Editor’s Note: No rating will be attributed for this release since it is over seven years old. I Wish My Brother George Was Here. No Need For Alarm. 3rd Eye Vision. Both Sides of the Brain. Deltron 3030. Gorillaz. Not to mention penning half of Ice Cube’s early solo classics, if that catalogue of classics [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.]

(Editor’s Note: – No Rating: Compilation or Soundtrack) After a string of hot 12″s, an album from Major League was in high demand. Matt Marcus, Virtuo, Sean Harris and the whole team were smart with their business plan. They kept the buzz going and growing stronger with each single, pleasing the underground, the streets and college [cont.]

    He’s been called the hardest working man in indy hip-hop – and for good reason. DJ Spinna  competes with Jay-Z, releasing an average of three projects per year, coming in the form of either compilations that spotlight his production, or mix CD’s for any given label’s catalog. With Here To There, Spinna embarks on [cont.]

As easily as most of the hip hop massive missed out on Zion I’s 2000 debut, Mind Over Matter, let’s face it – this gourmet-prepared, nutritional offering on their sophomore release, Deep Water Slang V 2.0, isn’t going to easily lure the average listener away from their customary quick-fix of processed chart-toppers. Instead, the slow [cont.]

When Prince Paul dropped his storyline concept album Prince Among Thieves, I was totally floored by the amazing style of the main character Breezly Brewin. There was this thick New York accent he rhymed with that just couldn’t get out of my head - it came out and made every word seem that much more real and gritty. [cont.]

(Editor’s Note: Because this album was meant for release in 1998, no “@” rating will be attributed, for it would be unfair to measure this up to the music of today.)          In 1998, I was hyped, because not only was Xzibit dropping a new album (40 Days & 40 Nights), but sharing the same release [cont.]

If you didn’t pick up Pep Love’s debut LP Ascension, you missed out on one of 2001′s best albums. Unabashedly honest, Pep held nothing back, regardless of whether he was talking about his hometown, his feelings, or his people; everything he said came off genuine. With Ascension Side C, a collection of tracks recorded during [cont.]

     KRS-ONE shocked us all in 2002 with the release of Spirtual Minded, the once atheist rapper’s leap of faith into gospel rap, led many fans to say that the always contradictory emcee had finally fallen off. Never that. Before you could say “G. Simone”, Kris came back with Prophets Vs. Profits, that would later be [cont.]

Representing Park Slope with the aptly titled A Beautiful Mind EP, Brooklyn’s Pumpkinhead may not mind sharing his moniker with a horror-movie ghoul (“I’m not a thug or a rapper / I’m a monster”), but that self-assessment is certainly flawed; he is a rapper and a pretty nice one at that. Not letting the opportunity to [cont.]

    By now you must have heard of Sole (of Anticon), the once Maine rooted Live Poet who destroyed and rebuilt his foundation in the Bay Area, heading up the don’t-label-it-anything (abstract-smart-experimental-deep-pretentious-nerd-white-poetry-rap) Anticon collective. One thing most people already know about Anticon is that it is not radio friendly, not mix-show friendly, and more college indy-rock [cont.]

Jay Dee is certainly no stranger to instrumental based endeavors.  After all, his last opus, Welcome To Detroit, not only ushered in BBE’s influential Beat Generation series, but also provided Dilla with the ultimate outlet to exhibit his diversity behind the boards.  While most of us are eagerly anticipating his solo-debut, or his upcoming EP on [cont.]

After numerous Cold Chillin classics with former partner DJ Polo (Road To The Riches and Wanted: Dead Or Alive) Kool G Rap has spent the last decade trying to get above ground.  However, a series of roadblocks have prevented G Rap from doing just that; his solo career has been marred by record industry rule #4080, under-funded labels [cont.]

   Buc Fifty may be a somewhat unknown name to most, but his history is rich. Most hip-hop fans have heard him, although they probably wouldn’t recognize his voice ten years later after his high-pitched “cocoa butter in my hand” verse on The Pharcyde’s “On The Downlow”. Yes, this is the same emcee who was a [cont.]

The current stables of emcees are quick to claim that they’re strictly in this for their own agenda—which is usually money.  Dead Prez is no different, except their agenda is to push their propaganda to teach the masses.  On their first outing, Let’s Get Free, DP managed to garner some critical acclaim, and fulfill their obligation [cont.]

     As 2002 came to a close, GZA/Genius took us the fuck outta here with his fourth solo debut (third with GZA attatched to his name), Legend Of A Liquid Sword, with its title reflective of his unprecedented hip-hop classic, Liquid Swords. But this left fans a little uneasy, as in most cases, titling your album [cont.]

 With 2001′s The Genesis, Bussa-Bus took the destroy-and-rebuild approach. After setting the standard for all other east-coast superappers, releasing some five albums annually for Elektra, Busta neglected to realize that while he was blazing up the radio and video shows with his never-let-us-down singles, he was releasing virtually the same album every year. But after [cont.]

Eastern Conference seems to have an agenda to take the title that Rawkus once had as the definitive name in underground hip-hop. Building up their roster with talent they have displayed their abilities on several compilations and through several artists releases such as High & Mighty’s Air Force One, and more recently Cage’s Movies For the Blind. [cont.]

 The Supafriendz have been the pride of VA before coke dealing brothers, futuristic beats and girls with rapid weight loss. Skillz’ From Where??? introduced the world to the crew and Danja Mowf’s slept-on classic “Word Of Mowf” showed there was more than one super star in the squad. The bootleg remix of Aaliyah’s “Are You That [cont.]

 In the late 90′s Swizz Beatz was on top of the world!  Though hated by purists who found his keyboard beats too simplistic, the streets loved Swizz and was no denying his hit making ability.  After all, his production spearheaded the Ruff Ryders (DMX, Eve, Lox, and Drag On) ascent up the hip-hop power rankings and at [cont.]