Apollo Brown’s Thirty Eight (.38) is a contemporary throwback, inhabiting the realm of reverent reinvention and innovation. It deftly bridges the gap between ‘70s Blaxploitation soundtracks (e.g. Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly or Marvin Gaye’s Trouble Man) and the hip-hop records that sampled from them. The tracks on Thirty Eight (.38) are presented in gritty, heavily saturated [cont.]

Initiated in 1998 by Jedi Mind Tricks front-man Vinnie Paz as homage to the incredible rap crews of the 80’s and early 90’s, the Army of the Pharaohs has, from its outset, been an ever-evolving collective of celebrated emcees from the indie hip-hop scene. Founding members Vinnie Paz and Esoteric were featured on the crew’s [cont.]

Fif reveals the cover art to his first non-Interscope LP, Animal Ambition, which is set for a June 3rd release. Looks like he’ll be slowly unveiling the tracklist, as well.

Future’s new LP is slated for an as-of-yet-unrevealed 2014 release date. Here is the cover art, which looks as if it was produced by Kanye West’s DONDA firm. Looks that way…

In a recent interview with Adra-Matic.Com, Alchemist spoke briefly about why he doesn’t usually produce for Eminem, despite being his DJ. He also reveals the artists he’d like to do full albums with, which includes MF Doom, Rakim, and JAY Z, among others. Read on: Adramatic.com: I’d like to know more about my two favorites [cont.]

Hold up and analyze, as this is probably pretty confusing for most, as Mobb Deep’s new album is called The Infamous Mobb Deep, which is not to be confused with their 1995 sophomore LP, The Infamous…. This 2-disc set does however include a second disc called The 1994 Infamous Sessions, which will include 14 lost [cont.]

Today Syndctd Entertainment and Stones Throw Records announce 40+ North American and European theatrical release dates for the critically acclaimed documentary OUR VINYL WEIGHS A TON: This Is Stones Throw Records, which follows on the heels of their nine-city North American ‘sneak peek’ tour. The film has been chosen as an official SXSW Film Festival [cont.]

DZA’s next is due April 1st, and features collaborations with Pete Rock, Cam’Ron, Ski Beatz, Joey Bada$$, Ab-Soul, Harry Fraud, Wiz Khalifa, Curren$y, Ty Dolla $ign, BJ The Chicago Kid, and more. ACT 1: Dream 1. Dream (Prod. By V-Don) 2. Count Me In (Prod. By Lee Bannon) 3. Ghost Of Dipset feat. Cam’Ron (Prod. [cont.]

After releasing the highly successful and critically acclaimed solo album Adventures in Counter-Culture in 2011, emcee/producer Blueprint is set to release his next proper solo project Respect the Architect on Tuesday April 22nd on Weightless Recordings. Peep the announcement video below.

J-Zone tells us: Many of you are musicians and producers, but if you’re not, this e-mail will be of little interest to you. Sorry. I’ve been studying and playing drums and researching old recording equipment for two years. I decided to put all the hours of practice and nerdery to use and just released a [cont.]

Eleven years after the original release of Little Brother’s seminal debut, The Listening, MySpace has done a retrospective article on the album, which includes interviews with Rapper Big Pooh, Chaundon, and yours truly. Check it out here. Peep a snippet below. DJ Pizzo: The first time I heard of Little Brother was when Phonte sent [cont.]

Young Money will release their Rise Of An Empire compilation album on March 11th. Here is a look at the official tracklist for the project. 1. Euro – We Alright ft. Birdman & Lil Wayne 2. Drake – Trophies 3. Lil Twist – Bang ft. Euro & Cory Gunz 4. Tyga – Senile ft. Nicki [cont.]

Pharrell will ride his current wave of success to the release of his new solo album, G I R L, which hits March 3rd. Here’s a look at the tracklist. 01. Marilyn Monroe 02. Brand New (feat. Justin Timberlake) 03. Hunter 04. Gush 05. Happy 06. Come Get It (feat. Miley Cyrus) 07. Gust of [cont.]

With his highly-anticipated fourth solo-LP, P.T.S.D.” (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), Pharoahe Monch re-emerges with a new concept project which finds the ground-breaking emcee tackling PTSD; a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. Throughout the duration of the LP, Monch narrates as an independent artist weary [cont.]

The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF) today announced that the world premiere of the documentary Time is Illmatic, will open the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. The film follows the trajectory of Nas’ 1994 landmark debut album, Illmatic– widely considered one of the most important and revolutionary albums in hip-hop. The premiere, taking place on Wednesday, April [cont.]

Surely this is an acronym for something, because No one Ever Really Dies. Pharrell’s new album, G I R L, will hit March 3rd and is up for pre-order on iTunes now. The tracklist still remains secret, but will include his Despicable Me 2 entry, “Happy”. Peep the trailer below.

YG gives us a peek at the album cover for his debut LP, due March 18th.

Here’s a look at the cover art for Mobb Deep’s deluxe reissue of their classic, defining Loud Records LP, The Infamous Mobb Deep. The new package will include a second disc, featuring both new material and lost classics from the original Infamous Mobb Deep recording sessions.

De La Soul’s classic catalog is one of the last remaining omissions from the digital retail sites like iTunes and Amazon, due to legal nonsense and sample clearance issues. However, today the group has made the catalog available for free download, which includes 3 Feet High & Rising, De La Soul Is Dead, Buhloone Mindstate, [cont.]

Drake took to his http://octobersveryown.blogspot.com/ to respond to the day’s events, and his comments to Rolling Stone. Read on: Tough Day At The Office With today being the 5th anniversary of So Far Gone I figured it’s fitting to return to it’s place of its origin in order to clear the air about an extremely [cont.]