News Archives

Method Man Clarifies Once Upon A Time In Shaolin Confusion, Criticizes Hip-Hop Media (Video)

Method Man recently sat down with HuffPost Live to clear the air on the recent confusion regarding the Wu-Tang Clan's Once Upon A Time In Shaolin album, and also to talk about his upcoming film with Adam Sandler, The Cobbler (March 13). Before getting into the music, they start by... Read more

March 12, 2015 Video

AZ Paints a Vintage Picture on a Beautiful and Timeless Track (Audio)

Earlier this week, Ambrosia For Heads premiered episode 1 of Learn From Legends, a new web series where up and coming producer Rodney Hazard sits with iconic Hip-Hop producers to perfect his craft. It seems Hazard is already applying his learnings, as he's produced a masterful and beautiful track for... Read more

March 12, 2015 Audio

Oddisee’s Songmaking Is Reaching New Levels. Mainstream, Take Notice… (Audio)

Oddisee is more than 10 years deep in the music game. Still, the Diamond District front man always seems to put his most interesting sounds in the now. "That's Love" takes the expression commonly heard and often diluted and restores its essence. A love song, a life song, this funky... Read more

March 12, 2015 Audio

Now Back In The Studio With Puff, The LOX Bring It Back (Audio)

The LOX continue to win with retro-minded approaches. "Bring It Back" is a simple concept built around a classic live recording of Hip-Hop in its purest essence. The trio hits the mic with confidence, keen wordplay, and that gritty attitude that makes this feel like a D-Block tape highlight from... Read more

March 12, 2015 Audio

Do Remember: When Charles Hamilton Passed The Mic To An Unknown Kendrick Lamar (Video)

Miss Lauryn Hill once eloquently rhymed, "Seasons change, mad things re-arrange." In life, love, and Hip-Hop, is this not a rugged truism? As the world shifts, there are some interesting cycles. This week in the culture, Kendrick Lamar took center-stage, giving Heads a name for his sophomore major label album,... Read more

March 12, 2015 Throwback

Young Biggie Smalls Bagged Groceries, Now The Same Store Is Painting A Mural In His Honor

The lyrics to "Juicy" color the story of The Notorious B.I.G.'s youth. Before he was Biggie Smalls, Christopher Wallace was earning his money to buy mixtapes and Rap magazines by bagging groceries in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. The same supermarket where Biggie worked as a teenager in the late 1980s remains,... Read more

March 12, 2015 News

Finding The GOAT (Round 3): Snoop Dogg vs. Guru…Who You Got

We have reached the third round in the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). With 42 MCs remaining, 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... Read more

March 12, 2015 Fresh

Mayer Hawthorne & Jake One Dress Up A Snoop Dogg Hit With A Funky Tuxedo (Video)

One of the low-key, simply amazing collaborations going on right now is Tuxedo. A duo, the group consists of crossover hit DJ-turned-singer Mayer Hawthorne and Seattle, Washington producer Jake One. For years, Jake Uno has lived in the shadow, regardless of whether he was working with G-Unit or Quannum Projects.... Read more

March 12, 2015 The Bridge

Charles Hamilton Has Everything To Prove In A 5 Fingers Of Death Freestyle (Video)

Five years ago, Charles Hamilton was seemingly on top of the world. The Harlem, New York MC who happens to be MC Lyte's cousin had inked a deal with the dominant Interscope Records. Hamilton was releasing spotlight-grabbing mixtapes at a breakneck speed. Along with peers Wale, B.o.B., and Asher Roth,... Read more

March 12, 2015 Video

Da Brat Rhymes on Big Sean’s Blessings and ABSOLUTELY SMASHES IT (Audio)

MC Lyte. Queen Latifah. Lauryn Hill. Missy. Those names are often mentioned in the discussion of great MCs who happen to be women, but now-a-days people act like they forgot about Da Brat...The first lady of So So Def Records was actually the first solo female rapper to have an... Read more

March 12, 2015 Audio

Kendrick Lamar Reveals New Details About His Upcoming Album to Rolling Stone (News)

Details are emerging slowly but surely about Kendrick Lamar's new album. Even when speaking to his close homie and longtime supporter Big Boy earlier this week, Kendrick would not say much about his sophomore major label release. Swearing that Top Dawg would "kill him" if he spilled the beans on... Read more

March 11, 2015 Fresh

3 of Cali’s Finest: Kurupt, King T & Fashawn Unite, On A K-Def Remix (Audio)

For his Another Time album, Miami, Florida's DJ EFN created a California super collaboration. "Selfish" features King T, Kurupt, and Fashawn—three masters from the last 25 years of Hip-Hop. With a new album fresh in stores, EFN calls upon veteran producer K-Def for the remix. New Jersey's K-Def is a... Read more

March 11, 2015 Audio

Wu-Tang Clan, Cypress Hill & Jurassic 5 Get Back To Their Essence For Record Store Day

Record Store Day is just a month away (April 18), and Get On Down Records has unveiled some awesome deluxe releases set for the occasion. They have put together special deluxe vinyl sets for the Wu-Tang Clan, Cypress Hill, and Jurassic 5 which will only be available for in-person purchases... Read more

March 11, 2015 News

Finding The GOAT (Round 3): KRS-One vs. Chuck D…Who You Got?

We have reached the third round in the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). With 42 MCs remaining, 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... Read more

March 11, 2015 Throwback

Black Moon Had a Lot on Their Mind In This 1999 Future Flavas Freestyle (Audio)

Six years after Enta Da Stage, Black Moon made a powerful return in 1999. War Zone would be a Top 40 debut for the Brooklyn, New York trio, and the last of the three studio B.M. albums produced entirely by DJ Evil Dee and Da Beatminerz. With all the hype... Read more

March 11, 2015 Throwback

Is Kendrick Lamar’s “Butterfly” Artwork The Next Classic Hip-Hop Image?

After midnight EST this morning (March 11), Kendrick Lamar appears to have revealed the artwork to his sophomore major label album. While the March 23 LP title remains unconfirmed, the Compton, California MC took to Facebook to share a stickered image, suggesting that it's the packaging associated with his good... Read more

March 11, 2015 News

Kendrick Lamar’s Full Biggie Freestyle Tribute is 7 Minutes of Madness Over 4 Biggie Classics (Video)

Yesterday (March 9th), iconic LA DJ Big Boy hosted Kendrick Lamar as his first guest on his new show on Real 92.3 FM. Given the anniversary of The Notorious B.I.G.'s passing, Big Boy had Kendrick freestyle over some of Biggie's classic tracks and released a snippet. Now, the full interview... Read more

March 10, 2015 Video

Pharrell & Robin Thicke Ordered To ‘Give It Up’ To Marvin Gaye Estate

There are "blurred lines" in regards to the adage that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." A court has now found that Robin Thicke, Pharrell and T.I.'s 2013 hit "Blurred Lines" was too closely related to the 1977 Disco hit "Got To Give It Up," by Marvin Gaye. Per... Read more

March 10, 2015 News

MF DOOM Heads Rejoice…KMD’s 2nd Album Reissues as a Children’s Pop-Up Book (News)

There are multiple turning points in MF DOOM's illustrious career. Still a major label artist, 1993 saw DOOM (then known as Zev Love X), Subroc, and Onyx The Birthstone Kid hard at work on their Mr. Hood follow-up, Black Bastards. Never released as intended by Elektra Records, the LP is... Read more

March 10, 2015 Throwback

Finding The GOAT (Round 3): Busta Rhymes vs. Jadakiss…Who You Got?

We have reached the third round in the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). With 42 MCs remaining, 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... Read more

March 10, 2015 Fresh

Pete Rock Brings Out the Best in Edo. G. Listen to the Music They Make (Video)

Edo. G does not just rap about it, he lives it. Roxbury, Boston's star MC for more than 25 years takes his Pete Rock-produced "Make Music" track, and sets it smack dab in his city. Pete also appears in the visual. From the record stores, to the train platform, to... Read more

March 10, 2015 Video

Snoop, Pharrell & Charlie Wilson Reunite for More Soulful Goodness (Lyric Video)

Almost ten years ago to the day, Snoop Dogg released "Signs" as the third single from his album R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece. The song featured the vocal talents of Justin Timberlake and Charlie Wilson, and production from The Neptunes. Now, in 2015, 3/5 of that tandem has reunited... Read more

March 10, 2015 Video

Here’s the Story of How Mello Music Group Defiantly Built a Haven for Real Hip-Hop (Interview)

For the better part of the last decade, as independent label mainstays have been closing up their doors, going on hiatus, or reconfiguring their audience, Mello Music Group has secured a foundation. The Tucson, Arizona-based label has cultivated new voices, redeveloped lyrical legends, and built an industry model rooted in... Read more

March 10, 2015 Food for Thought

John Forte Responds To Oklahoma’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon In With His Heart & Mind (Audio)

University of Oklahoma's Sigma Alpha Epsilon showed the world watching why we, as a people, have so far to go. The racial slurs, light made of murderous histories, and proud discrimination serve as a wake up call that hate lurks. Most wake up calls come at dawn. Two of those... Read more

March 10, 2015 Audio

How Does a $100,000 Martini Taste? 2 Chainz & Big Sean Show You (Video)

2 Chainz has partnered with GQ for a tongue in cheek series where he travels the world to partake in its most outrageously costly offerings. In the second episode of season two of the show, aptly-titled The Most Expensivest Sh*t Ever, 2 Chainz and Big Sean are treated to the... Read more

March 10, 2015 Lifestyle

Da Beatminerz Share Their Production Secrets with an Up and Coming Producer (Video Premiere)

For more than 20 years, Da Beatminerz helped define a predominant, defiantly Brooklyn, New York sound. With low end bass, heavily filtered samples, and rich sonic textures, the Bushwick-based crew has been sought out by major labels and indie labels alike, making 12" deep cuts and Rap classics played everyday... Read more

March 10, 2015 Video

Oddisee, Apollo Brown & More Show Off Their Persona On New Compilation (Album Stream)

Today (March 10), indie record label Mello Music Group is releasing their annual compilation album, Persona. Celebrating eight years of being in business, Mello Music Group has prided themselves on their focus on artist development, and Persona is meant to show how the label has grown and developed over the... Read more

March 10, 2015 Audio

Raekwon Needs Help Finishing The Purple Tape Film. Hip-Hop Stand Up (Video)

Back in January, Raekwon debuted a trailer for what looks like an amazing documentary celebrating the 20th anniversary of his classic album, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...guest starring Ghostface Killah as Tony Starks. The Purple Tape Files film features Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, U-God, Xzibit, DJ Muggs (of Cypress... Read more

March 9, 2015 News

Ludacris Goes Beast Mode On Ludaversal (Audio)

Ludacris just tweeted out a link to another song off his upcoming Ludaversal album, which is set to drop on Def Jam/DTP on March 31. The new track, "Beast Mode", isn't as fast-paced or bouncy as the previously released "Call Ya Bluff", but it confirms that Luda is definitely returning... Read more

March 9, 2015 Audio

Waka Flocka Flame Cancels University Of Oklahoma Show Following Racist Videos

Sometimes money doesn't matter. Following videos surfacing of some fraternity members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon at University of Oklahoma chanting about the brotherhood's exclusion of Blacks and using racial slurs, Waka Flocka Flame does not want money from OSU in his hands. The Brick Squad Monopoly front man announced, via... Read more

March 9, 2015 News

Rapper Big Pooh Provides Heartfelt, Soulful Accounts Of Hard Livin’ (Audio)

Two weeks removed from Words Paint Pictures (March 24) Rapper Big Pooh & Apollo Brown continue to show that the Mello Music Group album may be a critical milestone for the Little Brother co-founding MC. Pooh gets deep, soulful, and especially thoughtful in much of what Heads have heard. "How... Read more

March 9, 2015 Audio

Saukrates Makes A Poignant Return, Highlighting Industry Rule #4080 (Video)

Saukrates has been 20 years deep in Hip-Hop. An early Canadian staple as both an MC/producer, the Toronto, Ontario native was working with Xzibit long before Dr. Dre and Rockwilder did, making jams with Common before G.O.O.D. Music was established, and producing Choclair albums when Priority Records was still owned... Read more

March 9, 2015 Video

Sky’s The Limit When Kendrick Lamar Crushes A Freestyle Over Notorious B.I.G. Beats (Audio)

Kendrick Lamar verses can perform miracles. It's easy to imagine The Notorious B.I.G. smiling big, 18 years to the day after he physically left the world, as Kendrick Lamar touches some of the same kicks and snares he helped make famous. Appearing on opening day of Big Boy's Neighborhood on... Read more

March 9, 2015 Audio

Footage Released Of Suge Knight’s Fatal Hit And Run (Video)

In the latest update in what is seemingly Hip-Hop's biggest story of 2015, video footage has been made public (by TMZ) of Marion "Suge" Knight's fatal hit and run. Taking place in Compton, California on January 29, the footage involves the former Death Row Records co-founder/CEO, actor Cle "Bone" Sloan,... Read more

March 9, 2015 Video

Finding The GOAT (Round 3): Nas vs. Ghostface Killah…Who You Got?

We have reached the third round in the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). With 42 MCs remaining, 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... Read more

March 9, 2015 Fresh

Slum Village & Phife Dawg Make A Collaboration That Measures Up To The History (Audio)

Slum Village and A Tribe Called Quest's fates are forever tied. Thousands of miles apart geographically, A.T.C.Q. would be the archetype that T3, Jay Dee, Baatin and aspired to follow in the mid-1990s. Moreover, those early Villa tapes were what Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad were playing around... Read more

March 9, 2015 Audio

Joey Bada$$ & Maverick Sabre Make A Soulful Counter To Police Profiling (Video)

After Joey Bada$$ & Maverick Sabre's B4.Da.$$ collaboration, single "On & On" received a video inspired partly by police brutality, the pair extend the conversation. "We Don't Wanna Be" shows footage of protesting, and police confronting citizens. Sabre and Badman also appear, in the United Kingdom, showing that the plight... Read more

March 9, 2015 Video

Keep The International Women’s Day Celebrations Going With A Stellar Female MC Tape (Mix)

Yesterday (March 8) marked International Women's Day. Like all cultural movements, Hip-Hop has depended upon women for survival since its inception. In 2015, there are a host of female superstars, moguls, and elite professionals at the top of culture and Rap industry. However, along the way over the last 35-plus... Read more

March 9, 2015 Throwback

Freddie Gibbs Drops 3 Songs At Once & He’s Focused On His Quality (EP Stream)

Freddie Gibbs released two albums in 2014. The Gary, Indiana MC grabbed acclaim and a Top 40 chart foothold on his Madlib tandem, Pinata. The MC followed, less than two months later, with The Tonite Show. Like his flow, Gangsta Gibbs likes to move fast in a career that's made... Read more

March 9, 2015 Audio

Big Sean’s Dark Sky Paradise Is #1 On The Charts. The Samples Played A Role (Mix)

More than five years in the making, Big Sean grabbed #1 album honors this past week with his third studio LP, Dark Sky Paradise. The G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam Records star is bidding for a permanent place at Rap's upper echelon, and this album—boasting production from Kanye West, DJ Mustard, Mike... Read more

March 9, 2015 Audio

Prince Paul’s Back, Blending Very Rare KRS-One, MF DOOM, Eminem & Alkaholiks (Mix)

Prince Paul's "It’s Not The Size of Your Mix It’s How You Use It" turns out to be a series after all. Following February's free-form mix of whatever the hell the Long Island, New Yorker wanted to spin, the Grammy Award-winning jokester is back with a second series. Volume 2... Read more

March 8, 2015 Audio

Lord Finesse Digs In His Crates & Throws Down Rare Grooves (Mix)

This week (March 10), Lord Finesse is releasing The SP1200 Project: A Re-Awakening on Slice Of Splice Records. Dubspot knows how to honor the Underboss. With the site's in-depth audio interview, the publication commissioned the Bronx, New York legendary producer/DJ (and MC) to get behind the wheels and spin some... Read more

March 8, 2015 Throwback

Gangrene Sound Bigger Than Life Without Losing Their Grimy Edge (Audio)

Gangrene played it especially cool in 2014. Alchemist got busy with Evidence as Step Brothers, while Oh No freaked his own brand of Funk alongside Prince Po for Animal Serum. A new year brings new moves for the California duo known for hallucinatory Hip-Hop, raw to the core. Alc' and... Read more

March 8, 2015 Audio

J-Live Heads West for Some Sun and FUNK…and He Pays It Forward (Video)

J-Live is an oft unheralded underground king. Justice Allah was once a school teacher and now, he saves his lessons for lesser rappers. The NYC born and bred MC headed out West for his latest visual, "Pay It Forward." In addition to taking in some sun, he seems to have... Read more

March 7, 2015 Video

Tupac Mashed Up with Gwen Stefani? Holla Back Girl If Ya Hear Me (Audio)

On paper, mixing Tupac with Gwen Stefani sounds like sacrilege. But, the end result works shockingly well. Sadly, Pac's career did not overlap with The Neptunes' dominant era, but this 2012 HipHopFightsBack fusion of Tupac's "Holla If Ya Hear Me" with Chad Hugo and Pharrell's production of Stefani's "Hollaback Girl"... Read more

March 7, 2015 Audio

Remember When Jay-Z and DMX Battled and Got Shown Up by Their Security Guard? (Video)

Here's a look back at one of the best moments of one of Hip-Hop's finest documentaries, Backstage. The scene was set for two of the all-time greats, DMX and Jay-Z, to go head to head in a battle. Each kicked icy cold verses...only to both be shown up by their... Read more

March 7, 2015 Throwback

It’s a Gangsta Party with Game and Meek Mill, But Nobody’s Celebrating (Audio)

Game and Meek Mill release some modern day reality Rap with their latest collaboration, "The Soundtrack." The two rekindle the chemistry they displayed on Game's "Scared Now," from his 2012 Jesus Piece album. Both Game and Meek Mill are two of the few MCs with the range to release club... Read more

March 6, 2015 Audio

Kendrick Lamar Announces Album Release Date and Title. Here’s the Story (News)

Few albums have been more anticipated in the last year than Kendrick Lamar's long-awaited follow up to his debut major label release, good kid, m.A.A.d. city. Well, the wait is over, almost...A little over 20 minutes ago, Kendrick tweeted out a link and nothing else. The link takes the user... Read more

March 6, 2015 News

Erick Sermon Is Bringing Hip-Hop To Your Home With Def Rugs

Always about his business, EPMD MC Erick Sermon has started a new venture that has been turning heads: Def Rugs. Def Rugs is a carpet business that makes Hip-Hop logos into rugs that make for great pieces of home décor. In a recent interview with HipHopDX, Sermon and his business... Read more

March 6, 2015 News

Rick Ross Needs No Assistance Movin’ Bass In His Latest Visual (Video)

Rick Ross' "Movin' Bass" was the latest in a 10-year run of major collaborations between he and Jay Z. The Hood Billionaire and the near real-life billionaire blitz with bars about former D-boys making hits. For the video, Jay Z sat it out (something he's made a habit of in... Read more

March 6, 2015 Video