Between their penchant for employing choruses of (what sounds like) little kids in their hooks and the dopey sound of front man Chidera “Chiddy” Anamege’s voice, Philly duo Chiddy Bang seems to be firmly entrenched in a bubble gum-flavored lane. For their newest offering, the pair stays consistent with that style. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s something to be said about knowing your strengths and playing to them. Venerable west coast emcee Planet Asia does just that on his thoroughly entertaining album Black Belt Theatre. Multisyllabic, lyrical kung-fu is the order of the day on Asia’s 20 track release. While there is some topicality, and a few departures from the sample-heavy production that permeates much of the album, Black Belt Theatre isn’t much more than a platform for one of the more underrated lyricists in the game to showcase his wares. Read the rest of this entry »

Coming on the heels of his commercially successful, but otherwise middling solo effort Rolling Papers, Mac & Devin Go to High School, Wiz Khalifa’s full-length collaboration with Snoop Dogg, is a relatively low stakes affair. Read the rest of this entry »

Just when it seemed like Live From The Kitchen was destined to permanently take residence on the island of shelved albums, Yo Gotti was able to cut through the industry politics and get his project out to the public. In music, just like cooking, there are several avenues a chef can take to create a dish. Read the rest of this entry »

Almost 47 years ago, Susan Sontag wrote “Notes On ‘Camp’” which coined the idea of something being “so bad it’s good.” When referring to popular culture, the phrase could apply to concepts like “slasher” films and David Hasselhoff’s acting career. The work still holds resonance, even as it nears half a century in age and it’s as if Sontag charted the path to Nicki Minaj’s success and her sophomore LP, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded.

Sontag describes “Camp” as the love of the exaggerated and tends to be expressed in a hyper-stylized fashion. If you take Sontag’s definition to heart, you’ll see how she seems to be describing Nicki Minaj’s career. Just look at Read the rest of this entry »

Words By Samir S.

Armed with a dynamic full-length debut, †Priscilla†, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter JMSN is primed to ride the creative new wave that has washed across R&B music over the past year or so. The alternative R&B/pop-soul artist has already garnered early comparisons Read the rest of this entry »

Words By Samir S.

For rappers like Señor Kaos – guys with enough talent and guile to break away from a 9-5 existence in pursuit of artistic dreams – the real challenge is figuring out whether they actually have something fresh to bring to the table besides raw skill. Señor Kaos doesn’t possess anything near resembling a radical new style, so on The Kaos Effect, he attempts to make the old new again – adopting somewhat of a Hip-Hop renaissance character in the process. Read the rest of this entry »

Oakland’s Mistah F.A.B. has long been one of Hip-Hop’s most renowned freestylers, an art where there is almost nobody else who can match him. However, his latest album, I Found My Backpack 2: The Lost Notebook, shows that strong off-the-top bars don’t always translate into the successful crafting of a complete album. Read the rest of this entry »

Fueled by the hardcore lyricism of The LOX, the edgy sexiness of first lady Eve and the soul-bearing intensity of de-facto crew leader DMX, the Ruff Ryders stood atop Swizz Beatz Triton keys at the top of the Hip-Hop charts from the late 90s to early 2000s. The thing about eras, though, is they eventually end. Read the rest of this entry »

Anyone familiar with the three-on-three basketball scene knows there are two types of teams competitors should be weary of: the star-studded bunch whose rep precedes them and the trio of slick combo guards who make up for any shortcomings with a solid grasp of the fundamentals and teamwork. Whether on the hardwood or in the vocal booth, Cali-based group Pac Div falls into the latter category. Read the rest of this entry »

What is an album anymore? As more artists begin to take their careers independent, the idea of a glitzy, major label LP begins to lose its luster. Mixtapes and self-releases have become the new barometer Read the rest of this entry »

The ultimate test in measuring one’s worth is not conducted in the battle to the top but the downhill slide when there’s nothing left to prove, yet more recognition to gain. Back before the Internet held any sort of weight in the rap caucus of what’s hot or not, Young Jeezy was a star with his early effort Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101. Read the rest of this entry »

Hip-Hop history has seen a fair share of its denizens makeshift their rhyming parables into dialogue fit for a thespian. But what if happened the other way around? The arts know no boundaries when it comes to expressing realistic vantage points. However, for a genre known for crucifying acts whose music replicates fictional anti-heros, an actor crossing over to become a credible rapper just hasn’t been in the script yet. Read the rest of this entry »

Spoiler Alert: 2008′s Universal Mind Control was an awkward, over-produced mess. Common seems to have understood this fact and abandoned the loud, technotronic mishmash of noises that polluted that album for something more honest and subtle. The result is The Dreamer/The Believer; Common’s best effort in years. Read the rest of this entry »

With twenty years of service striped on their sleeve, the two-man tandem of Lil Fame and Billy Danze won’t be issued retirement papers anytime soon as their next blitzkrieg of rap bullets comes in the form of a studio composite with German production team, the Snowgoons. On Sparta, there’s enough street interactions to make your speakers dribble with concrete pellets, but as is par for the course, the surprises are kept to a minimum. Read the rest of this entry »