Public Enemy’s song, “Harder Than You Think,” has been selected for NBC’s official Super Bowl XLIX Commercial, currently airing on the network with a voiceover by fellow hip hop legend Ice-T. “Harder Than You Think” was also featured in the UK’s powerful and emotionally-charged “Meet The Superhumans” 2012 Paralympics campaign, hailed as one of the [cont.]

The New York Post reports: “Two people were shot in a trendy section of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, early Tuesday, in what was purportedly a rap beef. Hip-hop musician Freddie Gibbs, who had just performed at a record store called Rough Trade, claimed he was the intended target when shots were fired at 1:13 a.m. while he [cont.]

Here are some of the best and most talked about moments from Hot 97′s Summer Jam 2014. Action Bronson had arguably the most raw, hip-hop set of the show. Going straight into the crowd to perform. You may have heard about 50 Cent showing the crowd “how to rob”, as he beats up and steals [cont.]

Maybe with Dr. Dre’s sale of Beats Electronics to Apple, we may finally see a release date for his final album, Detox. Fans have been waiting for it for so long, that they’ve taken matters into their own hands. Yes, the innanet has decided that if Dre won’t finish Detox, then they will finish it [cont.]

Did you know that supreme evil corporation, Wal-Mart, indirectly has control over the rap industry? Until iTunes surpassed it 2008, Wal-Mart was the #1 music retailer in the United States, despite the fact that they only offer “clean/radio edit” versions of albums, something that we’ve all found out the hard way, at least once. That [cont.]

Didn’t watch The Grammy’s last night? Here’s what you missed. You won’t feel too bad. Beyonce and Jay-Z perform “Drunk In Love”. Damn, Bey (as usual). Juicy J helps out Katy Perry with her hit single, “Dark Horse”, alongside magic dancing trees and fairy dust. Kendrick Lamar performs alongside Imagine Dragons, mashing up lyrics from [cont.]

Nevermind the above graphic, Detox has been on this list the last ten years. Anyway, here’s what we can look forward to in 2014, in no particular order. 30% of this list will not come out, and this list represents likely only 30% of the actual amount of hip-hop albums that will be released this [cont.]

We pick hip-hop’s 10 best music videos and the 10 best viral videos of 2013. 2013′s Best Music Videos 10. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – “White Walls” (feat. Schoolboy Q + Hollis) – Directed by Ryan Lewis & Macklemore – The success of 2012′s The Heist gave Macklemore and Ryan Lewis a little bit of [cont.]

Each year we are flooded with mixtape releases from just about everyone. The medium has gone from the old school days of “blend tapes” to a platform spotlighting exclusives, without the rules or constraints of the music industry. This has allowed artists to preview new music, not worry about clearing samples, and jack other artists’ [cont.]

Each year we forgo the usual “top songs” lists, because 1) the iTunes/Billboard charts will tell you that, and 2) we usually don’t agree at all. Instead, we go back to our 12″ vinyl single foundations and present a list of the best loose, underground tracks that didn’t have an official album or artist mixtape [cont.]

The major labels often release the biggest albums of the year, however that doesn’t always insure quality. It was hard to find 10 releases that we rated @@@@ or above from the major label system, with many of the releases on this list only scoring 3.5. That being said, here are the “best” major label [cont.]

Each year, the indie hip-hop albums always deliver much stronger product than their major label counterparts, so it’s harder to narrow it down to just 10 releases. That being said, 2013 was a strong year for independent hip-hop, with many of our favorite artists returning to the game. Here’s our picks for the 10 strongest [cont.]

The cover art is perhaps the most important aspect in the presentation of an album. Nobody likes to admit it, but people do judge books – or albums for that matter – by their covers. If the cover makes a striking statement, like many of these do, it begs the consumer to listen. The philosophy [cont.]

There were a lot of hilariously bad album covers this year, suffering from poor art direction, over pretentiousness, or complete jumbled messes. Here’s a look at the year’s biggest eyesores in hip-hop cover art. 10. Tyga – Hotel California – Hey bro, even rich people don’t wear fur coats in California. In the daytime. It’s [cont.]

While this is not a complete list of the albums that will drop in 2013, this does cover a lot of what has been announced thus far. This is in no particular order, it’s just a stream-of-consciousness list that we came up with of stuff slated for this year. Feel free to add in stuff [cont.]

Looking for something a little different? Here were our 5 favorite not-quite-hip-hop releases of 2012. 5. Flying Lotus – Until The Quiet Comes – Until the Quiet Comes turned out to be Lotus’ most atmospheric LP to date; something he must have intended, with closing songs like “Dream to Me” and “Phantasm”, the latter featuring [cont.]

With hundreds of mixtapes released in 2012, we picked our favorites, many which show that your street releases don’t have to be made up of freestyles over the hottest beats. 10. Childish Gambino – Royalty – Royalty represents actor Donald Glover’s self-made transformation into a respected hip hop artist. So whether you’re a hardcore hip [cont.]

We pick hip-hop’s best viral videos of 2012. 10. Alchemist & Action Bronson Interview Each Other. – Al and Action’s sense of humor couldn’t be captured better in this strange interview taking place on beaches of Cali. 9. David Copperfield Magically Appears At Rick Ross Performance – In perhaps the most surreal moment of the [cont.]

We pick our 25 favorite videos from 2012, across both major label and indie releases. 25. Waka Flocka Flame – “Rooster In My Rari”; Dir. Morocco Vaughn- So bad, it’s good. 24. Cypress Hill x Rusko – “Can’t Keep Me Down” (feat. Damian Marley); Dir: Kristofer Ström – It’s no secret that both Cypress Hill [cont.]

“You had your chance and you blew it!” These were our most disappointing album releases of 2012. 10. Saigon – The Greatest Story Never Told Chapter 2: Bread & Circuses – The problem with making a sequel to classic or beloved hip-hop record is that people will undoubtedly compare it to it’s predecessor. Saigon’s official [cont.]