beat junkies ArchivesAmbrosia For Heads

Finding The GOAT Group: Dilated Peoples vs. Jurassic 5. Who Is Better?

“Finding the GOAT Group,” the fourth installment of Ambrosia For Heads’s annual battle series features Hip-Hop’s greatest collectives vying for the #1 spot. Sixty-two groups have been pre-selected by a panel of experts, and one slot will be reserved for a wild-card entry, including the possibility for write-in candidates, to... Read more

April 25, 2018 Best Hip-Hop Group, Finding the GOAT

Sade & Mobb Deep Get Mashed Up By J. Rocc For One Quiet Storm (Audio)

Sade has music that works for just about any mood. Beat Junkies founder, JayLib member, and Soundbombing, Vol. 2 co-host J. Rocc grasps this fact and melded her soulful melodies with the rugged flow of Mobb Deep in Thug Ballads. He combines the right Sade instrumental back-drops and vocals with just... Read more

January 23, 2018 Audio, Mixes

Rob Swift Shows Why “The Breaks” Is The Most Authentic TV Show About Hip-Hop

On April 10, The Breaks completed the airing of its first season as a series. What began as a 2016 film for television extended for eight 2017 episodes. With actor, artist and director Mack Wilds portraying "Daryl 'DeeVee' Van Putten, Jr." in the Vh1 show, the cast also includes Hip-Hop figures such... Read more

April 26, 2017 Exclusive, Food for Thought

J Rocc Shows What Biggie And Dilla Would Have Sounded Like Together…Incredible (Audio)

In their lives, Biggie Smalls and J Dilla never worked together. Jay Dee would produce for B.I.G. affiliates like Busta Rhymes, Keith Murray, and Heavy D, but would never work with Bad Boy Records in those mid-'90s glory years. While almost all of Biggie's unused reels have been released on... Read more

March 6, 2017 Audio

Finding The GOAT Producer: J Dilla vs. Dr. Dre. Who Is Better?

“Finding the GOAT Producer,” 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... Read more

March 2, 2017 Finding the GOAT

The Turntable Hip-Hop Made Famous Has Scratched The Culture That Built It

The Technics 1200s turntable is one of the tools of the Hip-Hop trade. Introduced in October of 1972, the SL-1200 has grown step-by-step with the musical culture credited with a birthday less than one year apart (August 11, 1973). Over the years, more than three-million units have sold, many in... Read more

January 3, 2017 Food for Thought

This Track From Dilated Peoples & Tha Alkaholiks Still Deserves To Be In Heavy Rotation (Audio)

In many ways, Tha Alkaholiks were a critical, often overlooked part of the 1990s West Coast Underground movement. Acts like Freestyle Fellowship, Hieroglyphics, and The Pharcyde were instrumental forces—unifying multiple MCs, groups, and styles in a didactic, soulful sound that was distinctly California. However, in L.A., E-Swift, J-Ro, and Katashtrophe... Read more

May 5, 2016 Do Remember

This Mobb Deep “Infamous”-Themed Mix Celebrates Havoc’s Visionary Sampling

Mobb Deep just announced a series of tour dates celebrating the 20th anniversary of their third album, Hell On Earth. As they do, the Beat Junkies' J. Rocc (whose logo plays off of the M-O-B-B) examines some of the key ingredients of the duo's sophomore LP, 1995's The Infamous. This... Read more

February 11, 2016 Mixes

DJ Babu’s Latest Throwback Mix Celebrates Gang Starr, Def Squad & Wu-Tang Clan

In the last few weeks, Dilated Peoples/Beat Junkies member DJ Babu laid out his sophomore Barbershop Mix. The only thing this throwback, free download, hour-plus mix has in common with a barber is the fresh cuts. The Southern California vet goes into his crates to extract gems by Def Squad,... Read more

December 3, 2015 Mixes, Throwback

Bad Lucc & DJ Rhettmatic Are An Unlikely Pair, But They Make One Bangin’ Tape (Mix)

On paper, Bad Lucc and DJ Rhettmatic may seem like they come from the opposite sides of Los Angeles, California's Hip-Hop. Lucc is a Diamond Lane Music Group flagship, and one of the veterans who first made noise care of Snoop Dogg's Dubb Union. Rhettmatic, is a Beat Junkies and... Read more

November 4, 2015 Mixes

Do Remember: Rawkus Records’ Soundbombing 2 Album (Audio)

May 18, 1999, Rawkus Records would enter their most definitive year with their fifth full-length release in Soundbombing II. Distributed by the same Priority Records that had been so integral to the successes of Ruthless, Rap-A-Lot, and Roc-A-Fella, Brian Brater and Jarret Myer's imprint was truly stepping out. 1998 had... Read more

May 14, 2015 Throwback

MED & J. Rocc’s AXEL F. Project Gets An Instant Rewind-Worthy Visual (Video)

MED & J. Rocc's AXEL F. project, Theme Music, released today (November 25). The collaborative project from the two Southern California vets, both Stones Throw Records affiliates, features Blu, Guilty Simpson, and Oh No, among others. For the "Sofa Coins" single, J and Medafor stepped into an animated world that... Read more

November 25, 2014 Fresh, Video

Beat Junkies’ DJ Melo-D Makes An Ill Quick Mix Tribute To Big Daddy Kane (Audio)

Along with J. Rocc, Rhettmatic, and Babu, DJ Melo-D is one of the ferocious sets of wrists behind the Beat Junkies. The Los Angeles, California-based collective is one of the most skilled turntablist outfits of all-time, and boast ties to J Dilla, Ras Kass, and of course, Dilated Peoples to... Read more

November 19, 2014 Audio, Fresh, Throwback

Dilated Peoples’ DJ Babu Gets Blue-Eyed Soulful In Rhythm Roulette (Video)

With an album on the charts recently (very close to Dilated Peoples' all-time highest positioning at that, with Directors Of Photography), DJ Babu is next up to play Mass Appeal's Rhythm Roulette. The Los Angeles, California-based turntablist/producer, who is also a Beat Junkies member grabs records ranging from The Association... Read more

September 11, 2014 Fresh, Video

Alchemist & Budgie Keep Things Pure With Action Bronson, J. Rocc & A$ton Matthews (Audio)

Alchemist & Budgie's The Good Book explores spirituality through Hip-Hop across a few faith groups. Not heavy-handed, the project seemingly uses track-by-track concepts to show a life, tell a story, make a connection. "With My Soul" is the sophomore leak, featuring ALC's go-to as of late in Action Bronson, who... Read more

March 11, 2014 Audio, Fresh

The Beat Junkies – For The Record documentary (Video)

Here's the full documentary that celebrates the World Famous Beat Junkies' 20th Anniversary. It features interview from other legendary DJs, including DJ Jazzy Jeff. Check it out below. Related: Watch Scratch, a doucumentary on turntablism (Full Video) http://vimeo.com/44995287... Read more

July 2, 2012 Video

For The Record: The Beat Junkies 20th Anniversary Documentary Trailer (Video)

The Beat Junkies DJ Collective will be celebrating its 20th Anniversary next month. As part of the celebration, they will be releasing a documentary tracking their 20-year history that features the likes of DJ Jazzy Jeff and other legendary DJs. Here's a trailer for the film which will be released... Read more

June 25, 2012 Video