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Lil Fame Talks Production Techniques, M.O.P. Beginnings and Biggie Smalls (Video Premiere)

Following last week's opening entry to the "Learn From The Legends" video series (Da Beatminerz), producer Rodney Hazard stays in Brooklyn, New York to talk to another 20-plus-year innovator in Lil Fame. These days, simply "Fame," the M.O.P. co-founding MC/producer has not only supplied some of his group's biggest hits,... Read more

Surprise, Surprise. Kendrick Lamar’s New Album is Out Now! (News)

In yet another sign of the ever-changing record business in the digital age, Top Dawg Entertainment has delivered a very welcomed surprise to the Hip-Hop world. Kendrick Lamar's new album, To Pimp A Butterfly, which was originally slated for release on March 23, is now fully available for purchase. Nothing... Read more

Nate Dogg Left A Giant Vacancy In Music. J. Period’s Tribute Mix Says It All… (Audio)

Four years ago today (March 15, 2011), Nathaniel "Nate Dogg" Hale died, tragically, after complications from a stroke. Since his earliest days, alongside Snoop Dogg and Warren G, Nate Dogg was an anomaly. A Long Beach, California native, Nate fused Hip-Hop, Gospel, and Soul seamlessly throughout a career that lasted... Read more

Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly Tracklist Features Rapsody, Snoop Dogg & Bilal

Less than 10 days away from release, it appears that the tracklist to Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly has been made public. iTunes posted the tracks to the March 23 sophomore major label album from the Compton, California star. While only five featured guests were included on 2012's good... Read more

Joey Bada$$ Waxes Philosophical About Perception vs. Reality (Audio)

"If we are what we eat, then we're already deceased..." Joey Bada$$ waxes philosophical on his latest release, "Perception vs. Reality." The song was produced by his Pro Era brother Kirk Knight and features a dark and menacing track that is a fitting accompaniment to Joey's meditative and probing rhymes.... Read more

Charles Hamilton Gets Deep About His Struggles With Mental Illness and Reviving His Career (Video)

Earlier this week, Sway in the Morning released a 6+ minute Charles Hamilton freestyle that stands among the best of the year, so far. Prior to destroying the 5 Fingers of Death MC challenge with stellar off the top verses, Hamilton spoke with Sway for forty minutes in an incredibly... Read more

Styles P Freestyles Over a Classic Dr. Dre Beat and PUMP PUMPS (Audio)

Styles P has a battery in his back! Fresh off of "Bring That Beat Back" with his LOX family earlier in the week, Holiday Styles lights up with a "Still Bangin'" freestyle. Often agreeable and humble in the 2010s, this is a flashback to the Interscope Records days, shortly after... Read more

Ever See This Classic Redman & Keith Murray Freestyle From the Mid-90s? (Video)

Back in the mid-90s, few crews were more formidable than Def Squad. The collective featured the fierce MC skills of Erick Sermon, Redman and Keith Murray and Sermon's signature thumping beats. After releasing solo albums in Murray's The Most Beautifullest Thing in the World, Sermon's Double or Nothing and Red's... Read more

2Pac’s Pivotal Classic Me Against The World Turns 20 Years Old (Food For Thought)

20 years ago today (March 14, 1995), Tupac Shakur's Me Against The World was released, and with it came the rapper's most introspective work of his career. Released during a time of exceptional turmoil for 2Pac, the album signaled a musical changing of the guards, post-Thug Life and pre-Death Row,... Read more

Big K.R.I.T. Gets Autobiographical About His Struggle To Climb Mt. Olympus (Audio)

Big K.R.I.T. is five years in on a journey to his own private "Mount Olympus." However, for the Merdian, Mississippi native, the journey goes back a long ways before 2010's Kritzwuzhere. On "K.R.I.T. 4eva (Chapter One)," the MC/producer channels the hunger—literally "a sandwich a day" as he recalls Greyhound bus... Read more

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is the New Ali vs. Frazier Inside and Out. Here’s Why.

Fast approaching, May 2 may be the biggest day in boxing history—at least for the last 40 years. Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao's "Fight Of The Century" promises to live up to its name, nearly eight years in the making. The undefeated 38 year-old "Money Mayweather" will take on eight-division... Read more

Happy Birthday Common. Celebrate with This Amazing Mixtape of Remixes (Audio)

Today (March 13), Common turns 43 years old. For nearly 25 of those years, the Chicago, Illinois MC, actor, and activist has kept Heads noddin'. 2015 appears to be the biggest professional calendar of Common's life, only in the first quarter. The onetime Relativity Records breakout, and former Source "Unsigned... Read more

Finding The GOAT (Round 3): The Notorious B.I.G. vs. Big Pun…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

Roc Marciano Tears Up A New Purist Beat (Audio)

London, UK-based producer The Purist is getting ready to release a new album, Pyrex Scholar, on March 17. He recently released the first song on the album, "Patina", which features Roc Marciano spitting dense rhymes over a mellow, soulful beat. The song has no hook, just straight rhyming with a... Read more

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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