In April of 1995, Mobb Deep released The Infamous, a legacy-ensuring sophomore LP that kept the rugged, unadulterated reputation of Queensbridge alive and well. Featuring Ghostface Killah, Q-Tip, Raekwon, Nas, and others, Prodigy and Havoc's second album would arrive the same year as equally enduring albums from Smif-n-Wessun (Dah Shinin), Big L... Read more

Blackalicious MC Gift Of Gab released a new EP last week called Rejoice! Rappers Are Rapping Again!. The Sacramento, California veteran MC extraordinaire known for his early 2000s "Alphabet Aerobics" lyrical exercise (that even had "Harry Potter" busting raps) and a host of other dazzling displays releases a song that... Read more

Lyrical Rap legend Kool G Rap has released his first official solo single in more than six years. Approaching June 2's Return Of The Don album, G Rap prepares his first album with a single producer since his heralded 1989 Marley Marl-produced debut, Road To The Riches. This time around, the onetime mentor to... Read more

On April 15, J. Cole's 4 Your Eyez Only documentary aired on HBO, but it wasn't a concert film despite sharing the title of his most recent LP. Rather, it served as a visual essay on the album's themes. As its trailer showed, conversations with Black Americans in Baton Rouge,... Read more

Elon Musk is arguably the world's preeminent CEO and businessman when it comes to innovation. With pedigrees in space exploration, development of alternate energy sources, electric vehicles, and infrastructure design, the South African is helping to lead the charge in developing ways of living which alleviate our carbon footprint or... Read more

Carmen Bryan is not a household name. However, she was strongly referenced in one of the most famous feuds in music history. In 2001, Jay Z launched "The Takeover" as part of his Blueprint campaign. The opening song to the acclaimed album put a reportedly longstanding tension with Nas out... Read more

Merely hours after Kendrick Lamar released his masterful new album, DAMN., a rumor surfaced that set the internet ablaze. It is unclear who the original author was, but the theory was Kendrick actually had plans to release 2 albums that weekend. The details were wildly creative yet also stunningly detailed…all... Read more

2017 makes 33 years since LL Cool J released debut single "I Need A Beat." James Todd Smith was not old enough to drive a car when he signed his contract with Def Jam Records, where he would remain a superstar into the 2000s. The Queens, New York MC elevated... Read more

ケンドリック・ラマーが極めて巧みな新アルバム「DAMN.」をリリースしたそのほんの数時間後、ネットではある噂が大炎上した。誰が言い出したかは不明だが、一説にはケンドリックは実は同週末にアルバムを二枚リリースする予定だった、というのだ。詳しい内容・根拠はワイルドに想像力に富んだものである一方、中には驚く程細かい描写もあった。普通だったら「こりゃガセネタだろう」と流したくなるような要素の勢揃い。 その主な要素とは次のとおり。「DAMN.」は聖金曜日 [Good Friday: 復活祭の前の金曜日。キリストの命日] にリリースされたもので、ケンドリックの死を象徴している。（ネット上の）空論家たちは、ケンドリックが次に「NATION.」というタイトルで「自分の復活」と意味で二枚目のアルバムを復活祭にリリースするのではないかと暗示し出した。タイトルを合わせると「DAMNATION」[天罰] となる。ケンドリックの音楽にはスピリチュアルな要素も含まれており、早くも「Section.80」というアルバムの時点ですでに「Kush & Corinthians」[クッシュとコリント人]のような曲があり、ジャケットには聖書が写っている。また、アルバムのリリースに向けて The New York Times とのインタビューの中でケンドリックはこう語る。 「俺たちは人生と呼ばれるあらゆるものごとから、ある一つの大きな要素を排除しがちな、そんな時代にいるんだ。つまり神だよ。今、世界で起きていることとの間に軋轢を生んでしまうから誰も言わないけど。政治や政府、体制について語ろうとするとさ」。 噂を裏付ける詳細も豊富だ。「DAMN.」のジャケット裏は、全曲が最後まで大文字で書かれ、それを強調するかのように「.」で終わり、白い背景へと溢れるようなレイアウトになっている。噂によるとこれらは一つのアナグラム（つづり換え遊び）のつもりである。つづり換えると「Earth led 2 Death [地球は死を招いた]」や「Death 2 the leader [リーダーに死を]」などと、噂のコンセプトを強化するようなフレーズがいくつか成り立つとみられる。更にいうと、「DAMN.」のM字がちょうど悪魔の角とも捉えてもいいようにケンドリックの頭の上に位置しており、今度「NATION.」ではO字を天使の輪に見立てるのではないかという説だった。また「DAMN.」のカバーは赤だから、「NATION.」は青になるだろうと。そしてケンドリック本人も火に油を注ぐように「DAMN.」のリリース直後に、Spotifyのプロフィール写真を変え、赤だった背景が青になっていた。その後、「NATION.」の偽アートワークが出回り始めた。 二日間、世の中は息をひそめて「NATION.」のリリースを待った。期待が外れたと気付くと、噂の火が弱まりかけたが、数日後にアルバムのサイン会でケンドリックが口にしてしまった一言でまたすぐ様に大炎上した。 「俺の音楽、まだあるよ」 この言葉が大騒ぎを起こし、それを正すべくケンドリックは公式声明を発表せざるを得なくなった。「 KenFolk [ケンドリックファンの皆] へ。皆から、自分の音楽への、止まない期待と欲望に、感謝。しかしリリースはないよ。自分の活動は今後の俺たち TDE (Top Dawg Entertainment) の日程発表でわかるよ、でも」 KenFolk. ThankU 4 the desire of always anticipating new music of my own. None is... Read more

Last month, Freeway officially signed with Roc Nation. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania MC had long been wearing the caps, and appeared close to Jay Z and the label and management firm through appearances and concerts. In the 2000s, Freeway and State Property were hit-making fixtures at Roc-A-Fella Records shortly before the... Read more

During the same week millions of Americans are celebrating (and others rebuking) the removal of Confederate monuments and statues in New Orleans, millions more are acknowledging the anniversary of yet another example of America's complex, racially disparate society. On April 29, 1992, what have since been coined the Los Angeles... Read more

This month, The Breaks aired its first season as an episodic show. Set at the top of the 1990s, the series follows the lives and movements of several young people trying to make it in the music industry. From DJ/producers, aspiring record execs, to radio, the show created by author... Read more

One week ago, MC Eiht and DJ Quik released not one but two collaborations on Q-U-I-K & Problem's Rosecrans album. Those tracks, which closed the Diamond Lane Music Group release signified peace after a beef that dominated the 1990s in Rap music. Two Compton, California natives who literally threatened each... Read more

DMX has been on the minds of Hip-Hop fans for many reasons in recent days. The legendary rapper is expected to release a new album later this year, an eagerly awaited follow-up to 2012's Undisputed. With five platinum (or better) albums under his belt, the Yonkers, New York icon has left... Read more

Prince's career and mainstream recognition changed drastically with 1984's Purple Rain. While the Minneapolis, Minnesota musician had enjoyed two Top 10 hits with 1999, this album (and the film it accompanied) tipped the scale and cemented a living legend. Nine tracks and less than 44 minutes long, the #1 album... Read more

One of the best releases in the Dreamville Records chest is J.I.D's The Never Story. Released last month, the Interscope-backed project did not rely on heavy marketing, big features, or grabbing artwork. Instead, the newest artist on J. Cole's label simply spit raps with a nimble delivery, clever wordplay, and... Read more

Recently, Method Man and Redman brought their Blackout Tour to international audiences, traveling to Australia, Europe, and elsewhere to perform material from their classic collaborative LPs. The Blackout! partners and seemingly inseparable friends have not neglected their stateside fans, however, and are featured prominently on Snoop Dogg's Mount Kushmore Tour, and can... Read more

DJ Pooh is a legendary Hip-Hop mix-master and producer who has made hits with Ice Cube, King T, LL Cool J, Tha Dogg Pound and Snoop, plus Tupac Shakur. However, measuring success, the West Coast Hip-Hop pioneer may be best known for co-writing Friday. Also a highly-accomplished director and an... Read more

On April 10, The Breaks completed the airing of its first season as a series. What began as a 2016 film for television extended for eight 2017 episodes. With actor, artist and director Mack Wilds portraying "Daryl 'DeeVee' Van Putten, Jr." in the Vh1 show, the cast also includes Hip-Hop figures such... Read more

UPDATE: Days after a "medical emergency" was cited as the reason DMX canceled at least three concert appearances, the rapper has reportedly checked into a Southern California rehabilitation facility for substance abuse. Learn more about substance abuse recovery with Red Door Life and the treatments they offer. TMZ has learned... Read more

In recent years, much attention has been paid to the prevalence of lyrics glorifying the use of drugs in Rap music. In addition to decades of references to alcohol and cannabis, over the last few years, a number of artists have rapped about MDMA (aka Molly) and other substances, including... Read more

Today (April 26), OutKast's debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik turns 23 years old. The 1994 full length introduction of Andre 3000 and Big Boi was one for the ages. Deemed the "Best New Artists" at the following Source Awards, 'Kast raised the profile of Atlanta, Georgia's contributions to Hip-Hop simply by creating... Read more

Throughout the last 20 months, Anderson .Paak has risen to become the latest musical mainstay from Southern California. In the last several years, he joins a class of peers and collaborators that includes ScHoolboy Q and Ty Dolla $ign, among a few others. On 2016's Grammy-nominated Malibu album, Paak put... Read more

Killer Mike bought and launched the SWAG Shop when his music career was gaining momentum as a retail and real estate investment. Once an admitted hustler, Mike Bigga saw he and his wife's shop as a lasting, legal venture that would also keep him connected to his Atlanta, Georgia community.... Read more

Miami, Florida MC Sylvan LaCue is currently making major noise. Fresh off of touring the United States with "Best Me (Remix)" collaborator Saba, Sylvan is another independent artist (thanks to his Wise Up Entertainment movement) who needs no machine to draw power through numbers. With his album Far From Familiar... Read more

The second official single to Kendrick Lamar's #1  new album is "DNA." Besides some audio from Geraldo Rivera, the second song on the album is a complete collaboration between Lamar and veteran producer Mike Will Made It (who also produced the first single, "HUMBLE.") Mike, known for producing such hit... Read more

In September 2016. T.I. released the most powerful music video of his career in the form of "Warzone," a visceral depiction of America's ugly police violence problem. However, the video turned the tables and envisioned our problem from a provocative angle: what if the killer cop was Black and the unarmed... Read more

Back in March, Snoop Dogg announced the Mount Kushmore Wellness Retreat Tour, a 16-city affair that celebrated the upper echelon of legendary MCs promoting mental elevation. With a lineup boasting some of Hip-Hop's most celebrated names, the tour began April 13 and extends through the beginning of May and brings... Read more

Greg Marius is deeply responsible for two Harlem institutions: Hip-Hop and street basketball. This past weekend (April 22), Marius passed away after a long battle with cancer. He was 59 years old. In the early 1980s, Greg joined Kurtis Blow and Spoonie Gee as one of Uptown Manhattan's early Rap... Read more

Kid Capri's vocals can be heard multiple times on the current #1 album in the country. The Bronx, New York DJ, producer, and onetime MC put his voice on multiple tracks belonging to Kendrick Lamar's DAMN. In a career that spans 30 years of mixtapes, Def Comedy Jam, production for... Read more

In 2017 Dr. Octagon is making big waves after years in idle. More than 20 calendars after Kool Keith, Dan The Automator, DJ QBert and others recorded the cult-lauded Dr. Octagonecologyst album, the fictional persona is back in the symbolic operating room. Keith, Dan, and QBert performed their first ever... Read more

UPDATE: Mac Miller has announced that he is canceling his Soundset appearance planned for this Sunday. He apologized to fans in a tweet, but did not expound on reasoning. Earlier this week, a suicide bombing in Manchester, England killed 22 people and injured more than 100 took place during a... Read more

Since the days of Slick Rick, Hip-Hop has had a curious relationship with children's stories. Recently, Los Angeles' Power 106 decided to take that connection and run with it. Over the last few months, the radio station has had several rappers put their stamp on spirited readings of the 2005... Read more

Hip Hop music started in the early 1970s, when DJs used at least two turntables and their vinyl records to prolong the sections of songs that dancers and party-goers most responded to. By the end of the decade, rappers and DJs were making their own Hip-Hop records, including hits by... Read more

Last night (April 21), the Ruff Ryders reunited on the stages of Brooklyn, New York's Barclays Center. DMX, Eve, Swizz Beatz and others celebrated nearly 20 years of guttural street music from the New York City collective that also spawned the careers of The LOX, Drag-On, Cassidy, and others. While the... Read more

Life is too short to listen to bad music. So...let us 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... Read more

On May 19, Faith Evans will release her new album, The King & I. Featuring a number of rare vocals from The Notorious B.I.G., the project is fashioned as a duets album between Faith and her late husband. After prior singles featuring Jadakiss and Snoop Dogg, Faith has released the... Read more

Today (April 21) marks a full seven days since Kendrick Lamar released DAMN., the conceptually driven follow-up to the equally innovative and controversial To Pimp a Butterfly. Already garnering the MC critical and commercial acclaim to rival all of 2017's highest-rated LPs, DAMN. has inspired its fair share of analysis and reviews, which have... Read more

A year ago today, the world was rocked by the sudden and unexpected death of Prince Rogers Nelson. It set off an outpouring of love, grief and tributes that continue to this day. At no time in his career was Prince's name more ubiquitous. In fact, he has been the... Read more

Just one week after releasing his newest LP, Kendrick Lamar remains the most talked-about artist in Hip-Hop. Having already released more than one single and video in support of DAMN., the TDE rapper has also already performed some of the material on one of the world's biggest stages, in the... Read more

There are few storylines, whether fact or fiction, filled with more drama, violence, or ups and downs than the tale of Death Row Records. Founded in 1991 by Dr. Dre and Suge Knight, with help from SOLAR Records' Dick Griffey, The D.O.C. and incarcerated silent partner Michael "Harry O" Harris,... Read more

It's been nearly 9 months since Nas teased us with 3 potent words: "Nas Album Done." The internet was set aflame, when he uttered that phrase on DJ Khaled's song of the same title. Since then, the album has yet to arrive, but Nas' activity has certainly picked up. He... Read more

While Big Boi has stayed more active in music than his OutKast partner Andre 3000 since they split, it's been 5 years since Daddy Fat Sacks released a solo album. In 2015, he teamed with Phantogram for their joint LP, Big Grams, but that was very much a collaborative project in... Read more

The release of Kendrick Lamar's latest album has triggered discussion of where he stands in the Hip-Hop pantheon of MCs. Many consider him to be 4 for 4, in terms of outstanding LPs, including Section.80, good kid, m.A.A.d. city, To Pimp A Butterfly and, now, DAMN. As untitled.unmastered. was simply... Read more

The Roots have not released an album since 2014. During that time, however, Black Thought has stayed hard at work. He and his longtime musical partner, Questlove, were deeply involved in the Broadway sensation, Hamilton, curating mixtapes, cyphers and more for the musical. Thought has continued working with DJ J.... Read more

Yesterday, Kendrick Lamar continued the momentum he's built over the last few weeks, with the release of a new video for his song "DNA." Since mid-March, Lamar has had the Hip-Hop world on lock, with an onslaught of new songs, the release of his album DAMN., a headlining performance at... Read more

Twenty five years ago last month, Showbiz & A.G. released the Soul Clap EP. The first release from the Bronx, New York duo would launch a strong catalog, and give Lord Finesse some esteemed company in making Diggin' In The Crates a stacked crew. Show and 'Dre have stayed a... Read more

Nicki Minaj and Remy Ma's beef quieted down in the last five weeks. The two New York MCs went from throwing apparent subliminal jabs to throwing heavy verbal artillery this year. After Rem' appeared to throw some televised shade Nick's way this month on Hip Hop Squares, Barbie brings her... Read more

UPDATE: On April 19, it was confirmed that Bill O'Reilly has been fired by FOX News following the latest sexual harassment reports. The top-ranking pundit and Conservative personality is said to return with an independent podcast. It appears to be the end of an era at one of the world's... Read more

Hip-Hop music has been one of movements. In its earliest days, Hip-Hop was a fusion of sounds as disparate as Salsa and Punk, Dance Music and Funk. DJs like Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa used records from all genres, in order to concoct the sonic gumbo that launched... Read more