AFH Ambrosia for Heads

Archives

Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch & Bun B To Perform Free Concert One Year After Michael Brown’s Murder

August 9, 2014 was Michael Brown's last day alive. The 18 year-old Ferguson, Missouri man had graduated high school eight days earlier, before an altercation with Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson that would ultimately leave Brown murdered in the street. One year later, August 9, 2015, Talib Kweli will perform... Read more

Do Remember: Black Star’s K.O.S. (Determination) (Audio)

1998's breakthrough album, Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star introduced the Hip-Hop masses, and eventually the mainstream, to two brilliant Brooklyn, New York creative visionaries. The Rawkus Records release followed a season of 12" singles, compilation appearances, and in the case of Mighty Mos, some high-profile features (De... Read more

Rest In Peace Pumpkinhead, Friends & Collaborators Mourn

Veteran Brooklyn, New York MC Pumpkinhead (a/k/a PH) has been reported dead this morning (June 9). Friends and collaborators of the man born Robert Alan Diaz have begun to publicly mourn. Notably, Pumpkinhead appeared on acclaimed albums such as Immortal Technique's Revolutionary 1 and Revolutionary 2 albums, in addition to... Read more

Do Remember: Talib Kweli & DJ Quik’s Put It In The Air (Audio)

Few artists have the excitement leading into their solo debut as Talib Kweli, especially by 2000s standards. Entering Quality, the Brooklyn, New York MC had already found success with two groups, Black Star and Reflection Eternal. Both acts, duos with Mos Def and DJ Hi-Tek, respectively, had been met with... Read more

Do Remember: Rawkus Records’ Soundbombing 2 Album (Audio)

May 18, 1999, Rawkus Records would enter their most definitive year with their fifth full-length release in Soundbombing II. Distributed by the same Priority Records that had been so integral to the successes of Ruthless, Rap-A-Lot, and Roc-A-Fella, Brian Brater and Jarret Myer's imprint was truly stepping out. 1998 had... Read more

Finding The GOAT (Round 5): Rakim vs. Mos Def…Who You Got?

With just 11 MCs remaining we have reached the critical Round 5 in the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). Now, only five match-up's—all running this week—separate Round 5 from the final six MCs, including Round 4 bye winner Big Daddy Kane. Since the elimination,... Read more

Finding The GOAT (Round 4): Mos Def vs. MF DOOM…Who You Got?

We have now reached the critical Round 4 in the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). With 21 MCs remaining (with the largest winning margin, Rakim receives a bye for the round), things are really coming down to 10 match-ups, leading AFH’s bracket-style series towards... Read more

Ever Hear This Rare Mos Def & Talib Kweli Freestyle? (Audio)

One of the most disappointing moments in Hip-Hop relates not to something that happened, but rather something that didn't. After releasing the nearly universally acclaimed album Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, Yasiin Bey (pka Mos Def) and Talib never united again for a follow up. At the... Read more

Finding The GOAT (Round 3): Eminem vs. Talib Kweli…Who You Got?

We have reached the third round in the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). With 42 MCs remaining, 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... Read more

Finding The GOAT (Round 3): Big Daddy Kane vs. Kool G Rap…Who You Got?

We have reached the third round in the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). With 42 MCs remaining, 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... Read more

Finding The GOAT (Round 3): Kanye West vs. Mos Def…Who You Got

We have reached the third round in the ultimate battle for the title of the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time). With 42 MCs remaining, 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... Read more

Finding The GOAT (Round 2): Action Bronson vs. Joell Ortiz…Who You Got?

We have reached the second round in 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... Read more

Redman, Talib Kweli and Wrekonize Bring a Slice of Pardise on a Super Soulful Track (Audio)

In terms of star power and interesting, thought-out collaborators DJ EFN's Another Time  (March 3) rivals albums by Funkmaster Flex, DJ Clue, and DJ Khaled—just see the tracklist. Heads delight, as "Paradise" unites Redman with Talib Kweli, joined by ¡Mayday!'s Wrekonize. The three MCs describe idyllic places, from romantic partners,... Read more

Finding The GOAT (Round 2): Kool G Rap vs. Ras Kass…Who You Got?

We have reached the second round in 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... Read more

Finding The GOAT (Round 2): Mos Def vs. Phonte…Who You Got?

We have reached the second round in 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... Read more

Finding The GOAT (Round 2): Immortal Technique vs. Talib Kweli…Who You Got?

We have reached the second round in 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... Read more

Lewis Parker, Eastkoast, El Da Sensei & Shabaam Sahdeeq Make A Joint Worthy Of Soundbombing (Audio)

Yesterday (January 20), Joey Bada$$' B4.Da.$$ hit shelves and digital outlets as a callback to the lyrical, free-form, expressionist Hip-Hop from the East Coast of the late 1990s. Not a throwback exactly, Brooklyn's Bada$$ studied the O.G.'s, listened to the tapes, and aimed to show the grassroots take on Hip-Hop,... Read more

Finding The GOAT (Round 2): Nas vs. Big L…Who You Got?

We have reached the second round in 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... Read more

Finding The GOAT (Round 2): Eminem vs. Xzibit…Who You Got?

We have reached the second round in 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... Read more

Shabaam Sahdeeq’s New Collabo Project Includes Ras Kass, Rah Digga, Masta Ace & Harry Fraud (Mixtape)

Brooklyn, New York veteran MC Shabaam Sahdeeq has maintained an illustrious underground Hip-Hop career for more than 17 years. S-Dub, as he's also known, has combined Lyricist Lounge-tested MC wordplay with '80s and '90s BK imagery that made everybody from Sean Price to Ill Bill, Skyzoo to Kool G Rap... Read more

Yasiin Bey On Recent US Events: “We Are At A Watershed Moment For Humanity”

Besides rapping, singing, and acting, Yasiin Bey (f/k/a Mos Def) is a Spoken Word artist and a self-proclaimed humanitarian. Deliberately out of the spotlight for much of the last five years, Yasiin opted to put his thoughts to audio, surrounding the murders of Michael Brown and Eric Garner (among others),... Read more

Finding The GOAT: Pusha T vs. Joell Ortiz…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

Run The Jewels Crashes The Party On Until The Ribbon Breaks’ New One (Video)

'Cause Heads can't get enough... Beginning with 2013's self-titled album, Until The Ribbon Breaks worked with Run The Jewels ("Job Well Done"). Now, just following the last 10 days' bum-rush of RTJ2, Killer Mike and El-P return the favor, and collide with the British Electronic band for their single, "Revolution... Read more

Finding The GOAT: Big L vs. Fat Joe…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

Finding The GOAT: Kool G Rap vs. Sadat X…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

Finding The GOAT: Mos Def vs. Pharoahe Monch…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

Chubb Rock Made Some Party Joints. Here’s A Brand New Remix With Chubb & DJ Mighty Mi That Pleases (Audio)

Chubb Rock and his booming vocals made Hip-Hop great in the five-year-run between 1988 and 1993. With his Caribbean influence, Chubb's wit, precise delivery, and fast flow made him a Select Records flagship artist, and a staple voice in Hip-Hop's most animated era. With some key spots through recent years,... Read more

Here’s a Mind-Blowingly Comprehensive Oral History of Rawkus Records

Here's a mind-blowingly comprehensive oral history of Rawkus Records, one of the last great Hip-Hop record labels, put together by MySpace. The piece features contributions from DJ Premier, DJ Spinna, El-P, Evil Dee, Kool G Rap, Pharoahe Monch, Q-Tip and many, many more. Check out an excerpt and link to... Read more

Shabaam Sahdeeq, Wais P & Sha Stimuli Move That Dope Over An Amazing DJ Skizz Beat (Audio)

Last year, DJ Skizz's BQE album celebrated some New York Hip-Hop history, with members of The Juice Crew, D.I.T.C., M.O.P., and The Firm all on the same 2013 LP. This year, the NYC-based producer is already hitting the ground running. "That Dope" is made by Shabaam Sahdeeq. The MC was... Read more

Next Up On The 9th Wonder Collaboration Album List? Talib Kweli (Video)

Even outside of Little Brother, 9th Wonder has built a career with a series of full-produced albums for a host of artists, ranging from Black Moon's Buckshot, to Jean Grae, to David Banner, to Murs, to Kaze, and beyond. In a new interview, Talib Kweli revealed that now he is... Read more

Marvin Gaye & Mos Def’s Yasiin Gaye Mash-Up Is Here. The Departure: Side 1 (Mixtape)

One of the biggest hits of 2014 on Ambrosia For Heads has been Yasiin Gaye. The mash-up experiment by Amerigo Gazaway, combining the music of Marvin Gaye and Mos Def, crosses time, space, and genre to show that great, enduring music has no confines. It's almost eerie how one artist... Read more

Here’s a look at the 20 most important hip-hop record labels of all time, starting with #20: Rawkus Records.

Before record labels were considered "the enemy" their brands actually meant something.  Artists dreamed of being on the same label as the MCs they grew up idolizing and some labels had such credibility fans would buy the record just because it was on that label. Over the next several days... Read more

The latest installment of the Producer Series Playlists features the music of Hi-Tek.

A lot of love goes to the East and West Coasts, as well as the South, but the Midwest often does not get its props in hip-hop. Hailing from Cincinnati, OH, Hi-Tek has been killing the game for well over a decade. He was one of the staple producers for... Read more