tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44332237702886711562012-01-31T19:37:19.415-06:00THE FIRST. THE ORIGINAL. ALBUM REVIEWS. POP CULTURE COMMENTARY. ITALICS. ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES. (EST. 2007)Maxnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8011100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-48493129985674620552012-01-31T11:00:00.097-06:002012-01-31T11:00:08.403-06:00

After the 2002 release of their debut album Lord Willin', the Virginia duo known as the Clipse, made up of the coke-rap fraternal demons Pusha T and Malice, found themselves at war with their record label.  After a business merger, the brothers Thornton found themselves absorbed into the Jive Records family, and, to absolutely nobody's surprise, the home of Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears

Maxnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-21372748758900805072012-01-28T11:00:00.038-06:002012-01-28T11:00:04.754-06:00

(Did you think that the lack of my own Scarface write-ups was a strange oversight on my part? Then get a load of today's subject. A lot of you two have written to me wondering where the Masta Ace write-ups are. In case you haven't figured it out, aside from the Reader Review for the eMC project, there aren't any...until now. Danny C., a fan who admits to not knowing who Ace even was until

Maxnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-10926474483029504322012-01-25T11:00:00.035-06:002012-01-25T11:00:00.788-06:00

(Today's Reader Review comes from Justa, who decided that it was taking far too long for me to get to the Scarface solo discography myself. So he wrote up Face's seventh album (and first for Def Jam South), The Fix, for me. Hey, I just gave you two reviews in one; let me take this quick nap. Leave some notes for him below.) Once upon a time, the house that Russell and Rubin built, Def Jam

Maxnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-16354448785704140342012-01-22T11:00:00.156-06:002012-01-22T11:00:02.696-06:00

A lot of hip hop fans consider 1993's Lethal Injection to be the final album where rapper O'Shea Jackson, better known today as 21 Jump Street's Ice Cube, actually said anything of substance: they look to the rest of his output, leading up to the present day, as an example of their former hero resting on his family-movie laurels and living a not-so-angry life, which deflates the integrity of his

Maxnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-74789318928116921082012-01-19T11:00:00.127-06:002012-01-19T11:00:06.432-06:00

You're forgiven if you didn't realize that rapper-slash-singer Aubrey "Drake" Graham actually took a break shortly after releasing his major label debut, Thank Me Later, in the summer of 2010.  I say this because, even though he apparently went into some sort of hiding (to hear him tell it), I swear that Aubrey has been all over rap radio for the past three-and-a-half years, with his cameos and

Maxnoreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-27307588982701934102011-12-22T11:00:00.274-06:002011-12-22T11:00:03.446-06:00

First, some quick business: Today's post will be the final one of the year.  What with the holiday season being upon us and all, I figured now would be the best time for me to rest a bit and get my bearings back.  I plan on returning sometime after the new year, at which time the blog will be reverting back to its once-every-three-days schedule, as that will be all I will be able to squeeze in. 

Maxnoreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-88125059386410292642011-12-20T11:00:00.037-06:002011-12-20T11:00:10.257-06:00

(Today's Reader Review, the final one of the year, comes from the artist formerly known as Sir Bonkers, the newly christened Bennyfromdablock. Continuing his trend with writing up albums that most people (read: me) have little to no interest in, today's post discusses current Rikers inmate G-Dep and his solo debut, Child Of The Ghetto. Leave some notes for him below, and check out his own

Maxnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-53749352338530591982011-12-18T09:30:00.000-06:002011-12-18T09:53:04.841-06:00

Virginia coke-rap enthusiast Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton, one-half of the critically-acclaimed duo the Clipse, released his first solo effort, the free mixtape Fear Of God, earlier this year after setting up a solo deal with Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music imprint and scoring two brilliant cameos on his new boss's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy ("Runaway" and "So Appalled", which is still my shit)

Maxnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-30332673860025745562011-12-16T11:00:00.027-06:002011-12-16T11:00:10.671-06:00

(Today's Reader Review comes from Harris Shap, who skips ahead in Pharoahe Monch's solo catalog in favor of discussing his third album, W.A.R. (We Are Renegades). Leave your thoughts for him below.) Pharoahe Monch is an emcee people should really know more about. His work as one-half of the duo Organized Konfusion is fantastic, and after they broke up, he went on to deliver two solo albums (

Maxnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-72835706695721972452011-12-14T11:00:00.219-06:002011-12-14T11:00:04.493-06:00

A quick reminder for the two readers out there: I do not compare an artist's album with one from another artist.  That would be completely unfair.  (I imagine that the folks who contribute Reader Reviews do the same, but I can't speak for them.)  It doesn't make sense to compare Liquid Swords to, say, Take Care.  (No, that's a terrible example, because it somehow draws the conclusion that I think

Maxnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-60456714215463691152011-12-12T11:00:00.036-06:002011-12-12T11:00:01.547-06:00

(Today's Reader Review comes from Taylor, who took it upon himself to look into one of Ice Cube's later albums, 2008's Raw Footage. Given that my current schedule has me avoiding all of his newer stuff at all costs, I figured this would be the best way to open up a discussion about O'Shea Jackson. Leave Taylor some comments below.) My first taste of Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson) came after

Maxnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-86416178515877279782011-12-10T11:00:00.022-06:002011-12-10T11:00:01.774-06:00

(Today's Reader Review finds Will Schmidt giving his thoughts on Big K.R.I.T.'s mixtape-slash-album Return of 4Eva. I know a lot of you two have been waiting to talk about this guy: leave your thoughts for Will below.) Justin Scott, know across numerous blogs as Big K.R.I.T. (King Remembered in Time), has released a couple of high profile street albums or mixtapes. Never quite sure what the

Maxnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-53840288531291211072011-12-08T09:00:00.000-06:002011-12-08T09:55:49.499-06:00

Undun marks the eleventh studio album from Philadelphia-based rap band The Roots (not counting live albums or EPs, but including the John Legend/Roots collaborative project Wake Up! in the fold).  Which is a remarkable feat: there aren't many acts that are still a part of our chosen genre that make it to eleven officially released albums (because mixtapes, or "street albums", don't count).  What

Maxnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-29468734385063026832011-12-06T11:00:00.026-06:002011-12-06T11:00:06.186-06:00

(Marking only the second Reader Review contribution from a female (come on, I know you're out there, make your voices heard!), today's diversion comes from Portuguese hip hop blogger (check out her other work here) and music critic Joana Nicolau, who submits her write-up on Sarcasmo's Noites Calmas, Dias Felizes, which is slightly altered from her original review, which can be found online, in

Maxnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-994226167610030972011-12-04T11:00:00.039-06:002011-12-04T11:00:03.042-06:00

(Today's Reader Review is the long-promised (I think, I've kind of lost track) forum for J. Cole's Roc Nation debut, Cole World: The Sideline Story, that you two have been waiting before. Just in time for Jermaine to celebrate that he actually sold over five hundred thousand copies of his first album, which is impressive in this day and age. It's just pure coincidence that it appears on Roc

Maxnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-30290948783487165742011-12-02T11:00:00.038-06:002011-12-02T11:00:08.793-06:00

(My understanding is that Los Angeles-based rapper Blu, a blogger favorite, handed out copies of his album NoYork! After a performance at Rock The Bells this year. The only problem was, NoYork! Was intended to be his major label debut for Warner Brothers. It's unknown if this album is being re-recorded, or it it was scrapped entirely and Blu figured that it would be best for the music to get

Maxnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-66192348943855477522011-11-30T14:00:00.288-06:002011-11-30T14:00:04.573-06:00

On this, the final day of the stunt month, I've decided to abandon my own rules and write about the second album from the Beastie Boys, the monumental Paul's Boutique.  A lot of you two have been waiting around for this write-up ever since Licensed To Ill hit the site.  Why, you could even go so far as to say that this entire stunt month was manufactured as an excuse for me to finally get around

Maxnoreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-1709032351338535982011-11-30T10:00:00.083-06:002011-11-30T10:00:09.380-06:00

Every time I do one of these stunt blogs, I question my sanity about one week in, curse the day I agreed to do the blog in the first place during the second and third weeks, and then graciously look forward to my regular schedule of posting or not posting during the finale.  This month's focus on white rappers, both well-known and underground, both generic and bizarre, is complete: the final

Maxnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-86055453989279107732011-11-29T11:00:00.202-06:002011-11-29T20:35:59.406-06:00

This close to the end, I tend to get all loopy with my choices of albums to write about, but the subject of today's post has been sitting in my mythical pile of discs for years now.  It's difficult to decide what to write about when faced with so much material to choose from, but this current stunt month is as good a time as any to break out the Sage Francis.   Paul Francis, who took the stage

Maxnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-69567912635887765712011-11-28T11:00:00.187-06:002011-11-29T18:58:51.446-06:00

One of you two astutely pointed out that I had promised to write about some guy named Miilkbone way back during someone else's Reader Review.  I figured that this month was as good a time as any, except for one thing: I couldn't find my fucking copy of the dude's debut album, Da' Miilkrate.  While I was able to find a copy through my local library's inter-library loan program, I wasn't able to

Maxnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-75834368560264937212011-11-27T11:00:00.222-06:002011-11-28T20:57:15.369-06:00

"Brother" Ali Newman is a Minneapolis-based emcee who is both legally blind and suffers from albinism.  As Ali tends to talk shit about every single interview he's done where the author can't help but harp on the one-two punch of what sets him apart from every other white rapper on the fucking planet, I figured I'd just get that out of the way now, since neither of those traits takes away from

Maxnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-59730320923106853722011-11-26T11:00:00.259-06:002011-11-27T18:05:21.265-06:00

Edan Portnoy, who didn't have to look far for his 'Edan' rap moniker, is a Maryland native who specializes in rhyming, producing, and deejaying.  Although he's classified under the more "alternative" banner when it comes to our chosen genre, he traffics in a love for the old school, filling his songs with samples, scratches, and flows reminiscent of the late 1980s and early 1990s whenever the

Maxnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-33483251221472072942011-11-25T11:00:00.147-06:002011-11-25T11:00:05.498-06:00

For Black Friday, instead of hitting the stores and waiting in long lines to buy shit you don't really need (because nobody really uses Black Friday to buy gifts for other people; this is America, after all!), why don't you get comfortable in front of your computer, close the window filled with deviant porn, and cuddle with a nice underground act that you two have never heard of before.  Sound

Maxnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-62437058933453446212011-11-24T11:00:00.320-06:002011-11-24T11:00:00.195-06:00

For Thanksgiving, I felt that a proper way to celebrate the turkey that I plan on tearing into later today was to meet up with an artist who specializes in some of the sickest depictions of homicide our genre has yet offered.  For the rest of you in other countries, for which today is just another Thursday, you're very welcome. Ron Braunstein, who rhymes, produces, and directs under the

Maxnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-26990424367242179962011-11-23T11:00:00.225-06:002011-11-24T08:09:12.222-06:00

The other guy in the running for Asher Roth Of The Year is a rapper named Michael Atha, better known as Yelawolf, an Alabama-based artist who has already cultivated a strong-enough fanbase on other hip hop blogs not devoted to album reviews.  His work ethic, which resulted in many mixtapes, cameos, and independently-released "street albums", resulted in his surprise signing to white rapper god

Maxnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-24383655517916330452011-11-22T11:00:00.254-06:002011-11-22T21:17:39.957-06:00

That's not the actual album cover, by the way: it was simply all I could find without ripping the Interweb apart.  Sue me. A lot of you two may have been wondering just when I would actually get to the career of R.A. the Rugged Man, the New York emcee with powerful guest verses who has only managed to release one fucking album in his lifetime.  Night Of The Bloody Apes is not that album, which

Maxnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-66866494109599522172011-11-21T11:00:00.023-06:002011-11-21T21:11:01.475-06:00

When EPMD divorced after their fourth album, there was the expected separation of assets.  Erick Sermon took Reggie "Redman" Noble, and both of them blew the fuck up as the founding members of the newly formed Def Squad, while Parrish Smith gained custody of the duo Das EFX and the name "Hit Squad", which was once used to identify the entire collective that E Double and PMD called their extended

Maxnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-10621880877650274992011-11-20T11:00:00.201-06:002011-11-21T20:47:04.372-06:00

Today we bounce over to Canada to search for the elusive female rapper Eternia, an artist who was briefly mentioned as a guest star during the write-up for Apathy's Honkey Kong.  Before I continue, though, I have to say: isn't it weird how a lot of the artists I've written about this month have crossed over onto each other's albums?  It's almost as though the white rappers have formed a union

Maxnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-4747899360552437172011-11-19T11:00:00.281-06:002011-11-20T20:14:08.404-06:00

In 1993, Ruthless Records was reeling from the defection of in-house producer Dr. Dre.  After he had accused label owners Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and Jerry Heller of stealing his share of the profits from all of the albums N.W.A. sold, in addition to his royalties from his work on other Ruthless projects from Above The Law and The D.O.C., he strongarmed himself out of his contract with the label (

Maxnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-29852857636712793822011-11-18T11:00:00.276-06:002011-11-20T20:21:05.635-06:00

Chris Palko is one of those guys whose life is filled with such harrowing experiences that independent film producers and film school dropouts would kill to tell his story.  Hell, someone is actually doing that as we speak: actor-slash-jackass Shia LeBeouf is supposed to be producing and starring in a biopic based on the artist's life, last time I checked.  The only problem is that Palko,

Maxnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-51811364091042549292011-11-17T11:00:00.251-06:002011-11-19T17:21:38.664-06:00

I think we can agree that the last two days on the blog have been morally questionable.  So today, I present Scram Jones's The Hat Trick as a peace offering. Scram Jones, real name Marc Shermer, is a New York-based producer who has managed to work with many of hip hop's big names over the past decade or so, such as Ghostface Killah, Black Rob, Canibus, Tragedy Khadafi, Scarface, the Terror Squad,

Maxnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-25836085232624745752011-11-16T11:00:00.239-06:002011-11-18T20:59:45.359-06:00

I'm apparently sticking with the carnival theme introduced yesterday, which I am fast-forwarding to its most obvious endpoint, that of a hip hop world filled with killer clowns from Detroit and the men and women who love them.  If anybody out there was taking bets as to whether I'd have the balls to actually throw this onto my iPod, I'd like to see them raise their hands, because they'd all be

Maxnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-59454904564398935912011-11-15T11:00:00.187-06:002011-11-18T20:58:59.517-06:00

Now that we're around the halfway mark of this stunt blog, we've reached the point where things get very difficult for my attention span and my psyche in general.  At this stage, I'm prone to questionable decisions, such as choosing to write about Brian Green's One Stop Carnival now instead of saving it for a future April Fool's Day post.  So, then. Brian Green is, of course, actor Brian Austin

Maxnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-43655543819871555072011-11-14T11:00:00.265-06:002011-11-18T20:58:38.408-06:00

Paul Wall, born Paul Slayton back in 1981, is a Houston, Texas-based rapper-slash-entrepreneur, probably better known for his side business crafting diamond-encrusted braces for your teeth (or "grillz", if you're so inclined) than he is for his actual rhymes, although he's sure recorded a shit-ton of songs for albums and mixtapes alike.  He's also the current president of the Texas chapter of the

Maxnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-84662014913963718612011-11-13T11:00:00.238-06:002011-11-18T20:59:28.156-06:00

The High & Mighty are a deejay/rapper combination who hail from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  They are best known for not being 7L & Esoteric. Mr. Eon (Eric Meltzer) and DJ Mighty Mi (Milo Berger) came together during the heyday of East Coast underground rap in the late 1990s. Milo had formed an independent label, Eastern Conference Records, which had entered into friendly competition with other

Maxnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-28712350131415268462011-11-12T11:00:00.283-06:002011-11-18T20:57:49.563-06:00

I have been meaning to branch out into reviewing hip hop from the UK for quite a while now, especially since the comments section for nearly every British artist on this site is filled with suggestions for other, better rappers to write about.  This is simply the first one I found in my crates that fit the theme for this month. Mike Skinner is a producer-slash-rapper from Birmingham who was

Maxnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-50740440700252092772011-11-11T11:00:00.184-06:002011-11-18T20:57:33.462-06:00

Although 3rd Bass's debut album is actually entitled The Cactus Album, I love the fact that they sort-of changed the project's name for the compact disc release.  It's the little things, folks. Anyway, 3rd Bass.   Made up of rappers MC Serch and Prime Minister Pete Nice, along with their deejay Richie Rich, they weren't exactly the most natural of teams: Pete was the host of a hip hop-themed

Maxnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-15984289987841831772011-11-10T11:00:00.284-06:002011-11-18T20:57:18.767-06:00

Warren Mathis is a Georgia-based rapper who was introduced to the mainstream hip hop world in 2001 as an alternative to a certain white artist from Detroit who was still taking the genre by storm.  At least, that's how I first heard of him: once Eminem hit the big time, record labels sent their snakes to the far corners of the United States in search of the next white hope, and Warren, who

Maxnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-87532433127054388852011-11-09T11:00:00.256-06:002011-11-18T20:57:00.083-06:00

Mac Miller is the rapper to beat in the competition for Asher Roth Of The Year.  Just like Roth, he's a Pennsylvania native being pushed as the next big thing in the world of white rappers: he's even secured a co-sign from the powers that be on MTV, who have been promoting him fairly heavily for the past few weeks or so.  Like Roth before him, he's secured a loyal fanbase in the mixtape circuit,

Maxnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-40600408925110151802011-11-08T11:00:00.187-06:002011-11-18T20:56:40.305-06:00

DJ Muggs has made the most of his post-Cypress Hill career, alternating between projects credited to his Soul Assassins collective and collaborative albums with some of his favorite artists.  His Vs. series has featured names such as GZA/Genius, Sick Jacken, and Planet Asia, but today we're going to focus on his album with Ill Bill, Kill Devil Hills, because, otherwise, this post wouldn't

Maxnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-540713194604736242011-11-07T11:00:00.151-06:002011-11-18T20:56:00.898-06:00

I have to say, that album cover is both fucking terrible and the most awesome I've ever posted on this blog.  I'm still not even convinced that it's real: I'm pretty sure that somebody just typed some words onto a screen grab from a direct-to-DVD action flick shot in eastern Romania, which doubled for Toronto, and a cropped-out Vince McMahon is probably somewhere in the background beating an

Maxnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-79504997722924819732011-11-06T11:00:00.086-06:002011-11-18T20:55:42.398-06:00

Thanks to the ubiquitous Snoop Dogg, hip hop heads think of Long Beach, California as a hotbed for gangsta rap activity.  And for the most part, they're all absolutely correct: I imagine the LBC is chock-full of generic copycats who are constantly trying to hit the same lottery numbers one Calvin Broadus did back in the early 1990s, the ones that helped him align himself with the hottest

Maxnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-17349999415294698002011-11-05T11:00:00.102-05:002011-11-18T20:55:23.524-06:00

No matter what I write about during this post, your mind will immediately associate the trio House Of Pain with their biggest hit record, "Jump Around".  And I think rappers Everlast and Danny Boy and their deejay, DJ Lethal, will be okay with that.  It's hard enough to conjure up a song that people will like, but to come up with one that people fucking love?  Damn near impossible. House Of Pain

Maxnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-26937511439474806612011-11-04T11:00:00.100-05:002011-11-18T20:54:47.374-06:00

A while back, it was brought to my attention that HHID didn't feature nearly enough entries from the Definitive Jux catalog.  Odds are pretty good that the Party Fun Action Committee's Let's Get Serious was not what you thought I would use to buck the trend. Party Fun Action Committee is a duo made up of Blockhead and Jer, two underground producers (Blockhead is actually pretty well-known for

Maxnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-91364727286359194282011-11-03T11:00:00.092-05:002011-11-18T20:54:26.031-06:00

At this point, you two have undoubtedly figured out the theme to this current stunt month, so let me get this guy out of the way, just so you two don't have to sit on pins and needles wondering just when I would somehow shoehorn a Wu-Tang Clan affiliate into the proceedings. Ross Fuller, who performs in both a rapper and a producer capacity as Remedy, hails from Staten Island.  Although it has

Maxnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-64384281064787670462011-11-02T11:00:00.083-05:002011-11-02T11:00:01.461-05:00

7L & Esoteric are a deejay/rapper combination who hail from Boston, Massachusetts.  They are best known for not being Gang Starr.   Okay, that sentence was both ridiculous and an awful way to kick off this write-up.  Hey, at least I admit it.  It probably doesn't help that the comparison doesn't make any sense anyway: Guru (R.I.P.) hailed from Boston, sure, but DJ Premier calls Houston, Texas

Maxnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-90462323925833392872011-11-01T11:00:00.112-05:002011-11-01T11:00:00.973-05:00

Chad Bromley, who used to rhyme under the pseudonym Apathy the Alien Tongue but shortened it down to just Tongue, and then The, and finally just Apathy, hails from Connecticut, where all hardcore underground rappers eventually end up when all of the bars in New York City are full.  He holds court in two of the indie world's more popular hip hop supergroups: the Army Of The Pharaohs, which is a

Maxnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-26078763694400309592011-10-27T11:00:00.011-05:002011-10-27T11:00:00.481-05:00

So here's what actually happened: Midway through September, I contracted food poisoning or some other ridiculous shit, which meant that I became much more focused on the toilet in my bathroom (as opposed to the one in my foyer?) and not so much concerned with listening to music of any sort.  When that passed, I tried to get back into the groove of writing, but I found it ridiculously fucking

Maxnoreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-82468446457414257012011-10-06T18:57:00.000-05:002011-10-06T18:57:03.524-05:00

Maxnoreply@blogger.com73tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-61614842394206086612011-09-22T11:00:00.078-05:002011-09-22T11:00:02.563-05:00

Unless you're one of those hip hop heads that doesn't really give a damn (like most of HHID's readers), you may have noticed that some of the children of the Wu-Tang Clan's original nine members have started releasing some material of their own.  Probably the best-known of this subset, most likely because of his horribly unoriginal rap name, is Young Dirty Bastard (also known as Boy Jones), the

Maxnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-1799233587282396432011-09-20T11:00:00.083-05:002011-09-20T11:00:03.170-05:00

One of the many side stories running concurrently on HHID is the saga of EPMD, the rap duo made up of rapper-slash-producers Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith.  This Brentwood pairing is responsible for some of the catchiest, funkiest, and sample-heaviest early hits in hip hop history, and through them came the careers of K-Solo, Das EFX and the incomparable Redman, all of whom were members of

Maxnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-26317610449299055662011-09-18T11:00:00.095-05:002011-09-18T11:00:01.206-05:00

Legal Hustle is the third solo album from Cory Mckay, released by the Koch graveyard back in 2004.  It followed up the critically-acclaimed one-two punch known as The Realness and The True Meaning, which, as most bloggers would tell it, constitute the greatest debut and sophomore releases from a single artist since the dawn of our chosen genre.  Your great-grandchildren will tell the tale of

Maxnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-16567585379888526262011-09-16T11:00:00.168-05:002011-09-16T11:00:07.669-05:00

As an artist, Jayceon Taylor fascinates me.  The artist formerly known as The Game (he prefers just "Game" now, which means I will ignore his request for the majority of this write-up) hails from Compton, California, the birthplace of N.W.A. and a city generally known as ground zero for the West Coast gangsta rap scene, but while he represents his sub-genre with pride, he also comes off as

Maxnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-86740983721661383812011-09-14T10:00:00.000-05:002011-09-14T10:13:20.053-05:00

My exercise in self-hatred continues today with my review for the second and most recent album in Scott Mescudi's catalog, the awkwardly titled Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager.  It was released a year after his debut, and it found our host in a much more successful position, thanks to the massive sales of Man On The Moon: The End of Day, his endorsement deals, and his acting gig on

Maxnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-5150516182586691142011-09-12T11:00:00.107-05:002011-09-12T11:00:08.254-05:00

In a Reader Review from over a year ago, I expressed my indifference toward Scott Mescudi, a musician and actor who goes by the stage name KiD CuDi.  In a very short period of time, this Cleveland, Ohio-born artist has gained a lot of critical respect in our chosen genre: his mixtape, A Kid Named Cudi, even earned him a place in Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music collective, a group of artists with

Maxnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-83584566664923381592011-09-10T11:00:00.108-05:002011-09-10T11:00:06.846-05:00

In 2010, producer Ski Beatz presented his grand attempt at a comeback in our chosen genre, the compilation 24 Hour Karate School, which was named after his loose collective of artists who popped by his Damon Dash-financed studios to work with him at odd intervals.  This project was notable for being mostly interesting while selling almost zero copies, because nobody actually buys hip hop albums

Maxnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-74496751846621050602011-09-08T11:00:00.061-05:002011-09-08T11:00:00.589-05:00

I had no idea until today that Lord Finesse is considered to be the leader of the Diggin' In The Crates crew.  I just figured that they were a loose ensemble who would occasionally pair off to record albums. Anyway, Lord Finesse hails from the Bronx, although he currently resides fairly high on my request list, if the comments section is any indicator.  He's currently best known as a

Maxnoreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-57659136153041752862011-09-06T11:00:00.094-05:002011-09-06T11:00:05.066-05:00

Thanks to that Reader Review of Game Theory that I ran last month, I was inspired to at least make some further headway on the overall catalog for the Philly-based hip hop band The Roots, mainly because, even though I'm happy for the fact that they seem to be earning a steady paycheck and are providing for their families and whatever, I would still rather not think of them solsly as the house

Maxnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-13122712200808973252011-09-04T11:00:00.070-05:002011-09-04T11:00:01.752-05:00

See?  I told you I would post something that you two would want to discuss. In case you've forgotten (which is most likely the case, since it's been a fucking long-ass time since I last wrote about these guys), I missed out on the early work of Kool G Rap and DJ Polo.  There's a lot of music out in the world, and it's impossible to listen to all of it, so some folks inevitably fall through the

Maxnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-27549861308597398662011-09-02T11:00:00.178-05:002011-09-02T21:59:18.278-05:00

Alright, I'm back.  And unlike the last Reader Review, I think the chances are pretty good that today's post won't elicit any response from the artist himself. Yeah, yeah, I know.  I get it.  You're wondering how in the fuck can I essentially disappear for a month (although those Reader Reviews didn't post themselves, you know) and come back with this shit, especially since everyone and their

Maxnoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-57589366023450669912011-08-31T11:00:00.029-05:002011-08-31T11:00:09.653-05:00

(Today's Reader Review is a sequel of sorts from Jason, who follows up his review for Tom Caruana's Wu-Tang Clan/Beatles mash-up project Enter The Magical Mystery Chambers with his thoughts on the free follow-up, Black Gold, which combines Wu-Tang lyrics with Jimi Hendrix's catalog. Leave your notes for Jason below.) One million years ago, I reviewed a Tom Caruana mashup that combined Beatles

Maxnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-76236667691537130002011-08-29T11:00:00.025-05:002011-08-29T11:00:06.363-05:00

(Today's Reader Review comes from Alex, who took the time to revisit the second full-length project from the Memphis-based, Academy Award-winning crew Three 6 Mafia, Chapter 1: The End (even though the album cover only says The End, but their official site refers to it the same way Alex does, so whatever). Odds are pretty good that you two weren't expecting this particular group to pop up on

Maxnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-56593625083818256042011-08-27T11:00:00.033-05:002011-08-27T16:49:40.935-05:00

(Today's Reader Review is one that went missing in my inbox for whatever reason, resulting in a lag time that was much longer than usual. Apologies to John, who took the time to submit a write-up for RJD2's debut, Deadringer, and may now possibly be turned off from the entire submission process at this point. Regardless, here's John's short-and-sweet review; leave some comments for him below.)

Maxnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-71676243678479108162011-08-25T11:00:00.029-05:002011-08-25T11:00:12.141-05:00

(Today's Reader Review finds Justin listening to the debut album from the Kentucky-based crew Nappy Roots, Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz. Leave your notes for him below.) 2002 was the year that saw these “country boyz” by the name of Nappy Roots bubble up into the mainstream. The sextet, consisting of members Fish Scales, Skinny Deville, B.Stille, Ron Clutch, Big V, and Ron Prophet, garnered both

Maxnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-45485438958954595562011-08-23T11:00:00.033-05:002011-08-23T11:00:03.663-05:00

(Today's Reader Review is brought to you by Don Martin, who was nice enough to provide his take on Mr. Lif's first full-length project, I Phantom. Leave some comments for him below.) I remember first hearing Boston-based Mr. Lif on two guest appearances (“Speech Cobras”, from the Jedi Mind Tricks album Violent by Design, and the much better “Operating Correctly”, off of 7L & Esoteric's The

Maxnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-39067697003485170212011-08-21T11:00:00.019-05:002011-08-21T11:00:03.670-05:00

(While I'm still working on the back catalog of seminal hip hop band The Roots, frequent contributor A.R. Marks has decided to skip ahead and provide his thoughts on their seventh album (and first for their current label home Def Jam Records), Game Theory. Leave your comments for him below.) The Roots have been around pretty much forever. These guys started up in 1987 under the name The Square

Maxnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-22750945811567939792011-08-19T11:00:00.029-05:002011-08-19T11:00:04.972-05:00

(Today's Reader Review finds Will Schmitt taking a look at MF DOOM's second release under the DOOM name, Mm...Food? Leave some notes for him below.) MF DOOM, born Daniel Dumile and known by God knows how many aliases, is usually the subject of much debate within hip hop blogs and circles (or squares, depending on the mood). Some say his eccentric-at-best style of rhyming is completely

Maxnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-19554360544444220722011-08-17T11:00:00.024-05:002011-08-17T11:00:07.438-05:00

(In an effort to give you something a bit off-topic, today Red Magic presents his write-up for R&B outfit The Weeknd's House Of Balloons. You shouldn't take this as an open invitation to write about other musical genres, though: if you wish to stray from the beaten path with your Reader Review, you should contact me first. Side note: the album cover features a woman's left breast, so for those

Maxnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-46888724158068751522011-08-15T11:00:00.044-05:002011-08-15T11:00:06.193-05:00

(Today Sir Bonkers, apparently my go-to whenever there's an artist or a project that I don't want to touch with a ten-foot pole, follows up his Reader Review from last year of hip hop punching bag Benzino's debut, The Benzino Project, with a write-up on his sophomore release, Redemption. Leave some notes for him below.) In 2003, Elektra Records released Redemption, the second solo album from

Maxnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-6496022199044247862011-08-13T11:00:00.025-05:002011-08-13T11:00:01.180-05:00

(Today's Reader Review comes to you from Jeff, who tackles Elzhi's Nas-inspired free effort Elmatic. Leave your thoughts for Jeff below, and check out his blog, Emaciated Wildebeest, when you're done here.) Some quick background: Illmatic. The 1994 debut from Nas is a monolithic record, one which has garnered praise and admiration from all over the spectrum and has influenced a generation of

Maxnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-60855633082199857492011-08-11T11:00:00.133-05:002011-08-11T11:00:00.669-05:00

As you two probably saw coming from a mile away, I'm taking a break away from my break to offer my thoughts on what will probably end up being the biggest rap album of the year.  Still doesn't mean I'm actually back, though. So, Watch The Throne, the joint effort from Kanye West and Jay-Z (who refer to themselves as the duo "The Throne" on here) that was promised way back in October of 2010 (back

Maxnoreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-85850565490181025682011-08-09T11:00:00.038-05:002011-08-09T11:00:23.307-05:00

(After a week of discussing relatively new albums (yes, somehow J. Cole's Friday Night Lights still counts), why not take a look at something most would consider a high point of the genre? Today's Reader Review is for Main Source's debut album Breaking Atoms, a project I kept meaning to get to before Taylor beat me to it. To be fair, I wasn't trying very hard, but hey, any review is better

Maxnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-5987581703956925162011-08-07T11:00:00.048-05:002011-08-07T11:00:07.439-05:00

(Today CJ provides a review on acclaimed newcomer Kendrick Lamar's latest album, Section.80. Leave your thoughts for CJ below.) Who is Kendrick Lamar? Up until a few weeks ago, I had no idea. Although Lamar was generating buzz as being the "next big thing" from one of the former meccas of hip-hop, Compton, CA, I was oblivious. The only recent MC from Compton that I was aware of, and I think

Maxnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-33839595705996449922011-08-05T11:00:00.039-05:002011-08-05T11:00:00.506-05:00

(Today's Reader Review comes from longtime contributor Dag Diligent, who elected to write about Roc Nation artist J. Cole's free album Friday Night Lights in anticipation of his upcoming major label debut. Leave some notes for Dag below.) I just celebrated my sixty-eighth birthday! I wanted to let you to know that I’ve come out of rap-critic retirement just to review J. Cole's Friday Night

Maxnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-37645491680950833982011-08-03T11:00:00.045-05:002011-08-03T11:00:04.439-05:00

(I know a lot of you two were excited when I wrote up West Coast producer-slash-rapper DJ Quik's debut album, Quik Is The Name. Although I want to continue with his back catalog soon, sadly, there is no scheduled date on the horizon. So today I present the next best thing: Justa came through with his take on Quik's latest effort, The Book of David. Leave your comments for Justa below.) West

Maxnoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-84826397324943395462011-08-01T11:00:00.038-05:002011-08-01T11:00:04.166-05:00

(While I'm off on my vision quest, Michael submits his relatively short and surprisingly to-the-point thoughts on Lil B the Based God's first officially released album, I'm Gay (I'm Happy), a project with an intentionally polarizing title that has received its fair share of accolades, even though the artist's fanbase isn't exactly as large as the Interweb would like you to believe. Leave your

Maxnoreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-43705565625623214072011-07-27T11:00:00.110-05:002011-07-27T11:00:11.177-05:00

I should first note that this post isn't intended to signal my return to the blog.  This is simply one of two new albums that I figured I "had" to write about (particularly astute readers should be able to easily figure out the other one) while I search for some better inspiration.  But this isn't the end of the blog (yet), so I'm hoping to have some new content up soon. A little more than two

Maxnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-7234596267438194132011-07-10T11:00:00.153-05:002011-07-10T21:41:46.526-05:00

Today I'm running another one of those Wu-Tang Clan-related posts.  You know, the ones that will inevitably draw fire due to the blog focusing more on (x) instead of your favorite artist, (y).  Well, here's another move straight out of left field: after today's post, I'm taking a brief break to fucking sleep hopefully become inspired.  You'll be the first to know when I return: this shouldn't

Maxnoreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-25091755067139136862011-07-08T11:00:00.027-05:002011-07-08T11:00:13.958-05:00

(Today's Reader Review comes from Oskari Kiiskinen, who sent in his thoughts regarding Swedish award-winning rapper Adam Tensta's debut album, It's A Tensta Thing. You two may be thrown off by this, but it was about time to take a left turn on this blog. Leave your thoughts for Oskari below.) These days with MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and the numerous other ways to peddle your wares for free

Maxnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-61471733464982634082011-07-04T09:30:00.000-05:002011-07-04T09:32:35.156-05:00

In celebration of Independence Day, today's overlong post (which will remain at the top of the page for four days due to its length) is devoted to the efforts of an artist who tried his damnedest to free himself from the shackles imposed on him by his record label.  For all of my readers outside of the United States, today's post is about Ras Kass, but you should still read it anyway. Now Ras

Maxnoreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-79102985898350857162011-07-02T11:00:00.038-05:002011-07-02T11:00:03.054-05:00

(Today's Reader Review comes from Sir Bonkers, who seems to enjoy subjecting himself to albums that most people would consider not worth their valuable time. Mase's sophomore Bad Boy project, Double Up, gets the treatment today. Leave some comments for him below.) Everybody knows Ma$e as a rapper who danced around in a shiny suit in music videos with Puff Daddy, quitting that career to become

Maxnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-69260819624078940902011-06-30T11:00:00.107-05:002011-06-30T11:00:01.072-05:00

I'm still not a fan of that album artwork.  That image will replace the whale in my nightmares.  There has been a rash of projects infiltrating our chosen genre lately that pair a single producer up with one or more artists.  These collaborative albums are considered to be "game-changing" and "historic", which is fucking riduculous, because this is exactly how hip hop used to sound back in the

Maxnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-49161260891249435582011-06-28T11:00:00.116-05:002011-06-28T11:00:09.818-05:00

Most hip hop heads consider Puff Daddy's signing of the rap trio The Lox to be one of the most questionable moves in the history of our chosen genre, but that distinction refers to both sides of the transaction.  For the man who will forever be known as Puffy no matter how many times he changes his goddamn name, it stands out as an ill-advised attempt to market his newly-blingy Bad Boy

Maxnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-51023982958105550572011-06-26T11:00:00.002-05:002011-06-26T11:00:04.162-05:00

If No Pressure was Erick Sermon's bid to prove that he was the sampling wizard behind EPMD, then his sophomore effort, Double Or Nothing, with its title's clever nod to his rap alter-ego E Double, was his take on revisionist history.  Aided by his Def Squad brethren Redman and Keith Murray, along with a few folks who recorded cameos and then promptly vanished off of the face of the motherfucking

Maxnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-69920426807792803212011-06-24T11:00:00.070-05:002011-06-24T11:00:01.322-05:00

(Today's Reader Review is another double-shot of Gut Reactions, as both Theo Mac and Keeshawn voice their thoughts on Vast Aire's latest, Ox 2010: A Street Odyssey. Although you would think that I would just try to get contributors to work together at this point in the blog's life, this write-up is, once again, actually two separate submissions I received at the same time, edited into one

Maxnoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-33384007504968884812011-06-22T11:00:00.000-05:002011-06-22T11:00:06.029-05:00

(Today's Reader Review is provided by frequent contributor Dag Diligent, who decided to tackle the only Jay-Z project I haven't yet written about (which is weird, since I found a way to talk about the Linkin Park mash-up and those two abysmal Jay-Z/R. Kelly collaborations, but whatever). Jay-Z Unplugged is a recording of his live MTV performance with The Roots as his backing band. Leave some

Maxnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-46981135420411101752011-06-20T11:00:00.112-05:002011-06-20T11:00:00.899-05:00

The New York-based Diggin' In The Crates crew (or D.I.T.C. for short) is one of the most highly regarded in the history of our chosen genre.  The various members of the crew have worked with virtually everybody in hip hop through six degrees of separation: they have managed to both champion the underground movement and stand alongside their mainstream peers without causing so much as the

Maxnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-6722978979481175792011-06-18T11:00:00.037-05:002011-06-18T11:00:07.273-05:00

(Apparently I'm sticking with a collaborative theme this week.  Today's Reader Review comes from Rex, who shines some light on producer Marco Polo's joint album with Duck Down stalwart Ruste Juxx, The eXXecution.  Leave some notes for Rex below.) In today's burgeoning underground scene, there has been a surge of new producers who have labeled as throwbacks to an earlier era, one filled with

Maxnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-6498924046896843182011-06-16T11:00:00.070-05:002011-06-17T07:54:11.120-05:00

June 14, 2011 was a good day for fans of Detroit's hip hop scene.  Heads with more of a major-label sensibility were witness to the reunion of Motown ambassador Eminem and the city's best-kept secret Royce da 5'9", who used to record as the duo Bad Meets Evil before some stupid shit split them up.  However, those of you with your ears tuned to the underground weren't forgotten: that same day,

Maxnoreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-39656392025001315532011-06-14T10:00:00.000-05:002011-06-14T10:07:59.019-05:00

I have no plans on reviewing maxi-singles on a regular basis, but the songs presented on here aren't available anywhere else, so what the hell, right? In 1999, Detroit-based rapper Marshall Mathers unleashed his Aftermath debut, The Slim Shady LP, to critical acclaim, heavy sales figures, and a whopping slice of controversy.  But this post isn't about that project: instead, I'm focusing on a

Maxnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-46840909825120165862011-06-12T11:00:00.119-05:002011-06-12T11:00:02.895-05:00

Ludacris is one of those rappers who seems to be ubiquitous, but not necessarily because of his work behind the mic.  The former hip hop radio disc jockey-turned-Hollywood star (see: Fast Five) has come a long way with his career in rap, which is still somehow going strong, even though the man has been in the game for over a decade now.  You can chalk that up to the man's ability to keep up with

Maxnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-66105847829646425882011-06-10T11:00:00.113-05:002011-06-10T20:02:42.119-05:00

Of all the artists readers have suggested to me for inclusion on this blog, the Minneapolis-based underground duo Atmosphere are certainly one of them.  You two are probably calculating in your heads right now just how many times you requested that I cover (x) and how upset you've been that I've gone in (y)'s direction instead, but you should look at today's post in a positive manner: I'm

Maxnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-84851180176602009862011-06-08T11:00:00.141-05:002011-06-08T11:00:01.821-05:00

I've been told on more than one occasion that HHID needs some more MF Doom in its life.  While I'm sure the Danger Doom project isn't exactly what those people were referring to, it'll have to do until I get my shit together and dig up my other Daniel Dumile albums. Danger Doom was a short-lived duo made up of producer Danger Mouse and rapper MF Doom, who ceded his typical production duties to

Maxnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-51267599781211050282011-06-06T11:00:00.000-05:002011-06-06T11:00:04.797-05:00

(Today, A.R. Marks brings us his take on Ghostface Killah's debut Ironman, which was the inspiration for one of my earliest reviews that readers took issue with.  And I'm sure there'll be much more of that in the future. This was originally scheduled to run before his take on Raekwon's Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang, but I obviously ran with that one instead.  Jot some comments down for him below.)

Maxnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-28984696434172509932011-06-02T11:00:00.122-05:002011-06-02T11:00:05.633-05:00

(A quick programming note: today's post is really fucking long (a double album tends to do that to my reviews), so there won't be any new write-ups for four days instead of the usual two, in order to give readers an opportunity to leave comments catch up.) There isn't really much that hasn't already been said about the late Tupac Shakur's magnum opus, the double-disc effort All Eyez On Me.  Hell

Maxnoreply@blogger.com63tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-54149539506016967822011-05-31T11:00:00.032-05:002011-05-31T11:00:04.759-05:00

In the late 1990s, New York underground stalwarts Punchline and Wordsworth (not to be confused with the artist Word Of Mouth) were freestyle cypher royalty. As solo artists and as a duo (who went by the truncated team moniker Punch-N-Words), they quickly impressed a lot of people in our chosen genre with their lyrical skill and engaging deliveries. They were known mostly for their association

Maxnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-21258428956959687502011-05-29T11:00:00.040-05:002011-05-29T11:00:05.242-05:00

Rahzel Brown, also known as Rahzel, also known as Rahzel the Godfather Of Noyze, also known as Rahzel Brown, is probably best known as a performer who specializes in the human beatbox, which has become one of those hip hop elements that has grown especially scarce in these end times that feature star turns by people who call themselves “Waka Flocka Flame” and “Lil' B the Based God”. He's

Maxnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-54474402820544751922011-05-27T11:00:00.036-05:002011-05-27T11:00:02.651-05:00

After the unfortunate passing of Guru in 2010, I briefly found myself gravitating to his solo work, although not in any way that would allow a write-up: I just wanted to listen, to wrap my head around a concept that would never again occur. (I'm not saying that I won't write up Guru's solo material: it's just going to be a while, so please stop holding your breath.) This led to a run-through

Maxnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-7415048138237688782011-05-25T11:00:00.038-05:002011-05-25T11:00:06.763-05:00

When Anthony Cruz found himself homeless (music industry-wise, anyway) after releasing his sophomore effort, Pieces Of A Man, to indifferent criticisms and even more apathetic sales figures, he did what any hustler would do: he regrouped and fought back. After the mandatory ten-day wailing period, in which he blamed everybody but himself for his failures, AZ recorded a quickie project for the “

Maxnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4433223770288671156.post-25809900278276335492011-05-23T11:00:00.046-05:002011-05-23T11:00:03.097-05:00

Contrary to popular opinion, I am not the only guy who believes that Canibus lost his battle with LL Cool J. But allow me to show my work: I never said that Cool James bested Germaine Williams lyrically. Although I prefer LL's response over “Second Round K.O.” any day of the week (since I still believe that including Mike Tyson on your dis track, allowing him to brag about “eat[ing] MC's”, is

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