The NY Times Loves Hip Hop

I'm pretty sure everyone's already read the huge, but interesting, profile on Rick Rubin.

In 1993, Rubin saw that the word "def" was now in dictionaries, and he decided to change the name of his company. Inspired by a documentary he'd seen about the hippie movement, Rubin held a formal funeral for Def. "When advertisers and the fashion world co-opted the image of hippies, a group of the original hippies in San Francisco literally buried the image of the hippie," Rubin explained. "When 'def' went from street lingo to mainstream, it defeated its purpose." (Read full article.)


Photo cred.
They also just wrote a review for Kanye West's Graduation.

Mr. West does his own share of conspicuous consumption. He long ago named himself “the Louis Vuitton don,” and in “Good Morning,” the first song on “Graduation,” he dares to parody a hallowed phrase in African-American culture when he raps, “I’m like the fly Malcolm X, buy any jeans necessary.” In Mr. West’s older songs, like “Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix),” he questioned his need for bling. Now he’s more likely just to flaunt it. (Read full article.)