It is very possible, that in the future, Soul Supreme will be looked at as one of the strongest producers in underground hip-hop, period, listed among names such as Pete Rock, Diamond, Jay Dee, and DJ Premier. If that prediction does come true, The Saturday Night Agenda will be the album that set it [cont.]

Storm The Unpredictable and his Plexus crew has been popping up on people’s radars for a while now. Holding it down for the home bases of D.C. and Oxon Hill (MD), they have built a rep for rocking shows and delivering positive uplifting messages. After a couple 12″s and regional success, Storm’s debut, Amalgamation, is brought [cont.]

“Street Dreams are made of these, niggas push beamers and 300 E’s, everybody’s looking for something.”  With those sentiments and a flossy big budget video from Hype Williams, Nas  went from Nasty to Esco and helped usher in hip-hop’s pretty boy thug era. Undoubtedly influenced by those words, Fabolous, has taken a cue from Nasir [cont.]

The D.O.C.’s contributions to the building of the west coast rap scene can never be overlooked; he was there during N.W.A.’s heyday with his own classic album, No One Can Do It Better, featuring two undeniably classic singles, “Funky Enough” and “The Forumla” – the former re-done enough times, reaching as far as the east [cont.]

After years of taking lumps in the industry and a few bad record deals later, Supernatural, like most of his battling peers (Craig G. and J.U.I.C.E.) was relegated to the ‘underground.’   Yet, rather then hang up the mic, Supernatural honed his skills and slowly began to show over time (“Buddha Blessed It”) that he did [cont.]

No rating was attributed to this album because it is over 10 years old, and it would not be fair to judge it against today’s standards. Joining the ever-growing wave of lost album releases is likely the least anticipated of the lot, Dooley O’s Watch My Moves 1990. While collectors salivate at the mere mention [cont.]

    While there is no animated movie to accompany it, there might as well be, as D-Styles’ Phantasmagoria is the best turntablist album since DJ Q-Bert’s Wave Twisters, if not one that surpasses it. But for this writer, “all that scratchin’ is making me itch,” and in a bad way. That’s right, I’m not a [cont.]

Ever since Nas dropped Illmatic, fans have demanded a return to the sound found on this album. After all, it was an unprecedented classic record, receiving higher critical acclaim than any other record in his career - so why didn’t Nas ever record an album using this same team of producers? With the exception of Stillmatic, a [cont.]

Rather than opting for battle filled careers, the Triple Threat DJ’s (Shortkut + Apollo + Vinroc)  diversified, wisely recognizing that strictly scratching doesn’t bring career longevity. As one of hip-hop’s most gifted DJ crews, Apollo, Shortkut and Vinroc earned their stripes on the merciless battle circuit, snagging title after title until they stepped aside from vinyl [cont.]

DJ Muggs, the stellar founder/producer/DJ of the famed hip hop group, Cypress Hill, creates a drastic diversion with the release of this down-tempo, dark, rock-edged album, appropriately titled Dust. In no way, as some would predict, is this close to anything resembling a hip hop album. Muggs himself, may have proven to us over the [cont.]

“I rep the underground sound like C.H.U.D. with headphones” – C Rayz Walz Now there’s a visual for you: Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers with buds in their ears, eyes glowing red from weed smoke, heads nodding to some grimy East Coast shit. Whether or not your imagination inserts DJ-JS1′s Ground Original into their portables is [cont.]

 Working as a “hold-us-over” project, Aceyalone and producer Elusive deliver the better late than never Hip-Hop And The World We Live In, a weekend experiment recorded somewhere around 2000-2001, now surfacing as an “indy shop only” gem for the fans.        Heads first got a taste of this release on the 12-inch single “Bigger They Come”, which [cont.]

    Depending upon who you ask, sans 50 Cent, Freeway’s debut, Philadelphia Freeway, is the second most anticipated release of 2003.  Though his debut has undergone a slew of delays (is Jay-Z the only member of the R.O.C. who can put out an LP on schedule) Freeway stayed busy and furthered his buzz by guest appearing [cont.]

    Hip-Hop and Rock & Roll have had a dysfunctional relationship over the years. It began as a happy marriage with Run DMC and Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way”, and from time to time would produced memorable moments such as Public Enemy and Anthrax’s “Bring The Noise”, but more often than not travesties such as P. Diddy and Jimmy [cont.]

*Compilation, no rating given* After having a stranglehold on the mixtape circuit for the better part of two years (EXCLUSIVES), Clue ran into hefty competition from Kay Slay, Whoo Kid and nameless others.  Thankfully, for Clue, he struck while the irons were hot and parlayed that mixtape success into a deal with Jay-Z (major label [cont.]

    Def Jux has seen lots of success by taking the slot that Rawkus once held as New York City’s number one underground label, and has stayed close within a family unit of acts, such as El-P, RJD2, Aesop Rock, and Cannibal Ox. But their most unlikely signing yet comes all the way from the west coast with [cont.]

Out of nowhere (North Carolina, to be exact), the trio of Phonte, Big Pooh, and producer 9th Wonder have taken the world of indy hip-hop by storm with their debut, The Listening, which first got props from ?uestlove, who not only crowned himself the king of the Little Brother fan club, but also claimed he was [cont.]

Mobb Deep affiliate, Littles, has been on the grind for a while. Through the good and bad life has brought him, he has maintained focus and kept his head up. He lets you know “I’m too smart to be a dreamer, I’m a mothafuckin achiever” on the intro, setting the tone for an album full of [cont.]

      Just about two years ago, I was sitting in a steakhouse at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel having dinner with Eminem and the entire Shady Records entourage when the subject of 50 Cent had come up. I had just finished dissing 50 in our year end wrap up and decided for once to shut the fuck [cont.]

Though it took some time for people to recognize the genius behind the mask, it’s safe to say that no one with a backpack is sleeping on the Supervillain anymore. Since his re-debut as MF Doom in 1997 (“Dead Bent” 12″), the former Zev Love X has become one of the underground’s best and most consistent artists, his [cont.]