Soulquarians ArchivesAmbrosia For Heads

Soulquarians vs. Hypnotize Minds: The Greatest Rap Crew Competition

In recognition of Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary, BET Digital, in partnership with Ambrosia For Heads, is celebrating the culture by hosting a bracket-style competition that allows you to determine Hip-Hop’s greatest crew. Rather than having “experts” tell you who is the greatest of all-time, this is your opportunity to collectively make that... Read more

May 10, 2023 Greatest Rap Crew

LL Cool J Rocks A Q-Tip Beat With Force

In the closing days of 2019, Hip-Hop Heads learned that LL Cool J had returned to the label he helped make legendary. James Todd Smith was back on Def Jam Records. Moreover, the Queens, New York icon has teamed with another borough great to work on music, with Q-Tip producing... Read more

May 7, 2023 Audio

J. Cole Says He Is The Best Rapper Alive & He’s Proving It

Last Friday (January 28), Benny The Butcher released one of the most exciting songs by any artist in over a year. "Johnny P's Caddy" is inspired by the formative days when Benny would ride in his father's Cadillac alongside Westside Gunn and listen to Hip-Hop. Over an Alchemist beat, The... Read more

February 1, 2022 Video

Here Are Some Reasons Why 2000 May Be Hip-Hop’s Greatest Year

At Ambrosia For Heads, we celebrate Hip-Hop throughout the ages. Earlier this year, our What's The Headline podcast launched a series examining the calendar years that made the music and culture reach its full potential. After taking a loving look back at 1984, the next episode drops in on Y2K.... Read more

April 6, 2021 Video

Rapsody Says She’s The GOAT In A Verse That Proves She’s 1 Of Hip-Hop’s Best MCs

Life is too short to listen to bad music. So…let Ambrosia For Heads 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... Read more

October 5, 2019 Audio

A New Documentary Tells The Story Behind Little Brother’s Debut Album (Video)

Little Brother is presently in the midst of a new chapter. After reuniting onstage less than a year ago in Durham, North Carolina, Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh are currently recording new music together as Little Brother. Although 9th Wonder is reportedly not producing the material, he has given his... Read more

July 12, 2019 TV/Film, Video

Common Uses A J Dilla Beat To Show His Love For HER Is Strong As Ever (Video)

At the beginning of this month, Common was a surprise guest at the 12th-annual Roots Picnic in Philadelphia. Back in the late 1990s, the MC who was making Like Water For Chocolate at the same time his friends were making Things Fall Apart. The SoulQuarians worked on both albums, so... Read more

June 14, 2019 Video

Erykah Badu Tempts Fans With A 1980s Pop Cover (Audio)

Erykah Badu is no stronger to cover songs. She and D'Angelo powerfully remade Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell's "Your Precious Love" early on in both of their careers. Erykah's 1997 Live! collection includes a harmonic rendition of Rufus & Chaka Khan's "Stay." More recently, the singer covered the likes of... Read more

June 3, 2019 Audio, The Bridge

A New Documentary Explains D’Angelo’s 14-Year Absence From The Music Scene (Video)

Despite being one of the most acclaimed vocalists, musicians, and producers of the last 25 years, D'Angelo has released only three studio albums during his career. The 45-year-old Grammy Award-winning singer born Michael Archer debuted with 1995's Brown Sugar, before 1998's Voodoo, before taking 14 years to follow up with... Read more

April 29, 2019 TV/Film, Video

Erykah Badu Dedicates A Mix To Roy Hargrove & Shares A New Song That’s Money (Audio)

In the last week, a principal musician within the Soulquarians family passed away at 49 years old. Trumpeter Roy Hargrove, Jr. played on Common’s Like Water For Chocolate, D’Angelo’s Voodoo, and Erykah Badu’s Mama’s Gun. On the last of the three, the Waco, Texas native played on "Green Eyes" as... Read more

November 7, 2018 Audio, Mixes

Soulquarians Member, Trumpeter Roy Hargrove Passes Away At 49

Two-time Grammy Award-winning Jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove has passed away at the age of 49 years old. He suffered a fatal heart attack Friday night (November 2) in New York City after being admitted to a hospital for kidney failure. NPR confirmed the news with Hargrove's manager, Larry Clothier. Although... Read more

November 3, 2018 News

Finding The GOAT Group: Black Star vs. The Roots. 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 (which has been determined), including the possibility for... Read more

August 9, 2018 Best Hip-Hop Group, Finding the GOAT

Common & Questlove Share Stories About Bargaining For Beats From J Dilla & D’Angelo

On January 25, Common was the guest for the first live audience recording of Questlove Supreme. At Manhattan's Gramercy Theater, Questlove, Laiya, Suga Steve, and Boss Bill interviewed Common for nearly two hours. Ambrosia For Heads was front and center for the event. Today (February 21), that interview is available... Read more

February 21, 2018 Fresh

Common Looks Back At His Time With Dilla On A Song Fit For February (Audio)

Common has transcended Hip-Hop. He is now a political activist. He's won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe award for his song "Glory" featuring John Legend in the film Selma. Also, he's the only Hip-Hop artist to achieve an "E.G.O." hat trick by receiving an Emmy Award for his... Read more

February 16, 2018 Audio

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

The Roots, D’Angelo & Erykah Badu Are Hypnotizing On This Throwback Remix (Audio)

In 1996, The Roots dropped Illadelph Halflife, and with it came the D'Angelo collaboration, "The Hypnotic." As its title suggests, it was indeed a hypnotizing record, not only musically but also lyrically. In the song, Black Thought spun a tale of love and loss starring a woman named Alana, who would... Read more

May 11, 2017 Do Remember

Finding The GOAT Producer: J Dilla vs. A Tribe Called Quest. 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 22, 2017 Finding the GOAT

DJ Jazzy Jeff Wants His New Project To Give You Goosebumps. Listen & Chill. (Audio)

DJ Jazzy Jeff has kept a tight catalog. Outside of his award-winning, multi-platinum work with The Fresh Prince, the Philadelphia DJ/producer launched his Magnificent series, introduced protege MC Dayne Jordan, and played a key role with The Roots, Jill Scott, and others. In a sneak attack of sorts, Jeff releases... Read more

February 17, 2017 Audio, Video

Erykah Badu Discusses The Making Of Baduizm On Its 20th Anniversary

Twenty years ago today (February 11, 1997) Erykah Badu opened the doors to her musical house of worship. Baduizm was a way of life, an inviting presentation of Soul music that stood apart from most of what was out there. Despite its refusal to conform to a very formulaic time... Read more

February 11, 2017 Throwback

Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly vs. Common’s Like Water For Chocolate. Which Is Better?

One year ago, Ambrosia For Heads launched a debate among its readers seeking to answer one of Hip-Hop’s most hotly-contested questions: who is the greatest MC of all time? “Finding The GOAT MC” lasted between September 2014 and May 2015, engaging millions of readers and ultimately producing its winner, as... Read more

February 5, 2016 Finding the GOAT

Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor vs. Common’s Like Water For Chocolate. Which Is Better?

One year ago, Ambrosia For Heads launched a debate among its readers seeking to answer one of Hip-Hop’s most hotly-contested questions: who is the greatest MC of all time? “Finding The GOAT MC” lasted between September 2014 and May 2015, engaging millions of readers and ultimately producing its winner, as... Read more

December 16, 2015 Finding the GOAT

A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory vs. The Roots’ Things Fall Apart. Which Is Better?

One year ago, Ambrosia For Heads launched a debate among its readers seeking to answer one of Hip-Hop’s most hotly-contested questions: who is the greatest MC of all time? “Finding The GOAT MC” lasted between September 2014 and May 2015, engaging millions of readers and ultimately producing its winner, as... Read more

November 9, 2015 Finding the GOAT

Slum Village, J Dilla & Bilal Know What Love Is…It’s Hip-Hop (Video)

Slum Village's recently-released YES! album truly is an affirmation. T3 and Young RJ manifest the Villa destiny with nine tracks featuring the late J Dilla's (and group co-founder) handiwork. "Love Is" is one such highlight, including the unmistakable vocals of Bilal, as well as former full-time S.V. member, Illa J.... Read more

July 21, 2015 Video

15 Years Later, Common’s “The Light” Remains a Shining Example of Hip-Hop Love

On July 18, 2000, Common released "The Light," and with it came one of Hip-Hop's greatest love songs. Along with Black Star's 1998 track "Brown Skin Lady" and The Roots' breakout 1999 single "You Got Me," "The Light" represented a focus on mutual respect, vulnerability, and a soulful approach to... Read more

July 18, 2015 Food for Thought

J Dilla, Common & James Poyser Caught On Questlove’s Camera, Working In The Studio (Video)

One of the definitive albums of J Dilla's career was not his own, but rather, Common's Like Water For Chocolate. Comm's first LP out of the No I.D. and Dug Infinite pocket welcomed Jay Dee, Questlove, D'Angelo, James Poyser and the Soulquarians to the mix, along with DJ Premier and... Read more

February 10, 2015 Throwback

15 Years Later, D’Angelo’s Voodoo Is Celebrated Through Questlove’s Quirky Tour Diaries

Along with The LOX's We Are The Streets and Ghostface Killah's Supreme Clientele, yesterday (January 25) marked the 15th anniversary of D'Angelo's sophomore LP, Voodoo. Few could have imagined that of that trifecta of great albums, that D'Angelo would only one month ago follow it up, The LOX have not, and... Read more

January 26, 2015 Throwback

D’Angelo’s One-Hour 2014 AFROPUNK FEST Performance, In Full (Video)

After a career that could be described as largely dormant for more than a decade, 2014 was the great wake-up for D'Angelo's output. While the closing month of the year afforded musically-starving fans with a third album in Black Messiah, August was incredibly telling. It was then that the Richmond,... Read more

January 11, 2015 Video

It’s Been 15 Years Spent Waiting. Now We MAY Have A D’Angelo Album Next Week… (Video)

Rumors have been swirling surrounding a third D'Angelo album since shortly after 2000's Voodoo. Even those rumors are teenagers now, and D'Angelo Heads have sometimes seemed to abandon all hope that the Soul sensation could, or would ever offer up another LP. Out of thin air, a new album, Black... Read more

December 12, 2014 Fresh, Video

DJ Jazzy Jeff, Questlove & James Poyser Form Like Voltron To Support One New Artist, But Who? (Video)

In the early 2000s, between Grammy awards going to The Roots and Neo-Soul climbing the charts, Philadelphia was a hot-bed of talent. At venues like The Black Lily and The Five Spot, artists from various pockets of sound were hanging out, collaborating, and making a case why Philly is The... Read more

June 12, 2014 Fresh, Video