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Diamond D Names His Top 5 Hip-Hop Producers

Today (August 19), Diamond D released his latest album, THE REAR VIEW. The 15-song collection (embedded below) finds the veteran MC/producer flexing his MC chops while playing double duty behind the boards as producer. It features Westside Gunn, De La Soul's Posdnuos, and Diamond's latest protege, Ashtin Martin. The Bronx, New... Read more

Eminem Has Quietly Become 1 Of Hip-Hop’s Biggest Activists

On Sunday night (February 13), Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, and Eminem put on a Super Bowl halftime show for the ages (embedded below). 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak also appeared as Dre's latest comeback campaign resulted in the biggest concert of his 35-plus-year-career. Although Dre... Read more

Mickey Factz Details The Strategy He Used In His Battle With Royce 5’9 (Video)

This week (August 20), Mickey Factz partners with Blu for The Narrative, a six-song project produced entirely by Nottz. Ahead of Friday's album, Mickey and Blu released two singles: June's "Stay Down" and July's "Reign." The latter, a video, features Asher Roth and reunites three MCs from the 2009 XXL... Read more

Busta Rhymes Has Made A Classic Album 30 Years Into His Career

Busta Rhymes is one of Hip-Hop's most enduring stars. Named by Chuck D, a fixture within Native Tongues, a requested artist on Tupac's One Nation project, a member of the Aftermath/Shady/G-Unit reign as well as Cash Money/Young Money, and one of J Dilla's closest collaborators, Trevor Smith, Jr. has done... Read more

Who Had The Best Rap Album Of 2019 (Battle 4): Rapsody vs. Add-2

Over the last couple of years, Ambrosia For Heads has asked our readers to help us determine the Best Rap Album for 2017 and 2018, respectively. In looking at the top music of 2019, we believe that instead of letting the Grammy Awards—a committee who does not know anything about... Read more

Who Had The Best Rap Album Of 2019 (Battle 3): Gang Starr vs. Murs & 9th Wonder

Over the last couple of years, Ambrosia For Heads has asked our readers to help us determine the Best Rap Album for 2017 and 2018, respectively. In looking at the top music of 2019, we believe that instead of letting the Grammy Awards—a committee who does not know anything about... Read more

Who Had The Best Rap Album Of 2019 (Battle 1): Skyzoo & Pete Rock vs. Smif-N-Wessun

Over the last couple of years, Ambrosia For Heads has asked our readers to help us determine the Best Rap Album for 2017 and 2018, respectively. In looking at the top music of 2019, we believe that instead of letting the Grammy Awards—a committee who does not know anything about... Read more

Pharoahe Monch’s Song Brings Wordplay Back On A Whole New Level (Lyric Video)

Pharoahe Monch is one of Hip-Hop's supreme lyricists, and has been so for more than 25 years. The Queens, New Yorker's wordplay includes metaphors, similes, alliteration, assonance, and many of the other parts of speech that many are taught about in English/Reading class. Even living with asthma, the Organized Konfusion... Read more

Rapsody’s Eve Is 1 Of The Year’s Best Albums In Any Category

In terms of receipts from paying dues, Rapsody possesses suitcases full of them. Her career dates back to an inconspicuous debut on 9th Wonder's Dream Merchant 2 interludes a dozen years ago. That look came after years of studying under the famed producer, long before she ever touched one of his beats... Read more

Rapsody & Latifah Unite As Two Generations Of Hip-Hop Queens (Audio)

Today (August 23), Rapsody released her Eve album. The North Carolina MC's first project since the 2017 Grammy-nominated Laila's Wisdom keeps the conceptual style going. Rap' titled each of the 16 songs after great Black women in history, ranging from "Afeni" to "Michelle" to "Maya." The Jamla/Roc Nation affair involves... Read more

Kool Keith, B-Real & Joell Ortiz Show MCs How To Level Up (Audio Premiere)

Next month (July 12), veteran MC innovator Kool Keith will see the release of his latest album, simply titled KEITH. Produced entirely by The Beatnuts' Psycho Les, KEITH will feature appearances by Houston's Paul Wall, Cypress Hill front-man B-Real, and Crooklyn Dodger lyrical slugger, Jeru The Damaja. Following last month's... Read more

Murs Shares The 1st Release From His New Collaboration With 9th Wonder

At the top of this year, it was announced that Murs & 9th Wonder were preparing to release the seventh album in their union. 2019's upcoming The Illiad Is Dead And The Odyssey Is Over marks the pair's first effort since 2015's Brighter Daze. This past weekend, the Los Angeles,... Read more

Blu’s Next LP Is Produced By Oh No. The 1st Single Is A Dedication To Cali’s Lost Angels

UPDATE: Blu & Oh No have released the music video for "The Lost Angels Anthem":  ORIGINAL FEBRUARY 4 STORY: 2018 proved to be a busy year for veteran Los Angeles, California MC/producer Blu. The 35-year-old released two albums: Gods In The Spirit, Titans In The Flesh with Nottz, and... Read more

Evidence’s Weather Or Not Is Your Best Rap Album Of 2018

Last night (December 30), the tournament to decide 2018's Best Rap Album came to a close. Evidence's Weather Or Not bested Royce 5'9's Book Of Ryan, 63% to 37%. Thus, the veteran Los Angeles, California MC/producer takes home the top honors in the second annual month-long voter-decided competition. Notably, Ev's third... Read more

Who Had The Best Rap Album Of 2018 (Battle 4): J. Cole vs. Phonte

We have our opinions on the best releases of 2018, but rather than simply tell you our pick for #1, we thought it would be more interesting to hear what you, the readers, believe is the Best Rap Album of 2018. With that in mind, we decided to make our... Read more

Black Thought & 9th Wonder Join Forces On Another Lethal Collaboration (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... Read more

Pharoahe Monch Details His Upcoming Album. He Vows It’s His Hardest To Date (Audio)

Pharoahe Monch has not released an album in almost five years. The Queens, New York MC/producer boasts a consistent catalog, whether solo or his three albums with Prince Po in Organized Konfusion. 2014's P.T.S.D. was a critically celebrated release that examined the stresses (and stressors) of the world and in... Read more

9th Wonder Has Been Working With Smif-N-Wessun & The Album Is Done

Thirteen years ago, Buckshot and his Duck Down Music released three albums that would ultimately change the label's course for years to come. Between June and September of 2005, Sean Price released Monkey Barz, Buckshot & 9th Wonder dropped Chemistry, and General Steele and Tek returned to their original stage... Read more

Bumpy Knuckles & Biz Markie Team Up For A Video With A Purpose. Check It Out, Y’all.

Today (May 18), Bumpy Knuckles releases Pop Duke, Vol. 1. The 10-song concept project is produced by Nottz, and it features a cast of Rap O.G.'s such as Chuck D, Kool G Rap, and M.O.P.'s Lil Fame. It also includes a fellow Long Islander, Biz Markie, who makes a rare... Read more

Evidence & Krondon Show That L.A.’s Underground Vets Now Do It Big (Video)

Evidence is an ambassador for quality Hip-Hop in 2018. Not only does he create it, but he also gives shine to other deserving talent—be it by inviting them to guest on his projects, or by hooking them up with a verse or beat. Without seeming retro or throwback, this Venice,... Read more

Evidence’s Weather Or Not Album Forecasts A Great 2018 In Hip-Hop (Audio)

Evidence has not released a solo album in more than five years. The co-founder of Dilated Peoples and Step Brothers changes that this week with his Weather Or Not. The last in a trilogy of acclaimed LPs that dates back to 2007's The Weatherman LP and also included 2012's Cats... Read more

Mickey Factz & Royce 5’9 Serve Lyrics That Make Other MCs Say Their Prayers (Audio Premiere)

In 2016, Mickey Factz dropped The Achievement: circa '82, a collaborative album produced entirely by Nottz and featuring Styles P, Phonte, Blu, Smoke DZA and more. "The Sermon" didn't make it to the  Soulspazm/W.A.R.Media project's final track listing, but the Bronx-bred rapper is releasing a deluxe edition of the album... Read more

Evidence Reveals His Next Album Title & Tracklist. The New Video Is Bananas.

This April, Dilated Peoples and Stepbrothers member Evidence released "Throw It All Away." The video single (which has been a staple on the Ambrosia For Heads playlist since) featured some of the most heartfelt rapping to date from the Venice, California Grammy Award-winner. The second single, "Jim Dean" keeps the... Read more

Boot Camp Clik & Wu-Tang Clan Show No One Has Your Back Like Family (Video)

Sean Price represents one of Hip-Hop's most resilient stories. He burst onto the scene as one-half of Heltah Skeltah, making powerful impact on the charts as a key extension of the Boot Camp Clik. However, a series of events made the MC formerly known as Ruck nearly have to hang... Read more

Rapsody Puts Pain To Words On A Knocking Nottz Beat (Audio)

North Carolina MC Rapsody has cemented a reputation for being equally as thoughtful as she is skillful on the mic. Her latest single “The Pain" is no exception. On it, Rap' spits reflective bars about some of the pains associated with being Black in America, from various perspectives (women, men,... Read more

Ras Kass’ Powerful New Video Shows The Chilling Reality Of Our Amerikkkan Horror Story

On the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration as President of the United States, Ras Kass is unveiling the video for "Amerikkkan Horror Story." And why not? Trump's campaign has been plagued with ties to a White nationalist (read: White supremacy) movement, and with a presidential cabinet comprised overwhelmingly of White... Read more

Bumpy Knuckles Salutes ’70s & Early ’80s Rap Pioneers On A Nottz Track (Audio)

Bumpy Knuckles (aka Freddie Foxxx) released his first music in 1986. At the time, "Freddie C." was part of the Supreme Force. In that year, Hip-Hop and Rap music were transitioning. Run-D.M.C., Fat Boys, Whodini, and the Beastie Boys had stepped out bringing the album format and music videos to... Read more

Rapsody Releases Her New “Crown” EP. Listen Here (Audio)

Just one day after dropping an ambitious double-header with the release of not one, but two singles, Rapsody's Crown EP has arrived. Yesterday (November 15), the Jamla rapper shared two jewels with Heads, first the Ambrosia for Heads-premiered "Mad" and then the Ab-Soul-assisted "2AM." But today (November 16), fans no... Read more

Mickey Factz & Styles P Stage A Rap Battle On “Vs” & We Win (Audio)

To follow up the “ode to true love” Mickey Factz released last week, the Bronx-bred MC joins the Ghost himself, Styles P, on another Nottz production—and this one’s no love song. Instead, in a flow reminiscent of an old L.O.X. track, both lyricists flex their verbal abilities, going back and... Read more

Mickey Factz Readies His Nottz Collabo LP With 15 Styles In 15 Minutes (Audio)

Mickey Factz has a decorated music career to date. The New York MC has been featured as a XXL "Freshman" in the 2009 yearbook, in addition to making widely circulated songs with Drake, Yelawolf, and Kendrick Lamar, among others. Fresh off of the Nottz-produced video single "414 Words," Factz lays... Read more

Talib Kweli Invites Problem & Aloe Blacc On a Remix for Every Ghetto (Audio)

With one of the most expansive repertoires in Hip-Hop, Talib Kweli's longevity and stamina cannot be questioned. In addition to his MCing, he's an activist, writer, and a handful of other things that are equally impressive. But today (October 5), it's his music that is once again proving his ability... Read more

Rapper Big Pooh Is Still Putting Nottz Beats On Smash (Audio)

Last year, Rapper Big Pooh released Home Sweet Home with fellow Virginia native Nottz. Pooh and Nottz go back, a decade back, in the form of Little Brother's "Life Of The Party." The two have made plenty more music since. Together, Pooh and Nottz Raw pave a way for Jamaica... Read more

REKS Shares The Recipe For Roasting Wack MCs & It Starts With Fire (Video)

For over a decade, REKS has been putting in work as one of Boston's finest. During that time, the underground MC, known as Rhythmatic Eternal King Supreme, has worked with and earned the respect of some of Hip-Hop's most revered beatmakers, including DJ Premier Pete Rock, Hi-Tek and Statik Selkektah.... Read more

Blu & Nottz Raise The Bar and the Volume With Their Titans In The Flesh EP (Audio)

A decade ago, Blu was one of the most exciting MCs in Hip-Hop. By 2007's Below The Heavens album with Exile, the Los Angeles, California MC perfected Everyman themes, with an original delivery. Fans took notice, and at the frontier of the digital age, took a Sound In Color release... Read more

A New Documentary On The Making Of J Dilla’s “The Diary” Features The Man, Himself (Video)

While not his first posthumous album, J Dilla's The Diary stands apart from those of the past. The Mass Appeal and PayJay collaboration on the sixth J Dilla album since his 2006 death is comprised entirely of unissued material but what makes it more unique is its inclusion of the late... Read more

REKS Has A New Album Coming & The 1st Single Is “The Recipe” For Dopeness (Audio)

Veteran MC REKS is preparing to release a star-studded new album, his first since 2014. The Greatest X (pronounced The Greatest Unknown) hits stores this Summer, and features production from Large Professor, The Alchemist, Evidence, Statik Selektah, Nottz, Apollo Brown, Black Milk, Buckwild, Streetrunner and more, and includes guest verses... Read more

One Of J Dilla’s Most Respected Collaborative Peers Makes A Beat From Scratch In His Style (Video)

Nottz and J Dilla had a colorful history. Both production purists, these MC/producer double-threats each benefited from the support of Busta Rhymes, Skillz, and Ghostface Killah placements at critical career junctures. Thereby, the artists from Norfolk, Virginia and Detroit, Michigan (respectively) ended up on a few albums together. More than... Read more

Token Says He IS The Underground And He Has The Bars To Prove It (Video)

In less than one year, Token has become of the most exciting unsigned artists in Hip-Hop. In March, he was prominently featured alongside Joell Ortiz in the That's Hip-Hop album with Domingo. There, Toke' represented a delegate of the new school MCs who is taking the craft of rapping, and... Read more

The Game Joins Koache & Nottz On A Song That Feels Like Back In The Day (Audio)

Los Angeles MC Koache has released his debut album, Game Point. He's joined on the project by West Coast OGs Xzibit and WC of Westside Connection, as well as young guns like BJ The Chicago Kid and Cory Gunz. A number of the tracks are produced by Nottz, including the... Read more

Xzibit Moves Forward With Bars That Will Take Yiu Back (Audio)

Xzibit and Nottz go back. On the acclaimed 2000 LP Restless, the Virginia producer/MC shared a track with Dr. Dre in "U Know." Z-to-the-Z and Nottz Raw would work again on the first Serial Killers project a couple years ago. This time, the V-A to C-A link surrounds Los Angles,... Read more

Blu & Rapper Big Pooh Say It’s Do Or Die When The Stakes Are High (Audio)

In 2015, Rapper Big Pooh and Nottz came together to release Home Sweet Home. The Mello Music Group LP had been anticipated for years, and delivered with strength from the two Virginia native creatives. Just under three months removed from release day (November 13), now is as good a time... Read more

Asher Roth, Nottz & Travis Barker Made Something Really Different, Together (EP Stream)

For years now, Heads have heard of Asher Roth and Nottz' collaborative work. In 2010, the Pennsylvania MC and Virginia producer/MC made The Rawth, a free download EP. More than five years later, the duo adds Travis Barker (Blink 182) to the fold and does it again. With a live... Read more

Raekwon Joins Bumpy Knuckles, Treach & Trick-Trick For Some O.G. Wisdom (Audio)

Earlier this month, it was announced that Naughty By Nature's Treach, Bumpy Knuckles, and Trick-Trick are at work on an album called O.G.ology. The LP is said to be fully produced by Nottz (Busta Rhymes, Game, Kanye West). The official first taste of O.G.ology captures its essence. "Let Me Tell... Read more

Treach, Bumpy Knuckles & Trick-Trick Announce Album, Entirely Produced by Nottz

Previously, Bumpy Knuckles (a/k/a Freddie Foxxx) has done complete collaborative albums with the likes of KRS-One, DJ Premier, and Statik Selektah. Today, the veteran Long Island, New York MC/producer announced his latest plans: a work with Naughty By Nature's Treach and Detroit, Michigan veteran Trick-Trick. The album, known as OGology,... Read more

Blu, Rapper Big Pooh & Nottz Carry Some Sweet Soul Across Oceans (Audio)

Fresh off of Home Sweet Home, Rapper Big Pooh and Nottz keep the chemistry flowing. The Virginia pair team with Blu for a triangle offense, who seizes some Australian Soul. Bankrupt Billionaires is a Brisbane act with the booming vocals of Kel On Earth. Band producers Sammsonite and DATS turn... Read more

Rapper Big Pooh Does It Again With a Stellar Album That Feels Like Home Sweet Home (Album Stream)

Throughout his career, Rapper Big Pooh has produced some of his best work when paired with producers with a penchant for soulful beats. From teaming with 9th Wonder as part of Little Brother to releasing this year's Words Paint Pictures album with Apollo Brown, something about deep funky bass lines... Read more

As Law Enforcer Violence Against Black Citizens Escalates, Talib Kweli Asks Which Side Are You On? (Video)

It's been nearly three years since Trayvon Martin was killed by George Zimmerman. Since then attacks on Black citizens by law enforcement officers (or, in Zimmerman's case, those fancying themselves as such) have continued, seemingly without cessation. The latest such incident happened just this week, when footage of a South... Read more

Talib Kweli & 9th Wonder Suggest There Is No Such Thing As An Innocent Bystander (Audio/Video)

Alexander Hamilton once said, "Those who stand for nothing fall for anything." There is a lot to stand up for in the world around us—and there are some who still seemingly feel like it is not their place, their preference, or their politics to have an opinion. Talib Kweli, 9th... Read more

Rapper Big Pooh Looks at the True Cost of Being a Drug Boss (Audio)

Rapper Big Pooh's lyrics often deal in relationships, a deep love of music, and sometimes, a passion for sports. On "300Z" from his upcoming Home Sweet Home album (November 13) with fellow Virginia native Nottz, Heads can hear Pooh in the mind-state of a drug-dealer. No, the Little Brother co-founder... Read more

Rapper Big Pooh Dusts Off Childhood Memories Over Evocative Nottz Chops (Audio)

Rapper Big Pooh is gifted in the ability to present raps that many Heads can relate to. With Nottz composing a reflective arrangement of vocals (by Novej) and drums, the Virginia native returns to his childhood and adolescence from fast food jobs to high school proms, trying to look cool... Read more