In 2014, Pasadena rapper Big Hit was ready to capitalize on his newfound freedom and pursue music alongside his son Hit-Boy, the Grammy-winning producer who’s laced Kanye West, Jay-Z, and others with chart-topping hits. Big Hit had been incarcerated since Hit-Boy was three years old, including a 15-year federal sentence …
Read More »Exclusive: Hit-Boy Produced Beyoncé's New Song 'Thique'… Eight Years Ago
One day in 2014, “N—– in Paris” producer Hit-Boy started working with Beyoncé on two songs. One of them, released later that year, became the hit Nicki Minaj collaboration “Feeling Myself.” The other was a track with a seductive house beat that would’ve been a major departure for Beyoncé at …
Read More »Nas Ruled the World. Decades Later, He's Looking for More to Conquer
There are more frequent solar eclipses than there are instant classics in rap. But back in 1994, when Nas courted unbelievable hype — after a planet-shifting verse on 1991’s “Live at the Barbeque,” followed by the red-hot “Halftime” a year later — then delivered with the Library of Congress–inducted Illmatic, …
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