If ever it were possible to use the words “underrated” and “overexposed” to describe the same person, Marques “MH” Houston would be the strongest example. MH has been entertaining us since he was 12, and still his level of skill as a singer and songwriter remains in question. Veteran (Universal Motown) is his attempt […]

  Many may assume that Keith Robinson’s first taste of stardom came from his role as C.C. White in the Oscar winning film Dreamgirls. However, Mr. White aka Black Keith’s resume is far more extensive than that. The Kentucky-born singer-turned-actor made his way to L.A. from his hometown in Augusta, Georgia. Despite his success in […]

APOLOGY: a·pol·o·gy (_-p_l’_-j_) pronunciation 1. An acknowledgment expressing regret or asking pardon for a fault or offense. An apology can mean so many different things for people, both the giver and recipient(s). So, I’ve been thinking a bit. I believe it’s high time that Hip-Hop offered an apology to its women, in particular the females […]

I know it’s been a minute since I added an entry to my journal, but there’s been a whole lot going on lately, and I’ll admit I got a little bit caught up. Right now I’m caught up in crunch time. My second mixtape comes out on March 26th, which is less than a week […]

  In 1986, Dennis Hopper’s Colors depicted gang violence in gripping terms that made people far removed from south and eastern Los Angeles see the microcosm of the ghetto. Although it introduced the world to today’s stars Don Cheadle and Damon Wayans, the film bent to fit the heartstrings of a Hollywood audience. Cle Sloan […]

“Nowadays, rappers are comin’ half-hearted / Commercial like Pop, or underground like Black markets / Where were you the day Hip-Hop died? / Is it too early to mourn, is it too late to ride? “ – Talib Kweli, “Too Late” (2000, Rawkus) Less than a month after Little Brother moved away from 9th Wonder’s […]

If you get a room full of Black folks together to talk about the condition of our community, you can bet that the hottest topic of the evening will be “What the heck is wrong with Black leadership?” Many would probably argue that all Black leaders need to be but put on the unemployment line, […]

The situation with the murder of Sean Bell by the NYPD has been a serious topic as of late. I am sure, for many Americans who are not minorities, this case means very little- emotionally speaking. Most of White America seems to feel that the topic of police profiling and physical abuse by police in […]

It has become an annual ritual. Every year around March 9, the rap world honors the late Christopher Wallace, better known as the Notorious B.I.G. But are we celebrating Biggie’s life, or his death? This year, that question is more relevant than ever. On the tenth anniversary of his murder several rap mags and other […]

“So you wanna be hardcore, with your hat to the back, talkin’ bout the gats in your raps?” – Notorious B.I.G., “Machine Gun Funk” Despite Kobe Bryant’s changing his number from 8 to 24, and a whole portfolio of clippings on Lebron James, there will never be another Michael Jordan. It’s sinful media hype to […]

You know it’s time to evaluate our collective selves when we have ‘other folk’ speaking sensible truths about the plight of our culture. More to the point, when a website such as ALLHIPHOP.com posts an interview with Gene Simmons of KISS, a White ROCK band, who effectively tells us that we need to watch the […]

  When AllHipHop.com heads down to Las Vegas twice a year for the MAGIC Convention, we like to find the hottest and newest fashion trends amidst the sea of celebrities and “who’s who” of the fashion industry. When we heard that rock legend Gene Simmons would be at the Dussault booth in the Street Wear […]

What up world! Yeah, your man is back at it again, journalizing my thoughts and internalizing my sport, hypothesizing and prophesizing theories on this outrageously turbulent game that I’ve subjected myself to. So for this installment I might as well make the subject myself: Serius Jones. As you can see, I’m taking this opportunity to […]

Whatup? Since my last entry, there’s been a whole lot goin on over here. I’m putting the finishing touches on my second mixtape ESSObama: The Champagne Campaign and I’ve also been working on another project called Separated At Birth that I recorded last week with IB3, an artist out of Houston that’s signed to Mathew […]

When I think about the assassinations of Black Leaders such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King and reflect upon the Black Community’s reaction to these tragedies, I’m compelled to question whether the deaths of Biggie and Tupac affected the Hip-Hop Community in the same manner. The length of this comparison begins and ends with […]

With so many visiting and viewing the demise of Hip-Hop in its public hospice, has anyone given any thought to exactly WHO is directly responsible for its ravaged condition? Granted, it’s easy to say that many have contributed to spreading life-threatening poison that have left it in a state of septic shock; I argue that […]

R.I.P. Disco D I gotta take a second to say goodbye to a good friend of mine that was lost last week when he took his life. I’ve seen a lot of reports over the last week about the death of Disco D (Dave Shayman), and it pains me to have to say goodbye to […]

“Now Little Brother gonna break up / Everyday I wake up”… It was almost four years ago to the date. I was interviewing J. Rawls, and shortly before we closed our drab questions and answers, I asked the Lone Catalysts producer what records he was presently feeling. “I can’t stop playing ‘Whatever You Say’ by […]

“If Hip-Hop should die before I’m great I’ma do more than just murder a mixtape” -Chamillionaire (Hip-Hop Murder from Mixtape Messiah II) Whatup everybody? 2007 is already lookin like an interesting year…and a whole lot of signs are starting to pop up to let me know that we just might be near the beginning of […]

There have been and probably will be numerous articles on the January 16, 2007 RIAA raid of the Aphilliates Music Group studio and arrest of my brother Tyree "DJ Drama" Simmons and DJ Don Cannon. There have been and will be numerous articles on what the implications of this raid will not only have on […]