Riley’s Best

Dr. Dre once famously said that this [music] business is entertainment; to believe it to be anything else then that would be “stupid [sic].” ScHoolboy Q, when examined under this lens — for me — has made him...

Twenty years later, Summer 2016 stands as a pivotal period in hip-hop. Let’s set the scene — Bill Clinton was running for re-election, VHS was still a viable format, people were still waiting for N64 to drop, EBay...

“First N–ga taught that crippin’ to your kids, huh,” proclaims Snoop Dogg — and rightfully so. Unless the average middle class American [white] kid was jamming to groups to Compton’s Most Wanted, which wasn’t a sure bet in...

“Playing her (Angie Martinez) was like a dream.” –Lian Toni Amado The hip-hop community is buzzing about the release of the long-fabled Tupac biopic, All Eyes On Me. Like most of the world, we’ve been following the movie’s...

“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."