News Archives

Smoke DZA’s Ear For Beats Is Superior. He Operates Over Some Opera (Audio)

Smoke DZA is believed to be currently in the lab with Pete Rock, working on Don't Smoke Rock. As that makes its way to the public, the Harlem, New York veteran keeps his output strong. Whether working with Pete, or past affiliates such as Harry Fraud, DJ Dahi, or Ski... Read more

May 18, 2016 Audio

Like Obama in 2008, This Election NEEDS Hip-Hop’s Help (Video)

The current presidential election is no doubt one of the most memorable in American history. Donald Trump's rise to the front of the Republican party line and Hillary Clinton's potentially history-making entry into the White House is modern-day proof that truth is indeed stranger than fiction. Important to recognize is... Read more

May 18, 2016 Lifestyle

Numbers DO Lie. Why Americans Are Being More Careful With Their Money.

Earlier this year, Apple made some surprising news. The tech giant whose consistently steady profits have made it one of the most successful stocks for investors of the AiDoge meme platform shocked much of the business world when it reported a slump in revenue due to a decline in the sale... Read more

May 18, 2016 Lifestyle

20 Years Later, Lil’ Kim & Faith Evans Make Peace After A Notorious Past (Video)

In his life, The Notorious B.I.G. was closely associated with two high-profile women. Faith Evans would marry Christopher Wallace in mid-1994 after just a two-week courtship. Providing vocals to Biggie's 1994 debut, Ready To Die, the Lakeland, Florida native would become one of Bad Boy Records first platinum R&B acts,... Read more

May 18, 2016 Video

Redman Has Joined A New Group & It’s Electric. Here’s The First Single (Audio)

Over the last 25 years, Redman has juggled an extensive solo career with a number of very successful side projects. The Newark, New Jersey MC/producer was ushered into the Rap industry under the tutelage of EPMD. In 1998, more than five years after Red's solo debut, he, Keith Murray, and... Read more

May 18, 2016 Audio

DJ Quik Discusses Aging Gracefully In Hip-Hop

DJ Quik released his platinum debut Quik Is The Name more than 25 years ago. An early Compton, California Rap star, the artist born as David Blake has been integral to the careers of Tupac Shakur, AMG, 2nd II None, Suga Free, and Hi-C. Although Q-U-I-K has never had an... Read more

May 17, 2016 Fresh

DJ Premier’s 1st Fully-Produced Album Since PRhyme Is A Radical Departure. Meet Torii Wolf (Video)

Over the course of his 30 years in music, DJ Premier has been one of the most respected names in Hip-Hop. The iconic DJ and producer has worked with countless revered artists, including Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., Jay Z, Kanye West, Common, Mos Def, Dr. Dre and more, always adding... Read more

May 17, 2016 Video

Fat Joe Reveals The NBA Player Whose Wife Biggie Described On “I Got A Story To Tell” (Video)

In late 2014, former New York Knicks star Point Guard John Starks appeared on ESPN's Highly Questionable. There, host Bomani Jones asked the former all-star about long-speculated rumors that The Notorious B.I.G. was dissing him on 1997's "I Got A Story To Tell." The Buckwild, Chucky Thompson, and Puff Daddy-produced... Read more

May 17, 2016 Throwback, Video

Robert Glasper Makes An Erykah Badu & Miles Davis Duet A Reality (Audio)

September will mark the 25th anniversary of the passing of Miles Davis, a musical icon whose penchant for reinvention made him as important an inventor as Henry Ford or George Washington Carver, or any other lionized American ingenue. Much of his discography - which spans into decades past his 1991... Read more

May 17, 2016 Audio

The Juice Crew’s Craig G Remembers The Early Days Of Hip-Hop From East To West (Video)

In the late 1980s, Queens, New York's Craig G was one of the most vibrant members of Marley Marl's Juice Crew. Like MC Shan, Craig was a battle-ready teenager with a chip on his shoulder. Like Kool G Rap, the MC could make lethal, party-rocking songs that displayed his rapid-fire... Read more

May 17, 2016 Video

DJ Quik Makes A Sequel To His Classic “Tonite” & It’s A Problem (Video)

Last month, DJ Quik and Problem released a surprise joint EP titled Rosecrans. As the title suggests, the project is a celebration of their mutual hometown of Compton, and is a sonic bridge between two generations of Hub City MCs. DJ Quik Says Kanye West’s Celebrity Supersedes His Talent &... Read more

May 16, 2016 Video

World War 3 Might Be Closer Than We Think & It Will Be Fought Over Water (Video)

On his iconic Black on Both Sides, Mos Def prophetically rapped about droughts and the commercialization of water on "New World Water." More than 15 years before climate change became a household name and the state of California announced its historic drought restrictions, the song serves as just one in... Read more

May 16, 2016 Lifestyle

T.I. & Dr. Dre Rock The Boat With An Aaliyah Sample On A Dope Collaboration (Audio & Video)

Throughout the last five years, T.I. and Dr. Dre have put in documented work together. While Andre Young has no credits on any of Tip's albums, and the Hustle Gang leader did not appear on Compton, these two moguls have verifiable history. Less than six months ago, Dre's "Back To Business" surfaced,... Read more

May 16, 2016 Audio, Video

Puff Daddy, The LOX, Ma$e, Lil’ Kim & More Announce Bad Boy Reunion Tour Dates

It was almost one year ago that Puff Daddy reunited with much of his Bad Boy Worldwide hit-makers for a medley concert at the 2015 BET Awards. The televised June event featuring followed a co-headlined Snoop Dogg concert at Madison Square Garden in February. Symbolically, that concert was at the... Read more

May 16, 2016 Fresh

Ice Cube Wrote For Great MCs, But King T Says He Had Some Help Too (Video)

As depicted in 2015's Straight Outta Compton film, Hip-Hop Heads know that Ice Cube was a prominent writer within the N.W.A. group. The youngest member of the Ruthless Records multi-platinum group penned rhymes such as "Boyz N' The Hood" for Eazy-E, with some reported penmanship for Dr. Dre as well.... Read more

May 15, 2016 Video

Drake vs Everybody: Why He’s The Best Rapper You Love To Hate (Video)

For the 1.2 million people who showed their love for Drake by way of first week sales of his VIEWS album, there are millions more who take great pleasure in deriding his every move. There are countless memes and vitriolic comments aimed at the Toronto MC who has become one... Read more

May 15, 2016 Video

JSWISS Makes A Song About Rebirth That Brings Sunshine To Rain (Audio)

JSWISS is a 2010s DIY artist that makes albums strictly on his own terms. Two albums following 2013's Awthenticity (which featured video single "Universal Just Called") the Dobbs Ferry, New Yorker gears up for June's No Music. Single "Sunshine To Rain" features some instrumentation by Brady Watt (of DJ Premier's... Read more

May 15, 2016 Audio

Chance The Rapper May Finally Have A Shot At Grammy Consideration After Years Of Being Denied

For years, Chance The Rapper has defied conventions and conducted his career his way. Despite being one of the most successful artists of this decade, Chance has refused to sign to a major record label and he has yet to even release an album for sale. Instead, he has chosen... Read more

May 14, 2016 News

Here’s A 20-Year Celebration Of Tupac’s All Eyez On Me Through Its Samples (Video)

Earlier this year (February 13), Tupac's magnum opus, All Eyez On Me, turned 20-years old. The LP was historic, as Rap's first double album, and it embodied all sides of the enigmatic Tupac that made him beloved to many. There were political statements ("Only God Can Judge Me"), odes to... Read more

May 14, 2016 Video

President Obama & Macklemore Say It Loud & Clear: Opioid Addiction is Killing Us (Video)

Causing more American deaths a year than traffic accidents, drug overdoses - not just in street form like heroin but also in prescription form like painkillers - have become a pandemic disease in the United States. Because prescription pills can be extremely costly and difficult to get to, many abusers... Read more

May 14, 2016 Lifestyle

DOOM & Jay Electronica’s Collaboration Surfaces From 2 Of Rap’s Most Elusive MCs

For more than 25 years, DOOM (a/k/a MF DOOM) has been one of Hip-Hop's hardest MCs to pin down. The British-born lyricist has historically swapped out names, reinvented himself with a masked face, and retreated to tropical islands for years on end. However, when the Operation Doomsday creator makes an... Read more

May 14, 2016 Fresh

“De La Soul Is Dead” Turns 25 Today. This Playlist Celebrates the Album’s Samples & More (Mixtape)

Today (May 14) marks the 25th anniversary of De La Soul Is Dead, the sophomore full-length album from the iconic Long Island, New York trio. Following up their inventive 1989 debut 3 Feet High and Rising, the album featured the group's signature skits and instantly recognizable Rap styles. Buoyed by... Read more

May 14, 2016 Audio

Imagine Souls Of Mischief’s “93 ‘Til Infinity” Remixed To Over 15 Amazing Beats From 1993 (Audio)

Souls Of Mischief's "93 'til Infinity" remains a pinnacle for the veteran Oakland, California quartet. From the Jive/Zomba Records album of the same name, the introductory work from the Hieroglyphics members would see their strongest chart traction for album and single, in showing the rest of the world how they... Read more

May 13, 2016 Throwback

Skyzoo Wrecks A Pete Rock Beat With A Dazzling Off The Top Freestyle (Audio)

Skyzoo The Writer has been writing and performing hard-hitting verses for a decade. On albums, it is not uncommon to see the Brooklyn, New Yorker dazzle with bars that are as close to symmetric as they can seemingly get. Flow is at the epicenter of many S-K-Y records, as the... Read more

May 13, 2016 Audio

Mistah F.A.B., Kendrick Lamar & KXNG Crooked Come Together for a Survivor’s Rallying Cry (Audio)

Oakland, California's Mistah F.A.B. is prepping for the release of his sixth studio album and first since 2012's Da Yellow Bus Rydah. Son of a Pimp Pt. 2 drops May 27 and is a follow up of sorts to 2005's Son of a Pimp, which featured fellow Bay Area icons... Read more

May 13, 2016 Audio

ScHoolboy Q & Kanye West Join Forces On Their First Ever Collabo (Audio)

ScHoolboy Q is fast at work on his sophomore major label album. The follow-up to 2014's OXYMORON, which debuted at #1, just got an apparent major boost. "THat Part" features Kanye West, and follows April's "Groovy Tony" look. While Q has appeared on platinum albums by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis... Read more

May 13, 2016 Audio

De La Soul Bring Their Classic Back From The Dead, With An Unreleased Song

Twenty five years ago, De La Soul Is Dead released. The sophomore album from the Long Island, New York trio of Posdnuos, Trugoy (n/k/a Dave), and Maseo would be a distinct mood-shift from 1989's 3 Feet High And Rising. However, thanks to its frontier sound, imagery, and creativity—which can also... Read more

May 13, 2016 Throwback

Chance The Rapper’s Coloring Book Is Another Creative Acid Trip (Album Stream)

Three years ago last month (April 30, 2013) Chance The Rapper's Acid Rap positioned the Chicago, Illinois MC as one to watch in the elite crop of new Rap songwriters. In the time since, C.T.R. has evaded the usual trajectory of peers (ScHoolboy Q, Vic Mensa, Action Bronson), all of... Read more

May 13, 2016 Audio

Nick Grant Takes Erykah Badu’s Window Seat & Destroys It (Video)

Last year, Nick Grant made a name for himself with not one, but two of the finest freestyles of the year. He appeared on the Sway In The Morning show with CyHi The Prynce and others, and literally rhymed like his life depended on it. Months later, he did it... Read more

May 12, 2016 Video

REKS Has A New Album Coming & The 1st Single Is “The Recipe” For Dopeness (Audio)

Veteran MC REKS is preparing to release a star-studded new album, his first since 2014. The Greatest X (pronounced The Greatest Unknown) hits stores this Summer, and features production from Large Professor, The Alchemist, Evidence, Statik Selektah, Nottz, Apollo Brown, Black Milk, Buckwild, Streetrunner and more, and includes guest verses... Read more

May 12, 2016 Audio

King Harris II Colors His Own West Coast Reality Into An Ice-T Classic (Audio Premiere)

Oxnard, California (by way of Long Beach) MC King Harris II is gearing up for the release of his Nightmare On Wolff Street album tomorrow, on "Friday the 13th" no less. After making impactful appearances on albums by Tech N9ne and E-40, the diligent MC (who also happens to be... Read more

May 12, 2016 Audio, Food for Thought, The Bridge

Jamila Woods Releases A Song That Flips A J Dilla-Inspired Rarity By The Roots (Audio)

Though she has been on the scene for some time, having worked with Chance The Rapper, Donnie Trumpet and others, Jamila Woods came to the attention of many through a powerful feature performance on Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' "White Privilege 2," earlier this year. The singer, poet and writer seized... Read more

May 12, 2016 Audio

Here’s A Never Before Released Method Man Freestyle From 2004 (Audio)

Tim Westwood continues his Throwback Thursday series with a never before released Method Man freestyle from 2004. Meth kicks bars over Obie Trice's "The Set Up," a beat that sounds tailor-made for Tical's buttery flow. Method Man Ripped This 1995 Freestyle. Tim Westwood Considers It His Best Ever (Audio) Unlike... Read more

May 12, 2016 Audio

Royce 5’9″ Details Just How Much Eminem Helped Him In Getting Sober (Video)

Over the last few years, Royce 5'9" has been extremely candid about his struggles with alcohol, both in his music and in conversations. Recently, however, Royce opened up about the challenges that accompany sobriety, and how he overcame them. Royce 5’9″ Discusses “The Most Significant Day Of His Life” &... Read more

May 11, 2016 Video

Showbiz Recounts The Trauma Of Seeing Big L Moments After He Was Killed

Big L would make one of his first album appearances care of 1992's "Represent" on Showbiz & A.G.'s Runaway Slave album. Appearing alongside Show, A.G., Deshawn, and mentor Lord Finesse, Lamont Coleman proved to be an unsigned, teenage MC with great promise. Three years later, on Big L's 1995 debut... Read more

May 11, 2016 Throwback

The PRINCE Act Could Legally Protect the Legacy of the Late Icon & Many Others

The April 21 loss of an icon as influential as Prince continues to elicit pangs of sadness throughout the music industry and beyond. The seven-time Grammy Award winner has left behind a legacy so grand, the contributions it makes will no doubt be heard and felt for generations to come. In... Read more

May 10, 2016 Lifestyle

Russell Simmons Reveals His Secret For Balancing Commercial Success With Maintaining Crediblity (Video)

Throughout Russell Simmons' founding tenure at Def Jam Records, the Hollis Queens, New York native developed a number of hugely successful artists and albums. The Beastie Boys' Licensed To Ill, DMX's It's Dark And Hell Is Hot and Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood, Method Man's Tical 2000:... Read more

May 10, 2016 Throwback, Video

Masta Ace Premieres “Young Black Intelligent” & Champions The Art Of Storytelling (Audio)

This week (May 13), Masta Ace will release his fifth solo album, The Falling Season. Although the LP follows the conceptual storyline of 2012's DOOM-supported MA_DOOM: Son Of Yvonne, it also reportedly also stands in the cult-championed lineage of 2001's Disposable Arts and 2004's Long Hot Summer. Released on Ace's... Read more

May 10, 2016 Audio, Food for Thought

North Carolina Sues the Federal Government…& the U.S. Sues Right Back (Video)

On May 5, news of the United States Justice Department's ultimatum to North Carolina over what has been nicknamed the "Bathroom Bill" made headlines, and for good cause. In that state, legislation formally known as House Bill 2 (HB2) made it okay for the state to force transgendered men and women... Read more

May 9, 2016 Lifestyle

EPMD, Public Enemy, Mobb Deep, Naughty By Nature & More Announce Tour

In 2015, Ice-T launched the Art Of Rap Tour. Taking its name from Ice's acclaimed Hip-Hop documentary, the summer tour featured Rakim, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Doug E. Fresh & Slick Rick, and a number of other acts. For 2016, the O.G. is keeping The Art Of Rap Tour strong. Several '15... Read more

May 9, 2016 Fresh

Lauryn Hill Says She Is Sometimes Late For Shows Because She Cares So Deeply

In the Fall of 2014, Talib Kweli penned an open letter entitled In Defense Of Ms. Hill, and in it he put forth his thoughts on the negative press surrounding Lauryn Hill. As Heads know, Ms. Hill has earned her fair share of disdain from fans for showing up late to... Read more

May 9, 2016 Fresh

More Than 18,000 Petition To Make Mixtapes Eligible For Grammy Awards

Artists ranging from Chance The Rapper to Frank Ocean, J. Cole to Jhene Aiko, De La Soul to Lil Wayne have used the mixtape format. The term of mixtape itself has evolved greatly over the last 15 years. What began as a DJ or host-driven compilation sold on the black... Read more

May 9, 2016 News

If This Graffiti Simulator Were Any Realer, It Would Be Illegal (Video)

Virtual reality as a concept has been around for generations, but it has recently been making headlines for its very practical, consumer-product based applications. The old-school children's toy View-Master is getting a VR update, music videos like Run the Jewels' "Crown" are incorporating the technology, and even treatment for sex... Read more

May 9, 2016 Lifestyle

Token Recaps The Week In Hip-Hop News In A Hard-Hitting Freestyle (Video)

Salem, Massachusetts MC Token has made quite a name for himself over the last year. From an incredible collaboration with Joell Ortiz and Snow Tha Product to a show-stopping Sway In The Morning freestyle, the 17 year-old is one of the most exciting MCs to burst on the scene as... Read more

May 9, 2016 Video

This Killer Mike Interview Shows HE Should Have Run For President (Video)

Last year, Killer Mike set the Internet ablaze when he announced he was running to be a Georgia State Representative. Though the campaign was short-lived due to a technicality, the excitement was palpable, not just because the man born Michael Render is a beloved MC, but because, for the last... Read more

May 8, 2016 Lifestyle

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib Announce Sophomore Collabo Album

In March of 2014, Freddie Gibbs & Madlib released Pinata. A Top 40 release on the Madlib Invazion imprint, the album would be a chart pinnacle for both veteran artists. With Gibbs rhyming over Madlib beats, the release featured the likes of Scarface, Raekwon, and Mac Miller, among many guests.... Read more

May 8, 2016 News

Large Professor Gifts Powerule With A Knocking Beat & He Makes The Most Of It (Video)

Throughout the last 25 years, Large Professor tracks have maintained the gravitas to introduce Hip-Hop Heads to the likes of Nas, Mobb Deep, Akinyele, Non-Phixion, Mad Skillz, and REKS, among others. Powerule is a veteran MC, who many listeners are still coming around to discover. He has appeared on a... Read more

May 7, 2016 Video

Grand Puba Takes It Back To The Essence Of Jazz Loops & Break Beats (Audio)

Last month, Grand Puba released a new album, Black To The Future. Though it had been 7 years since his previous LP, the Brand Nubian co-founder showed that he had not lost a step, as he delivered top notch product. Even with new music on the shelves, Puba wastes no... Read more

May 7, 2016 Audio

Afrika Bambaataa’s Leadership Of The Zulu Nation Has Ended Due To Abuse Allegations

In a move that demonstrates how seriously the United Zulu Nation (UZN) is taking allegations of sexual abuse against its co-founder and Hip-Hop pioneer, Afrika Bambaataa, the organization has announced Afrika Bambaataa and "ALL accused parties and those accused of covering up the current allegations of child molestation have been... Read more

May 6, 2016 News

Masta Ace Says To KRS-One & MC Shan About Their New Battle: “Please, No More” (Video)

Last month, in a surprising move, MC Shan launched a full-scale verbal attack against KRS-One, re-igniting their 30-year old "Bridge Wars" rivalry that most thought had long been settled. Shan and KRS put what was one of Hip-Hop's earliest and most high profile battles to rest years ago, and have... Read more

May 6, 2016 Video