Admin Straight From The Source

To Be Or Not To Be…A Momager (MadameNoire)

I’ve been toying with the idea of becoming a momager. Yes, I know we all manage our kids lives, but I’m talking about a real momager. I mean, a legitimate, income-generating, business mom type of momager. Think Kris Jenner (Kardashians), Sonia Norwood (Brandy), Tina Douglas (Ashanti), Mandy Cornett (Selena Gomez), or Matthew Knowles (Beyoncé) and Joe … Continue reading To Be Or Not To Be…A Momager (MadameNoire)

Nicki Minaj
Admin Straight From The Source

On “The Pinkprint,” Nicki Minaj Speaks the Language Of Love (NPR)

The Pinkprint is just a record, as far as hip-hop is concerned. Nothing more, nothing less. But for Nicki Minaj, it's a career-defining moment. Even after she weathered a storm of rap critic scolds unhappy with her for completely crossing over the line she once straddled so well, the dance-pop successes of her last album, Roman Reloaded, overshadowed her artistic credibility. How would she bounce back? As Nicki well knows, hip-hop will only take it so far. Onika Maraj would be a damned fool to fill her third LP with "mixtape Nicki," no matter how many purists plead for it. That style may have gotten her the attention of Lil Wayne, but it certainly didn't earn her platinum plaques or a spot on the Super Bowl halftime show. With The Pinkprint, Nicki gives listeners the right dose of everything she's got to offer.

Admin Straight From The Source

5 Mics: Who Got Next? (The Source)

Opinions are like assholes, right? Isn’t everybody supposed to have one? But for some reason, when it comes to a 5 Mic rating in The Source magazine, the opinion of this so-called Bible seems to be subject to, well, everyone else’s opinion. Actually, I’m proud of that. To say that the opinion of The Source still holds enough weight to shake up a rapper’s emotion is quite impressive.

Okay, okay, admittedly, the Source hasn’t always been on point when it comes to Mic ratings. But one thing we can say is that when it comes to giving out 5 Mics, we’ve got a pretty good track record. Notwithstanding the OBVIOUS mistakes that have been made (please don’t use a DELETED argument here…you know what it was), the Mics have more times than not been a meter to judge good and bad hip-hop. Despite the changing of the guards over the years, all editors have held the coveted 5 Mics to an extremely high standard. A “Classic” rating has never really been easy to come by.