In today’s day and age, with albums leaking weeks before they are released in stores, the situation is worse than ever. Reason being, now the ever-connected masses learn to consume these products via numerous file-sharing sources, as the news explodes like death panel paranoia via social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Case in point was [cont.]

Kamaal the Abstract is one of these long-talked about albums that was inexplicably shelved by an evil record company (Arista, in this case) for years.  Kamaal was set to be released way back in 2001, and we’ve had to wonder all this time, why? There’s a tendency for fans to mythologize these lost records into [cont.]

This mismatched group of intimidating, scary white dudes pulls it’s origins from many different areas in the hip-hop landscape, all tied together by former House Of Pain hype man, Danny Boy. Danny brought along Everlast and DJ Lethal from the L.A. set, while bringing Non-Phixion’s Ill Bill and Boston super-emcee Slaine to represent the east [cont.]

JS-1 has transformed himself into more than just another New York DJ.  From scratching with Regis on Regis and Kelly to making the DJ essential “Scratch Roulette” series, JS-1 is more of a brand than just a guy who spins records.  It’s been 7 years since he dropped the seminal Ground Original, which featured a [cont.]

In today’s age of indie hip-hop, the market is so dry that there’s only room for the cream to rise to the top, leaving many of the stars (and non-stars) discovered over the last decade, frankly, out of a job. Thankfully, a guy like Alchemist has proven himself, rising above the cold, dark and lonely [cont.]

The list of emcees who have struggled with finding the sweet spot between what’s heartfelt and what’s commercial includes, well, just about everyone, but few have embodied that dichotomy quite as well during the 2000s as Brooklyn’s Fabolous. Though he’s had both the lyrics and the legal entanglements to keep his street cred intact, he’s [cont.]

If you’ve stepped into the club anytime over the last year, surely you’ve heard the sounds of LMFAO, you may just not realize it yet. They’ve turned songs like Kanye West’s “Love Lockdown”, Fergie’s “Clumsy”, and Katy Perry’s “Hot & Cold” into certified club-bangers with their unique fusion of electro house beats and blissfully ignorant [cont.]

The Wu-Tang logo has been used and abused like a cheap prostitute, slapped on just about everything from blue jeans to Playstation games, but it’s most criminal charge was in the late 90’s / early 2000’s, when just about everyone was a “Wu-Tang affiliate.” This spawned countless albums from cousins and nobodies all with the [cont.]

If you follow Cage’s back story, you might notice he’s been on a bit of an upswing. His last album via Def Jux was critically acclaimed and attracted fans as diverse as Shia LeBouf.  This may or may not be a bad thing, clearly LaBouf has the power to do anything he wants at the [cont.]

After an eight-year absence Maxwell is back, and when you put on BLACKsummers’night the sounds coming out of your speakers are so soulful you can almost feel the toxins washing out of your system.  The album is filled with lush horn arrangements, plaintive vocal phrasings and an overall sound that feels completely assured and cohesive. [cont.]

Let’s get one thing clear.  If you are looking for poppy, keyboard, synthed-out Top 40 bullshit, you might as well stop reading right now. If you are looking for hardcore, street, boom-bap, classic, authentic hip-hop, by all means continue – this is it in it’s purest form. Straight out of Queensbridge comes Blaq Poet. For [cont.]

Lets face it, Sa-Ra just wasn’t cut out to be on a major label. At least any major label looking to insert them into their line of “hip-hop” artists. After a short-stint G.O.O.D. Music, despite the fact that these guys look great standing next to Kanye, they never were able to actually get their dreams [cont.]

It can be hard hearing a newcomer and not comparing him to Jay-Z or Big Daddy Kane or any other top notch emcee. Ultimately, however, it’s a fair comparison. If we are going to listen to someone’s album, then they should have the incentive of quality or at the very least the attempt at doing [cont.]

It’s been 10 years since Catashtrophy dropped Rap Life and a lot has changed. No longer is the west coast a powerhouse in the music industry. The same can say for former Liks label, Loud Records, who has now been out of business nearly as long as it has taken for Tash to drop another [cont.]

For those that don’t know, Malik Yusef is a spoken word artist from the streets of Chicago, who grew up in the same circles as Common and other Chi-Town artists, many of which who have stepped in to help him out with his expansive double LP (each sold separately). You can’t help but notice the [cont.]

After the very lackluster, disappointing Curtis, and an embarassing defeat by Kanye West, there seemed to be some questions about where 50 Cent’s music career was heading.  Was he still hungry? Was he more into acting than rapping?  With the mixtape, War Angel, he shows that he’s still got some fire in his belly.  War Angel is [cont.]

Ginuwine’s A Man’s Thoughts starts out with an interlude in which he’s introduced as a “legend.”  That’s probably a little strong, but he has given us some nice anthems over the years–his early work with Timbaland (Ginuwine…the Bachelor and 100% Ginuwine), in particular, was actually exceptional. A Man’s Thoughts is a very middle-of-the-road outing.  Nothing [cont.]

This critic chronicles the Black Eyed Peas in two eras: “B.F.” and “A.F.”. “B.F.” refers to the great era before Fergie, while “A.F.” refers to…well you get the drift.  Granted their commercial success is attributed to Mrs. Fergie, a leftover from failed 90′s pop group, Wild Orchid. Because of this, their hip-hop credibility has suffered [cont.]

Let’s face it, posthumous albums usually suck. No matter how great the artist behind it is, the end results are usually disappointing. This is mainly because the artist was not around to see the project through until completion. You won’t find many people singing the praises of Notorious B.I.G.’s Duets or any Big Pun album [cont.]

Mos Def is a tough cat to figure out. His first solo album was straight (and good) hip-hop, his second made him sound like he wanted to be a rocker, and his third – released with no cover art and no promotion – almost made it seem like he was embarrassed by it. Add in [cont.]