A recent promotional video for Busta Rhymes new album, Year Of The Dragon, touts him as having the longest run of relevancy in the game, pre-dating even Nas’ Illmatic, in his early years with Leaders Of The New School. This may be true – (Dr. Dre hasn’t dropped in how long now?) – as Busta [cont.]

The story of 2 Chainz goes like this. He was originally signed to Ludacris’ DTP imprint under the name “Tity Boy”. But no matter if you spell it with one “T” or two, Wal-Mart is never going to carry an album by a guy who has titties in his name. It doesn’t “sit well”, as [cont.]

Super-groups are a tough call. Most of the time these things get planted as an idea that never comes to fruition, and other times the idea is milked for all it’s worth. The Gravediggaz, for instance, released an arguably classic album with 6 Feet Deep, only to lose a member – and a degree of [cont.]

Alchemist’s latest, Russian Roulette, shouldn’t be classified as an album, nor as a mixtape. As Al describes in HipHopSite’s own interview from a few months back: “I’m still trying to figure out exactly what it is. It’s audio, it’s a length of time…. It’s just different from anything I’ve done, at least. It just kind [cont.]

Let’s face it – posthumous albums usually disappoint. In the case of J. Dilla, he’s been pretty fortunate to have his legacy live on in a positive manner with solid releases like The Shining and Ruff Draft, the latter of which was completed before his passing. There hasn’t been a terrible amount of remixing or [cont.]

As one of the few emcees who’s worked with the best in the underground, mainstream, East, West, and South, Houston’s own Devin The Dude is your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper. With his laid-back flow and smoke-filled rhymes, Devin has won the hearts of both rap fans and rappers themselves (most famously Snoop Dogg and Dr. [cont.]

“The storm is over and it’s time to move on,” says iconic Hip Hop producer Pete Rock. After two and a half days of heated discussion and debates within the Hip Hop community about Lupe Fiasco’s remake of Pete Rock’s classic Hip Hop song (T.R.O.Y. / They Reminisce Over You), the legendary producer gives a [cont.]

Miami’s ¡MAYDAY! is a crew that has defined the art of paying dues. They first broke onto the scene with their local hit “Quicksand”, followed by their breakthrough smash single “Groundhog Day” (featuring Cee-Lo Green). The latter boasts over 2 million views on it’s first day on YouTube – much owed to the affiliation with [cont.]

On paper, the prospect of an album from Diggy Simmons – the son of Rev. Run – seems like a big “no thank you”. Good looking kid rapper? Check. Born into money? Check. Skills…? Skills..? SKILLS??? Yes…..check. Yes, Run raised him right, as the young emcee definitely holds his own, as he first caught our [cont.]

With the arrival of Kendrick Lamar, all eyes have been on the Black Hippy crew, which also includes Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, and Schoolboy Q. Schoolboy Q is next out the gate, with the clique’s first release of the new year, Habits & Contridictions. But is Q just as talented as his Dr. Dre blessed brother? [cont.]

Eminem’s Shady Records imprint has been around for over a decade, but curiously has never signed another white guy. Considering that Em is arguably the nicest emcee in the game, for him to embrace a member of his own race would obviously draw comparisons, making it a lot to live up to for whomever that [cont.]

The crossover LP has been the death knell for many-a-rapper career’s – i.e. Big Daddy Kane’s Taste of Chocolate, Mic Geronimo’s Vendetta, or Q-Tip’s Amplified (and we liked that last one). Fact of the matter is, when artists choose to go against the sound that their original fanbase was built upon, the core feels betrayed, [cont.]

Statik Selektah has had an incredible year, not only putting in work up at Shade45, but really standing out as one of the best producers the scene has to offer. Over the course of the last year, we’ve seen him release incredible collaborative albums with everyone from Freddie Gibbs to Freddie Foxxx, showing amazing consistency [cont.]

While Exile is just starting to become a household name among underground heads, his history dates back more than a decade, as part of a little known group called Emanon, with some guy named Aloe Blacc. We’ve seen Aloe’s popularity explode in the last year or so, while Exile was responsible for producing one of [cont.]

It’s pretty simple. You either get Das Racist, or you don’t. Whether or not you like their music is a whole other topic entirely, but songs like “Combination Pizza Hut & Taco Bell”, or more recently, “Michael Jackson”, either grow on your hypnotically, or grate on your nerves endlessly. Truth is, they’re meant to do [cont.]

Not sure what is going on with the cover, but this comes from Mr. E’s We Run This 7 mixtape. LISTEN: Talib Kweli – “So Disgusting” Talib Kweli – “So Disgusting”

The indie hip-hop 12″ movement of the early 2000′s was responsible not only for the creation of this site, but also a slew of new blood coming up from the underground. We saw our share of one-hit wonders, while other cats released albums, but threw the towel in once retail was a wrap. All in [cont.]

We can’t say where we got the info from, but we’re hearing the Kendrick Lamar has signed with Interscope. Of course this is still in the rumor phase, which might mean the ink is not dry yet, but this is what we are hearing from some key industry insiders. It’s a natural, predictable fit, given [cont.]

Blu released an independent classic with Exile on Below The Heavens a few years back, and since then has struggled to match the acclaim of that release. Or, perhaps he is indifferent to it, as many of his consecutive releases have been solid, but not quite as game-changing. Jesus is his latest, another self-released LP, [cont.]

The West Coast has fallen on hard times in recent years, with very few names holding up the scene. Sure, we could count on legends like Ice Cube, Snoop, and Too $hort to hold it down, but let’s face it, the lack of a genre-defining Dr. Dre album over the last decade has left little [cont.]