What would you need to travel back to a time before hip-hop was littered with bling bling, high priced cars, and half-naked women? When hip-hop was fun? The Answer: A time machine! Unfortunately those things only exist in Michael J. Fox movies and H.G. Wells novels, but the next best thing is the aptly [cont.]

    The success of Built From Scratch made the X-ecutioners a little bit more than your average DJ’s it seems, and they are once again primed to stake their claim as the most underrated turntablist crew in the game. Being that “It’s Goin’ Down” introduced the masses to X-ecutioners with a little help from Mike Shinoda from [cont.]

     Time is of the essence. If you wait too long it can become your worst enemy. Age is the biggest variable in hip-hop today. There are some, but not many, who age like fine wine, while others never know when to quit. Closing in on almost two (yes two) decades in the game, transcending hip hop from [cont.]

     Eyedea has crushed rivals in battles (from Scribble Jam to the televised HBO Blaze Battle), giving him a strong reputation amongst underground heads and hip hop fans alike. The difference between him and the other white battle emcee is he has gone the independent route completely. After releasing First Born to critical acclaim many were [cont.]

    Rahzel’s is a voice that has been heard everywhere from video games to commercials to classic albums over the past half decade or so. Since making a name for himself with the Legendary Roots Crew, Rahzel has definitely paid his dues. Following his off beat solo debut album, Rahzel has gone back to the lab to [cont.]

    By now many know that the Okayplayer name is synonymous with artists such as The Roots, Talib Kweli, Common and many more. With an established following over the years including one of the better hip-hop websites on the net (Okayplayer.com) it is only appropriate that Brother ?uestlove and company launched a record label, giving their [cont.]

   Given the success of Blackalicious, it wouldn’t seem too farfetched for Gift of Gab to expand and see what he could accomplish as a solo artist. Gift of Gab may easily be one of the most underrated lyricists in the past decade. His delivery and breath control may be unmatched in hip-hop today. Understated? [cont.]

Stardate: May 2nd 2004 Time: 14:00 Cage and Tame One, collectively known as the Leak Bros, are hard at work within the walls of Mighty Mi’s home. I’ve been talking back and forth with Mighty Mi attempting to schedule an interview in between the two’s intense recording sessions. Finally, after finagling a Sunday interview, Cage [cont.]

    While contributing his fair share to the collective known as the Visionaries, LMNO (Leave My Name Out) has still managed to pursue his solo career. After delivering the line “Don’t fuck with LMNO, or I’ll send your demo tape to Jerry Heller” on Key Kool & DJ Rhettmatic’s ‘E=MC5″, James Kelly slowly made a name [cont.]

     Anyone who knows the legacy of one of the most influential musicians of our time, the one and only Stevie Wonder, knows that the simple idea of recreating his irreplaceable work is considered blasphemy of the highest degree. But once the name “Madlib” is attached many will breath a little easier, but not much. [cont.]

        It’s always a treat when an artist who has been around for a minute is able to dig into their vault and release some never before heard material for their loyal fans to consume. The Left Coast collective known as the Lootpack has now made some of their older material available with the release [cont.]

HHS: With your man Blueprint popping up virtually everywhere, where has Illogic been between albums? Illogic: umm….chillen. (laughter) nah I’ve been out on the road here and there and really at home just preparing for this album to come out. Getting everything prepared for the release and getting things lined up and trying to get [cont.]

     After coming out of nowhere with his critically acclaimed debut, Unforseen Shadows, and following it up with another critically acclaimed album, Got Lyrics, Illogic disappeared back into the underground abyss from which he came from. While fellow Weightless  partner and producer of his first two LP’s, Blueprint, has become an underground household name, Illogic was [cont.]

     The revolution will not be televised…for that matter the revolutionary damn near wasn’t even heard. R.B.G, Dead Prez’s sophomore effort has been through the ringer over the course of the last year. Columbia initially dropped them on the cusp of releasing R.B.G (the LP was getting rave reviews at the time, including a 4 1/2 mics [cont.]

     Grimm’s last decade of life has been nothing short of tumultuous. It began in 1994 when he was shot ten times and confined to a wheelchair. From there, he did time for conspiracy to distribute narcotics and was just recently let out. Somewhere in between this time period, MF Grimm (his previous moniker) found space to [cont.]

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely those of the critic and do not reflect those at hiphopsite.com or the United States hip-hop following. With that do not attempt to crucify the critic for his views of Dizzee Rascal’s debut album “Boy In Da Corner”. But in the immortal words of a brother named Sense “if [cont.]

   Over the last decade, hip-hop has gone through a transitional phase, morphing into overblown big budget albums accompanied by over hyped guest appearances (with the words “featuring” actually outshining the artist), coupled with over budget videos,  oversized jewelry, and cars with over proportioned females…. you get the idea. What happened to keeping it simple? [cont.]

      Sometimes you just need some good ol’ no frills hip-hop. No big booty chicks, no thugs, no guns, no bling-bling, no 24-inch rims with spinners, no Bentley, no shiny suits, no throwbacks, or definitely no shit for the grown and sexy. You just need hip-hop from the roots, minus the camera tricks. What Halftooth has done, is brought together [cont.]

    What do you do when you are one of the most respected rtists in hip-hop,chosen by both the commercial scene and the hard to please underground heads? When you have had a career that artists envy, from movies to music to commercials. When you’ve released a slew of albums and have a catalog that [cont.]

     Coming off of Battle Axe is Chase Phoenix’s first offering “Cut to the Chase.” While Battle Axe houses Swollen Members and others, Chase hopes that his release will be another notch on the blossoming Battle Axe belt, with a career that will last longer than the average underground artist. And with this attempt he is [cont.]