AFH Ambrosia for Heads

More Than 18,000 Petition To Make Mixtapes Eligible For Grammy Awards

Artists ranging from Chance The Rapper to Frank Ocean, J. Cole to Jhene Aiko, De La Soul to Lil Wayne have used the mixtape format. The term of mixtape itself has evolved greatly over the last 15 years. What began as a DJ or host-driven compilation sold on the black... Read more

Rittz Waits Out the Storm for a Better, Brighter Day Outside His Window (Audio)

As a roster member of Tech N9ne's Strange Music imprint, Rittz's career as an MC has taken him far outside the confines of his native Gwinnett County, Georgia. The 35-year-old spitter has made a name for himself as a gifted performer whose rapid-fire delivery has led to much comparison to... Read more

Hear The Best Hip-Hop of March 2016 In One Playlist (Audio)

For Hip-Hop fans, March 2016 will forever be associated with the loss of Phife Dawg from A Tribe Called Quest. Less than 2 weeks after his sudden passing, fans worldwide are still mourning. While March 22 undoubtedly will become an annual day of reflection and celebration for Hip-Hop, there were... Read more

Ambrosia For Heads Present…Our Picks For The 15 Best Hip-Hop Albums Of 2015

2015 watched a lot change in the music industry. Streaming culture kept Heads on the edge of their seats, as Hip-Hop superstars "pushed the button" on a whim. Reclusive legends released new product, while patient veterans made massive breakthroughs. No matter large or small, burgeoning or veteran, all artists seemed... 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

Tech N9ne’s Strangeulation 2 Cypher #1 Is Lyrically Lethal (Audio)

Tech N9ne never sleeps. And he's never one to sleep on. Next week (November 20), the Kansas City, Missouri "mental giant" will release Strangeulation, Vol. 2. The 16th album for Tech is his sixth in a celebrated "collabos" series. As the title suggests, these pairings are all about the bat-and-snake... Read more

Are Paid Streaming Services Relevant In A YouTube, SoundCloud, DatPiff-Dominated Hip-Hop World?

Some of the biggest Hip-Hop albums of 2015 were released without much advanced notice. In August, Dr. Dre released Compton, his first studio album of the millennium, and the third in an illustrious lineage that includes The Chronic and 2001, just a couple weeks after it was announced. However, at... Read more

A King Bows to No One. T.I. Leaves Columbia to Go Independent (Video)

T.I. has released five platinum and two gold albums in his 15-year career. The Atlanta, Georgia native MC and Grand Hustle Records founder is one of Rap's best sellers, with 2008's Paper Trail being one of the few triple-platinum works of recent years. After a brief, one-album stint at Columbia/Sony... Read more

Lil Dicky Explains What Led Him to Hip-Hop In 5 Questions (Video)

Lil Dicky has had a charmed career in Hip-Hop, thus far. His first video ever ("Ex-Boyfriend") racked up a million views...on the first day. His debut album, Professional Rapper, was the number 1 Rap album in the country, the first week of its release, and the album was perched atop... Read more

Buckshot & Smif N Wessun Have a Boot Camp Clik Reunion on a Statik Selektah Banger (Video)

Last week, Statik Selektah released his stellar Lucky 7 album on Duck Down Music. That compilation, which Statik says is his last solo project, features a smorgasbord of MCs, including Joey Bada$$, Action Bronson, Royce Da 5'9", Your Old Droog, Rapsody, Big K.R.I.T., Styles P, Bun B and more. Ever... Read more

David Banner & 9th Wonder Planning Death Of A Pop Star 2 (Interview)

Recently, Ambrosia For Heads spoke with David Banner. The Jackson, Mississippi native MC/producer/actor spoke about DJ EFN's Another Time album, particularly his "Warrior" verse. However, while speaking with AFH, the veteran Crooked Lettaz alum spoke about one of his most beloved works, 2010's Death Of A Pop Star LP, a... Read more

15 Amazing Hip-Hop Albums From 2015, So Far (Video)

2015 is not even at its halfway mark, and already has proven to arguably be even more exciting than last year. Seemingly, we are living in the era of surprise. Drake dropped If You're Reading This It's Too Late on a whim, Kendrick Lamar advanced the release of To Pimp... Read more

Finding The GOAT (Round 5): Tupac vs. Kendrick Lamar…Who You Got?

With just 11 MCs remaining we have reached the critical Round 5 in the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). Now, only five match-up’s—all running this week—separate Round 5 from the final six MCs, including Round 4 bye winner Big Daddy Kane. Since the elimination,... Read more

Finding the GOAT: None of These MCs Have Made the Top 10…Yet

Ambrosia For Heads’ Finding The GOAT series, the search for the Greatest Of All Time MC (as determined by you), began in September, 2014 and is soon down to its final 10+1 bye (Rakim, bringing the tally to 11) contestants. The MC who wins by the biggest margin in this... Read more

Ludacris Deploys A Slow Flow To Talk About The Smoke & Mirrors Of The Rap Game (Audio)

Ludacris' ninth solo LP, Ludaversal (March 31) is one week away. Within the album, the Rap mainstay has one song that reflects on his journey, and the stresses that come with a sustainable career in the industry. Listening to a superstar whine might not be appealing or original in theory,... Read more

Listen to the Best Hip-Hop of February 2015 All in One Playlist (Audio)

The month of February had less days, but it was not short on good music. The tight four weeks brought new songs from Kendrick Lamar, Ghostface Killah, Scarface, Method Man, Redman, Talib Kweli, Logic, Big K.R.I.T., Slum Village, Rah Digga, Action Bronson, Kanye West, Cannibal Ox, Drake, GZA, Fashawn, Nas,... 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

J. Cole’s 2014 Forest Hills Drive Is Something Meaningful, From Jump (Video)

J. Cole is playing with a different sound on his seeming surprise album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive (December 9). Still almost five days removed from release, Jermaine has taken a page from Taylor Swift, using social media to connect with fans, and personally play them this intimate album–at home. Additionally,... Read more

Crooked I Confirms Name-Change To Kxng Crooked

Heads who listened closely to this week's "Shady cXVpher" may have heard Slaughterhouse's Crooked I refer to himself as "Kxng Crooked." MTV News today confirmed today (November 12) that the moniker is more than just a braggy line. "Everything needs to change and everything has to evolve. Creatively, I just... Read more

Big Boi Gets All Mixed Up With B.o.B., Third World & Wavves (Audio & Video)

Big Boi's mash-up's continue, as anticipated in the weekly series. The Outkast MC has tapped into Phantogram, Blue Oyster Cult, Big K.R.I.T., Sade, and UGK, and now he goes runs to the Wavves for an Electronic raw sound, while running a line into Third World, for some Reggae in "Run... Read more

Got BARS? These MC’s Do. Here Are The Best Freestyles of 2013 (Video)

There are few things more satisfying in Hip-Hop than a killer verse. It's why Kendrick Lamar shook up the Internet for 3 weeks (an eternity these days) with his Control verse...and then again with his BET Cypher. We've assembled a collection of the best freestyles (mostly "writtens") of 2013. Check... Read more

The Top 10 Most Compelling Hip-Hop Photographs Of 2013 (Food For Thought)

The old adage, "a picture's worth a thousand words" often proves to be true. Let's hope so for 2013, which by way of Instagram, Twipic, and some inner-circle released photos, told Heads plenty of stories. From unlikely reunions to time-pieces, to first steps for Hip-Hop kind, what a year... Here... Read more

Suge Knight & Snoop Hanging Out?? Yeah, 2013 Was a Crazy Year For Hip-Hop. Here’s a Photo Recap (Food For Thought)

The old adage, "a picture's worth a thousand words" often proves to be true. Let's hope so for 2013, which by way of Instagram, Twipic, and some inner-circle released photos, told Heads plenty of stories. From unlikely reunions to time-pieces, to first steps for Hip-Hop kind, what a year... Here... Read more

Talib Kweli Takes Aim at Illuminati Talk and Says Kill the Noise in the Video for Wormhole (Video)

With Gravitas a week away, Talib Kweli hopes to put the Illuminati talk to bed with the 2013 calendars. The Brooklyn, New York MC uses vintage footage of 2Pac addressing the talk back in 1995 and 1996, as he presented his "Killuminati" stance. Kweli uses footage, which producer Oh No... Read more

15 Years in and Talib Kweli is Still Schooling the Competition. He’s Looking for New Leaders…(Audio)

Talib Kweli is a week away from his second album of 2013. Gravitas will include the Statik Selektah-produced "New Leaders." Joined by Flatbush, Brooklyn's The UnderAchievers, Kweli demands new leadership in Hip-Hop, in Brooklyn, on Twitter, in society, and in government. Throughout the last 15 years, Kweli has been able... Read more

Bun B Discourages Young Artists From Accepting Remix Offers From Mainstream Rappers (Video)

Triple O.G. Bun B sat in for an interview with G-Unit Radio's DJ Whoo Kid on Shade 45. Bun, who's been a big brother MC to rappers ranging from A$AP Rocky and Big K.R.I.T. to Termanology and Vic Mensa tells the G-Unit DJ why artists should be cautious when a... Read more

Genesis The Greykid Makes A Cool Music-Metaphor Song On What If (Audio)

Part of the Creative Control video squad, Virginia Beach's Genesis The Greykid dropped Grey Skies 3 last week. The free album/mixtape features involvement from Big K.R.I.T.'s DJ Wally Sparks, Shadyville DJs' DJ Woogie, and more. It's a worthy listen, and one of the highlights is "What If." The song furthers... Read more

Mac Miller Has 10 Examples Of Delusional Thomas (Mixtape)

After a relatively quiet year in mixtapes (save for Rapsody, Chance, and K.R.I.T.), this week has been downright monstrous. Fans of free Hip-Hop music rejoice. Following yesterday's Halloween onslaught, Mac Miller hits fans with Delusional Thomas. Always having fan with titles, the Rostrum Records MC/producer drops 10 songs (under the... Read more

Ghostface Killah, Sheek Louch & Pharoahe Monch Perform at A3C (Video)

The annual A3C Hip-Hop Festival is taking place in Atlanta this weekend. If you've never been, it's a truly special Hip-Hop experience. Our favorite moment so far is watching Big K.R.I.T. and Bun B rip through the remix to Country Sh*t from about 10 feet away yesterday. Below is some... Read more

Nice Guys Finish First…But Not By Playing Nice

Kendrick Lamar and Big K.R.I.T. After the late 2000s breakthrough of Blu, Thurz, Fashawn and Torae, it is these two men that truly opened me up to what I considered the youthful unknown in Hip-Hop. In 2010, I was very much the anti-new-rapper’s fan, convinced that labels (large and small)... Read more

The 25 Greatest Diss Records of All-Time

This has been one of the biggest weeks for Hip-Hop in a long, long time. The foundation was set on Sunday when Hip-Hop turned 40 (at least if you count the first party Kool Herc through in the Bronx as the official anniversary). What became even the bigger story, however,... Read more

Kendrick Lamar – Westside, Right On Time ft Young Jeezy

Kendrick Lamar teams up with Jeezy for the final TDE release of the week. Blazing hot...Check out Westside, Right on Time. Right on time to start the weekend, indeed. Related: DJ Khaled - They Ready ft Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole & Big K.R.I.T.... Read more

Slaughterhouse interview with RawHustle TV (Video)

It's been a strong week of interviews, with clips dropping from 9th Wonder, Pharoahe Monch, Big K.R.I.T., Nas and more. Now it's Slaughterhouse's turn. Check out this video where they discuss how the group formed, working with Eminem, their recording process, the making of Hammer Dance (straight jokes) and more... Read more

Here is our list of the underground MCs who had the biggest come up in the last year: The AFH Torch Bearers list. These MCs include Ab-Soul, Action Bronson, A$AP Rocky, Childish Gambino, Chuuwee, Dom Kennedy, The Jets (Tradeamark Da Skydiver, Young Roddy, Sir Michael Rocks), The Kid Daytona, Rittz, Schoolboy Q, Smoke DZA, Stalley and XV. Click here to see why we chose these MCs and to hear some of their music.

There have been a lot of lists declaring top MCs lately; some for the mainstream and some for the underground. In our opinion (and each list is just that--opinions) each list left some things to be desired. So...we decided to take matters in our own hands. Partly in response to... Read more

Ambrosia For Heads’ 2011 Best Hip-Hop Albums/Mixtapes of the Year: Here’s a look at our picks for the best of the best in 2011. You’ll find words on each as well as samples of the music. Tell us your picks for 2011.

It's that time of year again, when you're hit with a ton of year end, best of lists. We're going to keep it simple. We have 2 lists: best hip-hop albums/mixtapes of the year and songs of the year. First up, here are our picks for the best hip-hop albums/mixtapes... Read more

Hip-Hop & Love from A3C – Here’s a recap of one of my best hip-hop experiences ever.

A3C was an amazing hip-hop experience this weekend. It was a 3-day hip-hop festival and conference featuring informative panel discussions during the day and showcases with a mind-blowing amount of dope artists at night.  Much like at South by Southwest, there was no floss--just a collective respect and love for... Read more

Fabolous just dropped a mixtape with a lot of old soul samples.

I'm digging this return to vintage soul in hip-hop. You can hear it in music by Big K.R.I.T., The Jets, Curren$y and The Alchemist and others. If you missed the inaugural installment of our Soul Cooking playlist which explores soul classics, click here. You can listen to the whole Fabolous... Read more

Here are some random musings from SXSW.

Hip-Hop is alive and well in Austin, TX this week.  If you're not up on South By Southwest (SXSW) it is a music festival that has been around for decades.  It is now the world's biggest music conference.  It has traditionally catered to indie rock but over the last few... Read more

10 reasons why 2010 was the best year ever in hip-hop: #4 Whut? Thee album???…there have been a lot of great songs in hip-hop over the years but not a lot of great ALBUMS. In 2010, there were at least 10…

When's the last time you went back and listened to some of your favorite hip-hop albums from back in the day? I'm guessing if you randomly picked 10 of your favorites and listened to them from front to back, you would want to skip at least 5 tracks on each... Read more