The fourth week of the Presidential weekly mix series brings more fire mixes from two of Atlanta’s best DJs. If you checked last week’s edition you already know though. Read the rest of this entry »

After hearing one of the opening acts at a recent show here in ATL rock over a beat with the same sample as Tyler the Creator’s “Odd Toddlers,” I was compelled to do some internet searching and found a French jazz gem. Read the rest of this entry »

A few weeks back we told you about SESSIONS LA, a Hip-Hop education program in L.A. that lost its funding and is pursuing donations so the program can continue serving Los Angeles youth for the foreseeable future. The community has stepped up and Sessions LA has received over 2/3rd of their goal with a little less than two weeks left in the campaign. Read the rest of this entry »

Just because music is basically free nowadays doesn’t mean you can’t still give back to Hip-Hop. Here’s one small way you can chip in to a very worthy cause that uses our favorite art form to make a positive impact on the community. It’ll make you feel better about the twenty albums you downloaded this week, I promise. Read the rest of this entry »

In today’s combustible political climate, it’s more important than ever for artists to use their influence to inform and inspire their audience. Few artists have done a better job of this over the last decade than Immortal Technique and Killer Mike and select cities have the opportunity to witness both of them spitting and sermonizing over the first two weeks of November. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo: Alexander Richter

Ego Trip debuts the third excerpt from J-Zone’s upcoming book Root for the Villain: Rap, Bullshit, and a Celebration of Failure and the “Music for Tu Madre” MC is three for three.The previous excerpts covered rap songs that got him in hot water as a youth and compared today’s “Gadget Hoes” to yesteryear’s pay phone pimpin. Read the rest of this entry »

Black Spade and Coultrain separately have the respect of music lovers worldwide on their own merits for pushin’ their brand of future funk and progressive soul. But together as the Hawthorne Headhunters, they push their individual visions into a whole new level. Read the rest of this entry »

24-Carat Black’s Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth has proven to be another excellent example of Hip-Hop breathing life into an important but overlooked album. Read the rest of this entry »

We already proclaimed our love for Tribe this week, but now let’s zoom out and enjoy the output of the entirety of their greater family tree. From Monie Love and Queen Latifah to Black Sheep and the Jungle Brothers, the Native Tongues are one of the deepest crews in Hip-Hop history Read the rest of this entry »

Always versatile, Tef Poe takes a break from his War Machine persona (though the track will appear on the upcoming WM2) to get some things off his chest. Read the rest of this entry »

One of my favorite things about Hip-Hop has always been stumbling upon samples and references. Whether it’s hearing a now-commonly used phrase or melody on a 1980s rap record (think pretty much every line on Paid in Full) or catching a sample that I didn’t even realize was there (I definitely wasn’t thinking about Shawty Lo when I put on Mandrill’s “Children of the Sun”), Hip-Hop’s constant nods towards the past create infinite opportunities for spontaneous discovery for a music lover. Read the rest of this entry »

Comedy, Auto-Tune and The Office are not necessarily the first things that come to mind when one thinks of our favorite Left Coast freedom fighter, Bambu, but they combine like Voltron on “Rashida Jones,” the latest release off his new collaborative project with Geo of the Blue Scholars, Prometheus Brown And Bambu Walk Into A Bar. Read the rest of this entry »

Camp Lo’s Geechi Suede and Little Brother’s Rapper Big Pooh hit the street and turn up their booming system on yet another future classic from 80 Blocks From Tiffany’s. Read the rest of this entry »

Inglewood’s El Prez already gave us a party anthem with “King Kong,” now he’s providing listeners with a bit of game in the form of “Steady Mobbin.” Read the rest of this entry »

She may be new to the scene, but Compton’s Ill Camille has a polished product on her hands with her debut LP. Matching strong production from respected West Coast beatmakers like Terrace Martin and Battlecat with heat from undiscovered talents like ESharp and Sega, The Pre-Write demonstrates the budding MC’s personality, her versatility and insight into what makes her tick. Read the rest of this entry »