Murs and Terrace Martin are officially Melrose and their western conference got to this point by pounding the pavement in an assortment of crispy SB Dunks and Nike Air Max 360s. The only thing fresher than their footwork is Terrace Martin’s air conditioned bass grooves and Murs gliding across the track like his sneakers got blades on the bottom of them. Read the rest of this entry »

Saying that rap superheroes don’t style their hair in Willow Smith fashion would be understating the obvious. Still, Danny Brown’s the only new rap cat I’d place alongside Gangsta Gibbs in the he-can-rap-his-narrow-a**-off department, giving him the distinction without a moment’s hesitation. And the only written piece I’ve seen rival his current feature in Detroit Metro Times would be the breakdown of The Hybrid which was based around Danny’s accounts. This time around, he leaves the words in the hands of scribe Jonathan Cunningham, who paints an accurate depiction of Linwood’s finest in his natural setting. Read the rest of this entry »

WTK’s Fly 2 releases for the masses & it includes features from Alchemist, Styles P, Cory Gunz, Jon Connor, Mikkey Halsted and a few others. Given the primer songs released, suffice it to say The Transformation is well worth the space in your listening rotation. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo Via NBA

At the end of the first quarter, the Heat were leading the Indiana Pacers 41-19. While the white and yellow went on to make a game of it before falling short, the early blowout score was a clear indicator how much they weren’t prepared for the Miami circus that was in town. LeBron & D-Wade held a clinic in the Fieldhouse, pulling off super moves that were usually reserved for cartoonish basketball video games. Read the rest of this entry »

Featuring J. Cole on the production, J. Cole on the hook and Fashawn, sounding ironically similar to J. Cole in vocal tone. Or maybe I’m just hearing it that way. Either way, Higher Learning 2 drops later today on XXL so we’ll update the post once it’s available for free consumption. Read the rest of this entry »

Kanye tacks on two verses for Katy’s “E.T.,” which is the only way I can be roped into checking for her music honestly without it coming packaged as a video. I genuinely tried listening to some song of hers the other day and almost Van Gogh’ed myself. I guess I’m visual and need the moving images or at least a picture of her to distract my ears long enough to listen to her howl. Read the rest of this entry »

Rap’s reigning best actor gets together with his burgeoning label’s latest signee and The Alchemist for “Perfectionist.” Read the rest of this entry »

Jillisa Lynn

Historical Figure You’d Follow On Twitter [KSK]

El DeBarge Voluntarily Checks Back Into Rehab [TUD]

World to Grammy’s: Who the Hell Is Arcade Fire? [Hypebot]

James Murphy Vs. StubHub: Now It’s Personal [The Daily Swarm] Read the rest of this entry »

If there is one thing Hip-Hop loves more than comparisons, it’s labels. Some rappers are “ringtone” while some are “gangsta.” Others are “pop” and a significant portion are “conscious.” Accepted or not, Talib Kweli has fallen into last category. Viewing the glass half full, this connotation has benefited him his entire career as one of the most elite of his kind garnering respect from both artist and fans alike. Read the rest of this entry »

The Notorious K.I.M. has been taking shots at Nicki Minaj and nobody’s listening © Linkin Park. Now, she wants you to charge a cool Alexander Hamilton to hear her rap over Nicki’s beats. Isn’t there some sort of copyright infringement, cease-and-desist action for this type of nonsense? MTV’s Rapfix asked me what I thought of the whole ordeal and if I calculated her M.I.A. album to be worth some spare change, Read the rest of this entry »

T.I. and Tiger Woods are in the same boat. Both were at the top of their respective professions. Both experienced very public downfalls. Both took time off – Tip in prison, Tiger in sex rehab. And both attempted comebacks leaving many to wonder if they will ever return to their former graces. I’m a fan of both Clifford and Eldrick, but watching these two guys struggle Read the rest of this entry »

What Black History Month actually means to anyone outside of K-12 is pretty much a toss-up, but a little tongue-in-cheek humor with your lesson never hurt. Spoofing the show that has ballers worldwide rethinking nuptials, Wayne Brady and the beauties of Elite Delta Force 3 are answering the “what if” our Civil Rights first ladies acted like the Housewives of Ig’nant, U.S.A. during their revolutionary heyday. Read the rest of this entry »

Only Cee-Lo Green could dress up like a peacock on national TV and it be the coolest thing ever. You see, in the world of the man who has perfect imperfections, pushing the boundaries of creativity is considered normal. So how does a man known unique output one up himself? Simple. Keeping being himself. Read the rest of this entry »

Say what you will about Ricky Rozay, but no one can accuse him of not breaking bread with his knights at his round table. Torch, 1/3 of the Triple C’s, has been patiently waiting for his time to explode and the Bawse has given him the green Martian light with his UFO project. Read the rest of this entry »

Home to many of the greatest albums that Hip-Hop has ever seen, the West Coast tradition is one of longstanding glory and pride. But as the years have worn on, the greats have transitioned into in the elder statesmen of the music, paving the way for the next generation.

In 2003, the octet of Strong Arm Steady was eager to take on the role of torchbearers. Read the rest of this entry »