The Craft
Artist: BlackaliciousTitle: The CraftRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Kevin Polowy With 2002s exceptional Blazing Arrow, Blackalicious graduated from reliable left-coast ambassadors to melodic Hip-Hop royalty. Naturally, expectations the weight of an offensive line await their follow-up. And while it doesnt quite stack up, The Craft (Anti/Epitaph) wont leave anyone crying theyve been Fauriza Balkd. Like […]
God Giveth, God Taketh Away
Artist: Bang ‘Em & DominationTitle: God Giveth, God Taketh AwayRating: 3 StarsReviewed by: Brent Woodie Avenging a well publicized beef with the biggest selling rap artist in the game, 50 Cent, and boasting a new label deal with the biggest independent company (Koch Records), Bang Em and Domination debut with their release titled God Giveth, […]
Dr. Dre “Vibe Attacker” Pleads Guilty
A Los Angeles man pleaded guilty Wednesday to attacking Hip-Hop producer Dr. Dre at the 2004 Vibe Awards in Santa Monica. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner sentenced Jimmy James Johnson, 27, to one year in county jail, a punishment that includes three years of probation for the felonious assault. According to previous reports, […]
Kanye West To ‘Touch The Sky’ On Tour
Kanye West has tapped an all-star cast for his “Touch the Sky” tour, which comes on the heels of his #1 sophomore Roc-A-Fella Records release, Late Registration. Keyshia Cole, Fantasia and rapper Common will join Kanye on the tour, which is being sponsored by Verizon. "Performing live is the reason why we make this music, […]
NAACP Honors Diddy For Raising Voter Awareness
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) will honor Sean "Diddy" Combs for his efforts in raising voter awareness in the last presidential election. The annual National Equal Justice Award Dinner (NEJAD) is an awards dinner that celebrates the courage and achievements of equal justice champions. The honorees are luminaries in politics, communications […]
Babyface: The Man Within
Kenneth Babyface Edmonds is a soft-spoken man. You have to press your ear into the receiver to hear his whisper, yet when hes belting out his hits on stage he seems to be a completely different person. While being timid is part of his persona, being a smooth operator on stage is part of his […]
Static
Artist: MaspykeTitle: StaticRating: 2 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Dubstin G Maspyke is the name of the Springfield, MA trio of beat-maker Roddy Rod and MCs Hanif Jamiyl and Tableek. Seemingly named after a highway, the group received some acclaim from its first album, The Blackout, and is back this year with its new release, Static (Bukarance/ABB). […]
Berklee College of Music Announces New Hip-Hop Class
Berkleemusic.com, the online extension school of the renowned Berklee College of Music, has teamed up with accredited music producer and writer Mike Hamilton to add a Hip-Hop Writing and Production to it’s curriculum of composition and production courses. The online course is devoted to helping students learn how to analyze and recreate different styles of […]
Chamillionaire: Here Comes the Reign
As Mike Jones, Slim Thug, and Paul Wall garner mainstream recognition in 2005, Chamillionaire patiently waits. After all, some critics claimed he carried the 2002 Get Ya Mind Correct album that put him and Paul Wall, then as a group, on the map. Though the Swisha House affiliation and the independent labels have progressed to […]
Feds Re-Open 1994 Tupac Shakur Shooting Seeking Clues In Rapper’s Murder
The unsolved shooting at Quad Studios in New York in 1994 involving Tupac Shakur has been reopened, anonymous law enforcement officials revealed to AllHipHop.com. Sources stated the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York has reopened the case to see if the shooting was somehow connected to Shakur’s death in 1996 in Las […]
Judge Freezes Suge Knight’s Assets
The assets of mogul Suge Knight were frozen by a Los Angeles judge on Aug. 29 after Michael Harry-O Harris, a jailed drug dealer, claimed he is owed half of a multimillion dollar award ruled against Knight earlier this year. In March, a judge ordered the Death Row Records founder to pay $107 million to […]
Smiff N Wess: Reloaded
Artist: Tek & SteeleTitle: Smiff N Wess: ReloadedRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Orisanmi Burton After a seven-year break from making albums as a group Tek & Steele (aka Smif-N-Wessun, Cocoa Brovaz) returns with Smiff N Wess: Reloaded (Duck Down). Known once again under their original moniker group members Tek and Steele take aim at reconnecting […]
Cassidy Re-Charged With First Degree Murder, Defense Says Rapper Is Innocent
A first degree murder charge has been reinstated against Philadelphia, Pennsylvania rapper Cassidy. A judge overturned an earlier, lower court’s decision that Cassidy could only be tried for no more than third-degree murder. Prosecutors accuse the rapper of masterminding a shooting behind his row home in the Cedarbrook section of Philadelphia. Cassidy and Desmond Hawkins, […]
Outkast’s Big Boi Honored For Cultural Impact
The King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation (KTCF) established in 1981 to research, collect, and present the African-American historical and cultural experience to the public, recently announced that Antwan (Big Boi) Patton will receive the Foundation’s 2005 Fine Arts Award. The KTCF Awards is an annual banquet that recognizes people through out the community who have been consistent and stellar in […]
Usher Supports Kanye, Rebukes Media
R&B crooner Usher is denying that he took exception to Kanye Wests off-the-cuff commentary that George Bush doesnt like Black people, an opinion expressed during a live NBC telethon. Usher released a statement to contradict the reports and rebuked the media for promoting division between the two artists. Contrary to false media reports, I support […]
Tupac Tribute: Candyman 187 of Tha Havenotz
Tupac Amaru Shakur fathered so many minds in Hip-Hop. Many people, if given the chance to have dinner with anybody, would opt for Tupac. At 13 years old, Candyman 187s father-figure became the late, great rapper who died nine years ago, today. Chances are, you havent heard of Candyman. That guessed, youre probably unaware of […]
The Edge: 1966-1970
Artist: David AxelrodTitle: The Edge: 1966-1970Rating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Paine When Hip-Hop was still a block party, David Axelrod’s records were probably much too slow for any cue-burn under Flash’s needles. But as Rap production grew exponentially in the 1990’s, Dr. Dre, Diamond, and Madlib all brought Axelrod riffs to life in hit-making form. While […]
Power Moves Inc. Hosting West Coast Celebrity Spades Tournament
Power Moves Inc. will host a West coast version of the successful “Deal Me In” Annual Celebrity Spades Tournament tonight (September 12) at the Vine Street Lounge in Los Angeles, California. Thirty two celebrities will play in a series of three rounds all leading up to a winner, with the proceeds going to the victor’s […]
A.W.O.L.
Artist: AZTitle: A.W.O.L.Rating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Bill “Low-Key” Heinzelman Eleven years after his legendary debut on Nas’ “Life’s A B####,” AZ has finally delivered the album we have waited for. Even though he has shown glimpses of greatness on Doe Or Die and Aziatic, his fifth solo album A.W.O.L. (Quiet Money/Fast Life) is the most […]
Clothing Designer Hits Foxy Brown With Lawsuit Over 2004 Assault Allegations
Superstar rapper Foxy Brown has been hit with a lawsuit by a clothing designer, stemming from a September 2004 incident in a bathroom in a New York night club. Tanya Manderson is suing Foxy Brown, Black Crow Productions, Black Roses Entertainment and Def Jam for falsely accusing her of assaulting Brown at Club Show during […]
