Ready Or Not Archives

Tanya Morgan Literally Pushes Their New Album Out The Trunk (Video)

Cincinnati-meets-Brooklyn Hip-Hop group Tanya Morgan just released its fourth album, YGWY$4 (You Get What You Pay For). Von Pea and Donwill add to a celebrated independent catalog that began with critical cosigns from Questlove and Foreign Exchange features more than a dozen years ago. They've since appeared on albums by... Read more

August 1, 2017 Ready Or Not, Video

Stalley Has Cosigns From A Who’s Who Of Rap. He Still Rides His Own Wave (Video)

Massillon, Ohio rapper Stalley has a mixed bag of influences to pull inspiration from. He had admitted influence from home state heroes like The O’Jays, Bootsy Collins, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and Kid Kudi, as well as out-of-towners like Nas, Outkast and Bruce Springsteen, to name a few. According to the Maybach... Read more

July 27, 2017 Ready Or Not, Video

Sha Stimuli Returns With An Exploration Of American Racism Throughout The Years (Video)

Brooklyn, New York raised, Atlanta, Georgia based MC Sha Stimuli returned off a four year hiatus from the rap race last year with two powerful songs titled “Sticks and Stones” and “New Jordans/A Poem For Mike.” The first was about the effect words can have, while the latter was a... Read more

July 22, 2017 Ready Or Not, Video

Nanna.B & Odd Future’s Hodgy Make A Golden Video About Protecting One’s Treasures

Los Angeles, California (by way of Denmark) songstress Nanna.B is not an MC, but she is attracting Hip-Hop artists to her soulful ceremony. She is gearing up to release the EP, Golden this Friday (July 21). On the title track, Nanna is produced by none other than Aftermath's Anderson .Paak,... Read more

July 18, 2017 Ready Or Not, Video

DAP The Contract’s Video Explores The Details Of 21st Century Dating

Multi-talented Nigerian artist DAP The Contract has been making music since he was only four years old. A classically trained pianist who attended high school in the U.K. and the esteemed Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, he comes from a musical family and has a diverse range of... Read more

June 29, 2017 Ready Or Not

Young RJ Is Done Waiting. Pete Rock & Boldy James Help Him Step Forward (Video)

Although not necessarily a household name, the multi-talented Young RJ has had quite a distinguished career. One-half of Slum Village’s reincarnation (with T3), as well as the group B.R. Gunna (alongside fellow double threat Black Milk), the J. Dilla protégé has an impressive resume. As a producer, he’s worked with... Read more

June 27, 2017 Ready Or Not

MC Bravado Raps Stories Passed Down From Father To Father (Video)

New York City area native MC Bravado may have come up as a battle rapper, but he's been getting a reputation for his imaginative concepts. For example, in 2014, the rapper put out an EP titled Walk the Line that detailed the life of Johnny Cash. This Father's Day, we... Read more

June 18, 2017 Ready Or Not

Oakland’s Trey Coastal Use A Video Game To Show How Real Life’s Consequences Are (Video)

The Oakland, California trio known as Trey Coastal have a knack for storytelling. For their "R1 R2 L1 L2" visuals, the West Coast collective get pixelated and take us through a retro video-game journey through their hometown. Producer Rye Mann, plus MCs Philip Bank$ (a Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reference) and Cam... Read more

June 7, 2017 Ready Or Not

T.Y.E Is An Opera Singer Who Can Rap With The Best Of Them (Video)

On June 9, Dallas-bred rapper T.Y.E Harris will release 32, an exploratory album with song titles like "UFOs & Aliens," "Universe," and "La La Land." Hailing from the grim surroundings of the Oak Cliff neighborhood, his music serves as an exercise in escaping not only the confines of his external circumstances,... Read more

May 23, 2017 Ready Or Not

Dillon Cooper Doesn’t Scare Easily & Turns A Blind Eye To His Competition (Video)

Dillon Cooper is a Crown Heights, Brooklyn rapper who sound and look familiar to fans of the Hip-Hop inspired Netflix series, The Get Down, for which he contributed to the official soundtrack and played a supporting role as a young Grandmaster Caz. Also an accomplished musician,he attended the prestigious Berklee... Read more

May 16, 2017 Ready Or Not

Hodgie’s Street Lights Video Burns Bright. Bizzy Bone’s Son Shows The Flows In His DNA.

Lima is not one of Ohio's big cities, and thereby it is not traditionally associated with Hip-Hop music. However, with the continuous diaspora of the culture, the city approximately 80 miles away from Toldeo and Dayton, has an artist who aims to take his sound far and wide. Hodgie released... Read more

May 9, 2017 Ready Or Not

Matt Citron Aims To Purify His Soul As He Reaches The Next Plateau (Video)

Atlanta, Georgia's Matt Citron has been making a lot of noise the past year. It was one calendar ago Matt spiced up a sacred Just Blaze production for Jay Electronica with his seasoned "Tabasco Flows." The MC with the nimble delivery and deeper voice stepped ahead, working with G.O.O.D. Music's... Read more

May 4, 2017 Ready Or Not

The Hot 8 Brass Band Prove Can’t Nobody Get Down Like New Orleans (Video)

New Orleans' expansive musical history is perhaps no better recognized than by the ubiquitous brass band. For generations, musicians in the Big Easy have taken up brass horns (wooden instruments don't do so well in the humidity) on street corners, in second-line parades, and in performance venues as instruments for both celebratory... Read more

May 2, 2017 Ready Or Not

Sylvan LaCue Wants His Heavenly Video To Make An Eternal Introduction

Miami, Florida MC Sylvan LaCue is currently making major noise. Fresh off of touring the United States with "Best Me (Remix)" collaborator Saba, Sylvan is another independent artist (thanks to his Wise Up Entertainment movement) who needs no machine to draw power through numbers. With his album Far From Familiar... Read more

April 25, 2017 Ready Or Not

OSHUN Celebrate African Roots For A Striking Visual Homage To Heartbreak (Video)

Brooklyn, New York duo OSHUN are as innovative as they are familiar. Comprised of Niambi Sala and Thandiwe, the Neo-Soul-based Hip-Hop emanating from the pair will likely remind Heads of Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Floetry, Les Nubians, and even A Tribe Called Quest. However, OSHUN's output is more infectious than... Read more

April 18, 2017 Ready Or Not

Chuuwee Looks At His Own Wonder Years With Enthusiasm (Video)

In the last month, Sacramento, California artist Chuuwee released his Paradiso album. The 10-track, 40-minute project finds the veteran breaking the ice on 2017 with his first video. The "Enthusiasm" visual recreates the 8mm home-video effect from the 1960s and 1970s. In a statement to Ambrosia For Heads, the MC... Read more

April 13, 2017 Ready Or Not

Marcel P. Black Is Using His Voice To Help His People Cry Freedom (Video)

Baton Rouge, Louisiana made headlines last summer for a tragedy far too common in the United States. On July 5, Alton Sterling was killed by police. He was unarmed, and his death only reinvigorated the energies of those fighting for meaningful, permanent changes to the way the United States views... Read more

April 7, 2017 Ready Or Not

Kris Kasanova Is Out To Prove His Bars Will Always Come With A Little Something Extra (Video)

Music has been, and continues to be, a staple in Kris Kasanova's life. Learning and studying the art of Hip-Hop since his years on this Earth crossed into the double digits, the Red Hook, Brooklyn native watched his stepfather Don, who piqued his interests into the game, enter the booth... Read more

April 6, 2017 Ready Or Not

Mic Capes Is Breaking Through Life’s Chains To Help Others Get Free (Video)

Portland, Oregon's Mic Capes has begun to garner notoriety in his homestate for his visceral lyricism, illustrative story-telling, and stirring content. Since releasing his debut album, Rise & Grind, in 2012, the rapper born Michael Caples has expanded his fan base far beyond his St. Johns neighborhood, even earning the... Read more

April 5, 2017 Ready Or Not

Saint Joe Louis Spar With JR & PH7’s Beat & A Rugged Rah Digga Guest Verse (Video)

JR & PH7 and St. Joe Louis have crossed oceans to collaborate, and anchored a strong feature to boot. "Duck Duck Goose" links the German production duo (Phonte, Oddisee, Saigon, Freeway, etc.) with trio of Michael Cardigan, Tommie Chase, and Elete Wright. St. Joe Louis represents the same New Jersey.... Read more

April 4, 2017 Ready Or Not

Akinyemi Is The Latest Queens MC Trying To Be A Hip-Hop King (Video)

Queens, New York has given Hip-Hop some of its most captivating, creative and distinctive, yet still relatable acts, from A Tribe Called Quest to Nas to Pharoahe Monch. Like the aforementioned MCs, newcomer Akinyemi is a true individual with unique flows and imaginative concepts, but with an air that somehow... Read more

March 28, 2017 Exclusive, Ready Or Not

Cellis Calls Back To Childhood To Help Us Overcome Growing Troubles (Video)

Baltimore, Maryland artist Cellis is known as "The Beardest" MC. While artists like Freeway, Stalley, Drake, and others may raise an eyebrow to that claim, he joins a respected class of artists who kick wisdom and substance in their rhymes. Belonging to his newly released Snow Day EP, "Inner Child"... Read more

March 21, 2017 Ready Or Not

Natia Has A Message For Copy-Cat Rappers & He Wants Blood On His Hands (Video)

Inglewood, California's Natia carries with him many of the artistic earmarks of other Californians like Hieroglyphics, Living Legends, Freestyle Fellowship, and The Pharcyde. He's maniacal in the best way - lyrical, offbeat, and message-driven. But any referential qualities he may have to artists like Del The Funkee Homosapien or Fatlip... Read more

March 14, 2017 Ready Or Not

LG Is Planting The Seeds Of His Rap Career & Looking To Grow Even More (Video)

Hailing from New Orleans, Louisiana, LG's musical blood comes from both his family and the city in which he was born and raised. At the age of seven, he began to explore his natural talents, eventually dropping his debut mixtape Cinco in 2011. The title comes from his childhood stomping... Read more

March 7, 2017 Ready Or Not

Jay Lonzo Spits More Knowledge at 17 Years Old Than Many Do In a Lifetime (Video)

Last month, J. Cole acknowledged Martin Luther King, Jr. and the ongoing fight for equality and freedom in the U.S. with "High For Hours," a poignant record that compares 2017 America to chapters in its dark past. As he says in the song, not much has changed, and slavery has... Read more

February 28, 2017 Ready Or Not

Venomous2000 Ambushes His Prey With Poisonous Lyricism (Video)

Last month, Passaic, New Jersey's Venomous2000 released his tenth album, Sounds Of The Great Ones with Trilian. That LP features decorated veterans such as Wu-Tang Clan's Inspectah Deck, Cella Dwellas, and The Artifacts, among others. A vet in his own right, Venomous2000 has been a recent guest artist on DJ... Read more

February 21, 2017 Ready Or Not

Eric Biddines Climbs Mountains In This Video. Does This MC’s Single Pique Your Interest?

Florida's Eric Biddines makes his influences of Outkast, UGK, and Goodie Mob clear in his music. This MC uses his southern cadence, regional dialect, and warm weather lifestyle in his songs to his advantage. The single "Peeuurrnn" is derived off of a J.B. Smoove stand-up comedy routine. Leaving haters, crabs,... Read more

February 14, 2017 Ready Or Not

Mark Steele Is Vowing To Gain Your Attention. He’s Prepared at Every Turn (Video)

As a former pupil in 9th Wonder's Hip-Hop in Context 101 class at North Carolina State University, Mark Steele is quite literally a student of the game. In fact, the North Carolina MC has already collaborated with his former professor, as well as Rapsody and Cory Gunz. Perhaps best recognized... Read more

February 7, 2017 Ready Or Not

I.O.D. Is a Brownsville Villain, But Does This Video Make Him a Hip-Hop Hero?

READY or NOT?? You decide. We’re putting you in the A&R chair. Brownsville, Brooklyn's I.O.D. is an artist whose music is a direct reflection of the surroundings in which he came up. One of the most impoverished neighborhoods in the U.S., Brownsville is notorious for its status as a hotbed... Read more

January 31, 2017 Ready Or Not

Chill Moody’s Single Declares That This Ain’t His America. Is It Yours? (Video)

READY or NOT?? You decide. We’re putting you in the A&R chair. West Philadelphia MC Chill Moody has been on the grind for years. In his latest video single "This Is Not My America," Chill reacts to the nation's present day treatment of its Black citizens and other oppressed people.... Read more

January 24, 2017 Ready Or Not

Ran Reed Has No Time For Doo-Doo, Pathetic MCs. He Fights For Skills. (Video)

New Jersey MC Ran Reed epitomizes patience. It was in the 1980s that Double-R had one of his first songs ("You Might As Well Forget It" by The Young M.C.'s) played on radio. Throughout the 1990s, Ran (tka "Hitman") was cutting tracks, many of which with producer Nick Wiz (Cella... Read more

January 10, 2017 Ready Or Not

Mayhem & Akrobatik Combat The World We Live In With Introspective Rhymes (Video)

The Roxbury section of Boston is known for rhymes that are both heavy and hard. Gang Starr's Guru as well as Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs helped put the 'Bury on the Rap map (after already garnering heavy recognition thanks to New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe), with songs that... Read more

January 4, 2017 Ready Or Not

Waju Wants to Freeze Out Other MCs With His Cold Game. Is His Video Hot Enough?

Raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles by an African-American mother and Sierra Leonean father, Waju (pronounced Wah-joo) is preparing to release a new LP, JuiceBox. Merging elements of veterans like De La Soul with innovations from the likes of Blu, the project is the latest from an MC who... Read more

December 20, 2016 Ready Or Not

The Lessondary Is A Veteran Collective. Does This Hazy Music Video Give You A Contact?

Especially in the wake of Slaughterhouse, the Rap super-group has become quite the rage. In the independent scene, The Lessondary features a number of trusted veteran spitters, producers, and multi-threats hitching their fortunes together. Tanya Morgan's three founders: Von Pea, Donwill and Ilyas Nashid have joined Rob Cave (fka Spec... Read more

December 13, 2016 Ready Or Not

Nutso Is Respected By Rap Legends. Does This Video Single Catch Wreck To You?

Flushing, Queens rapper Nutso is a true school lyricist with endorsements from some of Hip-Hop’s elite. His Domingo-produced REDSunday album, released in October, features a who's who list of Queens Hip-Hop royalty like Kool G Rap, Prodigy, Tragedy Khadafi, Craig G, Cormega, and Capone-N-Noreaga. On “Catchin Wreck" (featuring Tony Born and... Read more

December 6, 2016 Ready Or Not

MC Melodee Is Trying To Take Hip-Hop All Around the World. Is She Ready Or Not? (Video)

Amsterdam native MC Melodee is a member of the Stones Throw family, having toured Europe with the likes of Oh No and Guilty Simpson as the front-woman of her Hip-Hop Soul outfit, La Melodia. Heads may also recognize her name thanks to her 2012 mixtape Check Out Melodee, which sports... Read more

November 29, 2016 Ready Or Not

Caleborate Says It’s Game Over For Obstacles In His Path…Does This Video Win It All?

With Berkely, California - a hotbed of intermingling, cosmopolitan ideas and people - as his hometown, Caleborate is an MC whose style is limber without ever sounding like an affectation. Calling himself a "student of Hip-Hop and all-around eclectic artist," the Bay Area MC dropped SF Weekly's "Best Hip-Hop Album... Read more

November 22, 2016 Ready Or Not

Ski Wants The World…Including Your Undivided Attention. Does This Video Earn It?

Hailing from Virginia Beach, Virginia, the MC known as Ski (aka Ski Cobain) blends the 1990s and early 2000s Hip-Hop that influenced him with his own stories, ambitions, and reflections. His latest single "The World Is Mine" ties a fan favorite from within Nas's Illmatic. The artist with two previous... Read more

November 15, 2016 Ready Or Not

Vice Souletric Wants To Rap About ’90s Hip-Hop With You. Can He Kick It? (Video)

Vice Souletric is a promising MC and producer from Lorain, Ohio—just 30 miles west of Cleveland. Having previously worked with Pete Rock and fellow Buckeye State native DJ Hi-Tek, Souletric released Vice For President, Vol. 2. On Election Day 2016, Ambrosia For Heads holds up recent video single "90's Sumthin'"... Read more

November 8, 2016 Ready Or Not

RAIN910 Is Not Concerned With Industry Trends & Has the Rulebook To Prove It…Or Does He? (Video)

RAIN910 is an MC and producer who has pursued full creative control of his career since its genesis. It was a decade ago when he dropped the first of his mixtapes to make waves nationwide, and in the years since Only in America, he has not fumbled with the reins,... Read more

November 2, 2016 Ready Or Not

Ren Thomas Believes He’s Been Nice. This Pete Rock-Produced Single Wants To Show You (Video)

Ren Thomas is an MC who has divided his years between Philly and neighboring New Jersey. Following a recent standout freestyle appearance and interview on Sway In The Morning, the Lord Sear (Shade 45) co-signed lyricist marches towards a self-titled debut album, dropping later this year. Last year, Ren released... Read more

October 25, 2016 Ready Or Not

Dot Demo Is From The Same Streets As Hip-Hop & Hopes To Push It Along (Video)

Dot Demo is an MC from the same South Bronx streets that birthed Hip-Hop. Following late 2014's Delta Theory: File 1 mixtape, "Me Pt. 2" signals more personal music coming. The 23 year-old looks at his life and times, and asks some really pressing questions. Take a look at Dot's... Read more

October 20, 2016 Ready Or Not

Kur Is The Next Great MC From Philadelphia. Uptop! Uptop! Makes The Case That He’s Ready (Video)

Pronounced "core," Kur has released a string of mixtapes which showcase his talent for punchlines and engaging storytelling about his native Uptown Philly. Colloquially known as UpTop, his stomping grounds serve as the inspiration for Kur's latest video, which takes an everyday portrayal of his neighborhood and combines it with... Read more

October 14, 2016 Ready Or Not

Page Kennedy Takes a Shot at Racial Unrest. Is He Ready or Not to Aim Higher? (Video)

Detroit, Michigan's Page Kennedy has managed to juggle careers in comedy, television, and music simultaneously. After earning considerable notoriety as U-Turn on the immensely popular television series, Weeds, he has returned to his pursuit of his first love, Hip-Hop, and is slated to drop his forthcoming LP in February 2017.... Read more

October 4, 2016 Ready Or Not

Alfred Banks Represents The Underdogs. Is He Ready Or Not For The Big League? (Video)

In New Orleans, Louisiana, a local scene bursting with Hip Hop talent is bubbling, but few have emerged out of the shadows cast by giants coming out of the No Limit and Cash Money Records camps. With artists like Curren$y spearheading a new generation of the city's Rap phenoms, younger... Read more

September 27, 2016 Ready Or Not

Translee Refuses To Be Lost In The Sauce. Is He Ready Or Not For His Big Shot? (Video)

Translee is a Huntsville, AL-raised, Atlanta-based MC, who proudly raps under his government name. Signed to independent label DNC (Digital Nativ3 Culture), he calls his style "conversational rap," based on real music, real people, real problems, real times and real facts. As a Southern Hip-Hop artist Translee aims to change... Read more

September 20, 2016 Ready Or Not

Is Steve Gunna Ready Or Not? (Video)

Steve Gunna is a hungry MC trying to put food on the table with his bars. He wants his video "L.O.S.T." to be found on your playlist. Is it Ready OR Not? You decide. Bronx, New York (by way of Jamaica) MC Steve Gunna released "L.O.S.T." in 2015. The song... Read more

September 13, 2016 Ready Or Not, Video