Artist: Tanya MorganTitle: MoonlightingRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Sidik Fofana The life of an underground emcee is like that of a door-to-door salesman’s. Without the luxury of a mainstream following, the subterranean emcee has about two minutes of album time to sell his product. More difficult to move than say kitchen knives or pre-paid insurance, […]

Artist: DJ Drama/Little BrotherTitle: Gangsta Grillz: Separate But Equal (Mixtape)Rating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Alejandro Mojado The South’s reigning mixtape king is at it again with his infamous Gangsta Grillz franchise. This time Drama is throwing salt in the game by featuring premier NC rap group Little Brother. They come together to bring us Gangsta […]

Artist: DJ Eleven & Spitkicker Present…Title: Fight Music: The Best Of M.O.P. (Mixtape)Rating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Jamin Warren Ever listen to M.O.P. for 50 minutes straight? It makes your blood boil. After one spin, DJ Eleven’s Fight Music: The Best of M.O.P., you’re ready to start robbing old ladies and pushing infants down the stairs. […]

Artist: Movie ReviewTitle: Inside Man (Film)Rating: 4 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Edwardo jackson Every once in a while, in Hollywood, you catch a glimmer, a faint glimpse at how good the world (re: entertainment world) could be. A few times a year, a perfect storm coalesces to bring smart talented people together to do smart, talented […]

Artist: Video Game ReviewTitle: Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Video Game)Rating: 3 StarsReviewed by: Alejandro Mojado Mark Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (Atari/PS2) attempts to bring to life one of Hip-Hop’s most known and practiced elements. The art of tagging can be found from the streets of New York City to the farms of […]

Artist: Various ArtistsTitle: AND 1 Streetball SoundtrackRating: 2 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Jamin Warren Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater introduced the soundtrack to be as prominent piece of the game as the graphics. Since then EA Sports has taken the reins as the leader in background rhythms, even recruiting Just Blaze to produce the complete soundtrack to […]

Artist: DJ CrucialTitle: Test Presses And Dub PlatesRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Paine The days of self-pressed twelve-inch white-labels seem long behind us. The problem is, nobody told St. Louis’ DJ Crucial. The mixtape DJ has also been producing one-off’s with an array of artists spanning Hip-Hop geography and demographics. Test Presses and Dub Plates […]

Artist: Murs & 9th WonderTitle: Murray’s RevengeRating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Paine Los Angeles’ Murs has done a lot with something he’s been in sole control of, his career. His second Def Jux album, Murs 3:16, saw him aligned him with a burgeoning 9th Wonder for a critically acclaimed confessional that won the hearts of gang-bangers […]

Artist: Ras KassTitle: Revenge Of The Spit (Mixtape)Rating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Conan Milne Another mixtape? It’s been eight years since his last major label backed album touched down, and in Hip-Hop’s rapidly changing climate it might as well have been eight decades. Yet, revered Carson, CA lyricist Ras Kass still doesn’t seem ready to […]

Artist: El Da SenseiTitle: The UnusualRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Henry Adaso New Jersey Hip-Hop has been in limbo lately. Redman’s album will probably never see the light of day on Def Jam; Queen Latifah is on permanent Hollywood hiatus, and with Joe Budden’s sophomore album, The Growth, pushed back to 2010, there’s hardly any […]

Artist: Up HyghTitle: The Venus AlbumRating: 3 StarsReviewed by: Jason Hortillas When you think of Sweden, Hip-Hop is definitely not the first thing to come to mind. Major exports of the country usually do not include funky bass lines, and an appealing groove. However, these qualities are held by a duo hailing from Stockholm called […]

Artist: Saul WilliamsTitle: The Dead Emcee Scrolls (Book)Rating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Sidik Fofana Now for our keynote author, Hip-Hop’s resident poet, Saul Williams. You might remember him from such works as acting in Slam (1998), performing alongside virtuous Hip-Hop acts like the Roots, Blackalicious, and Erykah Badu, or you just remember his face from New […]

Artist: MadlibTitle: Beat Konducta Vol. 1-2: Movie ScenesRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Jason Hortillas When a rapper decides to inject an additional moniker or “a.k.a.”, it’s usually to add personality. In the case of Madlib, it’s more like method acting. Whether it be the fun loving Quasimoto, or the band leader of Yesterday’s New Quintet, […]

Artist: Various ArtistsTitle: The Sound of L.A. Vol 1+2Rating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Jamin Warren Who knows what’s going on in Los Angeles, but there is an honest-to-goodness music revolution going down. Maybe all the earthquakes shook something loose in the denizens of the SoCal’s producer class. Plug Research was smart to get on at […]

Artist: E-40Title: My Ghetto Report CardRating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Paine Every once in a while, a veteran makes an album that serves as a reintroduction. Scarface achieved this with The Fix and Snoop had R&G. A thirteen-year Vallejo veteran, E-40’s My Ghetto Report Card (Reprise/BME) is an iconic rapper’s buck-wild Spring Break of his senior […]

Artist: Junk ScienceTitle: Feeding EinsteinRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Kevin Polowy Positive. Backpack. Street sh*t. Nerd rap. Junk Science frontman Baje One fires off a checklist of rapjectives to brand his style at the very onset of this Brooklyn duo’s scientifically stellar debut Feeding Einstein (Embedded). And we damn sure appreciate the input. This review’s […]

Artist: Code RedTitle: All AboardRating: 3 StarsReviewed by: Brandon Edwards The members of Code Red all have tall tales and personal demons, each focusing a unique talent to make a healthy contribution to All Aboard (Madacy). The refreshing challenge is that they don’t sound like any other act on the scene which will make them […]

Artist: Five DeezTitle: KommunicatorRating: 3 StarsReviewed by: Mark Cilantro I first heard of the Five Deez and particularly Pase Rock and Fat Jon The Ample Soul Physician from J Rawls of The Lone to The Cata. Back then in ’99 the Five Deez were a contender in the then burgeoning indie renaissance. As most of […]

Artist: Movie ReviewTitle: 16 Blocks (Film)Rating: 4 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Edwardo jackson BIASES: 30 year old black male; frustrated screenwriter who favors action, comedy, and glossy, big budget movies over indie flicks, kiddie flicks, and weepy Merchant Ivory fare “I was trying to do a good thing.” So says on-the-job b##### of a cop Jack […]

Artist: A-TrakTitle: Oh No You Didn’t!Rating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Paine A-Trak is arguably the most wanted live DJ in Hip-Hop. Having moved swarms on the road with Kanye West, his technical skills reign supreme, as the Montreal DJ has recently incorporated more club-minded records to his mixes. Recorded in Vancouver, Oh No You Didn’t! (Audio […]