“You know dead rappers get better promotion…” -Styles P, “We Gon’ Make It” Something many forget or refuse to recognize is that art is immortal. Long after an artist’s life is over, they continue to live through their work. Music is no exception. 2Pac and B.I.G. are perfect examples of artists who in their lives […]

As Wu-Tang week winds down, a running theme with the Clan members has been one of disenchantment. Whether it was Meth’s dissatisfaction with Def Jam, Raekwon’s pressure to meet expectations, or Inspectah Deck’s need to be heard, the brothers from Shaolin all seem to have something to talk about. And as it’s been years since […]

Throughout Wu-Week, both GZA and Masta Killa cosigned that Inspectah Deck has long been a cypha show-stealer for the Wu-Tang Clan. Whether he was comparing himself to Spiderman on “Protect Ya Neck” or impersonating a masked Peter Parker in the “Triumph” video, Deck has always been a musical marvel. Unfortunately, the Staten Island MC has […]

There was no figuring out Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Was he a wily Hip-Hop jester or a tragically misunderstood apostle of the Wu-Tang Clan? Both scenarios, and all points in between, are debatable, but what is certain is that his deeds were legendary. Whether it be saving a child pinned underneath a car in front of […]

Just when a Wu-Tang verse seems battered and bruised from eight other swarming MCs, it is never been uncommon for Ghostface Killah to stomp the beat out with a surly sixteen. The Staten Island 36-year-old MC clearly represents the era when rap was not so formulaic. From his unique brand of ice-cream cone eating swagger […]

Method Man’s name, stage persona and music are defined by an intoxicating mixture of gruff flows, sharp lyricism and witty magnetism. Truth be told, he was the only member of Wu-Tang Clan recognizable to the general population for the longest. The tall, lanky, charismatic rapper has come quite a ways from his discovery in 1992, […]

When Only Built 4 Cuban Linx came out in 1995, he launched a genre within rap, using coded language to describe cocaine sales. Armed with a concept, dope beats and a charismatic partner-in-crime, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon the Chef carved out a spot in Hip-Hop history for himself. Not only was the music hot, but so […]

From the moment the world heard Masta Killa’s clean-up verse on the Wu-Tang Clan classic “Da Mystery of Chessboxin,’” it was obvious that the quality of rap lyrics stepped up about three notches. Masta Killa was the silent horse, called upon for lethal injection as needed. While the rest of the Wu released groundbreaking LPs […]

G oing into its thirty-third year, Hip-Hop has spun on pitch with the times. But as wise words echo from a true originator, the hands of time might want to cut the record back. Pee Wee Dance was expressing himself in the would-be culture when Richard Nixon was America’s president. The man’s role in Hip-Hop […]

S ome things seem like they were just made for each other. Like chicken and waffles, Will and Jada, and in the case if Outkast and Mr. DJ, it’s more than just chance or even luck that they met. Undoubtedly, each of them would have been successful as individuals, but together they will forever hold […]

F or Darnell Carlton, March 5, 2006 was supposed to be the payoff for over 15 years of loyalty and dedication. But, as Three-6-Mafia took home the Academy Award for Best Original Song, their performance marked one of the final times the man more commonly known as Crunchy Black would perform with the group. When […]

As the summer offers weltering heat waves, Young Jeezy hopes to change the climate of Hip-Hop to a much frostier temperature in the fourth quarter of the year. After being the runaway new star of 2005, the question remains as to whether Jeezy will affirm a role in the game that matches his monstrous voice. […]

AllHipHop.com: You brought up a point about the World Trade Center in your book about how the 3,000 people counted did not include immigrants or the homeless. There’s kind of a parallel happening in New Orleans with the prisoners not being offered any assistance. What would you suggest for the average person to do to […]

K evin Powell has long stood as the voice of activism, politics, Hip-Hop, poetry, and revolution since the dawn of the 90’s. One of the most assertive voices of our time, Kevin emotionally connects to every line he writes. As a soldier for Hip-Hop, his work with VIBE Magazine echoes to this day through his […]

N ot all lessons are learned on the first try. Around the time Trick Daddy was telling haters to “Shut Up,” Panama City, Florida’s Blood Raw was supposed to follow-up the sunshine-state charge. While label drama was one thing, it was ultimately Federal agents that halted Blood Raw’s charge to the game. A drug-trafficking conviction […]

T hroughout the history of Hip-Hop, it would seem that artists who come into the game as the protégé of another artists never quite live up to the hype, or even to the success of the friend, mentor or whatever who put them on. You can argue that record sales don’t always reflect the popularity […]

A product of Mt. Vernon, New York, CL Smooth and former counterpart, Pete Rock, took Hip-Hop by storm with their colorful sound. The 1991 EP All Souled Out and 1992’s Mecca and the Soul Brother LP, spawned memorable cuts like “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) ” and the self-titled “Mecca and the Soul Brother,” tagging […]

AllHipHop.com: You’ve already said that you’re reluctant to take credit but you’ve played a big role in this hybrid of skateboard and Hip-Hop culture. What do you think of the fact that there are kids with trucker hats skateboarding in Harlem now? Pharrell: Yessir, it makes me proud ‘cause I grew up like that. I […]

Don Ferquan, better known as Quan, wants us to know he’s back with a lyrical vengeance. After Nas introduced him to the world on the single “Just A Moment” from the Street’s Disciple album, the no-nonsense artist has matured both mentally and spiritually since his constant legal run-ins and greater background role at Nas’s Ill […]

J-Zone named his acclaimed 2002 album Pimps Don’t Pay Taxes, and while the IRS hasn’t sniffed him out yet, plenty of beat-buyers have. The Queens slick-talker, known for his penchant for early ‘90s gangsta rap, now has greater desire to be the respected producer that he’s become on the low, having produced for Biz Markie, […]