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How Biggie Went From Ashy To Classy: By People Who Styled Him

Biggie Smalls was the illest...Big had a top-notch flow, a booming voice, and lyrics drenched in authenticity and humor. The all-time great MC born Christopher Wallace said it was all a dream, and then he took us on a ride from his time as a stressed-out kid in the streets... Read more

Ma$e Releases A Video Announcing He’s Signing To Death Row

It has been just six months since Snoop Dogg announced he acquired Death Row Records, and there has been newfound excitement around the record label originally founded by Dr. Dre and Suge Knight. Tha Dogg Pound announced that they have returned to Death Row after more than 20 years away and are working... Read more

Big L Gets Harlem Street Named In His Honor

Forty-eight years ago this month (May 30, 1974), Lamont Coleman was born. By the 1990s, known as Big L, Coleman became one of Hip-Hop's more respected lyricists, thanks to appearances on Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito's radio show freestyles, feature work, and his 1995 Columbia/Sony Records debut, Lifestylez ov da Poor... Read more

Famed Hustler Alpo Martinez Is Fatally Shot & Killed In Harlem

According to numerous sources, notable and controversial street figure Alpo Martinez was fatally shot this morning (October 31) while in his Dodge Ram pickup truck. In a developing story, Martinez, 55 years old, was killed in a drive-by shooting in the same Harlem streets that he occupied throughout the rise... Read more

Former Bad Boy Star Black Rob Has Passed Away

UPDATE: The New York Times has provided additional information surrounding Black Rob's death. In an obituary by Jesus Jiménez and Joe Coscarelli, the newspaper confirmed that the man born Robert Ross was 52 years old. They also reported that he passed at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Mark Curry, a friend of... Read more

Cam’ron Details Refusing To Pay A Threatening Suge Knight (Video)

Late last month Harlem's own Cam'ron released his seventh solo album, Purple Haze 2. The 15-years-later sequel to 2004's Purple Haze features Wale, Max B, and fellow Diplomats co-founder Jim Jones. Throughout the LP, Killa Cam spills knowledge from his nearly 25 years in Rap. There are recollections about late... Read more

Last Week Jae Millz Took An L, But This Freestyle Shows He Bounced Back (Video)

Jae Millz was once considered one of the sharpest MCs on the streets of New York. That's why, approximately 15 years ago, Puff Daddy took his Making The Band hopeful E Ness to see Millz for a battle. In the years since Jae was signed to Lil Wayne’s Young Money at... Read more

Teddy Riley Details Losing His Fortune & Moving Back To The Projects (Video)

In addition to his crucial role in Guy and Blackstreet, Teddy Riley may be best known for pioneering the "New Jack Swing" sound (a term coined by journalist/screenwriter Barry Michael Cooper). The 51-year-old Riley is a product of Harlem's St. Nicholas housing projects, a backdrop for the new-jack slang and... Read more

Finding The GOAT Group: Brand Nubian vs. Jungle Brothers. Who Is Better?

“Finding the GOAT Group,” the fourth installment of Ambrosia For Heads’s annual competition 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

A$AP Rocky’s Diddy Collabo Heats Up The Summer, Harlem Style (Audio)

Life is too short to listen to bad music. So…let AFH fight through it for you and only supply you with that great stuff. Despite the reports, Hip-Hop is alive and well and, in many ways, is better than it’s ever been. Not only are we able to go back and listen... Read more

Ice-T Reveals New Jack City Sequel Plot & Why The Film Was Never Made (Audio)

In March of 2016, Ambrosia For Heads celebrated New Jack City's 25th anniversary by examining its creation and legacy with revealing interviews with two men responsible (Barry Michael Cooper and Thomas Lee-Wright) for the film's story, development, and unforgettable characters. One of those conversations, an interview with film screenwriter Barry... Read more

A$AP Ferg Rocks A DJ Premier Beat As Hard As Anyone Has In Ages (Video)

Just under one month ago, DJ Premier and A$AP Ferg linked for "Our Streets." The hard-nosed Hip-Hop collaboration marked the relaunch of Payday Records, once home to JAY-Z, Jeru The Damaja, Showbiz & A.G., Group Home, WC, and more. Setting December off in style, Preemo and Ferg deliver the video,... Read more

Cam’ron Accuses Ma$e Of Lying & Doubles Down On His Disses (Video)

On Monday (November 27), Ma$e called into Ebro In The Morning to state his side of the latest chapter of beef with Cam'ron. The multi-platinum veteran accused his former Children Of The Corn band-mate of being "a bully," and compromising his income and his family's happiness by creating an allegedly... Read more

Ma$e Explains Why He Dissed Cam’ron & Says He Beat Him By A “Landslide” (Video)

On Black Friday (November 24), Ma$e tried to put the lights out on Cam'ron. The former Bad Boy Records superstar and onetime G-Unit artist laid into his past collaborator and Children Of The Corn band-mate for four minutes straight on "The Oracle." His diss used JAY-Z's "Blueprint 2" instrumental (produced... Read more

Cam’ron Replies To Ma$e’s Disses Point For Point. He’s Serving Beef Raw For Dinner (Audio)

It has been less than 48 hours since Ma$e took his beef with Cam'ron to the next level. Friday's (November 24) "The Oracle" found "Murda Ma$e" dissing his former Children Of The Corn band-mate and longtime collaborator "Killa Cam" for four straight minutes, and accusing the fellow Harlem native of... Read more

Ma$e Disses Cam’ron For 4 Straight Minutes & He Gets Absolutely Savage (Audio)

Twenty years ago, Ma$e and Cam'ron were band-mates in Children Of The Corn. Both artists are from neighboring blocks in Harlem, and also played basketball together in their youth. As New York's Rap community found new stars by the late 1990s, each MC signed major solo deals. In fall of... Read more

DJ Premier & A$AP Ferg’s Conversation Shows Rap’s Generations Have More In Common Than Not (Video)

Gang Starr's DJ Premier is an important part of the Bad Boy Records story. He produced "Unbelievable," one of Biggie Smalls' most beloved songs. The Ready To Die inclusion first released as the B-side to crossover hit "Juicy." For the diamond-certified Life After Death, Preemo laced The Notorious B.I.G. with... 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

ManKind Shows That It Is A Rap Collective Aiming To Be Different (Video)

Harlem, New York duo ManKind is a prime example of men that spit verses with a purpose. From the New Rap Order Collective, ManKind’s !LLumiN@te and SciryL thrive to project their art in a way that does not lack luster or meaning. While collaborating with over 50 artists since November... Read more

Ice Cube Recalls N.W.A. Getting Booed At The Apollo. It Was Not A Good Day (Video)

N.W.A may have become one of the biggest, most influential and celebrated Rap groups ever, but they had to pay dues first. Ice Cube recently sat down with Pigeons & Planes to share a less flattering moment in the group’s history, the time the Ruthless Records act got booed off... Read more

Tupac Shakur’s Formative Years: The Young Man Before The Myth (Video)

"I loved my childhood, even though it was bad. I love it. I feel like it's taught me so much. Nothing can faze me. Nothing in this world can surprise me. It might set me back, but only momentarily can it set me back. I think it's helped me to... Read more

Disco Four MC & Rucker Park Basketball Pioneer Greg Marius Passes Away At Age 59

Greg Marius is deeply responsible for two Harlem institutions: Hip-Hop and street basketball. This past weekend (April 22), Marius passed away after a long battle with cancer. He was 59 years old. In the early 1980s, Greg joined Kurtis Blow and Spoonie Gee as one of Uptown Manhattan's early Rap... Read more

This 1998 Track By Big L, Ma$e & McGruff Is “Dangerous” To Overlook (Audio)

The corner of 139th Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem, New York has been immortalized through song several times by the late, great Big L—and also falls on the same block where the “Street Struck” MC tragically lost his life in '99. Affectionately called the “Danger Zone,” the area was... Read more

Jim Jones & Dave East Fly High In Harlem (Video)

Dating back to Hip-Hop's first gold-selling solo MC, Kurtis Blow, Harlem has been integral. In the 1980s, that meant folks like Kurtis, Doug E. Fresh, and Spoonie Gee. For the 1990s, that flare was upheld through artists like Puff Daddy, Big L, Ma$e, Cam'ron, and more. In the 2000s, Cam'ron's... Read more

Nas Auditioned For A Lead In “Paid In Full” According To Dame Dash (Video)

In the early 2000s, Roc-A-Fella Records was fast expanding its film division. The label, founded by Jay Z, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke was also entrenched in one of the most exciting Rap battles of the last 15 years, thanks to Jay's beefing on wax with Nas. In... Read more

Finding The GOAT: Kurtis Blow vs. Kool Moe Dee…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

Do Remember: A Great Day In Harlem (Hip-Hop Version, 1998)

This week, the esteemed veteran music and culture journalist Michael A. Gonzalez penned a piece for Red Bull Music Academy about September 29, 1998. The day, deemed by XXL magazine "The Greatest Day In Hip-Hop History," was built around a tribute to Art Kane's 1958 photograph, "A Great Day In... Read more