Saigon – Hungry
Here's the latest from Saigon. Check out Hungry. His new mixtape, Warning Shots 3: One Foot in the Grave drops soon.... Read more
Fresh
DJ Jazzy Jeff is a hip-hop icon. You know the stats: one of the illest DJs EVER, winner of the first ever rap Grammy, superstar producer and one half of the legendary DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. But, do you know the path that led him to become one of hip-hop’s pioneers? Here’s an interview where he breaks down his journey to hip-hop through music. This is Where It All Began for DJ Jazzy Jeff.
Click here for Where It All Began: Kendrick Lamar.... Read more
8Ball & MJG – We Buy Gold ft Big K.R.I.T.
Here's some new Southern Funk from 8Ball & MJG featuring Big K.R.I.T. This one knocks. Check out We Buy Gold. Both 8Ball & MJG and K.R.I.T. have mixtapes dropping soon.... Read more
Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa – Smokin’ On ft Juicy J (Video)
Here's a new video from Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa. Check out Smokin' On featuring Juicy J.... Read more
Ski Beatz – Fly By ft Curren$y (Video)
Ski Beatz produced most of Curren$y's Pilot Talk and Pilot Talk 2. Here's another hot collabo between the two. Check out the video for Fly By, off Ski Beatz's upcoming 24 Hour Karate School Presents Twilight album. Also, click here to check out our playlist of music produced by Ski... Read more
Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock and Terrace Martin Speak on the next generation of West Coast Rap (Video)
Here's an interview of Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock and Terrace Martin from This Is 50. Check it out. Also, click here if you missed our playlist on the evolution of the West Coast sound from Dr. Dre to the future of the West featured in this interview. Props to This... Read more
First Serve (Posdnuos and Trugoy of De La Soul) – Pushin’ Aside, Pushin’ Along
New music from Posdnuos and Trugoy the Dove (aka Dave)??? That's right. Check out Pushin' Aside, Pushin' Along from 2/3 of the legendary De La Soul, aka First Serve. Also, if you dig the Native Tongues, click here to check out our Beats, Rhymes & Life mix, featuring music from... Read more
MC Eiht – All Hood
Here's some new music from West Coast OG, MC Eiht. Check out All Hood.... Read more
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib – Thuggin’ (Video)
Here's the new video for Freddie Gibbs' and Madlib's collabo, Thuggin'. Check it out.... Read more
Here’s an MLK day playlist featuring music from Common, Talib Kweli, Kendrick Lamar, Big K.R.I.T., Nas and more (Playlist)
Happy MLK day. MUCH has changed since the 60's when Dr. King led a peaceful revolution for justice and equality, but the beautiful struggle continues. We are in complex times. The nation has a black president, a reality that likely would not have materialized had it not been for the... Read more
Kanye West Performing in 1996 (Video)
Here's some ill footage of Kanye West performing in 1996...8 years before College Dropout was released. You can see the same energy he displays now. Check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auCaRs_pSlM&feature=socblog_th... Read more
KRS-ONE Speaks on the evolution of his career, The Return of the Boom Bap and the death of conscious rap (Video)
Wow. Here's an unbelievable interview of KRS-One from DJ Premier's blog. He identifies the moment conscious rap died...Check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erwJzZxaWXs&feature=player_embedded... Read more
Bring That Funk Back (Playlist)
Here's an old school playlist of songs from the 70's and 80's that influenced a lot of the funk in hip-hip. If you like music from Dr. Dre, DJ Quik, Erick Sermon or just appreciate some of that rich back in the day goodness, this one's for you. You'll find... Read more
Schoolboy Q – Grooveline Pt. 1 ft Dom Kennedy & Curren$y
Here's some new heat from Schoolboy Q. It's a laidback, soulful joint from Lex Luger that is a completely different sound than what you're used to hearing from him. Check out Grooveline Pt. 1 ft Dom Kennedy & Curren$y. Schoolboy Q's album Habits & Contradictions hits tonight at midnight. Based... Read more
Saigon – Another Man Down ft Lil Fame of M.O.P.
Here's some new music from Saigon, and it's a banger. Check out Another Man Down featuring M.O.P.'s Lil Fame.... Read more
We had the good fortune to sit down with Kendrick Lamar and he gave us an in-depth interview about the music that shaped him and led him to hip-hop. He discusses everything from the earliest influences on his musical tastes to the deep connection between him, DMX and Tupac. He is candid, introspective and insightful. Witness the story of Where It All Began in hip-hop for Kendrick Lamar.
You may have seen bits of the interview in our sneak peeks (posted below) but they were just a taste of the knowledge he dropped in the full conversation. If you missed them, check out more Where It All Began sneak peeks below.... Read more
MED – War & Love ft Oh No (Video)
Alchemist MURDERED this track for MED and MED & Oh No matched it with ill verses. Check out the video for MED's War & Love featuring Oh No. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6idlGXj7BD4... Read more
The RZA (Bobby Digital) – Shock Me
Here's some previously unreleased music from The RZA. It's an old Bobby Digital demo. Check out Shock Me.... Read more
Murs speaks on the power of independent hip-hop (Video)
Here's a really dope interview from Murs speaking about the current state of the industry for independent artists and talking about the new generation of West Coast MCs. Get this knowledge. Also, click here to hear Murs (and many others) talk about his first favorite rapper. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZOw5GQlaSg&feature=player_embedded Props to LA... Read more
Dom Kennedy – Why The Hell Not
Here's a hot previously unreleased track from Dom Kennedy. Check out Why The Hell Not.... Read more
Obie Trice – Growing Up in the Hood ft The Game
The Game and Obie Trice go in on a classic track from Compton's Most Wanted (with a little Ohio Players sprinkled in). Check out Growing Up in the Hood. Here are the Compton's Most Wanted and Ohio Players tracks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcU1ra4nyTI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJLrYjKqPmk... Read more
Nipsey Hu$$le – A Million (Video)
Here's a new video from Nipsey Hu$$le for his song, A Million, which flips the hook from Jay-Z's classic A Million and One Questions. Check it out. Also, if you missed it, you can listen to and download Nipsey's mixtape, The Marathon Continues, here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4kqJI_ACTw&feature=player_embedded Here's the original Jay-Z joint:... Read more
Joe Cool’s I Wanna Sell Drugs is actually NOT about selling drugs…It’s about his daily struggle to materialize his dreams and his resistance to the fleeting temptation to sell drugs. The song is incredible and the video takes the concept to a different level. Check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dbFEz1p47Y&feature=player_embedded... Read more
STS – Cut Me Off (Video)
STS's Cut Me Off is a comedic take on a story about a relationship that was doomed from the start. The acoustic guitar track with no drum track is a different sound for him. Check out the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VPwHRNWJVvk... Read more
Terrace Martin – Thoughts From Detention ft Yung Shep (Video)
Terrace Martin drops some more of that new West Coast heat on Thoughts from Detention featuring Yung Shep. Check out the video. You can also check out our playlist of the evolution of the West Coast sound from Ice-T to Kendrick Lamar here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l735zqqB9s&feature=player_embedded... Read more
Kanye West plays Big Brother for Jay-Z for the first time (Video)
Here's some pretty dope footage of the studio session where Kanye West played Big Brother (the original version) for Jay-Z the first time. It kicks in at around the 1 minute mark. Check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-ZpPdqhTs3U... Read more
Stalley – The Night ft Rashad (Video)
Here's a hot new video from Stalley. It's another gem from his Lincoln Way Nights project, which made our best of 2011 list. Check out The Night featuring Rashad. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT6ZHe_D5GM&feature=player_embedded... Read more
Ski Beatz & Freddie Gibbs – Illegal (Video)
Ski Beatz dropped his song Illegal featuring Freddie Gibbs a few weeks ago. Here's the video. Also, check out what Freddie Gibbs had to say about his first favorite rapper and what Ski Beatz had to say about who introduced him to hip-hop. Here's what Gangsta Gibbs had to say... Read more
Talib Kweli presents Black Star Live Part 2 (Video)
Here's a cool clip featuring some new music from Black Star, as well as some behind the scenes footage of their tour and Talib Kweli talking about what's in store for the Black Star family in 2012. Check out the video. Click here for more new music from Black Star.... Read more
Rockie Fresh – Driving 88 ft Casey Veggies
Rockie Fresh and Casey Veggies dropped a hot song called Duckin' N Dodgin' last Summer. Here's another nice collabo between the two. Check out Driving 88 (stream-only).... Read more
You knew this was coming…Common takes shots at Drake on Sweet, Drake fires back on Stay Schemin’ with Rick Ross and now Common retaliates on his own personal remix to Stay Schemin’. Who got who? Does this “beef” even make sense? 2 artists, 2 new albums…Here’s Common’s “Remix” to Stay Schemin’ by Rick Ross ft Drake.
Click here to see the video to the original Stay Schemin' from Rick Ross, Drake and French Montana.... Read more
Cinematic Soul Playlist
Hip-hop has long been influenced by the cinematic soul of the 70's. Whether you're a fan of Big K.R.I.T. or Biz Markie, UGK or Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre or Just Blaze...you can hear the influence of music from films like Shaft, Super Fly, The Mack, The Payback. Here's a playlist... Read more
Rick Ross – Stay Schemin’ ft Drake and French Montana (Video)
Fresh off the release of his mixtape Rich Forever (click here to listen and download it), Rick Ross drops a video for Stay Schemin' featuring Drake and French Montana. Check it out.... Read more
Rick Ross – Rich Forever (Mixtape)
Here's the new Rick Ross project before he drops his next album, God Forgives, I Don't. You can listen to and download all of Rich Forever below. For all intents and purposes, this is an album, with features from the likes of Nas, Pharrell, Diddy, Wale, Styles P, John Legend,... Read more
Common – Raw (How You Like It) (Video)
Here's the latest video from Common. Check out Raw (How You Like It). Also, click here to read why Common's The Dreamer, The Believer album made our list of the best albums/mixtapes of 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CVcH10EpyM&feature=player_embedded... Read more
When did you first experience hip-hop in person? Check out what Big Daddy Kane, Kendrick Lamar, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Skillz, XV, Stic Man, Rapsody, The Kid Daytona, Murs and Statik Selektah had to say about the first time they experienced hip-hop live and direct.
Click here to see Kendrick Lamar, Big Daddy Kane, Murs, XV, Skillz, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Statik Selektah and more talk about their first favorite rappers.... Read more
Decoded: Big K.R.I.T. — Time Machine (Video)
Here's a really dope interview of Big K.R.I.T. where he breaks down the lyrics to Time Machine. It really showcases the depth of his music. K.R.I.T., along with others like Kendrick Lamar and Stalley, is part of the new crop of MCs with a message to their music. It's part... Read more
The Kid Daytona – New Yorker’s Ambition ft Aloe Blacc (Video)
The Kid Daytona jumps on DJ Grand Wizard Theodore's Subway Theme from the movie Wild Style (aka the instrumental Nas used for the intro to Illmatic). Check out Daytona's video for New Yorker's Ambition featuring Aloe Blacc. Also, if you missed them, here are our interviews of The Kid Daytona... Read more
Rapper Big Pooh, Donny Goines & Raven Sorvino – Don’t Say Goodbye
Keeping it on the Little Brother tip, here's a new song featuring Rapper Big Pooh, along with Donny Goines and Raven Sorvino. Check out Don't Say Goodbye.... Read more
Phonte – Dance in the Reign (Video)
New Tigallo, new Tigallo, new Tigallo. Phonte is one of the dopest and most underrated MCs EVER. Here's a new video from his Charity Starts at Home album. Check out Dance in the Reign. If you missed it, check out our mix of the most underrated MCs here. Also, click... Read more
Chris Cab – One Thing
Here's a hot new song from Chris Cab that was produced by Pharrell. You may remember Chris Cab from some of his acoustic guitar covers of songs like Black & Yellow. Check out One Thing. Click the arrow on the right of the player to download.... Read more
Masspike Miles – Infatuated (Video)
Masspike Miles is not hip-hop but he did sing the hook on one of my favorite joints by Statik Selektah and Termanology (1982) a little over a year ago. Masspike is about to drop an album, Say Hello to Forever. Here's the video for Infatuated, off that project. The song... Read more
Black Star – Little Brother + You Already Knew Performances (Video)
Here are a couple of very dope performances of new music by Black Star with The Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Check out their songs Little Brother and You Already Knew. Little Brother You Already Knew... Read more
Action Bronson – Beautiful Music (Unofficial Video)
Here's a hilarious claymation unofficial video for Action Bronson's Beautiful Music, one of his dopest songs to date. Check it out below. Props to Dallas Penn for directing this. http://vimeo.com/34420116 And, if you need some more claymation in your life, check out the clay OG, Gumby. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWYYkF6DOnk... Read more
Skillz – 2011 Wrap Up
Meant to post this Skillz 2011 wrap up a couple of days ago but it slipped through the cracks. It seems fitting as the last of our 2011-related posts anyway. If you missed it, this is vintage Skillz. If you heard it before, it's worth another listen. Check it out... Read more
Meek Mill – Lean Wit It
Here's the first release from Volume 2 of Meek Mill's Dreamchasers mixtape. Check out Lean With It. Click here to download.... Read more
XV – #EndOfTheWorld
Now that it's 2012, the end of the world chatter will begin. XV's not having it. He goes in on everything from conspiracy theories to stereotypes to social media...Check out #EndOfTheWorld. Also, click here to see XV and others talk about their first favorite MCs. Click here to download. ... Read more
J Dilla Rebirth of Detroit Chuck Inglish x Boldy James Studio Session (Video)
Rebirth of Detroit an album featuring previously unreleased music from the late great J Dilla will be dropping later this year. Here's a behind the scenes video of The Cool Kids' Chuck Inglish in the studio laying down some verses on one of the tracks and spending some time with... Read more
Schoolboy Q – Blessed ft Kendrick Lamar
Now THIS is how you start a new year. Schoolboy Q drops a true gem with Kendrick Lamar. The song is called Blessed. Nuff said. Click here to download.... Read more