HHS: Let’s get right into it and talk about what everyone wants to know. You’ve been signed to Atlantic for awhile now, and I’m sure this is the number one question you’re tired of fielding, but what’s the reason(s) your debut has been delayed so long? Apathy: The reason for the delay is singles. Hit [cont.]

     What does it say about the hip-hop industry that two of the hottest emcees in the game, one consisting of an emcee (Shyne) currently incarcerated and facing another five-years pending an appeal, and the other a preacher on the comeback trail (Mase)?  While Shyne Po/Jamal Barrow was once more famous for having a vocal [cont.]

     On the “Intro” to Jadakiss’ sophomore effort, Kiss Of Death, he marks his return as the people’s champion “back by popular demand of the hood.”  And while that mandate was not due to his misguided solo-debut, Kiss The Game Goodbye, as even its powerful singles “Knock Yourself Out” and the celebratory “We Gone Make [cont.]

    When Slum Village released their debut in 2000, Fantastic Vol. 2, they became the Little Brother of their time, as the trio received critical praise, heavy interest from major labels and saw the man responsible for their sound (Jay Dee) star rise.  However, due to inter-group turmoil (Jay Dee left the group before their 2002 [cont.]

      On the “Intro” to Method Man’s Tical 0: The Prequel, RZA waxingly laments “peace to the Wu-Tang family/ten-years strong/over 40 million records sold/platinum and gold/and the saga continues.”  But is the Wu-Tang Clan movement really being furthered?  After all, RZA recorded nearly a full-LP worth of material with Meth for Tical: 0 and all he has [cont.]

     “He isn’t trying to save the world/just Hiphop.” Ask any Hiphop fan where they were the first time they heard the celestial horns from “T.R.O.Y.” floating out of their speakers and your sure too get an immediate and very detailed response.  Yet, when it comes to Pete Rock, “that’s just the top layer”as his [cont.]

   “These chicks don’t even know the name of my band….”  Okay, we understand the concept behind D-12 World’s lead-single, “My Band”. And will even admit that the spin and its accompanying video, making light of public perception and throwing the “sidekick” mentality in peoples faces is very clever marketing.  Nevertheless, its certainly a brash move [cont.]

Young Gunz (Young Chris and Neef) made their initial impression as members of Beanie Sigel’s State Property click.  While they have been appearing on various Roc-A-Fella projects over the last few years (including Jay-Z’s Blueprint 2), Young Gunz have not been a “priority” at Roc-A-Fella, which the title of their debut, Tough Luv, conveniently hints at, [cont.]

     At a time when its vogue to go solo and with large crew outfits going the way of N’ Sync (bye, bye, bye) the massive Boston, MA collective Electric (Insight, Anonymous, Dagha, Moe Pope & Raheem) is bound to draw comparisons to left coast counterparts Jurassic 5 in both structure, foundation (similar to J5′s self-titled [cont.]

     EDITOR’s NOTE: We have decided not to review Dangermouse’s Grey Album due to cease and desist orders and 9th Wonders Black Album remix in order to protect the LP’s sanctity, per his wishes.     While the remix is certainly not a new medium, 9th Wonder’s renovation of Nas’ God’s Son (God’s Stepson) not only opened [cont.]

     EDITOR’s NOTE: We have decided not to review Dangermouse’s Grey Album due to cease and desist orders and 9th Wonders Black Album remix in order to protect the LP’s sanctity, per his wishes.     While the remix is certainly not a new medium, 9th Wonder’s renovation of Nas’ God’s Son (God’s Stepson) not only opened [cont.]

     While Roc-A-Fella may have initially put Kanye West’s debut on the backburner, thanks to a parade of hits (Talib Kweli’s “Get By,” Ludacris’ “Stand Up,” Alicia Keys “You Don’t Know My Name” and his essential contributions to fellow Roc-A-Fella members efforts) some calculated risks (coming out of his own pockets to fund the current [cont.]

  On Vol. 2: A Hard Knock Life, Jay-Z gave Memphis Bleek the ultimate hook-up for any upstart emcee.  Not only was Bleek given a solo-platform on the LP’s intro, “Hand It Down”, but did so over a DJ Premier track.  From that moment on, it was evident that Bleek was being hand-picked to stabilize the Roc’s [cont.]

     If there is one thing you can habitually count on in hip-hop, it’s crew love. Once a member explodes onto the solo scene, it’s almost a right of passage for that artist to put his crew on and let them shine as well.  Think back.  Minus a few exceptions, almost every emcee that has [cont.]

 While hip-hop’s latest trend maybe implementing urban soundscapes into gaming outlets, its predecessor; label’s emptying their vaults, enabled a slew of previously unreleased LP’s to finally hit the shelves— Juggaknots, Last Emperor, Pep Love, Del, Dooley O, Nas, Charizma & Peanut Butter Wolf, among many all finally saw the light of day in either 02 or 03.  Granted, fans [cont.]

New S-O-U-T-H!!  KRS-ONE has gone on record to say that Eminem and Dr. Dre are the physical manifestation of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream Speech”. And as an urban example, KRS’ comparison is certainly valid; as who could have envisioned five-years ago that a white kid from the trailer parks of Rock City would team up [cont.]

     Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you have been able to catch at least a glimpse of MTV’s/P. Diddy’s smash success of a “reality show”, The Making of Da Band.  For the uninitiated, Da Band is a group of six-emcees with drastically different backgrounds forged together after various “talent” searches throughout the country.  [cont.]

   After leaving a slew of lunch tabs on the expense accounts of major label reps, Atmosphere promptly dashed their prospective hopes (GASFACE) and instead inked a deal with the rock based imprint Epitaph. While the move surprised some, there’s no disputing that Seven’s Travels is Atmosphere’s most-important record to date, as it finds the group and [cont.]

And then there were two…  Jedi Mind Tricks Visions Of Gandhi not only marks the end of the crews long sabbatical, but the first real glimpse of how the group will function as a duo.   While they may have been MIA for a minute, there is still a certain amount of allure attached to the group.  [cont.]

After garnering major-props for their breakthrough debut, 2000 Fold, Styles of Beyond  (Ryu, Takbir, and DJ Cheapshot) went splitsville shortly thereafter due to internal conflicts that arose after their deal with the Dust Brothers fledgling imprint went awry.  Now reunited and on their own imprint (Spytech), S.O.B. is back with an LP, Megadef, that with the [cont.]