Friends, the time has come to close the book on HipHopSite.Com. After nineteen years online, I have come to the decision to bring the site to its glorious ending. As many of you have seen, over the last few months I have been working closely with original Source Magazine founder Jonathan Shecter in creating Cuepoint at Medium. Most of my time and energy over the last few months has gone into acting as managing editor of Cuepoint, delivering a wide array of stories that cover all genres of music. Having also spent much of the last 19 years as a DJ, my musical palette has expanded well beyond just hip-hop. Cuepoint is a place that has allowed me to write, commission, and curate articles from the best writers in the business. I am very proud of what Shec and I have started, so now it is time for me to fully devote my time and energy into making Cuepoint into the best place to read about music.

I’ve had a lot of great memories in creating HipHopSite, from purchasing product to sell in our retail shop directly from an unsigned Eminem at a Motel 6 to crashing the “Forgot About Dre” and “Stan” video shoots. From helping unknown artists like Jedi Mind Tricks, Little Brother, and J-Live get heard to chasing down MF Doom in a Las Vegas casino for an in-store. From running official websites for Em, Doom, RJD2, Demigodz to hosting in store events with Redman, Pharrell, KRS-One, Questlove, Pete Rock, DJ Premier and Talib Kweli. It’s truly been an incredible ride, but now it’s time to move on to the next chapter.

I will still continue to write album reviews on own personal Medium.Com/@DjPizzo account and will deliver more in-depth articles directly for Cuepoint. HipHopSite.Com will remain online for historical and archival purposes, so the option is there to pick things up one day later in the future. But for now, the site will no longer be updated. To be frank, I am not interested in collecting the content that is already infinitely blogged across the internet for HipHopSite each day. I’d rather devote my time to delivering you bigger, better, harder-hitting articles and Medium’s Cuepoint is the perfect place to do so. So below are some links of a few things I have written for Cuepoint recently. I invite you all to comment, respond, and even write your own articles on Medium. Hopefully I’ll see some of you on the other side.

Thank you all for the many years of support.

Peace party people,

Mike “DJ” Pizzo
02/23/15

It Took A Nation: The Greatest Rap Album Gets Its Due

The Music Of Pulp Fiction

A Formal Introduction To Tuxedo: Mayer Hawthorne and Jake One

Hoping For A Better Tomorrow: How The Wu-Tang Clan Got It Wrong

Portishead’s “Dummy” At 20

The Far-Reaching Influence Of A-Trak’s Fool’s Gold Records

Over at Cuepoint today, writer Donnell Alexander delves into the early days of Dr. Dre, attempting to pinpoint when he felt it was time to abandon the sound of the World Class Wreckin’ Cru and move on to pioneering L.A. gangsta rap.

Dr. Dre’s Secret (Sequined) History

Great piece at Cuepoint today from the man behind the viral @PharrellHat account on Twitter. He tells what happened and how the well timed username caught on.

How @Pharrellhat Went Viral

Over at Cuepoint today, Ras Kass gives an in-depth explanation as to why he wrote the song “How To Kill God,” from his Blasphemy LP with Apollo Brown.

Why I Wrote “How to Kill God,” by Ras Kass

My latest piece over at Cuepoint examines 20 undeniable classic albums-across all genres-that were snubbed by The Grammys for the Album Of The Year category.

20 Classic Albums Snubbed by the Grammy Awards

Essential reading and listening at Cuepoint today from Stretch Armstrong, in his latest installment of Cassette Culture. Stretch explores the impact of the Latin Rascals’ tape-edited mixes, and offers a live mix from them recorded in 1985.

How The Latin Rascals Mastered the Megamix

Essential reading today over at Cuepoint, courtesy of Check The Technique author Brian Coleman, who nabs a rare interview with MF Doom about the creation and subsequent shelving of KMD’s seminal Black Bastards LP. This is your weekend reading assignment.

Check The Technique: KMD’s “Black Bastards” and the Birth of MF Doom

Over at Cuepoint, I had the honor of speaking with Mayer Hawthorne and Jake One about their new collaborative album for Stones Throw, Tuxedo, dropping this March. Read on, true believers…

A Formal Introduction To Tuxedo: Mayer Hawthorne and Jake One

New at Cuepoint today, Talib Kweli speaks on the plight of the independent artist in his article “Why I Left The Major Label System.” In the article, he announces his next album, Radio Silence, and also reveals he has an album with 9th Wonder in the works, with both projects due 2015. He also outlines plans for his Javotti Music imprint under Caroline Distribution, with new projects from his artists NIKO IS and Jessica Care Moore, among others.

Why I Left The Major Label System

Over at Cuepoint, writer Dan Hyman speaks with DJ Mustard, who pulls the curtain back on the creative process behind hits such as Jeremih “Don’t Tell ‘Em,” Fergie’s “La La,” and many others.

DJ Mustard’s Secret Ingredients For Producing A Hit

“We let Black artists create absolute shite for years but gag when it’s served on a white spoon.”

Writer Shaka Shaw examines artists, race, and disposable hip-hop in this poignant new piece for Cuepoint.

Don’t Blame Disposable Hip-Hop On White Artists

Over at Cuepoint, Byron Crawford explores the long history of rappers versus police. Read on, true believers…

“Fuck tha Police” in Historical Context

In case you were wondering what RZA says at the end of the title track on Wu-Tang Clan’s A Better Tomorrow LP, we’ve reversed the audio for you. Play the clip below to hear RZA’s words, “The original man is god. The supreme being, black man from asia.”

My newest piece for Cuepoint examines why Public Enemy’s It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back is the greatest rap album of all time. I spoke with Chuck D about the new reissues of Nation and Fear Of A Black Planet, why it took so long for them to come out, and got his thoughts on Killer Mike, Bobby Shmurda, and Kanye West. Read on, true believers….

It Took A Nation: The Greatest Rap Album Gets Its Due

Longtime rap scribe Byron Crawford was at the St. Louis, MO Run The Jewels concert on Monday night, while the Ferguson riots took place just 15 miles away. He reports for Cuepoint.

Run The Jewels Stage a Rap Show During a Race Riot