Almost everybody has an opinion on the Black Panthers. Some laud them as the revolutionary alternative to the sometimes passive peace movements of the 1960’s. Others dismiss them as an overglorified street gang, predecessors to the Bloods and Crips. The Murder of Fred Hampton (Facets) DVD documentary chronicles the untimely death of the Black Panther […]

As inundated as Hip-Hop fans already are, and have been for some time, with album releases, every so often someone comes along who shifts the focus of how Hip-Hop should sound. Now and again, there is that album release that challenges the creative foundations of the genre’s music and opens up listener’s ears to new […]

Underrated and unrecognized are terms that get thrown around so often in music it’s hard to take them serious anymore. If someone was to ask about an artist who has worked with Nas, Royce Da 5’9″, Papoose, M.O.P., and the Terror Squad, as well as has the support of DJ Premier, that has yet to […]

Kanye West has a big budget. Upon arrival at his album listening session, attendees were given a cheesy, plastic/vinyl version of those mini-blind sunglasses West has been seen rocking lately, along with a Playbill looking program that contained a tracklisting and lyrics to each song. Color no less; dropping a third album on Def Jam […]

    Despite what Common believes, AllHipHop.com has not found the new Premo. And we don’t want to. Few producers have introduced (and reintroduced) as many artists as credibly or as eloquently as that signature dusty, chopped and scratch-based sound coming from “The East.”     At 41 years old, the man born Christopher Martin has only […]

It’s been two years since Aesop Rock’s last release, the excellent but brief Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives EP and four since his last full length LP, Bazooka Tooth; but the wait was definitely worth while. As experimentation has increased over the last few years in underground Hip-Hop (most noted within the Def Jux […]

Officially Omillio Sparks’ first solo release, The Payback (Colossal Entertainment/Koch) might make you yearn for a State Property reunion. But, listen longer and you’ll realize that Sparks shines brighter on his own. The album is no-frills with guest appearances kept to a minimum (only two) and production handled by newcomers Versatile Dilemma and Black Key. […]

Welcome to Hustlenomics 101, today we learn to get it done by any means necessary. That pretty much sums up Yung Joc’s latest Hustlenomics (Block Entertainment/Bad Boy South)—lying, cheating, stealing, and genuinely being sly are the building block to any successful hustler. And Joc plays an amazing hustler because he sure did a great job […]

Since releasing his debut album Heavy Mental in 1998, Killah Priest has managed to establish himself as one of the most consistent, talented emcees in the game.  His sixth solo album, The Offering (Good Hands), once again fulfills the lofty standards that Priest has set for himself.Although he is a veteran, Priest still sounds hungry […]

What could go wrong when one of the country’s most experimental jazz groups collaborates with some of Hip-Hop’s most innovative emcees?  Galactic’s sixth studio album, From the Corner to the Block (ANTI-), answers emphatically: “not too much.” The self-proclaimed jazz-funk-rock group, spawned over a decade ago in New Orleans, provides the background while a slew […]

Throughout the late ‘90s and ‘00s, Sway & King Tech provided a radio platform that celebrated rap and DJ innovators, along with a showcasing block for burgeoning talents such as Eminem, Crooked I, and Tech N9ne. After slews of self-released freestyle discs, the duo— along with Carmelita and DJ Revolution release the DVD accompaniment, Freestyle […]

Sometimes is seems like Talib Kweli doesn’t have the career he really wanted. Hip-Hop fans tend to prefer their artists to find a category and stick with it, so whether an MC is introduced to the game as a thug, playboy, intellectual or whatever else, the audience has a certain expectation that he plays that […]

In 2006, Plies had a potential hit on his hands with the original version of “I Wanna Love You.” After being arrested last summer for being connected with a club shooting (his entourage allegedly opened fire on the crowd who came to see him perform; it’s a long story), the label opted to officially give […]

Often name-dropped by countless rappers and touted as the “John Gotti” of the 1970s, Leroy “Nicky” Barnes bares his life story in this narrative account.  Written in collaboration with author Tom Folsom, Mr. Untouchable: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of Heroin’s Teflon Don (Rugged Land) is the unadulterated story of a Harlem linchpin told in […]

If music videos could outline the evolution of a true west coast star from slangin’ mixtapes out of the trunk to making hot R&B chicks like Cassie go star-struck, the DVD, The Best of E-40 Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow: The Videos (Jive/Legacy) defies the theory that rappers don’t grow.  Beginning with a blast through the […]

Most producers have their run and their sound or style gets burned out.  Usually this happens because their sound stays the same or the artists they had the most success with are no longer relevant.  Swizz Beatz has leaped over both of these hurdles.  Starting his career in the late 90’s, he was hotter than […]

After a few false starts on DMX’s Bloodline label and as a hype man for Disturbing Tha Peace, Chicago’s Yung Berg steps out on his own with Almost Famous: The Sexy Lady EP (Epic), a six-song preview of his full-length debut Look What You Made Me, due out next month. Berg has already seen some […]

The summer of 2006 witnessed the longstanding super-group The Boot Camp Clik release their richest, most skillful work in The Last Stand. Arguably perceived as a cry for attention, the militant Brooklyn outfit made music to gain recognition after a chapter of critical and mainstream ignorance since the late ‘90s. As it were, the stand […]

Why isn’t Chuck D. comparable to Reverend Butts or Sharpton?  Like collaborator KRS-One did with Hip Hop Lives this year, he stopped merely griping about Hip-Hop’s deterioration and has instead offered a compelling alternative to rap’s violent mainstream malaise.  How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul? (Slam Jamz) is a […]

There have been a number of rappers who had their so called “time in the sun”, whether it was 5 or 15 years ago, but are making their comeback in the name of real Hip-Hop.  Most have not succeeded because they have failed to prove their relevance in the new age. Keith Murray has and […]