AFH Ambrosia for Heads

Do Remember

20 Years Ago Grand Puba & Brand Nubian Reunited And Put Egos Aside (Video)

The late 1990s marked a wind of change for Hip-Hop. Radio was changing, video platforms were evolving, and the music industry, especially for Rap, music was scaling upwards, fast. The genre surpassed Country music in sales for the first time in 1998. It was suddenly common to see music videos... Read more

Do Remember When Biggie & The LOX Flexed A Freestyle Over Wu-Tang’s C.R.E.A.M. (Audio)

Earlier this week, Styles P was on The Breakfast Club to promote his newly-released G-Host album. During the interview discussion, co-host Charlamagne Tha God mentioned The LOX and The Notorious B.I.G.'s important collaborative freestyle appearance on early 1997's The Mixtape Vol. II: 60 Minutes Of Funk by Funkmaster Flex. He... Read more

A Lost Track Featuring Snoop & Dr. Dre Helped Launch Warren G’s G-Funk Era (Audio)

In November of 1993, Snoop Doggy Dogg's debut album became a commercial and artistic juggernaut for Rap music, especially on the West Coast. Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. was a lanky 22-year-old who in just months, had gone from poverty to super-stardom. He had done so with Dr. Dre, the same... Read more

Do Remember When DOOM Was Just An MC With Peachfuzz On His Chin (Video)

MF DOOM is a master of disguise. However, he was not always known by his modern moniker, and did always cover his face. Back in 1988, as Zev Love X, the London-born wordsmith created the Rap group KMD, along with his younger brother DJ Subroc and Rodan (who would later... Read more

30 Years Ago KRS-One Carried BDP’s Torch By All Means Necessary

In the late 1980s, Boogie Down Productions was one of Hip-Hop's most exciting new groups. KRS-One and DJ Scott La Rock carved their lane with early 1987's Criminal Minded. The B-Boy Records LP was combative to Mr. Magic and Marley Marl's Juice Crew (especially MC Shan) and planted a flag... Read more

50 Years Ago Today, James Brown Healed Hearts With Soul Power (Video)

There may have never been a Hip-Hop Generation if not for James Brown. His music serves as a blueprint for Funk as well as the building blocks of Hip-Hop. Beyond music, Brown proved that the Black community in America is not monolithic in its political affiliation. The timeline of Brown’s... Read more

30 Years Ago DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince Gave Hip-Hop Something Brand New (Video)

Thirty years ago this week (March 29, 1988), DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince released a landmark double-album courtesy of He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper. At a time when Rap music was just getting comfortable with the album format, an MC/DJ battery from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania raised the... Read more

Phife Loved Hip-Hop, But Hip-Hop Needed Him (Video)

Today (March 22) marks two years since the passing of one of Hip-Hop’s grandest luminaries, Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest. While his legacy and imprint on music is still unfolding and carving out its place within the Rap history books, his efforts on the microphone maintain their relevancy... Read more

Early In His Career, Drake Rhymed With Phonte & Elzhi And It Was All Good (Audio)

In 2007, three years before releasing his studio debut Thank Me Later, Drake was still a relatively new rapper with only one mixtape under his belt. That year he dropped his sophomore tape, Comeback Season, an under-appreciated offering from a future global superstar during his budding career. With guest spots from Dwele,... Read more

Heather B. Told The Rap Game To Put Down The Guns Decades Ago (Video)

In light of the gun violence that has plagued our nation and culture, Ambrosia For Heads is in the midst of a pledge to not play any music that glorifies gun violence for one week (beginning the past Monday, March 5). Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day, and in the... Read more

Jean Grae Knocked With The Hardest Bars & The Industry Opened The Door (Audio)

Jean Grae was a refreshingly honest and forthright MC when she first emerged out of the New York City underground scene in the late 1990s. Previously known as What? What?, Jean made it abundantly clear to all within an earshot that she was bringing that raw spit. Known to share... Read more

OutKast Has Forgotten Songs On Soundtracks That Are Better Than Most MCs’ Catalogs (Audio)

"Imagine being able to control your own destiny. Shape your own future. And then, one mistake take all that away. The reality of it is, you do control your own destiny and future, and one mistake will take all that away. Think about it." - Big Rube, "Benz or Beamer." In... Read more

Do Remember When AZ & Pete Rock Made A Gem That Was Rather Unique (Audio)

Almost exactly a year and a half after his show-stopping appearance on Nas' Illmatic, AZ Tha Visualiza released his debut album, Doe Or Die. In October of 1995, AZ carefully refrained from any further features between his 5-mic debut and his solo set-up. Fans were starving, and the East New... Read more

Why Prince’s Performance Remains The Greatest Super Bowl Halftime Show Ever (Video)

In 1993, Michael Jackson was the biggest Pop star on the planet when he performed at January 31's Super Bowl XXVII's halftime show. The prior year, In Living Color broadcast right at halftime. For football Heads watching the game on CBS, a reported 22 million viewers clicked over to FOX... Read more

15 Years Ago Chappelle’s Show Made Its Debut & Changed The Comedy Game (Video)

Just three weeks ago, Dave Chappelle helped fans ring in 2018 with two new stand-up comedy specials, Equanimity, and The Bird Revelation. These were the third and fourth 2017 Netflix specials for the superstar in a full-on return to the stage, screen, and the public eye. This week (January 22)... Read more

GZA & Inspectah Deck’s Cold World Lyricism Still Causes Chills (Video)

Summer may be Hip-Hop's most treasured season. Cookouts, drop-tops, park jams, and "just hangin' out" have spawned plenty of beloved playlist hits. However, the winter section of the year has inspired some incredible Rap music in its own right. Bundled up bars about construction Timbs, 4x4 Landcruisers and Jeeps, skull... Read more

MC Lyte, Bahamadia & Yo-Yo’s Pete Rock-Produced Cut Still Speaks Today (Audio)

It’s not all that uncommon for a soundtrack to outshine the movie it was created to accompany. Twenty-one years ago, when the Ice Cube flick, Dangerous Ground was released, the exclusively Rap soundtrack may have stood a bigger test of time than the film itself. Although Cube’s “The World Is... Read more

Pete Rock & J Dilla Birthed A Beat Generation That Shaped The Future (Audio)

Within the space of three months in 2001, two of Hip-Hop’s preeminent producers, J Dilla and Pete Rock were in a kind of competition, and this led to the release of two ground-breaking albums that would shape the sound of the genre for the next decade and beyond. According to... Read more

Murs & 9th Wonder’s 3:16 Album Set An Everlasting Trend In Hip-Hop (Video)

Collaboration albums between Hip-Hop artists across style, geography, and subject matter have become more commonplace than ever. Creators from aesthetically different sub-genres who have joined forces in the recent past include Madlib and Freddie Gibbs, Vince Staples and No I.D., and Killer Mike and El-P's 2010s formation of Run The... Read more

Stezo Used Funk & Fly Dance Moves To Take Rap Music To A New Place (Video)

In 2017 Connecticut's Hip-Hop scene includes the likes of Apathy, Chris Webby, and Blacastan, among others. These MCs represent different towns in "The Constitution State." Not far from New York City is the city of New Haven. The home of Yale University and famed "clam pie" pizza made a statement... Read more

20 Years Later, Rhyme & Reason Remains Rap Music’s Ultimate Backstage Pass (Video)

During the late 1990s, Hip-Hop was a seismic force that garnered mainstream recognition as a billion-dollar industry. The culture had invalidated scores of critics who dismissed it as a fad during the previous two decades. Hip-Hop achieved this while rewriting the rules of the music business and redefining the American... Read more

Nas’ Original Demo For “It Ain’t Hard To Tell” Left No Doubt He Would Prevail (Audio)

It's not uncommon for rappers to commence in their teens or even become famous in those years. Rakim was 19 when Paid In Full was released. LL Cool J was 17 when his debut arrived. Big Boi and André 3000 from OutKast were teens when they started, as was Joey... Read more

Lady Of Rage, RBX & Dogg Pound Locked It Down Again 20 Years After Death Row (Video)

In less than a month, it marks 25 years since Dr. Dre brought out The Chronic. Hip-Hop has been partying ever since to an album that put Snoop Dogg on center stage but made some breakthrough introductions by way of Tha Dogg Pound, RBX, and The Lady Of Rage. For... Read more

Digable Planets Made Jazz-Rap Cool Like Dat For Just About Everybody (Video)

Late, great Gang Starr lyricist Guru ambitiously declared "The '90s will be the decade of a Jazz thing" on the Mo' Better Blues soundtrack single named just that. Jazz-Rap was still an anomaly when groups like Public Enemy, N.W.A., and Boogie Down Productions were pulling extensively from '60s and '70s... Read more

In 1992, Kool G Rap Teamed Up With Ice Cube & The Geto Boys On A Lethal Collabo (Audio)

One week after Ice Cube released The Predator, and three ahead of Dr. Dre's The Chronic, Kool G Rap & DJ Polo released their third LP, Live And Let Die. Following 1990's Wanted: Dead Or Alive, the Juice Crew MC still had a grim, survivalist's outlook and a penchant for... Read more

Ghostface Killah’s Mighty Healthy Was Inspired By A Divine Force That Brought Wu Together (Audio)

Earlier this month, Wu-Tang Clan released The Saga Continues. Charting at #15, the album is produced entirely by DJ Mathematics—creator of the Wu logo, and longtime touring mix-master for Method Man as well as Meth & Redman. Originally, in 2016, RZA—who executive produced the project and raps—stated that the next... Read more

Soundbombing Was Released 20 Years Ago & Launched A Generation Of Underground Hip-Hop

Twenty years ago this week (October 14, 1997) New York-based independent Hip-Hop label Rawkus Records released Soundbombing Vol. 1. Rawkus' second full-length project boasted Black Moon/Da Beatminerz producer DJ Evil Dee on the mix, and atop its cover touted, "The Ultimate Guide To Underground Hip-Hop." Time would prove it most... Read more

Large Professor Speaks On The Targets Of “Fakin’ The Funk” & Why He Attacked The Wack

It goes without saying that 1992 was a turning point year for Hip-Hop. The hardcore and underground Rap scenes from the East, West, Midwest, and South each boasted a myriad of artists with memorable singles and albums to define their respective region's sound. Simultaneously, this period was when Pop music... Read more

X-Clan’s Fight Against Racism Is More Relevant Than Ever (Video)

The late 1980s through early 1990s was a period in Hip-Hop when being socially conscious and educated about Black history and politics took precedent. The drug trade and gang warfare had rampantly plagued and virtually destroyed urban neighborhoods, and Rap's "Afrocentric" movement was its counterattack that mirrored the Black Arts... Read more

This ’96 Freestyle From Tribe, Busta, The Roots & More Packs Lines That Truly Punch (Audio)

The City of Brotherly Love has undoubtedly produced some of Hip-Hop's best MCs to ever grip the mic, and equally, some of the greatest DJs to touch the turntables. Legendary Philadelphia DJ Cash Money has an extensive resumé with memorable mixtapes to prove the latter. After making seminal 1980s 12"... Read more

20 Years Ago The Beatnuts, Big Pun & Cuban Link Broke The Bank Off The Books (Video)

Two decades ago, The Beatnuts brought Big Pun and Cuban Link to Wall Street. In the video for the Queens, New York group's 1997 single "Off The Books," the men representing various Latin-American identities performed in the heart of America's financial hub and in so doing made a tongue-in-cheek statement... Read more

Big L’s First Verse On Wax Showed Heads That He Was A Rookie MVP (Audio)

Big L lived to see just one of his albums release. 1995's Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous has become something of a cult classic. The Columbia/Sony Records LP has early JAY-Z and Cam'ron appearances and lethal D.I.T.C. production from Lord Finesse, Showbiz, as well as Buckwild. However, all of... Read more

Tha Dogg Pound’s First Death Row Release Was Poetic And Hard AF (Audio)

On Halloween of 1995, Tha Dogg Pound opened up their can of Dogg Food. Kurupt and Daz Dillinger were the third artists with an album released by Death Row Records. Following their mentors, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, this Long Beach—rooted duo was much rougher than its teammates. Like the... Read more

This Run-D.M.C. Beatboxing & Rapping Session Is Tougher Than Leather (Video)

It was 1988, and Run-D.M.C. were already four albums into a genre-defining discography. In May of that year, the Kings of Rock (who were previously raising hell on airwaves across the world) dropped what would become the platinum-selling Tougher Than Leather, home to fan favorites like "Mary, Mary" and "Run's House."... Read more

Tupac & E-40’s 1st Collabo Still Leaves Lesser MCs Dusted & Disgusted (Video)

E-40's 1995 sophomore solo LP In A Major Way might be remembered most for "Sprinkle Me" (featuring fellow The Click member Suga-T), but lesser-known single "Dusted 'N' Disgusted" also stands the test of time. Featuring Tupac - who dropped Me Against the World the very same week, that March - Mac... Read more

Long Before DMX, JAY-Z & Ja Rule Were Murdering MCs, They Had Time To Build (Audio)

In the late 1990s, DMX, JAY-Z, and Ja Rule came together for two incredible collaborations. On Jay's Streets Is Watching soundtrack from early 1998, "Murdergram" showed that these grimy, overly irritated MCs hit their marks when they were together. In pivoting to Ja Rule's 1999 debut Venni Vetti Vecci, "It's... Read more

Slick Rick’s Most Cautionary Tale Was His Own, Told Over Warren G Funk (Video)

Slick Rick is a master storyteller with quite a tale to tell from his own life. The Ruler maintains a unique physical aesthetic which consists of Kangol caps, eye-patch, designer wardrobe, and enough gold jewelry to make Mr. T blush. His signature look was as magnetic as his laconic delivery,... Read more

Eminem & Royce 5’9’s Original First Collabo Showed It’s All Good When Bad Meets Evil (Audio)

Though Royce 5’9 and Eminem would have listeners convinced they are the living embodiment of all that is bad and evil, on the mic, Slim Shady and Nickel Nine are a match made in heaven. Em' is generally revered as a “Rap God,” but the equally skillful Royce takes “Second... Read more

Wu-Tang Clan & ONYX’s “The Worst” Was 1 Of The Best Crew Collabos (Video)

When Wu-Tang Clan emerged with their debut album Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers in 1993, it warned the Rap world to protect its neck from the collective's chokehold. ONYX did the same when they "slammed" anything and anyone in their way. Five years later, in 1998, Wu-Tang and ONYX reached... Read more

40 Years Ago A New York City Blackout Turned Up The Power On Hip-Hop (Video)

Thursday (July 13) marks the 40th anniversary of New York City's infamous 1977 electricity blackout. This was a pivotal moment in Hip-Hop history which ignited a surge in the formation of DJs and Rap crews throughout the genre's birthplace. Wonder What A 1977 New York City Park Jam Sounded Like?... Read more

Bumpy Knuckles Once Overpowered KRS-One On His Own Song With A Ruff Verse (Audio)

The guest feature is a powerful position in Hip-Hop. From Nas to AZ, Snoop Dogg to Lupe Fiasco, lyrical legends have made key introductions through pivotal appearance on others' songs. One of the artists who put down key blocks of his legacy through features is Freddie Foxxx (later known as... Read more

Brand Nubian’s First Concert Shows They Were All For One From The Start (Video)

On December 4, 1990, Brand Nubian dropped their debut album, One For All, on Elektra Records. Six days later, on December 10, they performed it for the first time at the Hard To The Left Rap Party, an artist showcase put together by the label. Shot by none other than... Read more

Do Remember When Prodigy Reminded Us He Was One Of The Realest (Audio)

The Hip-Hop community remains in a state of collective mourning, still reeling from the unexpected loss of Prodigy earlier this week. The 42-year-old Queensbridge MC - who at only 18 penned some of Rap's most prolific rhymes - passed away due to complications from his lifelong battle with sickle-cell disease... Read more

GZA Once Sliced Apart A Dre Beat Using His Verbal Liquid Swords (Video)

In 2002, GZA was fast at work on his fourth solo album (the third since the '93 sonic-boom of the Wu-Tang Clan). At the time, 1995's Liquid Swords was well on its way to eventual platinum status, while 1999's Beneath The Surface was his second consecutive Top 10 release, grabbing... Read more

Reminisce On Pete Rock & CL Smooth’s Mecca & The Soul Brother 25 Years Later (Video)

On June 9, 1992, two men from the outskirts of New York City paired up to form an MC-producer duo that remains the benchmark for any pair eager to leave a mark on Hip-Hop. Pete Rock and CL Smooth of Mt. Vernon dropped Mecca and the Soul Brother, a powerhouse... Read more

20 Years Later, Missy Elliott’s Groundbreaking Video Is Still Supa Dupa Fly

On June 1, 1997, Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott's iconic music video for "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" made its television debut. Visually, it was a delicacy, offering up fashion-forward treats for the senses. It also served as the Portsmouth, Virginia's rapper's solo introduction by way of her debut album, imbuing her... Read more

Mos Def & Dave Chappelle Did The Original Carpool Karaoke (Video)

For 25 groundbreaking episodes in the two official seasons Chappelle's Show, viewers could lean back, laugh, learn, and maybe even cringe every so often. The program was about comedy, but it was hardly an escape. Instead, Dave Chappelle and his cast confronted real life issues with a humorous approach. Racism,... Read more

Impeach The President Got Top Billin’ From Audio Two (Video)

Turn on a lot of American newscasts right now, read the blogs, or encounter a "water-cooler" discussion, and one may likely hear the word "impeachment." Over the last 20 years, this word has re-entered the lexicon in a major way, through several US presidencies, quite obviously including the current. In... Read more

The Roots, D’Angelo & Erykah Badu Are Hypnotizing On This Throwback Remix (Audio)

In 1996, The Roots dropped Illadelph Halflife, and with it came the D'Angelo collaboration, "The Hypnotic." As its title suggests, it was indeed a hypnotizing record, not only musically but also lyrically. In the song, Black Thought spun a tale of love and loss starring a woman named Alana, who would... Read more

Listen To The Sure Shot Verse From MCA’s Career Through Large Professor’s Remix (Video)

Five years ago today (May 4, 2012), the world was shocked to learn about the death of Adam "MCA" Yauch. It is a loss that Hip-Hop is very much still mourning. The co-founder of the Beastie Boys impacted lives on and off the microphone, across mediums. However, from Tibetan Freedom... Read more