The story of Royce Da 5-9 is long and depressing, but it’s not over yet. After guest appearing on Eminem’s “Bad Meets Evil”, and going toe-to-toe with Shady on two tracks via Jon Shecter’s Game imprint, he proved that he’s not only down with Slim, but he can hang with him – lyrically – much more than [cont.]

 As in all things, with time, we hope for progress and usually anticipate inevitable change, and while it can be wholly difficult and even more frustrating to gauge the progress of time within our society, at least we can relish the growth of our beloved artists that have kept us oh so inspired throughout the [cont.]

What else can be said about Jay-Z? He is perhaps the only artist in New York City, much less this industry, who demands equal respect from the streets, the underground, and lovers of pop music – the determining factor that separates him from every other hip-hop artist, surpassing even the late great Frank White. Jigga [cont.]

Dan The Automator’s latest foray into the world of alt.rock (or whatever) is not only a spin-off of the Handsome Boy Modeling School project, but also a quick follow-up to the surprise hit of the year, Gorillaz. In the long-standing tradition of many a sensitive male compiling mix CD’s of randy selections from Portishead, Air, [cont.]

Since breaking in quietly with hometown duo, Mood, in the mid-90′s, DJ Hi-Tek’s climb up the crate-digging ranks has been a slow one. While Hi-Tek garnished some well-overdue exposure for his work on Black Star’s debut, and with running mate Talib Kweli on their critically acclaimed Reflection Eternal endeavor. Tek’s name is still rarely mentioned when [cont.]

Much like their polar opposites, M.O.P., the collective of genius MC’s known as Anticon has a love / hate relationship with its audience. The divided hip-hop populace either falls into two categories, those that dig Anticon, and those that don’t. Anticon’s biggest fans worship the ground that Sole, Dose, Why, Jel, and the crew walk on, [cont.]

Fat Joe The Gangster. Joey Crack. Don Cartegena. Throughout his career, Joseph Cartegena has assumed many aliases, but with his fourth album, J.O.S.E (Jealous Ones Still Envy), he hopes to take the title left unclaimed when Frank White died, the King of New York.      Unfortunately, J.O.S.E. shows that Joe is more of a follower [cont.]

Is it me or has Def Jux just come in from nowhere and started flipping out product like flapjacks? Good to see El-P’s fledging label fire off from the launching pad with so much good material. While RJD2 isn’t about to touch the ill subliminals of Cannibal Ox, if you’ve liked the edgy, off-kilter styles that Def [cont.]

You’d want, if from anyone, the saving of ‘hip-hop’ so to speak, handled by Freestyle Fellowship. The myriad of styles born and bred via Fellowship-facilities is immeasurable and with carbon-copy delusion crippling much of contemporary hip-hop today, a valiant return from these forefathers might possibly steer a music revolution to capacities unknown (or at the [cont.]

 Ever since their introduction five years ago, with what many dubbed “The Transfomers Song”, “Be Alert”, the underground has patiently waited for a full-length release from Boston’s 7L & Esoteric. Over the years, the duo has released a consistent series of 12″ singles, many of which pop up on their full-length debut, The Soul Purpose. [cont.]

 You don’t have to wipe your feet before you enter into this first release from BBE’s Beat Generation series, because this house of productions on Jay Dee’s LP is as grimy as you’ll have ever heard this prolific Hip-Hop and R&B beat technician. Not at all tamed by his outside field trip assignments such as Tribe’s last [cont.]

        Which is worse rappers that want to be gangsters, or gangsters that want to be rappers? Most likely the latter, because what saves rappers that want to be gangsters, is while even though they may be faking the funk, they at least possess some inkling of musical talent, (Dr. Dre). On the other hand, [cont.]

One verse is all it took, and we were hooked. AZ’s explosive introduction on Nas’ “Life’s A Bitch” catapulted the young Crooklyn emcee from unknown to most-anticipated almost overnight. His wildly inconsistent debut, Doe Or Die, offered more promising glimpses with “Sugar Hill”, and the Pete Rock assisted “Rather Unique”. Yet, every effort that followed, [cont.]

 “What does it mean?” asks the faceless female who is coaxed into opening this album, still unsure of what the title Koolmotor means. What can’t be put into words is better described sonically upon listening to the debut album from Five Deez. Cats may best know the Deez from their 1999 little heard debut single [cont.]

 Ozomatli first caught the attention of hip-hop listeners through the release of their self-titled debut album, most likely because two of their members also shared membership in Jurassic 5. Cut Chemist was pulling double duties as the DJ for both Ozo and J5, while Chali 2na worked as an emcee for both crews. Ozomatli’s debut was an incredible [cont.]

 Worshipped as gods of super-white genius rap with the release of The Overcast, Atmosphere’s direction has taken a slightly different turn with the release of its Lucy Ford LP. While several years have passed since The Overcast loomed over listener’s heads, in that time, Atmosphere’s lead emcee, Slug, has taken things to a much more [cont.]

 Being one of the most beloved hip-hop groups ever assembled has certainly become a double-edged sword for Run DMC. As one of the cultures most influential groups, the names of Run, DMC, and Jam Master Jay immediately garners a certain degree of well-earned respect. Conversely, it has also put the trio under an incredibly intense [cont.]

 The point where style transcends the initial boundaries of a gimmick can be where true artistry is born. For some, Necro’s unavoidable nastiness is nothing more than uninteresting shit talking, for others, totally enthralling shit talking, yet for the few that truly sit down with his body of work and devote a critical ear, you’ll [cont.]

Leave it to DJ Mighty Mi to compile a crate of quality underground hip-hop for the second volume in High & MightyÂ’s Eastern Conference Allstars compilation series. The latest chapter in whoÂ’s crew with Eon and Milo brings a wide variety of artists, from old pros (Big Daddy Kane , Kool Keith ) to next-to-blows (Royce [cont.]

Debuting in 1999, courtesy of Rawkus’ projects Soundbombing 2 and alongside Eminem on DJ Spinna’s Heavy Beats compilation, Thirstin Howl III quickly made a name for himself, and followed these appearances with two do-it-yourself discs, Skillionaire and Skillosopher. These CD’s introduced the underground hip-hop world to a cartoon character emcee obsessed with Polo gear, who repped the [cont.]