Bonita

Raekwon Critiques Every Album In His Catalog, Noting The Good & The Bad (Video)

Six weeks ago, Raekwon released his seventh solo album The Wild. The independent LP made its way to the charts and signaled a new sound for the Wu-Tang Clan lyrical swordsman, alongside the likes of Lil Wayne, G-Eazy, and CeeLo Green. In promoting the album, Chef stopped by HipHopDX offices... Read more

May 12, 2017 Video

The Roots, D’Angelo & Erykah Badu Are Hypnotizing On This Throwback Remix (Audio)

In 1996, The Roots dropped Illadelph Halflife, and with it came the D'Angelo collaboration, "The Hypnotic." As its title suggests, it was indeed a hypnotizing record, not only musically but also lyrically. In the song, Black Thought spun a tale of love and loss starring a woman named Alana, who would... Read more

May 11, 2017 Do Remember

Nas Teams With Jack White To Make Some Ill Street Blues (Video)

For any student of Rap music, its origins in other forms of African-American musical traditions is well known. Many scholars argue that the roots of the rapping tradition can be found in the call-and-response elements in Black church music and the dozens. Certainly, the arrival of a distinct Blues sound in the... Read more

May 11, 2017 Video

A Black Comedian Reflects On Attending A KKK Cross Burning (Video)

W. Kamau Bell is a comedian whose fame is steadily rising, thanks in large part to the success of his CNN series, United Shades of America. Launched in 2016, it's a docuseries following Bell as he interacts with pockets of society not often explored in depth on mainstream television. Past topics... Read more

May 10, 2017 Lifestyle

Freddie Gibbs Details The Nightmare Of Being Falsely Accused Of Sexual Assault (Video)

In September 2016, Freddie Gibbs was acquitted of sexual assault charges, a celebratory bookend to what was otherwise a traumatic ordeal for the Gary, Indiana rapper. However, his acquittal was hardly the end of the saga. Understandably, the experience will have lingering effects on him, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually. Despite the... Read more

May 9, 2017 Video

Your Old Droog Explains Why He Did Not Stop Rumors That He Was Nas (Video)

For those who've been following Brooklyn, New York's Your Old Droog since the infancy of his career, the now-infamous Nas rumors are as much a part of his early brand as is his tremendous talent as an MC. With a flow, cadence, and an ear for beats that made comparing... Read more

May 9, 2017 Video

Wale Acknowledges The Truth In The Shots J. Cole Sent His Way On “False Prophets” (Video)

In December of 2016, J. Cole released "False Prophets (Be Like This)," an aggressive record that was clearly aimed at someone - though he never dropped a name. Following its release, rumors began to swirl that Cole was addressing Wale, at least in a particular passage. "I got a homie,... Read more

May 8, 2017 Video

You Will Not See Adult Videos The Same After Hearing Brother Ali’s New Song (Audio)

Yesterday (May 5), Brother Ali released All The Beauty In This Whole Life, an LP which unequivocally continues the Rhymesayers MC's career-long history of addressing the personal and universally relatable through his music. This time around, the Minnesotan keeps it 100% about being the white father to a Black son, being... Read more

May 6, 2017 Audio, Lifestyle

Barack Obama Is Opening A Recording Studio On Chicago’s South Side (Video)

Former president Barack Obama leaves behind an enormous political legacy, but his memory is not relegated to domestic and international policy. President Obama and his wife, Michelle, will likely go down in history as one of America's most beloved first couples, not because of the agendas they pushed in Washington,... Read more

May 5, 2017 Lifestyle

A New Mixtape Mashes Madlib & Nas. Meet ‘Nasimoto’ (Audio)

Outside of Nas' verse on the Madlib-produced "The Sickness" for J Dilla's posthumous album, The Diary, Heads don't have much collaborative material between the legendary MC and illustrious producer to choose from. Each has contributed greatly to Hip-Hop's enduring legacy, and while Nas may have more commercial success in the traditional... Read more

May 4, 2017 Audio

Tyrese Says A ‘Baby Boy’ Sequel Is Coming & John Singleton May Be Involved

In 2001, Academy Award-winning director John Singleton, Tyrese Gibson, Taraji P. Henson, Omar Gooding, Snoop Dogg, Ving Rhames, and others delivered Baby Boy. The film was a coming-of-age tale set in South Central Los Angeles that followed the lives of Jody and Yvette, a couple (played by Gibson and Henson, respectively)... Read more

May 3, 2017 News

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

Prodigy Reveals Nas’ Illmatic Was A Blueprint For Mobb Deep’s The Infamous (Video)

In April of 1995, Mobb Deep released The Infamous, a legacy-ensuring sophomore LP that kept the rugged, unadulterated reputation of Queensbridge alive and well. Featuring Ghostface Killah, Q-Tip, Raekwon, Nas, and others, Prodigy and Havoc's second album would arrive the same year as equally enduring albums from Smif-n-Wessun (Dah Shinin), Big L... Read more

May 2, 2017 Video

J. Cole & Ferguson Residents Have A Conversation About How To Fix The System (Video)

On April 15, J. Cole's 4 Your Eyez Only documentary aired on HBO, but it wasn't a concert film despite sharing the title of his most recent LP. Rather, it served as a visual essay on the album's themes. As its trailer showed, conversations with Black Americans in Baton Rouge,... Read more

May 1, 2017 Lifestyle

Elon Musk Is Building Underground Tunnels To End Traffic (Video)

Elon Musk is arguably the world's preeminent CEO and businessman when it comes to innovation. With pedigrees in space exploration, development of alternate energy sources, electric vehicles, and infrastructure design, the South African is helping to lead the charge in developing ways of living which alleviate our carbon footprint or... Read more

May 1, 2017 Lifestyle

DJ Yella Says Police Violence Won’t Stop Until A Cop Goes To Jail For A Long Time

During the same week millions of Americans are celebrating (and others rebuking) the removal of Confederate monuments and statues in New Orleans, millions more are acknowledging the anniversary of yet another example of America's complex, racially disparate society. On April 29, 1992, what have since been coined the Los Angeles... Read more

April 28, 2017 Lifestyle

Swizz Beatz Details Why DMX’s Next Album Will “Change The Game” (Video)

DMX has been on the minds of Hip-Hop fans for many reasons in recent days. The legendary rapper is expected to release a new album later this year, an eagerly awaited follow-up to 2012's Undisputed. With five platinum (or better) albums under his belt, the Yonkers, New York icon has left... Read more

April 28, 2017 Video

20 Years Later, Timbaland, Missy Elliott, Aaliyah & Magoo Still Boogie Down (Video)

With their platinum-selling 1997 debut LP Welcome to Our World, Timbaland & Magoo invited millions of music fans into their native Norfolk, Virginia, a city (not to mention, a state) that had not made the kind of splash in the culture as had other Southern cities. With Timbo's innovative, electronic style... Read more

April 27, 2017 Do Remember

Method Man, Redman & RZA Brought Da Ruckus Live On Stage (Video)

Recently, Method Man and Redman brought their Blackout Tour to international audiences, traveling to Australia, Europe, and elsewhere to perform material from their classic collaborative LPs. The Blackout! partners and seemingly inseparable friends have not neglected their stateside fans, however, and are featured prominently on Snoop Dogg's Mount Kushmore Tour, and can... Read more

April 27, 2017 Video

A New Study Says Rap Music Has The Fewest Drug References Of Any Genre

In recent years, much attention has been paid to the prevalence of lyrics glorifying the use of drugs in Rap music. In addition to decades of references to alcohol and cannabis, over the last few years, a number of artists have rapped about MDMA (aka Molly) and other substances, including... Read more

April 26, 2017 Lifestyle

T.I. Says “We Have To Hold Ourselves Accountable For Our Communities” (Video)

In September 2016. T.I. released the most powerful music video of his career in the form of "Warzone," a visceral depiction of America's ugly police violence problem. However, the video turned the tables and envisioned our problem from a provocative angle: what if the killer cop was Black and the unarmed... Read more

April 25, 2017 Lifestyle

Snoop, Method Man, Redman & B-Real Hot Box A Beat As Rap’s Mt. Kushmore (Audio)

Back in March, Snoop Dogg announced the Mount Kushmore Wellness Retreat Tour, a 16-city affair that celebrated the upper echelon of legendary MCs promoting mental elevation. With a lineup boasting some of Hip-Hop's most celebrated names, the tour began April 13 and extends through the beginning of May and brings... Read more

April 25, 2017 Audio

Kendrick Lamar Explains His New Album Song By Song (Video)

Today (April 21) marks a full seven days since Kendrick Lamar released DAMN., the conceptually driven follow-up to the equally innovative and controversial To Pimp a Butterfly. Already garnering the MC critical and commercial acclaim to rival all of 2017's highest-rated LPs, DAMN. has inspired its fair share of analysis and reviews, which have... Read more

April 21, 2017 Video

Kendrick Lamar Overtakes Drake For The Best Opening Sales Week Of 2017

Just one week after releasing his newest LP, Kendrick Lamar remains the most talked-about artist in Hip-Hop. Having already released more than one single and video in support of DAMN., the TDE rapper has also already performed some of the material on one of the world's biggest stages, in the... Read more

April 21, 2017 News

Bill O’Reilly Has Been Fired By FOX News. Hip-Hop Responds.

UPDATE: On April 19, it was confirmed that Bill O'Reilly has been fired by FOX News following the latest sexual harassment reports. The top-ranking pundit and Conservative personality is said to return with an independent podcast. It appears to be the end of an era at one of the world's... Read more

April 19, 2017 Lifestyle

The LOX & Don Flamingo Join Forces To Teach A Slanguage Lesson (Audio)

New Orleans' Don Flamingo has worked with hometown legends like Mannie Fresh, Lil Wayne, and BG but he's earned himself a wider audience in Hip-Hop thanks to collaborations with the likes of Scarface, T.I. and most recently, The LOX. In February, the Yonkers, New York trio joined the two-time NOLA... Read more

April 18, 2017 Audio

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

A New Documentary Shows Why The LA Riots Still Matter, 25 Years Later (Video)

In the context of America's grapple with police brutality in 2017, 1992 may seem like a distant era. Before cell-phone cameras were ubiquitous, video footage of violent encounters between police and citizens was mostly relegated to dashboard footage from a police car or a passerby armed with professional recording equipment.... Read more

April 18, 2017 Video

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

April 18, 2017 Video

LeBron James Loves Kendrick Lamar’s New Album. He Shares Snippets (Audio)

With just a few hours until Kendrick Lamar is scheduled to release his fourth LP, DAMN., there don't appear to be any leaks of the much-anticipated content. He threw most for a loop when rapping in "The Heart Part 4" that "you have until April 7 to get your s**t... Read more

April 13, 2017 Video

The Roots Are For The Children. The Band Is Producing 2 Kids TV Shows.

The Roots are one of Hip-Hop's busiest and most successful acts in the game today. Between being the house band for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, their annual Roots Picnic concert series, releasing new music, and individual members' solo pursuits, it's remarkable that the Grammy-winning crew even has the... Read more

April 13, 2017 News

Cuts To The EPA Are Threatening Millions Of America’s Kids (Video)

In March, Donald Trump put forth his administration's budget for the 2018 fiscal year, and it ignited a maelstrom of controversy. The 64-page document, officially titled “Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again” proposes massive cuts to dozens of government-funded programs in education, housing, business, the arts, and perhaps most importantly,... Read more

April 12, 2017 Lifestyle

Charlie Murphy, Comedian & ‘Chappelle’s Show’ Star, Has Passed Away

Charlie Murphy, the comedian whose career catapulted forward after appearing in some of Dave Chappelle's most memorable skits on Chappelle's Show in the 2000s, has reportedly passed away today, April 12. The older brother of legendary comedian and actor Eddie, Charles Quinton "Charlie" Murphy was born in Brooklyn, New York and... Read more

April 12, 2017 News

Lil Dicky Has Released 1 Of The Greatest Music Videos Ever. It’s Insane In The Brain.

Professional Rapper Lil Dicky continues to serve up content from the 2015 debut album that introduced him as one of the most humorous minds in Rap music. With "$ave Dat Money," the rapper born David Burd created one of the most memorable videos in recent years, managing to produce an ostentatious... Read more

April 12, 2017 Video

Want That Raw Rap? Torae Delivers The “Ugly Face Bars” You’ve Been Waiting For (Audio)

For his first solo work of the year, Torae delivers the aptly titled "Still Waiting," an aggressive record with punishing production and lyrics to match. Though the Coney Island, New York MC keeps one of the busiest performance and recording schedules in Hip-Hop, he hasn't released a project of his... Read more

April 11, 2017 Audio

Lupe Fiasco Is Sick Of Hearing Wack Rappers Over Trap Beats. He Shows Them How To Do It (Video)

In February, Lupe Fiasco released DROGAS Light, his first album since 2015's Tetsuo & Youth. Despite talk of his retiring from Rap (including statements he made himself), it appears the Chicago, Illinois rapper has no such plans, at least in the immediate future. Shortly after the LP's release, Lupe performed the single... Read more

April 10, 2017 Video

Ludacris Teaches Bill O’Reilly How To Have Class, In A New Interview (Video)

Earlier this month, the New York Times ran an explosive front-page story on Bill O'Reilly, the conservative news pundit famous for his FOX News program, The O'Reilly Factor. According to the newspaper, O'Reilly and the network he serves have paid over $13 million to women who have accused him of sexual harassment... Read more

April 10, 2017 Lifestyle

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

Drug Addicts Today Are Getting More Love & Compassion, Especially If They’re White

With the so-called "War On Drugs" so clearly a political and moral failure, Americans suffering from addiction today live in a more compassionate climate. More and more, drug addicts are seen as struggling with a public health issue, rather than one based on notions of crime and moral ineptitude. As... Read more

April 7, 2017 Lifestyle

Kanye West Has Made Hip-Hop History In The Era Of Streaming Music

In 2017 and beyond, racking up awards and setting records for streaming-only releases will likely become the norm. Chance The Rapper, who just won three Grammy Awards for an album he gave away online for free; and Drake, who shattered streaming records when More Life earned over 89 million plays... Read more

April 6, 2017 News

Maino Breathes Life Into Pain As The Ghost Of Kalief Browder (Audio)

Kalief Browder's name is becoming more well known each day, though most would argue it's too little, too late. Spending more than 1,000 days at Rikers Island prison for a crime he didn't commit, Browder was a young man of color who suffered excruciating injustice at the hands of this country's... Read more

April 6, 2017 Audio

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

Respect The DJ: Ice Cube Refuses To Replace The Late DJ Crazy Toones On Stage (Video)

The January loss of Crazy Toones, remembered most for his work as a member of WC and The Maad Circle, left a gaping hole in the hearts of many. Celebrated as a producer and DJ, the man born Lamar Dupré Calhoun was the biological brother of rapper WC and appeared... Read more

April 5, 2017 Video

N.W.A. & Ruthless Records Producer & Keyboardist L.A. Dre Has Passed Away

Ruthless Records affiliate L.A. Dre, who in the 1980s and '90s worked as a producer and keyboardist on albums like N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton, Efilzaggin, The D.O.C.'s The Formula, and Eazy E's Eazy-Duz-It (as well as on works from Above the Law, Michel'le, and more) has passed away. A longtime friend and... Read more

April 5, 2017 News

Joey Bada$$ & J. Cole Release A Legendary Collabo About Empowering Ourselves & Others (Audio)

Three days away from the release of All Amerikkkan Bada$$, his first album since 2015's B4.DA.$$, and Joey Bada$$ is having a busy week. A performance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert has been followed swiftly by the apparent leak of what is likely the most anticipated collaboration on his new album: "Legendary,"... Read more

April 4, 2017 Audio

Joey Bada$$’ Performance Is A Powerful Reminder That This Is OUR America (Video)

On Friday (April 7), Joey Bada$$ will release what is shaping up to be his most brazen work to date: All Amerikkkan Bada$$. The Brooklyn, New York MC has always had a political bent to his work, but it seems in recent months he has taken advantage of every opportunity to... Read more

April 4, 2017 Video

In 1991, Ice Cube Spoke With Angela Davis About Using Rap To Wake Up The People (Video)

In 1991, the Hip-Hop world awaited Ice Cube's follow-up to his 1990 solo debut, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted. The former N.W.A. member had taken a bold step in pursuing a career of his own, and even more so by enlisting the help of definitively East Coast-sounding production crew, Bomb Squad, to... Read more

April 3, 2017 Throwback

I Get The Job Done: Technology Is Putting Us Out Of Work

One of the central talking points in Donald Trump's presidential campaign was his vow to bring back American jobs. The longtime entrepreneur and businessman touted his boardroom and negotiation skills as major benefits of a Trump presidency, arguing that he alone could convince businesses who have outsourced American jobs to... Read more

April 3, 2017 Lifestyle

Mary J. Blige Is As Real As She’s Ever Been In Discussing Her Divorce (Video)

Celebrated world over for her deeply personal approach to music, Mary J. Blige has never held back from admitting her weaknesses and pain. In fact, she has time and time again channeled it all into her work, which continues to resonate with her fans 25 years after she made her... Read more

March 31, 2017 Video

Geechi Suede Climbs Fishnet Skyscrapers To Reach Love’s Top Floor (Video)

On "7 Digit Dolls," Camp Lo's Geechi Suede celebrates the romantic interests in his world, adding some romantic flavor to his recently launched solo catalog. It's the first taste from his forthcoming mixtape, Fishnet Skyscrapers, which officially drops on April 4. Just a few months removed from the release of his... Read more

March 31, 2017 Exclusive, Video