Artist: Ja RuleTitle: ExodusRating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Sidik Fofana There’s always a little politics involved when someone decides that it’s time to drop a greatest hits album. For someone like Tupac Shakur, it’s just the posthumous thing to do: an album of eulogy after a lifelong legacy of hits. For someone like say Michael Jackson, […]

Artist: FunkMaster FlexTitle: FunkMaster Flex Carshow Tour CD&DVDRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Martin A. Berrios As one of the biggest DJ’s in the game, Funkmaster Flex made his name really pop with his signature 60 Minutes Of Funk mixtape series. More recently he has become Hip-Hop’s auto aficionado with his hands deep into all aspects […]

Artist: Lone CatalystsTitle: Good MusicRating: 3 StarsReviewed by: Jamin Warren Perhaps in hopes of cashing in on G.O.O.D. Music’s successful namesake, the Lone Catalysts embark on their sophomore release albeit it with less profitable results. The Kanye Co. comparison, however, is apt in that it marks the two directions of undie Hip-Hop since Rawkus’ slow […]

Artist: Dreddy KrugerTitle: Wu-Tang Meets The Indie CultureRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Mark Cilantro When I first saw this record I thought it was an iTunes Hip-Hop compilation. How they got away with flipping that Apple logo without incurring the wrath of Business and Legal Affairs, I will never know. So that was the 1st […]

Artist: Raekwon (Ice Water Inc. & DJ Riddler)Title: The Vatican MixtapeRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Bill “Low-Key” Heinzelman It’s very rare that an artist can go back and recapture the essence of their debut album, no matter how skilled they are. For Raekwon, this has been the demon he has struggled to exorcise for the […]

Artist: The RootsTitle: Home Grown! The Beginner’s Guide to Understanding The Roots Vol. 1 & 2Rating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Jason Newman The Roots have never been one to pander to traditional ideas of making and selling music. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Home Grown! The Beginner’s Guide to Understanding The Roots (Geffen) isn’t […]

Artist: Beastie BoysTitle: Solid Gold HitsRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: K.O. SlowThe ever-irreverent Beastie Boys have finally grown-up, they have released their first greatest hits collection. Unlike their anthology, Sounds of Science, Solid Gold Hits (Capitol) is pretty much what the name implies – nothing but the hits. While Sounds of Science had most of […]

Artist: A.D.O.R.Title: Signature of the IllRating: 3 StarsReviewed by: Bill “Low-Key” HeinzelmanHip-Hop heads in tune with the early 90’s will most likely remember A.D.O.R. for his Pete Rock produced underground classic “Let It All Hang Out.” The song put A.D.O.R. on the Hip-Hop map and helped earn him a deal with Atlantic Records. But things […]

Artist: Public EnemyTitle: New Whirl OdorRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Paine Many social commentators are claiming that America is mimicking itself 15 years ago: a Bush in office, a war going on, and starving in the streets. Whether true or not, it seems that the times have put up a proverbial cross-hair spotlight in the […]

Artist: Lil WayneTitle: Tha Carter IIRating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Bill “Low-Key” Heinzelman Lil’ Wayne has come a long way since his humble beginnings as a member of Cash Money’s Hot Boyz. As the youngest solider in the group, Weezy always stood out from his companions due to his intriguing voice and rebellious persona. However, the […]

Artist: Various ArtistsTitle: Run the Road Vol. 2Rating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Jason Newman When the original Run the Road compilation was released earlier this year, it was many Americans’ first taste of grime, the British Hip-Hop subgenre marrying ultra-fast, hyper flows with 2-step and jungle beats that owed more to Atari than to classic […]

Artist: Move.meantTitle: The Good Money EPRating: 3 StarsReviewed by: Paine In the late 1990’s, DJ and MC cliques out of Los Angeles like Dilated Peoples, Jurassic 5, and Ugly Duckling were the talk of the industry. Five years later, everybody is trying to climb back to that former plateau. Move.meant is a group made of […]

Artist: TupacTitle: Live at the House of Blues DVDRating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Piff Huxtable Tupac Amaru Shakur had many sides to him. There was the revolutionary that spoke on how powerful the streets would be if finally unified. He also was able to flip it to a much more poetic type who shined on “Brenda’s […]

Artist: Digable PlanetsTitle: Beyond the Spectrum: The Creamy Spy ChroniclesRating: 4 1/2 StarsReviewed by: aqua boogie Digable Planets never really got their fair shot. When they slipped into the scene with 1993’s Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space), snagging a Grammy and accolades longer than the album’s title, many dubbed them as late […]

Artist: Various ArtistsTitle: Impulsive!: Revolutionary Jazz ReworkedRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Orisanmi Burton For the uninitiated, the name “Impulse!” may not solicit a particular response. For all others this declaration, when set against orange and black packaging and adorned with converse exclamation points brings to mind many of jazz music’s most legendary figures. From 1961 […]

Artist: Reef the Lost CauzeTitle: Feast or FamineRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Max Herman Reef The Lost Cauze is one heated MC. While his voice is not quite as intense as his JuJu Mob crewmate, Chief Kamachi’s, this Philly-native proves to be a true Master of Ceremony on his new album, Feast or Famine (Good […]

Artist: Talib KweliTitle: Right About NowRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Angus Crawford Since and even before the debut of Black Star, Talib Kweli and Mos Def have been considered Hip-Hop saviors. While The Mighty Mos has made rapping his part time job, Kweli has been trying to rescue Hip-Hop and achieve fans’ unrealistic expectations for […]

Artist: CanibusTitle: Hip-Hop For SaleRating: 3 StarsReviewed by: Paine Forget the Keith Murray album, Canibus is the real enigma. Since going both independent and elusive, Canibus has offered fans a steady stream of albums with unique themes and producers. Mic Club, and Rip the Jacker, largely produced by Jedi Mind Trick’s Stoupe, found Canibus getting […]

Artist: Rob SwiftTitle: Soulful FruitRating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Martin A. Berrios As a culture we owe it to ourselves to show DJ’s more respect. People forget that Hip-Hop spawned from breaks and backspins. Queens born Rob Swift has always tried to take the art to higher planes and his album Soulful Fruit. (Fat Beats), originally […]

Artist: O.C.Title: Smoke & MirrorsRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Starrene Rhett Where there’s smoke there’s O.C., and where there’s O.C. there are mirrors — and he’s holding them up to himself and the entertainment industry. One of the most slept on MCs in the game is back with his fifth album, Smoke & Mirrors (Hieroglyphics […]