AFH Ambrosia for Heads

Lloyd Banks Freestyles Over A Classic Dr. Dre Beat & Crushes It

After years of crushing the streets with mixtapes, G-Unit released its major label debut in late 2003. Beg For Mercy was a commanding display from 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, and Young Buck. At the time, Tony Yayo was still locked up, though his image appeared projected on the artwork of... Read more

Damian Lillard Freestyles About His Real Life Hoop Dreams

Damian Lillard continues to be one of the all-time great double threats. With his tenth NBA season underway, the Portland Trailblazers' franchise superstar hopes to bring the team its first championship since 1977. As an artist, Dame D.O.L.L.A recently released his latest album, Different On Levels The Lord Allowed. The... Read more

Lloyd Banks Rips Today’s Funny Dressing MCs In 1 Of The Year’s Best Freestyles (Video)

There’s something about the rolling bass, accented piano stabs and knockin’ boom bap drums of the beat for Nas' classic “N.Y. State of Mind” that brings out the best in MCs. In rare form, fellow Queens, New York representative Lloyd Banks stopped by HOT 97 to kick it with Funkmaster... Read more

Termanology, Styles P & Sheek Louch Bring Their B.I.G. Dreams to Life (Video)

Just ten days after the presidential election, Termanology will be releasing More Politics, which will include appearances from Bun B, Kxng Crooked, Saigon, Your Old Droog, and Joey Bada$$ in addition to production from Q-Tip, Just Blaze, Statik Selektah, Hi-Tek, Nottz, and the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. In some ways, forthcoming LP... Read more

Styles P Grabs Another Dr. Dre Beat, Digging Deep Into 2001 (Audio)

As Jadakiss kicks off the weekend with two Jay Z reworkings, Styles P keeps on keepin' on with Dr. Dre instrumental freestyles. The Ghost has touched The Chronic, Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle, so it's only fitting that he swoops to 2001. Commonly called "Chronic 2001," Dre famously freaked the funk with... Read more

Styles P Fires Up A Dr. Dre Chronic-Era Instrumental For A Freestyle (Audio)

Styles P's rapping rampage continues. A day earlier than usual, Holiday Styles attacks Dr. Dre's "Puffin' On Blunts & Drankin' Tanqueray" instrumental from The Chronic-era B-side, and puts in work like he was stranded on Death Row. This 1992 excursion known as "Ghost Blunts" is the farthest back Ghost has... Read more

Styles P Freestyles Over a Classic Dr. Dre Beat and PUMP PUMPS (Audio)

Styles P has a battery in his back! Fresh off of "Bring That Beat Back" with his LOX family earlier in the week, Holiday Styles lights up with a "Still Bangin'" freestyle. Often agreeable and humble in the 2010s, this is a flashback to the Interscope Records days, shortly after... Read more

Cormega Releases a Dream Team Remix with AZ, Redman & Styles P (Audio)

This past Summer, Cormega released "MARS (Dream Team)" featuring AZ, Redman and Styles P. Just the lineup was enough to make Heads explode, but it actually lived up to its billing. Each MC flexed on the Large Professor beat which was one of the crown jewels on Cormega's stellar Mega... Read more

Check out Raw (How You Like It) another new song from Common’s The Dreamer, The Believer, as well as a video where he freestyles over multiple beats.

Here's yet another hot new joint from Common's upcoming album, The Dreamer, The Believer. Check out Raw (How You Like It). The album drops on 12/21. Click here to download Raw (How You Like It). Also, here's a 5-minute true freestyle (strictly off the dome) that Common dropped over multiple... Read more

Drake Responds To Yasiin Bey Saying He Is Not Hip-Hop

In the first month of the new year, one of the biggest stories came from clips from a Yasiin Bey interview. The artist formerly known as Mos Def made a rare media appearance on The Cutting Room Floor podcast. While there, in footage published last week, the Brooklyn, New York native and Black... Read more

Redman Has Released A Series Of Freestyles Over Hip-Hop Classics

Next month will make it eight years since Redman released an album. However, as the Def Squad MC plugs away at Muddy Waters Too and Blackout! 3 with Method Man, he frequently gives his devoted fan-base new music. In 2023, Reggie Noble has teamed with Royce 5'9, Logic, Tony Touch,... Read more

Vic Mensa Kicks The Year’s Two Best Freestyles Back To Back

Over the last decade, Vic Mensa has cemented himself as one of the most exciting freestylers of his generation. The Chicago, Illinois MC often uses the free-form opportunities to provide substantial commentary—whether notes about ugly Hip-Hop history, his personal conflicts, or systemic oppression. Just days after a fellow Roc Nation... Read more

Wu-Tang Clan vs. Dreamville: The Greatest Rap Crew Competition

In recognition of Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary, BET Digital, in partnership with Ambrosia For Heads, is celebrating the culture by hosting a bracket-style competition that allows you to determine Hip-Hop’s greatest crew. Rather than having “experts” tell you who is the greatest of all-time, this is your opportunity to collectively make that... Read more

Ab-Soul Freestyles Over Tupac & Biggie Disses With Love For Both

Just days before releasing his first album in six years, Ab-Soul makes his first freestyle appearance on the LA Leakers. The TDE mainstay begins as Justin Incredible and DJ Sour Milk drop the beat to Tupac Shakur and Tha Outlawz' "Hit 'Em Up" (as produced by the late Johnny J).... Read more

Snoop Dogg Confirms Details Of Upcoming Album With Dr. Dre

During the summer, one of Death Row Records' financiers, Michael "Harry-O" Harris revealed that Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre are making an album together. The revelation came on Kevin Garnett's KG Certified talk show. The man who supplied funds for a label intended to be Godfather Entertainment, spoke about reconnecting... Read more

Death Row Records Investor Says Dr. Dre & Snoop Are Making An Album

In the early 1990s, Michael "Harry-O" Harris was as an alleged financier of Dr. Dre and Suge Knight's Death Row Records. An early iteration of the label was named Godfather Entertainment, in the incarcerated Harry-O's honor. Michael's then-wife, Lydia Harris, was to have a hand in the musical direction of... Read more

J. Cole Told Dr. Dre About Kendrick Lamar & Wanted To Sign Him

Despite releasing a Grammy-nominated album this year, J. Cole has not deviated from his reservations about interviews. The Dreamville Records founder is known for picking his spots with the press, and while he blessed The L.A. Leakers with one of 2021's best freestyles, Cole left a mark with a performance—not... Read more

Kanye West Has Challenged Drake To Battle On Verzuz

Last night (September 14), Ja Rule and Fat Joe competed in the latest Verzuz. Together, the two artists who made "What's Luv" and "New York" showed friendly competition before a live hometown audience at Madison Square Garden's Hulu Room. Following August's high-powered LOX Verzuz Dipset, this match-up's biggest controversy happened between Ja Rule's producer and... Read more

Andre 3000’s Most Personal Verse Ever May Never Be Released

Andre 3000's rapping remains a big deal. Last month marked 15 years since OutKast's sixth and final album, Idlewild. Since then, Andre Benjamin has carefully picked his spots to share his talent. Even without albums in that time, for many Hip-Hop Heads, he has cemented place among Rap's greatest of... Read more

Kurupt Details The Classic Death Row Songs That Began As Freestyles

For more than 20 years, core fans kept hope that the HRSMN might release an album. As one of Rap's earliest super-groups, the quartet composed of Kurupt, Ras Kass, Killah Priest, and Canibus hurdled label challenges, leaks, bootlegging, legal woes, and all that comes with four separate lives and careers.... Read more

Kid Capri, Styles P, Clark Kent & Spinderella Discuss The Power Of ’90s Hip-Hop

This Sunday, July 18, Power Book III: Raising Kanan will premiere on STARZ and the STARZ App. Following six seasons of Power, this latest extension travels back to 1991 to focus on the origin story surrounding Kanan Stark. Following a performance by Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson in the original series,... Read more

Locksmith Rips 2 Amazing Freestyles. Fat Joe Declares That He May Be The Best (Video)

Locksmith is regarded as one of the elite MCs in Hip-Hop, especially when it comes to freestyling. As an independent artist, the Richmond, California MC has relied on his keen storytelling abilities and deft wordplay to secure his growing fan base. In his early days, Locksmith's career began as a... Read more

Skyzoo Gets Pete Rock To Kick A Rare Verse & Both Drop Jewels (Audio Premiere)

Tomorrow (September 20), Skyzoo & Pete Rock are releasing an anticipated collaborative album, Retropolitan. The pair's first outing together features the Brooklyn, New York veteran taking on the lyrics recorded to exclusively P.R. production. Guests on the Mello Music Group LP include Styles P, Raheem DeVaughn, and an already-released posse... Read more

Freddie Gibbs Freestyles Holding His Baby & Crowns Himself The Best Rapper Alive

Freddie Gibbs is not playing. Just under one month after releasing Bandana with Madlib, the veteran MC from Gary, Indiana is in a very confident stride. After more than a dozen years on the grind, the lyricist appears on The L.A. Leakers' show to freestyle, with his baby on his... Read more

In 2008, Black Thought, Styles P & Mos Def United To Elevate Hip-Hop

By 2008, the legendary Roots crew were already well established as Hip-Hop's hardest working band. During the mid-2000s, the Grammy Award-winning Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based group was transitioning its mood. The collective's eighth studio album Rising Down followed the darker, sometimes angsty themes of 2006's Game Theory. In an election year, the... Read more

The Game Freestyles Over Old Town Road. This Ain’t Country (Video)

The Game is officially in album mode. The veteran Compton, California MC formally announced his ninth outing, Born 2 Rap this week. What's more, the onetime Dr. Dre protege asserts that it will be his final album in a dominant 15-year career of provocative music and actions. A press release... Read more

Locksmith Explains Why He Was Relieved Not To Get A Deal From Dr. Dre (Video)

Locksmith is one of the Bay Area's most prolific MCs. Since the early 2000s, the Richmond, California rapper has laid forth a slew of mixtapes, albums, and freestyles to bolster his catalog and put his expert lyricism on full display. In 2018, Locksmith kept especially busy, releasing full-length Ali, and... Read more

4-IZE Is Dropping Daily Freestyles Better Than Most MCs Have Rapped In Years

Going on 20 years ago, more than 3 million people purchased an album with 4-IZE on it. He joined UGK, Foxy Brown, and Shawnna as a guest on Ludacris' triple-platinum debut, Back For The First Time. Following the path of his early 1990s Loudmouth Hooligans band-mate Luda', 4-IZE had relocated... Read more

Erick Sermon, Styles P & AZ Team Up To Save The Rap Game (Audio)

Life is too short to listen to bad music. So…let Ambrosia For Heads fight through it for you and only supply you with that great stuff. Despite the reports, Hip-Hop is alive and well and, in many ways, is better than it’s ever been. Not only are we able to... Read more

Xzibit Details How Dr. Dre Operated On His Career & Brought It To Life (Video)

Twenty years ago, Xzibit's career buckled up for a skyrocketing trajectory. Since the mid-'90s, the prodigy of King T had released two albums, worked closely with E-Swift and Tha Alkaholiks, and recorded some incredible freestyles. A California transplant, Mr. X-To-The-Z was a true school MC with major distribution. He was... Read more

Locksmith’s State Of The Rap Union Address Is A Fiery Freestyle

A month removed from the release of Ali, Locksmith continues to shine a light on his veteran talent. The MC's latest stop finds the Richmond, California native at the helm of DJ Kay Slay's booth, in which the TeamBackPack staple shows off his fierce freestyle skills. Clocking in at just... Read more

There Were Some Incredible Freestyles In 2018. Here Are The Year’s Best (Video)

For all the chatter about Mumble Rap taking over, there have been a number of MCs who put on incredible lyrical displays in 2018. Artists like Royce 5'9, Styles P, Pusha-T, Evidence, Benny The Butcher, Jay Rock, Logic and J. Cole released projects packed with punchlines and substantive verses, and... Read more

Meek Mill Freestyles Over Drake’s Diss Track To Show He’s Truly Back

Last Friday (November 30), Meek Mill released Championships. The Maybach Music Group star symbolically hoisted a trophy over his head in the form of a stellar album with appearances by JAY-Z, Rick Ross, and Drake. The moment represented Meek's newfound freedom from prison, a return to Rap form, and a... Read more

Tierra Whack Claims She’s Andre-Meets-The Beatles In An Incredible Freestyle

The term “eccentric” may often be overused, but Tierra Whack fits that description well, with no hyperbole. Earlier this year the young Philadelphia, Pennsylvania MC made waves with her innovative and truly original effort Whack World, which has racked up seven figures in streams with its 15 one-minute songs in... Read more

Styles P & Dave East Are NY Giants From Different Eras. Bars Bridge Gaps (Audio)

LOX co-founder Styles P has been rapping for nearly 25 years, and his verses continue to impress. While some of the '90s and early 2000s catalog ages like a fine Merlot, the artist shows he enjoys building bridges to those that he and his cohorts have influenced. The last five... Read more

Lute’s 2 New Freestyles Show J. Cole’s Ear For Talent Is Impeccable (Audio)

Lute made a strong impression with his debut album, West 1996 Pt. 2. The LP was released one year ago under J. Cole's Dreamville Records. Back in 2015 while scouting talent in North Carolina, Cole stumbled across Charlotte's Lute via YouTube. At the time, the MC was still employed at... Read more

Havoc Releases 2 Mobb Deep Freestyles To Celebrate Prodigy 1 Year After His Passing (Audio)

One year ago today Prodigy unexpectedly passed away Hip-Hop has not been the same. It's all been helpful for those who were truly touched by his spirit and life's work. What's also great to help cope is anytime new music surfaces from the Mobb camp, and that's what happened Wednesday... Read more

Anderson .Paak Is A Funky Drummer But He Can Kick A Dope Freestyle Too (Video)

Last week, Anderson .Paak released his first solo single and video under Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. "Bubblin" finds the Oxnard, California MC, singer, drummer, and producer in his Rap form over a production by Jahlil Beats and AntMan Wonder. In the video, he finds a broken ATM machine and takes... Read more

Jay Lonzo Raps Out His Dream While In The Studio With Marco Polo (Video)

Throughout history, Brooklyn, New York has birthed some of Hip-Hop's most enduring voices. Crown Heights native Jay Lonzo aims to be the next MC to put it down for his borough, and take the originality, swagger, and skill of his area across the globe. In recent years, Lonzo has consistently... Read more

U-God Airs Wu-Tang’s Dirty Laundry. It Was Far From Simple Back Then.

The Wu-Tang Clan are in the midst of a 25-year anniversary of their debut album, Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). The New York City Hip-Hop collective has made it to a silver anniversary not without tragedy, or conflict. Founding member O.D.B. died in November of 2004. Surviving members have been... Read more

Fabolous & Jadakiss Get Dressed To Kill To Deliver More Lethal Rhymes (Video)

When Fabolous and Jadakiss announced they'd be putting out a collaboration album, fans were initially wondering how it would sound. Sure, the two MCs are about as New York as it can get, but their styles and flows are vastly different. Luckily, with the help of Swizz Beatz' production, what... Read more

Andre 3000’s New Sneaker Line Is Oh So Fresh & So Clean

For the Hip-Hop faithful, any news within the past decade of the iconic and avant-garde, yet bashful André 3000 flexing his creative muscle has been welcomed news. Fresh off of lacing the masses with a short-lived sneak-peak at his first verse of 2017, 3 Stacks is keeping the creative momentum... Read more

When Loaded Lux Freestyles, You Gon’ Get That Work! (Video)

While in the last few years he has begun to lay his rhymes to wax, Loaded Lux was forged in the art of freestyling and battle rap. After an unforgettable stint in the 2000s where he won 7 consecutive weeks on 106 & Park's "Freestyle Friday," Lux went on to... Read more

Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller & Kevin Gates Re-Heat The Summer With A Cold Collabo (Audio)

In three different pockets of Rap music, Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller, and Kevin Gates are three stars of the 2010s. Critically and commercially, these three artists are leaders within their classes, not in the same ways, and certainly not with the same styles. Kendrick and Mac have decorated collaborative history,... Read more

Sean Price, Prodigy & Styles P Are The 3 Lyrical Ps (Audio)

Sean Price's Imperius Rex album is less than a week away. To build anticipation for the beloved MC's posthumous LP, Duck Down releases "The 3 Lyrical P's." Among the album with features from DOOM, Method Man, and members of Boot Camp Clik, this track speaks for itself. Styles P and... Read more

Rob Markman Says He’s Better Than MCs He’s Interviewed & Freestyles To Prove It (Video)

Rob Markman and "freestyle" typically only appear in the same sentence when the veteran journalist is writing about a hot verse dropped by an established rapper. A longtime presence in Hip-Hop journalism, Markman is currently Head of Artist Relations at Genius, but he has many years of work putting pen... 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

One MC Seamlessly Flips 27 Different Rap Styles In 8 Minutes (Video)

Mac Lethal makes the art of rapping seem quite fun. A onetime Rhymesayers member, the Kansas City, Missouri lyricist has worked with Tech N9ne, Chamillionaire, Cunninlynguists and others throughout a career that's nearly 20 years deep. Quite often, Mac finds the humor and challenge in Rap, without compromising his supreme... Read more

Murs Freestyles About America’s 1st Illegal Immigrants & They Weren’t Mexican (Video)

Los Angeles, California's Murs is one of the most respected voices in Hip-Hop, partly because of his penchant for truthseeking and social commentary. In March, he released his tenth solo LP, Captain California, which addresses topics like mental health in the Black community (on "God Bless Kanye West") and gentrification... Read more

Styles P, Joe Young & Termanology Are Poetry In Motion On A Dame Grease Burner (Audio)

Last year, Joe Young released his Invincible Armour album. On it, the Wu-Tang Clan affiliate brandished his associations, through features from Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, and a posthumous O.D.B. verse. Moreover, the MC who spent part of his youth in Germany is extensively produced by Dame Grease, the... Read more