By DJ YRS Jerzy
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer
Before the summer officially started, DJ Kid Fresh said Hip Hop Vibe was in for a big summer. Every year, goals are always set in place to get out here and do more than what was done before, obviously. But, this summer, Hip Hop Vibe managed to get more done than what the team projected.
Obviously, there were no complaints from anyone, as the team just stepped up to the plate and made things happen. This summer saw DJ Apollo and DJ Kelly J join the team and even the homie, Shorty Mack, help us out. Everything from dope interviews to exclusive BET Awards content happened for Hip Hop Vibe.
This summer, Hip Hop Vibe got up close and personal access to hosts from Hot 97 and many other big nams. Only naming a few, Steve Aoki, Coolio, Ja Rule, LL Cool J, and Mr. Cheeks all did interviews with Hip Hop Vibe. There were many other moments that took place, so we counted them down in no particular order.
Summer isn’t officially over, but the weather will soon be cooling off, everybody is back in school, and vacation time is over.
See Hip Hop Vibe’s top moments of the summer below:
Ja Rule interview with K.B. Tindal
In the early 2000s, Ja Rule owned the rap game and he made a lot happen. Being a native of Queens, Ja Rule was often mentioned by our content director, K.B. Tindal, as he’s also from Queens. Back in July, K.B. took a chance and showed up at Ja Rule’s book signing in Queens for Unruly: The Highs and Lows of Becoming a Man and interviewed Ja Rule, something the HHV team won’t forget, as the interview got picked up by BET, HipHopDX, HotNewHipHop, and many other major websites.
Watch Ja Rule’s interview with Hip Hop Vibe below:
Steve Aoki interview with DJ Louie Styles
This spring, Steve Aoki gained a lot of attention for his work with Waka Flocka Flame. Steve Aoki dropped his “Rage The Night Away” single with Waka Flocka Flame and showed up on Hot 97 and “The Breakfast Club.” Hip Hop Vibe reached out to Steve Aoki and then the interview was set with DJ Louie Styles. It was a long day for DJ Louie Styles, as a wrong turn in traffic paired with a traffic jam had him out all day in the name of Steve Aoki, which made the EDM star very appreciative of the opportunity.
Watch Steve Aoki’s interview with DJ Louie Styles below:
DJ Apollo officially joins Hip Hop Vibe
Ever since 2012, DJ Apollo has had a relationship with Hip Hop Vibe. He has built a large fan base in South Carolina as both an artist and as a college radio DJ. After several attempts to make something happen, DJ Apollo joined Hip Hop Vibe in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at the boardwalk and officially joined the team and his interviews should begin hitting the internet later this month.
Watch DJ Apollo’s announcement of joining Hip Hop Vibe below:
Fabo interview with DJ Charlie Hustle
Young Thug rose to fame with “Stoner” and his line in the hook says “I feel like Fabo,” but the casual hip hop fan may not understand that line. There was a brief argument about what Young Thug was saying, so it led to a RapGenius.com search that confirmed he was indeed feeling like Fabo from D41. This prompted the Hip Hop Vibe team to reach out to Fabo for an interview and he quickly made it happen, sitting down with DJ Charlie Hustle to explain some things.
Hip Hop Vibe and DJ Charlie Hustle had two goals in mind for the interview, first was to find out why Young Thug wanted to feel like Fabo and the second was to find out what Fabo was up to. In one word, “OWWWWW,” we immediately figured a lot out about Fabo, as he brought tons of life to the interview with DJ Charlie Hustle. Those who watched the video saw how DJ Charlie Hustle was cracking up throughout the entire conversation and that’s what it’s all about.
Released in May, this was also the first DJ Charlie Hustle interview for Hip Hop Vibe to be released.
Watch Fabo’s interview with DJ Charlie Hustle below:
Hip Hop Vibe website redesign
Coming into 2014, the entire Hip Hop Vibe team had big plans of expansion and this expansion meant a new look. All the good content in the world means nothing without proper presentation and when the commercial summer of 2014 began, it was time to do something. The premiere of the Fabo interview coincided with Hip Hop Vibe receiving a full redesign and the people have loved it so far.
Mr. Cheeks interview with Stranga The Great
Hip Hop Vibe has always had respect for Mr. Cheeks and the Lost Boyz fam. Only days prior to, I featured “Renee” as the Wednesday Throwback. But, Mr. Cheeks had been showing Hip Hop Vibe love on Twitter for years and, it turned out, he had a personal relationship with Stranga The Great, so when he came to Fayetteville, they linked up for the interview. It was like “Lights, Camera, Action!” and Raised is coming soon.
Watch Mr. Cheeks’ interview with Stranga The Great below:
LL Cool J interview with Hip Hop Vibe
DJ Profluent has proven to be a reliable person to deal with, time and time again. A new relationship is forming with his organization and Hip Hop Vibe. This budding relationship led to Hip Hop Vibe being on his conference call with LL Cool J and us getting a couple of words with the legend about his G.O.A.T. 2 album, definitely a groundbreaking moment for the HHV movement.
Peter Rosenberg interview with Hip Hop Vibe
This summer, K.B. Tindal came up big for Hip Hop Vibe in various situations. For those who don’t know, K.B. is a veteran in hip hop journalism, with his work dating back to 1997 and he is the longest-tenured journalist on the Hip Hop Vibe team. He has a good relationship with the people at Hot 97 and he received invites to their Who’s Next? concert series and this allowed him the chance to interview Peter Rosenberg. Holding it down at Hot 97 for a few years, now, Peter Rosenberg is a favorite here at Hip Hop Vibe and it was a pleasure to speak to him, Shani Kulture, and Steele from Smif-N-Wessun.
Watch Peter Rosenberg’s interview with Hip Hop Vibe below:
Coolio interview with DJ Kelly J
In what seemed like an eternity, Hip Hop Vibe was finally able to welcome DJ Kelly J to the team. Back in November, she agreed to join the team as a host, but there were a series of near-misses and fails that made both sides question if it was worth it. The question was answered when Coolio agreed to talk to Hip Hop Vibe’s DJ Kelly J about the upcoming 20th Anniversary of Gangsta’s Paradise and the interview went well. Another shock came when technical difficulties held the video almost all summer, but when it was released, it was dope and it automatically made the list.
Montel Williams shouts out Hip Hop Vibe
Yes, Hip Hop Vibe covers the hip hop culture all over the world and has teams based in New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Las Vegas, but North Carolina is our home. When word came of Jasmin Grady dying in a car accident, the news hit very close to home, because her native Pender County is only one county away from Hip Hop Vibe’s headquarters. The story was sad, but had a beautiful message of friendship, as Grady’s friends banded together and pursued Drake to sing at her funeral. Although Drake never showed up, Jasmin’s fondness of his music united countless souls, most of whom had never met and the situation touched Montel Williams’ heart.
Hip Hop Vibe’s coverage of the story led to us picking up a story of Montel Williams pleading to Drake on Twitter to attend the funeral and sing for Jasmin Grady. Montel Williams immediately saw the story on Hip Hop Vibe and he reached out to us in a friendly tweet, which added to the magic of the story. #RIPJasminGrady #DrakeSingForJasmin.
Read Montel Williams’ tweet to Hip Hop Vibe below:
Nick Cannon shouts out Hip Hop Vibe at SXSW 2014
Stranga The Great be working, as he does what he can to make sure Hip Hop Vibe is seen in as many places as possible. Even if this means loading up his truck and driving from Fayetteville, North Carolina all the way down to Austin, Texas for SXSW, giving HHV some representation there. His hustle paid off when he looked up and realized Nick Cannon was in the truck right beside him, so he got him to do a brief drop for Hip Hop Vibe, which helped us kick the summer off on a high note.
Watch Nick Cannon shouting out Hip Hop Vibe below:
Laura Stylez interview with K.B. Tindal
Again, K.B. Tindal dedicated himself more than ever to the growth of Hip Hop Vibe in the New York City area and he expanded upon his relationship with Hot 97. After receiving permission from DJ Mel-Od to attend the Brooklyn Unity Fest, K.B. Tindal went out there and landed some major interviews. Hot 97’s morning show beauty, Laura Stylez, was there and she did a brief interview with Hip Hop Vibe, helping to further raise our profile, which was really dope.
Watch Laura Stylez’ interview with K.B. Tindal below:
Karlie Redd interview with DJ Charlie Hustle
Karlie Redd is the woman the people love to hate on “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta,” but she is perfectly fine by the Hip Hop Vibe staff. She has a lot going on outside of reality television and she was more than cooperative when Hip Hop Vibe reached out to her for an interview that was two months in the making. Once it finally took place and was released, Karlie Redd hit it off with DJ Charlie Hustle and all of this led to the video becoming the most-viewed YouTube video in Hip Hop Vibe history in the one month it’s been out, definitely a defining moment for HHV, as Karlie took some shots at Yung Joc.
Follow DJ YRS Jerzy on Twitter @IAMDJYRSJERZY.
