AFH Ambrosia for Heads

Tony Touch Shows Where The New Boom Bap Lives In His Latest Mix (Audio)

Twenty years ago, Brooklyn, New York's Tony Touch was one of the most prominent mixtape DJs. One of the original promoters of the MC freestyle, Tony Touch played records he liked, featured great signed and underground talent, and kept the culture organic. In 2016, Tony is one of the only... Read more

Tony Touch Makes A Moving Tribute Mix Dedicated To The Artists We Lost In 2016 (Audio)

2016 has been something else. While there has definitely been good in the year that's finishing out this weekend, there has been a lot of shock and awe in between. In the art world, music lovers lost more than a few icons. None of these deaths seemed to come as... Read more

Tony Touch’s Latest Tape Compiles Hot Raps From KRS, J. Cole, Nas & More

One year to the week after Tony Touch released the popular Hip Hop 101 mixtape, Toca returns with Hip Hop 102. This mix (available for free download as well) features many, many reasons to believe the music of the people is going on strong. Tony's needles glide over the latest... Read more

Tony Touch Reaches Hip-Hop Tape #101 & Takes Naysayers To School (Mixtape)

Since the colored cassette tape shell days, Tony Touch has been servin' up the latest and the greatest Hip-Hop under his turntable style. The "Taino Turntable Terrorist" put early and everlasting emphasis on the freestyle, and made tapes, and later albums, that kept the color, originality, and improvisation of Hip-Hop... Read more

Joey Bada$$ Says He’s Bringin’ Brooklyn Back In A Tony Touch Freestyle (Video)

Some things just make sense. If Joey Bada$$ was around, in the industry, in the late '90s, he would have sounded right and exact on Tony Touch cassette tapes. The Taino Turntable Terrorist and the Pro Era front-man linked on Toca Tuesdays. On a loop-based beat made famous by Lootpack... Read more

Doo Wop Features A New DJ Premier & Tony Touch Joint, Freestyles From Cory Gunz, Termanology & Planet Asia (Mixtape)

Legendary game-changing DJ, Doo Wop has always been vocal. The New Yorker, who boasts being a longtime member of both Bounce Squad and Flip Squad DJ's has rapped alongside Tony Touch (Diaz Brothers), toured the world with the late Guru, and made a host of certified classic mixtapes in the... Read more

Chris Rivers (aka Baby Pun) Goes 0 to 100 on a Tony Touch Freestyle (Video)

Chris Rivers got his shot at a Toca Tuesday Freestyle, and Tony Touch hit him with the 0 to 100 track. Baby Pun got busy, flexing his flow that is oh so reminiscent of his Pops. Check out the video. Related: Styles P & Chris Rivers Have Trust Issues, But... Read more

Emilio Rojas States What He’s ‘Bout In A Tony Touch Toca Tuesday Freestyle (Video)

With yet another self-released street project, care of Zero Fucks Given, Rochester, New York's Emilio Rojas is counting on a hot Summer. After a recent ShowOff Radio freestyle with Statik Selektah, Ro' joins another highly-respected DJ/producer at satellite radio, care of Tony Touch. Rockin' for Toca Tuesdays (after the "Taino... Read more

Lupe Fiasco’s Freestyle Fearlessness Continues Alongside Tony Touch (Video)

Last week, Lupe Fiasco lit up Sway Up The Morning with a 100% free, freestyle. In that moment, Lu' was in the zone and combined humor, deep thought, and an unwavering flow. This week, Fiasco appeared on Tony Touch's Toca Radio on Shade 45, and also went off the dome.... Read more

Audio Push Kicks Ill Freestyles On Tony Touch’s Toca Tuesdays Show (Video)

Audio Push kicks a mean off-the-dome tandem set of verses over a classic Pacewon/Lootpack instrumental, provided by Tony Touch. The pair has way too much fun, as they enter a promising, and likely redefining 2014. The latest Inland Empire addition has been a pleasure to watch evolve. Related: Got BARS?... Read more

Isaiah Rashad Freestyles For Tony Touch (Video)

Not all freestyles are crisp and buttery. In the TV era, many MCs kept unheard (and many times heard) writtens memorized for on-the-spot beckons for free's, whether Big Tigger or Sway & King Tech. Tony Touch has long been a DJ demanding dope content from MCs. With Top Dawg Entertainment's... Read more

Crate Diggers: Tony Touch

Forever and always, Tony Touch is my favorite 1990s NYC mixtape DJ. We used to buy his tapes (usually colored plastic cassettes) that would ship in from Tapekingz. The freestyle-format was so fresh, and Tony Toca would always make your money count with sounds you couldn't hear anywhere else. Plus,... Read more

Tony Touch Power Cypher FT A.G., Black Thought, M1, Lil Fame, Sean Price & Illa Ghee (Video)

In honor of his just-released The Piece Maker 3 (Return Of The 50 MC's), Tony Toca brought some albums guests and friends to his Shade 45 show to kick some off the dome bars. This really calls back to the great cassettes Touch used to make in the '90s. Delegates... Read more

Tony Touch – Symphony in H ft Eminem

Tony Touch gets a new track from Shade 45 boss man, Eminem (though it's short coming in at 1:30). Check out Symphony in H. Related: Eminem & D12 Freestyle on the Tim Westwood Show in 2001 (Video)... Read more

Tony Touch – V.I.P. ft Too Short, Xzibit & Kurupt

Tony Touch links with Too Short, Xzibit and Kurupt on his latest. Check out V.I.P. Related: Tony Touch – It’s a Queens Thing ft Action Bronson & Kool G. Rap (Audio)... Read more

Tony Touch – It’s a Queens Thing ft Action Bronson & Kool G. Rap

After getting the best verse from LL Cool J in years, Action Bronson lays down a track with another legend. He and Kool G. Rap represent their borough on this new track from Tony Touch. Check out It's a Queens Thing. Related: Action Bronson – Strictly 4 My Jeeps (Remix)... Read more

Tony Touch – Unorthodox ft Raekwon, JD Era, Ghostface Killah & The RZA

Here's a little Wu magic for you. Ghostface Killah, Raekwon and The RZA team up with JD Era on a track from Tony Touch's upcoming Piecemaker 3: Return of the 50 MC's. Check out Unorthodox. Related: Wu-Tang Clan Performs at the Fever Club in 1993 (Video) Unorthodox by Tony Touch... Read more

DJ Premier Shows The Untouched Remnants Of D&D Studios, How A Fight With Guru Made A Gang Starr Classic (Video)

In Gang Starr's Hard To Earn 20th anniversary year, DJ Premier has done some special press concerning the group, the album, and the legendary status of his group with Guru. Today, DJ Premier, along with a host of others, work out of Midtown Manhattan's HeadCourterz Studios. Named after the late... 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

Slick Rick’s First New Album In 24 Years Is Reportedly On The Way

Slick Rick has had a busy 2023. The legendary lyricist received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys back in February, marking his first win from the Recording Academy. Less than a month ago, Rick The Ruler also shared the Yankee Stadium stage with Doug E. Fresh and Snoop Dogg... Read more

Snoop Performs La Di Da Di With Doug E Fresh & Slick Rick

Last night (August 11), Hip-Hop took over Yankee Stadium. There, a host of legends performed songs in the same Bronx borough that is credited with birthing Hip-Hop as Heads know it, 50 years ago this weekend. Kool Herc and his sister Cynthia Campbell were part of the festivities. It was... Read more

Redman Remakes A Slick Rick Classic For A New Adventure

Life is too short to listen to bad music. So…let Ambrosia For Heads sift 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, it’s better than it’s ever been. Not only can we go back... Read more

Erick Sermon Confirms The Passing Of Hurricane G

UPDATE: On Monday, November 7, The New York Post reported that according to family members, Hurricane G had been battling cancer. “My mom has stage 4 lung cancer,” Gloria's daughter Lexus previously announced via social media. “I don’t know how many of you understand what that means but even after... Read more

Pharoahe Monch Delivers The Long-Awaited Album Alongside His Band Th1rt3en

In the last week, 2021's Hip-Hop release calendar got an exciting jump-start. Pharoahe Monch treated fans with his first album in more than six-and-a-half years. Since that time, the Queens, New York lyricist and producer had described a dark, Hard Rock-influenced album. In 2021, that presumed material surfaced alongside Monch's... Read more

Who Had The Best Rap Album Of 2019 (Battle 7): Little Brother vs. Diamond D

Over the last couple of years, Ambrosia For Heads has asked our readers to help us determine the Best Rap Album for 2017 and 2018, respectively. In looking at the top music of 2019, we believe that instead of letting the Grammy Awards—a committee who does not know anything about... Read more

Sean Price & Lil Fame Take “Center Stage” On A New Release From P! (Audio)

It has been more than four years since the incomparable Sean Price, but thankfully, his name continues to ring bells through new music reaching the fans. Right in time for the holidays, Ruckdown/Duck Down Music will release Price Of Fame, a collaborative album from P and fellow Brownsville MC/producer Lil... Read more

Sean Price & Lil Fame’s “Price Of Fame” Collabo Album Is Arriving Very Soon

Ahead of Sean Price's passing in 2015, the Brooklyn, New York veteran was said to be at work on several albums, including solo material and collaborative projects. Sean's fourth solo album, Imperius Rex, eventually released in 2017. That Duck Down LP was named by Ambrosia For Heads among the best of... Read more

Black Thought Will Perform With Yasiin Bey At The 2019 Roots Picnic

Today (March 12), the luminary Philadelphia, Pennsylvania outfit announced the return of their annual festival, sharing the official line-up for the 12th annual Roots Picnic, set to take place this summer in the City of Brotherly Love on Saturday, June 1. As one of the longest-running artist-run Hip-Hop festivals, this... Read more

PMD Discusses Yo! MTV Raps’ Ed Lover Being One Of The Best Freestylers On The Planet (Audio)

From its inception in 1988 to its final episode in 1995, Yo! MTV Raps was a top springboard for Hip-Hop artists. It was an opportunity to showcase skills and unique styles on one of the largest platforms available to the genre. In an interview with HipHopDX, Parrish "PMD" Smith spoke... Read more

DJ Premier Speaks About How Real Moment Of Truth Was For Hip-Hop & Gang Starr (Video)

On March 30, 1998, Gang Starr stepped forth with Moment Of Truth. Guru and DJ Premier had taken four years since giving the masses their seminal album, Hard To Earn, and Hip-Hop was at a pivotal place in history. "We had platinum-respect. You'd think we were platinum artists that sold... Read more

A Near 500-Song Mix Showcases The Magnificent History Of West Coast Hip-Hop (Audio)

West Coast Hip-Hop is incredible. So many of its pioneers are still making albums, doing shows, and adding to their legacy. As a tribute to the Left Coast immense contributions to Hip-Hop, Take It Personal Radio has compiled a four-part episode dedicated to gangsta and underground Rap classics from the... Read more

Dancer For Many Classic Hip-Hop Videos, Voodoo Ray, Has Passed Away At Age 50

Throughout the decades, Voodoo Ray (born Raymond Ultarte) brought the dance moves he displayed in New York City clubs in the 1980s to some of Hip-Hop culture's more memorable late 1990s videos. Formerly known as Boogie Ray, Ultarte's dancing eventually went on to appear in visuals such as Run-D.M.C. &... Read more

Fat Joe, MC Lyte, DJ Premier & MC Eiht To Headline Final Rocksteady Anniversary Weekend

Next weekend, the Rocksteady Crew will celebrate its 40th anniversary. The yearly New York City event was announced by Crazy Legs to be the organization's final concert event of this kind. While the R.S.C. lives on, Crazy Legs suggested there would be new platforms put in place to show its... Read more

CyHi Says He’s Destroying The Rap Game Like Lil Yachty In A Devastating Freestyle (Video)

While CyHi The Prynce may not be a household name (yet), those who know of his work recognize that he has one of the strongest pen games in Hip-Hop. Even those who may be unfamiliar have heard his stellar lyricism on songs like Kanye West's "So Appalled," from My Beautiful... Read more

With J. Cole In The Driver’s Seat, J.I.D. Shows He’s 1 Of Atlanta’s Most Promising MCs (Audio)

On March 10, Dreamville's latest signee J.I.D will drop his debut album, The Never Story. The news comes on the heels of his signing to the J. Cole label that is also home to Bas, Cozz, Ari, and Omen. J.I.D hails from Atlanta, and as he proved on a recent... Read more

O.C. Tells The Heartbreaking Story Of How He Learned Of Big L’s Death (Video)

O.C. recently released his album Same Moon Same Sun. Available without cost for download, the D.I.T.C. Entertainment LP is the latest in a career that spans back more than 25 years. The Brooklyn, New York representative has been a key MC within Diggin' In The Crates, and made important records... Read more

J. Cole’s New Artist Combines Cole’s Lyricism With Devin The Dude’s Swag (Video)

Tony Touch is a DJ known for breaking some important artists. For almost 25 years, the Brooklyn, New York DJ/producer/radio personality handed microphones to MCs without albums out, and let them shine through freestyle. Members of Boot Camp Clik, D.I.T.C., Royce 5'9, Bumpy Knuckles, Wu-Tang Clan, Hurricane G, and others... Read more

Big Daddy Kane & Kool G Rap Battle Song-For-Song, In Concert (Video)

Big Daddy Kane and Kool G Rap go back together more than 30 years. Since the mid-1980s, these two New York City lyricists were some of the most legendary components in Marley Marl's Juice Crew. In 1986, Kool G Rap & DJ Polo let the world hear something special with... Read more

The 20 Best Freestyles Of 2016. Thought You KNEW (Video)

In Hip-Hop, there are few things more exciting than when an MC delivers a vicious verse that's never been heard before, on the spot. It is the equivalent 0f a monster dunk in an NBA game, a one-punch knockout in a fight or an end zone to end zone run in... Read more

Consequence Freestyles With Punchlines Like They’re Inconsequential (Video)

This past weekend (July 30), A Tribe Called Quest's Beats, Rhymes & Life turned 20 years old. In addition to what that platinum #1 Jive Records LP meant for Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, and Ali Shaheed, it was paramount to some fresh faces—including J Dilla (as The Ummah's Jay Dee) as... Read more

Doug E. Fresh, Nice & Smooth, Bahamadia Headline 39th Annual Rocksteady Anniversary

For the 39th year, New York City and neighboring Hip-Hop fans will be treated to a free concert—headlined by legends. Sunday (July 31) Central Park's Summer Stage will play host to the Rocksteady Crew Anniversary concert. This year's event will be headlined by Doug E. Fresh, Nice & Smooth, and... Read more

Masta Ace Calmly Wages Microphone Destruction With An Ill Freestyle (Video)

With The Falling Season, Masta Ace delighted longtime fans with his first full-length solo release since 2012's MA Doom: Son of Yvonne. However, as the latter featured previously released beats, Masta Ace's most recent LP is in many ways his first full-fledged new solo project since 2004's A Long Hot Summer.... Read more

Another Day…Another Astounding Freestyle From A-F-R-O (Video)

Though he has only been on the scene for a few short years, A-F-R-O has already earned a reputation as a supreme freestyler. In 2014, he caught the attention of RA The Rugged Man, Talib Kweli, Jean Grae, Murs and others, winning a freestyle competition. In 2015, he added DJ... Read more

From Kanye To Pete Rock, Get The Story On J Dilla’s “Diary” Over 15 Years (Audio)

Today (April 15), J Dilla's The Diary releases. The album featuring contributions from Nas, Snoop Dogg, Pete Rock, and many others has come a long way since its early 2000s plans to be an MCA Records release. Sadly, that never happened as planned. In 2016, it has been more than... Read more

Elzhi Freestyles Off The Top Of The Head To A J Dilla Donut (Video)

With his sophomore studio album Lead Poison now released, Elzhi is the latest guest on Tony Touch's Toca Tuesdays radio show. There, the Detroit, Michigan MC veteran was not immune to the hot seat. He tackles two beats. Fans of Motown music will particularly enjoy El' buckling down on Dilla's... Read more

Sean Price & Rah Digga Join Koolade for a Tall Glass of Hip-Hop Heat (Audio)

Croatian producer Koolade has crossed Heads' radars for 15 or so years, with a CV of veritable who's-who in indie and underground Rap. Having worked with Craig G, Diamond D, Ghostface Killah, Masta Ace, Sadat X, and many others, he is the deliverer of a new release featuring Rah Digga... Read more

Diamond D & O.C.’s Freestyle Makes D.I.T.C. Say “Yo, That’s That ish” (Audio)

Diggin' In The Crates, better known as D.I.T.C., has been a unit for more than 20 years. However, since the 2000s, the New York City producer and MC collective has been building individual careers, including Fat Joe's platinum rise, a slew of O.C. cult-championed LPs, and the ongoing celebration of... Read more

Joell Ortiz Wrecks A DJ Premier Beat Like A Supa Star (Video)

Joell Ortiz's new collaboration album with producer Domingo will be released tomorrow (March 15). The project, titled That's Hip-Hop, is an ode to music that puts a premium on top-notch lyricism, and Ortiz is happy to oblige. The Slaughterhouse spitter also invited several other respected wordsmiths to join him in... Read more

Joell Ortiz Speaks About Never Dumbing Down His Sound & Standing Up For Hip-Hop (Interview)

In the last 15 years, Joell Ortiz has climbed from a Brooklyn, New York MC releasing 12" Rawkus Records singles to the top of the Pop charts. The pride of the Cooper Houses projects still dazzles with his flow and exudes the highest love for Hip-Hop culture in his art... Read more

Del The Funky Homosapien & Souls Of Mischief’s 1997 Freestyle Is A Purist’s Paradise (Audio)

In 1997, the Hieroglyphics crew was embarking on the early stages of an independent Hip-Hop empire. Del The Funky Homosapien (or "Del Tha Funkee Homosapien" as it was at the time) had released two heralded albums with Elektra Records. The Oakland, California quarter of Souls of Mischief has been part... Read more