brooklyn Archives

Sean Price’s Eternal Talent Shines On A Track By Cypress Hill’s DJ Muggs (Video)

Through the later years of Sean Price's career, he became the consummate cleanup batter whenever he stepped to the mic on a track that featured multiple MCs. More times than not, "P!" figuratively smacked the beat out of the park with his gruff delivery, compound rhymes, and alliterative wordplay. Price... Read more

November 8, 2017 Video

Talib Kweli Details How He And Mos Def Became Family Before They Were Black Star (Video)

This week, Talib Kweli appeared on Desus & Mero to promote November 17's Radio Silence album. That LP reunites Kweli with Jay Electronica and Anderson .Paak, as well as features a range of guests, from Waka Flocka Flame to Freestyle Fellowship's Myka 9 to Rick Ross. In making his return... Read more

October 27, 2017 Video

Ghostface Killah’s Mighty Healthy Was Inspired By A Divine Force That Brought Wu Together (Audio)

Earlier this month, Wu-Tang Clan released The Saga Continues. Charting at #15, the album is produced entirely by DJ Mathematics—creator of the Wu logo, and longtime touring mix-master for Method Man as well as Meth & Redman. Originally, in 2016, RZA—who executive produced the project and raps—stated that the next... Read more

October 26, 2017 Do Remember

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

September 28, 2017 Do Remember

Rockness Monsta & M.O.P. Send A Fax To All The Shook Ones (Audio)

How about some hardcore from three of Brooklyn's most raucous Rap bullies? Rockness Monsta and his Brownsville neighbors M.O.P. connect for the latest collaboration of their mutual catalog titled "Fax Machine." The Heltah Skeltah veteran sticks to his guns (literally) spitting flames with his signature syncopated flow to the downbeat... Read more

September 18, 2017 Audio, Exclusive

A New Book Will Teach Kids Their ABCs AND The Importance Of Hip-Hop History

"Back to school season" is heavily upon us. Hip-Hop has increasingly become an integral part of grammar school teachers' pedagogy, and many rappers have contributed to academia with their own children's books. Lordz Of Brooklyn MC, tattoo and graffiti artist Michael "Kaves" McLeer has co-authored a new children's book with... Read more

September 5, 2017 Exclusive, News

JAY-Z’s Video Is A Powder Keg Designed To Blow Up Ugly Stereotypes & Impart Wisdom

In conjunction with JAY-Z's release of 4:44 comes a video to one of its most evocative songs. "The Story of O.J." examines race and the distribution of wealth and power in America. The video recreates the 1930s "Sambo" character from the films and cartoons of the same name. Hov' is... Read more

July 2, 2017 Video

U.T.F.O. Member Jeffrey “The Educated Rapper” Campbell Has Passed Away

Founding U.T.F.O. MC The Educated Rapper died yesterday (June 3) after a long battle with cancer. He was believed to be 54 years old. The man born Jeffrey Campbell formed the Brooklyn, New York Hip-Hop group in the early 1980s, and worked extensively on the 1985 eponymous album. The Educated... Read more

June 4, 2017 News

Hip-Hop Fought For Biggie & Won. His Mural Will NOT Be Destroyed.

Late last week, reports circulated that a Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn mural honoring rapper Biggie Smalls would be coming down. A property owner of the building holding the mural near the intersection of Bedford Avenue and Quincy Street reportedly intended to make improvements to the building exterior, including more windows on the... Read more

May 22, 2017 News

Dead Wrong: A Bed-Stuy Mural Of Biggie Smalls Is Coming Down For Mo’ Money

Today (May 19), Faith Evans releases her collection of duet remixes with late husband Biggie Smalls. The King & I features Lil' Kim, as well as other figures from B.I.G.'s life including Snoop Dogg, The LOX, Lil' Cease, and Busta Rhymes. While the LP is a celebration of the married... Read more

May 19, 2017 Lifestyle, News

DMX & The LOX To Headline 2017 Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival (Video)

Last night (April 21), the Ruff Ryders reunited on the stages of Brooklyn, New York's Barclays Center. DMX, Eve, Swizz Beatz and others celebrated nearly 20 years of guttural street music from the New York City collective that also spawned the careers of The LOX, Drag-On, Cassidy, and others. While the... Read more

April 22, 2017 Fresh, Video

A Breakdown Of What Makes Big Daddy Kane A Superior MC (Video)

Big Daddy Kane has not released a solo album in nearly 20 years. However, when Antonio Hardy said "Nobody's Equal" in spelling out the acronym of K.A.N.E., the statement was (and remains) irrefutable to many. Big Daddy Kane is one of the greatest MCs to ever touch the microphone, and... Read more

April 9, 2017 Video

Kris Kasanova Is Out To Prove His Bars Will Always Come With A Little Something Extra (Video)

Music has been, and continues to be, a staple in Kris Kasanova's life. Learning and studying the art of Hip-Hop since his years on this Earth crossed into the double digits, the Red Hook, Brooklyn native watched his stepfather Don, who piqued his interests into the game, enter the booth... Read more

April 6, 2017 Ready Or Not

Fabolous Gets Ceremonial Key To Brooklyn & A Street Named After Him

In 2007, Fabolous released the song "Brooklyn" with Jay Z and Uncle Murda. That moment was one of many places where the Street Fam/Desert Storm/Def Jam Records artist pays homage to the borough that raised him. Throughout the 2000s, 'Loso has become one of BK's most successful musical sons. In... Read more

March 15, 2017 News

Biggie Smalls Joins Brooklyn’s Other Finest In The Rafters Of Barclays Center (Video)

Last week (March 9) marked 20 years since The Notorious B.I.G. was tragically killed. In a professional music career that lasted fewer than five years, the man born Christopher Wallace used his commanding voice, advancing rhyme schemes, and intricate storytelling to put Brooklyn, New York at the top of the... Read more

March 13, 2017 Fresh, Video

Kris Kasanova Is A Brooklyn MC Whose New EP Is All Killer, No Filler (Audio)

In the last three years, Kris Kasanova has made a name for himself. The Brooklyn, New Yorker (Red Hook, specifically), has worked with the likes of Flatbush Zombies, Skeme, and SZA. Starting with 2013's 24K, Kris has supplied the masses with mixtapes that have album-worthy attention, focus, and theme. The... Read more

March 9, 2017 Audio

Jay Lonzo Spits More Knowledge at 17 Years Old Than Many Do In a Lifetime (Video)

Last month, J. Cole acknowledged Martin Luther King, Jr. and the ongoing fight for equality and freedom in the U.S. with "High For Hours," a poignant record that compares 2017 America to chapters in its dark past. As he says in the song, not much has changed, and slavery has... Read more

February 28, 2017 Ready Or Not

The Jigmastas Have New Music & They’ve Got Something To Say (Video)

The Jigmastas was a prominent 1990s and early 2000s duo of DJ Spinna and Kriminul (aka Krim). With Underground Hip-Hop history with Eminem, Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, and the late Guru, this Brooklyn, New York collective has been quiet for much of the last decade, since their days with Tommy... Read more

February 4, 2017 Video

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

February 2, 2017 Do Remember

Taxstone Arrested After DNA Discovered On Weapon In Troy Ave Shooting

Last May 25, Ronald "Banga" McPhatter was killed backstage at New York City's Irving Plaza. The fatal incident took place during a concert headlined by T.I. Troy Ave, one of the guest performers (along with Anderson .Paak, Maino, and Uncle Murda) and a close friend and reported employer of McPhatter,... Read more

January 17, 2017 News

Finding The GOAT Producer: Havoc vs. RZA. 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

January 13, 2017 Finding the GOAT

Troy Ave Has Been Shot For The Second Time This Year

For the second time this year, Troy Ave has been shot. The Brooklyn MC made headlines in May, as he was involved in a high profile shootout at a T.I. concert at Manhattan's Irving Plaza. That incident was caught on film, in part, as Ave was seen backstage, in pursuit of... Read more

December 25, 2016 News

Kendrick Lamar Gives An Aspiring MC The Opportunity Of A Lifetime & He Shines (Video)

2016 has been a relatively quiet year for Kendrick Lamar. After releasing one of the most critically-acclaimed albums of all-time, with 2015's To Pimp A Butterfly, Kendrick's only LP of the year was his untitled.unmastered compilation of outtakes from TPAB. He also maintained a low profile, only doing select performances... Read more

December 17, 2016 Video

Masta Ace Reveals Why The Crooklyn Dodgers Lineup Changed (Video)

In conjunction with the Spike Lee Joint Crooklyn, A Tribe Called Quest and Q-Tip began assembling a Hip-Hop collaboration for the Geffen Records soundtrack. While the film was set in the 1970s, director Spike Lee has historically attached Hip-Hop to his films. According to Q-Tip, considerations were reportedly made for... Read more

December 5, 2016 Video

Brooklyn Is Uniting To Stand Up Against Hate After Swastikas Painted At MCA’s Park

When a Brooklyn, New York park was named in the honor of Beastie Boys co-founder Adam "MCA" Yauch, it was an apparent act of love and respect. Yesterday (November 18), that same space—Adam Yauch Park was vandalized in the name of hate. Culprits defaced the property with antisemitic painting, including... Read more

November 19, 2016 News

Skyzoo & Joell Ortiz Look At Some Of The Costs Of A Couple Of Dollars (Video)

Tomorrow (September 30), Apollo Brown and Skyzoo will release their first collaborative album, The Easy Truth. As the Detroit, Michigan producer explained to Ambrosia For Heads this week, the easy truth is what we are all fed, left for us to decipher whether it is truly real or false. One... Read more

September 29, 2016 Food for Thought, Video

15 Years Later, J-Live Reflects On His Gripping 9/11 Commentary On “Satisfied”

Today marks the 15th anniversary of September 11, 2001. Within hours 2,996 people lost their lives that tragic day, as a result of four plane hijackings and subsequent crashes in New York, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia. For all who lived through it, the events and their impact continue... Read more

September 11, 2016 Throwback, Throwback

Masta Ace Traces His Roots In The Most Autobiographical Song Of His Career (Video)

Masta Ace has fashioned a career that has lasted 30 years. The Brooklyn, New York MC has history with the Juice Crew, Crooklyn Dodgers, DOOM, and Eminem—all in a series of years that have been met with label woes, crews breaking up, and more than a few rappers trying to... Read more

September 7, 2016 Video

Buckshot Credits Sean Price For Saving Duck Down & Taking Over Boot Camp Clik (Video)

Whether solo, or as part of Heltah Skeltah or Random Axe, Sean Price would release all of his albums with Duck Down Music. The label founded by Black Moon's Buckshot and manager Dru Ha would launch with the release of 1996's Nocturnal album by Sean Price (as Ruck) and Rockness... Read more

August 15, 2016 Video

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

August 8, 2016 Food for Thought

New Allegations Surface Casting A Different Light On The Troy Ave Shooting

Last week (May 25), a fatal shooting transpired at New York City's Irving Plaza. During a show billed to feature performances by T.I., Anderson .Paak, Maino and Uncle Murda, a green room altercation took place that left at least three wounded and one—Ronald "Banga" McPhatter--dead. In the hours following the... Read more

June 1, 2016 News

Nas Performs At The Bad Boy Reunion & Stunts On EVERYBODY (Video)

"Escobar Season has returned." With those four words, Puff Daddy launched one of the most epic records in Nas' prized catalog. With a swelling, gothic arrangement, "Hate Me Now" was Nas' middle finger to the world. After taking lumps from certain hardcore Hip-Hop fans for they saw as his selling... Read more

May 21, 2016 Video

Brooklyn Officially Declares May 21 “Christopher ‘The Notorious B.I.G.’ Wallace Day” (Video)

After a star-studded reunion celebrating 20 years of Bad Boy Entertainment Friday night (May 20), which continued into the early morning (May 21), in order to honor The Notorious B.I.G.'s birthday, there is more to celebrate. The New York City borough of Brooklyn, the location of last night's extravaganza and... Read more

May 21, 2016 Video

Rakim Narrates & The Firm Appears In Documentary On AZ (Video)

In 2004, Nas famously made single "The Unauthorized Biography Of Rakim" for his Street's Disciple album. The Queensbridge MC paid homage to the lyrical half of Eric B. & Rakim through a compelling narrative. In 2016, Rakim emerges to help tell the story of one of Nas' band-mates in The... Read more

May 19, 2016 TV/Film, Video

AZ Tells The Origin Of His Show-Stealing Verse On Illmatic (Video)

Most AZ fans know that "Tha Visualiza" hails from Brooklyn, New York. However, unlike so many illustrious MCs, AZ's sense of place and home lives in his lyrics more than photographs, symbols, etc. The Firm co-founder returns to his Williams Houses in East New York, Brooklyn for the first time... Read more

March 12, 2016 Video

Public Enemy Performs A Fight The Power Medley In Brooklyn (Video)

Jimmy Kimmel closed out his week-long stay in Brooklyn, New York for "Jimmy Kimmel Live." There, he bid adieu a week (that also included an interesting Jay Z interview) in style. On Friday night's show (into Saturday morning), Kimmel called upon a Hip-Hop group closely associated with BK—even though they... Read more

October 24, 2015 Video

36 Years Later, The Warriors Take Their Last Subway Ride Home. Can You Dig It? (Video)

A lot has changed in New York City since Walter Hill filmed The Warriors. While the Wonder Wheel remains, much of Coney Island has changed when standing on Stillwell Avenue. More than 35 years after the cult classic released, Rolling Stone filmed as cult fans organized "Swan" (Michael Beck), "Cochise"... Read more

September 25, 2015 TV/Film, Video

De La Soul’s 3 Feet High And Rising vs. Stetsasonic’s In Full Gear. What’s Better?

One year ago, Ambrosia For Heads launched a debate among its readers seeking to answer one of Hip-Hop’s most hotly-contested questions: who is the greatest MC of all time? “Finding The GOAT MC” lasted between September 2014 and May 2015, engaging millions of readers and ultimately producing its winner, as... Read more

September 21, 2015 Finding the GOAT

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

August 25, 2015 Lifestyle, Video

MC Lyte’s Paper Thin Is A Thick Part Of Brooklyn Hip-Hop History (Video)

MC Lyte's 1988 debut, Lyte As A Rock is a keystone in what made the year so important. Lana Michele Moorer hit the scene like she belonged with her First Priority/Atlantic Records breakthrough, and she did. L.A.A.R. took the Audio Two production style, and built upon it with one of Rap's... Read more

July 9, 2015 Throwback

Rest In Peace Pumpkinhead, Friends & Collaborators Mourn

Veteran Brooklyn, New York MC Pumpkinhead (a/k/a PH) has been reported dead this morning (June 9). Friends and collaborators of the man born Robert Alan Diaz have begun to publicly mourn. Notably, Pumpkinhead appeared on acclaimed albums such as Immortal Technique's Revolutionary 1 and Revolutionary 2 albums, in addition to... Read more

June 9, 2015 News

Agallah Gets A Career Highlight With A Fiery Big Daddy Kane (Audio)

While the EPMD family tree can quickly point to Redman, Das-EFX, DJ Scratch and Keith Murray as successful proteges, there are plenty more. As K-Solo was a verbal varsity "letterman," Craig Mack blossomed under the fold. Later on, in the '90s, "8-Off The Assassin" l/k/a "Agallah" was within the last... Read more

April 29, 2015 Audio

Audio Two’s Milk Dee Is Still Top Billin’, With Sean Price & Murda Mook (Audio)

Not only is Audio Two's 1987 "Top Billin'" a Rap/Hip-Hop classic, Milk Dee and Gizmo's moment in the sun remains an early and critical representation of Brooklyn, New York. From Big Daddy Kane to Jay Z, The Notorious B.I.G. to Foxy Brown, top billin' is a style, an attitude, and... Read more

March 26, 2015 The Bridge

What If The Wire Was Set In Gentrified Brooklyn? Kevin Hart Illustrates… (Video)

HBO's "The Wire" awakened a multitude of viewers to the grittiness of Baltimore, Maryland's underbelly. The hit show magnificently highlighted the total characterization of the drug trade, from corner-boys, to kingpins, henchman, to police officers, media, government, and transporters. David Simon's crime drama has been off the air for almost... Read more

January 18, 2015 TV

M.O.P. & Maino Cinematically Show You The Brooklyn They Love (Video)

As 2014 year-end lists flood the Internet, magazines, and more...one Hip-Hop album that seemingly deserved more recognition is M.O.P.'s Street Certified. Billy Danze and Lil Fame's first foray with Nature Sounds Records brought in DJ Premier as an executive producer, without simply aiming to push the Mash Out Posse back... Read more

January 5, 2015 Fresh, Video

Jeezy Brings Out Jay Z for a Charged Performance of Seen it All (Video)

Jeezy performed at this year's Power 105 Powerhouse concert in Brooklyn, and during "Seen It All," brought out fellow collaborator, Jay Z. Check out professional quality footage of Jay's verse below. Related: Jeezy & T.I. Hint That Their Joint Album Is Finally Coming… (Video)... Read more

November 1, 2014 Video

Finding The GOAT: Mos Def vs. Pharoahe Monch…Who You Got?

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

October 21, 2014 Featured-homepage, Fresh

YC The Cynic Is A Nightmare Literally And Lyrically In “Night Thoughts” (Video)

Brooklyn artist YC The Cynic dons the sinister rabbit mask from the movie "Donnie Darko" in his latest visual effort, "Night Thoughts." The video, directed by Breeze Embalm, boasts mischievous production, fantastical vocal loops, and a taste of Black Moon's "How Many MC's," powered by Yuri Beats. The stage is... Read more

June 6, 2014 Fresh, Video

Sign A Petition To Rename A Brooklyn Street After Biggie Smalls

Fresh off of renaming a Brooklyn park after the Beastie Boys' MCA, Hip-Hop fans are fighting that good fight to honor another late B.K. icon. Christopher Wallace (aka The Notorious B.I.G., aka Biggie Smalls) grew up on Fulton Street, between St. James and Cambridge Place in Clinton Hill—you've probably heard... Read more

September 5, 2013 Fresh, Throwback

EPMD & Redman Perform Headbanger at the 2013 Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival (Video)

The first time I heard EPMD's Headbanger was the first the first time I heard Redman and his verse DESTROYED me. The 3 united for a performance of the epic posse cut at the 2013 Brooklyn Hip-Hop festival. All that was missing was K-Solo...Check out the video. Related: Redman Performs... Read more

July 20, 2013 Throwback