The Morocco native-Bronx-raised rapper was photographed in three different middle eastern cities -- Dubai, Beirut, and Casablanca (French's native hometown). The covers are a celebration of Middle Eastern heritage, multiculturalism, as well the power, perseverance, and strength of immigrants.
Inside the magazine, the "No Stylist" rhymer proclaimed his support for immigration, which has become a polarizing topic in the United States. "Immigration means everything to me," he told GQ. "It means hope, it means faith, it means a voice for the people that come from different places and build a country - that someone can come from nothing and be something."
French was born in Casablanca, Morocco and immigrated to the U.S. when he was a young teen. The 34-year-old artist learned how to speak English through rap music.
“I didn’t know English until I was 14, 15," he explained. "In Morocco, I was just singing: I didn’t even know what the words were. Whether it was Tupac, Wu-Tang, Bob Marley. It shows how powerful music is - it’s the only language that people speak worldwide.”
“I got the privilege to be part of both worlds, even though I was born in Morocco,” he adds. “I gained my conscience and my hustle when I touched down in the States. I probably got the best of both worlds, if you were to ask me. I got to where I needed to be and then came right back."
You can read French Montana's full GQ magazine (Middle East) cover story HERE.
"That's what make Wu-Tang forever. If you don't plant seeds, it won't be forever. You have to give something back in order for something new to grow..." -- Masta Killa
In addition to my Wu-Tang Clan/ATCQ tribute roundup, you need to check out the Wu-Tang Clan’s short film For The Children: 25 Years of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).
In conjunction with the YouTube channel Certified Classics, the film features Wu-Tang members RZA, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, Cappadonna, Masta Killa and U-God reflecting on the cultural impact of their 1993 debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), which turned 25 years old today (Nov. 9). Also, Joey Bada$$, A$AP Ferg, A$AP Rocky and others share their viewpoints as well.
The short film was directed by Shomi Patwary who does a great job of documenting critiques from two generation of rappers about the influence Enter the Wu-Tang had on their lives. In our current times, there appears to be a generational gap between the rap veterans and today's new school of rappers. This film brings it full circle. In short, we have to teach the babies without preaching to them.
Days after the midterm elections, Ice Cube has released a new single that’s aimed directly at President Trump (aka Agent Orange).
The single, “Arrest the President,” features the West Coast icon spewing his vitriol at the president for his alleged collusion with Russia during his presidential campaign in 2016.
"Arrest the president, you got the evidence / That nigga is Russian intelligence / When it rains it pours / Did you know the new white was orange? / Boy, you’re showing your horns / They’re tryin’ to replace my halo with thorns / You so basic with your vape stick / Let’s go apeshit in the matrix," he rhymes on the song.
Listen to Ice Cube's "Arrest the President"
The song is not as venomous as his classic tracks about white supremacy on his landmark 1991 album Death Certificate. Songs like "I Wanna Kill Sam" and "Horny Lil' Devil" have a little bit more lyrical bite. Nevertheless, "Arrest the President" is a protest song that we need to hear more from our current rappers.
I'm happy that Ice Cube is back and he's ready to spit some truth to power. Ice Cube's tenth album, Everythang’s Corrupt, is expected to hit digital stores on Dec. 7.
If you want to hear two of Ice Cube's incendiary songs from Death Certificate - "I Wanna Kill Sam" and "Horny Lil' Devil" - click the link below. (I also included his fiery tack "We Had to Tear This Mothafucka Up" because it's vintage Ice Cube y'all need to hear.)
Today (Nov. 9) is a great day in music history - two classic albums that shaped and transcended hip-hop turned 25 years old.
On Nov. 9, 1993, the Wu-Tang Clan and A Tribe Called Quest released their seminal albums, Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers and Midnight Marauders, respectively, on the same day giving rap fans endless hours of head-nodding material.
Both albums offered two different musical compositions in rap. On Enter the Wu-Tang, veteran producer RZA delivered a cacophony of sounds that consisted of concrete-breaking beats and sampled vocals from kung-fu flicks. The album's unpolished production sounded like RZA recorded the project in his basement -- gritty and unfiltered.
Meanwhile, ATCQ had already released two classic albums - People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (1990) and The Low End Theory (1991), an impressive accomplishment from the iconic group. Unlike Enter the Wu, the production on Midnight Marauders was polished as the rap trio continued their creative fusion of hip-hop and jazz. Lyrically, Q-Tip and the late Phife Dawg delivered inventive rhymes that dealt with their day-in-a-life circumstances growing up in Queens, New York.
Both are unadulterated classics and I'm not going to even entertain a debate on which album is superior, instead, let's enjoy them for what they are - timeless masterpieces.
"We at 25 years, we know we have arrived at our destination. We're grateful for everyone that’s been a part of this,” said RZA about the LP's 25th anniversary (via Billboard ). “When we said 36 Chambers, the word chamber was giving everybody an idea that you will go through different chambers in your life. It's many things that you have to pass through in order to master yourself."
The RZA also revealed that the borough of Staten Island, N.Y. (native hometown to most of the Wu-Tang Clan members) will recognized Nov. 9 as "Wu-Tang Clan Day."
On the internet, they are a slew of tributes and retrospectives on both of these albums. Check out the list below (click the link):
Can we please have a moment of silence for legendary jazz trumpeter Roy Anthony Hargrove.
The 49-year-old musician passed away on Friday night (Nov. 2) in New York. According to NPR, the cause of death was cardiac arrest. Hargrove's longtime manager, Larry Clothier, told NPR that he had been admitted to the hospital for medical issues related to kidney function; he had been on dialysis for many years.
Born in Waco, Texas in 1969, Hargrove was an enormously gifted musician who was discovered by iconic trumpeter Wynton Marsalis while he was still in high school. He would often sit with Marsalis and occasionally play sideman to his band. After high school, Hargrove attended Boston's prestigious Berklee College of Music but left after one year and began his musical career in New York.
Hargrove was a brilliant experimenter in jazz. He was among the first to incorporate elements of hip-hop music into his repertoire back in the early '90s when doing so was often frowned upon by jazz purists. He created the RH Factor, a collective of artists that included like-minded musicians like James Poyser, Jonathan Batiste, and Bernard Wright, among many others. Affiliated members included Steve Coleman and Greg Osby (both of whom are part of the illustrious M-Base Collective).
“I think that music is so spread out,” he explain to veteran journalist/historian Nate Chinen about the RH Factor in 2003 (via JazzTimes). “There’s so many different worlds within music to be explored. Why limit yourself to just one?"
"When I was going to school at Berklee I noticed that there were a lot of cliques that had established themselves. There’s group A, group B, divisions and then subdivisions," he continued. "Because in the funk world you would have the straight-up fusion cats, and then you have cats that play behind straight-up R&B, and then you would have gospel in the middle of that. And in jazz, you would have cats who only played like Bird, bebop. And then the Trane cats. And you would have the progressive guys who were more into original music. So it was wild for me, because I would just go in and out of each one of these. I just never believed in limiting yourself to one way of playing.”
Hargrove's creative Neo-bop sound can be heard on his 1990 debut album Diamond on the Rough and on 1992's The Vibe. These two albums are the precursors to the late Guru's Jazzmatazz series. Greg Osby's debut effort 3-D Lifestyles (1993), Branford Marsalis' Buckshot LeFonque project (1994) and Herbie Hancock's Dis Is Da Drum (1994) are just a few albums that followed in Hargrove's progressive lead.
But Roy Hargrove Presents The RH Factor: Hard Groove project is his visionary take on the jazz, soul and hip-hop fusion. Overall, the album is a meticulous jam session with Hargrove's fluttery horn riffs highlighting the band's infectious live instrumentation. Standout tracks include the jazz-hop-inflicted "Poetry" (featuring Q-Tip and Erykah Badu) and the soulful love ballad "Kwah/Home" (featuring Anthony Hamilton).
Hargrove's musical amalgam wasn't regulated to just hip-hop, he dabbled in different genres of music as well. On his 1994 album Blues 'n Ballads, he incorporated blues to his jazz compositions and on 1995's Parker's Mood, Hargrove teamed up with bassist Christian McBride and pianist Stephen Scott to pay homage to the father of bebop Charlie Parker.
Hargrove also delivered his beautiful trumpeting on other artists' projects. He performed on Common's 2000 album Like Water for Chocolate, as well as on Erykah Badu’s 2000 project Mama’s Gun and her 2003 effort, Worldwide Underground. He also contributed his brass arrangements on both D’Angelo’s revered albums Voodoo and Black Messiah.
Among Hargrove's accolades include two Grammy Awards -- one for Best Jazz Instrumental Album in 2003 for Directions in Music and Best Latin Jazz Performance in 1998 for Habana, his stellar Afro-Cuban album recorded in Havana.
After hearing the sad news of Roy Hargrove's passing, artists such as Questlove, Erykah Badu, Eric Roberson, Anita Baker and many others tweeted their condolences.
You can read some of their tweets below.
The Great Roy Hargrove. He is literally the one man horn section I hear in my head when I think about music. To watch him harmonize with himself stacking nine horn lines on mamouth 10… https://t.co/ytaw0i8RWV
I have no words over the loss of my dear brother of 31 years. We played on a lot of sessions together, traveled a lot of miles together, laughed a lot together, bickered on occasion - and I wouldn’t change our relationship for anything in the world. Bless you, Roy Hargrove.
Nah man... tough news to wake up to. Rest well #royhargrove. Thank you for the music, the style and the doors you opened for all of us. https://t.co/9lgK2xHzhH
R.I.P Roy Hargrove, King. Everyone speaks to your incredible artistry which can certainly never be denied but, I learned in watching you that the truly great consider others. You were… https://t.co/JZ1cbQpSoF
OMG I just got home and saw this. #RIPRoyHargrove - Your family and friends have my sincerest condolences. Working with you and this team's tribute to #FelaKuti was unforgettable. https://t.co/7oQS7wvjLI