“This is that shit right here, that’s the GOAT!” Tony Shhnow is looking at a portrait of Lil Wayne on the fourth floor of the Fotografiska Museum in New York. Strolling through the museum’s “Conscious, Unconscious” hip-hop exhibit, draped in a black-and-pink plaid-jacket-and-pants combo, he’s been reserved, taking in famous …
Read More »Lil Durk to Make It Rain on 'Sorry for the Drought' Tour
Lil Durk will hit the road this summer in support of his upcoming new album, Almost Healed. The Chicago rapper will kick off his 27-city “Sorry for the Drought” tour July 28 at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheater in Tampa, Florida. The run will continue throughout August and into September, …
Read More »Nicki Minaj Drops Early Mother's Day Gift With 'Red Ruby Da Sleeze' Video
Nicki Minaj has dropped the video for “Red Ruby Da Sleeze.” The song, which is her first solo single of the year and arrived in March, debuted at Number 13 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. “There’s now a full#RedRubyDaSleezevideo on YOUTUBE!!!! It’ll be everywhere else next week. Happy early MOTHER’S …
Read More »Legendary Producer Keith Shocklee on Being Part of Hip-Hop's Pre-History
Throughout our hourlong conversation on the roof of mid-town Manhattan’s Starchild Rooftop, legendary rap producer Keith Shocklee veers through his encyclopedic knowledge of hip-hop history. Shocklee was around hip-hop before the culture had even coined itself. He’s most popular for being a part of Public Enemy’s six-man Bomb Squad production …
Read More »The Rap Legends Breathing New Life Into The 'Stop The Violence' Movement
In 1988, Boogie Down Productions, Eric B. & Rakim, Doug E. Fresh, Kool Moe Dee, and Biz Markie were in the middle of the Dope Jam Tour when an altercation broke out during a stop at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Concertgoer Julio Fuentes, 19, was stabbed once …
Read More »Black Thought Announces New Memoir, 'The Upcycled Self'
Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter announced that he’s releasing a new memoir. The Upcycled Self is set to arrive Nov. 14, Variety reports. The Roots co-founder’s story “begins with a tragedy: As a child, Trotter burned down his family’s home,” according to an announcement describing the book, and “doesn’t just narrate …
Read More »Timbaland Just Added Fuel to Our Growing Rap Dystopia
Maybe there’s an alternate universe where musicians are currently banding together against AI, opting to blackball anyone complicit in its rapid ascension from a viral sideshow into a thorn in the industry’s side. But that’s not the case on this planet, where prominent artists like Grimes and now Timbaland are …
Read More »Underground Rap Hero Billy Woods on Coming Full Circle
Back when he was moving between Washington D.C. and New York City in the late Nineties and early 2000s, billy woods frequented a Black-owned record shop seeking El-P and Cannibal Ox on wax. “I kept coming in, and checking for it— my homie was really diligent about it,” he recalls …
Read More »Swizz Beatz, A Boogie, Lil Durk Rev Up Some Monster Truck Madness in 'Say Less' Video
Swizz Beatz links up with Lil Durk and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie in the new music video for “Say Less,” their collaboration from the producer/rapper’s recent project, Hip Hop 50: Vol. 2. The chrome-plated, black-and-white clip finds the three artists performing the menacing, braggadocious song primarily in front of …
Read More »Tsu Surf Pleads Guilty to RICO, Firearms Charges
Newark battle rapper Tsu Surf has pleaded guilty to Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy charges in connection to his involvement in the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips in New Jersey. He faces up to 30 years in prison. According to a statement released on Friday by the United States …
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