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Kanye West Explains Why He Blew Up On Sway & Just How Deep The Question “HOW SWAY??” Was

Throughout the last dozen years, Kanye West lyrics have dealt a lot with wealth and finances. On The Life Of Pablo, "No More Parties In L.A." is a series of verses: "A 38-year-old eight-year-old with rich nigga problems / Tell my wife that I hate the Rolls so I don't... Read more

DJ Dahi Drives Stevie Wonder’s All I Do Through The Trap, Then To The Jungle (Audio)

In the last five years of Hip-Hop music, DJ Dahi has made hits—and never seems overly concerned with getting his name out, or on the track. A Los Angeles, California native, the man born Dacoury Natche has produced hits for Big Sean ("IDFWU"), Drake ("Worst Behavior"), and ScHoolboy Q ("Hell... Read more

BJ The Chicago Kid Covers Aaliyah & Kanye West With Originality (Mixtape)

In his budding career, BJ The Chicago Kid has been one of the most successful R&B artists to use the mixtape format. Before Jhene Aiko, it was this other Black Hippy affiliate who dropped gems like 2009's The New Beginning and 2011's The Life Of Love's Cupid for free. By... Read more

DJ Craze Is A DMC World Champion Turntablist. Check His Kanye West New Slaves Routine (Video)

If you've seen the film Scratch, you're up on DJ Craze. The Miami, Florida-based DJ is featured amidst competition. Around the time of the Doug Pray film's production, Craze was an undisputed king of turntablism, winning the DMC World Championships in 1999, 2000, and 2001. In 1998, he was also... Read more

Hear the Original Demo for Kanye West’s New Slaves (Audio)

Kanye West's ears have always been far-reaching. For Yeezus, that is an understatement. In making the album, and it's standout "New Slaves," 'Ye looked within his own circle. Benjamin Bronfman, son of former Warner Bros. Records CEO Edgar Bronfman, Jr., has been a longtime friend of Mr. West. According to... Read more

Kendrick Lamar To Debut m.A.A.d. Film At Sundance’s New Film Festival

Almost as quickly as Kendrick Lamar's good kid m.A.A.d. city swept the nation in 2012, the rumor mill was spinning with fervor as talks swirled about an accompanying film with the album, supposedly directed by former Transformers star, Shia LaBeouf. The rumors of Shia LaBeouf's handiwork with the Top Dawg... Read more

After Plenty Rappers Have Sampled The White Stripes, Jack White Covers Kanye West (Audio)

From Apathy to Jermaine Dupri, Hip-Hop artists have been sampling/covering Jack White and his The White Stripes band for over a decade. These days, Jack White collaborates with Hip-Hop artists, including Black Milk. At a recent tour date in Dublin, Ireland promoting sophomore solo LP, Lazaretto, White covered Kanye West's... Read more

Rick Rubin’s 1-Hour Conversation With Zane Lowe Leaves No Question Unanswered (Video)

To some extent, Rick Rubin is something of Hip-Hop's Howard Hughes, and that's not just the beard. The music mogul went from starring (as a hybrid of himself) in Krush Groove to basically shunning press and spotlights throughout the '90s and 2000s. That started to change, especially as far as... Read more

Kanye West Explains How J Dilla Influenced Yeezus (Video)

Back in 2005, during the launch of Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music, 'Ye inked a deal with one of his influences, Common. During the making of Comm's Be LP, two producers worked on the album: Kanye and J Dilla. The gold-certified, Grammy-nominated album would eventually feature two Jay Dee production, and... Read more

Kanye West Is Recording His Next Album Where?

Kanye West has certainly made the most of his Def Jam Records album budgets. Starting in 2009, G.O.O.D. Music's founder set up shop in Hawaii, living with his collaborators by day, and recording by night the sessions for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. There were accounts of Pete Rock and... Read more

Jay Z, Kanye West & Daft Punk Shelved Track Surfaces From Each’s 2013 Sessions (Audio)

Daft Punk, Kanye West, and Jay Z all released albums in 2013. The French Electronic duo's Random Access Memories stole the show at last month's Grammy Awards, while Kanye's Yeezus snagged the consciousness and conversation of Popular music in June. A month later, Jay Z's Magna Carta Holy Grail bogarted... Read more

Kanye West & Hype Williams Have Made a Film of the Yeezus Tour. Here’s the Trailer (Video)

Kanye West's Yeezus tour was one of the most visually-inspiring of all concerts (in any genre) in the last few years. If you didn't have an opportunity to see it live, not to worry. Kanye has teamed with acclaimed director Hype Williams to bring the tour to the screen. Check... Read more

Kanye West To Headline 2014 Bonnaroo, Joining Lauryn Hill, Frank Ocean & Chance The Rapper

If you're the type of Head to check out one festival each concert season, Hip-Hop is making it hard on you. Following OutKast's announcement of headlining both Coachella and OVO Fest, now it appears that Kanye West is throwing his movement into the festival mix. 'Ye has been announced to... Read more

Kanye West Explains Why He Calls Himself a Genius…and It Makes Perfect Sense (Video)

Much has been made of Kanye West's infamous "rants" at his concerts but, as is often the case, his actions and words make much more sense in full context. Kanye played the Prudential Center in Newark on 2/15 and he had a lot to say. Yeezy spoke for 20 minutes... Read more

Didn’t Understand Yeezus? Kanye’s Got the Answers.

Founded by art icon Andy Warhol, Interview magazine often delves into the conversations two artists can have. The New York-based publication is veering more into Hip-Hop, with Q-Tip, Jay Z, and now Kanye West hitting its extra large, matte-finished pages. Mr. West is the subject of February's cover story. Interviewed... Read more

Kanye West’s Yeezus Reaches Platinum Status, He’s Now 7-For-7

For the seventh time in his career, Kanye West has a platinum album. Yeezus, released in June of last year, has reached the benchmark milestone, according to the RIAA. With the announcement, Kanye West has a perfect track record for meeting the million mark. The Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam Records release included... Read more

Watch Dipset’s Former Secret Weapon The Heatmakerz Make A Beat On The Spot (Video)

Ten years ago was the height of what's commonly called "Chipmunk Soul." Producers were adjusting the pitch on vocals to create a harmonious effect on samples that made songs sound bigger, bolder. While Jay Z's The Blueprint, released in late 2001, is often thought of as the archetype album for... Read more

Flying Lotus Freaks The Funk On A Remix To Kanye West’s Black Skinhead (Audio)

Los Angeles' Flying Lotus is in and out of Hip-Hop. With his celebrated solo albums, the Electronic musician veers into Jazz, House, Disco, and elements all of his own. However, the respected producer can never seem to stay away—producing joints for Mac Miller, Killer Mike, Finale, and Blu. That said,... Read more

Q-Tip & Rick Rubin Will Reportedly Produce Bulk Of Kanye West’s Yeezus Follow-Up

Kanye West has said next to nothing about the specifics regarding his seventh album, and will-be follow-up to Yeezus. There's been talk of Cruel Winter from G.O.O.D. Music's clique, as well as a possible Watch The Throne 2 as well, given Jay Z's propensity for series. Q-Tip dropped a bit... Read more

Bonita. Bonita. Bonita. Stephanie Santiago As A Tribe Called Quest’s Real Bonita Applebum (Video)

Decades before Sherane, there was Bonita. The apple of A Tribe Called Quest's eye had a suggestive name of more produce, and Heads fell in love the minute Q-Tip compared the buxom beauty to "a Hip-Hop song." The fictional character has become a lasting reference in Hip-Hop, and for a... Read more

Seth Rogen & James Franco Are Bound 2 Upset Kanye West In This Shot For Shot Parody (Video)

Since the days of "Freaks & Geeks," James Franco and Seth Rogen have been teaming up to make us laugh, while usually shining a little truth on the living condition. Only one of those things is true in this just-released video (which was already re-appropriated this morning after being pulled).... Read more

Kanye West Unveils Bound 2 Visual Extensively Featuring Kim Kardashian (Video)

The closing track to Yeezus is one of its most potent. Kanye West revisits his The College Dropout and Late Registration technique ever so slightly, with a song that's clearly a love ballad, as only 'Ye can do it. Kanye stopped by comedian/actress/television talk mogul Ellen Degeneres to air the... Read more

Kanye West & Kendrick Lamar’s Yeezus Tour To Resume Later This Month

This just in from Def Jam Records and Kanye West's spokesperson: "Yesterday (October 30), on the road to Vancouver, a truck carrying The Yeezus Tour’s custom-made video truss and 60-foot circular LED screen was in an accident that damaged the gear beyond repair.  This gear is central to the staging... Read more

Needle To The Groove: The Return Of The True Free-Form Mix (Food For Thought)

With less than 10 weeks left on the year, it can be challenging to make sense of 2013 in Hip-Hop. From the conversations I'm having with fellow fans, there isn't a runaway favorite for Album Of The Year, Mixtape Of The Year, or even Artist Of The Year. The biggest... Read more

Kanye West Performs “Bound 2” With The Roots & Charlie Wilson (Video)

In trademark Kanye West fashion, the impresario stopped by NBC Studios last night for an impromptu appearance on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon." There, he linked up with former Larry Gold Studios homies and OkayPlayer glory-days conglomerates The Roots to perform my personal favorite song from Yeezus (for the very... Read more

Young-Ye: How Jay-Z and Kanye West Made the World Watch the Throne (Again) and Saved Hip-Hop in the Process (Food for Thought)

For the better part of the last 2 weeks, I was convinced the sibling-like rivalry between Jay-Z and Kanye West had reached epic (and perhaps unseemly) proportions. How else could you explain the 2 dropping albums within 3 weeks of one another with Jay-Z seemingly stepping on little brother Kanye’s... Read more

Kanye West Tops the Billboard Album Chart for the 6th Time

As expected, Kanye West took the sales crown for last week's hip-hop super tuesday, moving nearly 329K units of Yeezus (followed by J. Cole's nearly 298K units). The conversation about the album continues though. Here are 2 articles that perfectly reflect the debate. The first is a hilarious and deceptively... Read more

A Discussion of the Yeezus Album Between Combat Jack, Dallas Penn, Premium Pete and Me (Podcast)

I had the pleasure of joining The Combat Jack Show as a guest this week to discuss Kanye West's Yeezus album. True to the provocative nature of the album, it was a lively discussion with many diverse opinions (starting at about the 1:50 mark). The show also features an in-depth... Read more

Hip-Hop Super Tuesday – Kanye West – Yeezus + J. Cole – Born Sinner + Mac Miller – Watching Movies With the Sound Off + Statik Selektah – Extended Play

Today is the best Tuesday for hip-hop in a long time. With the release of Kanye West's Yeezus, J. Cole's Born Sinner, Mac Miller's Watching Movies with the Sound Off and Statik Selektah's Extended Play, there is something for all fans of hip-hop. Whether you like underground or commercial, artsy... Read more

5 Things I Like About Kanye West’s Yeezus Album (and none of them are the music)

Happy 1st Father's Day to Kanye West. By now, you may have heard his new Yeezus album. I can't say I like most of the music (though I'm In It, Guilt Trip and Bound 2 are intoxicating), and I probably never will. That said, here are 5 things I like... Read more

Kanye West Plays Send It Up at His Yeezus Listening Session (Video)

So it turns out Rick Rubin executive produced Kanye West's Yeezus album. Here's a 7+ minute clip from Kanye's listening session last night that includes a song called Send It Up featuring King Louie, as well as Kanye thanking those who helped him with the album. Check out the video.... Read more