ARTICLES BY WHOADIE ALLEN
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 GLOSSIN'
Lil Mama on Lip CareMinus the bamboo earrings, Lil Mama is the around-the-way girl LL always dreamed of. This 16-year-old shorty woke up one morning, skipped class, and wrote a rap about her lip gloss. The result is a massive hit packed with references to high school lockers, L’Oreal brushes, and Mac watermelon flavor. “Lip Gloss” would be a gimmick if it wasn’t for the part where she talks about the high school principal calling her to her office, and just when she thinks she’s about to get suspended it goes a little something like this: “I stepped in the office ...
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  REUNITED!
Hot Boys Back Together at LastFor the record, Vice published the first-ever definition of the expression "bling bling" and we got it straight from the horse's mouth. The year was 1999, and the interviewee was B.G., slang innovator and member of the world's only gangsta boy band: The Hot Boys. Back then, and probably much to their surprise, these tattoo-covered and bandanna-clad teenagers had become MTV heartthrobs. ...
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 NO TRICKS, NO TREATS
Three 6 Mafia Don't Do HalloweenWe said it over five years ago: all of Three 6 Mafia's records sound like a black License to Ill. Similar 808 beats, same themes: freaky intercourse, substance abuse, and debauched partying. In a southern context, DJ Paul and Juicy J's production, coupled with their infectious club chants, is...
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 SOUND DESIGN
Nore is Rap Music's Bob VilaAfter years of record label limbo, uneven record sales, and breakups-to-makeups with his partner Capone, Lefrak lyricist Noreaga finally got his mind right. Not only has he joined the Roc-A-Fella team, but the CNN superthug (whose first emcee name was Papi) is fully embracing his Puerto Rican herita...
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 SHOOK ONE
Twista's Scurred of TravelingCan you believe the man who holds the 1992 Guinness record for the world's fastest rapper has never been anywhere? While his buddies Jay-Z and Freeway released songs like "All Around The World" and "International Hustler," and his mentor Dame Dash became the Euro icon who made Becks a cuckold, Chica...
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 I STILL CAN'T BUY VERSACE
The Day Lumidee Took Us ShoppingFor some reason, critics are not feeling Lumidee. At press time, Entertainment Weekly had just destroyed her "dismal debut," calling her a "comically tone-deaf vocalist." And it's a shame, because what everybody fails to realize is that Lumidee is the new Lisa Lisa. This nineteen-year-old boriqueña ...
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 CRAZY LIKE A FOX
Back in 1995, Kim was a little girl dressed all in black, surrounded by a bunch of goons in a Junior M.A.F.I.A. ad. She did what Biggie Smalls told her to do and all we knew was that she was a cute little girl in a dress that reminded us of Betty Boop. Then Biggie died and she went nuts. Nobody knew...
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