Video Archives

Run The Jewels & DJ Shadow Give New Meaning To Political Warfare (Video)

Run The Jewels has a standing reputation for incredible music videos. As independent artists, Killer Mike and El-P have been able to make bold statements that match their cutting lyrics and pounding beats. Teaming with DJ Shadow for The Mountain Will Fall single "Nobody Speak," the rep is all the... Read more

August 24, 2016 Video

Stro Runs Through 7 Minutes Of Classic Beats In 1 Of The Year’s Best Freestyles (Video)

Stro (f/k/a The Astronomical Kid) has had a quieter 2016 than other years. However, the Brooklyn, New Yorker is just ramping up, and showing that his skills have refined. Appearing on the most recent episode of Statik Selektah's ShowOff Radio show, Stro asks if he can go off the top... Read more

August 22, 2016 Video

Pras Details How O.D.B. Getting Lost Led To His Biggest Hit (Video)

The highest charting single of O.D.B.'s Hip-Hop career was not his own. The Brooklyn, New York MC/singer hit the charts with Wu-Tang Clan and his solo works. He would appear on the Bad Boy Remix to Mariah Carey's #1 single "Fantasy," but not on the chart-topping version. Instead, it was... Read more

August 22, 2016 Video

Allen Iverson Has The Answers. He Shares His Top 5 Rappers & Hoopers With Jadakiss (Video)

If there's anyone who embodies both Hip-Hop and hooping, it's Allen Iverson. He recently sat down with Jadakiss to talk about his favorite rappers, his favorite ball players and what it was like to be one of the first NBA players to bring Hip-Hop swagger to the league, on and... Read more

August 20, 2016 Video

Grandmaster Flash Educates & Demonstrates Pioneer DJ Techniques (Video)

If not for the work of pioneers like Grandmaster Flash, Hip-Hop would not be on radio today. Long before strong signals were freely broadcasting cutting, scratching, and Rap music into the universe, DJs were transmitting live in the parks, house parties, and New York City clubs in the mid-1970s. That... Read more

August 19, 2016 Video

Redman Highlights Cypress Hill’s Green Thumb In Cultivating His Career (Video)

In the early 1990s, Cypress Hill and Redman would two Hip-Hop artists who launched careers that have lasted well into today. While Cypress Hill hailed from Southern California and Red' from Northern New Jersey, these acts helped expand the Rap genre's mind with songs about mind elevation. 1991's Cypress Hill... Read more

August 19, 2016 Video

D12’s DeNauN Porter Is Every Bit As Talented A Singer As He Is An MC & Producer (Video)

DeNauN Porter is a rare talent. The Detroit native is a bona fide double threat, equally skilled at producing and rapping. As some may know, Porter played a key role in launching Eminem's career, producing his debut album, Infinite, in its entirety. That affiliation would remain strong for years, with... Read more

August 18, 2016 Video

Jidenna Shows The Classic Man Is Also A Rapping Man (Video)

Nigerian-American artist Jidenna has proven himself to be one of the most original artists of his generation. With the success of his 2015 singles "Classic Man" and "Yoga," the Wisconsin-born singer has helped make Janelle Monáe's Wondaland Records a hotbed for recording artists who are unique as they are talented. Earlier... Read more

August 18, 2016 Video

Logic May Be In Super Mario World But His Lyrics Are Not A Game (Video)

Along with blistering verses, Logic clearly has a penchant for video games. Two years ago, when he released the video for "Under Pressure," the title song for his debut album, it was a high octane combat adventure shot from the first person perspective like a real-life game of Call Of... Read more

August 18, 2016 Video

Outkast’s Aquemini Gets Broken Down to Expose the Art in Storytelling (Video)

In his ongoing web series Lyricology 101, Andre Gainer takes a highly detailed approach to analyzing not only the lyrics but also the form and function of some of Hip-Hop's greatest hits, both old and new. He's broken down everyone from Joey Bada$$ to Eminem bar for bar, and in... Read more

August 17, 2016 Video

Sean Price & Chris Rivers Spit Venom On A Track With Bruse Wane (Video)

Sometimes the best way to make a name for oneself is to make songs with established, respected MCs in a lane you aspire to merge into. Sean Price made his debut on Smif-n-Wessun's 1995 debut, Dah Shinin', and began a shuffle into the game through key spots alongside fellow Boot... Read more

August 17, 2016 Video

Yasiin Bey Shows He’s At His Best Making Powerful Thought-Provoking Music (Video)

Last month, A Tribe Called Red released its high profile single with Yasiin Bey (f/k/a Mos Def) and Narcy. "R.E.D." serves as an uplifting anthem for the indigenous people of the world. With percussion from Black Bear, this song fuses genres and two MCs of different backgrounds with a common... Read more

August 17, 2016 Video

Prodigy & Big Twins Keep The Imagery Infamous In The Rotten Apple (Video)

Twenty years ago, when Hip-Hop Heads pressed play on Mobb Deep's gold-certified Hell On Earth, they heard Big Twins on opener "Animal Instinct." Known then as "Twin Gambino," the raspy voiced MC would join Big Noyd as one of the M-O-B-B's most recognized offshoots. A fellow Queens, New York product,... Read more

August 17, 2016 Video

YG, G-Eazy & Macklemore Unite In an Effort to Trump Hate (Video)

In the April video for "FDT," YG and Nipsey Hussle open with a question for their audience: "in which direction will we go?" It's a pointed reference to the presidential election, one in which the political arena has become more divisive and fraught with implications than most in recent history.... Read more

August 16, 2016 Video

REKS Shares The Recipe For Roasting Wack MCs & It Starts With Fire (Video)

For over a decade, REKS has been putting in work as one of Boston's finest. During that time, the underground MC, known as Rhythmatic Eternal King Supreme, has worked with and earned the respect of some of Hip-Hop's most revered beatmakers, including DJ Premier Pete Rock, Hi-Tek and Statik Selkektah.... Read more

August 15, 2016 Video

YG & Drake Answer Their Own Question With a Video for the Haters

This has been a major summer for Compton, California's YG, whose sophomore album Still Brazy has been making ways inside and outside Rap music. With "FDT," he released a defiantly anti-Trump anthem with Nipsey Hussle. But when he enlisted G-Eazy and Macklemore for the song's remix, he paired the song's... Read more

August 15, 2016 Video

Anderson .Paak & Free Nationals Transport NPR’s Offices To “Malibu” (Video)

Having one of the most exciting albums of the year is one thing. To see Anderson .Paak perform live is another world in of itself, which takes the album Malibu and casts a new shade entirely on the rich Empire-released LP. On the road, the Southern California native plays the... Read more

August 15, 2016 Video

Buckshot Credits Sean Price For Saving Duck Down & Taking Over Boot Camp Clik (Video)

Whether solo, or as part of Heltah Skeltah or Random Axe, Sean Price would release all of his albums with Duck Down Music. The label founded by Black Moon's Buckshot and manager Dru Ha would launch with the release of 1996's Nocturnal album by Sean Price (as Ruck) and Rockness... Read more

August 15, 2016 Video

CyHi The Prynce & Locksmith Combine Their Superpower Skills In One Cypher (Video)

In the freestyle Hip-Hop community, CyHi The Prynce and Locksmith are two of the most exciting MCs out. From across the country (Georgia and North California, respectively), both of these fervent lyricists are able to jam substance into their fiery flows. These artists touch upon social issues in a way... Read more

August 15, 2016 Video

DMX Says He Won Every Battle With Jay Z. Who Won The War? (Video)

In 1999, Jay Z and DMX embarked (and majorly cashed in) on the Hard Knock Life Tour. Although Jay Z's album gave the tour its name, the lineup was a joint headliner of the Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder and DMX. Both artists had become the flagship acts at Def Jam Records... Read more

August 13, 2016 Food for Thought, Video

Hot 97 vs Joe Budden: An Interview Turns Into A Personal War Of Words (Video)

On August 12, Joe Budden visited Hot 97 in New York City to presumably promote his forthcoming album with AraabMusik, Rage And the Machine. However, what ensued was a nearly hour-long war of words that devolved to the point that Budden walked out of the studio. It all began when... Read more

August 13, 2016 Video

An Argument For Why Redman Is The Greatest Rapper Of All-Time (Video)

It's been less than a year since Redman released his last solo album, Mudface, but the short time span has not quelled the fervent interest in what he's reportedly got on the horizon: Muddy Waters 2. This year marks the 20th anniversary of arguably one of his most celebrated albums... Read more

August 13, 2016 Video

Joey Bada$$ Fans Should Not Be Devastated. He Didn’t Sell Out… (Video)

Earlier this week (August 10), Joey Bada$$ released the self-directed video to "Devastated." Dropped in May as a standalone official single, the song is a departure from the sounds of last year's Top 5 charting debut, B4.Da.$$ and previous mixtape work. "Devastated" features a Pop-tinged chorus and an uptempo beat.... Read more

August 12, 2016 Video

Snoop Explains Why He Befriended Suge Knight After Knight Tried To Have Him Killed (Video)

Snoop Dogg was the latest guest on The Breakfast Club and, as is often the case, the OG shared a lot of game. Shortly into the discussion (3:45), the conversation turned to the current status of Snoop's relationship with Suge Knight. Snoop said that he and Knight, who is currently... Read more

August 11, 2016 Video

Another Scarface Remake Is Planned For The Near Future

February 1, 2017 UPDATE: Approaching six months after Antoine Fuqua was first attached to the latest remake of the film Scarface, the director has stepped away from the project. Variety reports that the director of Training Day and Brooklyn's Finest disassociated himself from the film, which is still in pre-production,... Read more

August 11, 2016 TV/Film

Redman Discusses His Battle Rap Days Spent Rolling With Biz Markie (Video)

To the Hip-Hop record-buying community, Redman's career would largely take shape in 1990, care of EPMD's Business As Usual album. On a Top 40 LP (Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith's first with Def Jam Records), Reggie Noble appeared twice, including single "Hardcore." However, that is not where the Newark, New Jersey... Read more

August 10, 2016 Video

It’s Official. Isaiah Rashad’s New Album Is Coming In September & The 1st Video Is Money

Days ago Top Dawg Entertainment's owner, Top Dawg, and its Co-President, Dave Free, set off a storm of speculation when each posted "09.02.16" on their social media accounts. The posts fueled discussion about a possible new TDE album being released, since Top promised 6, from the label that's home to... Read more

August 10, 2016 Video

Joey Bada$$ Celebrates Life Despite All Of Its Tragedies (Video)

Just last month, Joey Bada$$ made his television debut on the critically acclaimed USA series "Mr. Robot" in which he plays a philosophical young sage who is able to bestow advice well beyond his years. That's also been an element in much of the Brooklyn, New York rapper's music, and... Read more

August 10, 2016 Video

Sadat X, R.A. The Rugged Man & Thirstin Howl Are Proud Industry Outcasts (Video)

Over 17 years ago, Rawkus Records released Soundbombing 2. That LP, a Top 30 on the Pop charts, helped further the ongoing introductions of Eminem, Dilated Peoples, High & Mighty, Company Flow, and others to the masses. An elite independent label at the time, Rawkus (then home to Mos Def,... Read more

August 9, 2016 Video

The Extended First Look At Marvel’s Luke Cage Series Is Bulletproof (Video)

Since the announcement that Marvel would be creating a series based on its character, Luke Cage, excitement for it has only grown. The show, about the hero with impenetrable skin and superhuman strength, is steeped in Hip-Hop, particularly that of the 90s vintage. It is helmed by Cheo Hodari Coker,... Read more

August 9, 2016 Video

Ghostface Killah, Twista & Cassidy Smash A Cypher Like Legends (Video)

Ghostface Killah, Twista, and Cassidy represent three vastly differently Hip-Hop stories. However, they prove they can perform together with finesse. In the early 1990s, G.F.K. and Tung Twista each burst onto the scene with unconventional, highly-gravitational deliveries. While the Speedknot Mobstaz O.G. spit his bars with AK-47 precision and nimble... Read more

August 9, 2016 Video

On The Anniversary Of His Death, Sean Price Is Remembered In A Collaboration With Ras Kass & Steele (Video)

One year ago today (August 8), Sean Price passed away. Two of his collaborators have not forgotten the Brooklyn, New Yorker's incredible impact on Hip-Hop, especially in the modern era. From Ras Kass' upcoming Intellectual Property: S.O.I.2 album (September 9), the West Coast veteran releases the video to single "Paypal... Read more

August 8, 2016 Video

Seth Rogen Smashes The Roots’ “Mellow My Man” In An Epic Lip Sync Battle (Video)

Among the many stunts Jimmy Fallon stages with his guests, some of the best are his lip sync battles. Over the years, he's waged war with Tom Cruise, Will Ferrell, Ellen DeGeneres and Kevin Hart, to name a few. His latest matchup was against fellow funnyman Seth Rogen and, as... Read more

August 6, 2016 Video

Atmosphere, DOOM & Kool Keith Send A Bright Beam Of Light From The Underground (Audio)

Next week (8/5), Atmosphere, the duo consisting of Slug and Ant, will release their latest album, Fishing Blues. The LP, distributed by Rhymesayers, will be their 11th in a catalog that spans nearly 20 years. Featured guests include Aesop Rock, deM atlaS, The Grouch and more. Atmosphere Heat Up An... Read more

August 6, 2016 Audio, Video

Ready Or Not, Here Is One Of Lauryn Hill’s Best Performances In Years (Video)

Lauryn Hill stepped into the mainstream spotlight 20 years ago with The Fugees and a game-changing, commercially-explosive juggernaut of an album known as The Score. In most of the time since, Ms. Hill has been solo, but she still performs some of the records that transformed her career. One hit... Read more

August 5, 2016 Video

Fat Joe Tells An Animated Story About Meeting Big Pun & It’s Epic (Video)

Few artists have impacted Hip-Hop over a longer span than Fat Joe. For nearly 25 years, he has remained relevant, not only enduring, but seemingly growing in popularity. While Joe started off as an underground rapper, aptly-nicknamed "Da Gangsta," he has morphed into an artist with incredible mainstream success, without... Read more

August 4, 2016 Video

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

August 4, 2016 Video

Pharoahe Monch, A-F-R-O & Marco Polo Swarm Like Some Killer Bees (Video)

In the new video for "Swarm," MCs A-F-R-O and Pharoahe Monch are joined by producer Marco Polo on a murderous rampage, cutting down zombies left and right. It's a fitting metaphor for the lyrical arsenal the two rappers are able to unleash on any challenger who dares cross their paths.... Read more

August 3, 2016 Video

Mac Miller & Anderson .Paak Release Their Video For 1 Of The Feel Good Songs Of The Summer

Last week, Mac Miller released the first single from his upcoming album, The Divine Feminine. Titled "Dang!," the song features the soulful vocals of Anderson .Paak, as Mac tries to navigate the treacherous waters of a relationship he has with a woman. The record is part of the album's overall... Read more

August 2, 2016 Video

This Is How We Do: 50 Cent & The Game End Their Beef (Video)

One of the longest standing feuds in Hip-Hop has been between 50 Cent and The Game. The onetime mentor and protege team (along with Dr. Dre) responsible for the success of The Documentary has been at odds for the nearly a dozen years since. In late February of 2005, tensions... Read more

August 2, 2016 Video

Celebrate The 28th Anniversary of “Yo! MTV Raps” With Its Very First Episode (Video)

There may not be a more singularly recognized television channel as MTV, which launched on August 1, 1981. Originally formulated as an all-music outlet (MTV once stood for Music Television) devoted to airing videos, it eventually grew to include original programming and underwent a significant identity change in the 2000s.... Read more

August 2, 2016 TV/Film, Video

45 King Gives His Rhythm Roulette Records A Truly Hard Knock (Video)

45 King is one of the most active Hip-Hop producers of 2016 who can say he was making hit records in the 1980s. He joins Dr. Dre, EPMD, Marley Marl, Prince Paul, Large Professor, and a very select few in that elite class. The New Jersey native has always had... Read more

August 1, 2016 Video

Why Did Tupac Attack De La Soul? A New Video Breaks Down The Beef

Tupac's war with the East Coast, particularly with The Notorious B.I.G. and Bad Boy Entertainment, is well-documented. And, while his sharp words for the likes of Biggie, Mobb Deep and even Nas have been oft-discussed, the ire he directed toward De La Soul on his songs "Against All Odds," from... Read more

July 31, 2016 Video

Andre Harrell Explains How Heavy D Became The Foundation For Uptown Records (Video)

While record labels like Def Jam and Bad Boy are often celebrated for their contributions to music, and rightly so, the company that bridged the two is often overlooked. Uptown Records was founded in 1986 by Andre Harrell, one half of the Rap group Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, and... Read more

July 31, 2016 Video

Rakim Drops Timeless Wisdom In A Powerful New Collaboration With Stephen Marley (Video)

Rakim verses are rare these days. But, when he speaks, he does so with intention and wisdom, and Hip-Hop listens. Rakim's latest effort is a powerful contribution on Stephen Marley's "So Unjust," also featuring Kardinal Offishall, from Marley's new album Revelation Pt. II: "The Fruit of Life." Marley and Rakim... Read more

July 31, 2016 Video

Pras Reveals How A Big Bet The Fugees Placed On Themselves Led To The Ultimate Score (Video)

Twenty years ago, The Fugees released their sophomore album The Score. Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Pras would make one of the biggest career turnarounds in Hip-Hop history. While their 1994 debut Blunted On Reality was considered a commercial disappointment (and did not appear on the Top 200), Pras claims... Read more

July 30, 2016 Video

Joe Budden Discusses The Weird Direct Messages Drake Has Been Sending Him (Video)

Just when it seemed the year's biggest Rap beef could not get any more bizarre, it does...The Joe Budden/Drake feud began with a scathing review by Budden of Drake's recent VIEWS album, followed by what Budden perceived to be Drake taking subliminal shots at him, both in his "4pm In... Read more

July 30, 2016 Video

This Is NOT Supposed to Be Drake Dissing Joe Budden. What Do You Think? (Video)

The biggest Rap beef of 2016 has been fairly one-sided to date. Joe Budden has launched a handful of attacks in onetime friend Drake's direction, due to a diss he believed was coming his way from Drake on French Montana's song "No Shopping." The entire feud has been recounted several... Read more

July 29, 2016 Video

Taylor Bennett Smashes The First EVER 10 Fingers Of Death (Video)

There's more than one talented rapper in the Bennett family. While the world has been wowed by the gifts of Chance The Rapper for the last several years, his brother, Taylor, is making quite a name for himself. Fast. Many first caught wind of Taylor in 2014, when he went... Read more

July 29, 2016 Video

Joe Budden Reminds All He Built His Career On BARS Not Beef (Video)

Joe Budden has been dominating headlines for the last several months, almost exclusively due to his ongoing, and increasingly one-sided war with Drake. As the events of the past week showed--with overzealous Drake fans harassing Budden at his own home, and Budden returning the favor--the feud has taken on a... Read more

July 29, 2016 Video