Iller Instinct: An Interview with Hip-Hop Artists Ill Scholars
Ill Scholars MC Mattic and Johnny Madwreck, among hip-hop's newest (though seasoned) progenies, offer an explosive debut album full of heavy, jazz-laden hip-hop.
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L’Orange and Solemn Brigham Bring Dissentient Experiments and Dangerous Poetry in ‘Marlowe 2’
On Marlowe 2, L'Orange finds an inventive range, interleaving the hip-hop with textures that bring his landscapes into tuneful definition; Solemn Brigham, brings his deft skills as one of hip-hop's brightest poets.
Hip-Hop’s Raashan Ahmad Talks About His Place in ‘The Sun’
In his latest work The Sun, rapper Raashan Ahmad brings his irrepressible charisma to this set of Afrobeat-influenced hip-hop.
JuJu Charms: An Interview with Rapper JuJu Rogers
Though the rapper's skill set proves him a worthy contender against any of the reigning MCs currently taking the airwaves by storm, JuJu Rogers remains a king in search of a throne.
29 Black Music Documentaries for Black History Month 2020
For Black History Month 2020, we are showcasing films and videos featuring Black American artists. Enjoy them and learn about the origin of each Black music legend featured.
Thrown into Relief: An Interview with Rapper Jahshua Smith
Exploring topics like poverty, Black consciousness, burgeoning love, and mortality, Jahshua Smith's latest album, They Don't Love You Like That, encapsulates some of the most difficult moments in his life.
The 20 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2019
Following Stormzy's run up the charts, 2019 proved to be a banner year for British hip-hop with a trio of masterpieces. America's myriad hip-hop scenes delivered the goods, and African rap gave us many stellar releases.
Codeine Club Music: 10 Sizzurp Rappers and Their Lean Lyrics
Southern Houston rappers put a twist on old blues musicians’ mix of cough syrup and booze and stirred it up into a more dangerous concoction. Here are 10 rappers who took the brew from their double-cups and dropped the purple drank / sizzurp / Texas tea / “lean” into their lyrics to mixed effect.
‘God Save the Queens’ Addresses the Gender Imbalance in the Story of Rap
Kathy Iandoli's personable history, God Save the Queens, shows how women in rap face up to the battles.
Craft Winner: Azeem’s Underground Opus, ‘Craft Classic’
On Azeem's Craft Classic, listeners get a window into an odd, shape-shifting pandemonium, in which the view on display is a sort of glamorous anarchy.
‘Dead Precedents’ Explores How Hip-Hop Created the Future
Roy Christopher's dense book-length essay, Dead Precedents, takes much of what is now axiomatic about hip-hop and reminds us how revolutionary its innovations and practices really were.
By Style and Error: M. Sayyid Takes Hip-hop to the Exosphere
Few rappers have been brave enough to try what Sayyid has been doing for years; his hip-hop suffers brutal and fantastic experiments of Asimov-proportions.