One might keep the new carpet crisp and clean by slipping on a pair of house shoes when indoors. Detroit bred, and now LA based, producer House Shoes brings a similar style to the production on his debut Let It Go. Following in a line of talented beatsmiths from the land of Lions and Tigers [cont.]

It’s been quite some time since we’ve heard from Columbus, Ohio emcee Illogic. His last project was in 2009, the little heard Diabolical Fun LP. While he has always rolled with the right crew, collaborating with artists such as Blueprint and Aesop Rock over the years, he was never quick to make the leap to [cont.]

When it was first revealed to the public that the supergroup Slaughterhouse would be taking their talents to the house that Shady built, there was reason to cheer. A collective comprised of some of Hip-Hop’s biggest underdogs, fans couldn’t wait to see what the group would do under a major label umbrella. Joe Budden, Royce [cont.]

Production duo Stu Bangas and Vanderslice have been providing beats for the underground set for the last couple of years, and with their debut album, Diggaz With Attitude, they call on some of those same collaborators to return the favor. With a guest list that reads like the HipHopSite.Com 12” vinyl section circa 2002, a [cont.]

DJ Shadow’s latest actually collects many of his earliest recordings. If you were digging in a record store in the early 90′s, in between the “rap/hip-hop” and “techno/house” sections was the “electronica/trip-hop” section, where you might find 12″ singles from a breed of instrumental producers like Coldcut, Automator, DJ Krush, and DJ Shadow. This era [cont.]

With the passing of Guru, it’s up to the rest of the Gang Starr Foundation to carry on the Boston-to-Brooklyn legacy. Freddie Foxxx aka Bumpy Knuckles has done a great job of carving out his own niche, while DJ Premier has never had a problem staying relevant in the game. 1/3 of the original Militia, [cont.]

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.]

M.F. Doom ends his rhyming hiatus after a three-year absence since his last release, Born Like This. Originally born in the U.K., Doom was denied entry back into the U.S. after travelling with a U.K. visa, forcing him to stay in London, where he recorded the entirety of his new record, J.J. Doom. A collaboration [cont.]

After an artist releases a classic album – or in the case of Public Enemy – several classic albums, the fans of those records always return to their future releases with the hopes that they can still capture that old magic. While P.E. has had a misstep or two throughout the span of their 25+ [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.]

Harlem native Azealia Banks is part of a modest surge in female rappers, joining the likes of Kreayshawn, Iggy Azalea and the ubiquitous Nicki Minaj. With her new mixtape, Fantasea, Banks makes a forgettable impression. The first 10 tracks of the nearly hour-long mixtape are filled with non-stop frenetic, high-pitched, sped up electro-dance house beats. [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.]

There was a time when Large Professor was regularly mentioned next to names like DJ Premier and Pete Rock, but unlike his more prolific brethren, Extra P has instead taken almost Dr. Dre-lengths of time to release full-length albums. And like the good doctor’s “I don’t smoke weed or cess…” line from “Express Yourself”, Large [cont.]

It’s 1:00AM and I’m thinking about the love of my life. Only problem is I’m not the love of his. Ingeniously, Frank Ocean has provided mood music for my pining. If someone decided to create a soundtrack centered on Lauryn Hill’s “Ex-Factor” line, “tell me who I have to be to get some reciprocity” it [cont.]

Admittedly, after the group effort of Hail Mary Mallon, expectations were lowered for Aesop Rock’s most recent effort, Skelathon. Are You Gonna Eat That? had it’s moments, but none of them resonated like Aesop’s past work on Labor Days or None Shall Pass. While we knew Aesop had his moments as a producer, the last [cont.]

There was a period of time when Rick Ross seemed like a parody of the commercial rap scene. His larger than life persona was buzzworthy through songs like “Hustlin’”, but he was dismissed as another one-hit wonder. When the accusations of him being a former correctional officer came out, it seemed like a sure-fire credibility [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.]

Yes, Nas is easily the most consistant rapper in the game. While Eminem may be the most technically amazing, and Jay-Z the one with the biggest catalog of hits, as XXL has put in their perfect rating of Life Is Good, Nas’ career has stretched the longest. If Biggie’s reign on the top was short [cont.]

Some album titles convey strong messages and use creative wordplay to show their hard work, pride, confidence, and of course, all of the marvelous benefits that go along with success. However, not many artists are capable of holding up those cocky record titles. Nevertheless, Childish Gambino has proved his kingship with his latest mixtape, Royalty, [cont.]

After hip-hop’s golden era of the 90′s ended, a lot of rappers found themselves trying to adapt to new standards set by commercially-relevant-yet-street-saavy acts like the Jay-Z, Notorious B.I.G., 2Pac, and Snoop Dogg. Soon, every New York emcee was trying to carve out the next “Hypnotize”, resulting in a lot of our favorite emcees releasing [cont.]