Long before T.I. was a king, Jeezy was a trap star or the South was poised to take over Hip-Hop, Pastor Troy was a regional success and pioneer of Georgia gangsta rap. Due to lack of investigation, some critics quickly dismiss P. Troy as only a “pioneer of crunk.” But that title gives little credit […]

Music junkies, rap historians, and Hip-Hop fanatics lend me your ears. Brian Coleman has made digging for exclusive threads of info that much easier with his newest book Check The Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies (Villard Books/Random House). Coleman is a proud member of Hip-Hop’s baby-boomers repping the Golden Age (1988-1996) to the fullest. […]

We should all be sick of “What You Know” by now, but even a year later, if the DJ throws it in the mix you will put your screw face on and bounce. Every MC prays for that kind of hit, but the few that get one usually crumble under the pressure of following up. […]

Huey comes out barking on the intro to his album, Notebook Paper (Jive Records), promising to be different and attempting to stray away from the rapper stereotype. Unfortunately, the St. Louis representative lacks in the lyrical department. However, thanks to a great production team, Notebook Paper is actually a bearable listen. Tight beats and unoriginal […]

To anyone outside of New York City, his name probably sounds like a cliché. However, those in Brooklyn know exactly who he is, Poison Pen. On this unofficial debut solo album/mixtape, Pick Your Poison: The Mark of the East, Poison gets another opportunity to introduce the world to the stylistics of Brooklyn Hip-Hop. The recent […]

Northern California rappers Luni Coleone (formerly Lunasicc) and Cool Nutz cross paths in one of the frequent collaborative albums from street runners in the 2000s. Like so many in this niche, can this duo break out of the local and cult markets and gain recognition as storytellers, or is Every Single Day (RBC) the sort […]

It’s the sorta new thing, DVD mixtapes. It ain’t enough these days just to have a burned CDR of various artists and push it for ten dollars. Na, you got have a DVD insert as well that has exclusive videos and concert clips. This is Littles’ hustle. The full time New York rapper slash ghetto […]

You have to give Da Shop Boyz credit where it’s due.  The Atlanta-based rookies’ first single, “Party Like a Rockstar” is right behind Rihanna’s  #1 “Umbrella” on the Billboard charts and dubbed the most played rap song in the U.S. according to Radio & Records. This club hit has the masses screaming, “t-t-t-totally dude” while […]

X gives it to you every time.  Despite Pick of the Litter’s (Def Jam) omissions both holy and not—“The Convo” and “The Omen”—this collection reminds us that DMX puts his guts into his music, whether it’s the pain or the peace; the faith or the violence. Ten years have passed since he dropped “Ruff Ryders’ […]

Don’t expect Trill Fam to reinvent the wheel with their salacious yet funky Survival of the Fittest (Trill Entertainment/Asylum). They don’t need to. While Hip-Hop purists may hate, Lil Boosie, Webbie and newcomer Foxx have created a funky mix of New Orleans bounce-styled joints that are heavy on the 808 and will have heads nodding. […]

There are a slew of words to describe Russell Simmons: inspirational, innovative, and entrepreneurial, just to name a few. And though he oozes success out of his pores, his latest book Do You!: 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success (Gotham) outlines a dozen laws that will help unleash […]

“Beats, rhymes, and life is where the marriage is” to quote the Common man himself. Kenji Jasper and Ytasha Womack have gathered a team of superhero writers to comment on what they love about Hip-Hop, what they hate about Hip-Hop, and what may never change among the twain. They tackle every issue about this disputed […]

Who could ever forget “Simon Says”?  The Godzilla-sampling anthem was arguably the biggest hit of Pharoahe Monch’s career but to remember him solely for this commercial success would be doing a great disservice to one of the most unique lyricists to emerge in Hip-Hop. Let’s not forget about his scene-stealing appearances on the Rawkus Soundbombing […]

Georgia peach Rasheeda offers a slew of club heaters in her latest Dat Type of Gurl (D-Lo Entertainment/Imperial/EMI). Rasheeda is not the ‘kinda gurl” as she oozes out in her first club friendly song, “Type of Gurl” to “fool with them boys living check to check.” The battle rages on about femcees coming across as […]

For many there hasn’t been a good urban tale since Coldest Winter Ever, but Charge it to the Game (La Femme Fatale) is taking a stand.  Written by Michele A. Fletcher, this book puts a different spin on “hood” stories, as it speaks of something too many folks in the ‘hood don’t know about or […]

In the film Rhyme and Reason, Ice-T said that gangsta rap’s underlying ethos is, “You, listener, I will shoot you in your motherf*ckin’ face.” So what does that mean when a critic reviews a release from the only rapper to ever violate parole based on his lyrics?  C-Bo apparently walks it like he talks it.  […]

For every major movement in Hip-Hop, there is an equipped journalist already documenting its evolution. With regards to the Southern aesthetic, Roni Sarig’s Third Coast:: Outkast, Timbaland, and How Hip-Hop Became a Southern Thing (Da Capo Press) serves as a precise account of Southern Hip-Hop’s rise and explosion into the mainstream. Sarig, who has written […]

El-P is a “b-boy brainiac who will smack you out your mittens.”  His mic skills support his pedigree but the vibe at the Fillmore East at Irving Plaza last Saturday came out more rock than rap.  It’s a comment on Hip-Hop that a loud and emotive performance transcends the genre; shouldn’t the people’s music reflect […]

What is DJ Khaled the best at? Maybe the question, like his new album’s title, We The Best (Terror Squad/Koch), is best left intentionally vague to keep his options open. What is definitive is that the hyperbolic DJ and producer has enough pull to put together a star studded line up of guest rappers for […]

The title of this book hearkens back to a fairy tale time that Hip-Hop scholars refer to as the Golden Age. A period when lyricists made their audience think first and dance second, when hemp and Africa necklaces replaced diamond-studded medallions and when artists were exposing the system instead of being pimped by it. Hip-Hop […]