There is rarely an artist that is so much more than just an artist. Case in point is J-Live. Going on nearly 15 years in the hip-hop game, J-Live is an emcee who never succumbed to the mainstream, never dumbed down his lyrics or production, and remained true to what is now referred to as [cont.]

Praying for the death of autotune, R&B is a lost art form these days. Gone are the days where singers could actually sing and soulful blues production was the mainstay. Instead, you have keyboard synthesizer beats and artists that can barely stay in key, even with autotune. Stuck between these two worlds is Jason Derulo. [cont.]

JS-1 has transformed himself into more than just another New York DJ.  From scratching with Regis on Regis and Kelly to making the DJ essential “Scratch Roulette” series, JS-1 is more of a brand than just a guy who spins records.  It’s been 7 years since he dropped the seminal Ground Original, which featured a [cont.]

Let’s get one thing clear.  If you are looking for poppy, keyboard, synthed-out Top 40 bullshit, you might as well stop reading right now. If you are looking for hardcore, street, boom-bap, classic, authentic hip-hop, by all means continue – this is it in it’s purest form. Straight out of Queensbridge comes Blaq Poet. For [cont.]

It’s been 10 years since Catashtrophy dropped Rap Life and a lot has changed. No longer is the west coast a powerhouse in the music industry. The same can say for former Liks label, Loud Records, who has now been out of business nearly as long as it has taken for Tash to drop another [cont.]

This critic chronicles the Black Eyed Peas in two eras: “B.F.” and “A.F.”. “B.F.” refers to the great era before Fergie, while “A.F.” refers to…well you get the drift.  Granted their commercial success is attributed to Mrs. Fergie, a leftover from failed 90′s pop group, Wild Orchid. Because of this, their hip-hop credibility has suffered [cont.]

Before we talk about relapsing let’s take a journey back to 1997. A little known freestyle emcee from Detroit is discovered after releasing an independent masterpiece called The Slim Shady EP.  To most, this emcee changed the game forever. Whether it was his intricate word play, his demented subject matter, or his all-around “I Just Don’t Give a [cont.]

Busta Rhymes is an artist who has stood the test of time.  He was there in 1991 with Leaders of the New School, and in that same year for his break out appearance on A Tribe Called Quest’s “Scenario”. He dropped his unmistakable classic The Coming in 1996 and so the story goes.  Busta has switched labels [cont.]

Music.Is.My.Savior or “MIMS”, for short, has been around a lot longer than you might think. His debut single, “I Did You Wrong”, did really well on college radio and ended up being on his first album, and was also one of the first projects serviced by the now infamous Digiwaxx.  So here we are 2 [cont.]

Camp Lo is one of those groups that hip-hop heads hold near and dear.  Though they have not reached the success or solidarity of their debut album Uptown Saturday Night since it dropped, they continue to have put out solid hip-hop music for over a decade. Camp Lo had “swag” before swag was cool and had [cont.]

What can you say about Flo Rida? The kid has number one singles on nearly everything he touches and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.  To be honest this reviewer didn’t think we would hear from him again after Mail on Sunday. He has proven us all wrong by continuing to make hit records and [cont.]

By definition the term “Decalogue” refers to The Ten Commandments of the Bible.   Perhaps this is the reason why the highly anticipated Jedi Mind Trick beat smith’s debut album is a mere 10 tracks long. But in today’s hip-hop marketplace an album that is only 10 tracks needs to be considered a classic to be worth the consumer’s hard earned [cont.]

Backed by the outstanding production of Peanut Butter Wolf and braggadocios rhymes to boot, since his 1998 debut Time Waits For No Man, Rasco has been emcee to watch.  Not only does he have a voice, flow and cadence unlike any other emcee, he has that uncompromising attitude that is so lacking in today’s hip-hop landscape.  Time Waits [cont.]

In history the fusing of two genres sometimes yields great results, i.e. Run DMC and Aerosmith and Jay-Z with Linkin Park. But to have something monumental come from this type of collaboration, all parties involved have to be fully committed.  There has been many times this just didn’t work (anyone remember the Loud Rocks compilation?).  So once [cont.]

Freddie Foxxx (aka Bumpy Knuckles) is already a legend it most hip-hoppers minds. With the classic Industry Shakedown and the solid Konexion under his belt his place in hip-hop was solidified long ago.  Little did some know, Freddie Foxxx was around long before what some consider his debut album in 2000. In 1998 he was featured on the [cont.]

In a recent conference call Erick Sermon put it better than any writer could.  “EPMD makes music for people that like EPMD”.  If more artists had the EPMD mentality hip-hop might not be in such a state of crisis.   It’s been nearly 10 years since we last heard from the duo of Erick “The Green-Eyed [cont.]

Common, dear sweet Common.  What are we going to do with you?  You give us two near classics with Be and Finding Forever and then you handed us something completely different with Universal Mind Control. Could this be another Electric Circus?   In a nutshell, no it’s not, but it’s no Ressurrection either.  So how does Universal [cont.]

The weatherman needs no introduction. There are certain groups and individuals in hip-hop that are always consistent and constantly deliver.  The man they call Evidence is one of those individuals.  Whether it with his group Dilated Peoples alongside Rakka Iriscience and DJ Babu or on the solo tip, Evidence has never disappointed.   After a year and [cont.]

Despite Todd Smith’s missteps over the last couple of years, you have look at the man as a legend.  He is a pioneer in hip-hop, and still an emcee at heart.  Since Phenomenon this writer hasn’t checked for Ladies Love in the slightest, but the new singles “Baby” (for radio) and “Rocking with the G.O.A.T” (for street) produced [cont.]

It’s been 8 years since we heard a compilation album from the one and only DJ Revolution.  Touted as maybe the best scratch DJ in the game, the anticipation was high for King of the Decks.  Before we get into the album itself, let’s talk about the demise of the DJ over the last 8 [cont.]