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Zion I MC Zumbi Has Passed Away At Age 49

Zion I MC Zumbi Has Passed Away At Age 49

Hip-Hop has suffered another loss. Zion I co-founder Zumbi, aka Steve Gaines, has died at age 49 on Friday (August 13). The veteran Oakland, California MC's family confirmed the news yesterday. "It is with utter disbelief and great sadness that the Gaines family shares the news of the passing of... Read more
August 14, 2021 News
Oakland, California Declares May 17 To Be Phife Dawg Day

Oakland, California Declares May 17 To Be Phife Dawg Day

Phife Dawg was a product of Queens, New York who represented for his borough and St. Albans section throughout his 25-plus-year music career. However, the co-founder of A Tribe Called Quest also lived other places during his 45 years of life. One place Malik Taylor made his home was Oakland,... Read more
May 18, 2019 Fresh, News, Video
Too Short’s Career Documentary Includes Rare Footage From MC Breed & More (Video)

Too Short’s Career Documentary Includes Rare Footage From MC Breed & More (Video)

Too Short is a pioneer within Rap. While Todd Shaw has been churning out albums for 31 years, his career in music goes back even further. With such an extensive resume in Hip-Hop, Too Short takes a moment to reflect on some key moments in his career. He produced 3... Read more
November 6, 2018 TV/Film, Video
The Souls Of Mischief’s Tajai is Designing A Hotel To Chill From 18 ‘Til Infinity (Video)

The Souls Of Mischief’s Tajai is Designing A Hotel To Chill From 18 ‘Til Infinity (Video)

One of the founding members of Souls Of Mischief, as well as the super-group Hieroglyphics, Tajai Massey is stretching his creative capacity beyond music in 2018. Heads may not know that the Oakland, California MC/producer is also an architectural designer, and his latest project comes in the form of a... Read more
July 12, 2018 Lifestyle, News
Finding The GOAT Group: Naughty By Nature vs. Digital Underground. Who Is Better?

Finding The GOAT Group: Naughty By Nature vs. Digital Underground. Who Is Better?

“Finding the GOAT Group,” the fourth installment of Ambrosia For Heads’s annual battle 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 4, 2018 Best Hip-Hop Group, Finding the GOAT
Anticon Co-Founder & MC/Producer Alias Has Passed Away At The Age Of 41

Anticon Co-Founder & MC/Producer Alias Has Passed Away At The Age Of 41

Alias, a producer, MC, and founding member of the independent Hip-Hop collective Anticon, has died. The producer born Brendon Whitney passed away March 30 from a heart attack, according to friend and collaborator, Sage Francis. Alias was 41 years old. Anticon's social media accounts later confirmed the news. A product... Read more
March 31, 2018 News
Keak Da Sneak Recovering From Shooting, Upgraded To Stable Condition

Keak Da Sneak Recovering From Shooting, Upgraded To Stable Condition

UPDATE: After being shot yesterday (August 21), rapper Keak Da Sneak has been upgraded to stable condition. Still hospitalized, the Oakland, California veteran MC underwent surgery following a Monday morning shooting in Richmond, California. The East Bay Times reports that the 39-year-old member of 3X Krazy was found on the... Read more
August 22, 2017 News
Blackalicious’ Gift Of Gab Tackles Gentrification With Artisanal Rhymes (Video)

Blackalicious’ Gift Of Gab Tackles Gentrification With Artisanal Rhymes (Video)

Gentrification is a nationwide epidemic, affecting and effecting cities and neighborhoods across the country. Hip-Hop has been addressing the issue more and more, as of late, touched on by both JAY-Z in “The Story of O.J.” and Run The Jewels in their video for “Don’t Get Captured” this week alone.... Read more
July 7, 2017 Video
Oakland’s Trey Coastal Use A Video Game To Show How Real Life’s Consequences Are (Video)

Oakland’s Trey Coastal Use A Video Game To Show How Real Life’s Consequences Are (Video)

The Oakland, California trio known as Trey Coastal have a knack for storytelling. For their "R1 R2 L1 L2" visuals, the West Coast collective get pixelated and take us through a retro video-game journey through their hometown. Producer Rye Mann, plus MCs Philip Bank$ (a Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reference) and Cam... Read more
June 7, 2017 Ready Or Not
Shock G Takes It Back To The Streets With A Lit Freestyle…Literally (Video)

Shock G Takes It Back To The Streets With A Lit Freestyle…Literally (Video)

Shock G and his brainchild of Digital Underground helped introduce the world to Tupac Shakur, Saafir, and others. The Oakland, California group may have taught the world how to do the "Humpty Dance," but their albums and hits run much deeper than just a crossover single. With a career spanning... Read more
October 13, 2016 Video
Coup’s Boots Riley Shows His Reality & Advises How To Create Lasting Change (Video)

Coup’s Boots Riley Shows His Reality & Advises How To Create Lasting Change (Video)

For nearly 25 years, The Coup's Boots Riley has given Hip-Hop Heads the real—according to him. The Oakland, California revolution made popular subversive records like "My Favorite Mutiny," "Fat Cats, Bigga Fish," and "Dig It" through hard trusts against Funk grooves. A new nine-minute, black-and-white documentary vignette looks at the... Read more
August 29, 2016 Video
Mistah F.A.B. Aims To Hoist The Trophy After This 7-Minute Freestyle (Video)

Mistah F.A.B. Aims To Hoist The Trophy After This 7-Minute Freestyle (Video)

Mistah F.A.B. is a fixture at Golden State Warriors games. The Oakland, California MC just happened to time his latest album to release in the midst of the NBA franchise's attempt at back-to-back championships. In promoting his star-studded work (Kendrick Lamar, Raekwon, Lupe Fiasco are just one cross-section of guests),... Read more
June 7, 2016 Video
D’Angelo and Bobby Seale Look Backwards to Move Forwards in Race Relations (Video)

D’Angelo and Bobby Seale Look Backwards to Move Forwards in Race Relations (Video)

The city of Oakland, California, has served as the geographical genesis for much of African-American political history. As the home of the Black Panther Party, its decades-long presence in the consciousness of many Black Americans is inextricably linked to its contemporary socio-political climate. The city once again leaped into headlines... Read more
June 22, 2015 Lifestyle
Do Remember: Zion I & Planet Asia’s Critical (Audio)

Do Remember: Zion I & Planet Asia’s Critical (Audio)

February brought some saddening news to many Heads. Zion I, the veteran duo of Zumbi (f/k/a MC Zion) and partner Amp Live are parting ways. The split is amicable, and seems more related to creative directions and geography than anything. However, the Oakland, California group stems out of the 1990s,... Read more
February 12, 2015 Throwback
The Jacka Murdered In Oakland, California

The Jacka Murdered In Oakland, California

Pittsburg, California veteran MC The Jacka has been murdered in nearby Oakland, California last night (February 2). The 37 year-old Mob Figaz co-founder born Dominic Newton was fatally shot in East Oakland shortly after 8pm local time. According to a local CBS News report, suspects have not been identified. Jacka... Read more
February 3, 2015 News
Things Go Horribly Wrong in Childish Gambino’s Video for Telegraph Ave (Oakland) (Video)

Things Go Horribly Wrong in Childish Gambino’s Video for Telegraph Ave (Oakland) (Video)

Childish Gambino and Jhene Aiko are co-stars once again in the video for "Telegraph Ave ("Oakland" by Lloyd)." What starts off as a romantic trip ends up as a horror story...literally. This one has one of the most unexpected endings in a video so far this year. Check it out.... Read more
October 11, 2014 Video
From Oakland To NYC, Hieroglyphics Perform At Tramps & Fat Beats In ’98 (Video)

From Oakland To NYC, Hieroglyphics Perform At Tramps & Fat Beats In ’98 (Video)

From Kanye West to Common, DJ Eclipse unfolds yet another video from his archives featuring a video filled with freestyles from Oakland Hip-Hop collective Hieroglyphics. In this flashback to 1998, Hiero performs the Souls of Mischief cut, "Rock It Like That," at Tramps in New York City before the video... Read more
August 21, 2014 Fresh, Video