The duo of Chace Infinite and DJ Khalil aren’t new to the game of hip hop. As a matter of fact, Self Scientific have slowly been building steam by affiliating themselves with Xzibit and Strong Arm Steady, as well as tying themselves to DJ Muggs’ Angeles Records. For those who have been keeping up, [cont.]

    Who in the blue hell is Big Tone? I’m not really too sure myself, but upon further research I found out that he’s an emcee from Detroit that is looking to make a name for himself with his debut album on ABB records, entitled The Drought. The significance of the album is that Big [cont.]

    In the mid-90′s New York City underground rap was ruling boom boxes and headphones nationwide.  With the emergence of Duck Down Records and its very talented roster, the duo known as Smif-N-Wessun dropped “Da Shinin” in January of ’95, and the rest is hip-hop history.  The singles “Bucktown”, Wreckonize” and “Sound Bwoy Bureill” further [cont.]

    One Self is a straight up cultural melting pot. Not only do their members bring an array of nationalities and ethnicities to the group, but their producer, DJ Vadim, sees no borders when it comes to his international-minded production. On their debut, Children Of Possibility, Vadim (a Russian born Londoner), MC Blu Rum 13 [cont.]

    It’s fair to say that Adam Drucker has a unique voice. If you’ve heard him on record as Dose One, (whether solo, with Boom Bip, as a member of cLOUDDEAD or Subtle, and with beat magician Jel and keyboardist Dax as Themselves), chances are that his incredibly nasal but pliable tones either fascinate you [cont.]

    When you think of Florida a few things come to mind….booty music, Luke dancers and booty music. Never does it really cross your mind that a true hip hop group would exist in Florida. Well Asamov of trying to change that. The four man group of Willie Evans Jr, Basic, J. One-Da and Therapy [cont.]

 So this is what happens when you try to big up the Western Massachusetts hip hop scene to the world. Like any artist, Springfield trio Maspyke’s music is well-informed and shaped by their cultural surroundings. With beats that are clearly influenced by Gangstarr’s gritty instrumentation (with Guru being Boston’s main legitimate claim to hip hop [cont.]

     There are not many reviews, that I have read, that give due to the producer of a record.   If that statement is anywhere close to the truth, then let me be one of the first of these new breed of reviewers to-do so.  What Young RJ, B.R. Gunna, and Carl Broaden, and Moss to a [cont.]

       Many accidental children were had, many blunts were smoked, and many tears were cried to the sounds of 2004′s “Music By Cavelight” by Blockhead. This seminal release was the official debut from the NYC instrumentalist, who back then was best known for his Aesop Rock production on “Labor Days” and other LP’s. A year [cont.]

  I could talk about Raising Hell as a rap critic: it’s certainly one of those albums that any writer has to contemplate at some point – as essential to hip-hop as any album you could possibly name. But the Raising Hell always meant  more to me besides its historical significance. It was also the [cont.]

   It seems only natural that a producer that adopted his moniker from a superhero cartoon would link up with an emcee that took the guise of a marvel comic book character. Enter Dangerdoom, the brainchild of DJ Danger Mouse and MF Doom, which in the tradition of last year’s Madvillainy, pits the emcee vs. [cont.]

     Young Philip Bernard experienced more than his fair share of crime and heartache growing up in Queens, New York.  Losing his father to gunfire at an early age, he had plenty reason to turn his heartache into negativity.  Fortunately, Philip channeled his energies into creative outlets and birthed the monster known as Grafh, a [cont.]

     If you look up “underappreciated” in the dictionary (or at least on Wikipedia), you’d probably see a big picture of John Austin (also known as Ras Kass) plastered across the page. The Carson emcee has been ballyhooed amongst hip hop peers of being lyrically one of the most incredible emcees in the game. But [cont.]

     Putting it down on the indy scene for almost ten years now, Minneapolis all-stars, Atmosphere deliver their umpteenth full-length release, finding the crew taking a back-to-basics approach. Trading the usual self-depreciating, lo-fi “emo-rap”, producer Ant and emcee Slug instead deliver hard-hitting production and 80′s emcee battle rap swagger, with a touch of “edutainment”. Fresh [cont.]

    Mr. Greenweedz and G.Riot of the Family Tree manifest precisely what Chicago hip-hop represents: beats and rhymes that are as soulful as they are grimy. On their full-length debut together, G-Strings, G.Riot unearths enough rare jazz breaks and rugged drum patterns to keep heads nodding throughout. Meanwhile, Mr. Greenweedz keeps his lyrical output engaging [cont.]

  When you think of Detroit, two artists usually come to mind- Eminem and J Dilla. Eminem for obvious reasons and J Dilla for the legacy he’s crafted from a production standpoint. Dilla has been responsible for many of the Detroit underground success stories (Slum Village) and has had a hand in many well known [cont.]

     “I’m the king of rock/there is none higher/sucker emcees should call me sire/to form my kingdom/you must use fire/I won’t stop rocking till I retire.”  And with that Run-DMC took hip-hop from the boroughs of NY to the brink of mainstream prominence.     Before Rick Rubin put his minimalist stamp on the group, Run-DMC [cont.]

    Kev Brown’s name has been floating about the industry for some time now. As one of the many producers to put his personal stamp on the flood of Jay-Z Black Album remixes (aptly titled The Brown Album) Kev emerged with not only a solid remix album, but also a healthy buzz. That buzz landed him as [cont.]

     Despite having four full-length albums (plus a few EP and off shoot projects) to their credit, Blackalicious is still relatively unknown to the general public. Which is a crime, considering that the groups full, musical sound can easily be compared to groups like Outkast, The Roots, The Fugees, or Kanye West, but still is [cont.]

    In a little under a decade, Jimmy Jones has gone from “Cam’ron’s friend” on “Horse and Carriage” (remember me too?) to “Capo” of one of the hottest rap clicks around.  Along the way he has negotiated numerous business deals for himself and other members of the Dipset, as well as release a successful independent [cont.]