HipHopDX – This week in Hip Hop, a Japanese rapper hopped on a flight to Cleveland in search Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and ended up getting robbed. Also, Joe Budden opened up about Slaughterhouse’s demise and Nas said he wants the Illmatic nostalgia to end.
Japanese Rapper Seeking Bone Thugs-N-Harmony In Cleveland Gets Robbed
A Japanese rapper named Ryo Muranaka took a 6,000-mile flight to Cleveland hoping to meet his heroes Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Instead, he was left robbed and stranded in the city.
“I thought I could get in the US in exchange for my CD,” Muranaka told Fox8 Cleveland. “No. No plan. One-way ticket.”
Luckily, Bizzy Bone has fered to fly Ryo Muranaka back to Japan. However, Krayzie Bone has warned fans to not follow in Muranaka’s steps.
“I will also say this to other fans and artist that are looking to do the same thing as us or this gentleman did — follow your dreams by all means, but you have to be very careful when you go to places you know nothing about,” he told DX. “We’re not from the suburbs, we’re from the ghetto.”
Read more about the Japanese rapper and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony here.
Joe Budden Confirms Slaughterhouse Reunion Unlikely
Despite Slaughterhouse fans’ cries, Joe Budden confirmed they won’t reunite for another album. And apparently it’s partly Eminem’s fault.
Budden talked about the group’s status on an episode his YouTube series Pull Up with Bandana mastermind Freddie Gibbs.
“But my fight, with that even, without the extra Eminem bullshit is just ownership,” he explained. “I cannot devote this much my time to a project, eat a fourth from the project, and then it have to go up the chain command at Shady Records]?”
Read more about Joe Budden and Slaughterhouse here.
Nas Is Over “Illmatic”
During an interview with Haute Living, Nas said he’s tired celebrating his iconic album Illmatic.
“I don’t want to celebrate another Illmatic anything,” he said. “I’m done. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for appreciating that record, but it’s over.”
Illmatic was released in 1994 to much acclaim and has been widely regarded as a classic.
Read more about Nas and Illmatic nostalgia here.
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#DXCLUSIVES: Ice-T, Philthy Rich, Conway The Machine & Mike Mike
Ice-T Reveals How He’s Stuck Around For So Long: “I’m Not Delusional”
In Part 2 HipHopDX interview with Ice-T, the gangsta rap pioneer talked about his latest solo material and revealed how he’s attained longevity in the music business.
“There was a lot requests like, ‘Do some rap shit’ and I truly wasn’t motivated,” he said. “I know the new sound is different. One the reasons I’m still around is because I’m not delusional; I know that rap radio isn’t going to play anything from me in rotation. It’s just not going to happen. I had my day and they’re not playing anybody new.
“They wouldn’t play the best Ghostface Killah record. They won’t play Big Daddy Kane. They won’t play Public Enemy. They’re not going to put us in rotation ever again. We might get on the mix shows; we’d get on that type stuff, but you’re not going to have that hit record that you might’ve had in the past. So, I wasn’t really motivated. I was like, “Eh, nah.”
Read Part 2 the Ice-T interview here.
Philthy Rich Reflects On How “Big 59” Strengthens His East Oakland Legend Status
In an exclusive interview with DX, Philthy Rich discussed his beef with Mozzy and revealed the longtime collaborators still aren’t on good terms after they exchanged several diss tracks.
“We haven’t talked or seen each other since then so I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t take it threatening. I’m really not too much worried about it but salute to him. I wish him much success. We just gotta agree to disagree.”
Read the full Philthy Rich interview here.
Conway The Machine Talks Versatility, Shady Records Debut & Support After Getting Shot
In DX’s two-part interview with Conway The Machine, the Griselda Records lyricist spoke about the support system that helped him after he was shot in 2012.
“Westside Gunn] was very instrumental in my bounce back,” he noted. “West would always make sure I felt the way I’m supposed to feel. I didn’t feel less than, if that makes sense.
“He’d always make sure I had some fly shit on, pulling up on me when he could’ve been anywhere in the world. He’d sit in the house, him and sis, and just chill with me over there and just order some pizza. It’s the little shit. Giving me the talks about what we gonna do, what we about to do. Building my confidence.
Check out Part 1 our Conway The Machine interview this link and read the second half here.
Mikey Mike Explains How Porn Star Ruse Led To A Rihanna Grammy
Mikey Mike’s production can be heard on Rihanna’s Unapologetic track “Jump” thanks to a sneaky idea he had to email his beats by using a catfish address “belonging” to porn star Lacey Duvalle.
“I picked an email with Lacey.Duvalle1982 in it,” he said. “If you put the birth year in, people just go, ‘Oh my god, it must be her.’ Then I hit up everybody and they all got back to me immediately. To answer your question, I would say what it taught me about life is one, vaginas are incredibly magical. I knew they were magical, but now I knew they were even more magical and they knew no bounds.”
Read the full Mikey Mike interview here.