News Archives

LL Cool J Rocks A Q-Tip Beat With Force

In the closing days of 2019, Hip-Hop Heads learned that LL Cool J had returned to the label he helped make legendary. James Todd Smith was back on Def Jam Records. Moreover, the Queens, New York icon has teamed with another borough great to work on music, with Q-Tip producing... Read more

May 7, 2023 Audio

MGK Blasts Jack Harlow On A Hard-Hitting Diss Record

On April 28, Jack Harlow released his latest album, Jackman. The follow up to Harlow's Grammy-nominated Come Home The Kids Miss You album was a surprise release that came just a few days after Harlow announced it. Unlike, Come Home, which contained radio-friendly hits, like the Fergie-sampling "First Class," and... Read more

May 7, 2023 Video

Jack Harlow Says He’s The Best White Rapper Since Eminem

Last week, Jack Harlow released his latest album, Jackman. The Generation Now/Atlantic Records collection includes the song "They Don't Love It" (embedded below). On that track, the Louisville, Kentucky MC asserts himself among the best white Rap artists in a bold way. “Ya boy’s strivin’ to be the most dominant ever... Read more

May 3, 2023 Video

The Best & Worst Posthumous Rap Albums Of All Time

Last week (April 26), during a concert at Los Angeles, California's El Rey Theater, Tyler, The Creator told his hometown crowd about a very significant provision in his will. “Some of these [songs] are so good I can’t just let ’em sit on my hard drive,” Tyler told the crowd... Read more

May 2, 2023 Video

Jack Harlow Calls Out Whites Who Want To Be Black From Afar

Yesterday (April 28), Jack Harlow released third album. Jackman. is a 10-track offering, with zero features that clocks in at 24 minute. DJ Dahi, Boi-1da, and Hollywood Cole were among the producers involved on the Generation Now/Atlantic Records project, which follows Jack's platinum debut and gold follow-up. On the album,... Read more

April 29, 2023 Audio, Video

Method Man Uses One Mic To Rework A Nas Classic

Almost 30 years ago, Method Man joined his Wu-Tang Clan cohorts for a special remix of SWV's "Anything." The song featured multiple samples, ranging from Funk-Disco group Freedom to freshly released hits by the two groups on the track. "Anything" became a pivot point for Sisters With Voices, taking their opening song from the debut album and setting up... Read more

April 25, 2023 Audio

Dear Mama Shows There Is Still So Much We Don’t Know About Tupac

On Friday (April 21), the first two episodes of Dear Mama premiered. The docuseries, covering the parallel journeys of Tupac Shakur and his mother, Afeni Shakur, is directed by Allen Hughes, one-half of the Hughes Brothers team that gave viewers Menace II Society, Dead Presidents, and documentaries, including The Defiant Ones. In addition to the live broadcast... Read more

April 24, 2023 Video

Jay Electronica Exhibits Great Lyricism To A Swizz Beat

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

April 21, 2023 Audio

Heavily Sampled Jazz Legend Ahmad Jamal Has Passed Away

Ahmad Jamal, the Grammy Award-winning Jazz pianist, band leader, and composer, has died. He was 92 when he passed earlier today (April 16) at his Massachusetts home. Jamal, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has over 70 years of recordings in his discography—which also includes the Ahmad Jamal Trio, and collaborative... Read more

April 16, 2023 News

Black Thought’s Streams Of Thought Vol. 4 Is Done & Packed With All-Stars

On Friday (April 14), Black Thought released his sixth solo project in the last five years. Since 2018, a time when The Roots have not been dropping albums, the co-founder of The Roots has enhanced his solo career with his first-ever projects of this kind. Thought launched the Streams Of... Read more

April 16, 2023 News

Snoop Dogg Reveals The Record Deal He Nearly Took Before Dr. Dre Called

In 1992, Snoop Dogg made his debut alongside Dr. Dre on "Deep Cover," the title song from the soundtrack of the same name. The song arrived as Dr. Dre made a high-profile exit from N.W.A. and Eazy-E's Ruthless Records. Dre would join manager Marion "Suge" Knight at Death Row, a... Read more

April 15, 2023 Video

Black Thought’s New Album Is Filled With Glorious Game

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

April 14, 2023 Audio

Royce 5’9 Speaks About Ownership & How It Divided Slaughterhouse

Royce 5'9 has found success as a gold-selling major label artist as well as an independent stalwart. After 25 years in the professional Rap space, the Detroit, Michigan MC has been acquiring his catalog. Over the last seven years, Nickel Nine has also released some of the best music of... Read more

April 12, 2023 Exclusive, Interview, Video

Royce 5’9 Explains How He’s Taking Control Of His Own Music Destiny

Over the last 25 years, Royce 5'9 has had a decorated career that spans solo albums, mixtapes, feature work, and three super-groups. While he has been respected from the entrance, many could argue that Nickel Nine has only improved at his craft during that time. Since 2016, Royce has released... Read more

April 10, 2023 Exclusive, Interview, Video

Maseo Reveals The Plans For De La Soul’s Next Album

It has been nearly two months since David Jolicoeur passed away. The founding MC/producer of De La Soul perhaps best known as Trugoy The Dove was 54 years old when he succumbed to ongoing health battles related to his heart. In March, as De La Soul's back catalog was made... Read more

April 7, 2023 News

Larry June & Alchemist Have Released The Year’s First Masterpiece Album

On Friday (March 31), Larry June and Alchemist released The Great Escape. The album marks the pair's first full-length together, representing a hallmark in two veteran and prolific Hip-Hop careers. Larry June's rise to prominence is a testament to patience and perseverance. He comes from the same Hunter's Point section of... Read more

April 2, 2023 Audio

The LOX & Dipset Want A Verzuz Rematch…Here’s Why They Shouldn’t Do It

On August 3, 2021, Verzuz's 33rd battle proved to be one of its best. In the second season of the music battle format co-created by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, The LOX competed against Dipset at Madison Square Garden's Hulu Theater. With Verzuz having launched the same month that the pandemic... Read more

April 1, 2023 Video

This AI-Created JAY-Z Verse Sounds So Much Like Him It’s Scary

The recent development of an AI-generated JAY-Z verse that is indistinguishable from the artist himself has sparked concerns about the threat that artificial intelligence poses to intellectual property rights and human artistry. This AI-generated verse is just one example of the increasing capabilities of artificial intelligence to mimic and even... Read more

April 1, 2023 Audio, Fresh, Throwback

DJ Quik Is Releasing His 10th Album. Here’s The First Song

For over 30 years, DJ Quik has enjoyed an incredible career. The Compton, California MC/producer/DJ has released great albums including Safe + Sound and Balance & Options, while producing for Tupac, JAY-Z, Suga Free, and Snoop Dogg. However, it has been nearly six years since Quik released a full-length project.... Read more

March 31, 2023 Audio

Redman & Royce 5’9 Put Weak Rappers On Notice

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

March 31, 2023 Audio

Madlib Says Madvillain Sequel Is Coming Soon & Gives Details

Earlier this month, Talib Kweli and Madlib released Liberation 2. Available exclusively on the Luminary podcast app (where Black Star released 2022's Madlib-produced No Fear Of Time), the new LP features Westside Gunn, Roc Marciano, Q-Tip, Roy Ayers, and the late Mac Miller. The project is a sequel to the... Read more

March 30, 2023 Fresh, News, Video

Alchemist’s Freestyle Shows He’s Magic On The Mic Too

This Friday (March 31), Larry June and Alchemist are teaming up for The Great Escape. After four singles ahead of Friday's Escape and a documentary video (embedded below), fans are anticipating the LP, which is slated to feature Joey Bada$$, Wiz Khalifa, Big Sean, Curren$y, Action Bronson, Ty Dolla $ign, Slum Village, Boldy James, Evidence... Read more

March 28, 2023 Video

Method Man & Lloyd Banks Partner On A New Song That’s Razor Sharp

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

March 26, 2023 Audio

JAY-Z, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole & More Share Secrets For Greatness

J. Cole interviews are a rarity these days. Fresh off Dreamville's recent Creed III: The Soundtrack display, J. Cole sat down for a rare public conversation. However, it was not promoting the compilation that includes a new Cole solo song to a vintage, recycled Dr. Dre beat. Instead, Jermaine sat... Read more

March 25, 2023 Video

Nas & Hit-Boy Show No Signs Of Slowing Down On A New Song

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

March 24, 2023 Audio

JAY-Z’s “U Don’t Know” Was Originally Offered To Busta Rhymes & Prodigy

Hip-Hop history is filled with what-ifs, especially concerning beats and production. Tupac's diamond-certified All Eyez On Me once featured verses from Inspectah Deck and The Lady Of Rage. Moreover, Disc 2's Dr. Dre-produced "Can't C Me" was rumored to be created for a shelved Ice Cube collaboration before another iteration had Tha Dogg Pound rapping. Jadakiss'... Read more

March 19, 2023 Video

De La Soul & The Roots Perform Stakes Is High In Spectacular Fashion

Last night (March 17) on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, De La Soul performed their iconic track "Stakes Is High" with The Roots, in what was a poignant and emotional moment. The performance was made all the more significant by the absence of Dave, De La Soul's founding member... Read more

March 18, 2023 Video

Logic Has Made It Hard To Like Him & It’s Not Just Joe Budden

Among chart-topping Hip-Hop artists of the last decade, Logic is arguably the most polarizing. The Gaithersburg, Maryland native MC/producer who began as a DIY artist in the early 2010s Hip-Hop underground, has since gone on to achieve a wall full of platinum and gold plaques, was nominated for "Song Of... Read more

March 18, 2023 Video

Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface & Inspectah Deck Reunite On A New Song

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

March 17, 2023 Audio

Heavily Sampled Artist Bobby Caldwell Has Passed Away

For more than 45 years, singer, songwriter, and musician Bobby Caldwell blurred the lines of genre with a celebrated, multi-platinum catalog of music that wove together Jazz, R&B, and Soul. Much of that music was inspired by the complexities of romantic relationships. Bobby passed away this week at age 71,... Read more

March 15, 2023 News

Michelle Yeoh Disses Don Lemon During Her 2023 Oscar Speech For Best Actress

Tonight (March 12), actress Michelle Yeoh won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2023, for her role as a mother in the film Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. Yeoh took the award while making history, as the first Asian lead actress to win the award. During her simultaneously emotional,... Read more

March 13, 2023 News, TV/Film, Video

Jadakiss Calls Out Record Labels For Gambling With Artists’ Lives

Over his near-30-year career, Jadakiss has recorded for several storied record labels, including Bad Boy, Interscope, and Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam Records. In the mid-2000s, he made headlines for calling out labels for mishandling his music and financial affairs. Nearly 20 years later, the Yonkers, New York MC condemns record companies of late... Read more

March 12, 2023 Trending Stories, Video

The D.O.C.’s 1st Verse In 19 Years Gets A Video

The D.O.C. remains one of Hip-Hop's great what-if stories. The Dallas, Texas native released just one solo album, 1989's No One Can Do It Better. With Dr. Dre and DJ Yella's production, the MC made a case for that title with elite lyricism, an incredible flow, and plenty of "high energy" and... Read more

March 11, 2023 Video

Melle Mel Explains Why Busta Rhymes Is A Greater MC Than JAY-Z

Just over one month ago, Billboard and VIBE collaborated on one of the most talked-about lists of the last year. The publications and a team of respected journalists ranked "The 50 Greatest Rappers Of All-Time." As predicted, the feature prompted discourse among fans and artists. The criteria for these ranks were written to be: "body of... Read more

March 11, 2023 Fresh, Video

J. Cole Teases His New Album On A Knockout Verse

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

March 4, 2023 Audio

How Biggie Went From Ashy To Classy: By People Who Styled Him

Biggie Smalls was the illest...Big had a top-notch flow, a booming voice, and lyrics drenched in authenticity and humor. The all-time great MC born Christopher Wallace said it was all a dream, and then he took us on a ride from his time as a stressed-out kid in the streets... Read more

February 28, 2023 Audio, Exclusive

LL Cool J Gets His Bell Rocked On Hot Ones

"I'm damn near in crackhead mode right now. It's like some crackhead sh..." LL Cool J recently appeared on First We Feast's "Hot Ones," the show where celebrities take on the challenge of eating increasingly spicy wings. The legendary rapper and actor was clear from the start that he prefers... Read more

February 27, 2023 Video

Redman Keeps It All The Way Real On A New Song With Logic

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

February 25, 2023 Audio

Ab-Soul Says There Would Be No Kendrick, Drake, Or Cole Without Him

Ab-Soul closed out 2022 with one of the year's best albums. HERBERT, named among Ambrosia For Heads Top 15 albums of the year, featured Joey Bada$$, Big Sean, Russ, and Punch, among others. The Top Dawg Entertainment LP ends with "GOTTA RAP," a DJ Premier-produced track that reclaims Soulo's love... Read more

February 24, 2023 Video

Lil Wayne Shows Why He Is Still 1 Of The Best Rappers Alive

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

February 24, 2023 Audio

Nipsey Hussle’s Killer Receives A 60 Years To Life Sentence

Next month marks the fourth anniversary of Nipsey Hussle's death. Approaching that March 31 milestone, the man deemed responsible for killing the famed artist and entrepreneur has received a sentence for the action. Today (February 22), a jury decided that Eric Ronald Holder, Jr. will spend 60 years to life... Read more

February 22, 2023 News

Posdnuos & Maseo Remember Their De La Soul Brother Dave

Ten days after the music world lost a legend in the passing of David Jude Jolicoeur, his two De La Soul band-mates have used social media to honor their fallen brother—known to the Hip-Hop world by Dave, Trugoy The Dove, and Plug 2. The surviving two-thirds of the Grammy Award-winning... Read more

February 22, 2023 Fresh, News, Video

Black Thought Recaps 50 Years Of Hip-Hop History In An Epic Freestyle

Earlier this month, The Roots' Black Thought rocked the Grammy stage as part of a massive Hip-Hop 50th-anniversary tribute. The set was curated by Thought's band-mate Questlove (who played along from the drums) and featured Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Rakim, Big Boi, Posdnuos, Busta... Read more

February 21, 2023 Video

KRS-One Explains Why Kool Herc Is THE Founder Of Hip-Hop

Throughout 2023, Hip-Hop culture is celebrating its most significant anniversary to date. At the top of the year, US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Congressman Jamaal Bowman appeared at the Universal Hip Hop Museum construction site in New York's Bronx borough. There, attending with KRS-One, Roxanne Shanté, Grandmaster Flash,... Read more

February 16, 2023 Video

Scarface & Willie D Have A Heated Exchange About The Grammy Hip-Hop Tribute

On 1991's We Can't Be Stopped album, the Geto Boys scoffed at Grammy Awards courtesy of their charged-up song "Trophy." Over 30 years later, Scarface—a legendary MC/producer without a trophy—performed at the 2023 Grammy Awards, as part of the Hip Hop 50 tribute curated by The Roots' Questlove. There, Brad... Read more

February 14, 2023 Video

Dave From De La Soul Has Passed Away

The Hip-Hop community is devastated to learn that one of its legends has passed. In a developing story, David Jude Jolicoeur (aka Trugoy The Dove), from De La Soul, passed away at age 54. No exact cause of death has been provided. Peers and collaborators have confirmed the news on... Read more

February 12, 2023 News

Black Thought & Rakim Light Up The Stage With Talib Kweli

Last week, Bob James held a concert residence at New York City's Blue Note alongside Talib Kweli and a live band for the second consecutive year. An esteemed panel of guests joined the Grammy-winning Jazz keyboardist and famed producer during 2023's three-night residency. D.M.C. joined on February 7, Slick Rick... Read more

February 12, 2023 Video

J. Prince Calls Offset A Snake Amidst A Stern Warning

In the last week, Rap-A-Lot Records founder J. Prince and two of his sons appeared on the Million Dollaz Worth Of Game podcast. The three guests used the high-profile space to defend themselves of wrongdoing in the killing of Migos member Takeoff. Takeoff was fatally shot in Houston, Texas late... Read more

February 9, 2023 News

LL Cool J Has A New Album Coming That Is Executive Produced By Q-Tip

In the closing days of 2019, LL Cool J revealed that he was working with Q-Tip on an album. The Rock The Bells founder was said to be back at Def Jam Records, the same label where his career launched in the mid-1980s, and working with the famed A Tribe Called... Read more

February 8, 2023 News

Trevor Noah Raps Flawlessly Alongside Busta Rhymes

In September of 2022, Trevor Noah shocked the world when he announced he was stepping down from his post as the host of The Daily Show, after nearly seven years of filling the role. The announcement came as a surprise to nearly everyone, including his staff. Just before going to... Read more

February 7, 2023 Video