Nigerian-American emcee, Wale, first hit the scene in 2006, making noise locally in the D.C. area with a pair of go-go club hits, “Dig Dug (Shake It)” and “Breakdown”, respectively. With “Dig Dug”, he became the first local artist to chart on Neilson’s Broadcast Data System since DJ Kool in the nineties. Shortly thereafter, Wale [cont.]

Never judge a book by it’s cover. The cutting room floor. Just imagine what it would be like, to go into your favorite rapper or producer’s archives, and raid the masters, discovering hundreds of great tracks they felt weren’t good enough for official release. RZA’s basement, pre-flood era? Forgettabout it. The Pharcyde’s deleted tracks from [cont.]

Kid Sister is actually the older sibling to Flosstradamus DJ, Josh “J2K” Young, who put her on emcee duties at monthly parties in Chicago. This legendary local following led to national recognition landing the girl two (!) Urb Magazine covers before she had an album out. Soon, Kid Sis would find herself dating DJ A-Trak, [cont.]

The legendary D.I.T.C. crew has had it’s ups and downs over the years, delivering numerous classic albums and singles, but also plenty of missteps. For every Runaway Slave there’s The Dirty Version, for every Word…Life there’s Smoke & Mirrors. Usually the problems with D.I.T.C.’s later releases came from them trying to adapt to the commercial [cont.]

Ryan Leslie made his official debut earlier this year with his self titled LP, which managed to help him carve a few slots in commercial radio playlists. Songs like “Diamond Girl”, “Addiction”, and “How It Was Supposed To Be” all proved to be quality, lukewarm hits for the budding R&B singer / producer / rapper [cont.]

It’s been ten years since Rakim – known to many as the greatest emcee of all time – has dropped an album. His last LP was during the post-Biggie jiggy era, where he found solace among the production of Clark Kent and DJ Premier, both whom helped him stay true to his craft, while also [cont.]

The average life-span of a rapper’s career is usually about ten years – some move to the Hamptons, while others fade off into obscurity. Make no mistake, the length of any given rapper’s career has little to do with how talented they are, or how good their respective albums are. Some can eat off of [cont.]

     Termanology remains one of the go-to-guys for solid dose of “street hop” – that being real hip-hop music that carries the essence of what made the music pure in the early days mixed with the harsh realities of growing up in the hood. Artists like Gang Starr, Kool G. Rap, Nas, Rakim, and [cont.]

(Mixtape; No Rating Given) Edan may have only released three full-length albums, but he’s managed to reach legendary status amongst hip-hop heads and old school purists. An acquired taste, Edan has nailed what made hip-hop great in the 1980’s and regurgitated it into his own modern sound, best exemplified on his Primitive Plus and Beauty [cont.]

These days, it’s hard to find a rapper that encompasses every quality that makes superstars like Jay-Z and Eminem who they are. Some guys are marketable based on their image, but lack the skills necessary to escalate themselves to these Olympic heights. Others have skills, but lack street credibility, while others still can murder opponents [cont.]

Apathy has had a long, grueling ten-year career, one that is barely beginning to pay off for the artist. With no affiliation to any big name artists, Ap pretty much had to rely on his own talent to make a name for himself in the underground, unlike many of today’s rappers whom simply get by [cont.]

After a fuming legal battle with his former label, TVT, Pitbull emerged victorious, and began charting on a path that would make him bigger than ever before. Now independent, Pitbull has amazingly transcended the major label machine, churning out some of the hottest songs of his career, without the corporate money behind him. It started [cont.]

Brother Ali has been putting it down on the scene for a minute, gaining notoriety by opening for Atmosphere on various tours over the years, taking the stage by storm with his unabashed swagger and unique appearance. An albino, Ali has often dodged questions about what his “actual” race is, because he has felt that [cont.]

On his third album, Ready, Trey Songz demands to be taken seriously. No longer will he be forced to live under the shadow of R. Kelly, typecast as another clone of the R&B superstar / alleged child rapist. Well, if that were the case, perhaps he would have actually tried something different, rather than releasing [cont.]

Who knew that an album ostensibly about loneliness, isolation and night terrors could be so bangin’?  Kid Cudi’s Man on the Moon: The End of Day is a musical revelation.  It is a rare gem in which each song seems to build on the one before it, the beats getting better and better as the [cont.]

When talking about the most consistent MCs of the last five years or so, Ghostface Killah has to be up near the top of the list.  While Wu-Tang’s fortunes fell, Ghostface pushed it along with a series of invigorating releases (The Pretty Toney Album, Fishscale, The Big Doe Rehab).  Whether or not you dig his [cont.]

David Guetta is no stranger to the dance music scene, crafting huge crossover club hits like “Love Is Gone”, “The World Is Mine”, and “Love Don’t Let Me Go”, which continue to age gracefully, as deejays across the nation play these songs to death as a part of their “house set”, continuing to churn out [cont.]

M.O.P. often refers to themselves as a part of “the last generation”, as at one point, they represented one of the last hard-rock New York City hip-hop acts still holding a major label recording contract. We’ve all watched legends in the game get dissed by the major label system, as if they never helped shape [cont.]

With the exception of Wu-Tang Clan, which was introduced to the world fully formed, the concept of the hip hop supergroup is one that’s inspired plenty of anticipation with very little pay-off over the years. Putting several good emcees together has always seemed like a good idea, but whether the product couldn’t live up to [cont.]

Over the last few years, we’ve heard the cries that “hip-hop is dead”. Perhaps a more accurate diagnosis is, “the hip-hop album is dead”. Reason being, the days of multiple, seminal classic albums being released each year are gone, as the music industry is now more focused on single track sales and ringtones. Today, the [cont.]