Loosely based upon the late 70′s Sly Stallone film of the same name, Cage quickly follows up his hailed debut album, Movies For The Blind, along with Def Jux squad-car partner Camu Tao, with The Nighthawks.      While other conceptual hip-hop albums have sounded better on paper than they did inside the headphones (Prince Among Thieves, [cont.]

    It’s that time of year again. The weather gets a little colder, families come together, and all the big dogs of hip-hop rush release their annual year-end albums. Jay-Z  in particular, who maintains a somewhat ridiculous inferiority complex of continually outdoing his competitors, now maintains a 2.3-albums-per-year average. Quickly following his collaborative project with [cont.]

With 8 Mile, Eminem makes his leap from rapper, to rapper-slash-actor, already gaining a potential Oscar buzz among snooty film critics. Meanwhile, with the 8 Mile soundtrack, Eminem jumps from rapper to rap mogul (cue: record company people are Shady….).       How Eminem will fare as a talent scout / A&R for the future of his [cont.]

When you brick at the time when you are billing yourself as the G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) it has to do a little something to your self-confidence.  Yet, while LL Cool J has undeniably proven himself to be one of hip-hop’s most iconic figures, he has also proved to be just as resilient. After all, [cont.]

 Baring the Wu-Tang Clan insignia is a double edged sword. On one hand, there’s such a core following of The Wu that those affiliated are guaranteed to have an audience. On the other, heads expect nothing but the best of those who dare to claim to be brethren of The Clan from Shaolin Land.  Sunz Of [cont.]

After releasing their vastly under-rated debut, The Self Science, last year, DJ Khalil and Chace Infinite managed to turn some heads outside of the sunny California state they reside in.  Now in ’02, they return with a “comprehensive collection of B-sides and Rare 12 inches”, The Works, which digs up some of the archives from their five [cont.]

7L & Esoteric and Brick Records have teamed up once again after some time away to present the sophomore full length release from the Boston duo, entitled Dangerous Connection. One could think of Brick and 7L & Esoteric as a dangerous connection, or 7L & Esoteric themselves as forming the dangerous connection –but either way, the stats [cont.]

Even more annoying than a credible artist inevitably signing a group of ‘lunatic’ lackeys once they get popular to ‘disturb the peace’ is a good group breaking up to spout off sub-par solo projects. The group in question is The Pharcyde, and the Slim Kid 3 of old has been reborn as Tre Hardson and dropped an [cont.]

Back in ’98, Krumb Snatcha snagged The Source magazine’s hip-hop quotable for his appearance on Gang Starr’s “Make ‘Em Pay.” His memorable verse included these lines: “Somethin’ ain’t right/to be an MC you gotta thug/Or to thug you gotta be an MC/this shit is bugged.” Listening to Krumb Snatcha’s second full length, Respect All Fear None, [cont.]

For Rob Swift, life revolves on a 33 1/3 axis.  To prove it, Rob unveils not only his first solo-LP in three years, Sound Event, but also his new aptly titled imprint Table Turns Records.  And whether it is as a member of the renowned turntablist crew X-ecutioners, or with Sound Event, Rob Swift continues to prove [cont.]

In an unexpected and seemingly unpromoted return to the full length fold, Mike G. and Afrika (Baby Bam) return to the flock with a fun knock that lands somewhere between their rap-religiously fabled Done By The Forces Of Nature and their somewhat embarrassing V.I.P. (with Propellerheads’ Alex Gifford on the boards). While it’s probably more of the latter, it’s [cont.]

If two rappers didn’t personify the sonic-grit of what many consider the “golden age” of hip-hop more than The Artifacts, then you either got Black Moon or no one else. Yet out of the two groups, one to split and never look back, the other to merely look away, look back and look away again, [cont.]

It was only a few years ago that it was somewhat in vogue to be labeled a “backpacker.”  However, as of late the phrase “backpacker” has become typically associated with a slew of negative connotations.  But it hasn’t always been that way.  Before the movement was taken over by Aesop Rock clones and mineral water [cont.]

While The Beatnuts might not be innovators, they’re most definitely originators. Since their 1993 debut EP, this Queens duo thrived on a formula combining snippets of neck snapping breaks with hefty chunks of B-Boy bravado and tales of raucous sexcapades. Thought provoking and touchy feely they ain’t–but heads have been hooked since 1992′s reckless thumper “Reign [cont.]

While Fela Kuti may not have had the sweeping sampled influence on rap music that artists like James Brown, George Clinton, Roy Ayers, or David Axelrod have had, he’s definitely made his mark, by influencing hip-hop’s conscious elite, whether they’ve chosen to sample him, or if they simply overheard his devastating Afro-Beat rhythms in their [cont.]

    After the break-up of N.W.A., Dr. Dre, with help from ex-UNLV football muscle, Suge Knight, broke away from Eazy E and Jerry Heller’s Ruthless Records to form what would one day become hip-hop’s most infamous record label of all time, Death Row - and The Chronic was the album that laid its entire blueprint.       With N.W.A., [cont.]

With the neo-soul movement at full blast, this female duo is hitting at the right time. Hailing from London, the pair has already penned hits for Bilal, Jill Scott, Glenn Lewis, even Michael Jackson. “Floetic”, the lead-off single is a smash, but ultimately misleading. Natalie Stewart (the floacist) and Marsha Ambrosius (the songstress) are very in [cont.]

      After dropping an arguably classic debut, L.A.’s six-man quintet, Jurassic 5, returns to the scene with their second full-length release, Power In Numbers. Expanding on the blueprint laid out on Quality Control, Charli 2na, Mark 7, Zaakir, and Akil, line up again, delivering another 17 tracks of throwback styles, over Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark’s [cont.]

Call it romantic, but God has given MC MC Paul Barman a noble mission in life: To make the dumbest, smartest Hip-Hop ever created. Never mind that he’s white, Jewish, nerdy, a moonlighting cartoonist, and that his  voice sounds like a black comedian’s impersonation of a white guy, his new album Paullelujah, is truly divine.     [cont.]

Large Professor – 1st Class What do we remember most about the legacy of Large Professor?  Is it for being a key component in the crate-digging, sample enriched production style that defined the golden age of hip-hop?  Maybe, it’s how the term “classic” was liberally used to describe everything he touched during the early stages [cont.]