AFH Ambrosia for Heads

Archives

Finding The GOAT Producer: Pete Rock vs. DJ Premier. Who Is Better?

Finding The GOAT Producer: Pete Rock vs. DJ Premier. 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 3, 2017 Finding the GOAT
Finding The GOAT Producer: DJ Premier vs. RZA. Who Is Better?

Finding The GOAT Producer: DJ Premier vs. RZA. 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
February 27, 2017 Finding the GOAT
Swizz Beatz Premieres A New Song Featuring Nas, Jay Z, DMX & Jadakiss And It’s Unreal (Video)

Swizz Beatz Premieres A New Song Featuring Nas, Jay Z, DMX & Jadakiss And It’s Unreal (Video)

Note: To hear the track, skip to 2:27:15 in the long video, or play the short clip just below. Although they have both reached G.O.A.T. status among Hip-Hop producers, with catalogs of hits rivaled by few, at their cores, Just Blaze and Swizz Beatz are still DJs too. With nothing... Read more
February 25, 2017 Video
Finding The GOAT Producer: Pete Rock vs. Kanye West. Who Is Better?

Finding The GOAT Producer: Pete Rock vs. Kanye West. 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
February 24, 2017 Finding the GOAT
Jay Z Creates A Playlist Of MCs Who Should Join Him In The Songwriters Hall Of Fame (Audio)

Jay Z Creates A Playlist Of MCs Who Should Join Him In The Songwriters Hall Of Fame (Audio)

Yesterday (February 22), Jay Z made history, again, by becoming the first Hip-Hop artist chosen to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. As one of the most successful and prolific MCs of all-time, with 21 Grammys, 100 million records sold and 13 number one albums under his belt,... Read more
February 23, 2017 Audio, News
Cheers. There’s Still Great Hip-Hop Being Made. Here’s A Bunch (Audio Playlist)

Cheers. There’s Still Great Hip-Hop Being Made. Here’s A Bunch (Audio Playlist)

Life is too short to listen to bad music. So...let us fight through it for you and only supply you with the good stuff. Despite the reports, Hip-Hop is alive and well and, in many ways, is better than it's ever been before. Not only are we able to go... Read more
February 17, 2017 Audio
Nas, Ice Cube, Jadakiss, T.I. & Bun B Teamed Up For A Hip-Hop Grand Finale (Audio)

Nas, Ice Cube, Jadakiss, T.I. & Bun B Teamed Up For A Hip-Hop Grand Finale (Audio)

In 2004, Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz released their fifth and final album, Crunk Juice, which featured a host of Rap's elite. Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Pharrell, Ludacris, and Suga Free all made appearances, as did 8Ball & MJG, Gangsta Boo, Jazze Pha, Lil Scrappy, Usher, R. Kelly,... Read more
February 16, 2017 Do Remember
Finding The GOAT Producer: DJ Premier vs. Rick Rubin. Who Is Better?

Finding The GOAT Producer: DJ Premier vs. Rick Rubin. 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
February 14, 2017 Finding the GOAT
Main Source Are Joined By Pete Rock, Just Blaze & More For Their 25-Year Reunion (Video)

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
February 8, 2017 Video
Finding The GOAT Producer: Pete Rock vs. D.I.T.C. Who Is Better?

Finding The GOAT Producer: Pete Rock vs. D.I.T.C. 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
February 8, 2017 Finding the GOAT
Nas To Executive Produce “Street Dreams” Biographical Television Series

Nas To Executive Produce “Street Dreams” Biographical Television Series

Approaching 21 years after he made his second album, It Was Written with top single "Street Dreams," these titles remain powerful statements in the life and career of Nas. After production and writing involvement in recent Netflix series The Get Down as well as film The Land (and its corresponding... Read more
February 1, 2017 News, TV, TV/Film
A New List Declares Who’s Been The Best MC Every Year From 1979 to 2016

A New List Declares Who’s Been The Best MC Every Year From 1979 to 2016

2017 is still too young to have its best MC crowned, but a new list has named the best MC in each year, since 1979. From Grandmaster Caz to Chance the Rapper, MCs of all generations have found themselves mentioned in the comprehensive list generated by a team of writers... Read more
January 30, 2017 Fresh
Dave East’s “It Was Written” Details The Journey That Led Him To Nas (Video)

Dave East’s “It Was Written” Details The Journey That Led Him To Nas (Video)

One of the true jewels of Dave East's patient career is "It Was Written." The opening track to 2016's Top 40 Kairi Chanel album showed that Dave did not need to write a story to make convincing raps. The Harlem, New Yorker looks within and traces his journey from hustling,... Read more
January 30, 2017 Video
Nas’ “Illmatic” Is 1 of 4 Hip-Hop Albums Being Preserved in Harvard’s Library

Nas’ “Illmatic” Is 1 of 4 Hip-Hop Albums Being Preserved in Harvard’s Library

Five years ago, producer 9th Wonder was named a Harvard fellow, a position which has endowed him with the responsibility of preserving Hip-Hop music and culture within the Ivy League university's cherished library. At the onset of his tenure, 9th began working on an initiative for the Dubois Institute at... Read more
January 26, 2017 Fresh
Main Source Will Perform Together For The First Time In 25 Years

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
January 19, 2017 News
Fat Joe Signs To Jay Z’s Roc Nation. Their Beef Is All The Way Over (Audio)

Fat Joe Signs To Jay Z’s Roc Nation. Their Beef Is All The Way Over (Audio)

In 2016, Fat Joe and Jay Z made a statement in both of their careers when they recorded the "All The Way Up (Remix)" together (alongside Remy Ma). Reportedly dating back to the late 1990s, the eventual Terror Squad leader and the Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder were caught in a beef... Read more
January 18, 2017 Audio, News
Q-Tip Recalls Playing The “One Love” Beat For Nas The First Time They Met

Q-Tip Recalls Playing The “One Love” Beat For Nas The First Time They Met

Q-Tip, Jarobi White, Busta Rhymes, and Consequence appear on this week's episode of Drink Champs. N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN interview A Tribe Called Quest members and affiliates about a litany of subjects. Q-Tip, who speaks at length about producing "Bonita Applebum," as well as A.T.C.Q's 2016 material, spoke about his... Read more
January 13, 2017 Throwback
Finding The GOAT Producer: Havoc vs. RZA. Who Is Better?

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
Finding The GOAT Producer: DJ Premier vs. Large Professor. Who Is Better? (Audio)

Finding The GOAT Producer: DJ Premier vs. Large Professor. Who Is Better? (Audio)

“Finding the GOAT Producer” begins. The third installment of Ambrosia For Heads' 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 2 slots will be reserved for wild-card entries, including the possibility for write-in candidates, to insure no deserving... Read more
January 9, 2017 Finding the GOAT
Listen To Some Of The Best Hip-Hop Songs Of 2016 & More In 1 Playlist (Audio)

Listen To Some Of The Best Hip-Hop Songs Of 2016 & More In 1 Playlist (Audio)

2016 is officially a wrap. For many it will go down as one of the more challenging years in recent memory, but, no matter what may have transpired, it was a period in which a lot of great music was released. Skillz’s 2016 Rap Up Reminds Us Of The Year’s... Read more
January 7, 2017 Audio
This Big Pun Documentary Explores the Beautiful & Ugly Parts of an Icon’s Life (Video)

This Big Pun Documentary Explores the Beautiful & Ugly Parts of an Icon’s Life (Video)

Next year marks the 20th anniversary of Christopher "Big Punisher" Rios's 1998 debut single, "Still Not a Player." As the first Latin solo Hip-Hop artist to go platinum (thanks to the success of 1998's Capital Punishment), he made history at just 26-years-old. But just two years later, he passed away.... Read more
January 2, 2017 Video
Nas Names His Top 5 MCs Of This Generation & Lists His 3 Favorite Songs (Video)

Nas Names His Top 5 MCs Of This Generation & Lists His 3 Favorite Songs (Video)

Last month, Nas was a guest on Revolt TV's Music Talks series, where musical icons sit down for an extended conversation about their careers, influences, life perspectives and more. Hosted by Andre Harrell, founder of Uptown Records (Heavy D, Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, Guy) and EVP of Revolt, the two... Read more
December 26, 2016 Video
Nas Says We Need Racial “Healing” & Looks To Muhammad Ali For Guidance (Video)

Nas Says We Need Racial “Healing” & Looks To Muhammad Ali For Guidance (Video)

Earlier this year, the world lost an icon in Muhammad Ali. The legendary boxer and civil-rights activist made history inside and outside of the ring, by boldly standing up against the U.S. government when conscripted into the military in protest of the Vietnam War, and adopting the Islamic faith and... Read more
December 22, 2016 Lifestyle
10 Years Later, Nas Says He “Missed The Mark” When He Declared Hip-Hop Is Dead (Video)

10 Years Later, Nas Says He “Missed The Mark” When He Declared Hip-Hop Is Dead (Video)

A decade ago this week (December 19, 2006), Nas released his eighth solo album, Hip Hop Is Dead. The MC's first outing with Def Jam Records (with foe-turned-friend Jay Z at the helm) debuted at #1. Nasir released a title track, denouncing the culture he loved as a 15-year professional... Read more
December 21, 2016 Video
Stillmatic Turns 15. Here’s A Look At Nas’ Return To His NY State Of Mind (Video)

Stillmatic Turns 15. Here’s A Look At Nas’ Return To His NY State Of Mind (Video)

Fifteen years ago today (December 18), Nas released his fifth album, Stillmatic. At a time before popular Rap stars were making albums into series and franchises, Nasir Jones flashed back to his 1994 debut. In the seven years since, the MC had two #1 albums, and gone platinum many times... Read more
December 18, 2016 Food for Thought
A Tribe Called Quest & Many More Gave Hip-Hop Much To Be Thankful For In November (Audio)

A Tribe Called Quest & Many More Gave Hip-Hop Much To Be Thankful For In November (Audio)

November 2016 was one of the most tumultuous months in a generation. Regardless of one's political affiliation the world seemingly changed over one long night on November 8 for hundreds of millions of Americans. When not fixated on the news, many turned to music for relief from the onslaught or,... Read more
December 7, 2016 Audio, Throwback
Pete Rock Discusses His Smoke DZA Collabo Album & Who Would Be In His Dream Band (Video)

Pete Rock Discusses His Smoke DZA Collabo Album & Who Would Be In His Dream Band (Video)

Last Friday (December 2), Smoke DZA & Pete Rock released their first collaborative album, Don't Smoke Rock. The Babygrande Records LP features Rick Ross, Royce 5'9", Jadakiss, Mac Miller, Styles P, Big K.R.I.T., and Cam'ron (among others) on 13 brand-new Pete Rock productions. DZA, who has known Pete since he... Read more
December 5, 2016 Exclusive, Food for Thought, Video
Nas, Dave East, & Lin-Manuel Miranda Rhyme Their Way Out of Struggle (Audio)

Nas, Dave East, & Lin-Manuel Miranda Rhyme Their Way Out of Struggle (Audio)

After taking the world of theater by storm, Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton excelled at the Grammys, the Tonys, and even the Pulitzer Prize ceremony, making it one of the most successful pop-culture phenomenons in history. And, speaking of history, its brilliant use of Hip-Hop to tell the story of Alexander Hamilton... Read more
November 17, 2016 Audio
Salaam Remi Says He Has 3 Albums Worth of Unreleased Nas Material (Video)

Salaam Remi Says He Has 3 Albums Worth of Unreleased Nas Material (Video)

Earlier this year, the Fugees celebrated the 20th anniversary of The Score, an album whose sonic story was in large part shaped by producer Salaam Remi. In the years since, the Queens, New York legend has worked across the musical spectrum, helping to steer successful trajectories for artists including Amy... Read more
November 7, 2016 Video
Super Ugly: The Complete Evolution Of The Jay Z & Nas Beef From 1996 – 2001 (Video)

Super Ugly: The Complete Evolution Of The Jay Z & Nas Beef From 1996 – 2001 (Video)

2016 has been a year of unexpected and multi-layered beefs, many of which have centered around the MC many love to hate: Drake. Over the Summer, Joe Budden and the Toronto MC mixed it up with Budden sending 4 diss records Drake's way in response to two records, "4pm In... Read more
October 29, 2016 Video
Nas Is A Living Legend & Now He’s Immortal In a Queensbridge Mural (Video)

Nas Is A Living Legend & Now He’s Immortal In a Queensbridge Mural (Video)

Earlier this month, residents of the Long Island City neighborhood awoke to a brand new mural in their midst, one celebrating the influence of a local icon. Nas, who grew up in nearby Queensbridge Houses, is now the face of an exceptionally detailed piece of street art, the kind of... Read more
October 24, 2016 Video
Puff Daddy Credits Nas With Saving Hip-Hop & More In A Bold Tribute Speech (Video)

Puff Daddy Credits Nas With Saving Hip-Hop & More In A Bold Tribute Speech (Video)

More than 15 years ago, Nas and Puff Daddy made a triumphant anthem together in "Hate Me Now." Appearing on Nas' third album, I Am... the record symbolically closed out the 1990s with an MC once allocated to the Underground shining as a reigning figure of Hip-Hop. Although Nas and... Read more
October 17, 2016 Video
Nas & Erykah Badu Perform Their New Song With The Intensity It Deserves (Video)

Nas & Erykah Badu Perform Their New Song With The Intensity It Deserves (Video)

In July, Nas and Erykah Badu released "This Bitter Land." The collaboration was a standout single from The Land soundtrack, which belongs to a film that Nasir Jones co-produced. The song blends poetry with singing, as Nas returns to form spitting over sparse instrumentation that bares little resemblance to the... Read more
October 13, 2016 Video
Nas Drops One Of The Feature Verses Of His Career & It’s DEEP (Audio)

Nas Drops One Of The Feature Verses Of His Career & It’s DEEP (Audio)

From his Main Source "Live At The Barbeque" debut on wax to seminal records by AZ, Raekwon, Fat Joe, Scarface, and Beastie Boys, Nas is a lethal feature MC. Across the industry, for more than 25 years, the Queensbridge poet has been highly sought after—across genres to kick some of... Read more
October 11, 2016 Audio
Andre 3000, Nas, Method Man & More Made Sure Hip-Hop Did Not Fall In September (Audio)

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
October 4, 2016 Audio
Nas, Vic Mensa & Game Hold Nothing Back On the Year’s Most Explosive Soundtrack (Audio)

Nas, Vic Mensa & Game Hold Nothing Back On the Year’s Most Explosive Soundtrack (Audio)

The Birth of a Nation is already one of 2016's most talked about films, and it hasn't even been released yet. On October 7, the Nate Parker directed sensation will arrive in theaters, and due to its simultaneously historic and timely content, it already has American movie lovers buzzing. The... Read more
September 30, 2016 Audio
Here’s What Nas Would Say If He Could Go Back in Time to Stop Tupac & Biggie’s Beef (Video)

Here’s What Nas Would Say If He Could Go Back in Time to Stop Tupac & Biggie’s Beef (Video)

Celebrated sports columnist Bill Simmons recently hosted Nas on his weekly HBO talk-show series, the cleverly titled "Any Given Wednesday." In their discussions, the two discussed far more than the rapper's interest in sports and the host's interest in Rap, and along with fellow guests Kevin Durant and Vince Staples,... Read more
September 22, 2016 Video
AZ Vows “Doe Or Die 2” Will Be His Final Album & It’s Coming This Year (Audio)

AZ Vows “Doe Or Die 2” Will Be His Final Album & It’s Coming This Year (Audio)

It has been more than seven years since Brooklyn, New York MC AZ has released an official album. In 2010, the co-founder of The Firm dropped a special 15th anniversary homage to his debut Doe Or Die. In that time, the Quiet Money lyricist has vowed that like peers Nas,... Read more
September 19, 2016 Audio, News
Nas Auditioned For A Lead In “Paid In Full” According To Dame Dash (Video)

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
September 17, 2016 TV/Film, Video
Bokeem Woodbine Reveals Tupac Was Fed Up With Record Labels Profiting On Beef

Bokeem Woodbine Reveals Tupac Was Fed Up With Record Labels Profiting On Beef

Tuesday's September 13th date marked 20 years since the death of Tupac Shakur. In addition to his circle that included Madonna, M.C. Hammer, and actor Mickey Rourke, The Rap superstar had many burgeoning famous people around him in the last year of his life. Keyshia Cole, Rashida Jones, and Kxng... Read more
September 15, 2016 News
Nas’ Album Is Done & The Video Is MAJOR

Nas’ Album Is Done & The Video Is MAJOR

DJ Khaled's latest album is a three-ring circus of Rap excitement. Major Key has Jay Z throwing subliminal shots in the directions of those testing his prowess. The #1 release has Drake re-popularizing an Akinyele street single just as he did for Rappin' 4-Tay a few years back. However, for... Read more
September 9, 2016 Video
20 Years Later, OutKast’s ATLiens Is A Masterpiece Of Space & Time

20 Years Later, OutKast’s ATLiens Is A Masterpiece Of Space & Time

True to its extraterrestrial theme, OutKast's 1996 sophomore album ATLiens was of another world. Like the "Paid In Full" vocal sample proclaimed, André 3000 and Big Boi added "new color, new dimension, and new value" to the mid-'90s Hip-Hop ethos. Arguably, this came at a time when Hip-Hop's soul needed... Read more
August 25, 2016 Food for Thought
Akinyele Suggests An Unkept Promise Planted The Seeds For The Nas & JAY-Z Beef

Akinyele Suggests An Unkept Promise Planted The Seeds For The Nas & JAY-Z Beef

Queens, New York veteran MC Akinyele has not released an album of new material in more than 15 years. However, the raspy-voice rapper remains very much tied to the Hip-Hop culture he came up through. DJ Khaled and Drake's current hit "For Free" is an homage to a 1997 single... Read more
August 14, 2016 Audio
Nas Raps About The Struggles Of Being A “Black Man In A White World” (Audio)

Nas Raps About The Struggles Of Being A “Black Man In A White World” (Audio)

Nas is back--in a BIG way. After a 4-year break since his album Life Is Good, and very sparing appearances on record in between, the MC dubbed "God's Son" has blessed 3 songs in just two weeks. Nas started with a moving collaboration with Erykah Badu on "This Bitter Land."... Read more
August 11, 2016 Audio
Hip-Hop Stood Tall In July. Here’s Some Of The Best Of The Month (Audio Playlist)

Hip-Hop Stood Tall In July. Here’s Some Of The Best Of The Month (Audio Playlist)

July was a tense and complicated month. The killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile by police, both captured on film, led to national protests, heated discourse and some misguided shootings of police officers, presumably in retaliation. Political conventions held by the Democratic and Republican parties further divided the nation... Read more
August 2, 2016 Audio
Nas’ Album Is Done & Khaled Has The Single To Prove It (Audio)

Nas’ Album Is Done & Khaled Has The Single To Prove It (Audio)

Yesterday (July 27), DJ Khaled confirmed that Miss Lauryn Hill helped clear a Fugees sample for his upcoming Major Key album (July 29). In that interview, Khaled said that the "Fu-Gee-La" riff would be woven into Nas' appearance on the star-studded Epic Records compilation. One day later, "Nas Album Done"... Read more
July 28, 2016 Audio
Nas & His Poetic Roots Shine Alongside Erykah Badu In A Song Of Survival (Audio)

Nas & His Poetic Roots Shine Alongside Erykah Badu In A Song Of Survival (Audio)

In the course of his extensive career, Nas has sometimes decided to strip away all of the traditional Hip-Hop production to present himself (as he said on "Nas Is Like") as a "thug poet." In turn, records like smash hit "One Mic," or pivotal moments including "Queens Get The Money"... Read more
July 27, 2016 Audio
A New Series About Hip-Hop’s Birth Just Got Even Realer With Nas Writing All Its Rhymes (Video)

A New Series About Hip-Hop’s Birth Just Got Even Realer With Nas Writing All Its Rhymes (Video)

Over the years, there have been a number of films that have shown the early days of Hip-Hop. Style Wars, Wildstyle, Beat Street, Krush Groove and others all have had a role in memorializing the history of the biggest culture to be born in the United States in the last... Read more
July 26, 2016 Video
The Main Sources Of Sounds Behind “Breaking Atoms” Get BBQ’d (Mix)

The Main Sources Of Sounds Behind “Breaking Atoms” Get BBQ’d (Mix)

Today (July 23) marks the 25th anniversary of Main Source's Breaking Atoms. The only album recorded the trio's lineup as Large Professor, K-Cut, and Sir Scratch remains a colorful cult classic in the Hip-Hop space. The Wild Pitch Records release would be an awakening to Large Pro's multi-talents, as well... Read more
July 23, 2016 Mixes
Large Professor Broke More Than Atoms 25 Years Ago. He Broke New Ground.

Large Professor Broke More Than Atoms 25 Years Ago. He Broke New Ground.

By the early 1990s, Wild Pitch Records proved to be one of the most exciting labels in Hip-Hop. It was their logo at the center of the record that made key introductions for Gang Starr, Lord Finesse, and Flavor Unit lyricist Chill Rob G. Stu Fine’s label appeared to be... Read more
July 19, 2016 Food for Thought
1 … 3 4 5 6 7 … 13