Bandini

Cyhi The Prynce & Matt Citron Take Their Atlanta Anthem To The Streets (Video)

Backed by Atlanta, Georgia mainstay DJ and producer Greg Street, Matt Citron has been a newly buzzing artist in 2016. Aside from Street, one of the biggest cosigns the MC has received has been from fellow ATLien Cyhi The Prynce. The G.O.O.D. Music microphone sharpshooter and Matt released "404" in... Read more

November 2, 2016 Video

Scott Storch Details Going From Leaving The Roots To Making Hits With Dr. Dre (Video)

In Hip-Hop, Questlove and Black Thought have become household names. However, going back to Organix and the earliest album lineups of The Roots, there is arguably another. Scott Storch has become one of the most prolific, top-earning music producers of the 2000s. Beginning in 1999 with Dr. Dre's "Still D.R.E.,"... Read more

November 2, 2016 Video

Q-Tip Details The Back Story, Title & Guests On A Tribe Called Quest’s Final Album

A Tribe Called Quest album titles are embedded in the consciousness of popular music and culture. Beats, Rhymes & Life, The Low End Theory, and even The Love Movement are expressions, themes, and reminders of specific times in art. Having announced that the Queens, New York collective completed an album... Read more

November 2, 2016 News

Talib Kweli Is A Boss. He Showcases The Artists On His Self-Owned Record Label (Audio)

As he was ramping up his own career, Talib Kweli made critical appearances on compilations, 12" singles, and albums by the likes of Pharoahe Monch, The Roots, and others. The Brooklyn, New Yorker knew that careers didn't happen overnight—especially those that last for many, many days. Since his late '90s,... Read more

November 1, 2016 Audio

Jim Jones & Dave East Fly High In Harlem (Video)

Dating back to Hip-Hop's first gold-selling solo MC, Kurtis Blow, Harlem has been integral. In the 1980s, that meant folks like Kurtis, Doug E. Fresh, and Spoonie Gee. For the 1990s, that flare was upheld through artists like Puff Daddy, Big L, Ma$e, Cam'ron, and more. In the 2000s, Cam'ron's... Read more

November 1, 2016 Video

Trick Or Treat: Lloyd Banks Has Some Ear Candy In A Sweet New Mixtape (Audio)

Just over one month since releasing the All Or Nothin': Live It Up EP, Lloyd Banks returns with more free music. The Queens, New York veteran punctuated Halloween (October 31) with his Halloween Havoc 3: Four Days Of Fury mixtape. 50 Cent's longtime right hand stands on his own two... Read more

October 31, 2016 Audio

Big Sean Wants All The Attention On His Lyrics, NOT His Life (Audio)

Big Sean has become a pop culture juggernaut of the 2010s. The Detroit, Michigan delegate for G.O.O.D. Music has seemingly always made clever Hip-Hop music that appeases lyric lovers and vibe seekers at once. However, Sean's personal life has started to eclipse the art—who he's dating, who he may be... Read more

October 31, 2016 Audio

The Weeknd Takes A Sample DOOM & Biggie Rocked And Freaks It For The Club (Audio)

For lovers of samples, Isaac Hayes sophomore album Hot Buttered Soul is a must-own album. Released during 1969 on Enterprise/Stax Records (where Ike was a major writer and producer), this album was a Top 10 on the charts, and went to #1, even before Hayes gave "John Shaft" his theme... Read more

October 31, 2016 Audio, Fresh, The Bridge

Meek Mill Breaks His Silence On Drake, Game & Beans. He Has A LOT To Say. (Audio)

Last week, Meek Mill released mixtape DC4. The fourth installment of the Dreamchasers series, which began in 2011, finds the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania MC in a completely different spot than when he began. In the years since, Meek has two gold solo albums, two platinum singles, and his own roster of... Read more

October 31, 2016 Audio

With The Highlight Year Anderson .Paak Is Having He Might Never Come Down (Video)

Lately, it seems like so many albums get a visual to just about every song. They arrive in close proximity to each other, and fill up the digital superhighway with traffic not that much different from rush hour commutes. Prior to today, Anderson .Paak's Malibu album is approaching its one-year... Read more

October 31, 2016 Video

Ghostface Killah & Vinnie Paz Spit Bone Crushing Rhymes On Their New Collabo (Audio)

This weekend, veteran Jedi Mind Tricks frontman Vinnie Paz released his third solo album, The Cornerstone of the Corner Store. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania MC has worked with Wu-Tang Clan's GZA and Inspectah Deck during his decorated career. This time, the member of Army Of The Pharaohs and Heavy Metal Kings... Read more

October 30, 2016 Audio

Yelawolf Tells A Haunting Tale Of What Really Lives Beyond The Shadows (Video)

When Yelawolf first popped the trunk in 2010, he flashed a lot more than iron. The Gadsden, Alabama MC had a nimble flow and an observant eye and pen for the multiple worlds and cultures around him. Well before he was backed by Eminem and Shady Records, "Catfish Billy" carved... Read more

October 28, 2016 Video

President Obama Gives His Current Top 5 MCs As He Prepares To Leave Office (Audio)

When President Barack Obama took office in 2008, Hip-Hop was in a widely different place. That was the year that Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III sold more than a million copies in its first week available. That year, T.I. made one of his loudest statements in Paper Trail, before going... Read more

October 28, 2016 Audio, Fresh

Ab-Soul Spells It Out So MCs Understand They Can’t See Him Lyrically (Audio)

Ab-Soul is ramping up in a major way. After a lengthy hiatus, the Carson, California MC appears to be putting the pedal down towards his fourth solo album. In July of this year, Soulo blessed Bas's "Housewives (Remix)" an a la carte breakaway from the Too High To The Riot... Read more

October 27, 2016 Audio

Craig Mack Kicked 10 Minutes Of Freestyle Flavor In This Just Released 2000 Video

By Y2K, Craig Mack appeared to be an illustrious MC who was on his way out of the game. Once one of the breakout acts of Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records, Mack would drop his gold-certified Project: Funk Da World in 1994 and then mysteriously leave the label, and the... Read more

October 27, 2016 Throwback, Video

The Roots & Phil Collins Made Us All Feel It In The Air Last Night (Video)

Phil Collins' 1981 hit "In The Air Tonight" has been covered by Lil' Kim (with Phil providing vocals). The Face Value single was also referenced in Eminem's "Stan" lyrics, sampled on Nas's definitive hit "One Mic," and interpolated by Tupac & Tha Outlawz. Collins appeared on The Tonight Show Starring... Read more

October 26, 2016 TV/Film, Video

Pete Rock Comments On Who REALLY Invented The Remix (Video)

Since debuting Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth music in 1990, producer/MC/DJ Pete Rock has always been known to speak on his records. Songs like Nas' "The World Is Yours," his group's own "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)," and AZ's "Rather Unique" all feature notable background vocals from the Mount Vernon,... Read more

October 26, 2016 Video

Suge Knight Files A Law Suit Claiming Dr. Dre Tried To Have Him Killed In 2014

Twenty five years ago, Suge Knight and Dr. Dre were business partners at the burgeoning Death Row Records. Two Compton, California natives came together as manager and artist to build one of modern music's largest empires, in less than five years. Today (October 24), Suge and his lawyers sued Dr.... Read more

October 24, 2016 News

Run The Jewels Release The First Single From RTJ3 & It’s Another All-Out Assault (Audio)

It has been two years to the month since Killer Mike and El-P released RTJ2. The pay-if-you-wish encore set from the Atlanta-to-Brooklyn super-duo came at a time where both MCs' careers benefited from each other, and making some of the biggest music of their lengthy tenures. RTJ3 now appears upon... Read more

October 24, 2016 Audio

Drake Is Out To Break Pusha T With Words & Stones (Audio)

Last week, Pusha T took his latest shots at Drake in "H.G.T.V." A byproduct of a longstanding beef between The Clipse and Lil Wayne/Cash Money, the President of G.O.O.D. Music knocked one of Kanye's other friends and collaborators, seemingly poking fun about Drake's beef with Puff Daddy. "Two Birds, One... Read more

October 23, 2016 Audio

Nick Grant’s 3-Part Freestyle Is Filled With Fiber For Your Mind (Video)

South Carolina native Nick Grant is an MC on a tear. Following February's 88 mixtape, Nick has been consistently releasing potent music that carries Southern charms, without necessarily conforming to any style, especially those typically associated with emerging artists beneath the Mason-Dixon. Lately, Grant has been out to prove he... Read more

October 23, 2016 Video

J. Cole’s 2014 Forest Hills Drive Is The 1st Rap Album In 25 Years To Reach 2X Platinum With No Guests

At the time of its release, J. Cole's 2014 Forest Hills Drive was an outlier to a trend in Hip-Hop. The late 2014 Roc Nation/Columbia Records release contained 13 tracks and no feature verses of any kind. At the time of release, the North Carolina MC/producer earned his third consecutive... Read more

October 21, 2016 News

Action Bronson Makes Some Blue Chip Music That’s Strictly For Heads (Video)

It's been more than five years since Action Bronson burst onto the scene with Dr. Lecter. While that album was seemingly not the Queens, New Yorker's most acclaimed or best known project, it remains the one that took a local mixtape artist and launched an organic, grassroots movement that made... Read more

October 21, 2016 Video

25 Years Ago, Del The Funky Homosapien Came Out Swingin’ Like ‘I WISH They Would’ (Audio)

Today, Del The Funky Homosapien may be thought of as an inventive, at times, experimental veteran MC from Oakland, California. D-E-L has worked with the Gorillaz, Handsome Boy Modeling School, and most recently BROOKZILL! to exercise his tremendous vocabulary, and display the range in his delivery. However, when it all... Read more

October 20, 2016 Do Remember

Common’s New Song Hits Home With A Strong Message Of Excellence & Empowerment (Audio)

Over the years, Common and Bilal have a strong working chemistry. Since Like Water For Chocolate's DJ Premier-produced "The 6th Sense," the MC and singer have together to make each other shine brightly. "Home" is one of three songs featuring Bilal on Black America Again (November 4). Within, Common raps... Read more

October 20, 2016 Audio

Chris Rivers Refuses To Be Passed Over As He Spits His Life From An Overpass (Video)

Chris Rivers never ceases to serve hot bars to the masses. The Bronx, New Yorker lives to spit lyrics, and his output of music grows—as does his profile of late. "Born For This" is a single that traces back Big Pun's son and his earliest dreams of a Rap career... Read more

October 20, 2016 Video

Kendrick Lamar And Rick Rubin Meet & Have A Conversation For The Ages (Video)

Kendrick Lamar is a complex individual. The 29 year-old Compton, California MC makes music that is richly inventive, blending personal thoughts and intricate storytelling. He approaches the listener's ear with a variety of vocal tones, tempos, and styles of presenting his rich, often literary songwriting. On albums like good kid,... Read more

October 20, 2016 Video

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

Eazy-E’s Daughter Intends To Prove Her Father Was Murdered, In A Documentary (Video)

It has been more than 21 years since Gangsta Rap pioneer Eric "Eazy-E" Wright passed away. In March of 1995, the public learned that the founder of N.W.A. and Ruthless Records had AIDS. Three weeks later, on March 26, Eazy was dead. Close associates have recalled that the Compton, California mogul... Read more

October 19, 2016 TV/Film, Video

Eminem For President. A New Freestyle Leaves No Debate (Audio)

In the late 1990s, Eminem made an incredible entrance to mainstream Hip-Hop through showing the world—especially pop culture the humor and the error in itself. The Detroit, Michigan MC has since gone on to release diamond certified albums, win Grammy Awards, and become one of the most impactful rappers of... Read more

October 19, 2016 Audio

The Roots Confirm 17th Album Title & Preview Some Sounds (Video)

It has been nearly two and a half years since The Roots released an album. 2014's ...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin featured Dice Raw as well as Raheem DeVaughn, and was rooted heavily in a cohesive theme. It was also largely co-produced by Richard Nichols, the band's longtime manager/producer,... Read more

October 19, 2016 Video

DJ Jazzy Jeff & Rhymefest’s New Music Together Has A Lot Of People Hyped (Audio)

Last week, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Rhymefest revamped their "Jeff n' Fess" tandem after nearly a decade. They released "Mr. Officer," a powerful track featuring Eric Roberson that made no bones about showing the fear, the hurt, and the disconnect with Black citizens caused by police profiling and brutality. "No... Read more

October 18, 2016 Audio

DJ Clark Kent Details How In Awe Biggie Was Of Jay Z When They Met (Video)

DJ Clark Kent is one of the people who was incredibly close to The Notorious B.I.G. and Jay Z at the same time. In the mid-1990s, Clark was working tightly with Jay on Reasonable Doubt. Years after the former Dana Dane DJ and longtime radio personality first heard Jay lyrics... Read more

October 18, 2016 Video

Common Wants Solange’s “Cranes” To Find Forever In His Remix (Audio)

Solange Knowles earned her first #1 album earlier this month. A Seat At The Table contains thoughtful, assertive, and incredibly timely music. Video single "Cranes In The Sky" is the entry point to many on the younger Knowles sister's latest dissertation in sound, with an album that truly owns her... Read more

October 18, 2016 Audio

Puff Daddy Credits Nas With Saving Hip-Hop & More In A Bold Tribute Speech (Video)

More than 15 years ago, Nas and Puff Daddy made a triumphant anthem together in "Hate Me Now." Appearing on Nas' third album, I Am... the record symbolically closed out the 1990s with an MC once allocated to the Underground shining as a reigning figure of Hip-Hop. Although Nas and... Read more

October 17, 2016 Video

DJ Jazzy Jeff & Rhymefest Have A Clear Message For Mr. Officer (Audio)

Producer and turntablist DJ Jazzy Jeff and fellow Grammy Award winner Rhymefest appear to have created a group, Jeff n Fess. The Philadelphia and Chicago link made its debut (and scratched at its band name) nearly a decade ago on The Return Of Magnificent, Jeff's LP. 2016 headlines and tragic... Read more

October 15, 2016 Audio

Pras Details Being Caught In The Middle Of Lauryn Hill & Wyclef’s Problems (Video)

N.W.A., A Tribe Called Quest, and the Goodie Mob all parted ways at critical periods of fame. Compared to The Fugees, however, perhaps only Outkast can claim to have disbanded at such commercial heights. Following 1996's The Score sophomore album, Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras would apparently disband. Save... Read more

October 15, 2016 Video

Ab-Soul Televises The Revolution In A Charged Video For “Huey Knew”

Ab-Soul released "Huey Knew" late last month. The Top Dawg Entertainment artist, and the quietest member of Black Hippy the last two years made up for his hiatus in a big way. Featuring onetime Curren$y and A$AP Mob affiliate Da$h, this single catches Soulo up on the world around him.... Read more

October 14, 2016 Video

Common Releases The Artwork & Tracklist For His Black America Again Album

Common has taken one of the defining singles of his career and extended it to an album title. Black America Again is the name of Comm's 11th album. Common Speaks On Why He’s Not A Conscious Rapper. He’s a Human MC (Video) To be released in less than one month... Read more

October 14, 2016 Fresh

Hear J Dilla’s Unreleased Demos & His Story Told By The Man Who Helped Launch His Career (Audio)

J Dilla's sprawling discography can be a challenge to process. The Detroit, Michigan visionary was a producer, an MC, a member of many groups, a musician, and somebody who loved a laissez-faire approach to his music. In his 32 years of life, he made lots of it. In his career,... Read more

October 14, 2016 Audio

Lil Wayne’s Manager Reveals Cash Money Blocked The Release Of Carter V & A Big Check For Wayne (Video)

For more than 15 years, Lil Wayne and Cash Money Records were family, literally. Out of the Hot Boys, Wayne evolved from a burgeoning raspy-voiced teenage Rap sensation in the late '90s to the label's flagship superstar throughout the 2000s into the early 2010s. In the closing days of 2014,... Read more

October 14, 2016 Video

Rhymefest Is Back In A Major Way. Best BELIEVE It! (Video)

It has been more than a decade since Rhymefest released his major label debut, Blue Collar. In the time since, the Chicago, Illinois MC has made powerful and personal documentary films, run for public office, and still maintained his spot as a Grammy Award and Oscar Award-winning champion of Hip-Hop.... Read more

October 13, 2016 Video

Biggie, Method Man & Redman Are 3 Eternal Rap Phenomenons (Audio)

In the life and times of The Notorious B.I.G., outside of his Bad Boy and Junior M.A.F.I.A. families, two close associates were Method Man and Redman. Long before album plans existed from the members of Wu-Tang Clan and Def Squad, respectively, they were rolling with Biggie Smalls to concerts and... Read more

October 13, 2016 Do Remember

The Weeknd’s New First Person Point Of View Video Is Beyond Alarming

The Weeknd is one of popular music's most ambitious video creators. To market his albums (and previously, his mixtapes), the Canadian singer knows how to draw attention to the music through other mediums. Two weeks ago, Abel unleashed the "Starboy" music video, belonging to the Daft Punk-assisted title track to... Read more

October 13, 2016 Video

Shock G Takes It Back To The Streets With A Lit Freestyle…Literally (Video)

Shock G and his brainchild of Digital Underground helped introduce the world to Tupac Shakur, Saafir, and others. The Oakland, California group may have taught the world how to do the "Humpty Dance," but their albums and hits run much deeper than just a crossover single. With a career spanning... Read more

October 13, 2016 Video

Nas & Erykah Badu Perform Their New Song With The Intensity It Deserves (Video)

In July, Nas and Erykah Badu released "This Bitter Land." The collaboration was a standout single from The Land soundtrack, which belongs to a film that Nasir Jones co-produced. The song blends poetry with singing, as Nas returns to form spitting over sparse instrumentation that bares little resemblance to the... Read more

October 13, 2016 Video

Big K.R.I.T. Details Being Moved To Tears For His BET Performance (Video)

Last week, Big K.R.I.T. seemingly delivered the musical performance of his career to date. During the 2016 BET Hip Hop Awards, the Mississippi MC/producer performed a remix to Kenneth Whalum's "Might Not Be OK" dressed as an officer of the law. In addition to the highly evocative lyrics, Krizzle's delivery... Read more

October 13, 2016 Video

Actor Tommy Ford From “Martin” Has Passed Away

Update: After a days long fight, actor Tommy Ford's family has confirmed his death. Carl Payne, who co-starred with Ford on Martin, told TMZ "On behalf of the family, we would like to thank everyone for their love, support and prayers." Actor Tommy Ford (a/k/a Thomas Mikal Ford) has built... Read more

October 12, 2016 News, TV/Film

Charlamagne Nearly Pushes Beanie Sigel To The Point Of Getting Physical (Video)

Beanie Sigel has experienced one of the highest profile months of his extensive musical career. The South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania MC started September as an esteemed veteran, reportedly in plans to make a collaborative album with former foe Jadakiss. However, after briefly appearing on Meek Mill and Omelly's "Ooouuu" reply to... Read more

October 11, 2016 Video

Nas Drops One Of The Feature Verses Of His Career & It’s DEEP (Audio)

From his Main Source "Live At The Barbeque" debut on wax to seminal records by AZ, Raekwon, Fat Joe, Scarface, and Beastie Boys, Nas is a lethal feature MC. Across the industry, for more than 25 years, the Queensbridge poet has been highly sought after—across genres to kick some of... Read more

October 11, 2016 Audio