News Archives

Chance The Rapper Is Making A 2014 Album, Rick Rubin & Frank Ocean Are Present…

It's been more than a year since Chance The Rapper released a full-length project. It was this time last year that Heads started the hubub for #AcidRap to be a popular nomination for the best Hip-Hop album/mixtape of 2013. Well, we just learned that 2014 might not be safe, either...... Read more

October 21, 2014 Fresh

Go Home With Logic & Meet His Family, Who Collectively Give You The REAL (Video)

Not only is Logic (and Visionary Music Group) giving Heads his Under Pressure album for full stream on its release day (October 21), the Gaithersburg, Maryland MC brings Heads home. The Baltimore reppin' Def Jam artist brought MTV's cameras to his childhood livingroom, where Logic's father and caretaker (along with... Read more

October 21, 2014 Fresh, Video

ONYX Attacks For Halloween In The Realest (Video)

Complete with 100 MAD jack o'lanterns, ONYX's "The Realest" is right and exact for the Halloween season. Sticky Fingaz and Fredro Starr travel to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to mash out and put their hands on folks in this pumped-up Snowgoons production from this year's WakeDaFucUp. Security cameras can't save you from... Read more

October 21, 2014 Fresh, Video

Logic Is Under No Pressure To Share His Entire Deluxe LP (Album Stream)

After tremendous anticipation, Logic's Under Pressure studio debut album is upon us. The Visionary Music Group alum teamed with the legendary No I.D. (Common, Kanye West, Jhene Aiko) to make his debut as big as possible, but true to the form he laid out amidst years of strong, grassroots independent... Read more

October 21, 2014 Audio, Fresh

A-Villa’s Great Lineups Continue, With Action Bronson, Roc Marciano & Willie The Kid (Audio)

Half of the M.A.R.S collective (Roc Marciano and Action Bronson) join yet another Alchemist affiliate, Willie The Kid on "Live From The Villa." The track is the latest three-man all-star lineup by Chicago, Illinois' A-Villa. This track goes extra hard, and certainly cements Villa's rep for making engaging tracks with... Read more

October 21, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Mac Miller Inks A Deal With Warner Bros. For 8 Figures & Drops Off A Loosie (Audio)

After a January, 2014 amicable-but-high profile exit from the Rostrum Records team that helped bring him to stardom, Mac Miller has officially made his next move. The Most Dope front man has headed to Warner Bros. Records, according to The Fader. The report states that the deal, including housing M.M.'s... Read more

October 21, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Ab-Soul Reveals His Music Industry Family, Getting Radio Fines To Nardwuar (Video)

One week after Ambrosia For Heads' "search for the GOAT" pitted Ab-Soul against Joe Budden, leave it to Nardwuar to present Soulo with a copy of Joe Budden, the album—something the Carson, California MC is apparently a massive fan of. This interview, Nardwuar's latest within the Black Hippy/Top Dawg Entertainment... Read more

October 21, 2014 Fresh, Video

T.I. Releases a Short Gangster Film for King (Video)

After yesterday's (October 20) "King" break-off leak from the just-released Paperwork, T.I. follows with the video. The album opener is textbook Tip, with a charged beat, and that unshakeable street Rap from one of the last decade's emerging superstars of Hip-Hop. The visual suggests that T.I. is still in the... Read more

October 21, 2014 Fresh, Video

Finding The GOAT: Mos Def vs. Pharoahe Monch…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 21, 2014 Featured-homepage, Fresh

Ice Cube Has Some Furrowed Brow Follow-Up Fun On Jimmy Kimmel Live (Video)

After Ice Cube's summertime segment for "Jimmy Kimmel Live," why not re-up with some more? With Don Mega and Dr. Dre co-producing the N.W.A biopic, Straight Outta Compton, Cube stopped by, to throw his spin on some festive, particularly corny lines, delivered in an O'Shea Jackson kind of way: Related:... Read more

October 21, 2014 Fresh, Video

Tek & Steele Recall Street Origins Smif-n-Wessun, Decepticon Ties, Making Dah Shinin’ (Audio)

Within the Boot Camp Clik, it often feels like Smif-n-Wessun are massively under-sung. Whether it was the fact that General Steele and Tek followed Black Moon's Enta Da Stage with Dah Shinin' (before Heltah Skeltah, O.G.C., and the Clik compilations), or the unfortunate forced name-change (to Cocoa Brovas) and subsequent... Read more

October 21, 2014 Fresh, Throwback

Andre 3000 & Tink Collaboration? Timbaland Gives You 15 Seconds (Video)

A 15-second preview of a yet-untitled, little-known-about song as news. You can count the artists on one hand whose work would justify that as "News." Certainly, 20-year veteran Andre 3000 is one of the few, the proud. Timbaland previews (via Facebook video, no less) a fourth of a minute of... Read more

October 20, 2014 Fresh

9th Wonder Says Without Phonte, There Is No Drake (Audio)

During A3C week earlier this month, 9th Wonder served as Reggie Osse's latest guest for a live taping of The Combat Jack Show. Per usual, the conversation spanned the career of the Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina producer/DJ/sometimes-MC. However, there are certainly some impromptu side discussions and points made that make this... Read more

October 20, 2014 Audio, Featured-homepage, Fresh

Action Bronson, Joey Bada$$ & Ransom Hop On Freddie Gibbs & Madlib’s Knicks Remix (Audio)

If a few months made you forget how incredible Freddie Gibbs & Madlib's Pinata was, this remix of "Knicks" is a reminder with sharp elbows like Charles Oakley. Those 'bows come in the form of a new Gibbs verse (where Gary, Indiana's own doesn't mince words about the Ferguson, Missouri... Read more

October 20, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Joe Budden Is A Master Of Ex-Rap, His Latest 5-Minute Journal Entry Proves It (Audio)

Longtime Joe Budden fans know that the Jersey City, New Jersey veteran has built a career off of breaking the fourth wall in his raps. From addiction to self-doubt, his paranoia and most open thoughts on Hip-Hop, Joe never holds back. And those who've been listening to the verses long... Read more

October 20, 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

T.I. Is The ‘King’ Of That Straightforward Trap, Peep The Paperwork Intro (Audio)

Besides Nas, is any artist as consistently ferocious on the intro than T.I.? Regardless of where each of the P$C MC's albums have ended up in the consciousness or on the charts, the first track usually sets the tone that has the veteran Tip listener thumping their chest, and the... Read more

October 20, 2014 Fresh

CyHi The Prynce, Rapsody & Caskey Light Up This Team Backpack Cypher (Video)

Team Backpack cyphers have become a staple in the Hip-Hop zeitgeist for several years now. The collective's videos have made stars out of fresh-faced artists, and cultivated talent in a format that Heads can respect: the free-form cypher. It's competitive, it's stripped-down, it's pure MC'ing. So how about this? T.B.P... Read more

October 20, 2014 Fresh, Video

Boaz Deserves Your Attention, Check Intuition (Album Stream)

Quietly and consistently, Boaz has built a strong career. The Rostrum Records artist (Wiz Khalifa, Mac Miller, etc.) is nothing like his label-mates/homies new or old, instead, he's got a street-struck grittiness, with an introspection that few artists naturally possess. Intuition lives up to its name, and with D-Block, Fashawn,... Read more

October 20, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Big K.R.I.T. & DJ Dahi Rev Up The Cadillactica In The Studio Garage (Video)

In the second installment of Big K.R.I.T.'s behind-the-scenes making of Cadillactica series, Krizzle sits in the lab with DJ Dahi (Drake, Freddie Gibbs, ScHoolboy Q) creating the Def Jam sophomore LP's title track. Even through camera speakers, you cannot argue that this thumps... Related: Big K.R.I.T. Previews His Cadillactica Album... Read more

October 20, 2014 Fresh, Video

Skyzoo & Torae Hit The Courts To Tell Us Why Their Jerseys Belong In Rafters (Video)

In a digital era, Skyzoo & Torae still believe that Hip-Hop (and all art) should be tangible. Talking about the physical artifacts of their culture (with lots of sports metaphors), "Memorabilia" examines how we honor our stars, which plausibly include these two Brooklynites. Shot in black and white, and featuring... Read more

October 20, 2014 Fresh, Video

Chris Rock Leads an All-Star Comedy Cast in Top Five. Watch the Trailer (Video)

By the looks of the trailer, Top Five may be Chris Rock's funniest movie in years. And, with an all-star comedy cast that includes Kevin Hart, Tracy Morgan, Cedric the Entertainer, J.B. Smoove, Romany Malco, Jay Pharoah and Whoopi Goldberg, it's no wonder. Rosario Dawson rounds out the roster. Jay... Read more

October 20, 2014 Video

Funk Volume Turns Up With Fresh, Thoughtful Dizzy Wright & Hopsin Freestyles (Videos)

Funk Volume continues to dig in their foot-hold in the Hip-Hop game. While Hopsin and Dizzy Wright are polar opposites in many ways, they both uphold this time-tested truth: say somethin' when you touch the microphone. Stopping through Tim Westwood's London booth at the BBC, each MC blazes up with... Read more

October 20, 2014 Fresh, Video

Ja Rule Details Why His Super Group With DMX & JAY-Z Fell Apart (Video)

JUNE 2, 2021 UPDATE: While the original interview has been scrubbed from the Internet, here is a recent discussion of Ja Rule addressing Murder Incorporated: ORIGINAL OCTOBER 19, 2014 STORY: Ja Rule performed during the Def Jam 30th Anniversary celebration at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn last week. After, he... Read more

October 19, 2014 Fresh, Throwback

Stalley Releases the Official Video for Always Into Something (Video)

Stalley's "Always Into Something" has a distinct West Coast vibe, both with the N.W.A. reminiscent title and the hard-hitting sonics. So, it's no surprise that the visuals for the song, also featuring Ty Dolla $ign, have followed suit. In a scene reminiscent of Boyz N The Hood, Stalley shows what... Read more

October 19, 2014 Video

Ever Catch This Rare Method Man & Redman Freestyle From 1998? (Audio)

Some things never get old...such as off the top verses (and a couple writtens) from Redman and Method Man. Here's a rare cypher from back in the day (circa 1998) featuring Tical, the Funk Doctor Spock and Mr. Loose (who's also quite nice) on WNYU. The verses start at the... Read more

October 18, 2014 Audio, Throwback

Do Remember: O.C.’s “Born 2 Live” (Video)

Twenty years ago today (October 18), O.C. released his debut album, Word...Life. On the now-defunct-but-legendary Wild Pitch Records, the Organized Konfusion affiliate (who would later become an integral part of Diggin' In The Crates) made his debut featuring involvement from emerging producer Buckwild, Lord Finesse, Pharoahe Monch and Prince Poetry... Read more

October 18, 2014 Fresh, Throwback

Surock & Blu Go Off on a G-Funk Banger. Get Your Broccoli (Audio)

This is a welcome surprise. Surock teams up with Blu on a heavy G-Funk-influenced banger. "Broccoli" is a reference to another green celebrated back in the day by Dr. Dre and the sticky funk is the perfect soundtrack. Check it out. Related: Love Lives After Armageddon With L’Orange & Blu’s... Read more

October 18, 2014 Audio

Project Pat Links with Rick Ross and His Brother Juicy J on His Latest (Audio)

Project Pat links with younger brother Juicy J and Rick Ross on the hard-hitting track "Imma Get Me Sum." The track is from Pat's upcoming Cheez N Dope 3 release. Check it out. Related: Rick Ross Gets the Assist From R. Kelly on Keep Doin’ That (Audio)... Read more

October 18, 2014 Audio

Boaz Links with Termanology, Oddisee & Vinny Radio on Like This Remix (Audio)

Boaz is official. His album Intuition will be released on Tuesday and it is packed with bangers. His latest single is a remix to "Like This." The East Coast version features Oddisee, Termanology and Vinny Radio. Check it out. Related: Boaz Releases the Video for His Red Hot Collabo with... Read more

October 18, 2014 Audio

Rick Rubin Returns to the Dorm Room Where Def Jam Was Founded for the First Time in 30 Years (Video)

In a year of tributes to Def Jam, celebrating its 30th Anniversary, this might just be the best. Rolling Stone followed Rick Rubin to the NYU dorm room where he started the legendary record label and had not returned to since. Rather than just interviewing Rubin, RS used the journey... Read more

October 17, 2014 Throwback

Lil Dicky Hits The Backroom With One Of The Smoothest, Fastest, Most Confident Raps Out (Video)

Out of thin air, Philadelphia's Lil Dicky swings through the "106 & Park" Backroom booth where he simply shakes apart the walls with a fast, highly-confident freestyle that is both original and humorous. Like his "No, I will not fix your computer shirt," L.D. (Larry David, as he explains) uses... Read more

October 17, 2014 Fresh, Video

Curren$y Is A Drug Store Cowboy, Rallying Up Pescriptions In Audio (Video)

In the late night hour, on those New Orleans streets, Spitta Andretti himself (a/k/a Curren$y) parks in front of an all-night prescription drug store to break down how he kicks these over-the-counter rhymes, that are readily available for free samples, like, say, More Saturday Night Car Tunes. Related: Curren$y’s Releases... Read more

October 17, 2014 Fresh, Video

Finding The GOAT: Phife Dawg vs. Queen Latifah…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 17, 2014 Fresh, Throwback

Lupe Fiasco is Feeling Lost In The Atlantic Ocean (Audio)

Lupe Fiasco is gearing up for a busy three months. The 1st & 15th veteran plans Lost In The Atlantic Ocean, the tongue-in-cheek titled effort alluding to how one of the few gold-selling artists on Atlantic is often treated less than the major's flagship, or quite differently than recent stars... Read more

October 17, 2014 Audio, Fresh

BADBADNOTGOOD & Ghostface Killah Bring Elzhi Out For Gunshowers (Audio)

Ten years ago, would you ever imagine Ghostface Killah (then a key Def Jam acquisition) and Elzhi (then running with Slum Village) together? BADBADNOTGOOD & Ghost's Sour Soil makes that happen on "Gunshowers." This intricate instrumentation opens the gate for El' and Starks to bombard the microphone with sharp verbals,... Read more

October 17, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Don’t Know Boaz? Listen to This Stone Cold Groove with Mac Miller (Audio)

Pittsburgh's Boaz has put together one of the strongest collections of songs so far this year. Having released cuts with Scarface, Styles P, Jadakiss, Murs, Fashawn and Crooked I, as well as his own hot solos, he now teams with hometown partner in rhyme, Mac Miller. Backed by a soulful... Read more

October 16, 2014 Audio

Chance The Rapper States What He Hates On No Better Blues (Audio)

Chance The Rapper hates a lot, but he's no hater. "No Better Blues" is a beautifully-executed example of repetitious concept Rap. Teaming with Social Experiment, Chance vents about all the things he'd like to do with away, in his own case of the blues. "It just don't get no better,"... Read more

October 16, 2014 Audio, Fresh

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: Slick Rick vs. Shock G…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 16, 2014 Fresh, Throwback

Kokane, Kurupt & Joe Young Go Three the Hard Way on U Know Me Remix (Audio)

Two West Coast O.G's, Kokane and Kurupt, continue their collaborative history. Tha Dogg Pound co-founder and the longtime Above The Law affiliate, who were both tied to Death Row Records in The Chronic era, as well as during the early 2000s, link up once more. With Joe Young, the "U... Read more

October 16, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Remy Ma Explains Making Deeper Songs, Papoose’s Unwavering Support (Video)

HOT 97's new series, "The Reflection" is quite amazing. These sort of function something like MTV's "The Diary," VH1's "Storytellers," and NPR's "Fresh Air." However, viewers never get the questions, only the explanations, which are edited together to appear like a cool, seamless autobiographical narrative. For Remy Ma, opening up... Read more

October 16, 2014 Fresh, Video

Snoh & Common Say Bad Things Over A No ID Instrumental (Audio)

The history between Common and No ID has been well documented for some years, but their relationship with Swedish R&B songstress Snoh may be a little lesser known to the average Head. Looking up to iconic artists including her all-time hero, Michael Jackson, Snoh Aalegra began honing in on her... Read more

October 16, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Ras Kass, Xzibit, Royce Da 5’9″ & Bishop Lamont Are On A Brutal Lyrical Safari (Audio)

Whoa! From Ras Kass & Apollo Brown's upcoming Blasphemy album, the tandem releases "Giraffe Pussy." While the title possibly conjures up some difficult images, the song itself is one of the biggest, most brutal lyrical super-collaborations this year. Xzibit, who rocked with Razzy since the Golden State Warriors days (with... Read more

October 16, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Raekwon Throws Back To Mary J. Blige’s My Life Throwback, All Night Long (Audio)

In the late 2014 canon of Raekwon #TBTs (now 18 of them), this remixed rendition of Mary J. Blige's "Mary Jane (All Night Long)" just might be the most fitting. Released 20 years ago next month from My Life, the Puff Daddy & Chucky Thompson-produced cut was in itself a... Read more

October 16, 2014 Audio, Fresh

Mick Jenkins Looks Deep Into The Water[s], Discusses Reflection Eternal Influence (Food For Thought Interview)

As the infrastructure of Hip-Hop in Chicago, and the excess of young talented artists concocting it continues to swiftly evolve, the eccentric and unflappable twenty-three year old MC, Mick Jenkins, has recently ascended near the top of the budding movement. Initially hinting at his lyrical aptitude with the 2012 release... Read more

October 16, 2014 Food for Thought, Fresh

What Goes Through the Minds of Run the Jewels When They Record? Watch and See (Video)

There is nothing serene about the music from Run the Jewels. Killer Mike & El-P have been consistently putting out some of the darkest, hardest and most politically-charged music in Hip-Hop for the last few years. So, would you believe a lot of this material was conceived and recorded in... Read more

October 16, 2014 Video

DJ Quik Discusses His Extensive History, Details Origins Of MC Eiht Beef (Audio)

DJ Quik is on the media circuit once again. David Blake swung through New York City, appearing on Peter Rosenberg and Cipha Sounds' Juan Epstein podcast. Working chronologically (beginning from 28:00), Quik goes from his days of slanging tapes that covered the left side of the Mississippi River, into Quik... Read more

October 15, 2014 Audio, Fresh, Throwback

Vince Staples Has Got That Fire (Video)

Vince Staples has had a big year. After a very prominent feature on Common's single "Kingdom," the up and coming Long Beach MC recently shared the stage with Comm and Jay Electronica at the BET Hip Hop Awards. Now, capitalizing on his growing heat, Staples brings that "Fire" with his... Read more

October 15, 2014 Video

Joe Budden Teams with Ransom on Make a Deal (Audio)

Joe Budden releases another track from his SomeLove series leading up to the release of his Some Love Lost album (11/4). "Make a Deal" is another dark and brooding track from Budden where he and Ransom recount what they would discuss with God if they had the opportunity. Check it... Read more

October 15, 2014 Audio