Food for Thought Archives

The 19th most important hip-hop record label of all time is…

#19 Loud Records Steve Rifkin may not be a household name like Suge Knight, Sean "Puffy" Combs or Baby aka The Birdman, but his impact on hip-hop is enduring just the same. In the 90's, his Loud Records put out some of the grimiest hip-hop that had ever been heard.... Read more

November 23, 2011 Food for Thought, Playlists, Throwback, Video

Here’s a look at the 20 most important hip-hop record labels of all time, starting with #20: Rawkus Records.

Before record labels were considered "the enemy" their brands actually meant something. Artists dreamed of being on the same label as the MCs they grew up idolizing and some labels had such credibility fans would buy the record just because it was on that label. Over the next several days... Read more

November 22, 2011 Food for Thought, Playlists, Throwback, Video

Common – When I Was 17 (Video) + DJ Drama Interview

Here are a couple of cool pieces on Common. First is his appearance on MTV's When I Was 17. Next, is an interview of him by DJ Drama where he talks about the motivation behind So Sweet, G.O.O.D. Music, his approach to his upcoming The Dreamer, The Believer album, rhyming... Read more

November 20, 2011 Audio, Food for Thought, Video

?uestlove speaks on Heavy D

Here's a brilliant article by ?uestlove on his relationship with Heavy D. Read all the way to the end. The build up is long, but the payoff is worth it. People forget. In addition to his hits (click here for our Heavy D tribute playlist), Hev was one of the... Read more

November 9, 2011 Food for Thought

Rakim Speaks: The Complex Interview

Rakim interviews are few and far between these days. Complex recently got a good one. He discusses working on new material, other rappers whose work he respects, his recent nomination for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the 25th anniversary of the release of Paid in Full and more. ... Read more

November 2, 2011 Food for Thought

Here’s a playlist of songs that have focused a critical eye on the status quo and expressed a desire for something better. Some of the names you would expect (Public Enemy, Talib Kweli, Common, Lupe Fiasco, 2Pac) and others might surprise you (Jay-Z, Eminem, Kanye West). Regardless of whether or not you share their views or not, it’s food for thought in these interesting times.

With the global economy in chaos, people are standing up for their beliefs across the world. The many "Occupy" protests are just a few examples of this. Throughout time, music has played an important role in such movements. Hip-hop was that voice of unrest for many in the 80's and... Read more

November 1, 2011 Food for Thought, Playlists

Kendrick Lamar interview by LRG (Video)

Here's an interview of Kendrick Lamar where he discusses some of his current musical inspirations. He cites artists like Bilal, Floetry, D'Angelo and Erykah Badu as influences on his melody and general sound. That shows in the soulfulness that is heard throughout Section 80. Check out the interview below as... Read more

October 10, 2011 Food for Thought, Playlists, Video

Hip-Hop & Love from A3C – Here’s a recap of one of my best hip-hop experiences ever.

A3C was an amazing hip-hop experience this weekend. It was a 3-day hip-hop festival and conference featuring informative panel discussions during the day and showcases with a mind-blowing amount of dope artists at night. Much like at South by Southwest, there was no floss--just a collective respect and love for... Read more

October 9, 2011 Food for Thought

Russell Simmons & Rick Rubin – Def Jam’s First 25 Years (Audio Interview)

Here's an interview of Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin on the founding and legacy of Def Jam. The intro is a bit stiff (the interview is from NPR...) but it's very cool to hear the story of Def Jam from the voices of the founders, themselves. Click here to hear... Read more

October 9, 2011 Audio, Food for Thought

Here are The 50 Best Radio Freestyles, according to Complex. They discuss each freestyle AND provide audio for each one. It includes freestyles from Tribe, Wu, Snoop, Kanye, Common, Biggie, Nas, Eminem, Jay-Z and many, many more. It’s unbelievable. Just classic.

Complex has been doing a "best of" series for a while but THIS ONE is the best yet. They recently compiled The 50 Best Radio Freestyles and each entry is accompanied by the audio. This compilation would have been worth it for the legendary Common/Kanye battle, alone. The fact that... Read more

October 7, 2011 Audio, Food for Thought

J. Cole: In the Zone (Article)

Here's an in-depth article chronicling the long journey for J. Cole from his beginnings to dropping his first album for commercial release, as the first rapper signed to be signed to Roc Nation by Jay-Z. The article was written for Complex by one of J. Cole's closest friends, as part... Read more

September 27, 2011 Food for Thought

Evidence – Inside Cats & Dogs (Video Playlist)

Evidence has put together a series of videos where he discusses each song on his upcoming album, Cats & Dogs (in stores on 9/27). Each episode also features a snippet of the song discussed. Here's a video playlist of each episode in the series, so far (9 in total). Check... Read more

September 21, 2011 Food for Thought, Playlists, Video

The future of hip-hop is in good hands: In studio with Smoke DZA, Dom Kennedy, Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and Big K.R.I.T.

I had the privilege of spending some time in the studio the other night with Smoke DZA, Dom Kennedy, Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and Big K.R.I.T. Part of that time included hearing a number of cuts from Big K.R.I.T.'s upcoming album. I can't give details but, in short, the album... Read more

September 8, 2011 Food for Thought

Kendrick Lamar – Live From New York (Review)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LdhQyL6m74U Kendrick Lamar just BLEW UP New York's legendary SOB's venue. The crowd was as live as any crowd I've ever seen there (and I've seen a few...). I also don't recall any artist from the West Coast getting more love there than what Kendrick received tonight. The audience knew... Read more

September 1, 2011 Food for Thought

Jump Off TV – Watch The Throne Debate (Video)

Here's another interesting debate from the Jump Off TV crew. A while ago, they discussed whether or not J. Cole would become a superstar. This time, they tackle several perspectives on Watch The Throne (money talk, best songs, lyrical content, etc.). Check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Zay2zUsaEc&feature=player_embedded... Read more

August 27, 2011 Food for Thought, Video

Erykah Badu – The Interview (Video)

Here's a really good interview of Erykah Badu. She goes deep on lots of topics, including family, music and the controversial filming of the Window Seat video. There is also a lot of great concert footage. Check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghc9jTEBt_E&feature=player_embedded Though she's labeled as Neosoul, her influences are steeped in... Read more

August 26, 2011 Food for Thought, The Bridge, Video

J. Cole – Cole World: The Complex Review

Here's a pretty dope track-by-track review of J. Cole's Cole World: The Sideline Story by Complex, particularly given that they weren't allowed to name song titles or quote lyrics. The intro to the article is below and you can read the whole thing here. Here's the intro: After releasing several... Read more

August 19, 2011 Food for Thought

“Ghostface Killah” – Watch the Throne Review

You've had your time to marinate on Watch the Throne. Now check out this review of the album in the voice of "Ghostface Killah." Hate it or love it, you probably have never read a review quite like this before. Also, if you missed it, check out the video to... Read more

August 12, 2011 Food for Thought, Video

Watch the Throne – The Listening Party

I just attended the listening party for the album at the Rose Center Planetarium in NYC. Below are some quick observations, as well as some clips from an interview Jay-Z did with Angie Martinez earlier. 1. They brought out the heavy-hitters: It was a who's who of music and media... Read more

August 1, 2011 Audio, Food for Thought

Complex has a great series where they have legendary producers breakdown their hits. The latest installment features Diamond D.

Past installments included DJ Premier and Pete Rock. Below is an excerpt. Click here to read the full article. Also, if you missed our latest mix which features a lot of early 90's A Tribe Called Quest and Diamond D, click here. Here's what Diamond D had to say about... Read more

July 14, 2011 Food for Thought

The tracklist for Watch the Throne has been finalized. The album drops on 8/2.

Here's the tracklist: 1. No Church in The Wild (Feat. Frank Ocean) 2. Lift Off (Feat. Beyoncé) 3. Niggas in Paris 4. Otis (Feat. Otis Redding) 5. Gotta Have It 6. New Day 7. Prime Time 8. Who Gon Stop Me 9. Murder to Excellence 10. Welcome to The Jungle... Read more

July 13, 2011 Food for Thought

Here’s some interesting food for thought from Young Guru, one of the sonic architects behind much of the music of Jay-Z, Kanye West and many others.

For many years, Young Guru has worked as the engineer on much of the music to come out of the Roc-A-Fella camp, as well as on tracks by De La Soul, Mariah Carey, Little Brother, T.I., Talib Kweli and many more. Having been in the game as long as he... Read more

July 11, 2011 Food for Thought, Video

It looks like Watch the Throne will actually drop before the end of the Summer.

Jay-Z had a listening session for the album last night. Complex has posted a compilation of the reviews. You can check out the articles and a summary below. From Complex: Our very own Editor-In-Chief, Noah Callahan-Bever—who was there as a portion of the album was created—took to Twitter and tweeted... Read more

July 8, 2011 Food for Thought

Here’s a very interesting and intelligent discussion about the state of J. Cole’s career.

Do you think J. Cole will be able to live up to the enormous expectations that came after The Warm Up mixtape and him being the first rapper signed to Roc Nation by Jay-Z? Check out this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY3rbD87yt0&feature=player_embedded... Read more

June 24, 2011 Food for Thought, Video

Complex did an INCREDIBLE feature a few months ago where DJ Premier broke down the stories behind many of his classic tracks. Here’s their newest installment of the series and it features none other than Pete Rock.

In a pure coincidence, we also chose Primo and Pete Rock as the first 2 installments of our Producer Series playlists. Click here for the Pete Rock playlist and here for the DJ Premier playlist). See below for an excerpt from the Complex Pete Rock story where he talks about... Read more

June 10, 2011 Food for Thought, Throwback

Remember our question about which album was going to drop 1st: Watch the Throne or Detox?

According to The Source, Watch the Throne is going to take that one. A supposedly very reliable source says Watch The Throne is dropping on 7/4 (how's that for fireworks) and Kanye and Jay-Z are making the official announcement tonight. Click here for The Source story.... Read more

June 9, 2011 Food for Thought

Can’t wait to see the A Tribe Called Quest documentary? It’s coming soon to a theater near you.

Click here for details on locations and release dates for Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest. Also, here's a playlist we did celebrating music produced by Q-Tip.... Read more

May 25, 2011 Food for Thought

Here’s the latest installment of New World (Au)der where we re-order the tracks of great albums for your listening pleasure.

This edition takes on Joell Ortiz's Free Agent album. I've had this (Au)der sitting around, waiting to get flipped for a minute. Don't ask me why, but "BIG PUN'S BACK" (NOT on FREE AGENT) feels like the perfect time to do it. Marinate on that, then blow the dust off... Read more

May 15, 2011 Audio, Food for Thought

Believe it or not, it has been 16 years since Mobb Deep released The Infamous…

To commemorate the anniversary of the release of that landmark album, the good folks over at Complex just did an article detailing the making of The Infamous. Here's the intro: "Although they are now considered a legendary group, leading into the release of their second album, The Infamous, it was... Read more

April 25, 2011 Food for Thought

It’s time for another New World (Au)der where we take hot albums and re-order the tracks for your listening pleasure. This week’s is Raekwon’s new classic Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang.

NEW WORLD (AU)DER: RAEKWON THE CHEF "SHAOLIN VS WU-TANG Remember all the drama that select members of the WU had with the crew's 5th studio release, "8 DIAGRAMS"? Remember the rumor, that an album called "SHAOLIN VS WU-TANG" would eventually be released, (in spite of...), as a collective Wu-Tang Clan... Read more

March 27, 2011 Audio, Food for Thought

OK…so I was a little late on Nardwaur but better late…

For anyone else who missed these or who wants to be entertained (again) check out the best of Nardwaur vs. Hip-Hop. It's cool to see him consistently engage some very respectable minds in hip-hop with deeply researched questions. Warning: These interviews are like Lays...No one can have just one. Nardwaur... Read more

March 26, 2011 Food for Thought, Video

The 80 Blocks to Tiffany’s Reference from the last post inspired some video crate digging. Check out this 20/20 clip on hip-hop from 1981.

It is reported to be the first nationally-televised news story on hip-hop...ever. Though in some respects the verbiage almost sounds like an SNL skit because it's so rudimentary, it is also incredibly deep on some levels: 1. it's fascinating to see footage on the beginnings of the culture, 2. it's... Read more

March 23, 2011 Food for Thought, Video

Here are some random musings from SXSW.

Hip-Hop is alive and well in Austin, TX this week. If you're not up on South By Southwest (SXSW) it is a music festival that has been around for decades. It is now the world's biggest music conference. It has traditionally catered to indie rock but over the last few... Read more

March 18, 2011 Food for Thought

A couple of weeks ago, Nice & Smooth dropped a new video for a song that is 22 years old. Ironically, the song is called No Delayin’.

In celebration of the video, this week's New World Auder (where Omar Akil re-arranges the tracks of an album for your listening pleasure) is of Nice & Smooth's eponymous album. NEW WORLD AUDER: NICE & SMOOTH "NICE & SMOOTH" This N.W.Aud was inspired by the 2011 flip of a classic... Read more

March 14, 2011 Audio, Food for Thought, Throwback, Video

Speaking of Ghostface, here’s a New World (Au)der for his album Apollo Kids where we re-arrange the tracks for your listening pleasure.

NEW WORLD (AU)DER: GHOSTFACE KILLAH "APOLLO KIDS" If this cat doesn't go down as one of the all time greats when its all said and done, then all future hip hop folklore will indeed be flawed. Ghostface's Apollo Kids is full of SURPRISING features, which I've seen leave a bad... Read more

March 5, 2011 Audio, Food for Thought

Complex has been killing the game with their compilations, lately. This week it’s their ranking of The 50 Greatest Hip-Hop magazine covers of all time.

In the past, it was the 25 best Kanye West verses of 2010 and DJ Premier's breakdown of 38 of his classic cuts. Whether you agree or not with their picks and rankings, it's great food for thought and a cool stroll down memory lane. Here's an example of... Read more

March 4, 2011 Food for Thought

The life and times of Shawn Carter…flow-wise. Check out this video of Jay-Z breaking down the evolution of his rhyme-style.

Jay-Z fans have no doubt heard the evolution of his style over the years. While he would often display several styles over the course of an album, he tended to have dominant styles that manifested themselves more than others over certain eras. When he started he primarily had the same... Read more

February 28, 2011 Audio, Food for Thought, Video

There’s been a lot of chatter about the XXL Freshman class of 2011 but what about the alumni?

One of the most enigmatic of those chosen by XXL as one of its 2009 freshmen is Charles Hamilton. Omar Akil takes a look at the talented Mr. Hamilton and let's the man speak for himself (through his lyrics). Check it out: I'm not sure what to make of the... Read more

February 27, 2011 Food for Thought

XXL just released their 2011 Freshmen list. Who did they miss?

This years 11 includes Meek Mill, Big K.R.I.T., Cyhi Da Prynce, Kendrick Lamar, Lil Twist, Big K.R.I.T., Diggy Simmons, Fred the Godson, Yelawolf, Lil B, Mac Miller, and YG.... Read more

February 21, 2011 Food for Thought

Were you disappointed by the Grammys? Check out what Steve Stoute had to say about them.

Steve Stoute has been one of the most powerful influences in hip-hop and multicultural entertainment for the better part of 2 decades. Some know him for his infamous dust up with Diddy, but Stoute should be recognized as a partner and trusted adviser to moguls like Jay-Z and Jimmy... Read more

February 21, 2011 Food for Thought

REWIND! Gotta take it back to DJ Premier. Complex did a dope article where he breaks down 38 of his classic cuts.

This article is incredible. Period. You can listen to each song while reading what Premier has to say about each. Check below for what he had to say about Nas' NY State of Mind. BIG PROPS to Complex for this one. Click here for the full article. DJ Premier: “That... Read more

February 18, 2011 Audio, Food for Thought

Can’t wait for XXL’s Freshman issue? Check out this article from The Well Versed on 10 MCs to watch in 2011.

You will no doubt see many of the same faces on the XXL cover when it drops. The site also has a cool post on the 10 best mixtapes of 2011 here. Props. Click here for the article on 10 MCs to watch.... Read more

February 3, 2011 Food for Thought

Is the art of crate digging dead? Not for ?uestlove of The Legendary Roots Crew. Watch him break down the contents of his shopping bag at Amoeba Records.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CrcLoIPzow&feature=player_embedded... Read more

January 22, 2011 Food for Thought, Video

The art of sampling is nearly as fundamental to hip-hop as MCing. Check out this documentary on the history of sampling and its impact.

In the early days of sampling, it was done liberally and, at its finest, was used to create completely new sonic landscapes. Public Enemy's It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us back was groundbreaking in its sound and was one of the most sample-heavy albums of all time.... Read more

January 20, 2011 Food for Thought, Video

Ever heard the name Steve Stoute? You definitely know his partner…Jay-Z. Even without the Jay affiliation Steve is one of the most powerful people in hip-hop. Check out this video to see why.

This is from a series called INFLUENCERS. The description of the series is below. http://vimeo.com/18910788 INFLUENCERS In-depth Series features Steve Stoute, Founder and CEO of Translation, a brand management firm that arranges strategic partnerships between Pop Culture icons (Jay-Z, Gwen Stefani, Lebron James, Justin Timberlake, etc.) and Fortune 500 companies.... Read more

January 19, 2011 Food for Thought, Video

Missed this dope article Complex did on the Top 25 Kanye West verses of 2010 but it’s worth posting late.

It includes a breakdown of each verse along with an audio snippet. It's a must for all Kanye fans. Big props to Complex for this. Click here for the article. Below is the intro. From Complex: 2010 belonged to Kanye West. He was the year's most creative, controversial, and entertaining... Read more

January 17, 2011 Food for Thought

So while we’re on the topic…what is Underground anyway?

Is it a genre? A description of an artist's commercial status? A reflection of whether you're signed to a major label? All of the above? Neither? People use the term all the time. "I like underground rap." "They're too underground, they'll never sell." "Let's keep it on the underground tip..."... Read more

January 12, 2011 Food for Thought

10 reasons why 2010 was the best year ever in hip-hop: #1 YMCMB…could it be anything else?

Has there ever been 1 hip-hop label more dominant in a year than Young Money/Cash Money? It depends on how you define "dominant." If you're talking purely about record sales, Death Row and maybe even Bad Boy had more dominant years in the 90s. But this is a different era... Read more

December 31, 2010 Food for Thought, Video

10 reasons why 2010 was the best year ever in hip-hop: #2 G.O.O.D. Music…the name says it all.

It's fitting that the video for Monster leaked today. This has been a year of leaks for Kanye West. Some were unexpected, but most of them were completely under his control and were part of one of the most daring album promotion plans ever. Kanye bucked the system. He said... Read more

December 30, 2010 Food for Thought

10 reasons why 2010 was the best year ever in hip-hop: #3 the girls are back in town…well, at least 1, but Nicki Minaj has opened the door for the next wave of great female MCs.

The role of women in hip-hop should not be overlooked but it often has been. For more than a decade (including the 90's which many consider to be the Golden Age of hip-hop) women were a staple in rap music. In fact, they were so much a part of the... Read more

December 29, 2010 Food for Thought