AFH Ambrosia for Heads

In 1999, Kurupt & KRS-One Got Live On The Mic And Went Round For Round

Two decades ago this year, Kurupt released his second solo album, Tha Streetz Iz a Mutha. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania native had long since established himself as not only a West Coast MC but also resident. After signing with Death Row Records in the 1990s and founding the Dogg Pound Gangstaz (DPG)... Read more

How OutKast Begrudgingly Made One Of The Best Christmas Rap Records Of All-Time

Twenty-five years ago this season, OutKast released their first single, "Player's Ball." Big Boi and André 3000 had appeared on TLC's remix to "What About Your Friends" as teenagers in 1992. Like that opportunity, "Player's Ball" was birthed out of LaFace Records trying to cross-promote its fledgling Rap duo. For... Read more

Erick Sermon Details EPMD’s Terrible 1st Contract & How They Got The Big Payback

EPMD is one of those groups that are always mentioned among Hip-Hop's legendary duos, however it always seems like they don't quite get their full due. That was especially true of a mid-1980s contract that the pair of Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith signed. They later got the big payback... Read more

Black Thought Is A Top Notch MC. His New Song Shows He’s A Great Singer Too (Audio)

UPDATE: The YouTube version of Black Thought's "Conception" video: ORIGINAL NOVEMBER 19 STORY: In eight days, Black Thought is releasing his second project of 2018. November 26's Streams Of Thought, Vol. 2: Traxploitation will be produced by Salaam Remi (Nas, The Fugees, Amy Winehouse, etc.) as Thought confirmed in the... Read more

The Perfect Day In Hip-Hop: When Wu-Tang & A Tribe Called Quest Dropped Classic Albums

November 9 may as well be a day of observance for Hip-Hop Heads. With A Tribe Called Quest’s third album Midnight Marauders and Wu-Tang Clan’s debut Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) both dropping on that day 25 years ago, it's a date that seems hard to imagine. While many release dates... Read more

Jeru The Damaja & Afu-Ra’s Lyrics Still Kick Like Kung-Fu 20 Years Later (Audio)

The Wu-Tang Clan weren’t the only Hip-Hop crew flexing a Kung-Fu style in the early 1990s. On Jeru The Damaja’s celebrated 1994 debut, The Sun Rises In The East, he introduced the Perverted Monks squad. The head of that group, Afu Ra, impressed with an ill appearance on the joint... Read more

Despite Their Name, Brothas Unda Madness Were No Hip-Hop B.U.M.S. (Video)

Although G-Funk was ruling the West Coast in the mid-1990s, there was still a small but strong contingent of Heads that were practice more traditional Rap. These artists tended to show love to all four elements of Hip-Hop culture, rather than just MCing. Collectives like Hieroglyphics and The Likwit Crew,... Read more

20 Years Ago Black Star Released A Gold Standard For Hip-Hop (Audio)

Twenty years ago today (September 29, 1998), Mos Def and Talib Kweli joined forces and waved the Black Star flag courtesy of an incredible album. Time-tested, that same flag is forever planted in ears, hearts, and consciousness of so many Hip-Hop Heads. After two decades, Mos Def & Talib Kweli... Read more

OutKast’s Aquemini Turns 20. This 1998 Interview Shows They Saw The Future (Video)

OutKast has one of the most consistent catalogs in all of music. Their first four albums, in particular, are revered as some of the best Rap music released between 1994 and Y2K. However, during that legendary run, André 3000 and Big Boi turned on the turbo jets 20 years ago... Read more

Styles P & Dave East Are NY Giants From Different Eras. Bars Bridge Gaps (Audio)

LOX co-founder Styles P has been rapping for nearly 25 years, and his verses continue to impress. While some of the '90s and early 2000s catalog ages like a fine Merlot, the artist shows he enjoys building bridges to those that he and his cohorts have influenced. The last five... Read more

Take A 25-Year Ego-Trip Back To One Of De La Soul’s Best Videos

De La Soul's third album celebrates 25 years of being on planet earth today (September 21). Of all the LPs from the Plugs, it can sometimes seem easy to lose Buhloone Mindstate in the lights of a discography as consistent and far-reaching as any in the Rap genre. Many Heads... Read more

Black Thought Speaks About His Mother’s Murder & How Hip-Hop Saved Him (Audio)

Black Thought gives one of the best interviews of his career while speaking to Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito for their What's Good podcast. The iconic Hip-Hop hosts and their guests know one another. It was 24 years ago this month that Tariq Trotter got into a car in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania... Read more

25 Years Ago, Digital Underground & Tupac Asked A Question That Still Needs Answers (Video)

In October 1993, Digital Underground released The Body-Hat Syndrome, the third of six studio albums released by the Oakland, California collective whose central figure is Greg "Shock G" Jacobs. With their 1990 debut Sex Packets, the crew showcased a signature brand of irreverent humor, textured sampling and devotion to Hip-Hop's core elements.... Read more

Before NBA 2K, AND1’s Mixtapes Masterfully Merged Hoops & Hip-Hop (Videos)

Hip-Hop and basketball are nearing a 40-year marriage, with their first noteworthy rendezvous coming in the form of Big Bang Hank of The Sugarhill Gang delivering “I got a color TV so I can see the Knicks play basketball” on the 1979 classic “Rapper's Delight.” While the parallels between the... Read more

Das EFX Say Fu-Schnickens Stole Their Style & Explain How (Video)

Das EFX was one of the most original Hip-Hop groups of the 1990s. Krazy Drazy and Skoob’s rough and rugged look, animated flows, and especially their “iggity” cadence and stutter-style delivery caught the attention of music fans worldwide. While their unique “sewa'” style nabbed them accolades and a sizeable record... Read more

20 Years Later, The Value Of Lauryn Hill’s Miseducation Is Not Lost (Audio)

On her 1998 song "Lost Ones," Lauryn Hill waxes cautionary: "You might win some but you just lost one," she spits. It's felicitous phrasing for the venerated MC, whose five-time Grammy Award-winning debut The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill turns 20 this week. Drawing its title from the 1930s Carter G. Woodson book... Read more

Prince Paul And Dan The Automator’s Handsome Boy Modeling School Lessons Still Apply (Video)

In the late 1990s, Hip-Hop was taking itself a bit too seriously—at least in the eyes of two highly-accomplished producers. An era remembered for its high-profile beefs, Champagne-poppin', and colorful and shiny videos was rich fodder for some veterans who wanted to jerk the steering wheel with creativity in mind.... Read more

30 Years Ago, The Source Set A New Standard For Hip-Hop Journalism

This week, Hip-Hop culture is celebrating its 45th anniversary. The first documented South Bronx rec room party with DJ Kool Herc behind the wheels of steel was on August 11, 1973. Like the origins of the culture, that event's significance would live by word of mouth if Hip-Hop had no... Read more

Black Thought Explains Why Kool G Rap’s “Road To The Riches” Is His Favorite Verse (Video)

In 2004, The Roots released their sixth album, The Tipping Point. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania group's final album for Geffen Records contained an Easter egg of sorts for Hip-Hop Heads. The Dice Raw-assisted "Boom!" featured band front-man Black Thought paying homage to two of his MC inspirations: Big Daddy Kane and... Read more

One Of Biggie’s Final Radio Appearances Is A Moment That Can Never Be Tuned Out (Video)

In today’s Hip-Hop landscape, Sway Calloway is most synonymous with hosting both established and budding MCs at the Shade 45 studios in New York, providing them a globally esteemed platform to showcase their verbal readiness. A successful Sway In The Morning appearance has become somewhat of a seal of approval for... Read more

With Black Sunday, Cypress Hill Brought The Influence Of Latinos In Hip-Hop To The Masses (Video)

In 1993, California was the epicenter of Hip-Hop. Artists such as Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur, Ice Cube, and Dr. Dre were the faces of West Coast Gangsta Rap boom, which was winning in the mainstream. Plus, Cali’s prominent street gang culture and urban lifestyle had an emerging presence in Hollywood... Read more

Black Star’s Talib Kweli & Yasiin Bey Define What Hip-Hop Means To Them Today (Audio)

Celebrating 20 years since their landmark album, Yasiin Bey (fka Mos Def) and Talib Kweli have been busy taking their show on the road. On Saturday (July 14), the pair rocked the hometown stage at the 2018 Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival. The day before (July 13), the former Rawkus Records... Read more

Suga Free’s Kitchen Table Verse Shows He’s 1 Of The Best In The West (Video)

Pomona, California representative Suga Free is a cult-celebrated figure in Rap. The lyricist with the rant-rap delivery made a name for himself through a close association with DJ Quik. Like other, earlier affiliates such as AMG, Hi-C, 2nd II None, and the Penthouse Players Clique, Suga is a ruthlessly raunchy... Read more

Black Thought Assists Roots Affiliate Mumu Fresh In A Moving Tiny Desk Concert (Video)

For the latest in their Tiny Desk series, NPR recruits DMV artist Mumu Fresh who, despite her name, is already a seasoned veteran when it comes to the local cubicle concert. In February, Mumu teamed up with August Greene, the super-group featuring Common, Karriem Riggins, and Robert Glasper, in a... Read more

In 2005, Beanie Sigel Teamed With Method Man & Heavy D For 1 Of His Realest Releases (Video)

During the early 2000s, Roc-A-Fella Records was one of the music industry's driving forces. Within the empire, JAY-Z was the boss, Kanye West was the creative, Cam'ron was the street-savvy comedian. Meanwhile, Beanie Sigel became the enforcer of the R-O-C. By Y2K, New York City-based Roc-A-Fella took a strong interest... Read more

Black Thought Explains Why He Believes He’s Never Been Better (Video)

Less than one month since it was released, Black Thought's "Dostoyevsky" shines as a brilliant 2018 Hip-Hop song and the latest great Tariq Trotter and Rapsody collaboration. From The Roots MC's Streams Of Thought, Vol. 1 EP with 9th Wonder and The Soul Council, the work is on Ambrosia For Heads'... Read more

Jadakiss Explains Why With The LOX It’s Never Been All About The Benjamins (Video)

Twenty years ago, on DMX's "Blackout," Jadakiss spit, "You pay 30 for the 'Kiss, a 100 for The LOX / And if we cool, then I write a hook for a drop." In 1998, Jada' was quoting prices to artists looking for those features to do, as he rapped, "boost... Read more

Pete Rock & Bootsy Collins Unleash A Storm Of Soul & Funk With Tyler, The Creator (Audio)

Pete Rock may be a Hip-Hop legend, but it certainly isn't the only realm in music he has the ability to reign supreme. The New York producer was tapped to create the remix to songstress Kali Uchis' "After The Storm," a standout track on her recently-released debut album Isolation. As... Read more

J. Prince Says Drake Had A Diss Response That Would Have Ended Pusha-T’s Career (Video)

J. Prince has officially intervened in the ongoing beef between Pusha-T and Drake. The owner of Rap-A-Lot Records has served as an advisor to Drake for nearly a decade. As a multi-millionaire 30-year-exec with a reputation for no-nonsense "Geto Boy" tactics and street wisdom, the man also known as Lil... Read more

Big Mike Showed Pimp C Had More Thangs Than Rhymes. His Beats Banged Too (Video)

1994 was a pivotal year for southern Hip-Hop. OutKast released their monumental debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik while Scarface's five-mic-certified The Diary showed that Georgia and Texas were both in strong Southern stride. Additionally, Memphis, Tennessee was also starting to really make statements thanks to releases from Three 6 Mafia and 8Ball &... Read more

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

A Lost Track Featuring Snoop & Dr. Dre Helped Launch Warren G’s G-Funk Era (Audio)

In November of 1993, Snoop Doggy Dogg's debut album became a commercial and artistic juggernaut for Rap music, especially on the West Coast. Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. was a lanky 22-year-old who in just months, had gone from poverty to super-stardom. He had done so with Dr. Dre, the same... Read more

30 Years Ago KRS-One Carried BDP’s Torch By All Means Necessary

In the late 1980s, Boogie Down Productions was one of Hip-Hop's most exciting new groups. KRS-One and DJ Scott La Rock carved their lane with early 1987's Criminal Minded. The B-Boy Records LP was combative to Mr. Magic and Marley Marl's Juice Crew (especially MC Shan) and planted a flag... Read more

50 Years Ago Today, James Brown Healed Hearts With Soul Power (Video)

There may have never been a Hip-Hop Generation if not for James Brown. His music serves as a blueprint for Funk as well as the building blocks of Hip-Hop. Beyond music, Brown proved that the Black community in America is not monolithic in its political affiliation. The timeline of Brown’s... Read more

30 Years Ago DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince Gave Hip-Hop Something Brand New (Video)

Thirty years ago this week (March 29, 1988), DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince released a landmark double-album courtesy of He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper. At a time when Rap music was just getting comfortable with the album format, an MC/DJ battery from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania raised the... Read more

Phife Loved Hip-Hop, But Hip-Hop Needed Him (Video)

Today (March 22) marks two years since the passing of one of Hip-Hop’s grandest luminaries, Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest. While his legacy and imprint on music is still unfolding and carving out its place within the Rap history books, his efforts on the microphone maintain their relevancy... Read more

Why Prince’s Performance Remains The Greatest Super Bowl Halftime Show Ever (Video)

In 1993, Michael Jackson was the biggest Pop star on the planet when he performed at January 31's Super Bowl XXVII's halftime show. The prior year, In Living Color broadcast right at halftime. For football Heads watching the game on CBS, a reported 22 million viewers clicked over to FOX... Read more

GZA & Inspectah Deck’s Cold World Lyricism Still Causes Chills (Video)

Summer may be Hip-Hop's most treasured season. Cookouts, drop-tops, park jams, and "just hangin' out" have spawned plenty of beloved playlist hits. However, the winter section of the year has inspired some incredible Rap music in its own right. Bundled up bars about construction Timbs, 4x4 Landcruisers and Jeeps, skull... Read more

MC Lyte, Bahamadia & Yo-Yo’s Pete Rock-Produced Cut Still Speaks Today (Audio)

It’s not all that uncommon for a soundtrack to outshine the movie it was created to accompany. Twenty-one years ago, when the Ice Cube flick, Dangerous Ground was released, the exclusively Rap soundtrack may have stood a bigger test of time than the film itself. Although Cube’s “The World Is... Read more

The Black Eyed Peas Return To Their Jazzy Hip-Hop Roots Without Fergie (Video)

The thing about change is you can react to it, or you can cause it. The Black Eyed Peas choose the latter. Sans Fergie, will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo revert to their original style of Jazz-infused Hip-Hop with a new track and video, “Street Livin’.” Through the re-imagination and animation of... Read more

Pete Rock & J Dilla Birthed A Beat Generation That Shaped The Future (Audio)

Within the space of three months in 2001, two of Hip-Hop’s preeminent producers, J Dilla and Pete Rock were in a kind of competition, and this led to the release of two ground-breaking albums that would shape the sound of the genre for the next decade and beyond. According to... Read more

Murs & 9th Wonder’s 3:16 Album Set An Everlasting Trend In Hip-Hop (Video)

Collaboration albums between Hip-Hop artists across style, geography, and subject matter have become more commonplace than ever. Creators from aesthetically different sub-genres who have joined forces in the recent past include Madlib and Freddie Gibbs, Vince Staples and No I.D., and Killer Mike and El-P's 2010s formation of Run The... Read more

Stezo Used Funk & Fly Dance Moves To Take Rap Music To A New Place (Video)

In 2017 Connecticut's Hip-Hop scene includes the likes of Apathy, Chris Webby, and Blacastan, among others. These MCs represent different towns in "The Constitution State." Not far from New York City is the city of New Haven. The home of Yale University and famed "clam pie" pizza made a statement... Read more

20 Years Later, Rhyme & Reason Remains Rap Music’s Ultimate Backstage Pass (Video)

During the late 1990s, Hip-Hop was a seismic force that garnered mainstream recognition as a billion-dollar industry. The culture had invalidated scores of critics who dismissed it as a fad during the previous two decades. Hip-Hop achieved this while rewriting the rules of the music business and redefining the American... Read more

Large Professor Speaks On The Targets Of “Fakin’ The Funk” & Why He Attacked The Wack

It goes without saying that 1992 was a turning point year for Hip-Hop. The hardcore and underground Rap scenes from the East, West, Midwest, and South each boasted a myriad of artists with memorable singles and albums to define their respective region's sound. Simultaneously, this period was when Pop music... Read more

X-Clan’s Fight Against Racism Is More Relevant Than Ever (Video)

The late 1980s through early 1990s was a period in Hip-Hop when being socially conscious and educated about Black history and politics took precedent. The drug trade and gang warfare had rampantly plagued and virtually destroyed urban neighborhoods, and Rap's "Afrocentric" movement was its counterattack that mirrored the Black Arts... Read more

This ’96 Freestyle From Tribe, Busta, The Roots & More Packs Lines That Truly Punch (Audio)

The City of Brotherly Love has undoubtedly produced some of Hip-Hop's best MCs to ever grip the mic, and equally, some of the greatest DJs to touch the turntables. Legendary Philadelphia DJ Cash Money has an extensive resumé with memorable mixtapes to prove the latter. After making seminal 1980s 12"... Read more

20 Years Ago The Beatnuts, Big Pun & Cuban Link Broke The Bank Off The Books (Video)

Two decades ago, The Beatnuts brought Big Pun and Cuban Link to Wall Street. In the video for the Queens, New York group's 1997 single "Off The Books," the men representing various Latin-American identities performed in the heart of America's financial hub and in so doing made a tongue-in-cheek statement... Read more

Big L’s First Verse On Wax Showed Heads That He Was A Rookie MVP (Audio)

Big L lived to see just one of his albums release. 1995's Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous has become something of a cult classic. The Columbia/Sony Records LP has early JAY-Z and Cam'ron appearances and lethal D.I.T.C. production from Lord Finesse, Showbiz, as well as Buckwild. However, all of... Read more

Tupac & E-40’s 1st Collabo Still Leaves Lesser MCs Dusted & Disgusted (Video)

E-40's 1995 sophomore solo LP In A Major Way might be remembered most for "Sprinkle Me" (featuring fellow The Click member Suga-T), but lesser-known single "Dusted 'N' Disgusted" also stands the test of time. Featuring Tupac - who dropped Me Against the World the very same week, that March - Mac... Read more