What's Hot

Contributed by Alex on 5/13/08
Detroit Rapper/producer Fat Ray just dropped The Set Up, a collabo project with former BR Gunna group-mate, Black Milk. The MC gave us his thoughts on the project, returning to the studio with Black Milk, and the rapidly growing Detroit hip hop scene.

Contributed by NINO* on 5/12/08
Not all of those immersed in hip hop culture are ‘megalomaniacs’… MC Akala is currently touring the UK, doing workshops with youth to help them understand the relationship between Shakespeare, hip hop and life, and help them discover themselves.

Contributed by Rahul on 5/7/08
New York producer Little Vic - whose debut album Each Dawn I Die is available now - recently granted us a minute of his time to discuss working with DJ Premier and Kool G Rap, his New York roots, and what he brings to the table as a new artist in the game.

Contributed by Alex on 5/7/08
On the day that the new Portishead was annouced as the #7 album on the Billboard 200, Ohio producer/MC Ill Poetic appropriately drops a mash-up project pitting Joe Budden’s Mood Music 3 vs. Portishead’s Third.

Contributed by Saron Dier on 5/5/08
Have you ever seen the Liquid Swords cover? The illustration was awesome - like seeing [insert fav actress] naked in your bed awesome. Now it seems like album covers are an afterthought, what happened to those covers everyone is talking about?

Contributed by Alex on 5/5/08
Weightless and Rhymesayers rapper/producer Blueprint has just dropped a new project that he graciously decided to give away for free. Blueprint vs. Funkadelic is Print rhyming over classic Funkadelic samples he flips in his own grimy fashion.

Contributed by Shelby Powell on 4/23/08
Oh, the inhumanity of it all! As I pour out some liquor and drape myself in all black, it appears Konvict music is more like misdemeanor music and Akon isn’t really a con after all.

Seeded from nytimes.com by Alex on 4/22/08
From the placement of local sorority members along camera sight lines to the instructions to the audience members about when to stand and how to wave their hands, “American Idol” is as scripted as a “reality” show dare be…

Seeded from espn.com by Alex on 4/17/08
Adam Yauch, the hip-hop pioneer turned filmmaker, recently profiled 8 of the “Elite 24″ prep basketball players in his documentary, “Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot.” The film premiers at the second annual Tribeca ESPN Film Festival later this month.

Contributed by Shelby Powell on 4/16/08
The candidates are layered and complicated individuals with complexities galore. But, as we know, the simplest view are what has been portrayed in this race thus far; it’s just a white guy, a black dude and a white chick.