“I ain’t made a record in three years and that’s why you rich,” laments the emcee on “Let ‘Em Live”, as before there was the multi-platinum success of Eminem , Chino XL preceded him, with amazing freestyle gymnastics and equal amounts of celebrity bashing hilarity. While his debut album, Here To Save You All was [cont.]

 Death Row’s latest attempt at hoodwinking their former artists and bamboozling the fans comes in the form of Dogg Pound’s 2002. The title itself is not only an allusion that this album is made up of new millennial material, but also that it is a step ahead of Dr. Dre’s 2001 (of which it is [cont.]

Rasco has become a sort of an elder statesmen in hip-hop; he’s not much older than a lot of his contemporaries, but commands a regal-like demeanor when on track. He’s earned his stripes with presence. Various Blendz had joints, but it was the Soulfather’s voice that turned heads – enough to carry himself over a stellar debut [cont.]

 All Natural’s identity has always seemed a little undetermined; “50 Years” touched heads as the virtual underground equivalent to Pete Rock & CL Smooth’s “T.R.O.Y.” yet ever since then the group has never seen a return to the same fanfare or creative success as bottled in that one song. While the track may have pigeonholed [cont.]

 No matter how hard you try, there is no escaping The Neptunes (Chad Hugo & Pharrell Williams)! Turn your FM dial to any urban station long enough, and you will hear them. Cop the latest commercial blockbuster release, and you’re sure to find a Neptune’s production credit looming somewhere on the insert. And lets face it, when [cont.]

While the Masterminds’ put the Indy scene on notice with their under-utilized 2001 debut The Underground Railroad. The duo’s sophomore project, Stone Soup, finds Kimani & Oracle in somewhat of a transitory state. Not only has the group ended their short relationship with Nu Gruv and created their own Third Earth Music imprint, but with former [cont.]

 Following contributions from Jay Dee, Pete Rock, and Wil.I.Am Of Black Eyed Peas, legendary producer Marley Marl delivers his entry into the Beat Genration series, and his Re-Entry into the rap game. Many a hip-hop classic have emerged from Marley’s House Of Hits – with an incredible production resume, from mapping the entire blueprint of the [cont.]

 After RZA’s disappointing debut, Bobby Digital In Stereo, one would hope that he would retire the “evil twin” character, and bring back the conscious RZA we all knew and loved from 1992 to 1996. But apparently, Robert Diggs still has to get some partying, drug use, and promiscuity out of his system before he can [cont.]

Sometimes it just does not pay to be ahead of your time. Reason being, those that invent, or are ahead of the curve, rarely reap the financial benefits of that work; Grand Puba is a shining testament of this example! You see Puba has always been one step ahead of the competition. First as a member [cont.]

Looking two solidify his name as one of the underground’s premier beatmakers, one-half of Lone Catalysts displays his essence in less than fourteen tracks. Producer J. Rawls extends his musical mission beyond that of just The Lone Catalysts, enlisting some of the underground’s favorite rookies to shine on his tracks. Naturally, Rawls’ partner J. Sands [cont.]

Where other music genres have flourished both commercially and critically, Hip-Hop remains a vastly unearthed territory in the great Northwest states. Seattle’s Conception Records played an integral part in the later nineties, introducing a slew of area rappers and producers to the masses with consistently solid 12″ releases, but as the label seemingly disbanded so [cont.]

 He was introduced some five-plus years ago on The D&D Project, a loose knit compilation of up & coming artists backed by people like DJ Premier and The Beatminerz, shortly following a 12″ bid during the independent boom with “Closer To God”, a true to life tale about catching a bullet, with DJ Premier again manning [cont.]

Da Beatminerz (Evil Dee, Mr. Walt, Baby Paul, Chocolate Ty, and Rich Blak) gained notoriety for being the architects behind the Boot Camp Click’s emergence. Yet, after producing classic debuts for Black Moon, and Smif N Wesson, the Boot Camp Click entered a new stage, one that saw them eschew their dark, and sinister sound [cont.]

What do you get when you throw together Dan “The Automator ” Nakamura, Cibo Matto’s Miho Hatori, Blur’s Damon Albarn, Tank Girl’s Jamie Hewlett and Del The Funky Homosapien? A surprisingly superior example of how collaborations can actually achieve the synergistic potential they’re meant for. Nakamura’s no stranger to the practice – he’s been a [cont.]

 After a four-year sabbatical, the self-christened “god” of hip-hop, KRS-ONE, has returned to reclaim his spot as hip-hop’s moral-conscious with Sneak Attack. While Krs’ re-entry comes without the same fanfare/anticipation he is normally accustomed too, Sneak Attack proves that his voice and ideologies have never been more needed. Though he has not released a solo [cont.]

In the interest of hip-hop supergroups, three Battle Axe Warriors come together as Code Name: Scorpion. Longtime west coast underground hero and Project Blowed emcee, Abstract Rude, joins with ½ of Swollen Members, Prevail, and the hardest working man in indy hip-hop, Moka Only. Twelve tracks deep, the album is at its best when Rob [cont.]

They are a crew that needs no introduction – the literal frontrunners of the independent hip-hop movement, and last purveyors of hip-hop culture through major label support, Dilated Peoples. The expansion team of Rakaa-Iriscience , Evidence , and DJ Babu has put in a year’s worth of work following last year’s debut, The Platform, delivering [cont.]

Following the success of two critically acclaimed, backpack bestseller EP’s, J-Zone and his crew of Old Maid Billionaires look to make their names known in the world of hip-hop music with their official debut, Pimps Don’t Pay Taxes. Still sleeping on J-Zone and his crew? Time to play catch up – and while the name [cont.]

The female emcee is perhaps the most rare species in hip-hop music today, as every time the music evolves, its Y chromosome deficient survivors are countable on one-hand, and usually pretty easily to categorize. On one end, there are the leaders (Queen Latifah , Yo Yo), the B-girls (MC Lyte , Bahamadia ), and the [cont.]

 What does Cormega have in common with Large Professor and J-Live? Well, like the aforementioned, Cormega’s aborted Def Jam  debut, The Testament, gained notoriety for being one of the most celebrated unreleased LP’s in hip-hop history. What the S.O.S.A. EP did for former Firm cohort, AZ, the heavily bootlegged Testament had a similar ripple effect for Mega, [cont.]