skits provide a riveting story of their own. "When people spend their $15 or $16.99 to buy a CD, I think they want to feel like they bought something that's valuable, that something was a good purchase, that somebody actually took time and put together a project," Ace said. "They didn't just put anything together, throwing some songs back to back and put a label on it. I really respect the buyer, the fan, the listener because I'm one and I know that I want to be entertained. I try to look at it from that perspective and try to make a record as if I was going out and buying it."

As a fan of hip-hop, Ace hopes to encourage fans to respect the art form and its architects. When he attended a recent Run-DMC concert, he was disappointed with the lukewarm response fans gave the legendary Queens trio.

"They deserve a certain amount of energy, a certain amount of love," Ace said. "They should be made to feel like they are some of hip-hop's pioneers. When people talk about them or when they're mentioned, people that really know give it up, but a lot of people could care less.

"I look at rock and roll and I see cats that don't do an album for 10 years and then tour and sell out stadiums," he continued. "I feel like we need to reach that point in hip-hop. Fans need to embrace their past heroes, still uphold and respect music that was from 10, five, three years ago."

Masta Ace, who has released albums in three different decades, hopes that Disposable Arts as well as other releases from like-minded artists will help hip-hop regain its balance. Coming from an era where such disparate artists as Biz Markie, Public Enemy, N.W.A, Too Short and the Geto Boys were all popular, Ace knows that it can happen.

"We have to reach a point where people want to hear more than one thing," Ace said. "From a fan's perspective, people are just feeding more into the pursuit of ice, platinum, cars and rims, and that's all that it's about.

"Sometimes I get depressed and wonder, 'What's wrong with people?' We all would like a nice car and jewelry, but you want people to be a little more well-rounded than they are."

• Masta Ace Incorporated
• Biz Markie
• N.W.A.
• Public Enemy
• Prince Paul

Xzibit
Photo: Loud

New York turntablist crew the X-ecutioners have a good excuse for taking more than four years to record their new album. It is Built From Scratch. Acclaimed vinyl manipulators Total Eclipse, Sinista, Roc Raida and Rob Swift also took the time to recruit a stellar lineup of guest musicians, which includes Linkin Park, Xzibit, Dan the Automator and the late Big Punisher.

The X-ecutioners' track with Xzibit will be the album's first single, while the Linkin Park collaboration is scheduled to be the second. Track titles have not been confirmed.

DJ Premier, Pharoahe Monch, the Beat Junkies, Kool G Rap, Inspectah Deck, the Tom Tom Club, beatboxer Kenny Muhammed and hardcore rappers M.O.P. also make appearances on the album, due September 25 on Loud Records.

Built From Scratch is the follow-up to 1997's X-pressions, one of the first turntablist albums.

The cover of the new record will be a replication of Public Enemy's classic Yo! Bum Rush the Show, which features Chuck D and the gang in a basement room huddling around a turntable and mixer.

The X-ecutioners' version of the cover will feature the four members of the group along with hip-hop innovator Kool Herc, scratch inventor Grand Wizard Theodore and Grandmaster DXT, who, as Grandmaster DST, popularized record scratching on Herbie Hancock's "Rockit."

• The X-Ecutioners
• Linkin Park
• Xzibit
• DJ Premier
• Pharoahe Monch

Michael Stipe
Photo: Warner

At his rate of working with one rapper every decade, rock singer Michael Stipe certainly won't be taking money from hip-hop hook king Nate Dogg anytime soon.

However, according to Rawkus Records, legendary MC Kool G Rap recently called on the R.E.M. frontman to sing the chorus on "Called Onez," which will appear Kool's Giacana Story, due in July.

Ten years ago it was Stipe asking for helping hand from a member of the hip-hop community, as KRS-One lent his famed lyrical skills to "Radio Song" on R.E.M.'s Out of Time. Stipe hasn't just been helping out b-boys lately. Making the most of his free time before R.E.M.'s Reveal drops next week, he also donated his voice to British dance duo Utah Saints for their album Two, due July 30.

According to a spokesperson from the Nettwerk Productions label, the Utah Saints appearance won't be as conventional as his cameo with G Rap. The group is using snippets from an hour-long phone conversation between Stipe and Saints member Jez Willis as four interludes, titled "Sun," "Punk Club," Rhinoceros" and "Wiggedy Wack."

• R.E.M.
• Kool G Rap
• Utah Saints

Kool G Rap, whose intricate rap style is frequently cited as an influence by artists such as Nas, Ghostface Killah, and Raekwon, plans to release a new album on Rawkus Records in October.

The rap legend told MTV News he was recently signed to the New York-based independent label and began working with producers such as Buc Wild, Roc Wilder, and DJ Scratch on an album he described as "G Rap, only updated."

G's last full-length studio album, 1998's self-released "Roots Of Evil," failed to find an audience and led to the 32-year-old father of three keeping his name alive by appearing on other artists' albums. "I must have appeared on over thirty songs by other artists," G said.

After appearing on Big Pun's "Capital Punishment," Pete Rock's "Soul Survivor," Funkmaster Flex & Big Kap's "The Tunnel," Mobb Deep's "Murda Muzik," and more, G Rap was asked to contribute the opening verse on the all-star single "Hip-Hop For Respect," which protests police brutality. The critically acclaimed turn led to a deal with Rawkus, which had released the single.

Rawkus Records executive Mike Heron told MTV News, "G Rap saw what was happening here and said, 'Yeah, this is where I wanna be.'"

• Kool G Rap

Josh Davis, better known as California's own DJ Shadow, was in London last week enlisting help from members of Radiohead and the Verve for his new album, "U.N.K.L.E.," which is due out by the end of the year.

But aside from the assistance provided by the U.K. rockers, Shadow is most pleased that he was able to collaborate with a certain hip hop veteran that he considers an underground idol.

"Kool G Rap is on my new record," Shadow explained to the MTV Radio Network, "and he's well respected in New York and a legend in my mind. Kool G. Rap is some one that I grew up listening to and I admire him lyrically."

Meanwhile, Shadow's Solesides Records has become defunct, although the DJ has formed another imprint, Quanuum, from the previous label's ashes.

"Solesides was something that was built and something we destroyed," Shadow said. "We collectively sat down there and said, 'Well, this is six years old and it's done more than we could have imagined, but now we want to try different things.'"

Shadow's new artist-run label includes such acts as Latryx, Blackalicious, the Gift of Gab, Lyrics Born and Lateef the Truth Speaker, all of whom were on Solesides.

• Richard Ashcroft
• Kool G Rap
• Radiohead
• DJ Shadow
• U.N.K.L.E.