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 […]

Kevin Black: Bet on Black
When it comes to creating a marketing and promotions plan for a new or established artist the odds of success are a crap shoot. However, for Jimmy Iovine and Interscope Records, a bet on Black is usually a safe bet when it comes to innovation in marketing strategy. As Vice President of Interscope Rap Marketing […]

Jerry Heller: Ruthless For Life Part 2
AllHipHop.com: Later on, Eazy was extremely hurt by Dre’s departure, both businesswise and mentally. What was the climate at Ruthless after Dr. Dre left? Jerry Heller: We lost the principles we started under, which was working on one album at a time. Eazy was searching for producers, sometimes we would have 15, 20 projects going […]

Jerry Heller: Ruthless For Life Part 1
Today, most Hip-Hop fans can spout off the names of every labels CEO, and maybe even an A&R or two. But in 1986, Jerry Heller became one of the first behind-the-scenes moguls to emerge when he aligned with Eric ”Eazy-E” Wright to form Ruthless Records. The label would change Hip-Hop forever with its introduction of […]

K-Rino: Last of a Dying Breed
The city to be reckoned with this year in Hip-Hop is without argument Houston, Texas. With artists surging the market in various cameos, videos, and documentaries; everyone is getting a taste of the H-town. As newer artists like Chamillionaire, Paul Wall, Mike Jones, or Short Dawg rise, one could wonder what inspired these young gentlemen […]

Lil’ Boosie: Bad to the Bone
Less than a month away from his 23rd birthday, Lil Boosie is in position to score big. After almost a decade of independent grinding, the Baton Rouge rapper will unveil his first Asylum Records-backed project, Bad Azz, with mentor Pimp C out of jail. That was not the case last year, when former partner and […]

Damon Eden: No Mountain Climber
Youre fresh from your local Tower Records, you pop in the latest CD from your favorite rapper or singer and from the very first listen of the album you find yourself saying one of two things, Damn this is a hot CD! or What in the world was he/she thinking when they recorded this crap? […]

Willie D: Gangsta of Love
When keeping it real goes right, there was Willie D. The most outspoken Geto Boy, Willie spoke bluntly about race, class, sex, and money. The Houston rapper suffered for this. His loved by few, hated by many attitude spent years in the shadows of GB brother, Scarface. But 20 years later, Willie has never bit […]

Scarface: Fixed on Change
As Rap-A-Lot Records turns 20 years old, a lot of the people who made the label what it is arent there to blow out the candles. Most would concur that theres none bigger than Brad Jordan, better known as Mr. Scarface. Since 1988s Making Trouble, the Geto Boys did just that, for anybody who was […]

Black Ice: Raise Up
When youre driving in a cold highway, you never see Black Ice coming. It can throw you from the road, and it can shake your consciousness just enough to provoke a reformation. Black Ice is a fitting title for Philadelphia poet and artist. For the last five years, hes been shocking fans with blunt artistry […]

Glasses Malone: Million Dollar Baller
If New York Hip-Hop is dead, L.A. rap has decomposed. The Game not withstanding, most fans are likely to draw blanks if asked to name one of the new MCs to hail from the left coast. But as the year winds downand new blood like Saigon and Papoose look to put New York back on […]

Fat Joe: Safe to Say Part 2
AllHipHop.com: As far as image, you come across as a very serious person most of the time but you did a skit with Andy Milonakis, who is probably one of the craziest people in the world. Do you think that people misunderstand your personality sometimes and dont see that youre a fun guy? Fat Joe: […]

Fat Joe: Safe to Say Part 1
T he fact that an artist can have a successful career beyond a debut album these days is often testimony to something greater than just talent. Fat Joe is one of the tried and true artists of our time, a man with over a decade of albums and a string of street-savvy hits. While some […]