With 2005 shaping up to be a pretty lousy year in hip-hop, there is an opening for a few new artists to make names for themselves. When Babbletron dropped Mechanical Royalty two years ago, the release went virtually unheard because of the well known artists who released albums at around the same time. Damn shame, [cont.]

Missy Elliot’s latest, The Cookbook, suggests that the ingredients that make up this album are the recipe for the perfect record. What ingredients are included, you ask? Naturally, hot production from The Neptunes, Timbaland, Rich Harrison, and others, plus the usual assortment of the hottest rookie artists that would be glad to be a part [cont.]

     It’s been many years since the 3 Melancholy Gypsys put out Gypsys Luck. As Murs, Eligh and Scarub continued to move on to solo success and being integral parts of the California conglomerate, Living Legends, many wondered if there would ever be another 3 Melancholy Gypsy album ever again. As the trio of emcees have [cont.]

      Ever since the “endtroduction” of DJ Shadow some ten years ago, numerous artists have attempted to recreate his sound, and some have even taken it to another level (RJD2, Blockhead). Nowadays, its commonplace for indy labels to have an instrumental artist like Shadow in their stable, and some labels are primarily based on these [cont.]

    White, suburban and financially secure…in 2005, an MC with these attributes is more common than ever. And more often than not you won’t find rappers with this standing flaunting their privilege. In fact, they do their best to cover it up. So when a talented freestyle MC from a well-to-do L.A. suburb comes along [cont.]

    Illogic may go down in hip-hop history as the most consistently underappreciated lyricist of our time (then again, if he is so criminally unknown, how would he go down as anything?). Release after release, Illogic has decorated each and every album with witty lyricism, intricate wordplay and clever concepts. With Write 2 Death 2, [cont.]

    Initially recorded over 2 years ago, this collection of tracks by Ohio resident Dwight Farrell are a testament to his skills as a producer/emcee, as well as his determination to play the hip-hop game by his own rules, whatever the cost (hence the EP’s title). There are few cats realer or more dedicated to [cont.]

     A couple of years back, when the two were just making a name for themselves, Atmosphere’s Slug and Living Legends’ Murs came together to form the group Felt, paying tribute to actress Christina Ricci, with their collaborative debut EP. Back by popular demand, the duo returns with Felt 2: A Tribute To Lisa Bonet, this [cont.]

     You’ve gotta feel for Royce Da 5’9. Here was a man that was poised as “next to blow”, not only from being Eminem’s right-hand man, but also being more talented than anyone in D12 not named Marshall. He even got the chance to pen a few tracks for Dr. Dre’s 2001 LP, but after [cont.]

    It’s a little difficult to keep up with all the Justus League affiliated releases these days, as one comes out almost every two to three weeks, which is rather unfortunate considering that means you have to pick and choose which ones to purchase, while simultaneously trying to keep up with the rest of the [cont.]

     One emcee, one producer – the formula that has benefited both emcee and artist in terms of consistency and sound. From Eric B & Rakim to Talib Kweli and Hi Tek, the formula has culminated into near classic records and created, for lack of a better term, Chemistry. For Buckshot and 9th Wonder, this [cont.]

     Like the animal the group is named after, Giant Panda’s members are black, white, and Japanese, with Maanumental, Newman, and Chikaramanga making up the multi-racial trio. As the first full-length release from Thes-One of People Under The Stairs’ new imprint, Tres Records, GP’s debut album, Fly School Reunion, brings them together to reminisce of [cont.]

(Vaulted re-release; no rating given)     Digging in the vaults of defunct or negligent record labels is becoming an increasingly popular and wise decision on the part of independents. While the early-90s was undoubtedly a high point for hip-hop, even then, labels were more often concerned about capital than creativity. But thanks to labels like [cont.]

     One word defines Weightless Records: consistent. Everything that has come out of the Weightless camp has been sound lyrically and production-wise. With Blueprint leading the charge – he has unofficially become one of the leaders in the “indy artist of the year” category – it doesn’t look as if the Weightless train is showing [cont.]

     The man known as Joey Crack needs no introduction.  From his debut album Represent, to his dealings with the Diggin in the Crates crew, to his outstanding remixes with the one and only DJ Premier, Joe has been around the block.  Joe has even had a taste of that commercial success, with “What’s Luv” [cont.]

     One of the few artists able to reinvent himself after his major label prime had passed, former Artifacts member Tame-One successfully aligned himself with the right artists on his Eastern Conference debut, When Rappers Attack. Enlisting producers RJD2, J-Zone, Camu Tao, and DJ Mighty Mi, Tame updated his sound to match today’s underground standard, [cont.]

    When Symbolyc One (with assistance from Illmind) provided the beautiful soundscapes that backed up Strange Fruit Project’s strong Soul Travellin, heads began to take notice that there was possibly another producer(s) that could make a breakthrough in the industry.  The soulful sounds that bled through speakers made many eyebrows raise and wonder “Who the F*ck [cont.]

    Sampling – that is, taking a section of a song, and reusing for your own recording – has been harshly criticized over the years, as “stealing” or “not real music”, by the mainstream press. Sure, it’s easy to see why clueless, uninformed, aging rock journalists would see it this way, because sampling in it’s [cont.]

    A little under a decade ago, an emcee by the name of Canibus burst onto the scene and floored people everywhere with his ridiculous punchlines and clever wordplay. As the hype reached an implausible high, courtesy of his stage stealing guest spots, Canibus promptly dropped the inexcusable dud Can-I-Bus. The album was shitted on [cont.]

    Hype…..where would so many new acts be without it? While some artists get lucky by having the right person hear their records, many others have to find a way to get their music into the right hands. The Chapter falls into the latter category, being one of only two groups selected out of 5,000 [cont.]