News Archives

Joe Budden Goes Back To Back With His Second Drake Diss In A Week (Audio)

Last week, Joe Budden unleashed "Making A Murderer (Part 1)," a six minute track dissing Drake. The move was an extreme escalation in a war of words that has been brewing between the two men for quite some time. While it seemed their differences arose from Budden's harsh critique of... Read more

July 6, 2016 Audio

Tupac Left Prison A Superstar On A Vendetta. Gucci Mane Uses Him For Inspiration (Audio)

In the last year of his life, Tupac Shakur left Clinton Correctional Facility to claim the pole position in Rap music. While Me Against The World would go to #1 when 'Pac was incarcerated, his 1996 follow-up All Eyez On Me, is the (diamond-certified) double album he is largely remembered... Read more

July 6, 2016 Audio

Elzhi & O.C. Are Underground MC Legends. They Sound Great Together (Audio)

Although they run in different circles, Elzhi and O.C. are two highly-skilled MCs who have a lot in common. Over the years, both the Detroit, Michigan native and the Brooklyn, New Yorker have complicated histories with celebrated crews (Slum Village and D.I.T.C., respectively). Both lyricist have history with storied record... Read more

July 5, 2016 Audio

The Warriors Are Coming Out To Play, Again.

1979's The Warriors is a cinematic cult-classic in the eyes of many. The Walter Hill-directed film shot on location in grimy Manhattan, Brooklyn, and The Bronx, New York has not only become a pillar of grind-house-era cinema, it is a film that has greatly inspired Hip-Hop through music, dialogue, and... Read more

July 5, 2016 News, TV/Film

A Giant Wall May Be the Only Way to Save New York City from Climate Change

New York City could be under a foot of water as soon as 2030.While that may not sound like a lot, the prospect of such a drastic change in sea level surrounding a city built on a series of islands is indeed scary. The birthplace of Hip-Hop is home to... Read more

July 5, 2016 Lifestyle

Jay Z Locks In With Subliminal Shots. Only He’s Got The Keys. (Video)

Jay Z is one artist who has been generous in giving hugely high profile songs to others' albums. From records like the "Dear Summer" break of silence (and perceived subliminal shot at Game) on Memphis Bleek's 534, to a "Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix)" verse for Kanye West addressing the... Read more

July 5, 2016 Video

Kemba Argues a New Black Theory While Still Seeking Answers (Video)

As with any social-justice movement, there are cultural takeaways that come to represent the modern-day civil rights movement in searingly visual ways. For generations past, images of police dogs, water hoses, and segregated water fountains are markers signifying a time and place during which struggle for equality was forcibly constricted... Read more

July 5, 2016 Video

Big K.R.I.T. Rocks The Spot & The Clock… With 12 Freestyles In 12 Hours (Audio)

Big K.R.I.T. is a product of the online era of Hip-Hop. The Meridian, Mississippi MC/producer has become a stalwart of the culture, and has built a career without reliance on mediums like radio and television. Instead, Krizzle gave away his music for free over the worldwide web, and never lost... Read more

July 5, 2016 Audio

Kendrick Lamar’s Music & His Message Climb Over The White House Fence (Video)

In March of 2015, Kendrick Lamar released his fourth album, To Pimp A Butterfly. Within a year of it dropping, the TDE/Aftermath Entertainment release would take the Grammy Award for "Best Rap Album," along with platinum certification. In the LP's artwork, it featured Kendrick Lamar and many of his Compton,... Read more

July 5, 2016 Video

Prince’s Vast & Innovative Websites Are Now an Online Museum

Prince was an artist ahead of his time in more ways than one. As a musician, he pushed the boundaries of creativity in ways few others have done. As an advocate for artistry, he fought harder for the rights of artists to maintain control of their creations, before and into... Read more

July 5, 2016 Fresh

Akon Is Revolutionizing Africa, One Light Bulb at a Time (Video)

Akon's multi-platinum career as a recording artist is hard to outshine, but his work outside of the recording booth may prove to be his brightest legacy. The St. Louis, Missouri, born singer is the voice behind the soundtrack to much of the mid-2000s, when songs like "Locked Up," "Lonely," and... Read more

July 5, 2016 Lifestyle

Nipsey Hussle & Snoop Dogg Show The Complexity Behind The “Colors” (Video)

Last month, Nipsey Hussle and Snoop Dogg made perhaps the most meaningful in their litany of collaborations. "Question #1" finds the two Greater Los Angeles, California street artists coming together to talk about the high cost of gang life. Both of these artists have been public figures, with known affiliations.... Read more

July 5, 2016 Video

ScHoolboy Q Discusses Stepping Away From Rap To Take Care Of His Daughter (Video)

Much like the title of his major label debut album suggests, ScHoolboy Q is an oxymoron. On the one hand, he is known for spitting some of the most unflinchingly real gangster tales in Hip-Hop, today. To hear him rap about his childhood and life as a young man is... Read more

July 4, 2016 Video

Cash Money Records Continues Trying To Re-Sign Hot Boys, One By One

Whether Scarface and Rap-A-Lot, or Kurupt and Death Row, Rap labels have a history of on-again, off-again statuses with artists. New Orleans, Louisiana's Cash Money Records has a detailed reputation for having artists leave the label apparently upset, only to return later. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the... Read more

July 4, 2016 News

DJ Jazzy Jeff & MICK Set Summertime 2016 Ablaze With Exclusives In The Mix

For the seventh consecutive year, DJ Jazzy Jeff & MICK (f/k/a Mick Boogie) punctuate the season with a Summertime mix. The 2016 version, also known as Summertime 7, is big on exclusives, ranging from Jeff's co-produced opener with De La Soul ("Time For Summer") to rare Pete Rock remixes of Jay Z... Read more

July 3, 2016 Mixes

Vinyl Archeologists Will Dig This 1995 Demo Of Cut Chemist Turntablism (Audio)

In late 1998, Los Angeles, California's Jurassic 5 burst on the scene with a self-titled EP. First released on the Pan imprint, the 37-minute project would eventually be re-released through Interscope Records, as part of the major label's commitment to Underground Hip-Hop, which also included Eminem and Planet Asia. That... Read more

July 2, 2016 Audio, Throwback, Throwback

20 Years Later, De La Soul Credit Dave For Their Shift In Sound On “Stakes Is High”

Today (July 2) marks the 20th anniversary of Stakes Is High, arguably one of the most important LPs in De La Soul's discography, a rare characteristic for an album released nearly a decade after a group's debut. However, Stakes Is High represented a significant change in the group's direction. The album was... Read more

July 2, 2016 Fresh

Minority Report: Babies of Color Officially Outnumber Whites Now

Several years ago, National Geographic made headlines for its cover story about what people of the future will look like. Far from a science-fiction based approach, the story rather examined the very real evolution of interracial coupling. Essentially, the thesis was that by 2050, the vast majority of people will... Read more

July 2, 2016 Lifestyle

Curren$y Reveals That He & Raekwon Have New Material Recorded

Over the last decade, Curren$y has ascended from a flagship artist at Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment to a successful independent MC. In the years since, the onetime 504 Boyz member has released collaborative projects with Wiz Khalifa, producer Ski Beatz, and his own Jet Life squad. In a year... Read more

July 1, 2016 News

GZA Proves That A Genius Only Speaks If There Is Something Worth Saying (Audio)

Within the Wu-Tang Clan, there are prolific MCs and patient MCs. While Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, and RZA regularly release material, other entities within the legendary Shaolin collective are more choosy. None appears more so than GZA. It has been eight years since the first Clansmen who released a solo album... Read more

July 1, 2016 Audio

Kay Slay Recruits Redman, Raekwon & Royce 5’9″ To Attack The Wack (Mixtape)

They do not call DJ Kay Slay "the drama king" for nothing. Since the late 1970s, the Harlem, New York graffiti writer-turned-DJ-turned-record executive seemingly lives for the spirit of competition. Now a Shade 45 radio mainstay, Kay Slay is one of the few talents who was making mixtapes 15 years... Read more

July 1, 2016 Mixes

Havoc Reveals That Prince Played Keys On A Mobb Deep Track (Video)

Throughout the last 25 years, Queens, New York duo Mobb Deep has worked with the likes of Mariah Carey, Nas, and 50 Cent. However, it is now learned that Prodigy and Havoc collaborated with late Pop icon Prince. Speaking with N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN's "Drink Champs" Podcast (Episode #17), Havoc... Read more

July 1, 2016 Audio, Video

Joe Budden Explains Why He Dissed Drake & Warns He’s Well Prepared For ANY Response (Audio)

At the top of June, Drake shocked the Hip-Hop space when he apparently dissed Joe Budden and Puff Daddy on a la carte release "4PM In Calabasas." For Joe's part, the lines were presumed to be a response to Budden's criticism of Views on his "I'll Name This Podcast Later" (Episode... Read more

July 1, 2016 Audio

Logic Releases The 11 Track Bobby Tarantino Without Warning (Album Stream)

Music's elite artists, including Beyonce, Drake, and Kendrick Lamar have all released albums at will over the last two years. After back-to-back Top 5 albums in 2014 and 2014, Maryland's Logic wants in on the party. The Visionary Music Group/Def Jam Records MC releases Bobby Tarantino last night (July 1).... Read more

July 1, 2016 Audio

Jay Z & Dr. Dre Could Be Collaborating In The Biggest Way Yet

Over the last 17 years, Dr. Dre and Jay Z have come together multiple times. From Jay's stellar verse writing on "Still D.R.E." to Dre showering Hov' with an Aftermath beat of a new variety in "Trouble," some of the collaborations have been memorable. However, in the technology space, the... Read more

June 30, 2016 Lifestyle, News

Joe Budden Disses Drake For 6 Straight Minutes…And It Gets Really Personal (Audio)

For weeks, rumors have been swirling about an epic showdown between once friends, Joe Budden and Drake. Things started to get tense between the two after Budden had some harsh words about Drake's VIEWS album, saying “I think that kid on that album that I heard sounds real fucking uninspired.... Read more

June 30, 2016 Audio

Snow Tha Product Puts Her Haters On Ice With A Lethal Freestyle (Video)

Snow Tha Product is fast becoming the biggest Hip-Hop act out of San Diego, California in more than a decade. This month, the Atlantic Records sensation released Half Way There...Pt. 1, an EP boasting production by Dr. Dre affiliate Focus... While the getting may seem good, Snow is unafraid to... Read more

June 30, 2016 Video

Filming Artists During Concerts Could Soon Become Impossible

Live concerts and smartphone technology are quintessentially at odds. Attending a colorado music festival is meant to be an immersive, all-consuming experience whereas the latter effectively removes oneself from the moment. It's become a ubiquitous sight at shows, the prevalence of cell phones being used to record what's going down... Read more

June 30, 2016 Lifestyle

ScHoolboy Q Strips All Sense Of Glamour From Crime On Tookie Knows II (Video)

Over the years, ScHoolboy Q has built a catalog of extremely raw and hard-hitting tracks, that detail some of the grim realities of life. On songs like "Blessed," he rapped about the impossibility of truly comforting a friend who had lost a son. With Oxymoron's "Hoover St," his pen revealed... Read more

June 30, 2016 Video

Skyzoo Brilliantly Exacts “Revenge” On Jay Z On “Friend Or Foe Pt. 3″ (Audio)

Crown Heights Brooklyn MC Skyzoo grew up not far from the Marcy Houses that raised Jay Z. Although the two lyricists are more than a dozen years apart in age, S-K-Y always vocalized just how much S.Carter inspired his art and style. The extended, nasal bars, emphasis on brands and... Read more

June 30, 2016 Audio

Oscars So White No More: Academy Awards Are Making History In Diversity

Hollywood was rattled by a major controversy earlier this year when the Oscars announced nominees for the 2016 Academy Awards. Overwhelmingly White and male, the pool of talent up for awards at the ceremony became the target of societal blowback at a level that made the story ubiquitous in the... Read more

June 30, 2016 Lifestyle

Flavor Flav’s 1984 Mix Shows What Time It Is (Audio)

Public Enemy's Flavor Flav is one of Hip-Hop's all-time most recognizable personalities. While he only released one solo album, the man born William Drayton, III has brought mad flavor to classic P.E. records since the Long Island, New York group's inception. He is a hype-man extraordinaire, and an MC, but... Read more

June 30, 2016 Mixes, Throwback

Celebrate 25 Years Of Pete Rock & CL Smooth With A Souled Out Mix (Audio)

While the mid-90s often get lots of credit for the numerous Hip-Hop classic albums that were released during that period, 1991 was a pivotal year in which many artist debuts laid the foundation for what was to come. Among some of the acts that released their first albums were Tupac,... Read more

June 29, 2016 Throwback

Xzibit & Bishop Lamont Get In Battle Rap Mode For Their Brolic Video

A decade ago, Bishop Lamont was Dr. Dre's key protege at Aftermath Entertainment. The Carson, California native would never release much to the public during his time at the high profile label, but has been on a tear in the many years since. From Caltroit to stellar appearances alongside DJ... Read more

June 29, 2016 Video

Rumor Has It Tim Gent Is Just Getting Started (Album Stream)

Having already put his hometown of Clarksville, Tennessee on the map with his 2015 project For the Love earlier this year, MC Tim Gent has released a new project which speaks to the tenacity of artists from small towns. Rumor Has It is an EP absent of featured rappers, allowing... Read more

June 29, 2016 Audio

Put Some Respek On My Bed…Birdman Sleeps On $1 Million Cash Every Night (Video)

What a year it's been for Birdman. The Cash Money capo has been embroiled in a bitter and bizarre lawsuit with his flagship artist, Lil Wayne, for the better part of 18 months. In January of 2015, Wayne sued Cash Money records for $51 million and since, there have been... Read more

June 29, 2016 Video

The Firm’s Nature Bags Up Rarities Featuring Nas, Pete Rock & AZ (Album Stream)

It has been nearly 20 years since The Firm released its one and only album. The collective of Nas, AZ, Foxy Brown, and Nature would sign with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment for a chart-topping LP (called The Album) that is seemingly misplaced by time. Dre would place six of the album's... Read more

June 29, 2016 Audio, Throwback

Royce 5’9″, Pusha T & Rick Ross Put A Dirty Politician On Trial By The Streets (Video)

2016 has been a major turning point for Royce 5'9". The Detroit, Michigan MC already has an illustrious career behind him, but with the April release of Layers, he earned his first ever number-one LP. Buoyed by the critical acclaim of his Trust the Shooter EP, his sixth studio album... Read more

June 29, 2016 Video

DMX Bites Right Through The Flesh In New Single “Blood Red” (Audio)

During this morning's (June 28) Breakfast Club interview, DMX left Charlamagne Tha God and company with a premiere listen on single "Blood Red." Right on time, the Divine Beats-produced song hits the web just a few hours later. With its vicious title, the song is X's latest jagged bite into... Read more

June 28, 2016 Audio

Nia Long Reveals How Phife & “Oochie Wally” Affected Her Career & Taste In Lingerie (Video)

In the canon of Hip-Hop lyrics, many MCs have professed their attraction to celebrities. Whether Royce 5'9" breaking his focus to woo Rihanna during a 2011 BET Cypher or Nas recounting Halle Berry's air-kiss at a Barbara Streisand concert, these moments have colored the folklore of Rap music. Whether the... Read more

June 28, 2016 Video

Tavis Smiley Explains Why Brexit Could Mean America’s Downfall (Video)

Tavis Smiley is a celebrated journalist, interviewer, radio personality, author, and business man whose illustrious career has lasted for more than two decades. As a recent guest on Sway in the Morning, he brought to the table his insight on a far-reaching selection of topics, as his expertise is well... Read more

June 28, 2016 Lifestyle

Ras Kass, Bumpy Knuckles & ONYX Troll Internet Thugs, Like Mr. Robot (Video)

Ras Kass, Bumpy Knuckles and ONYX are from a different school, and they wear that distinction with pride. There's is one where quality comes first, and trends are to be made, not to be chased. On Ras' "Downward Spiral," Bumpy and ONYX join him in the fight to save Hip-Hop... Read more

June 28, 2016 Video

DMX Breaks Down While Discussing How God Saved His Life (Video)

This morning (June 28), DMX was a guest on The Breakfast Club. The onetime superstar rapper spoke for more than an hour with Charlamagne Tha God, Angela Yee, and DJ Envy about a host of topics. At times drinking cognac straight from the bottle, the Yonkers, New York lyricist got... Read more

June 28, 2016 Video

Suge Knight Sues Chris Brown In Connection With His 2014 Shooting

In 2014, Suge Knight was shot 7 times while attending a party hosted by Chris Brown at the Los Angeles clube, 1 Oak. Now, nearly two years later, as reported by the Associated Press, Knight has filed a lawsuit against both Brown and the club, alleging that Brown has a... Read more

June 27, 2016 News

Jesse Williams’ Blueprint for Revolution Is Chillingly Powerful (Video)

Best known for his portrayal of Dr. Jackson Avery on Grey's Anatomy, actor Jesse Williams took the stage at the BET Awards last night (June 26) for a reason unrelated to his on-screen performances. The Chicago, Illinois native has been deeply entrenched in political and social activism, working tirelessly to... Read more

June 27, 2016 Lifestyle

Kanye West Not Only Produced This Consequence Hit, He Once Rapped On It (Audio)

In 2016, Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music is vastly different than it was in the last decade. Around the time 'Ye was gearing up for Graduation, completing his initial collegiate album trilogy, Getting Out Our Dreams boasted the likes of Common, John Legend, and GLC. Queens, New York MC Consequence was... Read more

June 27, 2016 Throwback

Redman Dares To Do An EDM Track With 1000volts. Who’s With Him? (Audio)

“You're not trying to win by doing the new era music when you know you’re from the ’90s...A lot of artists try to implement some of the new wave into they situation. It works and [does not] work, because, sometimes the fans, they want originality. They want that artist that... Read more

June 27, 2016 Audio

Alicia Keys Is A One Woman Musical Army In An Elegant Performance (Video)

Alicia Keys' arsenal of talent can be easily taken for granted in a career decorated with consistent quality throughout all of the sonic versatility. In addition to her astounding vocal range, the songstress is an elite musician, known especially for her work at the keyboards. At last night's (June 26)... Read more

June 27, 2016 Video

Vic Mensa Asks Why There Is So Much Hate Against Free Love (Audio)

Less than one month after releasing the highly-acclaimed There's Alot Going On EP, Vic Mensa shows no signs of slowing his roll or losing his focus. The Chicago, Illinois delegate of the Roc Nation roster returns with "Free Love." This song taps into some of the showmanship that Vic demonstrated... Read more

June 27, 2016 Audio

The First Footage Of The New Edition Biopic Looks Amazing (Video)

Late last year, Michael Bivins, founding member of New Edition and Bell Biv Devoe, revealed that he was working with BET to produce a biopic that told the story of Ralph Tresvant, Bobby Brown, Ronnie Devoe, Ricky Bell, Johnny Gill and himself, as they came together to form arguably the... Read more

June 27, 2016 Video