(Mixtape album; no rating given)     There are certain emcees that you wish would have came out 10-15 years ago. Back when people appreciated skill over the nonsensical bullshit that’s released today. When an emcee could be an emcee, and people loved someone who could spit. Apathy is one of those emcees. He has everything [cont.]

    “I’m just here to let y’all know that the first one [album] wasn’t a fluke.”  These words spoken by Sean Price on this very website sums up his motivation for his sophomore effort, Jesus Price Supastar.  It’s not easy to follow up a critically acclaimed album; what was a surprise is now expected and [cont.]

  From the virus that is hip-hop, we are seeing new breeds of music evolve from what essentially started off in the park with two turntables and a mic. Fat Jon and his Five Deez crew have always been a bit off the beaten path, mixing standard boom bip styles with earthy mood music, for [cont.]

      A lot has changed in Hip-Hop since the Ultramagnetic MC’s seminal debut, Critical Beatdown, and the release of their new album, The Best Kept Secret: a fact that is apparent by just comparing the covers of the two albums. In the nearly 20 years (old school heads, take a minute to check for gray [cont.]

    As the last member of the Wu-Tang Clan to get an album out (yes, U-God actually beat Masta Killa), MK shocked us all with the Nature Sounds release of “No Said Date”, one of the most surprisingly solid post forever Wu-releases (excluding those from Ghost, of course). He looks to strike gold twice with [cont.]

   With names like Lil’ B, Lil’ Uno, Young L, and Stunna, you’d think that The Pack was as cookie cutter as it gets, but the Skateboards To Scrapers EP proves otherwise. As part of the next generation of the Bay Area’s Hyphy Movement, this quartet is more about being cool than going dumb, as [cont.]

    “DJ Clue… Clue… Clue!”     When you heard this, you knew you were about to hear something exclusive.  Back in the late 90′s in Queens, a Clue tape was like Christmas coming early.  He knew how to introduce a song and unlike other DJ’s who screamed over everything, Clue sprinkled a few “Ha Ha’s” [cont.]

    Since Duck Down Records’ re-emergence in the summer of 2005, the legendary label has stayed busy, furiously dropping solid album after solid album. Tek’s new mixtape release, I Got This, is no exception. His extensive history with the label as one half of the dynamic duo, Smif N’ Wessun, as well as co-founding DD’s [cont.]

    Styles P’s long-awaited Times Is Money has finally surfaced — seriously. Nearly two years in the making, the oh-so-aptly titled album has somehow survived countless delays, label politics and even a brief stint in prison from its host. Now, four years since the release of his gold-selling debut, A Gangster & A Gentleman, does [cont.]

          First, Madlib teamed up with J. Dilla to make Jaylib. Then, Madlib teamed up with the super-villain MF Doom to create Madvillian. Next, Doom took it even a step further with Danger Mouse to form Danger Doom – and now, Madib teams up with Talib to form….uh….Lib-Lib? Nah? Thankfully they abandoned the mash-up names [cont.]

    Saafir’s strong voice and vocal presence remain in tact, and make no mistake; he still has presence and obvious drive. Good Game: The Transition finds Saafir’s displaying his know-how for salvaging tracks, as he combines smooth deliveries with  some wordplay. Songs such as “One of The Hardest” and “Get Busy” illustrate his unique cadence, [cont.]

    Apparently, when you are an artist coming out of Detroit, you are instantly expected to be in the upper echelon of beatmakers and emcees. Consider the artists that have come from the motor city (J. Dilla, Eminem, Royce 5’9″, Slum Village) and it’s easy to understand why expectations are so high. Enter Ta’Raach (formally known [cont.]

    It should be noted that the fact that The Good The Bad and The Queen is produced by Danger Mouse and features Gorillaz/Blur frontman, Damon Albarn in the lead, might lead listeners to believe that this was essentially another Gorillaz record. It’s not. This isn’t happy, danceable “Feel Good Inc” stuff, and there aren’t [cont.]

     In 2005, Boys N Da Hood signed to Bad Boy, and shortly thereafter, one member ventured solo, landing a deal with Def Jam. Two million record sales later, Young Jeezy is a household name, a pioneer of the “New South” movement, and closed out 2006 with the release of his second LP, The Inspiration. [cont.]

   When your album starts with a “Whoomp….There It Is” sample, you are either interestingly daring, or setting people up for a horrendous listen.  Comprised of two white guys and two black guys, Plastic Little is a group whose aim isn’t to make great music, instead they would rather test your resilience with tasteless race [cont.]

    There’s been a lot of talk over the last year about just how nice of an emcee that Lil’ Wayne is becoming. It all began in 2005, when he stepped his game up with the release of The Carter 2, and really began to take form with DJ Drama’s Dedication 2 mix CD. With [cont.]

    These days, making hip-hop for hip-hop’s sake, by paying tribute to the culture’s four elements, isn’t exactly what’s in demand. But the Visionaries don’t seem to be aiming for mass appeal today, nor have they ever. For this six-man crew, preserving the essence of hip-hop is vital, even if only the true b-boys and [cont.]

   In 1986, Kool G. Rap and DJ Polo made their debut with the classic track “It’s a Demo”. However, unless you owned the 12″ single or had access to a radio station with enough sense to put the song into rotation, chances are you missed this song in its original state. Even with the [cont.]

    Boston’s Termanology has been putting it down on the scene for the last couple of years, first discovered in The Source Magazine’s “Unsigned Hype” column. He has now released a total of four Hood Politics mix CD’s. Mixed by Statik Selektah, Term uses these compilations of exclusive material over original beats to show off his [cont.]

   Nas’s bold declaration that “hip-hop is dead” might shock some of today’s new generation of hip-hop listeners, but the fact of the matter is, heads from Nas’ era have been saying that for years. But Nas’ isn’t sour. He has accepted that the artform that we grew up on has changed completely in the [cont.]