No Time For Fake Niggas

I enjoyed Tara's teaching and knowledge of hip hop. Although, I do think she went a bit fast it was all for good reason and she had a lot of knowledge to drop on us young bucks. Anyway, I appreciated the fact that she went all the back to Bessie Smith and explained that origins of hip hop were based in the blues and jazz. A little background on Bessie Smith: She was on July 9, 1892 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her father, William Smith, was a laborer and a part time preacher. He died before she could even remember him. Her mother died when she was nine, leaving her in the custody of her older sister. She and her brother performed on the streets in front of saloons to make some money for the household. She would sing and dance and he would play the guitar. She was eventually signed with Columbia records and was known as "Queen of the Blues" for records like, Gulf Coast Blues and Downhearted Blues. Her nickname "Queen of the Blues" was upgraded to "Empress" after about 160 recording with Columbia records. Her most notable recordings were with the finest musicians of the day, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Green, Joe Smith, James P. Johnson and Fletcher Henderson. Bessie Smith died in a car accident on September 26, 1937.
Here are a couple of recordings of Bessie Smith as well as Gill Scott-Heron, who I did not speak about....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcrx2-vvwC4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCrtErmipXE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I54DgVennXU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM_r9qDDmyc&feature=related