Link love: Oh Word

by Carmen Van Kerckhove

Continuing our new series on Racialicious: Link Love! I’m going to use this series to shine a spotlight on some of the blogs that I consider daily must-reads. So if you’re looking for new blogs to add to your daily media diet, you’re in the right place.

Today I’m shining a spotlight on Oh Word. In their own words, the point of their existence is “to provide a meaningful discussion of hip-hop… and to get our rocks off.” Also, “appearing hip, making money, and basking in Internet pseudo-celebrity are nothing more than secondary goals for us.”

Basically, it’s a smart, analytical and funny blog about hip hop. Here are some of my favorite posts:

Another Bad Creation: Greeting cards for Hip-hop heads
The Father’s day page includes this picture of some kid smoking a blunt with Mos Def and this card from a kid whose Dad left him with nothing but a pair of Timbs to grow into.

Gifts for Lupe
Lupe’s mad at Nas’ accusations that current rappers don’t know their history and are ruining the art form. Considering Lupe admitted to not knowing a single word off Midnight Marauders (much less owning it) in this same post, one can assume that his favorite rapper’s words struck a raw nerve.

Wrassling
No, what’s annoying about it is that by acknowledging the comparison, we’ve more or less accepted it as status quo. No one ever goes “rap is like pro-wrestling: we need to do something about it”. Instead, when some rapper gets shot, we roll our eyes, repeat the line and go back to our business.

In 07 I want to hear a rap album that…
Doesn’t talk about guns or drug sales. Doesn’t complain about the state of rap. Not even once. Isn’t afraid to be funny and crack jokes. Isn’t about spoiled multi-millionaires with nothing to say…

What hip-hop media thinks of you
You’re stupid. Even though last week’s gossip has already been debunked, we can report it to you today as if it’s a fact. We’ll cover our ass by hiding a brief acknowledgment that the headline and previous paragraphs are untrue somewhere in the middle, kn