Crooked I: Leader of the New School
Crooked I: Leader of the New School By Jigsaw It’s often been clichéd that a rolling stone gathers no moss, but the same principle hardly pertains to hip-hop rhyme styles. Tha Row’s (Death Row) hungry, battle-tested upstart Crooked I has laid his hat in many cities, and its apparent after hearing him spit, that he […]
Poe Boy Records: Doing It Independently
Miami based Poe Boy Records hopes is ready to release their hip-hop and R&B acts nationwide and completely independent. "Frankly we don’t care if we get picked up by a major label," CEO E-Class said. "The philosophy at Poe Boy Records is ‘the boutique label pays for their own music production and sells records through […]
Rock Makes Transition, Releases New Mixtape
Contrary to popular belief, Rock (Heltah Skeltah) has not totally fallen off the Richter scale. His recently released "The Best of Rock" mixtape is getting rave reviews in the street. Rock recently departed from his label, Lethal Dose Records. The label, which was distributed through Interscope Records, was dropped from their roster, which left Rock […]
Sista Souljah To Speak
Political activist Sister Souljah will speak at the University Of Rochester this Wednesday (March 19). Souljah’s address, "Inspiring Women For The 21st Century," will be held in Strong Auditorium at the River Campus. Admission is free for University Of Rochester students, while the general public will pay $5. Souljah is the executive director of Sean […]
DJ Quik’s Visualism In Stores
DJ Quik’s highly anticipated DVD, "Visualism" hit stores on Tuesday, March 11. The DVD looks at Quik’s creative process in the recording studio. "I wasn’t born into music," Quik told AllHiphop.com. "I always had a feel for it but I had to learn it." The DVD features Quik’s new bald headed hairstyle, tour footage, Quik’s […]
Irv Gotti In Court Over Cash Money Clique Album
Irv Gotti was in court last week, as a witness in a dispute between Def Jam and independent label, TVT Records. Lawyers for TVT said that Def Jam should pay for damages incurred after the major backed out of an agreement that would have allowed TVT to release an album of the Cash Money Clique, […]
Various Rappers Speak Against War
As war with Iraq seems imminent, rappers have come forward to express their anti-war sentiments. Former Run-DMC front man Rev. Run is planning an untitled all-star antiwar record. Internet company UBO.com is planning one as well. Their single, "Raise Your Hands…Not In Our Name," will be available for free download at midnight on March 14. […]
Fabolous, Lil Kim Debut High, Cannot Unseat 50 Cent
Rapper Fabolous’ sophomore album, Street Dreams debuted at # 3 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums Chart today, coming in ahead of the weeks other big debut, Lil Kim’s La Belle Mafia. Kim moved 166,000 grabbing the number 5 slot from Freeway, who had the position last week with his debut, Philadelphia Freeway. Kim’s sophomore set […]
50 Cent Hits The Road
50 Cent, who still sits on top of Billboard’s Top 200 Album’s chart after 5 weeks out, is planning to take his show on the road. 50 announced that he will embark on a 29 date tour, starting April 1st in Denver, Colorado. The tour will wind down with two dates in Detroit, Michigan with […]
Clear Blue Skies
Artist: JuggaknotsTitle: Clear Blue SkiesRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: aqua boogie Without putting out product in years the Juggaknots have still managed to obtain and maintain cult status in enlightened hip-hop circles. To simply label them backpack rappers would be a blatant injustice, as well as a corny and lazy description. Without ever sounding preachy […]
Voletta Wallace Looks Forward And Back
Ms. Voletta Wallace is a martyr to the casualties of hip-hop. No mother raises a child to be slain over greed, pride, and envy. Ms. Wallace has endured that cruelest of fates, and still is willing to share. Almost six years to the day after he son was gunned down on the lawless streets of […]
Queen Latifah Shines On Silver Screen
"Bringing Down the House," Queen Latifah’s spoof on race relations in America hit home with audiences in North America. The comedy brought in $31.7 million dollars in its debut weekend, making it the highest debuting movie over the weekend. The movie, which has drawn criticism as being stereotypical, bested the closest competitor, "Tears of The […]
Chris Lighty Takes Violator And Mobb Deep To Jive
Chris Lighty was named Senior Vice President of Jive Records last week. Violator Records, Lighty’s record label, will be distributed by Jive. Under the new deal, Violator/Jive Records will release former Loud Records group Mobb Deep, in August. "I expect to continue my learning curve here at Jive. The talent this label has on the […]
Master P Stalker Sentenced To Prison
Antwan Kevin Baker, 32, pleaded guilty yesterday (March 7) to stalking No Limit mogul Master P. Baker was sentenced to one year in the county jail and ordered to stay away from Master P for the next ten years. Baker was also sentenced to three years probation. While Baker didn’t state why he stalked him, […]
Vita: Stand Up
Last year New Jersey-based rapper Vita anticipated that her long-awaited album, La Vita Dolce ("The Good Life"), would drop under the Murder Inc. banner. Her hopes would never come to fruition. Instead the original female on Murder Inc. would walk away after being signed to the label for over two years. Now, the former Murder […]
Def Jam And Congo Room Hit With Lawsuit
Def Jam and popular Latin dance club Conga Room, which is co-owned by Jennifer Lopez, were hit with a lawsuit by the mother of a shooting victim who claims there wasn’t enough security at the party where he was shot and killed. Jerry Bonds, who was also a suspect in the murder of Tupac Shakur, […]
Lil Buddy Sentenced To Federal Prison
Andre "Lil Buddy" Locke was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in federal prison for robbing the Vermillion State Bank in Rosemount, Minnesota in 2001. Locke, who drove away in a stolen blue Audi and crashed it into a tree during the subsequent chase, was also convicted of stealing the car. According to family members, Locke […]
Ras Kass: Catch Him If You Can
Much like Van Gogh, a 19th century artist who never attained any real commercial success until after his death, Priority Records recording artist Ras Kass is struggling with similar obstacles to those of the famed painter. The fact that Ras Kass’ never-released third album was entitled Van Gogh, speaks volumes about the frustration felt by […]
The Listening
Artist: Little BrotherTitle: The ListeningRating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Brolin Winning After generating a huge buzz, and being signed to Beni B’s Oakland-based ABB label, North Carolina’s Little Brother live up to all the hype, releasing a stellar debut album, The Listening that oozes classic hip-hop. Often compared to A Tribe Called Quest, the crew of […]
Eminem Hosts ‘8 Mile’ Contest, Party
Eminem will host an “8 Mile DVD Launch Party” in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan on March 13th. The party celebrates the DVD release of Eminem’s critically acclaimed box office smash. Xzibit, D-12 and others are scheduled to peform at the event, which will take place at St. Andrews Hall in the rappers native land. […]