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 »

Even though there were a few diehards showing discipline to refrain from listening to last night’s “One Time” leak, the ever-ready folks over at NPR plops down with the “like we always do about this time” face and comes through with the big enchilada for us to gobble up in its entirety before the December 6 street date. Read the rest of this entry »

“God bless the nonbelievers, they teach the dreamers how to fly…”

Tomorrow is the day Nikki Jean releases her album Pennies In A Jar, but for today she’s allowing the world to hear her collaboration with Lupe Fiasco and Black Thought free of charge. Read the rest of this entry »

When you take an empty gymnasium, a slew of Philly talent and more sequins than the Emerald City, anything is bound to happen. In this instance, Jill Scott, E-V-E and The A Group, her backup songbirds for the moment, pull the guilt trip on brothers without backbone. Jill Scott’s The Light of the Sun should be a beacon of hope for those looking for the scarce pool of old-fashioned R&B these days. Remember to tell them the 215 sent you! Read the rest of this entry »

In case you missed the news, the John Legend/The Roots tandem were big winners of three Grammy Awards at the 53rd event for having the Best Traditional R&B Vocals, Best R&B Song, and Best R&B Album in Wake Up! (available on iTunes now). But as you can see, it was more of a homogeneous mix of rhythmic blues than the jazzy Hip-Hop The Legendary Roots Crew have made their calling card. Read the rest of this entry »

Not a lot of need or even room for talk here. The Money Making Jam Boys project is finally delivered today and there’s not a lot of spare space for words when you have a group of high-caliber wordsmiths like Black Thought, Dice Raw, P.O.R.N., STS, and Truck North working together. Read the rest of this entry »

Young Chris’ “Philly Sh*t” gets an extra large remix with the help of some Philly aggins and non-locals who get on the 215 tip to assist the homie. Read the rest of this entry »

Alright gang, it’s the last week for submissions for our “Collect Your Thoughts” competition ending this Friday. We decided to throw in another round of Black Thought trivia. Here’s a quick chance to win an autographed copy of The Roots’ Grammy-nominated LP, How I Got Over but you’re going to have to do your research for this one. Run your memory banks…or run to Google. Test out your fanboy/girl Roots knowledge with this latest challenge formed by Tariq himself. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo: Boney Starks

Our “Collect Your Thoughts” competition is in full swing and the entries are coming in daily. We are thankful its been well-received and we want to pay it back by allowing everybody a chance to win free sh*t even if you haven’t entered yet. So we pose a quick, Black Thought trivia question. Read the rest of this entry »

Art: Shake

Ready or not, here come the Money Making Jam Boys. STS, Truck North, Dice Raw and Black Thought, better known for their respective affiliations with the Roots crew, have struck out on their own to drop a mixtape in the near future. “Tear It Down” is the first leak from that project and it’s chock-full of the precise lyricism one would expect. One by one, each member of the group steps up to the beat and flexes a little skill for your enjoyment on this cold January evening. Read the rest of this entry »

Black Thought has been releasing recorded music since 1992 and has long since established himself as one of the most fierce and prolific emcees in history. In fact, give the man a hand. No, seriously, give him a hand, because he’s has lost track of how many features and solo joints the emcee’s had a hand in and needs your help. Read the rest of this entry »

In case you haven’t heard, the Money Making Jam Boys consist of Truck North, Sugar Tongue Slim, Dice Raw and the legendary Black Thought. Don’t you dare call them a supergroup, though. They’re simply a group with superstar talent looking to bogart the popular rap circles with sincere lyricism. Read the rest of this entry »

Somehow, I got wind of this release late but knew to be watching out for it today. Many forget Black Thought’s live performance abilities as the discussion of his placement among the top emcees gets debated. The weight I place on being able to rock a stage has increased since I’ve watched countless newly hyped artists take the stage in a storm and completely flounder Read the rest of this entry »

It’s not as if a group of emcees could hang around The Roots and not cook up funky material, be it scripted or impromptu. Here, Matt Koza directs as Black Thought, Dice Raw, P.O.R.N., Truck North, and STS aka The Money Makin’ Jam Boys rehearse for their recent performance at The 3rd Annual Roots Picnic. If you’re in the area, TMMJB will be joining The Roots @ Highline for a mere $10. Read the rest of this entry »

If you couldn’t tell by the leaks or the swagger, Sugar Tongue Slim a.k.a. STS has a silky smooth flow but he still believes in pushing the creative boundaries in Hip-Hop to the limit. That’s why Demand More 2 isn’t your average tape just by your average fly-by-night rapper. Featuring appearances by the Money Making Jam Boys (Black Thought, Truck North & Dice Raw), production by Don Cannon, Sean C & LV, see what STS has been brewing from his journeys from Philly to Atlanta and back again. Read the rest of this entry »