VERBLISMS Magazine

First Golf, Now Tennis: Hip-Hop Embraces A New Sport

February 2, 2005

When you think of tennis apparel, what comes to mind, is it the traditional white tennis skirt and shoes, with a strategically placed wristband? Better yet, can you see yourself (or anyone you know) actually wearing this? After hearing several members of the hip-hop community state, “I love tennis, but I hate the clothes,” entrepreneur [...]

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Setting Fire to a Movement

January 1, 2005

She has over 20 pairs of puma sneakers, predominately pink of course, and Nas is on high rotation in her CD player. English is her first language, Spanglish is her second. As a child, she dreamed of becoming a fashion designer, but her early days as a street promoter for Def Jam Records led Melissa [...]

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Afro-Punk: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Nigger Experience

January 1, 2005

Imagine walking into a dark, cramped club at midnight to see your favorite band. Excited, you head to the bar and order a beer. As you look around to see if you know anyone within the large crowd of revelers, you notice that there are a number of people staring at you. Is it my [...]

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San Ilya: Skipping the Pain and Misery for Beauty

December 21, 2004

‘Singing about being miserable doesn’t interest me. What I’m interested in is passion.’ – Jo Swan Slinky, sexy and slightly mysterious, Ilya have pioneered a new genre of epic easy listening they like to call desert noir – a place where Ennio Morricone meets film noir, where Nino Rota’s Godfather soundtracks mingle with polkas and [...]

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Start the Year With VERBALISMS

December 16, 2004

Advertise in our Women’s History Month Issue! What is VERBALISMS: VERBALISMS Magazine is an open avenue for the conversations and debates that give insight into how women effect and are affected by the politics, revolutions and lifestyles of hip-hop. VERBALISMS will publish its first print issue in March 2005, Women’s History Month, making it the [...]

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World AIDS Day 2004

November 30, 2004

Many women and girls are vulnerable to HIV because of the high-risk behavior of others. This year’s World AIDS Campaign, with the strapline ‘Have you heard me today?,’ seeks to raise awareness about, and help address, the many issues affecting women and girls around HIV and AIDS.

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Hip-Hop’s Divas Should Give Thanks

November 3, 2004

Nikki Giovanni probably gets heartburn each time she sees Lil Kim’s pasties. Julia de Burgos’s spirit must rumble in her grave with every mention of Jackie-O or Foxy Brown’s couchies. Angela Davis, Sonia Sanchez, Celia Cruz, Maya Angelou, Lolita Lebron, strong intelligent women, poets, activists, who have open the paths for hip-hop’s divas, must frown [...]

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A Breath of Fresh Air

October 27, 2004

“Lizz Fields is one of the brightest shining stars we have on the horizon.” – DJ Jazzy Jeff/ A Touch of Jazz When who you are meets who you want to be, the occasion is sometimes unexpected. The journey to this point may elude you but when you think about it for a moment, it [...]

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Jean Grae: This Week

October 26, 2004

Words play an important role when orchestrating an exact point. How often have you listened to 72 minutes worth of incomplete thoughts or boring rhyme schemes? A nice portion of today’s hip-hop has become less creative and inspiring. However….. Out of the womb comes forth a talent whom I’d call, “the definition of an M.C.”. [...]

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