Slick Rick

The Top 20 NYC Rap Albums of All Time: The Complete List

Any list of the Greatest New York Rap Albums of All Time is, essentially, a list of simply the Greatest Rap Albums of All Time. The genre was invented here, after all, and over the years -- from early days to Golden Age and onward-- the city's hip-hop history has been an embarrassment of riches. Fas ... More >>

The Top 20 NYC Rap Albums of All Time: 20 - 11

Any list of the Greatest New York Rap Albums of All Time is, essentially, a list of simply the Greatest Rap Albums of All Time. The genre was invented here, after all, and over the years -- from early days to Golden Age and onward-- the city's hip-hop history has been an embarrassment of riches. Fas ... More >>

Papoose Turned Down Kanye West Beats To Release The Nacirema Dream

Just under a decade ago, Papoose was going to save New York City hip-hop. Or at least that's how rap folklore likes to parse it, with Bed-Stuy's mixtape phenomenon Pap and upstate NY rapper Saigon being the hometown figures who were going to stop the Southern ascent and bring back virtuous street-co ... More >>

'Freestyle and Old-School Extravaganza'

The Legend Of Snaggapuss: The Cult Bronx MC Who Rapped In A Cartoon Voice And Was Courted By Dr. Dre

Snaggapuss ingratiated himself to the early-'90s New York City rap scene through a series of guest verses recited in a tone resembling Hanna-Barbera's pink cartoon lion Snagglepuss. As part of mixtape master Doo-Wop's Bounce Squad, Snagga was prepped to emerge as the break-out solo artist of the bun ... More >>

Five Rare Ghostface Killah Songs You've Never Heard

Tonight, lauded Wu-Tang MC Ghostface Killah takes the stage at Webster Hall. Ghost has spent almost two decades being one of the most prolific MCs in the game. Unfortunately, many legal restrictions have kept some incredible work of his from seeing an official retail release. So, for the Ghostface ... More >>

Weekend Concerts: What's Canceled, What's Still Going On, and What's Been Postponed

We'll be adding to this list as the weekend moves on. On with it...

REGGAETON LATINO

Wisin y Yandel return to Madison Square Garden

'Caribbean Fever Music Festival'

Q&A: Tim Vocals On Pickup Lines, Why Harlem Is New York City's Mecca, And Reworking "Marvins Room"

Is Tim Vocals the "future of gangsta R&B"? That's the way the young uptown singer's debut mixtape, Live From Harlem, is being billed, thanks to Vocals's knack of turning songs like Drake's "Marvins Room" and Michael Jackson's "Human Nature" into grittier tracks that include lines about bullets meeti ... More >>

BRING IT BACK

Step to the rhythm of Kurtis Blow at Crotona Park

Paul Simon (2) Takes On Slick Rick (15) As Round One Of Our Quintessential New York Musician Tournament Continues

The Round of 64 for Sound of the City's own version of March Madness—in which you, the Sound of the City voting public, help determine the quintessential New York musician—is under way, and you get to help choose who makes it to Round Two. Today we pit Garfunkel's better half Paul Simon ... More >>

Here Is The 13-Minute Version Of (And Lyrics For) "DoYaThing," The Gorillaz/James Murphy/André 3000 Song

Apparently the release of the Converse-sponsored collaboration between Gorillaz, LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy, and the fleet-tongued André 3000 wasn't the end of that song's release cycle; last night a 13-minute version of the track, with Three Stacks going bonkers about being the shit (no, reall ... More >>

Beyond Jay And Kanye's Throne: Ten More Regal Seats In Hip-Hop

Coming to an arena near you this weekend: Jay-Z and Kanye West. ​Kanye West and Jay-Z's grandiose Watch The Throne tour comes to the New York City area tomorrow, and sticks around through next week—the pair perform at the Izod Center on Saturday and Sunday, and at Madison Square Garden o ... More >>

A Dissenting Opinion: Let's Quit It With The Live Performances Of "Classic" Hip-Hop Albums

Back in 2007, All Tomorrow's Parties and the Pitchfork Music Festival decided that getting GZA, the Wu-Tang Clan's resident rhyme scholar, to reenact his crime rhyme masterpiece Liquid Swords in full was a good idea. And it probably was—once, maybe twice. But the third time removed the charm. ... More >>

Live: Slick Rick Discusses The Great Adventures Then Performs At The Paradise

Slick Rick Paradise Theater Tuesday, September 27 Better than: Date night at the movies. Last time I caught up with Slick Rick, it was a family affair. Performing at a Crotona Park Summerstage event with DJ Brucie B (some 20 blocks south from last night's venue, the magnificent Paradise Theater), ... More >>

Live: Brucie B And Slick Rick Stir Up Memories At Crotona Park

Slick Rick w/ DJ Brucie B Crotona Park Tuesday, July 12 Better than: Any other reunion, formal or not, that I've been to. When I crossed the Cross Bronx Expressway and arrived outside the makeshift stage that was about to support two of hip-hop's G.O.A.T.s, I realized I had arrived too late. No, ... More >>

'Summerstage Festival: Slick Rick'

Ten Hip-Hop Covers Of Rap Songs

​Last week, the Detroit-based rapper and one-time J Dilla collaborator Elzhi released Elmatic. It's the second time a rapper has re-written and re-made Nas's hallowed Illmatic, with Fashawn attempting a similar feat last year. As a listening experience, Elmatic is less than convincing, leaving ... More >>

The Ten Best Hometown Productions By Large Professor

​Large Professor cuts an outside figure in the New York hip-hop scene these days. As a producer who also happens to rap in an endearingly economical manner, he's integral to any overview of hip-hop's storied golden era--he tutored under Paul C, contributed production input to Eric B & Rakim so ... More >>

Prodigy Speaks Freely

The Mobb Deep MC is out of jail and ready to look back on his life

The Top Ten Best Worst Singing Rappers

​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 >>

Live: Rating Rock the Bells Sets From Slick Rick, Wu-Tang Clan, Lauryn Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, Snoop Dogg, and More

Oh, hey Q-Tip. All photos by Rebecca Smeyne.​On a sweltering Saturday, the seventh annual hip-hop nerd convention Rock The Bells took over Governor's Island. It's a place where people know to "throw a one in the air" for Guru before DJ Premier even asked, a place where you can overhear a convo ... More >>

MS. HILL RETURNS

Or, at least, we hope so

Live: Salt-N-Pepa, Naughty By Nature, And Slick Rick Do "Old-School Night" At Wingate Field

Still talking about sex, albeit very briefly. Pics by Rebecca Smeyne, more below.​Salt-N-Pepa/Naughty by Nature/Slick Rick Wingate Field Monday, August 2 "Y'all look like a free concert out here," notes Salt wryly, shortly before launching into "I'll Take Your Man" in front of, indeed, thousa ... More >>

Goodie Mob+Scarface+Slick Rick

Of Goodie Goodie Surprises and Goodie Mob

No idea how we're supposed to take the above, although you can be sure it pertains to Nah Right's CMJ Showcase tomorrow night, featuring more rap in one shot (OJ!) than the festival has otherwise seen in years. Don't bet on the actual reunited Atlanta rap legends Goodie Mob--they're in Texas tonig ... More >>

News Roundup: Ryan Adams, Raekwon, The-Dream

​--The onetime musician Ryan Adams, whose next new book of poetry, Hello Sunshine, just landed on top of his last one, Infinity Blues, at SOTC HQ, is taking his act to the Awl, where he'll be reviewing video games. Ahem: "Playing Gorf is like getting wasted, or what I remember about getting wa ... More >>

Mos Def

VHI and Slick Rick, Together at Last at Hip-Hop Honors

The channel's cheerfully confounding tribute to rap's golden oldies

Hugs and Kisses #47: Amy Winehouse, Australia, Rehab, Etc

La Di Da Di: Governor Paterson Pardons Slick Rick!

CARIBBEAN TANGO

Haitians and Dominicans cross borders

Hugs and Kisses #27: Books by Dean Wareham and Laurie Lindeen

Slick Rick Interview

Status Ain't Hood Interviews Q-Tip

Evil Empire Strikes Back

A rap-nostalgia bonanza feels like a rock show and sounds like a resurrection

Photos: Slick Rick on a Boat, 07.19.07

The Show Must Go On and On and On

Doug E. Fresh leads a delighted Brooklyn crowd down a Frosted Flake–filled memory lane

Slick Trouble

The government's determination to deport old-school rapper Slick Rick knows no bounds

Live: Ghostface Rallies the New York Rap Troops

Escape From Monogamy

Missy Elliott ends relationship with Timbaland so she can let her freak flag fly even higher

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