Ice-T: High Roller
Rhyme pays, but TV pays better. In 2006, Ice-T has little to no reason to still be making records. Between a leading role Law & Order: SVU and hosting Hip-Hop Honors, the original gangsta is a well-paid household name, who never lost one bit of his outspoken, street image. But for the love of the […]

Del the Funkee Homosapien: Mid Day in a Perfect World
For several years, the whereabouts of Del Tha Funkee Homosapien were a complete mystery. Resurfacing on a few tours, including some with his Hieroglyphics brethren, Del spent the past six years learning life lessons and educating himself on the science of music. The Cali native has come an incredibly long way from his debut LP […]

Jody Breeze: Trap or Die
Jody Breeze mayve started as a boy in the hood, but hes made a successful rap career using his talents. From his humble beginnings in Macon, Georgia to the charts, Jody has seen it all. Young Jeezy, Jodys former crew-member isnt the only Trap Star either. Here, Jody breaks down the fine lined differences between […]

Mr. T: Pity The Fool
"[You] talking much junk like Mr. T is your back, but he’s not so don’t act cute." -EMPD on "You’re A Customer" Its hard to determine if he realizes it or not, but Mr. T is indelibly linked to Hip-Hop and many of the culture’s ingrained sensibilities. Legendary lyricists like Slick Rick, Bug Pun and […]

Westside Bugg: Buggin’ Out
It can be said that most rappers only thank God when they get their awards. However, L.A.s own Deon Holly, perhaps better known as Westside Bugg makes it clear that he is a man of the higher power. With the album, The Roach Motel coming in January on Native Records, Bugg is going to make […]

The Game: One Man Riot Part 2
What’s new with The Game? Well, in his quest to dominate, the Compton rapper has started to produce Hip-Hop tracks under the tutelage of Scott Storch and J.R. Rotem. He’s squashed an old, rusty beef with Ja Rule and created new alliances with the likes of Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas. Doctor’s Advocate, the […]

The Game: One Man Riot Part 1
The Game knows all too well the notion off the survival of the fittest. For Game, whose real name is Jayceon Taylor, survival is all he’s known from the days to selling drugs on the street, to getting shot up, to a highly volatile beef with one of rap’s dominant labels. As he prepares The […]

Juggaknots: Movin’ the Chains
How cool would it be to say your junior high school teacher belonged to a celebrated Hip-Hop group? Wouldnt that be awesome if your teacher could bust rhymes during recess, make a knuckle beat on the lunchroom table, or man the turntables at the high school dance? There exists three such teachers and together, they […]

Rewind the Rhyme: LL Cool J
It’s no question that presently, lyricism has taken a back seat to bouncing and snapping and “chicken noodle souping” for that matter, but there are still many artists out there old and new, from every region who consider rhymes to be an essential part of what makes a great song and an even greater MC. […]

Omar Cruz: Angels and Demons
For Omar Cruz, Hip-Hop was not just some temporary escape from his torrid reality of the ghettos of the West Coast. It was a form of self-expression and the key to a way out. Cause you see, when the only support you have is the streets, then you literally have to adapt a do-or-die mentality. […]

Jim Jones: New York Giant
Since the Diplomats first got noticed, Jim Jones was respected as a street entrepreneur, but rarely recognized for his song-making. While Certified Gangstas relied on plenty of lyrical help for the first album, We Fly High marks Jones first big unassisted hit. The Uptown anthem has bled its way onto the charts all over the […]

Kidz in the Hall: School Spirit
On Talib Kwelis Right About Now, he chronicled the rise and subsequent fall of the largest independent Hip-Hop label of the late 90s: Rawkus Records. This label introduced the world to Mos Def, Company Flow, Kweli, and reintroduced Kool G Rap and Pharoahe Monch tragically faded in a flash of layoffs, mergers, and push-backs. But […]

Freekey Zekey: Balling Before Bail
Freekey Zekey’s thoughts in jail sound nothing like a One Love letter. Instead, the Harlem Diplomat original is likely just days away from hitting the bricks, and his excitement shows. In between paying homage to Tupac and Biggie as well as George Bush and Saddam, Zeke retraces the movement from its humble beginnings, to its […]

Lyrics Born: Channel Live
Lyrics Born has kept it live since the early 90s. Formerly half of Latryx, the San Jose MC has watched a solo career where his music continuously finds its way onto commercials, films, television, and even Adult Contemporary radio. As one of the head honchos at Quannum Projects, the veteran MC can also thank himself […]

Swizz Beatz: How About Some Hardcore
You don’t get the nickname “the monster” by sitting around and letting things fall into your lap. When Swizz Beats burst onto the scene in the ’90s as the main musical force behind the Ruff Ryders, when the sky was the limit for the young super producer. A few years passed, and things cooled off […]

Sivion: Vision Reconsidered
His life isnt the average rags to riches Hip-Hop story. As a matter of fact, there are no rags or riches involved this time. Instead, its a story about understanding every framework of creative expression and hearing Hip-Hop in its purest form. Former Phat K.A.T.S member and current affiliate of Deepspace 5, Sivion has an […]

A-alikes: Public Enemies
They say theres nothing more dangerous in this world than an educated African-American man with a platform. From the spirited, and often confrontational, championing of black America by Malcolm X and Huey P. Newton to the politico rap rhetoric of KRS-One and Chuck D, when intellect meets a mass medium the combination becomes a powder […]

Curtis Scoon: Queens Reign, Part 2
AllHipHop.com: How did you learn how to write screenplays?Curtis Scoon: I wanted it so bad I made it happen. I bought a software package called Final Draft. I went to the village and started to buy a screenplay, but I ended up going home and writing it. Word got around that I was writing. There’s […]

Curtis Scoon: Queens Reigns, Part 1
Curtis Scoon is a product of Hollis, Queens, the birthplace of some of Hip-Hops most influential artists. Scoon, who was never involved in the rap industry, suddenly found himself the unlikely center of it – as a suspect in the murder of Jam Master Jay. Scoon does not hide his former life as a street […]

Andre Harrell: Found in Translation
If you were making a list of Hip-Hop moguls to clone, you would definitely find Andre Harrell in the top five. After 20-plus years in the music industry, he certainly isnt slowing down. He is continually striving to take Hip-Hop, a culture he can take a certain amount of credit for, to new markets. His […]