Gorgeous

“Is Hip Hop just a euphemism for a new religion, the soul music for the slaves that the youth is missing”.

Kanye took the song “Gorgeous” to an educational plateau once he spit those lyrics. You question is Hip Hop really just a substitution for a new religion, a way of life that our youth are missing? Religion is a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of people. Time and time again you’ve heard Beyond the Lyrics say that Hip Hop is not just a genre but a way of life. A specific set of beliefs and practices that the urban community established and followed to create a revolution within music and culture.

Kanye West, Grammy award winning rapper and producer, grew up in the era where Hip Hop was born and is a product of a man who was apart of the Black Panther Party. Growing up, Kanye knew the meaning of a revolution. He began his music career producing for artists like Talib Kweli, an artist who continuously spoke of the struggle, the times and how we got by. Is Kanye right when he claims that this is what the youth are missing? Will Watch The Throne, provide that soul music of our times?  

Behind the Scenes of Watch the Throne

14 Days Until Watch The Throne

Until the release of the highly anticipated summer duo album, Watch the Throne, Beyond The Lyrics will be celebrating two greats in Hip Hop and rap.. Jay Z and Kanye West. It is without a doubt that both of these lyrical rappers entered the game to take over and did just that. With pictures, lyrics of the day, new posts, we celebrate their contribution to the Hip Hop community and sit and wait for what may be a classic album of our time.

"Soon" Can't Come Soon Enough

About a month ago, we told you, our readers, that the music industry would be soon looking at a joint album from two of the greats – Jay Z and Kanye West. The moment we all heard about this project, we all became excited and now very anxious as we continue to wait what may just be a phenomenon within Hip Hop.

The secrecy and exclusivity behind the album has had us all on edge even more. Jay Z instructed everyone that would come encounter with this project to not tweet about it. For weeks, we’ve been even unsure of the actual release date. Media outlets anticipated the release date to be July 4^th, and of course that was a rumor. The album has not been released but fans were able to pre-order the album starting on July 4^th. Jay Z even offered a listening party for the album but only twenty music journalists and two young teens were invited. There were no interviews or even talk about the content of the album. Many consumers have just sat back waiting.

But a few hours ago, Global Grind received “Behind the Scene” photos of the production of Watch the Throne. Also, a few days ago this media outlet also received the tracklist, including the bonus tracks, for the album.

For more, go to Charged.fm

Missy Elliot: The Misdemeanor That Changed the Game

Some of us know her as Melissa Arnette Elliot… while others know her as Missy Elliot, recording artist, producer and songwriter who entered the domain of Hip Hop with one agenda: To change the game.

On June 29, 2011, VH1 premiered a “Behind the Music” special of Missy, in which fans took a closer look of the talent behind this amazing rapper. Allow Beyond the Lyrics to take a look back with you, as we explore the wonders of Missy and what she did for the music game. Missy formed a small group, Fayze, with her friends and in 1992, at twenty years of age, Missy landed a record deal with DeVante Swing, member of Jodeci and owner of Swing Mob records. The group name was changed to Sistah and they moved to Rochester, NY. There they also did music with DeVante’s other artists like Genuwine, Tweet, Timbaland and Magoo. They formed “The Basement” where the artists together formed what they loved, music. Being under DeVante did not last too long and Missy Elliot had to find her way and she did just that. 

Missy, along with Timbaland, signed with Electric Records and began producing for Aaliyah’s album. Diddy, at the time known as Puff Daddy, called Missy Elliot to spit a verse on artist Gina Thompson’s song, “The Things You Do” and that song became a major hit. From that moment Missy Elliot began to do just what she said she would do. 

In 1997, she released her debut album Super Duper Fly. According to “Behind the Music”, Missy said, “I thought I had something that was unique. I wanted to break down all barriers. I wanted to be a risk taker”. And she did just that. The media constantly portrays a certain image women should have within the music industry and it was reiterated through the video vixens, and rappers like Lil Kim and Foxy Brown. Missy was a risk taker who went against the laws of the industry and kept her own image, bringing something new, something different; something that became emulated in videos and songs to come.

Missy gave us catchy phrases to rap to while we were bopping our heads to her sick beats. Videos that had our eyes glued to any music station that would be showing them and songs that had us in awe at her lyrical prowess. She worked with so many artists ranging from Lil Kim to Pink to Ludacris to Christina Aguilera to Da Brat to Britney Spears. The lists can go on and on. Missy accumulated many awards and accolades throughout the years, and along with her future contributions, she has undoubtedly changed the game. Missy Elliot came in with the mindset of being different, accepting her size and breaking boundaries. And because of Missy Elliot the face of Hip Hop has been altered and won’t be the same.