Posts tagged as Philadelphia
Philadelphia Rocked By Possible Loss Of Snack Cakes
There is shock and horror in the city of Philadelphia about the news that local snack producer Tasty Baking Co.—maker of gut-expanding delights such as Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets and Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes—might be forced to sell itself off amid financial turmoil. One local columnist conveys the sense of fear and disgust now prevalent in the City of Brotherly Love. READ MORE
Freeway, "Beautiful Music"
Everybody's favorite heavily bearded Philadelphia rapper Freeway has a new song out. Here he is, beneath Kent Twitchell's huge Julius Erving mural on the corner of Green Street and Ridge Avenue. The track was made by frequent collaborator Jake One, whose subtle, unadorned beats are always a nice backdrop for Freeway's jittery, animated voice. Does anybody rhyme out the side the mouth better? Does anybody have a better whisper?
The Check Is In The Mail(man's House)
A Philadelphia-area mailman has been accused of hoarding some 20,000 pieces of mail, including a $900 check written in December 2007 and a college acceptance letter from earlier that same year, for the past 13 years. "Dave The Mailman," as he was known to people along his route, currently has unknown whereabouts; the tubs and tubs of mail, which contained a few items postmarked during the Clinton administration, were discovered after he missed a couple of days of work and bosses went to his house to check on him.
Schoolly D, "I Just Can't Help Myself"
Here is a new video from the seminal Philadelphian rapper Schooly D, who is coming out with his first album in ten years, The International Supersport. Ten years is a long time, and really, you'd have to go back another ten, or even a few more, to get to a time when Schooly's name rang serious bells in hip-hop. At this point, it's likely that more people know him for providing the theme song for the Cartoon Network's Aqua Teen Hunger Force. In that light, the new song "I Just Can't Help Myself" is about a million times better than it has any right to be. READ MORE
The End of the 00s: The Life of the Party, by Doree Shafrir
It was 2004. We lived in Philadelphia. I'd bought a house in June on South 13th Street, in a neighborhood that had at one time been nearly all Italian but was now a mix of Mexicans, gays, Vietnamese, and Urban Outfitters employees. Real estate was cheap. I had an adjustable-rate mortgage. I rented out the downstairs apartment to a costume designer with bad credit and Moe moved into my second bedroom upstairs. I worked at an alt-weekly and rode a bike. READ MORE
P Is For The People Who Can't Understand
So Jay-Z's booked to perform "Empire State of Mind" before the opening game of the world series at Yankee Stadium. Hard to beat something that makes that much sense. A big, bombastic anthem about the bright lights of the big city to match the big, bombastic Bronx Bombers and the bright lights of their big new stadium. (Even as that googolzillion-dollar monument to avarice and ostentation is already falling apart.) Alicia Keys on the chorus and everything. A-Rod's bound to pop a boner. The Evil Empire is stacking the deck. READ MORE
No Turntables, No Microphone, One Desk, Two Pens
Watch this kid from Philadelphia make a beat for his rhyme using just a school desk and two pens. His name's Lyric (a.k.a. The Lyrical God). He's been getting lots of attention this week, from the YouTube video above from last year, so he's probably getting some phone calls. But thus far the internet seems to know little else about him than the fact that he can rock it on a garbage can at night, and that he has performed in at least one talent show. This reminds you how cool rap can be stripped down to its essence. Like Biggie said at the end of the "B.I.G. Interlude" from the Life After Death album, "What? It ain't no more to it."
Beanie Sigel, "In The Ghetto"
If you're looking to counter the oddly antiseptic aftertaste left by Jay-Z's ostensibly warlike hit "Run This Town," there's this new video from Jay's old Philadelphia recruit, Beanie Sigel. Sit through the corny Vincent-Price-from-"Thriller" voice-over in the beginning, settle in to the swaying organ line and the tinkling piano and, um, brace yourself. READ MORE
Party To Be Thrown For Beaters Of Alleged Child-Rapist In Philadelphia
After North Philadelphia neighbors beat up the man suspected of raping her 11-year-old daughter, the victim's mother expressed surprise. The police are not pressing charges against the mob-and "I plan on inviting them to a welcome-home party for my daughter," the mother said. Unfortunately, the mob also beat up someone else who was not the suspected rapist, but never mind!
