The January 1992 issue of The Source was the 1991 year in review issue. I always enjoyed these year in review issues, especially in later years, for the brief trip down memory lane. Ice Cube, the family movie guy today, was in the Nation of Islam back then and no one could turn his frown upside down. Can anyone imagine O’Shea X in the Nation of Islam today? Death Certificate was released in November ‘91 and was still heavily debated in December ‘91 when this issue hit the stores. I really miss the angry version of Ice Cube. He was at his peak on this album and it seemed at times as if he would come through the mega sized speakers I owned back then. His music career spiraled slowly downward from here.
By the way, what was the best album released in ‘91, in your opinion?
Some highlights from this issue:
-Miles Davis, who passed away in ‘91, is remembered for his genius
-The best album, single, and artist for the year - I don’t agree with their top album of the year but I can see why they chose it. Just look at the list of 15 albums. They should have included 20, in my opinion.
-An article discussing the marketing of products (soda, fast food, alcohol,) by hip-hop artists - Back then, it wasn’t considered “good” to market certain products. But today it’s almost essential for an artists’ survival to endorse just about any products such as candy bars, chewing tobacco, and motor oil. The ads that upset me the most were Rakim’s St. Ides ad on the radio and the Kentucky Fried Chicken commercial with Hammer and his entourage dancing for chicken! I hid under the covers after watching that garbage on Youtube.
Record Report highlights (the mics are finally here!):
-Ice Cube - Death Certificate (4.5 mics)
-Organized Konfusion - Self Titled (4 mics)
-Big Daddy Kane - Prince of Darkness (3 mics) -
-Run-DMC - Together Forever (4 mics) -
-2Pac - 2Pacalypse Now (3 mics)
Houston rapper and marijuana advocate, Devin the Dude, has teamed up with MIXA for an exclusive cassette tape version of his new album.
Cassette tapes? Well, not exactly. MIXA’s motto: Undigital your digital.
They sell USB ‘tapes’ full of music, in the shape of cassette tapes with a customizable jacket. Devin’s MIXA will come with all the songs from his album, a PDF file of the booklet, and the “High Ya’ll Doin” video blogs from his website; all for £23.99 or about $42. Too pricey? Go to Devin’s MySpace page for details on how to win a free copy.
