Michael A. Gonzales

Revisiting The Fat Boys’ Iconic Debut Album 30 Years Later
Revisiting The Fat Boys’ Iconic Debut Album 30 Years Later
Whenever folks start talking about the dope talent of rap’s first “Golden Age,” The Fat Boys are often written out of the history. Granted, the trio of big Brooklyn boys, who went by the monikers Prince Markie Dee (Mark Morales), Kool Rock-Ski (Damon Wimbley) and the show-stealing Buff, a.k.a. The Human Be...
DJ Premier Remembers Jeru The Damaja’s ‘The Sun Rises In The East’ 20 Years Later
DJ Premier Remembers Jeru The Damaja’s ‘The Sun Rises In The East’ 20 Years Later
Ed Note: The following is an essay and interview with DJ Premier remembering Jeru The Damaja's classic album The Sun Rises In The East, which celebrates its 20th anniversary tomorrow, May 24.  Watching the fantastic feature film Big Words the other night on Netflix, which explores the broken lives of a former mackadelic Brooklyn rap trio who might’ve been large during the 1990s “golden era of hip-
Nas’ ‘Time Is Illmatic’ Documentary Is A Love Letter To The Streets Of NYC
Nas’ ‘Time Is Illmatic’ Documentary Is A Love Letter To The Streets Of NYC
There are times when hip-hop can make those of us who chronicle it very proud. For me, someone who has been in the game since the days of Grandmaster Flash, the most recent occasion was this past Wednesday when the annual Tribeca Film Festival unveiled the much-anticipated documentary Time Is Illmatic...
Remembering The Notorious B.I.G. 17 Years After His Death
Remembering The Notorious B.I.G. 17 Years After His Death
Ed. Note: This story originally ran in the March 2012 Special Tribute Issue of XXL, commemorating the 15th anniversary of the March 9, 1997 death of The Notorious B.I.G. Today, March 9, 2014, marks the 17th anniversary of that tragic day. To ...
Gang Starr’s ‘Hard To Earn’ And The Changing Face Of Brooklyn
Gang Starr’s ‘Hard To Earn’ And The Changing Face Of Brooklyn
Ed Note: The following is an essay remembering Gang Starr's classic album Hard To Earn, which celebrates its 20th anniversary tomorrow, March 8.  In the spring of 1994, Gang Starr’s booming system classic Hard To Earn was my favorite album. I played the f...
A Look Back At Snoop Dogg’s ‘Doggystyle’ 20 Years Later
A Look Back At Snoop Dogg’s ‘Doggystyle’ 20 Years Later
Ed. Note: Snoop Dogg's classic Doggystyle album turns 20 years old tomorrow, November 23. Michael Gonzales takes a look back at what led to the album, its reception, and how it changed hip-hop in the two decades since. Twenty years ago when Snoop Doggy Dogg’s raw debut Doggystyle (Death Row) was released, people were fiending for the latest dose of "G-funk" music as though it were a new
The Ten Most Important Songs Of Hip-Hop’s First Decade
The Ten Most Important Songs Of Hip-Hop’s First Decade
On August 11, 2013, hip-hop music celebrated the 40th anniversary of the day Kool Herc dragged his turntables and records to a Bronx recreation area and spun discs in an entirely different way than most had ever heard. In addition, when his homeboy Coke La Rock started talking trash into a microphone left on the table, the beautiful dynamic between DJ and MC blossomed to the beat. Alt...