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The 15 Best Rap Albums Of 2022

The 15 Best Rap Albums Of 2022

As 2022 winds down, it comes time to celebrate the best in Hip-Hop music. As is tradition, the Ambrosia For Heads team weighs in on our opinion of the year's best albums. This list of 15 includes some comeback performances, significant sequel efforts, and collaborative tandems. The collection of LPs also shows... Read more
December 20, 2022 Best Rap Albums Of 2022
The 14 Best Rap Albums Of 2021…What Did We Miss

The 14 Best Rap Albums Of 2021…What Did We Miss

As 2021 comes to a close, it is appropriate to reflect on a remarkable year for Hip-Hop music and news. Although we did it slightly differently this year, Ambrosia For Heads shares our list of the best Hip-Hop Albums Of 2021. On episode #72 of the What's The Headline podcast—starting at 1:13:00—we list our... Read more
December 21, 2021 Best Rap Albums Of 2021, Video
Apollo Brown’s Album Features Royce, Elzhi, Slum Village & More. Listen Here (Audio)

Apollo Brown’s Album Features Royce, Elzhi, Slum Village & More. Listen Here (Audio)

Apollo Brown continues to be one of the most trusted and most consistent producers in Hip-Hop. The Michigan native, based in Detroit, has made heralded albums alongside Joell Ortiz, O.C., Ras Kass, Planet Asia, and others. Additionally, the Mello Music Group mainstay has been the backbone in groups such as... Read more
October 29, 2019 Audio
Who Had The Best Rap Album Of 2018 (Battle 8): Apollo Brown & Joell Ortiz vs. Royce 5’9

Who Had The Best Rap Album Of 2018 (Battle 8): Apollo Brown & Joell Ortiz vs. Royce 5’9

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
December 14, 2018 Best Rap Album 2018
Skyzoo & Raheem DeVaughn Serve D’Angelo’s Devil’s Pie With Their Own Recipe (Audio)

Skyzoo & Raheem DeVaughn Serve D’Angelo’s Devil’s Pie With Their Own Recipe (Audio)

Skyzoo has been in the Rap game for over a decade and a half now. Having worked with 9th Wonder, EPMD, and Spike Lee, the MC has devoted his career to sharpening his skills. The Brooklyn, New Yorker is prepping to drop an album, In Celebration Of Us (February 2) via First... Read more
January 18, 2018 Audio
Apollo Brown & Planet Asia Bring Out Some Of The Best In Each Other (Video)

Apollo Brown & Planet Asia Bring Out Some Of The Best In Each Other (Video)

Apollo Brown and Planet Asia have struck again with a second single "Aura" from their upcoming album Anchovies. The songs serve as a formidable addition to one of Detroit's best beat-smiths and the Cali Agent MC's mutual catalog and further displays their undeniable synergy. On A Great Night For Cali,... Read more
August 17, 2017 Video
Apollo Brown’s Next Collabo Album Is With Planet Asia. Check The 1st Single (Audio)

Apollo Brown’s Next Collabo Album Is With Planet Asia. Check The 1st Single (Audio)

Detroit, Michigan producer Apollo Brown has become a noteworthy crossroads for the MCs he meets in the studio. From O.C. to Ras Kass, Skyzoo to Guilty Simpson, Brown's grabbing Soul samples and hard drums bring something distinct out of MCs in their catalog. Like 9th Wonder was to Buckshot and... Read more
July 6, 2017 Audio
Skyzoo & Joell Ortiz Look At Some Of The Costs Of A Couple Of Dollars (Video)

Skyzoo & Joell Ortiz Look At Some Of The Costs Of A Couple Of Dollars (Video)

Tomorrow (September 30), Apollo Brown and Skyzoo will release their first collaborative album, The Easy Truth. As the Detroit, Michigan producer explained to Ambrosia For Heads this week, the easy truth is what we are all fed, left for us to decipher whether it is truly real or false. One... Read more
September 29, 2016 Food for Thought, Video
Skyzoo & Apollo Brown Have An Album Coming. Here’s The Striking First Single (Audio)

Skyzoo & Apollo Brown Have An Album Coming. Here’s The Striking First Single (Audio)

Apollo Brown has fancied himself the producer-to-see to give lyricists a new sound. Ras Kass stood as the illest Hip-Hop heretic in Blasphemy. Diggin' In The Crates legend O.C. got medals for Trophies. Random Axe's Guilty Simpson rolled big in Dice Game. Next up, Skyzoo will release a full-length project... Read more
August 4, 2016 Audio
Apollo Brown Takes Producer Compilations To A Whole New Level In Grandeur (Album Stream)

Apollo Brown Takes Producer Compilations To A Whole New Level In Grandeur (Album Stream)

Apollo Brown stays incredibly busy. The Detroit, Michigan producer does tandem albums with MCs, he releases instrumental LPs, and the Mello Music Group mainstay works in groups like Ugly Heroes, The Left, and others. For the first time since 2010's The Reset, Apollo returns to straight compilation work. Grandeur, released... Read more
September 25, 2015 Audio
Freddie Gibbs Throws Fast Flow On A Charged Apollo Brown Beat (Audio)

Freddie Gibbs Throws Fast Flow On A Charged Apollo Brown Beat (Audio)

Moving closer to September 25's Grandeur, Apollo Brown and Mello Music Group share another glimpse from the LP. "Who's That" incorporates Detroit, Michigan, Gary, Indiana, and Brownsville Brooklyn, New York—thanks to Apollo, Freddie Gibbs, and Maffew Ragazino, Sr. Brown chops a moving loop that has a dusty, Caribbean feel to... Read more
September 24, 2015 Audio
Apollo Brown & Planet Asia Make The Song Cry For Ill Street Blues (Audio)

Apollo Brown & Planet Asia Make The Song Cry For Ill Street Blues (Audio)

Apollo Brown is the veteran producer MCs see when they aim to make something different in the catalog. O.C., Ras Kass, and Guilty Simpson all have jewels to show. Planet Asia, who did a whole album with Mello Music Group (2013's Abrasions with Gensu Dean), may be next in that... Read more
September 9, 2015 Audio
DJ Soko’s Domino Effect Aligns Nicely With Guilty Simpson, Apollo Brown & More (Album Stream)

DJ Soko’s Domino Effect Aligns Nicely With Guilty Simpson, Apollo Brown & More (Album Stream)

Detroit, Michigan native DJ Soko has been putting in work for years. Just under five years ago, the turntablist DJ joined forces with Apollo Brown and Journalist 103 to form The Left. The trio released Gas Mask, an early and important on the then-fledgling Mello Music Group—with Kool G Rap... Read more
August 21, 2015 Audio
M.O.P. & Apollo Brown Collaborate on Detonate and It’s Explosive (Audio)

M.O.P. & Apollo Brown Collaborate on Detonate and It’s Explosive (Audio)

In recent years, M.O.P. have explored with their sound. The Brownsville, Brooklyn duo of Lil Fame and Billy Danze have made some of their hit records with the likes of DJ Premier, D/R Period, Just Blaze, and manager/producer Laze E. Laze, in addition to board-work with Statik Selektah, Snowgoons, and... Read more
August 5, 2015 Audio
Rapper Big Pooh Flips Through His Rhyme Book While Apollo Brown Digs In The Crates (Video)

Rapper Big Pooh Flips Through His Rhyme Book While Apollo Brown Digs In The Crates (Video)

A month from yesterday (March 24), Rapper Big Pooh & Apollo Brown will release Words Paint Pictures on Mello Music Group. The Virginia-to-Michigan tandem got together to record the LP, and to film "Augmentation." The soulful cut finds each artist in their first loves, rapping and diggin', showing the culture... Read more
February 25, 2015 Video
Rapper Big Pooh Says the Shooting of Unarmed People of Color Must Stop (Audio)

Rapper Big Pooh Says the Shooting of Unarmed People of Color Must Stop (Audio)

More than two months ago, Ambrosia For Heads gathered some intel that Rapper Big Pooh might be crossing paths with Apollo Brown for a project called Words Paint Pictures. It's 2015, and not gloating or anything, but we were right. The artwork and March 24 EP release date were confirmed... Read more
February 3, 2015 Audio
Big Pooh Is In The Zone, Is He Hinting At A New LP As He Drops Off Hotness? (Audio)

Big Pooh Is In The Zone, Is He Hinting At A New LP As He Drops Off Hotness? (Audio)

Was anybody paying attention to Twitter or Tumblr the last few days? Rapper Big Pooh was/is in Detroit, Michigan. While Pooh and Slum Village's T3 are tight homies, that's not why. In between the tweets, it could be hinted that the Little Brother alum is the next subject to sit... Read more
December 2, 2014 Audio, Fresh
Ras Kass & Apollo Brown’s How To Kill God Is Everything You’d Expect It To Be (Video)

Ras Kass & Apollo Brown’s How To Kill God Is Everything You’d Expect It To Be (Video)

The revealed original title for Apollo Brown & Ras Kass' Blasphemy was How To Kill God. Thereby, the Soul-charged indictment on organized religion by Razzy Kazzy functions as a title track from the newly-released Mello Music Group album. The jarring title (to some) is met with hard-nosed opinions and facts... Read more
November 12, 2014 Fresh, Video
Ras Kass & Apollo Brown Slice Down That Humble Pi (Video)

Ras Kass & Apollo Brown Slice Down That Humble Pi (Video)

They say "necessity is the mother of invention." That adage speaks to the careers of Ras Kass and Apollo Brown. The MC, Ras, was among the brightest hopefuls of early '90s Los Angeles lyricism. However, troubles with the law, a label under a new regime, and shifting attentions in the... Read more
September 16, 2014 Fresh, Video
Ras Kass & Apollo Brown Trade Memories With Pharoahe Monch & Rakaa (Audio)

Ras Kass & Apollo Brown Trade Memories With Pharoahe Monch & Rakaa (Audio)

Apollo Brown beats beckon reflection from MCs. Whether O.C., Journalist 103, or Roc Marciano, rappers tend to get nostalgic when they get an opportunity to touch one of these soul-sampling gems from the Michigan native. On "Memories," Ras Kass steps in to recall his days in Watts (before moving to... Read more
September 2, 2014 Audio, Fresh
Murs Joins Apollo Brown’s Ugly Heroes Asking Why Good Things Die (Audio)

Murs Joins Apollo Brown’s Ugly Heroes Asking Why Good Things Die (Audio)

Both Mello Music Group and Murs are based in the deserts of Tucson, Arizona. The former Warner Bros. Records artist and the thriving indie are working more together. Thereby, Murray joined Ugly Heroes, the trio of Michigan's Apollo Brown and Red Pill and Chicago vet Verbal Kent. "Good Things Die"... Read more
August 19, 2014 Audio, Fresh
Apollo Brown Gives The Perfect Visual Illustration For His Latest Roc Marciano Link (Video)

Apollo Brown Gives The Perfect Visual Illustration For His Latest Roc Marciano Link (Video)

Apollo Brown's beats are just so grim. The Mello Music Group mainstay has this amazing ability to create a frigidness on the track, even in the dead of Summer. For "Lonely & Cold," his latest link with Roc Marciano, Brown hit the parks for a street-stuck journey in gritty black... Read more
July 28, 2014 Fresh, Video
Roc Marciano & Apollo Brown Link Again For That Grim Apocalyptic Flyness (Audio)

Roc Marciano & Apollo Brown Link Again For That Grim Apocalyptic Flyness (Audio)

As O.C., Ghostface Killah, and Kool G Rap have all sounded extra-crispy on Apollo Brown tracks, perhaps one of the tightest fits has been Roc Marciano. Marci's nostalgic delivery, bygone images of street codes and fly attire complement the Detroit, Michigan-based producer's dusty loops, vocal samples, and hissy presentation. Following... Read more
June 26, 2014 Audio, Fresh
Roc Marciano Fits Snugly On A Cold To The Bone Apollo Brown Beat (Audio)

Roc Marciano Fits Snugly On A Cold To The Bone Apollo Brown Beat (Audio)

Mello Music Group's Apollo Brown lines up with regular label affiliate Roc Marciano for "Lonely & Cold." The bonus cut from Thirty Eight lives up to its name as the Detroit, Michigan mainstay producer/member of The Left links with the U.N. veteran, in his latest in a series of top-shelf feature spots.... Read more
May 20, 2014 Audio, Fresh
Think You’ve Got Bars? Try Tackling Apollo Brown’s Cigarette Burns Instrumentals (Free EP)

Think You’ve Got Bars? Try Tackling Apollo Brown’s Cigarette Burns Instrumentals (Free EP)

Last week, Detroit, Michigan-based producer Apollo Brown got one of his biggest looks in his lengthy career, care of a Chance The Rapper single, "The Writer." After working with O.C., Guilty Simpson, and his group, The Left, Apollo is known to release plenty of instrumental projects with his label, Mello... Read more
April 14, 2014 Audio, Fresh, Mixes
Chance The Rapper Teams With Apollo Brown, And The Results Are Explosive (Audio)

Chance The Rapper Teams With Apollo Brown, And The Results Are Explosive (Audio)

Chance The Rapper's growing movement has been mostly with in-house producers (Nate Fox Blended Babies), give or a take a few looks from the likes of Jake One or BrandUn Deshay. However, in a rather surprising move, C.T.R. let loose a joint he made with Detroit, Michigan-based Apollo Brown. Apollo... Read more
April 9, 2014 Audio, Featured-homepage, Fresh
Murs Makes A Soulful Song With Apollo Brown About Getting Over Pain (Audio)

Murs Makes A Soulful Song With Apollo Brown About Getting Over Pain (Audio)

Almost a decade after making "The Pain" on Murs 3:16 with 9th Wonder, Murray now says "The Pain Is Gone." The Tucson, Arizona-based MC teams with Tucson, Arizona-based label Mello Music Group to release a single with the imprint's producer, Apollo Brown. As Murs has carved a niche for, Murray... Read more
January 17, 2014 Audio, Fresh
Guilty Simpson & Planet Asia Switch Seats With Apollo Brown & Gensu Dean (Audio)

Guilty Simpson & Planet Asia Switch Seats With Apollo Brown & Gensu Dean (Audio)

Mello Music Group loves MC/producer tandem projects—especially combining complete strangers. They took veteran D.I.T.C. MC O.C. and introduced him to Detroit, Michigan producer Apollo Brown for 2012's Trophies. In the last 12 months, they took Fresno, Cali vet Planet Asia and linked him with New Yorker Gensu Dean for Abrasions.... Read more
January 8, 2014 Audio, Fresh