News Archives

Top Dawg & Kendrick Lamar Challenged Spotify’s Censorship & Won

Last week, reports began to surface that major names in the music industry were taking Spotify to task for its "hateful conduct policy," which many viewed as a form of censorship. When it was first announced in early May, the policy was unveiled in conjunction with the news that the... Read more

June 1, 2018 Lifestyle, News

Lil Dicky Is Joining Forces With Kevin Hart In A New Comedy Series Based On His Life

One of rapper Lil Dicky's trademarks is his fantastic music videos. Even as an independent artist, the Greater Philadelphia MC uses elaborate concept, self-deprecation, and some applicable life wisdom to complement his fast rapping and witty wordplay. If "Freaky Friday" or "Save Dat Money" didn't give fans enough insight into... Read more

June 1, 2018 News, TV, TV/Film

Black Thought Is Releasing Two More Projects And They Are Coming Soon (Audio)

Earlier today (June 1), Black Thought released his first solo project in the form of Streams of Thought, vol. 1, a five-song E.P. featuring production from 9th Wonder and The Soul Council. With it, the longtime MC and founding member of the legendary Roots crew has given fervent Heads a taste... Read more

June 1, 2018 Audio, News

Black Thought Has Released His 1st Ever Solo Project & It’s Everything (Audio)

Black Thought has partnered with 9th Wonder to release a project outside of his award-winning, critically-acclaimed work with The Roots. Beyond his consistent, yet demanding gig with the hardest-working band in show business, including a daily spot on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon along with an acting career, the... Read more

June 1, 2018 Audio

Jay Rock Put TDE On His Back. Now, They’ve Got His For The Win (Video)

After a strong start to the year with his highest-charting single to date ("King's Dead" from the Black Panther soundtrack), Jay Rock is back with another check mark in the "W" column. For those following the movement, Jay is the cornerstone on which the success of TDE was built. So,... Read more

May 31, 2018 Video

Wood Harris Tells Snoop How He Went Above The Rim For His 1st Film Audition (Video)

The latest episode of GGN features Snoop Dogg chatting with accomplished actor Wood Harris. While the thespian may be best known for his "Avon Barksdale" role in The Wire, Harris has also been in some of the most critically-acclaimed blockbusters of the last couple of years including Ant-Man, Blade Runner 2049,... Read more

May 31, 2018 TV/Film, Video

Drake Explains The Photo Of Him In Blackface

Yesterday (May 29), Pusha-T released his second diss record of Drake in less than one week. The latest song, "The Story Of Adidon" included verbal attacks on Drake's father, mother, producer Noah "40" Shebib, as well as an alleged child fathered by Drake and that child's mother. The song, recorded... Read more

May 30, 2018 News

Kendrick Lamar Accepts His Historic Pulitzer Prize (Video)

Over the last few years, Kendrick Lamar has been on the kind of run enjoyed by few artists of any oeuvre. His album, good kid, m.A.A.d city, was hailed as an instant classic and went on to be certified platinum, for over a million copies sold. To Pimp A Butterfly,... Read more

May 30, 2018 Fresh, News

Pusha-T Accuses Drake Of Fathering A Child He Abandoned (Audio)

In the last 24 hours, Pusha-T upped the ante in a longstanding beef with Drake. The release of "The Story Of Adidon" took a conflict that sprung out of a dozen-year-old Clipse vs. Lil Wayne problem and mentioned Drake's father, mother, and an alleged lover and child—who Pusha claims is... Read more

May 30, 2018 Audio, News

Mac Miller Drops 3 Songs That Put His Innermost Thoughts On Display (Audio)

Mac Miller has been unseasonably quiet for more than a year. The Los Angeles, California-based Pittsburgher In late 2016, the REMember Music founder released The Divine Feminine, an LP that stands as some of Mac's most original and best work in a career filled with artistic evolution. That effort reached... Read more

May 30, 2018 Audio

Bun B Keeps It 100 On Why America Is Not Being Made Great (Video)

The Twin Cities may have birthed lauded production duo Beatnick & K-Salaam, but they are worldwide these days. Their last album, The Bluest Flame, featured New York staples like Kirk Knight, Joell Ortiz, and Homeboy Sandman, Down South lieutenants Bun B and Young Buck, Adam Tensta out of the UK,... Read more

May 29, 2018 Video

Pusha-T Takes Off The Gloves & Makes His Beef With Drake A Family Feud (Audio)

Hours after Pusha-T took his latest shots at Drake on Friday (May 25) with the song "Infrared," Drake rebounded with a scathing diss of his own. The holiday weekend passed while Hip-Hop fans measured both attacks. Pusha's six-year conflict with Drake is a byproduct of T's longtime feud with Lil... Read more

May 29, 2018 Audio

Cavalier Blends A DOOM Flow With Ghosts Of New Orleans (Video)

Though raised in Brooklyn, rapper Cavalier now calls New Orleans home. In 2014, he released CHIEF, which included a Raekwon-assisted single. On his third album, Private Stock, the Big Apple and the Big Easy bridge together in ways both evident and subdued. The album's production was handled primarily by Iman Omari, the person... Read more

May 29, 2018 Ready Or Not

Roseanne’s Racist Remark Just Got TV’s #1 Rated Show Cancelled

After more than 20 years since its series finale, Roseanne returned to television this year. Comedian and show creator Roseanne Barr reprised her role as the matriarch of the "Conner" family in a show once revered for its portrayal of a blue-collar Midwestern family dealing with unemployment, bill collectors, domestic... Read more

May 29, 2018 Lifestyle, TV, TV/Film

DJ Premier Takes J. Cole’s Lil Rapper Diss & Makes It Even More O.G. (Audio)

One of the focal points of J. Cole's chart-topping 2018 gold album, KOD, is "1985 - Intro To 'The Falloff.'" The song is a wisdom-drenched reply to Lil Pump, Smokepurrp, and others who had defamed Cole's name in recent years. While Jermaine's issues with Pump now appear to be squashed... Read more

May 29, 2018 Audio

Drake Goes From 0 To 100 Over 9th Wonder’s Beats (Audio)

Hailing from Montreal, DJ Critical Hype has been perfecting the craft of blending for nearly a decade. His The Art Of… series of mixes has highlighted luminaries of the game such as Talib Kweli, Danny Brown, and Kendrick Lamar. Then, a couple of years ago he moved onto mash-ups and... Read more

May 29, 2018 Audio, Mixes

Drake Demands $100K From Pusha-T For “Reviving His Career”

In the last 36 hours, there have been two songs that own the spotlight in Rap music right now. With the release of his seven-song album DAYTONA, Pusha-T closes with "Infrared." Produced by Kanye West, the track goes at Drake (who Push' has had verbal conflicts with since 2012), and... Read more

May 26, 2018 Fresh

A$AP Rocky’s Diddy Collabo Heats Up The Summer, Harlem Style (Audio)

Life is too short to listen to bad music. So…let AFH fight through it for you and only supply you with that great stuff. Despite the reports, Hip-Hop is alive and well and, in many ways, is better than it’s ever been. Not only are we able to go back and listen... Read more

May 26, 2018 Audio

J. Cole & Lil Pump End Childish Beef With A Grown Man Conversation (Video)

Five weeks ago, J. Cole released KOD. The now gold-certified #1 album featured Cole responding to his critics. Those critics were not journalists or fans, but rather, peers. Lil Pump and Smokepurrp, two Miami, Florida-based Rap artists had condemned Cole for some time on social media and in songs, most... Read more

May 25, 2018 Video

Drake Responds To Pusha-T’s Fiery Diss With A Molotov Cocktail (Audio)

Less than 24 hours after Pusha-T threw fresh fuel on a fiery beef with Lil Wayne and Drake, Drizzy sends a Molotov Cocktail back at The Clipse co-founder. As Push' and Wayne's dozen-year-old rift has grown to involve Drake and Birdman, Drake uses the opportunity to put Kanye West's skills... Read more

May 25, 2018 Audio, News

Artists Strike Back At Spotify After Its Censorship Policy & The Streaming Service Is Backing Down

After pushback from several artists and powerful music industry insiders, allegedly including Kendrick Lamar and his TDE record label, Spotify has reportedly decided to scale back its policy of punishing artists for personal misconduct, to some degree. The streaming company has reportedly told record-label executives, managers, and artists that it... Read more

May 25, 2018 News

Royce 5’9 Explains How Beef With Joe Budden Led To A Slaughterhouse (Video)

In the last five weeks, Slaughterhouse has publicly disbanded. Following KXNG Crooked's (aka Crooked I) announcement that he was stepping out of the group, Royce 5'9 and Joe Budden both responded in the media. The quartet, also including Joell Ortiz, has seemingly hung up its four mics after a run... Read more

May 25, 2018 Video

Black Thought & 9th Wonder’s Collabo Album Arrives In Less Than 1 Week

Black Thought and 9th Wonder started the year off with a mammoth announcement. Both stated as much during a panel back in January. Today, it has been revealed that the first fruits of that project will harvest in less than one week. It seemed to be mounting anyway as The... Read more

May 25, 2018 News

Pusha-T Compares Drake To Trump In An Infrared Diss (Audio)

UPDATE: Less than 24 hours after "Infrared," Drake responded in a BIG way. ORIGINAL STORY: Life is too short to listen to bad music. So…let AFH fight through it for you and only supply you with that great stuff. Despite the reports, Hip-Hop is alive and well and, in many... Read more

May 25, 2018 Audio

Chance The Rapper Cautions Obama Over Presidential Library Plans

Chance The Rapper speaks his mind, even if the views may not always be popular with his fans, critics, or friends in very important places. "Lil Chano From 79th" is presently standing against his Presidential pal Barack Obama. Chance took to Twitter yesterday (May 23) to offer his opinion about... Read more

May 24, 2018 News

PMD Discusses Yo! MTV Raps’ Ed Lover Being One Of The Best Freestylers On The Planet (Audio)

From its inception in 1988 to its final episode in 1995, Yo! MTV Raps was a top springboard for Hip-Hop artists. It was an opportunity to showcase skills and unique styles on one of the largest platforms available to the genre. In an interview with HipHopDX, Parrish "PMD" Smith spoke... Read more

May 24, 2018 Audio, Throwback, Throwback

Pusha-T Confirms Nas’ Album Is Coming Next Month & Reveals What To Expect (Video)

In less than 11 hours from now, Pusha-T (as he currently stylizes it) will unveil a long-awaited project. He publicly stated the seven-song collection "is for my family...high taste level, luxury, drug raps fans." Details have emerged that an EP titled Daytona will feature Rick Ross and Kanye West, plus... Read more

May 24, 2018 Fresh, News, Video

Will Smith Says “The Beast Is Back” & Rips A New Freestyle (Video)

Will Smith took close to a decade away from music. In 2005, the co-founder of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince dropped his fourth solo album, Lost & Found. It included some contribution from Jeff and debuted at #6 on the charts. After mixed reviews on that project, Smith... Read more

May 24, 2018 Video

The NFL Throws The Flag At Players Who Kneel. Freedom Of Speech Is Not Free.

Ice-T partially named his third album, Freedom Of Speech...Just Watch What You Say! The gold-certified Sire/Warner Bros. Records release was Tracy Marrow's way of fighting censorship he experienced on the road. One of the biggest rappers in the genre at the time felt he was penalized for making statements in... Read more

May 23, 2018 Lifestyle

Slick Rick Revisits His Great Adventures 30 Years Later

This November, Slick Rick will celebrate the 30th anniversary of his debut album, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick. Its influence is immeasurable and inspired legends like Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg, and more. And it's evident. Rick's witty wordplay and effortless flow on the album also made him stand... Read more

May 22, 2018 Fresh, Throwback, Throwback

Rakim Will Appear In Luke Cage And Perform An Original Song

On June 22, season two of Marvel's Luke Cage series will premiere on Netflix. The record-breaking show, which helped the network's stock soar (and its servers to crash) when it debuted in 2016, was created by Cheo Hodari Coker and implemented Hip-Hop in inventive ways. Season one's episodes were named after Gang Starr... Read more

May 22, 2018 TV, TV/Film

New Def Squad Artist Elijah The Young Prophit Flips EPMD To Make It His Thing (Video)

Erick Sermon is not only a legendary producer and MC, but he’s also one of Hip-Hop's most gifted talent scouts. E-Double mentored Redman and Keith Murray while having early hands in the careers of Rick Ross, K-Solo, and Das-EFX. Def Squad Records and the Green-Eyed Bandit are once again ready... Read more

May 22, 2018 Ready Or Not

A New Film Will Show The Conspiracy & Cover Up Of Who Shot Biggie (Video)

Yesterday (May 21), The Notorious B.I.G. would have turned 46 years old. Due to violence and tragedy, that never got to happen. On March 9, 1997, 24-year-old Christopher Wallace was fatally shot in a drive-by outside The Peterson Auto Museum in Los Angeles, California. While Biggie's murder remains unsolved, there... Read more

May 22, 2018 TV/Film, Video

Jay Rock’s Third Album Is Coming In Less Than A Month

Watts, California MC Jay Rock has been quite busy in 2018. The breakout artists on Top Dawg Entertainment since the mid-2000s, Jay appeared on the chart-topping Black Panther soundtrack. Alongside Kendrick Lamar and Future, "Kings Dead" gave Rock his first Hot 100 single (#21) of his career. Moreover, the raspy-voiced... Read more

May 21, 2018 Audio, Fresh

Rapsody’s Album Continues To Pay Up Soulful Dividends (Video)

A week before the release of her Grammy-nominated album Laila's Wisdom, Rapsody dropped a conceptual single in which she examines the relationship between money and love. "Pay Up" featured her clever wordplay and served as the first offering from the LP without any featured guests. In fact, Rapsody in many ways starred as the... Read more

May 21, 2018 Video

Kendrick Lamar Checks A Fan For Saying The N-Word While Rapping His Song (Video)

Biggie Smalls would have turned 46 years old today (May 21). Back in 1994, The Notorious B.I.G. released his first Ready To Die single, "Juicy." It eventually traveled to #27 on the charts. The gold-certified solo breakthrough record remains one of the most beloved, far-reaching Rap songs of the last... Read more

May 21, 2018 Lifestyle, Video

Anderson .Paak Is A Funky Drummer But He Can Kick A Dope Freestyle Too (Video)

Last week, Anderson .Paak released his first solo single and video under Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. "Bubblin" finds the Oxnard, California MC, singer, drummer, and producer in his Rap form over a production by Jahlil Beats and AntMan Wonder. In the video, he finds a broken ATM machine and takes... Read more

May 21, 2018 Video

Snoop Gives Brutally Honest Advice To Kanye West About The Women In His Life (Video)

Over the last few weeks, Kanye West has drawn the ire of seemingly everyone, at one time or another. Whether it was due to his ongoing support of Donald Trump, his release of music seemingly designed to troll or outlandish comments about slavery, West's popularity is now at an all-time... Read more

May 19, 2018 Video

A.G.’s Next Album Will Have Magic From Alchemist & Diamond D. Here’s The New Video.

Last June, when JAY-Z accepted his place as the first Hip-Hop artist to enter the Songwriters Hall Of Fame, he thanked the peers that inspire him by name, online. One of the acts Jay saluted was Showbiz & A.G. While Show has focused solely on production (and running D.I.T.C. Entertainment),... Read more

May 18, 2018 Video

SZA & Donald Glover Heat Up The Screen In Their Secret Garden (Video)

Donald Glover is riding a massive wave. Fresh off his SNL appearance and momentous "This Is America" video release this month, the Atlanta co-creator is only mashing the gas pedal even more. Now, he's maneuvering to the more sensual side of things, joining SZA as a character for her new video,... Read more

May 18, 2018 Video

Bumpy Knuckles & Biz Markie Team Up For A Video With A Purpose. Check It Out, Y’all.

Today (May 18), Bumpy Knuckles releases Pop Duke, Vol. 1. The 10-song concept project is produced by Nottz, and it features a cast of Rap O.G.'s such as Chuck D, Kool G Rap, and M.O.P.'s Lil Fame. It also includes a fellow Long Islander, Biz Markie, who makes a rare... Read more

May 18, 2018 Exclusive, Food for Thought, Interview, Video

Nas Sets Up His New Album With 1 Of His Best Verses In Ages (Audio)

Life is too short to listen to bad music. So…let AFH fight through it for you and only supply you with that great stuff. Despite the reports, Hip-Hop is alive and well and, in many ways, is better than it’s ever been. Not only are we able to go back... Read more

May 18, 2018 Audio

Roy Ayers’ Tiny Desk Performance Shows Why He’s 1 Of Hip-Hop’s Biggest Influences (Video)

Vibraphonist Roy Ayers is a legend of Jazz, Funk, and Soul music that collectively has had a tremendous impact on Hip-Hop. A product of Los Angeles, California, Ayers would work with flutist (and another prominently-sampled artist) Herbie Mann by the mid-1960s, before going off on his won. In the '70s,... Read more

May 18, 2018 Video

Anderson .Paak Reminds Why Dr. Dre Signed Him…Because He’s MONEY (Video)

Anderson .Paak signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment more than two years ago. Since that time, the Oxnard, California multi-talent did not rush the process. Instead, the drummer, MC, singer, and producer used this period to allow listeners to catch on to his Grammy-nominated Malibu wave, while revisiting years of... Read more

May 17, 2018 Video

20 Years Ago Grand Puba & Brand Nubian Reunited And Put Egos Aside (Video)

The late 1990s marked a wind of change for Hip-Hop. Radio was changing, video platforms were evolving, and the music industry, especially for Rap, music was scaling upwards, fast. The genre surpassed Country music in sales for the first time in 1998. It was suddenly common to see music videos... Read more

May 17, 2018 Do Remember, Video

Though Nas Has His Back, Dave East Shows He Can Prosper On His Own (Video)

Dave East presented fans with his Paranoia 2 mixtape at the top of the year. It contains 15 tracks and features from T.I., Lloyd Banks, Tory Lanez, and others. Aside from the Harlem native's knack for ear-catching bars is his ability to release a steady stream of videos off of... Read more

May 17, 2018 Video

Chris Rivers Snatches Royce & Eminem’s Beat And Rips It Just As Hard (Audio)

Chris Rivers may be the son of one of Hip-Hop’s all-time great lyricists, but with a string of solid releases over the last five years he has stepped out of Pops’ shadow to have his work judged on its own merits. At the same time, the younger Rios does not... Read more

May 17, 2018 Audio

Snoop Dogg & Jamie Foxx Create A Dope Collabo On The Spot (Video)

Snoop Dogg interviews are some of the best in Rap music, and that was the case this week for a segment of Sway In The Morning. The two respective greats discussed old times, Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls, Snoop's latest album Bible Of Love, his ongoing relationship with Suge Knight... Read more

May 16, 2018 Video

A Video Explains Why Larry Smith Remains 1 Of Hip-Hop’s Most Important Producers

For every household name producer, such as Rick Rubin or Dr. Dre, there are multiple innovators who languish in obscurity. Larry Smith is one of those musicians, and he does not deserve this place in history, especially for Hip-Hop. While Smith played instruments on as well as produced huge hits... Read more

May 16, 2018 Video

J. Cole Explains Why He Made His 1985 Diss Record Of Lil Rappers (Video)

When J. Cole speaks, it is not to be taken lightly. In recent years, the North Carolina superstar MC/producer and Dreamville label founder has shunned the public eye, or at least many of their questions. After decidedly not allowing interviews altogether for late 2016's 4 Your Eyez Only, Cole posted... Read more

May 16, 2018 Video