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Public Enemy and Brother Ali have something to say about the bloody pursuit of empire building on “Get Up Stand Up” from Evil Vs.Heroes.

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Jaki Graham is an R&B/pop singer from England who achieved her first major success with a cover of “Could It Be I’m Falling In Love” with David Grant in 1985. Heaven Knows is her first solo release and it did well commercially because of the duet with Grant and the single “Round and Around.” Her second album, Breaking Away, continued her chart achievements with another duet with Grant called “Mated,” and the singles “Set Me Free,” “Step Right Up” and “Breaking Away.” Graham’s chart ascendance put her in the Guiness Book of World Records for being the first Black female British artist to have 6 consecutive Top 10-/20 hits. She also worked as a back-up singer for UB40 and would go on to record a total of 9 studio albums. American audiences did not embrace her work as widely except for a ’94 cover of Chaka Khan’s “Ain’t Nobody” that graced the dance charts. Graham’s 2012 For Sentimental Reasons was her first album to be released in 15 years. Her autobiography, Heaven Knows, will be published in 2013.

Enjoy and Be Educated #1302: The King and I (A Tribute to The Notorious B.I.G.) by Thediggersunion on Mixcloud

Today is the 16th anniversary of Biggie Smalls’ passing. To mark this day The Diggers Union has compiled a variety of his recordings, the original samples and rare B-sides.

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Shaheem Reid interviews Busta Rhymes for the Life+Times Round Up series. Rhymes shares lots of hip-hop history, answered good questions and explained his concept of reintroducing the boom-bap on his next album.