 Eastside Stories. Which Eastside? Tulsa. A side known for its culture that has truly become a melting pot of the city, but one thing to note, is that the Eastside is not sweet. It’s an underfunded part of the city, but with that, means you have to go create your own opportunities. Da’juan Dupri is an artist from the Eastside of Tulsa who is claiming the East as his kingdom and he’s got some Eastside Stories to tell with his new video, "Eastside Stories”. Let’s check it out! What sets Da’juan Dupri apart from most is that he’s not afraid to put himself out there. There’s been numerous times where he’s come off stage and he immediately starts talking to his fans. There’s been times where he’s been deep in conversation and then 2 seconds later, he’s onstage rapping. Even with such an incredible talent, he's still personable and has a wide network of fans, peers, and enemies. He's also not afraid to stand on business, or jack a few beats. That's exactly what he did when he dropped his tape Eastside Stories. But let's get into the title track. They been acting brand new since Illuminati called From the opening bar, Dupri knows how to hook you in. Illuminati???? But luckily, he calmed everyone’s nerves with the next bar. Throughout the track he conveys his affection for the Eastside's culture by mentioning things such as double cupping a horchata or incorporating bars that showcase his knowledge of historical Eastside landmarks. I also appreciate his lyrical genius. He got bars!! I consider myself a bar aficionado, and sometimes Dupri’s bars are so double entredred that it has me rewinding the tape, like this one; “Covеnant and blood ties, this one herе like riding bikes”. Come on, come on. That’s Dupri. Bars!!! The song has this energy that reminds you of those Cash Money days of up-tempo bounce music mixed with synths and drums. The video. I’m definitely happy that Dupri dropped a video to this song, also that Bezel365 is in the video. Creatively I wanted a little more, it’s a lot of quick shots and a few car dashcam shots. I would’ve liked to see a few more shots of the Eastside. Maybe some of the places he mentions in the song. There are a few subtle things in the video I did like, like when he rapped the bar about the dark going to light and at the same time the screen went dark to light, I also liked the quick cut to the nighttime surveillance shot, I would’ve liked to see a few more of those shots incorporated into it. But also with all that being said, the video felt more like a teaser/visualizer than a full blown video. I’m not saying that he needed to have a Cash Money style video, but just a few more scenes from different parts of the Eastside would have helped the stories come to life. It may seem like I’m being critical of Dupri, and maybe so. But just how coaches are more critical of their best players, I feel like I’m using that same criticality when it comes to Dupri. I see greatness in him, and I feel like he’s this close to striking gold. All he has to do is to keep swinging for the fences. So enjoy the video and let us know your thoughts on “Eastside Stories”:
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Do you remember that song by Do or Die called “Do U”? August 19, 2003 might seem like a long time ago, but for those that were outside, those days still seem like yesterday when they heard the iconic opening bar, “Well, when I heard a knock at the door”. Now 22 years later, Do or Die, Johnny P, and Twista are finally release the video to the iconic song “Do U”.
Do or Die, the rap trio N.A.R.D., Belo Zero, and AK-47, are from the Westside of Chicago, They first got on the radar with their hit single "Po Pimp" that was released in 1996 and featured Twista, the four have been long time collaborators, as well as Johnny P, the vocalist on the “Do U” single. They've been signed to iconic labels such as Atlantic, Virgin, and Rap-A-Lot Records, they have 10 studio albums and have been featured on every major music entertainment platform from BET, to MTV, to XXL and all the other letters in-between. We don't use this term lightly when we say that these were originators that disrupted the status quo of music. Chicago is known as the windy city and swing style of dance; there's also the other part of Chicago that gets credit for coming up with Drill Music, then there's Kanye, and somewhere in-between all that, you get Do or Die. Chicago has a rich history, but it wasn't Chicago that brought back to live this sleeping giant of a single, it was TikTok. TikTok has been blowing up old school hip-hop songs, as Gen X and below discover songs that were the soundtrack to older generation's lives. Songs that were undeniable hits. Back then there were no Spotify, there were no TikTok or Instagram, but the radio, and BET and MTV videos were often how people discovered music for good or for worse. “Do U” was one of those records that was a radio hit. I remember it coming on the radio as I ran to my boombox to press the "play" and "record" buttons at the same time in order to get the perfect, crystal-clear version of the song. Fast forward to now, radio is almost dead, BET and MTV only play sitcoms and reality TV and no music videos. TikTok is the platform for your music to blow up, and that’s what happened to “Do U” when Arkansas native Roc Ya EarDrumz created a viral dance to the song that many people are imitating, while others started singing its melodic harmonies of Johnny P, who sadly never got see this song resurrect or be able to be in the video. How do you capitalize on a song that blows up on TikTok when you're new to social media? For Do or Die, that meant dropping an official video to the song that came out over 20 years later. I hope this becomes a trend that continues, there were many B-side hits that never got the proper push they needed, for example, New Orleans legend, Juvenile finally dropped the video to “400 Degreez” in March of 2024, a track that was made in 1998. These are just two examples, and It proves that your art lives way past your “popularity”. So, what about the video? In the video you can tell these gentlemen are in a different phase of their lives. A more refined stage where they’ve made the transition from clubs to lounges, and from afterhours spots to brunch spots with their significant others. Even the women in the video are more mature than your typical video vixens, but they are definitely vixens. The venues may be different, but the bars aren’t. Everyone also wondered. Would Twista be in the video? To everyone's delight, the Chi-Town legend did not disappoint and held it down with his signature flow and pimp tight lyrics. It’s also nice to see that Twista still got it. He’s still as sharp as ever and can still spit the same bars that everyone fumbled to recite. The person missing from the video is vocalist Johnny P, who passed away. But his voice is as powerful as ever and still is one of the best parts of the song. They even gave TikToker Roc Ya EarDrumz a cameo in the video. I would be thanking him because I'm sure the royalty checks from this viral moment is putting money in their pockets and getting old and new listeners to go back through their catalog. So go listen to song and watch the video and let us know what you think:  The villain and the hero have a relationship that’s necessary. The hero wouldn’t be the hero without a villain, the villain wouldn’t be the villain, well the villain would still be the villain without a hero, but you get the just. But what about when the villain also meets another villain. Think Joker and Two-Face. “An enemy of my enemy is my friend.” And both hated Batman, much like both Puha T and Kendrick Lamar hate Drake. So, when The Clipse dropped their new single “Chains & Whips", it was like the beginning to the Legion of Dome, because an enemy of Drake, is a friend. As we’ll see. We all know the controversy. “Allegedly”, Drake's only losses came from Pusha T and Kendrick Lamar. Kendrick’s being most recent with the anthem diss track “Not Like Us”, while Pusha T’s track ”Story of Aidon” shocked the world. These weren’t just regular 'you’re broke' or 'I can rap better than you' diss tracks, these were shots fired. Headshots. The thing about both artists (Pusha T and Kendrick Lamar) is that they aren’t afraid to be the villain, the bully. In fact, during both battles these artists embraced being the hated one, and as we all know, Batman is only human, and obviously so is Drake. Enter the new track “Chains & Whips”. “Chains & Whips” is the second track on The Clipse new album “Let God Sort Em Out”. This album has been critically acclaimed because it showed that hip-hop was very much still alive that brought the two brothers back together and featured some of the game's best lyricists. But let's get back to the origin stories. I'm watchin' your fame escape relevance Pusha T starts off the verse and pulls out a reverse UNO card with a verse that isn’t directed a Drake, but at Jim Jones, who has been dissing The Clipse through the years. But Pusha T doesn't care who you are, from wheelchair Jimmy to Jim Jones, doesn't old back no matter what age or handicap the person has, especially when it comes to rap. The first 2 bars. Are literally like knockout punches. He takes what Jim Jones is known for and destroys him with it “You run from the spirit of repossession, Too much enamel covers your necklace”. The only thing he didn’t do in his verse was talk about Jim Jone’s chick, and we know Pusha T ain’t scared to do that. The verse is one of the illest dissections of a a rapper, these 4 bars alone should be enough to make Jimmy hang it up. "You'd think it'd be valor amongst veterans, I'm watchin' your fame escape relevance. We all in the room, but here’s the elephant, You chasin’ a feature out of your element". It’s like a samurai sword in a Quentin Tarantino film. He even snuck in a little mention of Drake of how Jim Jones is doing anything to get a feature from him. And if you watched The Clipse’s Tiny Desk performance it was like Joker talking to Gotham City on TV explaining that Jim Jones ain't gonna save them. Push even includes his infamous laugh, he's never been afraid to be the bad guy. And I'm not the candidate to vibe with Yea. That’s Kendrick. People wanted to hear bars about Drake, and Kendrick gave them that, “I son niggas, I am the general, where my gin and juice?”. He fully has stepped into being the King of the West Coast and of Hip-Hop. GNX proved he had a hell of a year, Kendrick in this verse shows that like Two-Face, that a Gemini is always ready to flip a coin. And in this instance, that means be the bad guy and kill hip-hop, because the villain isn’t afraid to flip the coin at any moment just like a true Gemini would. Kendrick’s been throwing rocks and they've all landed. It will be interesting to see where he goes next as far as his career. The only misstep he's had so far is not being in the actual video. Even though this may not be his mission, in this story I see Malice as the loyal brother. Right or wrong he inherited the beefs. But that isn’t just the beefs he’s taking on, he’s also using this moment to push his message. We all know that Malice left hip-hop to focus on his faith. But we were not expecting The Clipse to reunite, but hip-hop miracles do happen, and it’s been nostalgic seeing both back on stage, like when Jordan came back from retirement and was right there with Pippen to get another ring. I think also people didn’t know what to expect from him. Would he only be delivering God talk? Many people, when they think of God, only think of the good he speaks. Few talk about His wrath or how black and white he was when it came to doing the right thing, there was no one foot in with God. There’s no one foot in with Malice. He is his brother’s keeper. Bubbles was sick, he need medicine Chains & Whips. Two villains who have become friends took on the hero and now are thriving in the chaos. And admittedly the game needed to be disrupted, it needed to be destroyed, because for a while people were using hip-hop as an end to a means. The bag. But hip-hop is so much more, it’s the music of the people, and sometimes when the people get fed up, they side with the villains. Is Drake the vigilante hero in this case? Maybe not so much, but it’s clear that Pusha T and Kendrick Lamar are not afraid to be the bad guys, and they’ve earned the right because as the saying goes, “live long enough to see yourself become a villain". Then again, you need villains, because without them there would be no hero. Last but not least. The song is dope! Watch the video below and tell us what you think! |
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