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 »

Dig a hole. Bury yourselves.

We’ve gathered here today on this annual ceremony, not to mourn, but to celebrate the DEATH of music that has stolen precious minutes we shall never get back for our cherished lives. The album still holds its rank as the premier event in an artist’s career but there’s too many distractions (first week sales, features, artificial beef) shifting us away from the most important aspect: the music. Read the rest of this entry »

The artwork for The Roots’ thirteenth studio album undun depicts a child completely inverted, mid-air, after springing up from a frayed, dirty and potentially dangerous, mattress. In that fleeting moment he’s flying. For a fraction of a second he rises above his surroundings. Read the rest of this entry »

Occasion, the fourth studio album from Kidz In The Hall, sees the duo throwing every radio-friendly spaghetti noodle at their disposal against the wall, hoping that anything will stick. The duo dabbles in a wide array of sound, exploring everything from the synth-hop to tougher, more traditional cuts. This diversity is great on some levels: no matter your favorite flavor, something on Occasion will catch your attention. Read the rest of this entry »

They say if you snooze, you lose, and that couldn’t be more true for good albums overlooked for numerous reasons. Whether it’s falling victim to a popularity contest, lack of a big name co-sign or having substandard promotion, sometimes deserving projects don’t get the accolades that’s owed to them. Read the rest of this entry »

Words By Samir S.

Curren$y has been on one hell of a run the past couple of years. But even the hottest of rappers have often found it difficult to transfer some of their individual success over to their lesser-known understudies. Fortunately, the new album from Curren$y’s studio crew, Jet World Order, carries over the consistency that Spitta has built up over his past half-dozen or so releases. Read the rest of this entry »

Drake can’t win. He just can’t. From a Hip-Hop traditionalist’s point of view, Drake’s the following: polarizing, hypocritical and nauseatingly emotional. For casual fans he doesn’t create enough “Best I Ever Had” tracks. He’s forever stuck between pleasing these two bases that he’ll never be anyone’s objectified hero. Read the rest of this entry »