There’s not much choice for Puff Daddy anymore but to release this album. Black Rob has long been a favorite of street vendors and underground rap fans because of his matter of fact, story-telling rap style. Strangely though Rob’s album has been consistently pushed back, just now catching a buzz with “Whoa”, after the previous [cont.]

 “People be putting out like one single a year on vinyl. That shit ain’t tight; I don’t care what your name is.” That’s The Grouch, and he’s Making Perfect Sense with his latest solo album.. or is he? If you’re familiar with the Living Legends and the Mystik Journeymen, you already know his repertoire. The Grouch [cont.]

 Some artists know how to strike when the iron is hot, and some don’t. Rahzel created incredible buzz with the Pete Rock produced All I Know and then pushed his album back month after month. Mobb Deep nearly bled themselves dry with a year of delays on Murda Muzik, by which time the entire album had [cont.]

The title of this compilation could have just as easily been called Superproducin’ – Great Beats. That’s not to take anything away from the all-star caliber of this diverse rhyme roster, but how fat would this sound acapella? That said, it’s obvious they decided that as long as the album was going to be called [cont.]

The Arsonists obviously took lessons from the Ultramagnetic MC’s’s, both stylistically and in their discography. Instead of trying to drop a full-length debut album with no recognition with the old “throw it at the wall and see if it sticks” philosophy, this NY underground crew has slowly built up a solid reputation by dropping one hot [cont.]

 The danger of reviewing any commercially oriented rap artist is that you walk a thin line between played out cliches. On one hand, it is so standard to diss rappers for coming out flossy that many critics slam the content without even checking the music, content, or flows. On the other hand, it is so [cont.]

Step lively! This album does advance, but the walk to get there is treacherous and the rocks below are jagged. For starters, there’s the collaborative cut “Rainmen” by the Deep Puddle Dynamics. A heavy grooving bassline is the only thing that cements the lyrics to the track, but with lyrics like “you’re lost, between mold, [cont.]

Is Gift of Gab the schizophrenic tenant number one? One thing is for sure: on the Blackalicious A2G EP, he’s definitely housing & arousing the intellect with introspect. This is the kind of release in only seven short songs that most rap soloists and crews wish they could come up with in bulky blathering thirty cut double [cont.]

Rhyming in the classic tradition of such tag-team duos as EPMD or Run DMC - new school MC’s Andy Cooper and Dizzy Dustin proceed take us to a place where Fresh is the Mode, not just a word to say. Ugly Ducking may be a comical name for this crew, but it’s definitely a misnomer - nothing about this [cont.]

The Boston scene can blow well enough on its own without the infamous and degrading controversy that surrounds The Almighty RSO/Made Men and The Source magazine.  Any publicity may be good publicity, but Boston heads have got to be damn tired of being remembered as the city that Guru left behind for the bright lights [cont.]

The so-called Mudkids certainly aren’t dirty or gritty, even though with a 4trackmind you might expect something that sounds rougher than an unreleased Wu-Tang Clan demo. Never that. What the rapper cHoc MC and partner/producer El-Mass put together will not leave washboard mudstains on the ride of your mind; rather, they will refresh you and leave you [cont.]