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 […]

Art is life. You have heard this passé phrase uttered often in movies or scribbled in books. Hip-Hop has its own variation of the saying, “Keep it Real.”. Many rappers have said the phrase whenever interviewed about their music, but when you actually take a listen, it sounds like they are Sweet Sweetback, Tony Montana, […]

The transition from executive to artist and artist to executive is nothing new. Some do it well and others…not so much.  Unfortunately, Diplomat Records president Freekey Zekey’s debut album, Book of Ezekiel (Diplomat/Asylum) is far from a smooth transition.   When an album holds 18 tracks you get the idea that the artist has something to […]

Longtime UGK fans have been deprived of this fabled eighth effort for a little over a half a decade. Many waited with unquestioned loyalty, but surely there were a lot of questions in the air. Even fans had to ponder whether or not the legendary duo could still make relevant music in 2007, especially after […]

This Jamaica-born, Miami-native, 17-year-old brings nothing but feel-good, dance music in his self-titled debut. Sean Kingston (Epic Records). Combining Hip-Hop, reggae, and a taste of old-school doo wop, Kingston doesn’t front trying to pose as a thug or show off his street cred, instead, like any teenager, he chases after beautiful girls and vents about […]

There is a very good chance that Gnarls Barkley, the commercially successful pairing of Goodie Mob’s Cee-Lo and DJ Danger Mouse, created a monster. That is, when the group’s eclectic album proved that audiences are open to cross-genre experimentation, the group essentially opened a door for other artists to jump on the bandwagon and fuse […]

Hmm. Like a child who has been through high-school, four years of college and about three years in the work force. That’s how long it’s been since seminal Hip-Hop film, Wild Style, first hit the film market. 25 years to be exact. To commemorate this glorious quarter of a century, Charlie Ahearn, the film’s director, […]

Let’s face it; an instrumental album is a tough release to sell; no words, no verses, no hooks. Just beats. And with the release of Louder (Nature Sounds), producer Ayatollah is now on his third instrumental release. One’s undoubtedly heard his sound: just check Mos Def’s “Ms. Fat Booty” from 1999’s Black on Both Sides […]

What sets Paid Dues apart from your average indie Hip-Hop show is that these aren’t just a few friends from the same label on the road together. Rather, this twelve-stop tour features several of the most respected subterraneous MCs around, who may or may not be down with each other. On the festival’s first show […]

When Public Enemy brought out a special guest at last weekend’s Rock The Bells festival in New York, it wasn’t a like-minded veteran rapper or up-and-coming protégé that surprised the crowd. It was Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian, partially reuniting the two groups on their classic “Bring the Noise” collaboration. A highlight from PE’s theatrical (S1Ws […]

Baby fathers exhale, finally. Alicia M. Crowe’s book Real Dads Stand Up! (Blue Peacock Press) serves as a reference guide to get through all the child support payments, the supervised visitations, and custody battles that characterize the “baby mama drama.” As a deputy attorney with a law degree from Howard University, Crowe has seen her […]

Cats aren’t the only animals that get nine lives.  For an MC that came out in the underground scene in the mid-1990’s to still be garnering favorable attention is hard to accomplish.  Somehow, someway, Sean Price is doing it.  His last effort Jesus Price Superstar made an impression through crazy lyrics and a consistent underground […]

For someone who tends to wear his heart on his sleeve, Kanye West isn’t exactly this enigma that we are dying to figure out. Neither is his mother, Donda West, for that matter. Still, Ye’s mom managed to stretch the span of her son’s successful life into a book of stories that we’ve basically already […]

Why aren’t Camp Lo rap superstars? Was it producer Ski letting Jay-Z rock some of those beats instead? Is all that slick rhyming with the ultra-cool deliveries just passé? There aren’t any real answers to the questions posed but thankfully for their fans, the duo of Geechi Suede and Sonny Cheeba return with their third […]

Rawkus Records has a history of bringing a great sound on its releases. For those with a short memory; this is the label that brought you the likes of Hi-Tek, Talib Kweli, and Mos Def. Even though their roster has completely changed, they still seem to be dedicated to that progressive sound. The album Of […]

Brooklyn MC Skyzoo returns with an anticipated follow-up to his 9th Wonder-assisted Cloud 9: Three Day High album. Although he’s gained a significant following due to his online presence (his affiliation with 9th and the Justus League doesn’t hurt either), the Corner Store Classic mixtape is the appropriate reintroduction to Skyzoo for those unfamiliar with […]

For 2007, it’s in vogue to praise the ‘90s Hip-Hop movement, but cater to the radio with albums. A Canadian MC with a deep appreciation for that purebred Hip-Hop of yesteryear, Rugged Intellect’s Renaissance Music: The Introduction (Expertism) lives up to its name, and may kick through walls and borders like Toddy Tee’s batterram. Through […]

Yesterday’s Universe (Stones Throw) by Yesterday’s New Quintet, an experimental/jazz collective headed by underground uber-producer Madlib, is a record that offers both a musical glimpse into the future and also a glance into the past. With this album, Madlib has compiled appealing insturmental tracks by the various artists and groups that work together under the […]