AFH Ambrosia for Heads

DMX Is Mentoring Quadir Lateef. This Ruff Ryders MC Absolutely Stunts On The Mic. (Video)

Ruff Ryders Entertainment may not get the comparable mentions of a Roc-A-Fella or G-Unit, but they should. The label launched as an offshoot of the party promoting by the Dean siblings in the late 1980s would be responsible for an artist with five consecutive #1 albums in DMX. Moreover, the... Read more

Finding The GOAT Producer: Alchemist vs. Mannie Fresh. Who Is Better?

“Finding the GOAT Producer” begins. The third installment of Ambrosia For Heads’s annual battle series features Hip-Hop’s greatest producers vying for the #1 spot. Thirty producers were pre-selected by a panel of experts, and two slots will be reserved for wild-card entries, including the possibility for write-in candidates, to ensure no deserving... Read more

Blahzay Blahzay Still Sounds Great From The East…To The West (Video)

In 1996, Hip-Hop was in the middle of a shift, especially in New York City. The rugged, construction boot days were yielding to the shiny suits. Just as the Big Apple's reigning Rap star The Notorious B.I.G. had transformed from an "Unbelievable" entrance to a "Get Money" mantra involving Cristal,... Read more

Boldy James’ Comeback EP Featuring Kool G Rap Is A Welcomed Return (Audio)

When Nas invested in Mass Appeal Records, Boldy James was one the artists he began touting shortly after. The Detroit, Michigan street MC worked with Prodigy, Action Bronson, Odd Future, and extensive work with Alchemist. While he was extremely prolific in the early 2010s, Boldy slowed his roll over the... Read more

Finding The GOAT Producer: Noah “40” Shebib vs. Puff Daddy & The Hitmen. Who Is Better?

“Finding the GOAT Producer” begins. The third installment of Ambrosia For Heads’s annual battle series features Hip-Hop’s greatest producers vying for the #1 spot. Thirty producers were pre-selected by a panel of experts, and two slots will be reserved for wild-card entries, including the possibility for write-in candidates, to ensure no deserving... Read more

Pharrell & Ellen Aren’t Runnin’ From Homophobia. They Tackle It Head On. (Video)

This morning (January 5), Pharrell Williams appeared on Ellen. The Neptunes/N*E*R*D co-founder was not joined by "Runnin'" collaborator Kim Burrell, as originally planned. Earlier this week, the Grammy-nominated Gospel/Christian singer was cancelled from appearing on Ellen DeGeneres' show, following her sermon at Love and Liberty Fellowship Church International. After those... Read more

Freddie Gibbs Makes the Sun Shine All Day on Harry Fraud’s Mixtape (Audio)

There has been a lot to celebrate for Freddie Gibbs in recent months, beginning with his September acquittal of sexual-assault charges. In the months since, he has undoubtedly taken time to embrace his freedom and although he's been relatively quiet on the music front, a handful of appearances suggest he... Read more

Jay Pharoah Is Funny But This Freestyle Is No Joke (Video)

Jay Pharoah is not the first comedian who can imitate famous rappers and singers as part of his act. However, it is abundantly clear that the Virginia native is out to be the best. This past week, the former SNL cast member (who ranked #55 in Rolling Stone's all-time funniest... Read more

The 20 Best Freestyles Of 2016. Thought You KNEW (Video)

In Hip-Hop, there are few things more exciting than when an MC delivers a vicious verse that's never been heard before, on the spot. It is the equivalent 0f a monster dunk in an NBA game, a one-punch knockout in a fight or an end zone to end zone run in... Read more

Statik Selektah Remixes Some Older Dave East That Shows The Talent Nas Saw (Audio)

Today, Dave East is an MC who is cosigned by Nas, backed by Mass Appeal, and working with a who's who of Hip-Hop. In 2014, the Harlem, New Yorker was simply talented, hungry, and looking to kick in the industry door. At that time, he released video single "Stretched Out"... Read more

Domingo Enlists Legends Like Big Daddy Kane To Showcase Tomorrow’s Brightest MCs (Audio)

If you’re a fan of hard-hitting street anthems, you may be familiar with veteran Brooklyn, New York producer Domingo's work. His impressive list of collaborators includes Hip-Hop royalty like Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane and Sean Price. He has also worked with a plethora of other accomplished lyricists like... Read more

Alchemist & Curren$y Recruit Major Producers As Accomplices For “Heist” Remix (Audio)

In February of this year, Curren$y and Alchemist masterminded The Carrollton Heist. The New Orleans, Louisiana MC and Venice, California-based produced offered 12 tracks featuring Action Bronson, Styles P, and Spitta's onetime mentor Lil Wayne. Curren$y & Alchemist Re-Up On A New Mixtape Featuring Action Bronson & Styles P As... Read more

Andre 3000, Nas, Method Man & More Made Sure Hip-Hop Did Not Fall In September (Audio)

September is always a month of change. More than just the Fall season, it brings back to school, the return of the NFL, a blitz of new TV shows and several other things that signal a changing of the winds. For Hip-Hop, September of 2016 held one of the biggest... Read more

Joey Bada$$ Fans Should Not Be Devastated. He Didn’t Sell Out… (Video)

Earlier this week (August 10), Joey Bada$$ released the self-directed video to "Devastated." Dropped in May as a standalone official single, the song is a departure from the sounds of last year's Top 5 charting debut, B4.Da.$$ and previous mixtape work. "Devastated" features a Pop-tinged chorus and an uptempo beat.... Read more

Daddy-O Releases Biggie’s Original Demos For Junior M.A.F.IA. For The First Time Ever (Audio)

When The Notorious B.I.G. (a/k/a Christopher Wallace) was murdered on March 9, 1997, he did not leave much music behind, relatively speaking. Later that month (March 25), Bad Boy Records would release Life After Death, a diamond-certified double-album containing 24 tracks from the Brooklyn, New York MC. To that point,... Read more

Price Is Right: Why Sean Price Should Be Every MC’s Hope Story

One year ago today, I remember where I was when I got the text message. Sean Price had died. I was sitting at a red light in the city of Pittsburgh. After putting my phone down, I made a U-turn, went home and started to prepare the story that needed... Read more

Run The Jewels Want Their Rhymes Over DJ Shadow’s Beat To Leave You Speechless (Video)

Run the Jewels are beloved for many things - not the least of which are the thoughtful, inspirational, and often comedic lyrics contained within their songs. As Heads learned back in April, the same goes for the duo's work with DJ Shadow, the highly celebrated DJ who is releasing his... Read more

Chance The Rapper’s Coloring Book Is Another Creative Acid Trip (Album Stream)

Three years ago last month (April 30, 2013) Chance The Rapper's Acid Rap positioned the Chicago, Illinois MC as one to watch in the elite crop of new Rap songwriters. In the time since, C.T.R. has evaded the usual trajectory of peers (ScHoolboy Q, Vic Mensa, Action Bronson), all of... Read more

King Harris II Colors His Own West Coast Reality Into An Ice-T Classic (Audio Premiere)

Oxnard, California (by way of Long Beach) MC King Harris II is gearing up for the release of his Nightmare On Wolff Street album tomorrow, on "Friday the 13th" no less. After making impactful appearances on albums by Tech N9ne and E-40, the diligent MC (who also happens to be... Read more

Listen To The Best Hip-Hop Of April 2016 In One Playlist (Audio)

For years to come, April 2016 will be remembered as the month that brought purple snow in the form of Prince's death. In the wake of his departure, there have been countless tributes in the form of covers of his songs, new releases dedicated to him, and vaulted gems that... Read more

Prodigy & Alchemist Give “Albert Einstein” Album Away For Free

After giving away three different bundles of music in March, Mobb Deep's Prodigy is still in a generous spirit for April. The Queens, New York veteran MC and author has decided to liberate his 2013 collaborative album with Alchemist, Albert Einstein. Released on P's Infamous imprint, the Top 200-performing LP... Read more

Styles P Does Not Stop for a Breather. He Releases 2 New Freestyles (Audio)

Last week, Styles P delivered four new freestyles, each of which highlighted different facets of the Yonkers, New York MC's gifted vocabulary. His most recent solo album came in the form of 2015's A Wise Guy and a Wise Guy, but many Heads have developed a fondness for his lyrical... 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

Prodigy Releases Another Free Album Bundle Featuring Jay Electronica, 50 Cent & Bun B

One week to the day after Prodigy released the first R.I.P. album bundle, he follows with the second of three installments. R.I.P. 2 features the Mobb Deep co-founder working with the likes of 50 Cent, Jay Electronica, Bun B, Styles P, Killer Mike, and the late Chinx, among others. Besides... Read more

AG Da Coroner Bags & Tags One Of Alchemist’s Dustiest Beats (Audio)

AG Da Coroner has been bringing out the big weapons lately. The New York MC just released his studio debut, Sip The Nectar. The Man Bites Dog Records LP features label-mate Roc Marciano, Action Bronson, and Infamous Mobb's Big Twins. Included on the album is "The Stick Up." This track... Read more

Curren$y & Alchemist Charge Their “Mack Book” with Rhymes & Vintage Clips (Video)

It's only the second month of the year, and already New Orleans MC Curren$y has released two free collaborative projects. In January, it was The Owners Manual with Cool & Dre, and in February arrived The Carrollton Heist with the Alchemist. Named after a major thoroughfare in Crescent City, Heist... Read more

Pusha T Responds to Internet Trolls Clowning His Hair & Illuminati Membership (Video)

In the Vice series "The People Vs.," artists are asked to respond to comments left on their music, such as on YouTube threads. In the past, folks like Migos, NWA, and Action Bronson have taken part in the segment and each time there takes place a uniquely millennial interaction between... Read more

Freddie Gibbs Takes Kanye West’s Madlib Beat & Makes It A Gangsta Party (Audio)

In 2014, Freddie Gibbs and Madlib released a collaborative album together, titled Piñata. Many believe Madlib's soulful and complex productions brought out Gibbs' best work to date, and the album topped many year end "best of" lists. The two have worked together sparingly, since, but Gibbs knows a good beat... Read more

Earl Sweatshirt Sails Around His Mind Over A Flipped Madlib & Flying Lotus Beat (Audio)

Earl Sweatshirt has been fairly quiet since releasing his sophomore major label album in 2015. The Tan Cressida/Columbia Records artist appears back in action now. Reportedly on a secret Soundcloud account he created, the Los Angeles, California MC/producer gets busy on a beat made by Madlib and Flying Lotus. As... Read more

The Best Freestyles of 2015 Left Heads Spinning and Microphones Smoking (Video)

In Hip-Hop, there are few things more exciting than watching an MC get on the mic and spit a freestyle. The definition of the word "freestyle" has been fluid over the years. Originally, the term was used to denote any rhyme, written or off the top, that was not about... Read more

Here Are Ambrosia For Heads’ Picks For The Best Music Videos Of 2015

2015 might very well be remembered as the year the video took over the song in Hip-Hop. While audio platforms like SoundCloud, Spotify and Apple Music are growing in strength, high profile mixtapes decreased in number, and an increasing amount of releases were presented as videos even before the audio-only... 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

Wu-Tang Clan Album Owner Martin Shkreli Details Conflict With RZA & Issues Warning.

Last week, reports emerged of the buyer-seller conflicts surrounding Wu-Tang Clan's Once Upon A Time In Shaolin album. The seventh Clan LP, released as one single copy, was revealed to be purchased by controversial pharmaceutical mogul Martin Shkreli. Wu's abbot, RZA began to criticize the purchase after discovering the 32... Read more

Ghostface Killah Remixes The Weeknd For What May Be A Supreme Clientele 2 Preview (Audio)

In 2015, The Weeknd made an anthem out of "Can't Feel My Face." That's an attitude and descriptive that Ghostface Killah knows about, since long before he made 2006's "Kilo." To close out the year, G.F.K. extends the practice he and Kanye West have for jumping on remixes. This time,... Read more

Joey Bada$$ & Dessy Hinds Drop an Ill Bomb on a 2K15 LL Cool J Throwback (Audio)

By September of 2000, LL Cool J was approaching the end of what would be a nearly 20-year run of Hip-Hop dominance. The 32-year old Cool J asserted his reign on the throne with the release of the album G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All-Time). The album would become LL's first and... Read more

Freddie Gibbs Throws Fast Flow On A Charged Apollo Brown Beat (Audio)

Moving closer to September 25's Grandeur, Apollo Brown and Mello Music Group share another glimpse from the LP. "Who's That" incorporates Detroit, Michigan, Gary, Indiana, and Brownsville Brooklyn, New York—thanks to Apollo, Freddie Gibbs, and Maffew Ragazino, Sr. Brown chops a moving loop that has a dusty, Caribbean feel to... Read more

Dallas Penn & Rafi Kam Get A Food Desert Instead Of Dessert In A Visit To East New York (Video)

On Gang Starr's "Speak Ya Clout," Group Home's Lil Dap urged his crew to meet him at Broadway Junction. The Brooklyn, New York train intersection in East New York is a commonplace stop for many metropolitan commuters, but hardly a destination for foodies. The off-beat New York City bloggers, culturists,... Read more

Gangrene Show Their Far-Reaching ’70s Film Inspiration For The New LP (Video)

As producers, Oh No and Alchemist dig deep. The two California natives appreciate getting a bit dusty to find just the right elements to orchestrate their gritty arrangements. Teaming together for a third studio LP as Gangrene, the pair did the same, thematically. In 1972, a burgeoning broadcast journalist named... Read more

Gangrene Markets Their New Single With A Clever Reversal (Audio)

Alchemist is a marketing genius. In the midst of plenty of Rap diversions this week, the Gangrene cofounder launches latest single "Reversals" into the digital super-highway with some sarcasm-marketing. No, the Mass Appeal Records single does not feature Drake, Meek Mill, or Jay Electronica, but it absolutely packs potent punches... Read more

Meek Mill Says Drake Does Not Write His Own Rhymes. Pillow Talk?

The same week that watched former collaborators Ghostface Killah and Action Bronson enter at least a one-sided beef, the trend continues. Meek Mill was at Drake's side in the famed 2012 club incident that resulted in lawsuits, and an all-out attack between Drake and Chris Brown. On July 22, via... 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

PRhyme & Logic Pull On The Gloves and Enter The Ring In Beast Mode (Audio)

PRhyme (Royce da 5'9" and DJ Premier) and Logic are coming off a big 2014 with the release of two of, arguably, the best albums of the year. Logic's Under Pressure, and PRhyme's self-titled debut were featured together on AFH's 14 Best Albums of 2014, and now the artists are... Read more

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

June brought a number of welcomed surprises in Hip-Hop. Method Man announced he would be releasing a new album in August and dropped three new songs. Jay Rock also revealed his new album was coming this Summer, and returned with some of the best music of his career. Chris Rivers... Read more

Bun B, Styles P & Sean Price Are Top Tier MCs, On A Statik Selektah Track (Audio)

Last year, DJ and producer Statik Selektah released What Goes Around, an album featuring verses from Ab-Soul, Action Bronson, B-Real, Dilated Peoples, Freddie Gibbs, Joey Badass, Logic, N.O.R.E., Posdnuos, and Sheek Louch (just to name a few!). The album was his sixth since the Massachusetts native launched his solo career... Read more

Joey Bada$$ Shows the Dark Side of Chasing Money in Paper Trail$ (Video)

Though it was released in early January, Joey Bada$$'s B4.Da.$$ has held up as one of the strongest albums of the year. The LP is packed with stellar production and dense rhymes that tell the story of Joey's journey, thus far. One of the album's standouts is the DJ Premier-produced... Read more

One Week Later, Ea$y Money Is Still The Motive (Audio)

Bars come easy for Ea$y Money as the Show Off recording artist unloads a brand new single just one week removed from the release of his album, The Motive Of Nearly Everybody, Yo. The aptly-titled "One Week Later" conjures a looming Boom-Bap production from Billy Loman, allowing the Haverhill MC... 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

Alchemist Reveals How Jadakiss, Ras Kass, Nas & Jay Z Tie Into One Hit (Audio)

With a new surprise instrumental album in stores (Israeli Salad), veteran bi-coastal producer Alchemist stays busy. The Gangrene/Step Brothers members is the debut guest on podcast, "A Waste Of Time," created by It's The Real's Eric and Jeff Rosenthal. The Beverly Hills, California native producer/DJ/MC discusses his love for food,... Read more

Troy Ave Releases a New Banger With 50 Cent (Audio)

While artists like Joey Bada$$ and Action Bronson brought back a New York Rap sound akin to 90s acts like Buckshot and Ghostface Killah, Troy Ave drew his influences from artists who debuted a few years later, like Mase and 50 Cent. And, since he burst onto the scene a... Read more

Earl Sweatshirt & BadBadNotGood Reunite For a Televised Live Performance (Video)

While on tour to promote his new album, I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside, Earl Sweatshirt stopped by the Jimmy Kimmel Live show to perform alongside Canadian Jazz band BadBadNotGood. Earl & BBNG have previously collaborated on the song "Hoarse," off 2013's Doris, but this rare performance together... Read more