AFH Ambrosia for Heads

Shia LaBeouf Says Compare Him To Eminem. Is He Really Da Bomb? (Audio)

In the last month, Shia LaBeouf's rhyme skills have come into strong focus. Ever since the MC appeared on Sway On The Morning, the Disney actor-turned-X-Men star elicited a lot of opinions across the Rap listening world. The Hollywood fixture (who once wanted to make a film about Eastern Conference/Def... Read more

F A Feature. J. Cole Is Rolling Solo Again

Less than a week after a fourth J. Cole album was announced, fans have more information. This week's 4 Your Eyez Only (December 9) will be a 10-track effort, as originally reported after a pre-order posted. Based on the rear album artwork insert, it appears that like 2014 Forest Hills... Read more

Smoke DZA & Pete Rock Release The Full Stream For “Don’t Smoke Rock” & It’s Crack (Audio)

Don’t Smoke Rock, the long-awaited album by legendary producer Pete Rock and Harlem’s own Smoke DZA, released on Babygrande Records, is finally here — and not since DJ Premier and Royce Da 5’9” linked for their PRhyme project has such a dope multigenerational collaboration occurred. Incidentally, Royce joins Jadakiss, Styles... Read more

Rick Ross Raps On His First Pete Rock Track & Smokes It (Audio)

On Rick Ross's most recent album, 2015's Black Market, he notably recruited DJ Premier for some scratches. In '16, Rozay works with another legendary DJ/producer, blessing a Pete Rock track, from P.R. and Smoke DZA's Don't Smoke Rock collaborative LP (December 2). "Black Superhero Car" is reminiscent of Wale, Jadakiss,... Read more

Pete Rock & Smoke DZA Release The 1st Single From Their Joint Album & It’s Limitless (Audio)

A year to the day since Ambrosia for Heads reported that Pete Rock would be producing Smoke DZA's new album in its entirety, the two have emerged on this Halloween with the first single from the much-awaited joint LP. Don't Smoke Rock is the aptly hybridized title for the project,... Read more

Pete Rock Comments On Who REALLY Invented The Remix (Video)

Since debuting Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth music in 1990, producer/MC/DJ Pete Rock has always been known to speak on his records. Songs like Nas' "The World Is Yours," his group's own "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)," and AZ's "Rather Unique" all feature notable background vocals from the Mount Vernon,... Read more

Talib Kweli & Rick Ross Are An Unexpected But Lethal Combination (Audio)

When it comes to unlikely pairings in Hip-Hop, there are likely few more unanticipated that a collaboration between Talib Kweli and Rick Ross. For nearly his entire career, Kweli has been closely associated with "Conscious Rap," due to his thought-provoking rhymes about politics, race relations and other substantive matters. By... Read more

Nas, Vic Mensa & Game Hold Nothing Back On the Year’s Most Explosive Soundtrack (Audio)

The Birth of a Nation is already one of 2016's most talked about films, and it hasn't even been released yet. On October 7, the Nate Parker directed sensation will arrive in theaters, and due to its simultaneously historic and timely content, it already has American movie lovers buzzing. The... Read more

The Game Blasts Meek Mill, Beanie Sigel & Sean Kingston On The Hardest Diss Record In Years (Audio)

On Sunday night (September 18), Meek Mill responded to The Game. Completing the first round of disses, Meek's "Ooouuu" featured Dream Chasers protege Omelly, as well as a symbolic appearance from another former Game collaborator, Beanie Sigel. Game wastes no time bringing out a new attack, and "Pest Control" is... Read more

Are Kanye West & Kid Cudi Really Beefing Over Drake? (Video)

In the last decade, Kid Cudi was one of G.O.O.D. Music's breakout success stories. The Cleveland, Ohio MC/singer made his debut on Kanye West's 2008 808's & Heartbreak album, before making way for his gold-certified Man On The Moon: The End Of Day first album (released seven years ago, yesterday).... Read more

15 Years Ago MF DOOM & Aesop Rock Shined Light Upon The “Black List” (Audio)

Earlier this year, Aesop Rock released The Impossible Kid. Down with the Rhymesayers crew, the LP marked the New Yorker's fourth consecutive solo work to appear on the Top 200. In this particular case, the album was the Hail Mary Mallon front-man's second straight Top 30 entry. This is a... Read more

President Obama Invites Some Of Rap’s Biggest & Brightest To Keep Giving “The Message”

On Friday April 15, President Obama invited a group to the White House in order to better understand and bring awareness to his "My Brother's Keeper" initiative. According to The Root, that meeting group included several handfuls of Hip-Hop acts, including J. Cole, Chance The Rapper, Ludacris, Nicki Minaj, Pusha... Read more

This Journalist Who Was Encouraged By Eazy-E Releases A Book Comparing Hip-Hop & Chess

From the Wu-Tang Clan to Wale, Fresh to Dilated Peoples, Hip-Hop's music, film, and lifestyle maintain strong ties to chess. The 64 squares relate to many aspects of life. Northern California veteran author, speaker, scholar, and music journalist Adisa "The Bishop" Banjoko has made a career out tying Hip-Hop, chess,... Read more

9th Wonder Explains How J Dilla Changed The Sound of Hip-Hop and Fathered “Neo Soul” In The Process (Interview)

After the ascendance of greats like DJ Premier, Pete Rock and Q-Tip in the 90s. There was a new wave of producers that would come to prominence in the 2000s who would carry the torch for Hip-Hop and take it in new directions. This new generation of beatmakers included the... Read more

Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly Is Now Platinum As RIAA Adds Streams To Criteria

Two of 2015's most talked about Hip-Hop albums can now claim platinum status. Just weeks before the Grammy Awards, Kendrick Lamar's sophomore major label album To Pimp A Butterfly now has the same celebrated benchmark of its 2012 predecessor, good kid, m.A.A.d city. Additionally, Big Sean achieves his first platinum... Read more

Ghostface Killah Teams Up With Omarion On A Stone Cold Groove (Audio)

Ghostface Killah and Omarion might seem like an unlikely combination, but the Wu-Tang Clan veteran has never allowed himself to be put in a box. From Babyface to Beyonce, Tony Starks has laid verses on plenty of records outside of Hip-Hop. His latest collaboration is a Wu-Tang/MMG connection, but it... Read more

J. Cole Explains Keeping Friday Night Lights A Shining Part Of His Career (Video)

In the last year, J. Cole has stacked his career accolades with a gold-certified, #1 charting album with no features in 2014 Forest Hills Drive. The Roc Nation MC continues to complement his benchmarks with a steadfast connection to his fans and causes. When marches and protests have taken place,... Read more

Rick Ross Gets Livid About Billboard’s Disrespect of Tupac (Video)

Rick Ross joined The Breakfast Club for one of his rawest and most spirited interviews in years. Ross was so forthright that, by the end of the conversation, Charlemagne The God referred to him as "fearless." The MMG boss discussed a number of topics and did not mince words. Not... Read more

Pusha T & Chris Brown Keep The Chemistry Bubbling With Uncompromisingly Honest Verses (Audio)

Over the course of the last three years, Chris Brown and Pusha T have displayed a strong chemistry across genre and demographic. On albums from each, the two Virginia representatives find a pocket that can be about talkin' slick ("D.G.I.F.U") or the art of seduction ("Sweet Serenade"). On the newly-released... Read more

Your Old Droog Combines Basketball, Seinfeld & Electro Funk (Audio)

Your Old Droog will not be pinned down. Over the last 18 months, he has tapped into 90s Hip-Hop, Jazz and Classic Rock as sonic canvases on which to paint his colorful lyrical pictures. Now, he pivots, heads to the 80s and whips up a track that not only conjures... 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

Rick Ross Tells a Mournful Tale About Young Lives Lost to Violence (Audio)

Less than a month after releasing his free Black Dollar album, Rick Ross continues to make new music. As with songs on that project, like "Foreclosures," as well as select other verses in Ross' older repertoire, like "Thug Cry" and "Poor Decisions," he shifts out of "bawse" mode and shows... Read more

Rick Ross Releases His Black Dollar Mixtape (Stream & Download)

Just three days ago, Rick Ross announced he was releasing a new project today (September 3). Since then, Ross has been on a tear, leaking new music and videos--sometimes both--each day. Now, Ross makes good on his word and drops the entire Black Dollar project for free. The mixtape showcases... Read more

Scarface Speaks on His Health Problems & The Fans Deciding Against a Geto Boys Reunion Album.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Scarface was hospitalized in his hometown of Houston, Texas. While touring with his longtime group, the Geto Boys, the platinum veteran MC left a date in New Mexico to seek medical attention. Speaking with Rolling Stone this week, 'Face explained. "I was really... Read more

R. Kelly Is Not Afraid of 5 Fingers Of Death. Catch The Kellz Freestyle (Video)

R. Kelly is often said to improvise many of his hits. Sitting at the keyboard, the 25-year veteran freestyles those very melodies and choruses that have changed the sound of R&B, and presumably created a few lives too. Somebody who is not often in the media, Kellz swung through today's... Read more

Sole Survivors: A New Documentary Explores the Cultural Obsession With Sneakers (Video)

On the heels of the release of Fresh Dressed, a documentary film examining the marriage of Hip-Hop culture and fashion, a new film being released this summer will extend the examination, albeit with a narrower focus. An exploration of those obsessed with kicks, Sneakerheadz premiered at SXSW earlier this year... Read more

Kendrick Lamar & Nicki Minaj Continue to Dominate the BET Awards

Last night's (June 28) BET Awards were equal parts nostalgic and forward-leaning. A Bad Boy Records reunion featuring Lil' Kim, Diddy, Ma$e, and The LOX as well as appearances from Janet Jackson and Smokey Robinson sparked reflection around the web, with viewers expressing delight at seeing some of their favorite... Read more

Audio Push Redefine What’s Regular In Normally (Video)

Hailing from the Inland Empire, a sprawling suburban section of Southern California that is far enough from Los Angeles to have its own cultural identity but close enough to still feel the influence of Hollywood's superstardom, Audio Push is a duo comprised of MCs Oktane (Julian Brown) and Price (Larry... Read more

J. Cole Celebrates “Friday Night Lights” With Dollar & A Dream Tour III

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the release of J. Cole's Friday Night Lights, a retail mixtape for which the word "success" is an understatement. Cracking the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 charts, it was the second Roc Nation release for Cole and the lead-in to his 2011... 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

Project Pat Releases Sequel To Mista Don’t Play Album, 14 Years Later

Memphis, Tennessee veteran MC Project Pat's best selling album is 2001's Mista Don't Play: Everythangs Workin'. A platinum effort, the Hypnotized Minds/Loud/Universal Records effort thrived amidst a Three 6 Mafia mainstream breakthrough. Produced by Three 6's Juicy J and DJ Paul, the album, thanks in large part to "Chickenhead" would... Read more

J. Cole Finally Gets His Platinum Plaque, Thanks To 2014 Forest Hills Drive

J. Cole is undoubtedly one of the premier Hip-Hop stars of the 2010s. Even before the new decade came in, Cole's The Warm Up topped year-end lists, and the Fayetteville, North Carolina MC/producer was quickly thrown into a class alongside Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Wale. It's taken five years, but... 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

Action Bronson & Chance The Rapper? Mark Ronson Makes It Work (Audio)

From Wale to Rhymefest, Bruno Mars to Ghostface Killah, Mark Ronson is gifted in pushing musicians to their outer limits. For Mr. Wonderful (March 24), Action Bronson called upon the British producer who was once a Roc-A-Fella Records affiliate. "Baby Blue," featuring Chance The Rapper is not far from the... Read more

Kenn Starr & Black Milk’s Collaboration Says A Lasting Goodbye (Video Premiere)

Every so often, an MC completely captures the love of the art, with the jaded response of those who receive the music (fans and otherwise). Records like Main Flow & Talib Kweli's "Hip-Hop Worth Dying For," Little Brother's "The Listening," Torae & Marco Polo's "Crashing Down," catches the zeitgeist of... Read more

Drake, Wiz Khalifa & Childish Gambino Can Make Fun Of Themselves, Or Read Along As You Make Fun Of Them (Video)

Many of today's elite Rap superstars may seem immune to the rough, rugged, and raw criticism they receive on social media. Short of Wale and Lupe Fiasco, not many of the chart-topping artists will entertain the trolls. As guests on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," the stars are asked to confront some... Read more

Finding the GOAT: Pick Yet 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

Waka Flocka Flame Snatches J. Cole’s Beat & Steps Up His Bars (Audio)

Now this is a surprise. Waka Flocka Flame hops on J. Cole's "Fire Squad" track and steps his bars up...way up. Whatever you may think of Waka, you have never heard him flow like this. Like his mentor-turned-foe Gucci Mane, Waka Flocka Flame is among Hip-Hop's most polarizing figures. Upon... Read more

GOAT: Which One of These MCs Deserves a Shot at Advancing to 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

If James Brown Were A Rapper In 2014, He’d Sound Like Mystikal On This Funky Number (Audio)

With his own YMCMB debut, Original, on seeming delay, Mystikal has been a bit mysterious since leaving prison. While he's been at work with Mannie Fresh, and made some Rich Gang appearances, the 1990s star and onetime No Limit free agent acquisition is certainly quiet, relatively speaking. Mark Ronson, the... Read more

Mac Miller Inks A Deal With Warner Bros. For 8 Figures & Drops Off A Loosie (Audio)

After a January, 2014 amicable-but-high profile exit from the Rostrum Records team that helped bring him to stardom, Mac Miller has officially made his next move. The Most Dope front man has headed to Warner Bros. Records, according to The Fader. The report states that the deal, including housing M.M.'s... Read more

Big Sean Joins The Roc Nation Family

Wale might be out, but one of his star contemporaries of the 2010s is in. News broke last night (September 11) that Detroit, Michigan MC Big Sean has joined Roc Nation management. Sean, like Roc Nation flagship artist Rihanna, is signed to Def Jam Records, but Sean is inked through... Read more

Rick Ross & Killer Mike on the Same Track??? Hear it in Black & White (Audio)

Rick Ross has had some very interesting collaborators as of late. The rapper, whose message is typically dominated with messages of street hustling and a life of luxury, has recently appeared on records with Lupe Fiasco and Big K.R.I.T. Now, Killer Mike, one of the Hip-Hop's most outspoken activists (in... Read more

Game Leads A Charge Against Police Brutality With More Than 10 All-Star Guests (Audio)

Enough is enough. Game is among the Hip-Hop stars reacting to the murder of Michael Brown. The multi-platinum Compton, California rapper amassed a group of his contemporaries to speak out against police murdering civilians of color. Called "Don't Shoot," the point and the pain is clear from the onset. In... Read more

Here’s a Playlist of the Best Hip-Hop of July 2014 (Audio)

July brought the heat in Hip-Hop, including new music from Jeezy & Jay Z, Black Thought, Raekwon, G-Unit, Rah Digga, Q-Tip, Cormega, Wale, "Your Old Droog," Elzhi, Chubb Rock, KRS-One, Big K.R.I.T., Wiz Khalifa, Common, Dilated Peoples, Souls of Mischief, Scarface and more. Check out a playlist of the Best... Read more

Jay Z, ScHoolboy Q, Drake & Eve Among 2014 BET Awards Nominees

The 2014 BET Awards are scheduled to air live from Los Angeles, California's Nokia Theatre on Sunday, June 29. Six weeks ahead, the network has shared its nominees in the respective categories, including Hip-Hop nods to Jay Z, Drake, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, Future, Eve, Nicki Minaj, and... Read more

Miguel Offers Up A Small Taste Of What He’s Doing With DJ Premier (Video)

From D'Angelo to Macy Gray to Christina Aguilera to K-Ci & JoJo, DJ Premier has worked with a plethora of highly-successful vocalists, who, while found in Pop or R&B genres, incorporate a whole lot more into their music. This week, Miguel posted a video Instagram of his stop in Midtown... Read more

Does Pharrell Have His Next Crossover Hit With Major Lazer In The Graffiti-Inspired Aerosol Can? (Video)

As Diplo continues to amass Hip-Hop production credits with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Wale, and Yelawolf, Diplo's Mad Decent Records artists continue to gain recognition. One of the stars on the label is Major Lazer, the trio of Jillionaire, Walshy Fire and Diplo has made noise working with Snoop,... Read more

Here’s an Amazing Mix of Music from the Legendary Roots Crew from Qool DJ Marv (Audio)

Here's an amazing mix of music from The Legendary Roots Crew courtesy of Qool DJ Marv. Marv got his start in Philly around the same time The Roots were coming up. With his impeccable ear and seamless blends, there are few more qualified to document the sounds of the venerable... Read more

Janelle Monae Covers The David Bowie Classic & She Does It Justice (Audio)

Just two weeks after Miguel (with Wale) tackled the Elton John classic "Bennie & The Jets," another British musical icon with decades of hits gets covered. Janelle Monae revisited David Bowie's transcending 1977 hit "Heroes" for the upcoming Rio 2 film soundtrack. While The Wallflowers and Oasis have both covered... Read more