Artist: Tru Life/J-LoveTitle: Tru York (Mixtape)Rating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Rodney Dugue This is a pretty cute mixtape, cover and all. Well, that’s if lime-green hyper-extended male thongs are your type of thing. Sure, the added linen strips and the blonde wig and any horrifically placed couture alignment make for a gussied premium w####. But, […]

Artist: Documentary ReviewTitle: Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes (Film)Rating: 4 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Slav Kandyba If politics has Michael Moore, then Hip-Hop-excuse me, commercial rap-has Byron Hurt. There’s hardly a doubt that the filmmaker and former college athlete had good intentions when he set out to make Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, a documentary headed […]

Artist: Thirstin Howl 3rd & Rack-LoTitle: Lo Down & DirtyRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Paine Thirstin Howl III reigned as one of the fiercest punchline rappers of the late ’90s, culminating with his Eminem collaboration “Watch Deez.” In the last five years, Thirstin’s albums have been less memorable, though released in plenty. Now signed to […]

Artist: High PriestTitle: Born IdentityRating: 3 StarsReviewed by: Michelle Cavanaugh High Priest’s stint with the East Coast group Antipop Consortium (APC) was a strangely brewed concoction of Hip-Hop, jazz, and electronica. APC released one album and toured with DJ Shadow and Radiohead before disbanding in the early 00’s. Priest and fellow ex-Antipop member M. Sayyid […]

Artist: RZATitle: Afro Samurai – The SoundtrackRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Serge Fleury For over a decade now the RZA has fascinated us with his unique production style. Whether it was Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Ghostface’s Ironman, to GZA’s Liquid Swords, his signature sound was always front and center. While the Clan was […]

Artist: DVD ReviewTitle: Welcome To Durham (DVD)Rating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Jay Peregrine Produced by the Butta Team, a group of Durham music and entertainment producers, Welcome to Durham, introduces the spirit of Durham, North Carolina to the world. The film does not attempt to solely depict how rough life is in Durham is but rather […]

Artist: Sean PriceTitle: Jesus Price SupastarRating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Jake Paine For a solo debut album on a shoestring budget and with a name-change, Sean Price’s Monkey Barz was the Cinderella story of 2005. Critics championed the effort as Price became the sleeper hit of Duck Down’s “triple-threat” that included Smif-N-Wessun and Buckshot. A year […]

Artist: Concert ReviewTitle: Jamie Foxx: Undpredictable Tour (Concert)Rating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Latifah Muhammad Jamie Foxx took a break from the movie business to entertain in the same fashion he first became famous: on the stage. Boldly mixing, comedy with his singing performance, the “Unpredictable Tour” show at Madison Square Garden on January 22nd, 2007 […]

Artist: Elisabeth WithersTitle: It Can Happen to AnyoneRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Chris Richburg Listening to Elisabeth Withers’ debut album, It Could Happen to Anyone (Blue Note Records), it’s pretty obvious: this is some grown folks’ R&B. That could be expected though, considering she earned a Tony Award nomination for her role as Shug Avery […]

Artist: The PackTitle: Skateboards 2 ScrapersRating: 2 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Ms. Hite The New West is on the brink of resurrection and the Bay Area is the main driving force behind all the noise. In the sticky green city of Berkley there were four teens creepin’ on a come up when veteran rapper and Bay […]

Artist: Various ArtistsTitle: Strictly The Best: Vol. 35 & 36Rating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Bella Kiz Distributed at the turn of each New Year, Strictly the Best, VP Records’ infamous reggae compilation is back and has hit 2007 with a double-disc offering in Strictly The Best Vol. 35 & 36 (VP/Universal). Like previous releases, both […]

Artist: Book ReviewTitle: Bling: The Hip-Hop Jewelry Book (Book)Rating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Sidik Fofana Reggie Osse and Gabriel Tolliver have dropped the Bling: The Hip-Hop Jewelry Book (Bloomsbury), a glamorous pictorial of Hip-Hop’s ice age that will easily gain entry to any bling hall of fame. The book spares nothing to the imagination and its […]

Artist: Brian McKnightTitle: TenRating: 3 StarsReviewed by: Nia B Brian McKnight’s album titled Ten (Warner Bros.) marks his latest and tenth effort to show R&B fans that his vocal talents and versatility continue to get better with time. Fifteen years into the industry and three label deals later, Brian has landed on Warner Brothers Records. […]

Artist: L.G. (Lord’s Gift)Title: Industry Co-Sign 3: The DifferenceRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Adam Thomas What is a man to do when he has found himself in The Source as “Unsigned Hype,” yet he still finds himself without a deal? L.G., aka Lord’s Gift, a MC out of Flatbush, Brooklyn does the only thing that […]

Artist: Eric B. & RakimTitle: Paid In Full (CLASSIC REVIEW)Rating: 5 StarsReviewed by: Styles P Shortly before the long-awaited, longer delayed release of his sophomore LP Time Is Money, Styles P was down to talk about the seminal Eric B. & Rakim album Paid In Full—but he had to do it his way. While the […]

Artist: Various ArtistsTitle: Stones Throw: Ten YearsRating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Jason Newman In 1996, Hip-Hop was in the throes of a revolution. The Golden Age, while still fresh in people’s heads, was over. A couple of years earlier, Nas, Biggie and Dr. Dre released blistering debuts, but now, the bling-hop era was slowly on its […]

Artist: Project PatTitle: Crook By Da Book: The Fed StoryRating: 2 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Martin A. Berrios Project Pat seems to have great timing on his side. Mostly known for moderate hits such as “Chickenhead” and “Ballers,” Pat got locked up before he could rightfully bask in his own shine. During the bid his Three […]

Artist: Various ArtistsTitle: Hyphy HitzRating: 3 StarsReviewed by: Melanie J. Cornish One thing that can be said for TVT Records is that they are a label always willing to take a chance. Having been the driving force between the Crunk epidemic that infiltrated the nation in the early stages of the new millennium; they are […]

Artist: DVD ReviewTitle: Beat Kings: The History of Hip Hop (DVD)Rating: 4 1/2 StarsReviewed by: John Burnett Beat Kings: The History of Hip Hop (Nature Sounds) provides a much needed point-of-view when it comes to Hip-Hop music. The history of the genre has been told from various perspectives; the MC, the B-Boy and even the […]

Artist: The Ranjahz/DJ RerokTitle: Operation Awareness (Mixtape)Rating: 3 StarsReviewed by: Paine Between Bleek and Beans, it was The Ranjahz that rose under Jay-Z’s wing on Hard Knock Life, Vol. 2, The Streets is Watching, and DJ Clue’s Backstage album. However, by the time the Crown Heights, Brooklyn duo released their album, they had defected from […]