From the moment the world heard Masta Killa’s clean-up verse on the Wu-Tang Clan classic “Da Mystery of Chessboxin,’” it was obvious that the quality of rap lyrics stepped up about three notches. Masta Killa was the silent horse, called upon for lethal injection as needed. While the rest of the Wu released groundbreaking LPs […]
G oing into its thirty-third year, Hip-Hop has spun on pitch with the times. But as wise words echo from a true originator, the hands of time might want to cut the record back. Pee Wee Dance was expressing himself in the would-be culture when Richard Nixon was America’s president. The man’s role in Hip-Hop […]
S ome things seem like they were just made for each other. Like chicken and waffles, Will and Jada, and in the case if Outkast and Mr. DJ, it’s more than just chance or even luck that they met. Undoubtedly, each of them would have been successful as individuals, but together they will forever hold […]
F or Darnell Carlton, March 5, 2006 was supposed to be the payoff for over 15 years of loyalty and dedication. But, as Three-6-Mafia took home the Academy Award for Best Original Song, their performance marked one of the final times the man more commonly known as Crunchy Black would perform with the group. When […]
As the summer offers weltering heat waves, Young Jeezy hopes to change the climate of Hip-Hop to a much frostier temperature in the fourth quarter of the year. After being the runaway new star of 2005, the question remains as to whether Jeezy will affirm a role in the game that matches his monstrous voice. […]
AllHipHop.com: You brought up a point about the World Trade Center in your book about how the 3,000 people counted did not include immigrants or the homeless. There’s kind of a parallel happening in New Orleans with the prisoners not being offered any assistance. What would you suggest for the average person to do to […]
K evin Powell has long stood as the voice of activism, politics, Hip-Hop, poetry, and revolution since the dawn of the 90’s. One of the most assertive voices of our time, Kevin emotionally connects to every line he writes. As a soldier for Hip-Hop, his work with VIBE Magazine echoes to this day through his […]
N ot all lessons are learned on the first try. Around the time Trick Daddy was telling haters to “Shut Up,” Panama City, Florida’s Blood Raw was supposed to follow-up the sunshine-state charge. While label drama was one thing, it was ultimately Federal agents that halted Blood Raw’s charge to the game. A drug-trafficking conviction […]
T hroughout the history of Hip-Hop, it would seem that artists who come into the game as the protégé of another artists never quite live up to the hype, or even to the success of the friend, mentor or whatever who put them on. You can argue that record sales don’t always reflect the popularity […]
A product of Mt. Vernon, New York, CL Smooth and former counterpart, Pete Rock, took Hip-Hop by storm with their colorful sound. The 1991 EP All Souled Out and 1992’s Mecca and the Soul Brother LP, spawned memorable cuts like “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) ” and the self-titled “Mecca and the Soul Brother,” tagging […]
AllHipHop.com: You’ve already said that you’re reluctant to take credit but you’ve played a big role in this hybrid of skateboard and Hip-Hop culture. What do you think of the fact that there are kids with trucker hats skateboarding in Harlem now? Pharrell: Yessir, it makes me proud ‘cause I grew up like that. I […]
Don Ferquan, better known as Quan, wants us to know he’s back with a lyrical vengeance. After Nas introduced him to the world on the single “Just A Moment” from the Street’s Disciple album, the no-nonsense artist has matured both mentally and spiritually since his constant legal run-ins and greater background role at Nas’s Ill […]
J-Zone named his acclaimed 2002 album Pimps Don’t Pay Taxes, and while the IRS hasn’t sniffed him out yet, plenty of beat-buyers have. The Queens slick-talker, known for his penchant for early ‘90s gangsta rap, now has greater desire to be the respected producer that he’s become on the low, having produced for Biz Markie, […]
AllHipHop.com: Since the late ‘90s, a lot of artists have complained about the South’s dominance, but by all accounts you guys are tight with a lot of East Coast artists, including Brand Nubian. How was that experience? Pimp C: Yeah, they’re friends of ours. As a matter of fact, I was a fan of theirs […]
Feel free to nod in agreement if you’ve heard this one before. Rapper on the brink of huge crossover finds his success stalled by the inevitable penitentiary sentence; in a shocking turn of events his subsequent prison stay not only creates more of a buzz for the hugely successful album but also generates street credibility […]
S t. Louis, usually known as “the gateway to the west,” has a new movement forming and Da Banggaz are right in the middle helping it cross the river. With hopes of going beyond the niche that Nelly and the St. Lunatics carved, Da Banggaz aspire to bring in a “New St. Louis” still respecting […]
A li, the elder statesman of the St. Lunatics has done something that has some in Hip-Hop furling their eyebrows. He’s lent his Pop Star notoriety to the lyrical and eclectic flows of Big Gipp of Goodie Mob fame. Hip-Hop evolving the way it has it seems only right for the two artists to try […]
F For the relatives who call themselves, Generalz, their music and their lives represent every aspect of West Coast living. For Pro Styles the streets was the beat that he marched to, leaving home at the young age of 14 sleeping in the “g-rides” he used to steal. Whereas life in the suburbs for Tee […]
R ap-A-Lot Records has helped make local luminaries Houston Hip-Hop royalty for the last 20 years. The label’s most recent experiment has been Trae, a longtime affiliate of both The Screwed Up Click and Guerilla Maab. A cousin to Z-Ro, Trae has watched his friends and family’s lives forever changed by the legal system. In […]
W hile the sickle on Rawkus Records’ logo popped the jiggy balloon in ‘90s New York, Jurassic 5 led the charge out West. The six man crew combined harmonious choruses, sample-stacked beats, and tangible concepts to release the critically acclaimed Quality Control, followed by a respected Power in Numbers. However, in the three years since, […]
