It’s not really a make it or break it situation for Jay-Z. Still, the Def Jam president’s tenth album, American Gangster, is critical in terms of his legacy and  remaining relevant in a burgeoning era of T.I.’s , Lil’ Wayne’s and Kanye West’s. The late 30-something boss is calm and collected much like the infamous […]

Beanie Sigel indeed auditioned for the role of Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace in the late rapper’s forthcoming biopic, but he’s already long been typecast. Sigel himself admits that whether it be via the Broad Street Bully’s aggressive rhymes, his roles in the State Property 2 flick, or his own well-documented run-ins with the law, […]

Freestyle battles are not all they’re hyped up to be. The music from the DJ is hard to hear. There is a lot of standing around and waiting. And let’s remember, a true freestyle battle is just that, completely on the spot, nothing pre-written or memorized. As a result, lyrics aren’t always syncopated and sometimes […]

 In the digital age we live in, when everybody and their friend is making beats, it can get difficult to distinguish the real from the fake, the fluke from the official. It’s at the point where producers are almost forced to ‘Just Blaze’ their beats to keep from getting lost in a sea of mediocrity, […]

After the success of his single “Icy,” featuring a yet to blow Young Jeezy, Gucci Mane was set to be the next big star out of Atlanta. But a murder charge and six months time served for assaulting a promoter seemed to stall out any hopes Gucci had for mainstream success. But you don’t sell […]

THE PRELUDE: THE AMERICAN GANGSTER STORY It would seem like Jay-Z is about to do what he once rapped about on the intro track, “The Prelude, ” of Kingdom Come, his 2006 “comeback” album. The game’s f**ked up N***a’s beats is banging, n***a your hooks did it Your lyrics didn’t and your gangster look did […]

How many independent artists can attest to moving 220,000 units on the streets of New York, recognition in some of today’s most popular urban music magazines, and garnering the praise from the snootiest of industry types? You might be at a loss for words, but the dynamic duo, known as Duo Live, has a lot […]

Last week we discussed the emergence of MP3s and making the transition from DJ to producer. This week we’ll discuss the natural progression of going from a DJ to a remixer. 8. From Deejaying to Remixing – For most DJs remixing is a natural progression because when you are blending two records, you are in essence, […]

The Star Trak camp is all about sci-fi and Fam-Lay might as well be Back To the Future. We revisit Norfolk, Virginia’s “Rock N’ Roll” champ three years after his Traintogo debut floated into outerspace aboard the Def Jam ship and wasn’t released. Naturally frustrated like his Clipse label-mates, Fam-Lay had to re-work his game […]

As a producer on the rise, a surefire piece of advice is to be prepared to pay dues. “There will be many to pay,” as the production due of Sam and Jay will tell you. It’s usually a rough road to travel just to get a buzz in your own hood, let alone outside of […]

It’s rare to find a rapper who doesn’t have a dance or talks about something other than chicks, cars, and money without suffering for it. Even Jay-Z, the arguable best rapper alive, has continually struggled to find that balance between substance and commercial success over the course of his career. With today’s Hip-Hop becoming more […]

It used to be the case that when one thought of Florida, very rarely was it ever synonymous with Hip-Hop, but the tide has definitely changed. Hailing from one of the hottest cities in the country, the production duo consisting of Marcello “Cool” Valenzano and Andre “Dre” Lyon, better known as Cool & Dre, have […]

Seventeen year-old Soulja Boy gained attention through his dance routines, rap and lifestyle. Whether you love it or hate, “Crank Dat (Soulja Boy)” is a ubiquitous hit, and having amassed over 21 million hits on his Myspace page, he garnered the attention of Mr. Collipark, who later inked the youngster to a deal with Interscope […]

In Parts I and II we discussed some Deejaying skills and we shared some great advice to assist in taking your skills from the club / streets to the radio. In Part III we’ll discuss the Pros and Cons of MP3s and making the transition from DJ to producer. 6. The emergence of MP3s – […]

50 Cent’s album saving smash “I Get Money” owes as much to the high-pitched vocal it swipes from Brooklyn’s Milk Dee to the Queens rapper’s own lyrical swagger. As one half of the Audio Two along with his brother Gizmo, Milk scored an early hit with the Honey Drippers sampling (no worries, sample is cleared), […]

What do you do when you’re a multi-platinum producer that’s worked with the ‘Who’s Who’ of not only the Hip-Hop world, but  Pop and R&B realms as well? Start your own label and sign a 16-year-old kid, who you flip into the biggest teen music star of the year. And of course, date one of […]

Young Jeezy’s got something to say. You really should know why if you’ve been following the always entertaining, and insightful, banter of Pimp C. Much has been said about Pimp’s assertion in Ozone Magazine’s August 2007 issue that a certain Mr. 17.5 wasn’t coming correct with his math. Mind you, the UGK vet never implicitly […]

  This week we are featuring some of the hottest Djs from the West Coast to gain a new perspective on what a DJ looks for in a solid mixtape as well as what jams they play to rock a party.  DJ Jam is a legend who started in the music business over twenty years […]

    What happens when one of the hottest battle MCs gets possessed by his fascination with Jackie Chan? You get The Rush Hour Mixtape. Based out of the dusty, hot, crime-ridden streets of Stockton California, lives a rapper by the name of Okwerdz. He is a pioneer within the West Coast battle scene. Okwerdz has […]

In Part I we discussed some Deejaying skills like basic and advanced scratches as well as blendin’ skills. In Part II, we have some great advice to assist in taking your skills from the club / streets to the radio: 3. Create a buzz In the beginning, perform as many functions as possible  (with or without […]