“I’m not an Instagram model; It’s hard when people want to put you in one box and keep you there.” —Shelah Marie Maybe it’s because I’m a father of two wonderful daughters, but I find myself relating verbatim...
In their latest Great Hip-Hop Debates podcast, XXL’s EIC Vanessa Satten, Jack Thriller, Dj Suss One, and Torae, debated whether younger heads needed to be schooled on the history of the culture. It was mostly in direct response...
I keep asking myself, how did I break through the competition, and make it right through to the top? — Menace Some producers work their whole lives hoping to reach their opus; their signature beat that puts them...
"I don’t create unless I'm inspired by something. I'm disciplined to write and create on the spot, but, I prefer to do it organically, you know? Because that makes it art, to me."
Photo credit: Mamboso.net Hip-hop, in it’s current iteration, comes — and goes — in waves. The waves all have catalysts (like Drake, Kid Cudi, or younger drill gods like Keef, Santana, and Dirk), and set the stage for...
This morning as I woke up — sort of — for a (brief) few minutes, my wife broke the news to me: Phife, of A Tribe, Called Quest, had passed. His cause of death was not immediately disclosed,...
I’m always blindsided but lengthy milestones. That’s part of getting older, though. I remember like it was yesterday, being a young cat at summer Caribbean street festivals copping mixtapes (like actual tapes) from local and out of town...
Today, the New York hip-hop scene lost a prominent figure, Keith Carter – better known as DJ Big Kap. He was a member of many crews and cliques, including the Flip Squad DJ’s, which also included names like...