Fabolous: Laced Up

F or the first time in his career, Fabolous appears to have had almost a year to “breathe.” After his Just Blaze-laced banger towered the Hip-Hop charts, it failed to match Fab’s previous work in reaching Top 40 radio. Meanwhile, the Elektra Records star was stranded in an Atlantic merger, where his marketing strategies fell […]

GLC: Heaven Knows

I n the Hip-Hop world, a memorable cameo appearance and endorsements from A-List artists can be both a gift and a curse. After impressive guest spots alongside one-time mentors on EPMD’s “Hardcore” and Dr. Dre’s “Deep Cover,” Redman and Snoop Dogg respectively proved that artists can parlay a quality 16-bar verse into a successful solo […]

Kevin Epps: On Point

It’s bigger than rap. It’s much larger than any brand of clothing, record label of the moment, or 16-bar quotable. If Hip-Hop is life, are we living correctly? What is the voice of this generation of music-makers saying? More importantly, does what we see on screen accurately reflect our surroundings? And are we motivated to […]

Too $hort: Keep On Truckin’

As the well-known freaky tale goes, Too $hort’s multi-platinum dreams started in the streets of Oakland. Close to a quarter century later, the after-effects of Todd Shaw’s still-monumental achievements still reverberate throughout the Town (as the city is affectionately known), and on blocks all over the country. Whether it’s encouraging the current generation of Hyphy […]

Shawnna: Heads Home

S hawnna has been “gettin’ some” for almost a decade – props, that is. While Ludacris’ Disturbing Tha Peace brand made Shawnna an artist that registered with a Southern, audience, this Windy City native dropped a group album nine years ago. As one-half of Infamous Syndicate, Shawnna was rushed into the studio, and later displaced […]