Reviews

“I came from the gutta, a place where dreams are broken, and memories best forgot. Welcome to Brownsville," says Brownsville legend, Mike Tyson. This is how Brownsville's Jesus begins, a mercurial effort that has its highs and lows, and leaves the listener wanting more, but not necessarily in a good way. B...

Angel Haze has centered her young career around being a "voice for the voiceless." Back in 2012, she built a cult following with her critically acclaimed Reservation EP that included promising songs like “Werkin’ Girls," “New York” and “Hot Like Fire.” Fueled by her ability to te...

“Who do you listen to, some washed up rappers from New York?” demands the old-time gangster’s voice on “Money Bags Intro.” “Nobody drives around no more and smokes pot and listens to fucking lyrical music like that. They want to go nuts.” In many way...

If you aren’t attentive enough you may confuse Kid Ink’s aesthetic for superficiality. The punch-drunk nature of his clubby, infectious hit, “Show Me,” a collaboration with Chris Brown, is a rather cursory reflection of his brand as a whole if you take it simply at face value. However, when digested...

Young Scooter is an interesting act to follow. He’s caught between a rock and a hard place in a lot of ways: He’s not nearly weird enough to join the ranks of top-tier ATL up-and-comers like Future, Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan, and still too unpolished of an MC to be counted realistically among peach state trap titans like Jeezy and Gucci Mane. There are ...

The world has changed since Lil Wayne was the ‘best rapper alive’. In 2008, Drake was yet to release his seminal So Far Gone mixtape. Kanye had fallen down a well of self-deprecation and was busy working on 808's & Heartbreak. Eminem was lost somewhere in his pre-Relapse pit. Rick Ross ...

Roc Marciano’s latest album, Marci Beaucoup, is a lush collection of self-produced, sample-driven instrumentals, with a splattering of verses from Roc himself, as well as a number of familiar guests, and hip-hop artisans in their own right: including Blu, Boldy James, Evidence, Action Bronson, Ka, Alchemist, Maffew Ragazino, Freeway, and many more. Marc...

Brooklyn stalwart Sean Price and Aussie producer M-Phazes teamed up for their Land Of The Crooks EP, a project that may very well have been based on the thought of less as more. Phazes’ beats command attention for the vibe they conjure without any of the extra noise: in a time where a plurality of up-and-coming producers scrounge about for a boom-bap feel and overcompensate for their lack of chops

Buddies Rockie Fresh and Casey Veggies have collaborated on cuts multiple times throughout the past few years, leading fans at the edge of their seats for a full-length project from the two. So after much anticipation, fans received a Christmas gift in the form of a 10-track mixtape aptly titled, Fresh Veggies...

After facing a substantial amount of heat from rap fans for his past pop-oriented catalog, B.o.B was adamant to provide a balancing act on Underground Luxury.. On his third studio album, one certainly finds the Atlanta rapper migrating into new territories...

Even in this day and age, where album sales mean littler than ever, many rappers will consciously give chase to an outmoded definition of stardom. But Chiraq rhymesmith Twista is past the point of the blind leading the blind. The Speedknot Mobsta—nicknamed that for his effusive, quick-paced cadence—is one of hip-hop’s most self-possessed practitioners, making music on his own terms. Twista has ple

Most artists in any industry will slow down as they get older, take more time between albums and projects as life's other distractions tend to take on a bigger role. Someone forgot to tell that to Talib Kweli. The Flatbush-born MC has been on a tear over the past fifteen months, dropping a highly-regarded mixtape, Attack The Block with Z-Trip last September as an appetizer for two albums in 2013,