Nina B: Go Up and Up
C an a New York female MC with a pretty face be taken seriously for her art? This is the struggle that Nina B faces. The Crown Heights Brooklyn spitter explains her lyrical passion to AllHipHop.com. Having quietly crept through the industry on The Games West Coast Resurrection album last year, Nina has recently released […]

Bishop Don Magic Juan: P.I.M.P. Part One
I f a man named Donald Campbell called to speak to your sister, you might not object. But if the man known better as Bishop Don Magic Juan rang, things would be different. Thats because through the mid 1970s to 1985, Don was the self-proclaimed king of pimping. From the North Side of Chicago, to […]

The Coup: Ghetto Manifesto
E very so often in Hip-Hop, an individual comes who speaks to the hearts of the people. There comes an MC whose lyrics strike a chord within an audience, spewing lyrical bars over heavy funk, all the while dispersing knowledge on issues common folk beef about at work, on the block or at the dinner […]

Yung Joc: Joc’in for Beats
After signing Outkast nearly twelve years ago, Antonio L.A. Reid predicted that Atlanta would become the Motown of the South. It seemed like a bold prediction considering that Jermaine Dupri was the only person moving big Soundscan units at the time. No one doubts that prediction now, as artists like Outkast, Ludacris, Lil Jon and […]

Rick Ross: On The Real
It is said that each year in the music industry is equivalent to three normal years. If that’s the case, then Rick Ross is way beyond a new artist – he’s a veteran. Most of the time, when neophytes drop records, the fans and the industry are typically interested in one thing: is that person […]

40 Glocc: Empire Strikes Back
A s Mobb Deep gears up for their smashing comeback, one of the members of their entourage may look familiar to West Coast Hip-Hop fans. 40 Glocc has taken a personal investment in P and Havoc, and parlayed his own career to the G-Unit label. Unlike your usual rapper support-system, 40 Glocc is hardly waiting […]

E-40: Big Ballin’ With My Homies
M ajor labels are looking at the Bay Area the same way that baseball scouts are eyeing up the Dominican Republic. Just as he did 14 years ago, Earl E-40 Stevens spearheaded a movement that attracted major attention out West. The one-time Gold Rush is replaced with a Hyphy train. On the heels of his […]

Jonathan “JR” Rotem: So Amazing
I ts often the strongest that move the quietest. So while ultimate hustler wannabees and your favorite superstars weed carriers party their lives away, the cats who actually create this music we diddy-bop to are pulling long hours in the studio, away from all the hooplah, doling out the hits that keep this machine going. […]

Warren G: The Funky Child
W arren G may not be signed to a major anymore, he may no longer have the best selling album in the country; but his presence never falters in the booth or behind the boards. The independently released, In the Mid-Nite Hour encouraged a different direction in production to what is generally expected from the […]

Big Mike: Champion Sound
If you know anything about the next level world of the mixtape, youve heard about Big Mike. Because of his hands-on grind, hes become an award winning tastemaker in the mixtape bazaar and garnered worldwide fanfare. With a catalog catering to the listening needs of the streets coupled with his D-Block affiliation, he has all […]

Sugar Hill Gang: And You Don’t Stop
I n the annals of Hip-Hop history, the reputation of The Sugar Hill Gang has been tarnished by the controversy surrounding band member Big Bank Hanks unauthorized use of Grandmaster Cazs rhyme book. The pioneering rap crew has been called inauthentic and labeled as Jersey rap puppets in the mainstream media. In an AllHipHop.com exclusive, […]

Hood Surgeon: The Difference
When Dr. Dre acknowledged his extended brother Warren Gs referral of Snoop Dogg, Deep Cover was born. History may repeat itself now that Dr. Dre has met his son, known to many as Hood Surgeon. While the junior Compton native strikes comparisons to his father in appearance, he promises to also pack a monster sound […]

Nick Cannon: Live and Direct
I f you asked a friend about Nick Cannon a year or so ago, you might have heard the words nice guy, Nickelodeon, and the second coming of Will Smith. Ask about Nick now, and a lot more things come to mind. Hes got the Number One rated show on cable with his brainchild comedy […]

Big Tuck: Universal Magnetic
B ig Tuck is the lead off artist of T-Town Records, who inked a deal with Universal for a staggering seven million dollars late last year, may not be a man of many words, but he claims to be a man about many units. Having moved 100,000 units of his album Purple Hulk independently, it […]

Mad Linx: Back In The Saddle
B ETs Rap City is easily one of the most respected shows in pop culture, and host Mad Linx is rapidly becoming one of the most recognizable faces in the Hip-Hop nation. From its beginning in 1989, Rap City has had a slew of hosts including Joe Clair, Chris Thomas, Big Lez and Big Tigger. […]

Juma 4: Africa Dream
In 1997, Hip-Hop in America was at its most controversial. There were deadly feuds between the East and the West Coast, which resulted in the tragic day of March 9, when the legendary Notorious B.I.G lost his life due to the chaotic territorial rap wars. While all of this was happening, a young Dutchman by […]

Cassidy: Jail, Lessons & The State of Affairs Part 1
On June 8, 2005, it appeared that all remnants of 23-year-old Cassidy’s life – the recording artist and a free man – was a decrepit thing of the past. A warrant was issued for the Philadelphia rapper due to his involvement in the murder of a 22-year-old man during an April 15, 2005 shooting in […]

Cassidy: Jail, Lessons & The State of Affairs Part 2
W AllHipHop.com: Not to get all philosophical, but Proof of D-12 was killed today and it seems like rap music and Hip-Hop is going through this over and over. Whats your opinion of the state of Hip-Hop on the level and specifically the state of the Black man in America. Cassidy: Its definitely going down […]

Postaboy: Mighty Healthy
P ostaboys battle to enter the rap game began a long time ago, when people were still calling him Sharard Dixon, a time when he was still managed by Kamal Blake – a former member of the rap group, Zhigge. Anyone who saw Postaboy rip through seven consecutive weeks as the champion on 106 & […]

LL Cool J: Nice Guys Finish First: Part Two
LL Cool J continues his revealing conversation with AllHipHop.com. Mr. Smith reflects on his newest niche in the fashion game, and gives some wise historic context to some changing trends in the Hip-Hop game. Read on AllHipHop.com: Youre back in the clothing game with a new line LL Cool J: Yeah, the Todd Smith one. […]