Artist: A-Pinks/DJ Whoo KidTitle: It’s Not A Rumor (Mixtape)Rating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Brandon Edwards The Empire State breeds envy. New York MC’s are in a weird situation at the moment, and with the Southern hemisphere enjoying much deserved success and mainstream airplay, up-and-coming east coast MC’s find it hard to fit into the rotation. […]

Artist: Bronze NazarethTitle: The Great MigrationRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Paine When the RZA opted to play a more removed role from Wu-Tang Clan’s solo projects, there were several appointed heirs: Mathematics, 4th Disciple, and Bronze Nazareth. The last, a Michigan native, impressed RZA to the point of landing work on the Birth of the […]

Artist: Yo GottiTitle: Back 2 Da BasicsRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Anthony Carr With the surging of Southern Hip-Hop’s influence within the last year or so, many artists from cities like Houston, Atlanta, and Memphis have been trying to gain even more national attention. North Memphis’ own Yo Gotti hopes to take advantage of the […]

Artist: DVD ReviewTitle: The Art of 16 Bars (DVD)Rating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Sidik Fofana Finally, there’s an instructional DVD for MCs by MCs featuring real MCs. The Art of 16 Bars (QD3 Entertainment) is a documentary slash boom bap 101 4seminar narrated by Method Man on the “how to’s” and the “one-two, one-two’s” of […]

Artist: Mr. LifTitle: Mo’ MegaRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Jessica Dufresne Chances are if you’re not familiar with Def Jux, or prefer your rap via mainstream radio, you haven’t heard of Mr. Lif. A subterranean favorite, the Beantown MC has been steadily grinding the past nine years. His most recent coup was the highly regarded […]

Artist: Up Above Records Presents…Title: Carving A New Standard Vol. 1Rating: 3 StarsReviewed by: Max Herman From the mid-90s to the early-2000s, L.A.’s Up Above Records served as a reliable outlet for the right-minded Visionaries crew and their West Coast affiliates…but not much else. Hence the label’s reputation forever changed when they released emerging East […]

Artist: Flam BeyTitle: The Flamerous LifeRating: 2 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Brent Woodie Although dwelling in a multitude of places like Virginia and Maryland may have a strong influence on the consciousness of a young MC, it has done little to change the New York state of mind built in the city’s own Flam Bey. Playing […]

Artist: Basic VocabTitle: The General DynamicRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Sidik Fofana Ironically, the one rap group from the South called Basic Vocab actually surpasses its name. This reference is of course to Basic Vocab, a trio harvested fresh from the M-I-A. Their debutoffering, The General Dynamic (AVX Music Group), is quite different from the […]

Artist: MekalekTitle: Live & LearnRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Brolin Winning As the DJ and main production force behind Time Machine ™, Mekalek has been crafting highly melodic, hard-knocking tracks for many years now. He’s consistently impressed synth-weary heads and has elevated his beat game with each TM release, from the early 12-inch singles (“Reststop […]

Artist: The Sound ProvidersTitle: Looking BackwardsRating: 3 StarsReviewed by: Jason Hortillas Ever take a vinyl record of your favorite Hip-Hop artist and play it backwards, in hopes that you hear the words of Satan? Probably not. Although it may be standard in Rock lore, Hip-Hop reserves the use of the reverse backspin for turntablists’and DJs. […]

Artist: Cam’RonTitle: Killa Season (DVD)Rating: 2 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Brent Woodie Cam’ron scene stealing performance as Rico in 2002’s Paid In Full showed the Harlem-bred rapper had more than what it takes for the big screen. Taking the trend of rapper-turned-actor up a notch Cam’ron makes his directorial debut with Killa Season (Diplomatic Man) to […]

Artist: Da BackWudzTitle: Wood WorkRating: 3 StarsReviewed by: Paine Having achieved monumental success as an R&B and Pop producer, Dallas Austin is still itching for a hit Hip-Hop act. The last time he eyed up a Southern rap talent, it was Poison Clan’s JT Money and the nauseating “Who Dat” chants that followed. Seven years […]

Artist: Hill HarperTitle: Letters To A Young Brother: MANifest Your Destiny (Book)Rating: 4 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Danielle Cabell Maybe all that taping of CSI: NY caused Hill Harper to miss the popular memo de stereotype: Young black men don’t read. So devoting 173 pages of words to them probably isn’t the smartest idea. Then again, […]

Artist: The CoupTitle: Pick A Bigger WeaponRating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Michael P###### Like walking into a party drunk and pissing on the coats, Pick a Bigger Weapon (Epitaph), The Coup’s fifth album, is no less unpredictable and vitriolic than anything they’ve done before. MC Boots Riley is still in Richard Pryor-sharing-an-apartment-with-George Clinton-mode, still getting all […]

Artist: TouréTitle: Never Drank The Kool-Aid (Book)Rating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Sidik Fofana Touré has a nice gig. An esteemed journalist for Rolling Stone magazine, The New Yorker and a slew of other highly reputable publications, former host of MTV Spoke ‘n’ Heard, and current BET correspondent, Touré makes a living out of deconstructing Hip-Hop culture […]

Artist: Pastor TroyTitle: Stay TruRating: 3 StarsReviewed by: Paine Since his mildly publicized feud with Master P five years ago, Pastor Troy has been an Atlanta workaholic, yet still without the level of notoriety of his peers. On the heels of some new exposure via Chamillionaire’s “Southern Takeover,” Troy drops his seemingly mandatory yearly installment […]

Artist: Mobb DeepTitle: Blood MoneyRating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Martin A. Berrios Even though Mobb Deep gained enormous street fame in the 90’s with their classic The Infamous, the Queensbridge duo have never quite lived up to that earlier greatness on subsequent releases. They showed hints of again reaching their potential here and there on Hell […]

Artist: Various ArtistsTitle: Develop[Mental]1Rating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Brandon Edwards Just because you play the role, it don’t mean you get the part. Mixtape newbies and comfortable vets take heed, Norcal DJ Icewater is exceptional at mixing posse cuts. The shouting echo of mixtape DJ’s was tired the day the trend began. Smooth blends and […]

Artist: Edgar Allen FloeTitle: Floe Almighty (Mixtape)Rating: 3 StarsReviewed by: Starrene Rhett Edgar Allen Floe has returned, swinging his lyrical sword of “justus”. Although he hasn’t dropped an official LP yet, he garnered solid footing on his space in the Hip-Hop universe with his EP, True Links. The next installment from the Edgar Allen Floe […]

Artist: DVD ReviewTitle: Hip Hop Street Credentials, Vol. 1 (DVD)Rating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Jason Hortillas Hip-Hop documentaries are now as common as half naked women in music videos. To the dismay of fans of the clothing impaired, Insomniac Inc. puts out a film that takes another route from typical movie making. Shining light on […]