Without sounding sensational, it’s a safe wager to assume that Compton hasn’t seen a kid this celebrated since Eric Wright and friends kicked in the door for their city and the whole coast. And while “Michael Jordan” isn’t my favorite track from Overly Dedicated, the purpose is served by letting the world know Kendrick Lamar is confident & well suited for carrying the city on his back. Read the rest of this entry »

Words by C. Paicely

Two weeks after his Howard Dean-worthy, red-faced rant, Chi-city’s gritty Agacee returns revealing more of that man’s man, John Wayne swagger. Allowing simplicity to saturate the hook he brings a constant cleverness to each verse that bubbles below the surface, subtly slipping witty punch-lines into every rhyme. Coupled with woofer-friendly production from TraBeats Read the rest of this entry »

Like a DH in baseball or a center in a league full of combo-guards, certain rappers will always have a role. Well aware there will always be an audience for quick-tongued MCs, DJ Kay Slay brought out the fastest guns this side of the Mississippi for “60 Second Assassins,” a track that’s exactly what you think it is and hails from The Drama King’s possible last album, Rhyme Or Die. Read the rest of this entry »

Danika Joy

$25K Fine Each, No Suspensions For Texans’ Johnson, Titans’ Finnegan [PFT]

Nipsey Hussle Debut Postponed Indefinitely [RR]

Women Charged With “Illegal Buttocks Injections With Bathtub Caulk” [Warming Glow]

Five Ways The Miami Heat Can Salvage Their Season [The Urban Daily]

In Commemoration of World AIDS Day: Black Stars Lost To HIV/AIDS [Black Voices] Read the rest of this entry »

For the casual Yelawolf listener, it’s easy to forget that the Alabama MC’s career path first saw him attempt to ply his trade as a skateboarder in the liberal playground of Berkeley, California. Although the area is most notable for its numerous academics, it remains a town deeply divided between its university leanings and blue-collar surrounding areas. To showcase this, the film production group Yours Tru.ly follows Yela around his old stomping grounds as he recounts his time spent living homeless in the city until his ambitious departure. Read the rest of this entry »

Or, does The Sauce just not have enough clout to pull Eminem and Yeezy for their year-capping “2010 Biggest Moments” issue? Either way, this cover looks like two separate pictures the design team taped together with Elmers glue, after they passed around the bottle to sniff up ideas. Read the rest of this entry »

Seems like there’s a lot of chatter about premiere NBA point guards. Usually it’s Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Rajon Rondo, and Derrick Rose hogging most of the spotlight. Lately it’s been Westbrook making a name for himself as an emerging star at the 1. He’s a great slasher, strong, sees the court well, actually plays good perimeter defense and has a knack for grabbing boards despite being listed at 6’3″. The only knock I have on his game is his pre-cooked J. With that said, it’s improving and he can hit shots as long as he gets going. Read the rest of this entry »

For those of you that don’t know, every great song didn’t necessarily come together by intentional design. Producers do shop their beats around and in most cases, the highest bidder usual skates off with the track. While you were carefully enjoying the soulful smoothie known as “The Joy” by Kanye West and Jay-Z, the Strong Arm Steady trio already had their version locked and loaded. But don’t think they are bitter; they actually see it as good business for a living legend. Read the rest of this entry »

If some rappers can represent virtual unreality 24/7, how about giving an artist who represents the real some burn for a change? Bambu owns his dual-citizenship as keyholder to both the Philippines and The City of Angels and together with DJ Muggs, he’s down for some soul assassination on the lyrical tip with a heaping platter of food for thought on Los Angeles, Philippines. You either ride with them or collide with them, folks. Read the rest of this entry »

Hate it or love it…well, actually you have no choice not to love it or appreciate it. The likelihood of a female rapper captivating the nation’s interest with their every last move has the same probability of them having sextuplets. Not too achievable but Nicki Minaj has become the regnant queen in the position everybody covets in record-setting fashion. Like most females before her, the physical attributes preceded anything that came out of her mouth, yet, the Trinidadian beauty’s ability to juggle R&B anchors and split hairs with her male counterparts all the same bore witness to a visible sexpot not having to settle for being solely written off as one. Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s get one thing straight: Derrick Rose is playing at an MVP level right now and is by far one of the more exciting players in the league. The best part about his game is that we’ve got well over a decade to witness it mature. If Carmelo is smart, this is the team he’s working behind the scenes to take his talents to. Read the rest of this entry »

Mashable:

Bing is getting an early start on the “best of 2010” lists, releasing its compilation of the year’s most popular search terms a little more than a month before the New Year. Reality TV star Kim Kardashian tops the list, which is dominated by celebrities; in fact, seven of the top 10 terms are people, as you can see in the list Read the rest of this entry »

Never shall a mix from Cosmo Baker or any of The Rub guys ever need much of an introduction or second-guessing about whether it’s worth the listen. Recorded October 2010 at The Byrdhouse in Brooklyn and here for the sharing today. Enjoy! Read the rest of this entry »

There will always be people who smoke dope which means there will always be people who sell dope. Inadvertently, this also secures the fact there will always be those who lyrically document the process as well – i.e. rappers. Read the rest of this entry »

“Difference between right and wrong is me/N*ggas talk sh!t, but you can’t MC/we already know how much your watch is worth/talk about, helping the hurt, saving the church/won’t you brag about helping out where you come from/and give brothers a job that really want one…” — DMX Read the rest of this entry »