bad boy Archives

King Los May Be A Freestyles & Songwriter Double-Threat (Video)

The freestyle is its own animal. So many of the masters of improvisational rhyme in Hip-Hop have proven to struggle in making thoughtful, lyrically-sharp albums—at least by the people's standards. King Los has everybody in suspense as he takes his strong track record from the freestyle and mixtape circuits to... Read more

April 22, 2015 Video

Kanye West Reportedly Joins Puff Daddy’s Hitmen

This past weekend Puff Daddy made an unforeseen announcement via Instagram that he is now back in the studio with his production team The Hitmen (a/k/a Puffy's Hitmen). This is Sean Comb's first album since releasing Last Train To Paris in 2010 and he is now back in the studio with members Chucky Thompson, Deric "D-Dot"... Read more

April 20, 2015 News

Fabolous Has Been a Bad Boy on These 90s Beats. Check His Latest Freestyle (Audio)

The recent onslaught of MCs rapping over 90s beats has, in most cases, been a welcomed homage to what many consider to be the Golden Era. Jadakiss, Styles P, Lloyd Banks and Tony Yayo are among the many to have refreshed a track over the last few weeks. Fabolous also... Read more

April 18, 2015 Audio

Finding The GOAT (Round 3): The Notorious B.I.G. vs. Big Pun…Who You Got

We have reached the third round in the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). With 42 MCs remaining, we are asking you to help us rank who is the greatest MC to pick up a mic. We will take over 35 years of Hip-Hop into... Read more

March 13, 2015 Throwback

Finding The GOAT (Round 3): Busta Rhymes vs. Jadakiss…Who You Got?

We have reached the third round in the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). With 42 MCs remaining, we are asking you to help us rank who is the greatest MC to pick up a mic. We will take over 35 years of Hip-Hop into... Read more

March 10, 2015 Fresh

Puff Daddy & Snoop Dogg Symbolically Use 1995 Source Awards Footage To Put BEEF To Bed (Video)

In an evening that saw a surprise Drake mixtape, and two star-studded Kanye West events in Manhattan, Puff Daddy and Snoop Dogg may have scored the most historical moment, as far as Hip-Hop is concerned. At Madison Square Garden, the two veteran MCs, producers, and record executives co-headlined a New... Read more

February 13, 2015 News

Finding The GOAT (Round 2): Cam’ron vs. Jadakiss…Who You Got?

We have reached the second round in the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). We are asking you to help us rank who is the greatest MC to pick up a mic. We will take over 35 years of Hip-Hop into consideration, pairing special match-ups... Read more

February 3, 2015 Fresh

Finding The GOAT (Round 2): The Notorious B.I.G. vs. GZA…Who You Got?

We have reached the second round in the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). We are asking you to help us rank who is the greatest MC to pick up a mic. We will take over 35 years of Hip-Hop into consideration, pairing special match-ups... Read more

January 26, 2015 Throwback

The LOX’s We Are The Streets Turns 15 Years Old, Is It Their True Best Work?

In a weird twist of fate, the same Tuesday January 25, 2000 that Ghostface Killah released Supreme Clientele, The LOX released their own sophomore effort, We Are The Streets. Fifteen years ago, few could have thought that Wu-Block would ever be a thing, let alone that Ghost and Sheek Louch... Read more

January 25, 2015 Throwback

Finding The GOAT (Round 2): Snoop Dogg vs. MJG…Who You Got?

We have reached the second round in the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). We are asking you to help us rank who is the greatest MC to pick up a mic. We will take over 35 years of Hip-Hop into consideration, pairing special match-ups... Read more

January 8, 2015 Fresh, Throwback

Easy Mo Bee Partners With Chuck D’s SLAMJamz For January Album

Easy Mo Bee produced hit records for both 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. He kicked in the door with Big Daddy Kane, and helped Miles Davis close shop in style. The iconic Brooklyn, New York producer/DJ for Hip-Hop, Jazz, and R&B continues to stay dedicated to his love of music.... Read more

December 30, 2014 Fresh

Puff Daddy & Drake Got Physical Over The 0 to 100 Beat. Cameras Don’t Lie (Video)

Reports flooded the Internet Monday morning (December 8) that the unlikely pair of Drake and Puff Daddy came to a physical altercation over the weekend. Diddy, as he was then known, brought Drizzy on board for his Last Train To Paris album (single "Loving You No More") with Diddy Dirty... Read more

December 10, 2014 Fresh, Video

Finding The GOAT: Ma$e vs. Lil’ Kim…Who You Got?

As we continue the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time), we are asking you to help us rank who is the greatest MC to pick up a mic. We will take over 35 years of Hip-Hop into consideration, pairing special match-ups in a sequence not... Read more

November 24, 2014 Fresh, Throwback

King Los Goes To TOWN, Freestyling Over Alchemist Beats For 15 Minutes (Video)

This is a cool, refreshing concept... Baltimore, Maryland's King Los has earned a reputation for being one of the longest winded, most durable freestylers in the game today. His Backroom appearance, his Sway In The Morning spot, and his Toca Tuesday stop remained three of the most talked about, most... Read more

November 13, 2014 Fresh, Video

Finding The GOAT: E-40 vs. 8Ball…Who You Got?

As we continue the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time), we are asking you to help us rank who is the greatest MC to pick up a mic. We will take over 35 years of Hip-Hop into consideration, pairing special match-ups in a sequence not... Read more

November 11, 2014 Fresh, Throwback

Finding The GOAT: Spice 1 vs. MJG…Who You Got?

As we continue the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time), we are asking you to help us rank who is the greatest MC to pick up a mic. We will take over 35 years of Hip-Hop into consideration, pairing special match-ups in a sequence not... Read more

November 5, 2014 Fresh, Throwback

Raekwon Phone Taps Into Some Faith Evans & Carl Thomas Heat (Audio)

Raekwon's TBT series rolls on, with an early '00s tilt. Chef looks to Faith Evans & Carl Thomas' "Can't Believe," which is not even his first Faith nod. The song notably swacked the basis of the beat to The Firm's "Phone Tap," made by Rae's friends and collaborators Nas, AZ,... Read more

October 23, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Finding The GOAT: Heavy D vs. Trugoy…Who You Got?

As we continue the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time), we are asking you to help us rank who is the greatest MC to pick up a mic. We will take over 35 years of Hip-Hop into consideration, pairing special match-ups in a sequence not... Read more

October 20, 2014 Fresh, Throwback

Ma$e, Puff Daddy, Jadakiss, Cam’ron & D-Dot Recall Making Feels So Good (Video)

Seventeen years ago this week, Bad Boy Records released "Feels So Good," the Kool & The Gang-sampling lead single from Harlem World which was a critical break for Ma$e. In Complex's "Magnum Opus" series, Ma$e is joined by the song's producers, Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs and Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie, in... Read more

October 16, 2014 Fresh, Throwback

Finding The GOAT: Crooked I vs. Jadakiss…Who You Got?

As we continue the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time), we are asking you to help us rank who is the greatest MC to pick up a mic. We will take over 35 years of Hip-Hop into consideration, pairing special match-ups in a sequence not... Read more

October 9, 2014 Fresh

DJ Doo Wop Takes Everybody Back To School With Another Great Mix (Audio)

DJ Doo Wop marks the Back to School season with the second installment of his Coolout series. Within, Doo Wop goes free form with the New York City Hip-Hop he helped distribute and bring awareness throughout the '90s and early 2000s. Doo Wop touches a lot of hits from the... Read more

September 16, 2014 Audio, Fresh

The Notorious B.I.G’s Ready To Die 20 Years Later, The Best Of All Worlds (Food For Thought)

Twenty years ago today (September 13, 1994), The Notorious B.I.G and Bad Boy Records released Ready To Die, one (and many argue the best) of the two handfuls of incredible debut albums introduced in 1994. A long hot summer after Nas' Illmatic, with Wu-Tang Clan's Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)... Read more

September 13, 2014 Featured-homepage, Food for Thought, Fresh, Throwback

Raekwon Has Faith In The Way You Used To Love Me (Audio)

Raekwon slides into the early '90s for this week's #TBT (his 13th overall) with Faith Evans' breakthrough 1995 single, "You Used To Love Me." Rae sounds slick on the Puff Daddy & Chucky Thompson-produced gold single, with a cocky verse about livin' good, and spoilin' the apple of his eyes.... Read more

September 11, 2014 Audio, Fresh

DJ 7L & Frank The Butcher Salute The Artists Sampled On Bad Boy Records Hits (Mixtape)

From Craig Mack to Total, The Notorious B.I.G. to Black Rob, Ma$e to 112, part of what's made Bad Boy Records so catchy in the mainstream has been the label's fearlessness when it's come to sampling. While skeptics may've criticized some of the more obvious recreations at the pinnacle of... Read more

July 4, 2014 Audio, Fresh, Mixes

The LOX Channel A Fellow Yonkers Legend Alongside Sevyn Streeter (Audio)

The LOX deliver a quintessential cut today (July 2). Jadakiss, Styles P, and Sheek Louch join buzzing songwriter/soloist Sevyn Streeter for "Remember." With Sevyn harping on Mary J. Blige's "You Remind Me" riffs, the trio recalls the wild late '90s, from late-night Tunnel runs, sidewalk hustling, and the unwavering fight... Read more

July 2, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Break Out Your Shiny Suits, Puff Daddy & Ma$e Make New Music Together (Audio)

After appearing together at 2013's OVO Fest in Toronto as well as the storied Beats By Dre live-playlist party before the Grammy Awards, Puff Daddy and Ma$e appear to be in full force. The Bad Boy Records mogul, and mentor to Ma$e throughout the mid-to-late 1990s linked up with one... Read more

June 19, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Ep. 2 of The Message Documentary Covers East vs. West Beef, The Rise of The South & More (Full Video)

Part 2 of The Message, BET's 4-part documentary chronicling the history of Hip-Hop, covers the Bad Boy vs. Death Row beef, the rise of Southern Hip-Hop, the "bling" era, the attempted censorship of Rap music and more. The episode features commentary from Snoop, Uncle Luke, Master P, Juicy J, The... Read more

June 17, 2014 Video

The LOX Reminisce on Working with The Notorious B.I.G. (Video)

Today, The LOX are giants in Hip-Hop. However, back in 1996, Jadakiss, Sheek Louch, and Styles P were still on the come-up. Two years removed from an uncredited (pre-Styles) feature on Main Source's sophomore LP, F**k What You Think, the Yonkers, New Yorkers were the new acts on Puff Daddy's... Read more

May 22, 2014 Fresh, Throwback

The Notorious B.I.G.’s Earliest Mentor, DJ Mister Cee Laid Down A Biggie Birthday Mix (Audio)

Before Puff Daddy, before Heavy D, before even Easy Mo Bee, it was DJ Mister Cee who took musical interest in a young Christopher Wallace. Mister Cee was a Brooklyn big-shot back in 1992, known as a fixture for DJ'ing and producing for Big Daddy Kane and others, as part... Read more

May 21, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Janelle Monae Holds It Down For The Underdogs In Her David Bowie Cover Heroes (Video)

Janelle Monae is always making statements: with music, fashion, lyrics, and more. In her video to "Heroes," the cover of the famed 1977 David Bowie record, Purple Ribbon's secret weapon stands up to bullying. This M*I*A-style video tells a story, and has an upside. Whether the song is about love,... Read more

May 12, 2014 Fresh, Video

Beats May Change, But Ma$e’s Trademark Vocal Style Is Forever. Check The New Song Nothing (Audio)

In his latest press run, 50 Cent criticized Puff Daddy's post-G-Unit valuation of Ma$e. According to Fif, the onetime multi-platinum Bad Boy Records star was not worth the seven figure check Diddy was seeking to clear the label and recording rights of his former Harlem protege. Ma$e has yet to... Read more

May 5, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Jon Connor Sets His Sights On The Notorious B.I.G.’s Beats For #BestInTheWorld, Vol. 1 (Mixtape)

Last month, Jon Connor launched his #BestInTheWorld campaign paying tribute to another Midwestern MC in a Kanye West-inspired tape. Flint, Michigan's newest Rap hopeful continues the theme, turning his aim on The Notorious B.I.G.'s catalog. Overtop beats made by DJ Premier, Easy Mo Bee, and of course Puffy's Hitmen, #ConnorSeason... Read more

April 14, 2014 Audio, Fresh, Mixes

Janelle Monae Covers The David Bowie Classic & She Does It Justice (Audio)

Just two weeks after Miguel (with Wale) tackled the Elton John classic "Bennie & The Jets," another British musical icon with decades of hits gets covered. Janelle Monae revisited David Bowie's transcending 1977 hit "Heroes" for the upcoming Rio 2 film soundtrack. While The Wallflowers and Oasis have both covered... Read more

April 2, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Biggie Smalls, Suge Knight, Puff Daddy, Snoop Dogg In The Same Room In The Early ’90s? Check The Tapes (Video)

Much has been written, speculated, and sadly, testified in the rift between Bad Boy Records and Death Row Records in the mid-to-late 1990s. While Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. were once friends and collaborators, Heads often fail to realize that prior to the 1995 Source Awards, things were not... Read more

March 26, 2014 Fresh, Throwback

After A Killer Sway Freestyle, King Los Unleashes Zero Gravity II (Mixtape)

King Los is making moves. Along with Def Jam Records' Logic, Los represents Baltimore's brightest moment in the Hip-Hop consciousness on the mainstream level. Los inked a deal with Diddy and Bad Boy Records a few years back. Recently, in addition to a possible entry for 2014's dopest (and purest)... Read more

March 24, 2014 Fresh, Mixes

DJ SNS Liberates The Original Mixtape Version Of Biggie’s Who Shot Ya With A Keith Murray Verse (Audio)

It could be easily argued that the 1990s was the ultimate decade for mixtapes. Still on cassettes, New York masters like Kid Capri, Doo Wop, Tony Touch, DJ Clue, Ron G, Silva Surfa, Green Lantern, and a host of others competed with each other for the best exclusives, freestyles, strongest... Read more

March 17, 2014 Audio, Fresh, Throwback

J. Period Honors The Iconic Biggie Smalls With March 9th Revisited (Mixtape)

DJ J. Period is among the absolute best deejays doing it right now. When he's not providing the sounds for the Brooklyn Nets, the longtime affiliate to Zion I, Black Thought, and Common makes conceptual, fully-produced mixtapes (often released in clever formats like t-shirts, zip drives, etc.) that honor the... Read more

March 10, 2014 Fresh, Mixes

Bun B & Prodigy Link With Remy Banks & Charlie RED Over A Hitmen-Certified Beat (Audio)

Puffy's Hitmen were one of Hip-Hop's few examples of a hit factory. Mirrored after the producers, songwriters, and session musicians that drove the hit singles for labels like Motown, Stax, and Atco Records, this is something that's expensive and time-consuming. In other words, you'd better have a studio with many... Read more

February 18, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Nature & Black Rob Are Telling Us That Brighter Days Are Coming (Audio)

In the late 1990s, Nature and Black Rob had a lot in common. Both street-certified rappers got nods from lyrical circles, while still securing major label deals. Nature, taking Cormega's spot in The Firm, also had a solo deal with Poke & Tone's Trackmasters Entertainment at Columbia Records. Meanwhile, Rob,... Read more

February 12, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Did You Know Missy Elliot Had A Big Hand In Puffy & The Family’s All About The Benjamins (Video)

A popular argument is that Missy Elliot's one of Hip-Hop's better producers. Sadly, due to co-production (something we've seen with Daz Dillinger, Guru, Mike Dean, and others), she may live in Timbaland's shadow. One person who sees Missy's talent for what it is may be Diddy. Back in '96-'97, Bad... Read more

December 4, 2013 Fresh, Throwback

Diddy Talks To Arsenio About Catharisis As It Relates To His Father (Video)

Heads probably know that Sean "Diddy" Combs' father, Melvin Combs was a known '60s and '70s hustler and Frank Lucas associate, Uptown. (Diddy would later work extensively on Jay Z's American Gangster album) You've heard it in raps and in interviews, as Puff has also spoken that he barely got... Read more

December 3, 2013 Fresh, Video

Suge Knight Weighs In On Dr. Dre’s Chronic Influencing Notorious B.I.G.’s Ready To Die

Yesterday, we linked you to Rolling Stone's conversation with Death Row Records co-founder Marion "Suge" Knight. While the published interview focused on Tha Row's second release, Snoop Doggy Dogg's 1993 debut Doggystyle, which just turned 20 years old. The writer of the rare Knight interview, Paul "Gooch" Cantor, self-published the... Read more

November 27, 2013 Fresh, Throwback

Mister Cee – Best of Bad Boy Records (Mixtape)

Hot 97's Mister Cee is starting a new weekly series he creates "Best of Tuesday" mixes. He kicks it off with a 1-hour long mix of hits from Bad Boy Records. You know the names: Biggie, Craig Mack, The Lox, Total, 112...You can listen to and download the entire mix... Read more

September 11, 2012 Audio, Mixes