The Queens-born hip-hop producer walks in to the Grammys a double-nominee
This month buzzier-than-thou rapper A$AP Rocky released his major label debut, Long.Live.A$AP. You may have heard. We've thought long and hard about the album, and want you to have the optimal Rocky listening experience. Among its tracks you'll find several tropes and repetitive aspects. A$AP Rocky ... More >>
On New Year's Eve Brooklyn's Barclays Center will be alive with the monster double-bill of Coldplay and Jay-Z. Two titanic musical entities that have spent the past decade being the epicenter of their genres, their alignment for one night is sure to be a colossal way to bring in the new year. But de ... More >>
Tonight, Wu Tang founder and hip-hop mastermind RZA takes the stage at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. One of the most respected names in the music business, he masterminded the transformation of a Staten Island supergroup into a brand whose logo is as recognizable as any in the past 20 years. Not c ... More >>
Today, excitable Long Island-raised rap firebrand Flavor Flav will open his House Of Flavor restaurant in Las Vegas. The restaurantwhich will have fried chicken and something called a "red velvet waffle" on the menuis Flav's second attempt to break into the food world, following the di ... More >>
Waka Flocka Flame is the sort of of hip-hop artist who doesn't so much rap or flow as he shouts his ass off. It's a formula that imbues the Atlanta-based rapper's songs with a boisterous, visceral appealand one that he's looking to continue with the release of his second studio album, Triple ... More >>
"You got to ask my mother that. You wanna call her? Come on, let's call her." It's a rain-sodden Thanksgiving's eve and Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire's goddaughter has just turned up at his Crown Heights apartment. Her appearance prompts the question of what the rapper himself was like as a kid ... More >>
MTV turns 30 on Monday. To celebrate, we're running a bunch of pieces on the channel, its legacy, and its future. Debuting during the golden year of '88, Yo! MTV Raps revolutionized TV coverage of hip-hop music. Of course, hip-hop videos existed long before Yo! launchedGrandmaster Fl ... More >>
Raekwon, the Wu-Tang Clan's resident slang scholar, released his new solo album, Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang, last week; it's the latest installment in a magnificent saga that's now nearly two decades strong and leaves Staten Island's finest rap representers firmly in the conversation for hip-hop's g ... More >>
"Reality rap" was once a phrase invoked by gangsta rappers to defend their music against moral outcry from the mainstream media and pesky suburban dwellers. These days, the term largely refers to the slew of emcees lining up to star in their own TV shows. While Boogie Down Productions associa ... More >>
If there's one common complaint we hear as rock critics, it's "I could totally do your job." First off--shhh, don't tell anyone! Secondly, "jobs" traditionally pay better than this, so we'll gladly go Parent Trap with you in a heartbeat. Either way, we decided to get some measurable data o ... More >>
These days, there's nothing attention grabbing about rappers who sing, whether it's Andre 3000's amped squawk, an Auto-Tune-enabled Kanye West, or Lil Wayne's upcoming Riker's Island shower room spirituals. This week the canon sees new album additions from one-time Goodie Mob member Cee-Lo Gr ... More >>
The Wu-Tang Clan is hip-hop's most enduring family. Thanks to seemingly unbreakable bonds both artistic and familial, the now eight-strong crew of rappers is still together, despite frequent -- and usually shoddily sourced -- media claims that they're about to implode due to rampant bickering ... More >>
We're going to recommend you avoid Manhattan this weekend. Thanks to NYU and Columbia, every 20-year-old within a ten-mile radius will either be moving back into their dorms or celebrating the end of summer with one last cityside hurrah. Instead, take Friday night off and keep yourself in the ... More >>
On ATP 2010, musicians as actors, Tom Waits's threats, and what planet ODB was on
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 >>
Well, this was entirely unexpected. Behold: a massive compendium of every celebrity ubiquitous Roots drummer and all around hero Questlove has ever met, complete with the story of how it happened and what they were like. Highlights include his summary dismissal of the '90s mixtape rap star Ca ... More >>
Stuff You Need to Know to Avoid Cultural Ostracism
Still don't nothing move but the money in thrilling Wu-Tang reunion-show doc
Still unhinged after more than an ol' dirty dozen years, the Wu-Tang Clan stage a Shaolin family reunion
Just another urban legend: The final interview with Ol' Dirty Bastard
One of pop culture's great eccentrics bids goodbye to the gawking public eye
The World-Famous Staten Island Hip-Hop Collective Has a Government Informer Working Within Its Ranks; at the Same Time, the Group Is Being Investigated by the Feds for Gunrunning. Coincidence?
A Nutcase and a Point Guard Rise Above Wu-Tangs Solo Overkill
Nervous Rhythms, Chopped-Up Language, Thumping Slapstick Pop
How Doo Doo Doo Doo Heartbreaker
Ol' Dirty Bastard Claims the FBI and CIA are Trying to Kill Him. Is He Crazy?
