AFH Ambrosia for Heads

Eminem’s Rage Against The Machine Has Overshadowed The Sad Demise Of D12 (Video)

In less than a week, Eminem's Kamikaze created a chain reaction of events in the Rap space. From one sneak-attack 13-track album, Marshall Mathers stirred the pot. On Labor Day, MGK responded to Em's verse on "Not Alike" with some blistering bars and personal attacks on "Rap Devil." Then, two... Read more

Joe Budden Flips Out On Eminem. He Says He’s Been Better Than Em For A Decade (Video)

Friday (August 31) marked Joe Budden's 38th birthday. The Jersey City MC-turned-media host says he woke up to learn that Eminem addressed him on a sneak-attack album, Kamikaze. The news came after Budden was publicly critical of Eminem's 2017 work, (especially singles "Walk On Water" and "Untouchable") via his platforms, ... Read more

Tyler, The Creator & A$AP Rocky Remind The World They Are GREAT MCs (Video)

Two years ago, Tyler, the Creator released a loosie single/video titled "WHAT THE F*CK RIGHT NOW," in which the Odd Future co-founder rapped over Kanye West's "Freestyle 4," a beat taken from West's 2016 effort, The Life Of Pablo. Purely recorded for fun, the music video featured fellow rapper birthed... Read more

Too Short Explains How Tupac Almost Kept Pimp C From Working With JAY-Z (Video)

With 2000's guest spot on JAY-Z's Top 20 hit "Big Pimpin'," UGK scored their most visible collaboration to date. Produced by Timbaland, it appeared on Jigga's triple-platinum Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter and is easily one of the rapper's biggest commercial successes. At the time, Underground Kingz Bun B... Read more

Freeway’s New Freestyle Shows He Is 100% Back & At Peak Powers (Video)

Compared to his mid-2000s run, Freeway has been out of the spotlight lately. From health concerns to label shifts, he has his reasons. However, the Roc Nation MC snatched it right back the best way he knew how. The Philly spitter, accompanied by fellow Roc-A-Fell Records alum Pain In Da... Read more

Focus The Truth Wants To Know If You’re Down To Ride With Him (Video)

The name Focus The Truth can be read two ways. It could be interpreted as an alias (Focus) coupled with a title (The Truth), or the moniker can be taken as a whole and viewed as a statement of what this MC does — focus the truth. Either way, this... Read more

Drake Spits His Best Verse Of The Year While Lil Wayne Blasts Birdman (Audio)

Earlier this week, Lil Wayne released his Dedication 6 mixtape with DJ Drama. Unlike most of the mixtapes of today, which feature original productions and are basically free albums, Wayne’s project was a return to the days when MCs jacked other rappers for their beats and made them their own.... Read more

Ma$e Explains Why He Dissed Cam’ron & Says He Beat Him By A “Landslide” (Video)

On Black Friday (November 24), Ma$e tried to put the lights out on Cam'ron. The former Bad Boy Records superstar and onetime G-Unit artist laid into his past collaborator and Children Of The Corn band-mate for four minutes straight on "The Oracle." His diss used JAY-Z's "Blueprint 2" instrumental (produced... Read more

When Loaded Lux Freestyles, You Gon’ Get That Work! (Video)

While in the last few years he has begun to lay his rhymes to wax, Loaded Lux was forged in the art of freestyling and battle rap. After an unforgettable stint in the 2000s where he won 7 consecutive weeks on 106 & Park's "Freestyle Friday," Lux went on to... Read more

GZA Once Sliced Apart A Dre Beat Using His Verbal Liquid Swords (Video)

In 2002, GZA was fast at work on his fourth solo album (the third since the '93 sonic-boom of the Wu-Tang Clan). At the time, 1995's Liquid Swords was well on its way to eventual platinum status, while 1999's Beneath The Surface was his second consecutive Top 10 release, grabbing... Read more

Royce 5’9’s Ill Rhymes Put Other MCs In The Sunken Place (Audio)

Conway The Machine is set to drop a midweek project titled Reject On Steroids tomorrow (May 25), and a new collaboration with Royce 5'9 for DJ Green Lantern will inject Hip-Hop Heads with enough bars to last a good while. "iLL" partners the Buffalo, New York rapper with the Detroit, Michigan MC for... Read more

R.A. The Rugged Man Remembers Watching Biggie Write Rhymes In The Studio (Video)

Early on in his career, R.A. The Rugged Man worked alongside The Notorious B.I.G., but the musical partnership was cut short when Biggie was killed in 1997. However, the Long Island, New York MC was around early enough to witness Christopher Wallace before, during, and after he became Big Poppa,... Read more

Snoop Shows He’s Still A Top Dogg In A Freestyle Cypher With A$AP Rocky (Video)

Although Snoop Dogg has enjoyed one of the longest careers in Rap music, having logged 25 years in the game, he has often been under-appreciated. His name is seldom mentioned in GOAT or Top 5 discussions, and he has never won a Grammy, despite 17 nominations. Perhaps the area in... Read more

Damian Lillard Goes Back In The Paint With Another Driving Sway Freestyle (Video)

In early 2015, Portland Trailblazers star Damian Lillard appeared on Sway In The Morning. The Oakland, California native proved there was more to him than a mean court-game, as he positioned himself as the best MC in the NBA. With a sick freestyle, the artist known as Dame D.O.L.L.A. began... Read more

Dot Demo’s “Roberto Clemente” Puts The Bass In The Old Ballgame (Video)

Although the late, great Roberto Clemente was no New York Yankee, Bronx MC Dot Demo takes it to a neighborhood park in the new video for his bass-heavy, trap-inspired song titled after the legendary baseball player and humanitarian. Ball bat in hand, one of Ambrosia For Heads's "Ready or Not"... Read more

A New Mix Celebrates The 20th Anniversary Of Ghostface Killah’s Ironman Album (Audio)

Today (October 29), marks the 25th anniversary of Ghostface Killah's landmark solo debut album, Ironman. To celebrate the anniversary, Up North Trips and Its Overture have put together a new mix, spotted on Ego Trip, to commemorate the LP. In addition to featuring much from Ironman, the mix expands to... Read more

Ghostface Killah’s Ironman Showcased A Rap Superhero & The Man Behind The Mask (Video)

Twenty years ago tomorrow (October 29, 1996), Ghostface Killah released a seminal solo debut album in the form of Ironman. To that point, four Wu-Tang Clansmen (GZA, Method Man, O.D.B., and Raekwon) had all stepped to the front with solo efforts, spreading their creative darts across Rap's board. As the... Read more

Joe Budden Puts His Life In A Music Video So You Ain’t Gotta Ask

Last week, Joe Budden released his Rage & The Machine album. The third single from the self-released LP is "I Gotta Ask." Featuring a great deal of lyrical, cadence, and beat references to 1998 Jay Z single "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" (produced by New Jersey's own 45 King)—this song... Read more

Charlamagne Nearly Pushes Beanie Sigel To The Point Of Getting Physical (Video)

Beanie Sigel has experienced one of the highest profile months of his extensive musical career. The South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania MC started September as an esteemed veteran, reportedly in plans to make a collaborative album with former foe Jadakiss. However, after briefly appearing on Meek Mill and Omelly's "Ooouuu" reply to... Read more

Ras Kass’ Rawest Rhymes Come To Life Over Statik Selektah Production (Audio)

2016 marks 20 years since Ras Kass entered the stage with Soul On Ice. Ever since, the Carson-by-way-of-Watts, California MC has become one of the most lethal lyricists in Hip-Hop, a master of style and substance. When Ras is agitated, he can make some of his best music—whether tackling lesser-skilled... Read more

Black Hippy Black Out On The Remix To ScHoolboy Q’s “THat Part” (Audio)

In the early part of the 2010s, the TDE all-pro collective known as Black Hippy lined up in formation more than a few times. Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, and ScHoolboy Q came together to show that Top Dawg had incredible talent individually, and collectively. Like Wu-Tang Clan or D.I.T.C.,... Read more

Jay Z Locks In With Subliminal Shots. Only He’s Got The Keys. (Video)

Jay Z is one artist who has been generous in giving hugely high profile songs to others' albums. From records like the "Dear Summer" break of silence (and perceived subliminal shot at Game) on Memphis Bleek's 534, to a "Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix)" verse for Kanye West addressing the... Read more

Skyzoo Brilliantly Exacts “Revenge” On Jay Z On “Friend Or Foe Pt. 3″ (Audio)

Crown Heights Brooklyn MC Skyzoo grew up not far from the Marcy Houses that raised Jay Z. Although the two lyricists are more than a dozen years apart in age, S-K-Y always vocalized just how much S.Carter inspired his art and style. The extended, nasal bars, emphasis on brands and... Read more

DJ Premier Gives The Inside Story On The Making Of Jay Z’s Reasonable Doubt 20 Years Later

Twenty years ago, Jay Z had a hustler's ambition of releasing an album and then walking away. His lifestyle already afforded the finer things in life, so he was not making the music for the money. Rather, in his 26 years of life, he had accumulated some formidable stories that he... Read more

Mistah F.A.B. Aims To Hoist The Trophy After This 7-Minute Freestyle (Video)

Mistah F.A.B. is a fixture at Golden State Warriors games. The Oakland, California MC just happened to time his latest album to release in the midst of the NBA franchise's attempt at back-to-back championships. In promoting his star-studded work (Kendrick Lamar, Raekwon, Lupe Fiasco are just one cross-section of guests),... Read more

Chris Crack & Vic Spencer Look To “Cement” Their Place In Chicago’s Rich History Of MCs (Interview & Video)

Who Is Chris Spencer?? For those who are not familiar with all of the rising talent in Chicago, then this is definitely a good question to ask. Chris Spencer is not just one, but two MCs from the Windy City, both of whom are looking to take it by storm with a... Read more

Logic & Tech N9ne Competitively Compare Notes On How To Rap Incredibly Fast (Video)

Some of Hip-Hop's greatest MCs have earned their place by sometimes rhyming slow, and sometimes rhyming really, really fast. Artists such as Eminem, Jay Z, Big Daddy Kane, Andre 3000, and Kool G Rap are among the elites who can tear into a beat, and turn their mandibles into automatic... Read more

Ras Kass Plans “Soul On Ice 2,” Featuring Unreleased Songs (Video)

This year marks the 20th anniversary since Ras Kass' debut album, Soul On Ice. The native of both Carson, California would ink a contract with Priority Records to release what some still consider his greatest lyrical work—and a benchmark of intellectual songwriting. In the time since, Razzy Kazzy has released... Read more

A.G. Reveals All-Star Lineup For Next Solo LP & Discusses D.I.T.C. Reunion (Video Interview)

A.G. was one of the performers on hand at this past weekend's second annual J Dilla Weekend in Miami, Florida. Like fellow performers T3 (Slum Village), Black Thought, Royce Da 5'9, Diamond D, and honoree Pete Rock, Andre The Giant worked with Dilla before the producer/MC's February 10, 2006 death.... Read more

In Y2K, DMX Freestyles Went Down Like Mike Tyson Victims. Here’s One. (Audio)

The barks, the growls, the yelling...DMX brought a totally different kind of anger to Rap music than peers like ONYX, M.O.P., or Tupac Shakur. The Ruff Ryders flagship MC was "rage in the cage," when he stepped in many studio booths. Tim Westwood was one DJ/Hip-Hop personality on the map... Read more

Rapsody Had One Of The Best 2015’s Imaginable. From Kendrick To Dre, She Reflects…

"My year was awesome," Rapsody states in her latest interview. The Wilson, North Carolina MC born Marlanna Evans has garnered lots of acclaim in recent years. Her 2012 debut studio album, The Idea Of Beautiful made strong waves in a tipping point year for new Hip-Hop talent. 2013's She Got... Read more

Sheek Louch Discusses Silverback Gorilla 2 & Talks Working With Biggie and DMX (Interview)

Whereas speaking to Jadakiss or Styles P is often a lower key experience, their LOX band-mate Sheek Louch is high-energy. The Yonkers, New York veteran MC did not equate himself to one of the most ferocious members of the animal kingdom by being docile. In the Tommy Boy Entertainment conference... Read more

Pete Rock & Torae Are Here To Remind Us Who’s Been Putting In Work (Audio)

Coney Island, Brooklyn's Torae continues to prove himself as one of New York's most consistent MCs, releasing classic material with fellow underground heroes like DJ Spinna, Marco Polo, Pumpkin Head, Rapper Big Pooh, Shabaam Sadeeq, and Skyzoo during the more than ten years since releasing Make Room At The Top.... Read more

Monie Love, Mista Lawnge, Hall & Oates All On One Track? We Can Go For That (Audio)

Monie Love, one of Hip-Hop's most celebrated female voices and a longtime proponent for equality inside and outside of the booth, formed a group called Heresy recently, an all-woman affair that has been putting in some serious work with Mista Lawnge. The former Black Sheep member produced the group's "Da... Read more

45 King Recalls Early Days Of Queen Latifah & Jay Z, Reveals A Hit He Was Not Credited For (Audio)

In the canon of Hip-Hop producers, 45 King is among the most important. From break-beat compilations to remixes, seminal 1980s 12" singles, to Grammy Award-winning hits, the New Jersey-based DJ/producer born Mark James has nearly 30 years of highly-influential digging, sampling, and arranging. Whether Queen Latifah, Gang Starr, Eminem, or... Read more

DJ Premier & Jakk Frost Re-Team for Some Throwback Gangsta Rap (Audio)

Jakk Frost is one of many MCs that are currently crafting something big with DJ Premier. The West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania veteran showed something fresh in "Dope Boy Talk." Rooted in the tradition of Schoolly D (who is referenced lyrically and sonically in the song), this is Gangsta Rap that's anything... Read more

Ras Kass Salutes The O.G.’s Of Hip-Hop (Video)

Southern California veteran Ras Kass celebrates his 20-plus-year run in "So OG." As the West Coast Rap mainstay reminisces over a laid-back lavish beat, several critical figures of the 1990s Hip-Hop scene appear in the form of VHS footage. This gives the viewer the impression they are watching a Rap... Read more

Think Suicide Doors Are Rap Lyric Cliche? Skyzoo Unlocks The Freshness (Audio)

Skyzoo Heads know that the Brooklyn, New Yorker lives in two worlds. On one hand, the onetime Jamla/Duck Down Records MC is a product of the underground. Sky' has a grassroots career that was built off of hot 12" singles, circulating his name through mixtapes, and working with a vast... Read more

Raekwon Breaks Down the Lyrics to Criminology & Details Some of Its True Stories (Video)

Raekwon sat down with DJ Booth as part of their "Inside The Verse" series and broke down the lyrics to Only Built 4 Cuban Linx's "Criminology." Rather than a standard word for word dissection of the song, Rae' chose select bars and talked about some of the realities on which... Read more

Talk About Ambition… Charles Hamilton Freestyles… For Nearly 19 Minutes (Video)

Harlem, New York MC Charles Hamilton understands that it takes extraordinary measures to win back a fan-base after several years of hiatus, public mishaps, and some industry controversy. He seems to be rising to the occasion, simply through showing and sharing his love of rapping. Open interviews are one element,... Read more

Nick Cannon’s Signee Got In With DJ Premier. The Results May Surprise You (Video)

For the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, one of the great ways to introduce—or really break an artist is to get him or her in the lab with DJ Premier. From Nas and The Notorious B.I.G. to Macy Gray and Limp Bizkit. One person who knows this is entertainment mogul Nick... Read more

Keep An Eye Out For Raz Simone And The Rest Of “Them” (Video)

It appears that Raz Simone is gearing up for 2015 to be his true coming out party. Powerful and intuitive, Raz stacks content chocked full of social and cultural commentary within incredibly insightful track work, including his recent, "Drake & Macklemore's Platform" and "Macklemore & Chief Keef." To add to... Read more

The Militia Is Coming…Hear 3 Snippets Of Big Shug’s Next Album, All Produced By DJ Premier (Audio)

Gang Starr Heads know all about Big Shug. A member of the Gang Starr Foundation, the Boston, Massachusetts-based MC would appear on all of Guru & DJ Premier's albums from Hard To Earn through The Ownerz. Hard-nosed, fly, and wise, Shug paid dues in the wings for years, before becoming... Read more

Finding The GOAT (Round 2): Rakim vs. Kool Moe Dee…Who You Got?

We have reached the second round in the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). 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 consideration, pairing special match-ups... Read more

Finding The GOAT (Round 2): Kanye West vs. Ja Rule…Who You Got?

We have reached the second round in the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). 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 consideration, pairing special match-ups... Read more

DJ Premier Crosses The Ocean To Make A Rowdy Cut For England’s Four Owls (Audio)

From Craig David to the Brand New Heavies, DJ Premier has been one of the Hip-Hop mainstays who has been open with overseas collaboration. The Gang Starr producer/DJ seemingly sees no boundaries in Hip-Hop, and has been particularly open to making joints with artists from the United Kingdom. That quality... Read more

Stream and Download More Than 35 of the Best Mixtapes of 2014 (Mixtapes)

2014 was a year of incredibly diverse mixtape offerings. There were amazing blend projects like Yasiin Gaye which combined Mos and Marvin, beat-jacking tapes like Jon Connor's amazing takeover of Kanye West tracks, albums in disguise like Travi$ Scott's Days Before Rodeo, remix wonders like Soul Cookin's complete re-imagination of... Read more

Finding the GOAT: Pick Another ’90s Great Wild Card For Round 2?

As we continue the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time), 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 consideration, pairing special match-ups in a sequence not... Read more

Bumpy Knuckles Takes the Cake and Will Eat Yours Too (Audio)

After dropping a fiery verse in DJ Premier's Bars in the Booth, Bumpy Knuckles closes out a strong week by beating up on another track. He and DJ Wayne Ski link up again on "Cake Remix." Bumpy Knucks talks tough and is one of the few MCs who can back... Read more

Finding The GOAT: Big L vs. Fat Joe…Who You Got?

As we continue the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time), 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 consideration, pairing special match-ups in a sequence not... Read more