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Scarface Delivers One Of The Best Tiny Desk Performances Ever

Scarface is at an interesting point in his career. It has been over five years since the Houston Hip-Hop legend released an album (2017's Deeply Rooted: The Lost Files compilation). In that outage, Face has been quick to demonstrate his supreme Rap skills on songs with DJ Muggs, E-40, and... Read more

Snoop Performs La Di Da Di With Doug E Fresh & Slick Rick

Last night (August 11), Hip-Hop took over Yankee Stadium. There, a host of legends performed songs in the same Bronx borough that is credited with birthing Hip-Hop as Heads know it, 50 years ago this weekend. Kool Herc and his sister Cynthia Campbell were part of the festivities. It was... Read more

LL Cool J & Black Thought Go On A Rampage

This past weekend (August 5), the 2023 Rock The Bells Festival took place in Queens, New York. Performers at the all-day event included Run-D.M.C., Slick Rick, Redman & Method Man, Queen Latifah, Naughty By Nature, Rapsody, Brand Nubian, Boot Camp Clik, and many more. LL Cool J, who produced the... Read more

Ab-Soul Says There Would Be No Kendrick, Drake, Or Cole Without Him

Ab-Soul closed out 2022 with one of the year's best albums. HERBERT, named among Ambrosia For Heads Top 15 albums of the year, featured Joey Bada$$, Big Sean, Russ, and Punch, among others. The Top Dawg Entertainment LP ends with "GOTTA RAP," a DJ Premier-produced track that reclaims Soulo's love... Read more

Black Thought & Rakim Light Up The Stage With Talib Kweli

Last week, Bob James held a concert residence at New York City's Blue Note alongside Talib Kweli and a live band for the second consecutive year. An esteemed panel of guests joined the Grammy-winning Jazz keyboardist and famed producer during 2023's three-night residency. D.M.C. joined on February 7, Slick Rick... Read more

Drake Reveals He Faked Making Peace With Kanye West

Over the last decade, Drake and West's relationship had evolved from close collaborators into a heated feud, and beyond. Eleven months ago, Drake appeared alongside Kanye West for a historic concert at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The moment orchestrated as a benefit to raise awareness in freeing incarcerated Gangsta Disciples co-founder... Read more

The Fugees Are Reuniting For The Score 25th Anniversary Tour

As Hip-Hop legends and veterans are passing at an alarming rate during the last year, the culture has received some positive news. The Fugees have announced a reunion in the form of a tour celebrating the 25th-anniversary of their Grammy Award-winning sophomore album, The Score. Ms. Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean,... Read more

Rage Against The Machine & Run The Jewels Announce Tour Dates

One of the hottest tickets in music for 2020 has been announced. The recently-reunited Rage Against The Machine has announced more than 35 dates, worldwide. They are touring with Run The Jewels, who have previously worked with Zack de la Rocha. Previously, Zack recorded extensively with El-P following the departure... Read more

Drake Cuts Surprise Concert Short After Being Booed At Camp Flog Gnaw (Video)

Last night (November 10), Drake was a surprise guest at Tyler, The Creator and OFWGKTA's fifth-annual Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival. The two-day Los Angeles, California music festival included headlining performances by Tyler, The Internet, YG, and Solange, among others. Sunday night's lineup featured question marks, leading to lots of speculation.... Read more

Yasiin Bey To Perform Black On Both Sides As 20th-Anniversary Homecoming Concert

This fall marks 20 years since Mos Def released his acclaimed solo debut, Black On Both Sides. The gold-certified Rawkus Records release followed praises from Black Star's album a year earlier. It also showed a versatile artist who rapped, sang, and commanded audiences with a purist's, stripped-down approach to Hip-Hop... Read more

Missy Elliott Works It! She Brings Her Classic Videos To Life At The VMAs

Last night (August 26), Missy Elliott accepted the coveted legacy prize at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards. The 48-year-old Portsmouth, Virginia MC, producer, dancer, and philanthropist was on hand to receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard trophy, which puts her in the company of some of modern music's greatest... Read more

Big Daddy Kane For President. He Rocks Russia With R.A.W. Not WAR (Video)

Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, Big Daddy Kane became a global Hip-Hop ambassador. From his roots in New York City rap battles, Antonio Hardy's brilliant rhyme schemes, supreme confidence, and rich subject matter reached the world, and it left a mark. Across color lines and language barriers, so... Read more

The Roc Boys In The Building: JAY-Z & Cam’ron Have Ended Their Beef (Video)

Last night (April 26), JAY-Z performed his "B-Sides 2" concert at New York City's newly-reopened Webster Hall. It was the first time the Manhattan venue hosted a Hip-Hop show since Action Bronson took the stage in the summer of 2017. Following his 2015 rarities set, Jay performed songs from his... Read more

Nas & Mary J. Blige On Tour Is All We Need. Here’s The 411.

Nas and Mary J. Blige are embarking on their first ever collaborative tour this summer. Beginning in July, the artists with extensive creative history together will co-headline a North American run with stops in 22 cities between the United States and Canada. Previously, the two New York music veterans who... Read more

Concertgoers In Toronto Attempt To Attack Pusha-T. He Alleges They Were Paid To Do It

Last night (November 20) Pusha-T brought his Daytona Tour to Toronto, Ontario's Danforth Music Hall. While performing 2015 song "M.F.T.R." Pusha's stage was attacked with what appears to be beer and cups from the crowd. As the G.O.O.D. Music artist steps out of harm's way during his set, some concert-goers... Read more

Lauryn Hill Responds To Her Critics In A MAJOR Way. This Is A Re-Education.

Just over two weeks ago, Grammy Award-winning musician/artist Robert Glasper opened up about Lauryn Hill in an interview with Houston, Texas' 97.9 The BOX. The revealing 40-minute conversation found Glasper recalling his time with L-Boogie in 2008 as a touring musician. Those memories were not positive, as the pianist says... Read more

Del The Funky Homosapien Seriously Injured After Fall At Concert (Video)

Last night (July 8), the Gorillaz cut their Roskilde Festival appearance in Denmark short following an injury to longtime collaborator Del The Funky Homosapien. Del, who is a Rap veteran of nearly 30 years, fell off of the stage, halting the performance of the band's breakout 2001 single, "Clint Eastwood."... Read more

Lauryn Hill Adds Nas, Chappelle, De La Soul & More To Miseducation 20th Anniversary Tour

As previously reported, L-Boogie is embarking on a tour to commemorate the 20th anniversary of The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill. Next month, the New Jersey songstress and MC is celebrating the milestone by touring her beloved solo debut work. However, she has sweetened the deal with a plethora of tour... Read more

Roy Ayers’ Tiny Desk Performance Shows Why He’s 1 Of Hip-Hop’s Biggest Influences (Video)

Vibraphonist Roy Ayers is a legend of Jazz, Funk, and Soul music that collectively has had a tremendous impact on Hip-Hop. A product of Los Angeles, California, Ayers would work with flutist (and another prominently-sampled artist) Herbie Mann by the mid-1960s, before going off on his won. In the '70s,... Read more

Yasiin Bey & Talib Kweli Are Reuniting On Stage To Celebrate 20 Years Of Black Star

September marks 20 years since the release of Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star. The collaborative album was the first full-length efforts from both Brooklyn, New York MCs. The Rawkus Records pair has gone on to decorated solo careers, capturing some of that Black Star chemistry on a... Read more

Lauryn Hill Celebrates 20 Years Of “Miseducation” With A Major Tour

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Lauryn Hill releasing her classic debut, The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill. The New Jersey songstress and MC is celebrating the milestone by touring her beloved work this summer. The 1998 Ruffhouse/Columbia Records album has earned her many accolades over the years, at first starting... Read more

Eric B. & Rakim Announce First Tour Dates In 25 Years

Last July, Eric B. & Rakim reunited on stage for the 30th anniversary of Paid In Full. At Harlem's Apollo Theater, the Hip-Hop legends added a new chapter in their history, performing a plethora of hits from their early catalog. Ambrosia For Heads filmed from the audience as more than... Read more

The Roots Will Turn 2018’s Picnic Into A Dave Chappelle-Hosted Jam Session

The Roots Picnic has become one of the culture's longest-running artist-run Hip-Hop festivals. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania event has expanded to include New York City satellite festivals, and seen its share of historic moments. The 2018 affair has been announced and will see the event playing out a little differently. On... Read more

Jay Electronica, Obie Trice & Bumpy Knuckles To Perform At Dillatroit Tribute Concert

February 10 marks 12 years since the untimely death of J Dilla. In James Yancey's hometown of Detroit, Michigan the third annual Dillatroit concert will take place in his memory. On Sunday, several collaborators, peers, and admirers of the Slum Village co-founder are confirmed to perform at the event held... Read more

Kendrick Lamar Opens The Grammys With Dave Chappelle & A BANG (Video)

Kendrick Lamar opened the 60th Grammy Awards with a performance. Ahead of tonight's live televised event, the Compton, California MC was already awarded three trophies for "Best Music Video," "Best Rap Song," and "Best Rap Performance." In all three categories, it was DAMN. single "HUMBLE" that scored the win. When... Read more

TDE’s Roster Is Full Of Champions. The Label Announces A 2018 Award Tour

Just 22 days into 2018 TDE appears sending a message about their top dog status in the music industry. With a Kendrick Lamar and SZA-heavy Grammy Awards airing in less than a week (January 28), and a Black Panther soundtrack to follow on February 9, Top Dawg Entertainment has now announced... Read more

DMX Performs For The First Time Ever With A Live Band (Video)

Many of DMX's hits had a distinct sound. Especially in his work with Swizz Beatz, X had a synthetic sound that pulled Rap music away from the sample-covers of the late 1990s. While the Yonkers, New York superstar certainly tried his hand at that style too, tracks like "Ruff Ryders... Read more

Cam’ron & Jim Jones Are Back In Business. Their Reunion Revives The Dipset Sound (Audio)

Next week (November 21), The Diplomats will perform their first concert in years. The Hammerstein Ballroom reunion performance of Cam'ron, Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, and Freekey Zekey comes after a very public break-up between Cam' and Jimmy. Late last year, Killa waved off any possibility of reconciliation. “I wish [Jim... Read more

The Kennedy Center Is Celebrating Rap’s Pioneers With A Concert Series

The John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center has gradually created a bona fide space for Hip-Hop within its gates over the past year. It has appointed A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip as its First Artistic Director of Hip-Hop Culture in 2016 and is awarding LL Cool J as the first ever... Read more

The Roots’ Tiny Desk Concert Is BIG, Brassy And Beautiful (Video)

The Roots are the latest musicians to perform at NPR's Tiny Desk concert series. Questlove, Black Thought, and the rest of the legendary band brought Bilal along for a moving rendition of 2017 single, "It Ain't Fair." The performance of the song from the film Detroit is bold and brilliant.... Read more

Thundercat’s Guitar Gently Weeps On NPR’s Tiny Desk In This Soulful Set (Video)

Thundercat brought his guitar and his latest album Drunk into NPR's Washington, D.C. offices. At the Tiny Desk, the Brainfeeder artist, the Los Angeles, California native born Stephen Bruner joined his band for several selections, including 2015 crossover hit, "Them Changes." This song, including its innovative homage to The Isley... Read more

Cam’ron & Jim Jones Bury Their Latest Beef For Upcoming Dipset Reunion Concert

In February of this year, Jim Jones sat down with Funkmaster Flex in an emotional interview about his relationship with onetime Diplomats band-mate Cam'ron. As the Dipset Capo got tearful in speaking about the sacrifices he made for Cam', he alleged that the crew's breakout star had not supported his... Read more

The 2017 Paid Dues Festival Is Postponed

Less than two months ago, it was reported that Murs' Paid Dues Festival was revived after a hiatus since 2013. With the news came word that Ghostface Killah & Raekwon, Lil Wayne, PRhyme, Rapsody, and others would headline the Los Angeles, California event on September 16 and 17. That event... Read more

DJ Quik & Scarface Confirm Upcoming Collaborative Project (Video)

DJ Quik and Scarface are two living legends of Hip-Hop, Gangsta Rap, and music, period. Together, the two artists jammed on stage in The Novo in Los Angeles, California last night (August 17). With that show currently on the road, the Geto Boys icon and the producer for Tupac, 2nd... Read more

J. Cole Gives 2 Fans A Shot To Rap With Him. It Does Not Go Well… (Video)

J. Cole's 4 Your Eyez Only Tour hit Brooklyn, New York's Barclays Center last night (August 1). The sold out show was a testament to the MC/producer's draw following his fourth consecutive #1, platinum-certified album. Dreamville's Bas and J.I.D. opened, with an appearance by Cozz. Then, the stage gave way... Read more

Cypress Hill To Hit The East Coast For Haunted Hill Mini-Tour

The group Cypress Hill is hard at work on its ninth album, Elephants On Acid. With DJ Muggs at the helm of production for the first time since 2004's Till Death Do Us Part. In preparation, B-Real, Sen Dog, Eric Bobo and Muggs announce the Haunted Hill mini-tour. The three-day... Read more

Bruno Mars Activates The 2017 BET Awards With A Magical Performance (Video)

Bruno Mars opened tonight's (June 25) BET Awards with an exceptionally funky display. The fourth single for 24K Magic remains to be determined. However, Bruno made a strong suggestion when he rocked out "Perm" to open the show. Bruno Mars Meets Grandmaster Flash & The Message Is Golden (Video) With... Read more

Nas, Ghostface Killah & Just Blaze To Headline 2017 A3C Festival

2017 marks 13 years of A3C. The Hip-Hop festival and conference in Atlanta, Georgia has announced its headliners and confirmed performers for this year (taking place October 4-8). With an album done (and possibly released ahead of his A3C concert), Nas is the headliner. After more than 25 years on... Read more

Pusha T, Lauryn Hill, T.I. & Others To Headline 2017 Soundset Festival

UPDATE: Mac Miller has announced that he is canceling his Soundset appearance planned for this Sunday. He apologized to fans in a tweet, but did not expound on reasoning. Earlier this week, a suicide bombing in Manchester, England killed 22 people and injured more than 100 took place during a... Read more

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

Method Man, Redman, Snoop & Cypress Hill Are Touring As The Mount Kushmore Of Rap

As concert heats up, a legendary lineup has just been announced and is hitting the road. The duo of Redman & Method Man will join Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill, and Wiz Khalifa as headliners for the first annual Mount Kushmore Wellness Retreat Tour. Other artists involved include Taylor Gang's Berner,... Read more

J. Cole Announces 4 Your Eyez Only World Tour Dates

In December, J. Cole released his fourth consecutive #1 album. 4 Your Eyez Only, the Roc Nation/Dreamville MC/producer's fourth album overall, featured no significant vocal features. Since its December 9 release, the Interscope-distributed LP has been certified gold. Last October, Cole announced a hiatus from performing while at The Meadlowlands... Read more

Big Daddy Kane & Kool G Rap Battle Song-For-Song, In Concert (Video)

Big Daddy Kane and Kool G Rap go back together more than 30 years. Since the mid-1980s, these two New York City lyricists were some of the most legendary components in Marley Marl's Juice Crew. In 1986, Kool G Rap & DJ Polo let the world hear something special with... Read more

Main Source Are Joined By Pete Rock, Just Blaze & More For Their 25-Year Reunion (Video)

Last week (February 1), the founding three members of Hip-Hop group Main Source performed together for the first time in more than 25 years. Large Professor, as well as John Browne high school classmate,  K-Cut, plus guest DJ Rashad Smith (of Bad Boy Records fame) blessed Lower Manhattan's S.O.B.'s stages... Read more

Main Source Will Perform Together For The First Time In 25 Years

It has been nearly 25 years since Large Professor left Main Source. In that time, the Queens, New York MC/producer/DJ has not worked with his breakthrough group, consisting of Toronto, Ontario brothers, K-Cut and Sir Scratch. That will be changing, as the Wild Pitch Records trio announced its first show... Read more

Digable Planets Go From Cool Like Dat To Cold As Ice In A New Concert (Video)

Even though the Digable Planets have not released an album together in more than 20 years, the trio appears as tight as they ever were. Ladybug Mecca, Doodlebug, and Ish (fka Butterfly) toured this year, tearing down stages across the globe. The Brooklyn-Philadelphia outfit played festivals, and showed why they... Read more

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

Yasiin Bey Premieres New Music In An Intimate 15-Minute Set (Video)

Yasiin Bey is reportedly said to be hanging up his red microphone soon. The Brooklyn, New Yorker formerly known as Mos Def has vowed that he is soon taking a hiatus from albums and performing. As there are an estimated three LPs set to release in the near future, the... Read more

Common Is A Rap Pharaoh Building Pyramids Of Empowerment, With Words (Video)

One week ago today, Common released his 11th album, Black America Again. The LP had many a la carte looks before its release. "Pyramids" was a highlight. Produced by Karriem Riggins and Robert Glasper, the track is one of several with reverberating lyrics about the modern day Black experience, the... Read more

Big K.R.I.T. Details Being Moved To Tears For His BET Performance (Video)

Last week, Big K.R.I.T. seemingly delivered the musical performance of his career to date. During the 2016 BET Hip Hop Awards, the Mississippi MC/producer performed a remix to Kenneth Whalum's "Might Not Be OK" dressed as an officer of the law. In addition to the highly evocative lyrics, Krizzle's delivery... Read more