Fat Joe

Ten Rappers We'd Like To See on Reality TV

So many reality shows, and so many of them are terrible. But people watch this stuff, despite feigning revulsion. "Trash culture" is on the rise, and with everyone from Consequence to The Game are landing "roles" in a reality show, we wanted to get in on the action and list some potentially quality ... More >>

The Least Likely Music Headlines of 2013

For the last six months, the Sound of the City Supercomputer (a 1998 Compaq Presario) has been analyzing the structure and content of every pop news headline in the world in order to create a highly detailed predictive model of the music industry. While this project has important practical uses, suc ... More >>

The Top 3.28 Hip-Hop Songs Of The Week

Rap has always had a dividing line between the rapper and the guy that yells out things on stage because it's America, damn it. That man used to be the DJ, who'd spin records for the rapper and rap along to his verses to get the crowd hype. As the years went by and quality DJing became more rare, th ... More >>

The Top 15 Hip-Hop Songs About Police Misconduct

Though artists like Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye and Baby Huey spoke on police corruption, it wasn't until the dawn of the rap era that the message in the music began to convey the anger and frustration of people who had been systematically disenfranchised and brutalized since the United States was ... More >>

Q&A: DJ Red Alert On Kiss-FM, The Bridge Wars, And Breaking "Rappin' Duke"

In October of 1983, Kool DJ Red Alert broadcast his first rap radio show on Kiss-FM. It would soon bloom into an essential listening session for hip-hop junkies, a jump-off point for upcoming artists, and a long-running part of New York City's musical soundtrack. So with Kiss closing its doors as we ... More >>

Three Rappers Who Should Be The Center Square For MTV2's Hollywood Squares Reboot (And One Who Definitely Should Not)

Next month MTV2 will debut Hip-Hop Squares, a rap-centric takeoff on the "tic-tac-toe with trivia and celebrities" game show Hollywood Squares. (The non-genre-specific version of the show aired its last episode in 2004.) The show will be hosted by Hot 97's Peter Rosenberg, and MTV has announced a fe ... More >>

Nine Culinary Ventures By Hip-Hop Artists

Today, excitable Long Island-raised rap firebrand Flavor Flav will open his House Of Flavor restaurant in Las Vegas. The restaurant—which will have fried chicken and something called a "red velvet waffle" on the menu—is Flav's second attempt to break into the food world, following the di ... More >>

Presented For Your Thanksgiving Enjoyment: A Cornucopia Of Songs With "Pie" In The Title

Today is Thanksgiving here in the States, and in addition to getting irritated by Nickelback's existence, lots of Americans will probably celebrate by eating pie. The word "pie" is a bit more prevalent in the lyrics of non-"Weird Al" Yankovic-crafted popular music than one might a dessert to be, but ... More >>

The 10 Most Overplayed Party Jams

This should probably not be how you do it.​It's a common dilemma of the booty club: You're buzzing off the overpriced drinks, two-stepping with the opposite sex. The lighting is right and you're getting closer and closer to each other... and then DJ Lack-of-Direction throws on some bullshit. Y ... More >>

Download: XXL Freshmen Class Member Fred the Godson's "Headbanger"

Yes In My Backyard is a semiweekly column showcasing MP3s from new and emerging local talent. Bronx rhymebeast Fred The Godson is the only rapper representing the five boroughs on the cover of the XXL "Freshmen Of The Year" issue--and he's a hell of an ambassador. His rhyme style, a silky update ... More >>

The Ten Most Exploitative Posthumous Rap Projects

​Being a dead rap artist isn't much fun. Whether The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, or J Dilla, death has never seemed to do much to alleviate the constant pressure on artists to muster up new recordings to satisfy the bulging posthumous rap retail market. (In the hip-hop world, possessing a heart t ... More >>

Week in Review: This Means Something

Hey, Marty. Photo by Rebecca Smeyne.​In the week a former member of the Fugees declared his intention to run an entire country, despite his gross lack of qualifications for said job, we started a campaign against him. Sorry 'Clef, but this is ridiculous.

New York Rappers Talk Their Worst Summer Jobs

Image via Darrell Bell​Hip-hop is the world's most brazenly capitalist genre of music. If Jay-Z's not talking about playing Monopoly with real cash, then Kanye West's tweeting about the cherub-motifed Persian rugs and golden goblets he's just scored at Fishs Eddy. But while certain rotund rap ... More >>

Live: Joell Ortiz and Jay Electronica Command A Tough Crowd At Highline Ballroom

Possibly more people onstage than in the crowd here. Joell Ortiz/Jay Electronica Highline Ballroom Tuesday, June 30 After basically booing both CyHi Da Prynce (who I--and I guess only I--actually like) and Big Krit off the stage, an extra hard NYC crowd made it clear that they weren't going to ma ... More >>

RIP NYC Musician and Ryan Adams & the Cardinals Bassist Chris Feinstein

Jon Graboff​He was 42. The Nashville-born multi-instrumentalist had been a New York fixture for more than a decade, producing and writing for artists as varied as Albert Hammond Jr. and Fat Joe. In 2006, he became the bassist for Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, who dubbed him "Spacewolf." Feinstei ... More >>

Yes In My Backyard: Download O.C. and A.G.'s "Think About It"

Yes In My Backyard is a semiweekly column showcasing MP3s from new and emerging local talent. ​O.C. and A.G. are New York hip-hop legends holding their own. The two members of longstanding pan-borough collective Diggin' In The Crates (the same one that spawned Fat Joe and Big L) still sound d ... More >>

Gambino Crime Big Had an American Blast!

Say what you will about him, John Gotti considered himself a bona fide red-white-and-blue patriot. Back in the day, the dearly departed Dapper Don mounted a 4th of July fireworks show for his Ozone Park nabe that was the biggest and best thing east of Macy's barges. And maybe that was the inspiratio ... More >>

Letters: April 23 Edition

The New Rap Battle: 50 Cent Vs. Rick Ross

Building a new paradigm with fewer rhymes and more costumes

The N-Word Is Flourishing Among Generation Hip-Hop Latinos

Why should we care now?

Status Ain't Hood Does Summer Jam, Again

The Singles Column: Coldplay, DJ Khaled, Ting Tings

Fat Joe vs. the Volcano

He's joined forces with the South, whether you like it or not

Rick Ross Buries the All-Star Remix

An Interview With 50 Cent

The Motormouth of the South

DJ Khaled is taking over, 200 words a minute and one guest-star at a time

Live: Hot 97's Summer Jam

DJ Khaled's "We Takin' Over": A Scientific Assessment

Tonight: ESPN2's It's The Shoes Host Bobbito Garcia @ APT

Boot Camp Clik: Definant Consistency

Flow Charts

Akon's singer-who-awkwardly-raps routine was stolen and perfected by the ladies he covets

VH1's Hip-Hop Honors: A Running Diary

The Quarterly Report: The Summer's Best Singles

Dear Mr. President

Baby let's have a ficus leaf and a cranberry Snapple before Bush do something crazy

Anatomy of a Banger: DJ Khaled's "Holla At Me"

Yet Another VMA Running Diary

The Jay-Z Guest Appearance as Cultural Event

Bronx Bomber With Cracked Rear View Ignores Art, Trips Over Big Pun's Torch

Riddims by the Reggaetón

Puerto Rico's hip-hop hybrid takes over New York

Married to the Hook

The corporations murdered hiphop and all I got was this lousy G-Unit throwback jersey

The End of Eminem

Can Marshall come out and play? On his new album, Em just wants to be unremarkable.

Comps Illustrate Both Halves of Reggae's Dancehall Coin

One Crunk Nation Under a Reggae Ton of Grooves

Not Screwed Yet

Jog-brawl hip-hop slows down Soul Sonic's perfect beats

In Da Fight Club

The Beast of Both Worlds

Rappers and R&B Singers Unite for Commerce’s Common Cause

Like a Virgin

It's Nation Time. Again.

A new vanguard of rap activists takes to the streets

Consumer Guide