nyc ArchivesAmbrosia For Heads

Stretch & Bobbito Release An Album That Honors Some Of Hip-Hop’s Building Blocks

Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Garcia are legends in the culture of Hip-Hop. The duo began their careers in radio on Columbia University’s WKCR radio station. Their late-night show helped jump-start iconic Rap careers by featuring the then-unsigned likes of Nas, JAY-Z, Wu-Tang Clan, Eminem, Big L, Biggie Smalls, Fugees, Big... Read more

January 17, 2020 Audio, Video

Tekashi 6ix9ine Is Expected To Be Released From Prison In 2020

Brooklyn, New York rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine was sentenced today (December 18) in a Manhattan federal court. Moments ago (December 18), Judge Paul Engel sentenced the artist to two years behind bars for multiple charges, including racketeering, firearms offenses, drug possession, and drug trafficking, as well as conspiracy. Per TMZ, Tekashi's... Read more

December 18, 2019 News

DJ Eclipse Discusses The Legacy Of Fat Beats On Its 25th Anniversary

This coming Sunday (July 14) Fat Beats Records will celebrate its 25th-anniversary with a special New York City concert. In many ways, the Sony Hall event is a homecoming and a deserving pause for recognition to a keystone in Hip-Hop's independent movement. Non-Phixion, The Juggaknots, The X-Ecutioners' Rob Swift & Mista... Read more

July 10, 2019 Exclusive, Video

Casanova & DJ Premier Make Haters Think Twice About What They Say (Video)

Casanova 2X is the type of hard-nosed East Coast MC that always seems to seek out the sounds of DJ Premier. The Brooklyn, New Yorker's mic style can be traced to artists such as M.O.P., The LOX, Bumpy Knuckles, Screwball, and Non-Phixion. The artist that Memphis Bleek ushered into Roc... Read more

August 24, 2018 Video

20 Years Ago, The Beastie Boys Reminded Rap Fans That 3 MCs & 1 DJ Is A Winning Formula

1998 was a changing time for Hip-Hop. The attitude of the period was recovering from the killings of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls. Groups like The Fugees and A Tribe Called Quest separated for solo pursuits. Meanwhile Black Star emerged. Master P's No Limit Records led a marketing battalion that... Read more

July 14, 2018 Food for Thought, Throwback, Throwback

Kid Capri Explains Why He Has Beef With Funkmaster Flex (Video)

Two of the most recognized names in DJ'ing, especially for those in and around the New York City area, are currently beefing. For those following social media, mixtape legend Kid Capri has minced no words in his opinions of Funkmaster Flex. Both men, who each claim Bronx, New York as... Read more

July 9, 2018 Fresh, News, Video

DJ Muggs & DOOM Tease Their Upcoming EP With A Banger Featuring Freddie Gibbs (Audio)

When it comes to collaboration tracks and albums with artists, there is a high percentage rate that Heads will get a quality product when DJ Muggs, MF DOOM, or Freddie Gibbs are involved in the effort. The stakes have been raised even more for a hardcore rapper's delight as these three... Read more

June 22, 2018 Audio

Finding The GOAT Group: Fat Boys vs. Run-D.M.C. Who Is Better?

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

June 18, 2018 Best Hip-Hop Group, Finding the GOAT

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

June 13, 2018 Best Hip-Hop Group, Finding the GOAT

20 Years Ago Grand Puba & Brand Nubian Reunited And Put Egos Aside (Video)

The late 1990s marked a wind of change for Hip-Hop. Radio was changing, video platforms were evolving, and the music industry, especially for Rap, music was scaling upwards, fast. The genre surpassed Country music in sales for the first time in 1998. It was suddenly common to see music videos... Read more

May 17, 2018 Do Remember, Video

Q-Tip Will Teach College Students The Low End Theory & Other Hip-Hop Lessons

In March, A Tribe Called Quest released its final music video, "The Space Program." Currently an exclusive at Apple Music, the single from 2016's We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service closes the visual book on one of Hip-Hop's most beloved groups, according to a recent Sway... Read more

April 7, 2018 News

Bumpy Knuckles & Snoop Are Proud To Be O.G.s & Share Their Wisdom (Audio)

With over 50 years in the Rap game combined, Snoop Dogg and Bumpy Knuckles (aka Freddie Foxxx) have immense credibility. They are two MCs who have navigated several eras of Hip-Hop's evolution. Each can spit hard rhymes that chin-check opponents and they both have reputations for offering righteousness. It all... Read more

March 13, 2018 Audio

D.I.T.C.’s O.C. Just Dropped A Strong Album. His Video Shows It’s A New Dawn.

Coming off the heels of his latest collaborative project Perestroika with Apathy, along with the first installment of his album trilogy Same Moon, Same Sun in 2017, D.I.T.C. member O.C. has re-upped his stock in 2018. It is evident by way of the second edition of the latter series titled... Read more

February 28, 2018 Video

Keith Murray Announces The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World Part 2 (Video)

Following EPMD's temporary breakup and dissolving of the Hit Squad in 1993, MC/producer Erick Sermon set forth on his solo career and formed his triumvirate Def Squad crew with Redman and then-upstart Keith Murray. The latter MC turned Heads made a strong first impression with his home run-hitting clean-up verse... Read more

February 24, 2018 News, Video

Erick Sermon Raises More Than $60,000 & Will Release His 8th Solo Album

FEBRUARY 22 UPDATE:Erick Sermon and Def Squad Records released the following statement to Ambrosia For Heads: "In today's music business, the climate is everything's based on streaming. We have seen drastic changes in the way consumers listen to content. There [are] all different genres of Hip-Hop now—some with more commercial... Read more

February 21, 2018 Fresh, Video

An New Video Shows The Rise Of The Soulquarians & Why Things Fell Apart

During the week of special engagements leading up to last Sunday's Grammy Awards, The Roots held a four-day residency at The Gramercy Theatre in Manhattan. During the day, the three-time Grammy-winners programmed events that included the first live taping of Questlove Supreme with guest Common, as well as a Black... Read more

January 30, 2018 Throwback, Video

GZA & Inspectah Deck’s Cold World Lyricism Still Causes Chills (Video)

Summer may be Hip-Hop's most treasured season. Cookouts, drop-tops, park jams, and "just hangin' out" have spawned plenty of beloved playlist hits. However, the winter section of the year has inspired some incredible Rap music in its own right. Bundled up bars about construction Timbs, 4x4 Landcruisers and Jeeps, skull... Read more

January 18, 2018 Do Remember

Ras Kass, J57 & El Gant’s Jamo Gang Has Eyes On Them & Scopes Too (Video)

UPDATE: Stream and purchase the Jamo Gang's self-titled EP: Jamo Gang EP by Jamo Gang ORIGINAL JANUARY 17 STORY: It's been a year since Ras Kass, El Gant, and J57 announced they had formed the Jamo Gang. With that news, the trio with the Irish whiskey-inspired name released their first... Read more

January 17, 2018 Ready Or Not, Video

Jadakiss & Styles P Revamp A Whodini Classic To Show That Loyalty Is Timeless (Audio)

Whodini's biggest hit "Friends" has proven itself to be an ageless Hip-Hop song. The standout single from 1984's Escape album has a message that has endured more than 33 years and a beat (thanks to late keyboardist/producer Larry Smith) that seemingly never went out of fashion either. Rap superstars Tupac... Read more

December 12, 2017 Audio, The Bridge

20 Years Later, Rhyme & Reason Remains Rap Music’s Ultimate Backstage Pass (Video)

During the late 1990s, Hip-Hop was a seismic force that garnered mainstream recognition as a billion-dollar industry. The culture had invalidated scores of critics who dismissed it as a fad during the previous two decades. Hip-Hop achieved this while rewriting the rules of the music business and redefining the American... Read more

December 7, 2017 Do Remember, TV/Film, Video

Sadat X, Punchline & Fokis Imagine A World Where They Have It Their Way (Video)

Hip-Hop has long been a beacon of hope to people wishing for a better tomorrow. From the fantasy of Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" to the rags to riches trajectory on Biggie's "Juicy," to Nas' wishful "If I Ruled The World," some great records live by dreams. New York City Hip-Hop... Read more

December 5, 2017 Video

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

November 10, 2017 News

Digable Planets Made Jazz-Rap Cool Like Dat For Just About Everybody (Video)

Late, great Gang Starr lyricist Guru ambitiously declared "The '90s will be the decade of a Jazz thing" on the Mo' Better Blues soundtrack single named just that. Jazz-Rap was still an anomaly when groups like Public Enemy, N.W.A., and Boogie Down Productions were pulling extensively from '60s and '70s... Read more

November 9, 2017 Do Remember

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

Soundbombing Was Released 20 Years Ago & Launched A Generation Of Underground Hip-Hop

Twenty years ago this week (October 14, 1997) New York-based independent Hip-Hop label Rawkus Records released Soundbombing Vol. 1. Rawkus' second full-length project boasted Black Moon/Da Beatminerz producer DJ Evil Dee on the mix, and atop its cover touted, "The Ultimate Guide To Underground Hip-Hop." Time would prove it most... Read more

October 19, 2017 Do Remember

Large Professor Speaks On The Targets Of “Fakin’ The Funk” & Why He Attacked The Wack

It goes without saying that 1992 was a turning point year for Hip-Hop. The hardcore and underground Rap scenes from the East, West, Midwest, and South each boasted a myriad of artists with memorable singles and albums to define their respective region's sound. Simultaneously, this period was when Pop music... Read more

October 12, 2017 Do Remember, Exclusive

Method Man Details The Life Experiences That Influenced His Complicated Role On The Deuce

For 13 episodes of The Wire, Wu-Tang Clan's Method Man played Melvin "Cheese" Wagstaff. Well into a career that included film and television roles, "Cheese" showed Meth build on his portrayal of a Baltimore drug dealer over multiple seasons. He is back at work with The Wire's creator, executive producers, and many... Read more

October 10, 2017 Exclusive, Interview, TV, TV/Film

Sean Price & Masta Killa Are Rap Royalty On A 9th Wonder Production (Audio)

Sean Price and Wu-Tang Clan were frequent collaborators throughout the legendary Boot Camp Clik MC's career. "Donkey Sean" has shared verses with prominent and affiliate members of Wu on a total of 12 released tracks since 1998. On Masta Killa's "Down For Me," the latest single for the Wu member's... Read more

September 27, 2017 Audio

Diamond D’s “Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop” Is A Hip-Hop Classic That Still Burns Strong

Today (September 22) marks 25 years since the release of Diamond D's landmark debut album Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop. In this era when the MC/producers like J. Cole, Kanye West, and Logic are celebrated among music's biggest stars, this silver anniversary is significant to their career as commercially viable artists transcending... Read more

September 22, 2017 Food for Thought, Throwback

Nas & Ghostface Killah’s Collabos Set The Stage For A Strong A3C (Audio)

Two of New York's finest MCs, Nas and Ghostface Killah, have a great history of bringing out the best in each other when they're on the same track. Both possess intricate storytelling ability, effortless wordplay, and immense street credibility. They've only rhymed together but a few occasions. However, the synergy... Read more

September 19, 2017 News

Kidd Creole Of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five Charged With Murder

Pioneering Hip-Hop crew Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five holds one of Rap's most memorable lyrics in their 1982 song "The Message": "Stabbed that man right in his heart, gave him a transplant for a brand new start." Ironically, one of the legendary Bronx collective's members, The Kidd Creole (born... Read more

August 3, 2017 News

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

Necro, Vinnie Paz & Immortal Technique Take Hip-Hop Back To Its Essence (Video)

Remember when hardcore MCs were at the forefront of Hip-Hop? Necro, Vinnie Paz and Immortal Technique are bringing Heads back to those days with their new music video for "Take HipHop Back." Filmed in New York City, the video features all of the Hip-Hop elements: MCing, DJing, breakdancing and graffiti.... Read more

November 10, 2015 Video

Schoolboy Q Performs New Song in NYC (Video)

Schoolboy Q performs a super tough new track that is presumably from his forthcoming Oxymoron album and possibly called Gangsta. Check out the video and prepare to get your mean face on with this one. YACH! YACH! YACH! YACH! Related: Schoolboy Q – Collard Greens ft Kendrick Lamar (Audio)... Read more

July 18, 2013 Video

Kendrick Lamar Performs in NYC (Video)

Kendrick Lamar performed not once but twice at Roseland (capacity 3500) in NYC last night and sold out both shows. After doing his first headline show at SOB's (capacity 600) in NYC just two years ago, the growth on all levels (performance, audience, venue) has been meteoric. Here's some footage... Read more

February 27, 2013 Video

Slaughterhouse, Pharoahe Monch, Freeway and more perform in NYC (Video)

Slaughterhouse, Pharoahe Monch, Freeway and more performed in NYC last night. Here's some footage of the highlights. Check out the video. Props: EME Related: Pharoahe Monch speaks with Montreality (Video)... Read more

September 9, 2012 Video

Rakim interview with OkayPlayer and performance in NYC at Joe’s Pub (Video)

Here's a dope interview of Rakim by OkayPlayer. It also features footage of him performing with The Roots. You can check out the interview and footage of Rakim performing recently in NYC at Joe's Pub below. Related: Playlist celebrating the music of Rakim (Audio)... Read more

June 29, 2012 Food for Thought, Video

Childish Gambino, Schoolboy Q & Danny Brown perform in NYC (Video) + Childish Gambino – One Up (Audio)

Childish Gambino, Schoolboy Q and Danny Brown hit the stage at Central Park in NYC last night and are performing in Brooklyn tonight. Here's some footage of the 3 of them doing a song together and you can check out One Up, a new song from Childish Gambino, below. Related:... Read more

June 26, 2012 Audio, Video

Ab-Soul performs at NYC’s SOB’s (Video)

Ab-Soul did his first headlining show in NYC last night. Here's some footage of his performance at SOB's. Related: Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q interview (Video)... Read more

June 22, 2012 Video

Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q & Jay Rock in Concert in NYC (Video)

Is there any collective in the game right now stronger than TDE/Black Hippy? Here's a 30-minute video of Kendrick Lamar in concert with appearances from Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q and Jay Rock that makes a strong case for them. Check it out below. Related: AFH Interviews with Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q... Read more

June 5, 2012 Video

Lauryn Hill performs with Nas at Summer Jam 2012 (Video)

Lauryn Hill joined Nas onstage at Summer Jam 2012 in NYC and ripped through some of her classics. Check out the video of her doing Ready or Not and Lost Ones (after Nas does a bit of The Don) below. Related: Nas - Life is Good albom promo (Video)... Read more

June 5, 2012 Video

Slaughterhouse Tour Episode. 4 (Joe Budden Arrested) (Video)

Slaughterhouse has been releasing a cool series of videos chronicling their latest tour. Here's installment #4 which addresses their recent show in NYC where Joe Budden was arrested. Joell Ortiz provides some comic relief about the arrest as well as some behind the scenes commentary on the show. Check it... Read more

April 10, 2012 Video

Slaughterhouse performs in NYC (Video)

Slaughterhouse stormed NYC last night. Here's some video footage including a REE-DICULOUS a capella verse from Crooked I. Check it out below. Previously: Slaughterhouse perform at SXSW 2012 (full concert video)... Read more

March 30, 2012 Video

Big K.R.I.T. performs I Got This and Boobie Miles in NYC (Video)

Big K.R.I.T. performed at NYC's Highline Ballroom on Thursday. Here is some official footage from Cinematic Music Group of his performances of I Got This, his new album single, and Boobie Miles, his new mixtape single. Check out both below. Also, click here to check out our interview of K.R.I.T.... Read more

March 10, 2012 Video