“Dear Mama” by 2Pac (1995, Out Da Gutta/Interscope) If “Keep Ya Head Up” made 2Pac an ally to women, “Dear Mama” delivered him lovingly to the ears and hearts of mothers, daughters and sons. This brutally honest effort puts the iconic artist very close to Marvin Gaye, for his intimate introspective verses. “Mama Said Knock […]

In Hip-Hop, reinvention can be harder than getting recognized in the first place. While Zev Love X was able to later mask himself as underground superstar MF Doom and the Genius scratched the surface of what would become GZA, both examples are well over a decade old. DJ Quik arguably needs no reintroduction. Few could […]

Lately it seems like music is getting less and less relatable, unless you’re driving fancy cars or slangin’ drugs. Many folks are just listening to music from a purely “outside looking in” perspective. Bronx-born Chaundon is trying to bring a point of view into music that more people will be able to relate to. His […]

Much of the Hip-Hop community feels like the recent wave of condemnation are aggressive maneuvers to starve a younger generation out of creative existence. Rev. Al Sharpton doesn’t want to dictate expression, but he does want to obliterate certain terms from our collective. Some agree, and many sharply disagree. A small group of rappers like […]

  What do you do if you’re in the middle of the ocean on a boat and your friends tease you about how they think you can’t swim? Well, Akon’s tour DJ and producer Benny Demus a.k.a. Benny D found himself in that very predicament when he decided to jump off the boat to prove […]

How far can a joke on Hip-Hop go? According to Ivan Matias, far enough. Matias is the wizard behind the invention and rhymes of Jason “Caushun” Herndon, Hip-Hop’s first openly gay rapper. Garnering media attention for an openly gay MC proved to be no small feat. After calling into Hot 97’s Funk Master Flex’s show […]

Whether sales are through the roof or below average, one thing that remains constant at all times with G-Unit is drama. Minus the infamous awards show melee, Young Buck usually plays it cool, staying below the gossip radar. Now with recent allegations of members of the crew assaulting a minor, unsanctioned truces with enemies, and […]

AllHipHop.com: How did you come out about speaking to Game to dead the beef? Young Buck: I was on a promotional tour for radio. I was making sure that all my records get played around, being I got a hit record “Get Buck.” Once I got to L.A., the politics of the music had people […]

Usually when popular producers take young, unknown MCs under their wing and unleash them on the industry, the results make Hip-Hop history. Puffy did it for Biggie, Dre did it for Eminem, and Large Professor did it for Nas. In 2007, enter Sean Kingston, the first artist to be signed by super-producer Jonathan ‘J.R.’ Rotem […]

Legions of rap fans love to scan websites for forgotten gems of the video era while others comb MP3 databases looking for the next talent to tell their friends about. These worlds collide at Music Nation, where hopefuls enter their videos for the chance to win some cash and a contract with Epic Records. Amidst […]

A decade ago, then-Snoop Doggy Dogg with the help of L.T. Hutton, freaked a Zapp sample for what would become “Beware of My Crew” for The Line Thin Between Love & Hate Soundtrack. The period found the rapper on a frugal label, taking responsibilities into his own hands to make hit after hit. Following his […]

When full story of Hip-Hop is told, much more credit will be given to the West Coast rap scene. While many of the world’s hardest Bronx-centric Hip-Hop historians might try to downplay the lyrical and political impact of the West, it cannot be ignored. Case in point, MC Eiht. Before most of today’s so-called gangster […]

In the words of Sage Francis himself, “A lot of s**t has happened since A Healthy Distrust.” The poetic, lyricist, battle MC, political dissident and one-time ice cream server has amassed a collection of thought-provoking songs and molded them into his latest album, Human the Death Dance, out this month on Epitaph Records. With a […]

Women rappers don’t get nearly enough credit. Often times, radio pushes messages about “Lip Gloss” or “No Panties” when there are some truly ferocious or groundbreaking MCs out there. AllHipHop.com tracked it back, not to the biggest, the most successful, or even the most underground moments, instead, we’ve highlighted 10 tracks that show that the […]

Working to establish respect among the elite MCs in the rap game, Hip-Hop enthusiast Lucy Diamonds came along way from taking shots at Jay-Z, to now working on receiving the stamp of approval from common ears. Often in Hip-Hop struggle is used as fuel to aspiring artists teaching them to be hungry yet humble. Lucy […]

If you’re a quality DJ you better know how to juggle. Not just the one’s and two’s, but actual multi-tasking: deejaying, production, mixtapes, life. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve heard about January 16, 2006—the day the RIAA sent federal agents to arrest DJ Drama and DJ Don Cannon of the Aphiliates Music […]

Over the last five years, many of us have watched music stores either condense or remove vinyl from their inventory. Besides a very niche community, who’s buying it? Moreover, who’s playing it? DJ Eclipse is not only playing it, he’s keeping it sold in stores. By day, Eclipse manages the sacred grounds of New York’s […]

You don’t interview Russell Simmons, you just hang on for the ride. The mogul’s mind travels a mile a minute, and he switches from anecdotes to small-talk to revelations to advice. Just days before appearing on Oprah, Simmons, sitting across the desk from his brother Reverend Run, discusses his book Do You: 12 Laws to […]

Hip-Hop has many detractors, but the Honorable Louis Minister Farrakhan is not one of them. The Minister witnessed the birth and the rise of the music across the world, and after traveling the globe, believes that Hip-Hop music will be the force to usher in change. While rap music is under an unprecedented attack in […]