Featured Videos

Rawkus: Best of Decade I: 1995-2005

Artist: Various ArtistsTitle: Rawkus: Best of Decade I: 1995-2005Rating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: aqua boogie It’s tough to go wrong with a greatest hits compilation from Rawkus Records. Despite any qualms with the storied labels downfall-actually, stumble since they plan an ‘06 resurrection-during their reign the relatively small label released some of the best Hip-Hop […]

Exodus

Artist: Ja RuleTitle: ExodusRating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Sidik Fofana There’s always a little politics involved when someone decides that it’s time to drop a greatest hits album. For someone like Tupac Shakur, it’s just the posthumous thing to do: an album of eulogy after a lifelong legacy of hits. For someone like say Michael Jackson, […]

Good Music

Artist: Lone CatalystsTitle: Good MusicRating: 3 StarsReviewed by: Jamin Warren Perhaps in hopes of cashing in on G.O.O.D. Music’s successful namesake, the Lone Catalysts embark on their sophomore release albeit it with less profitable results. The Kanye Co. comparison, however, is apt in that it marks the two directions of undie Hip-Hop since Rawkus’ slow […]

The Vatican Mixtape

Artist: Raekwon (Ice Water Inc. & DJ Riddler)Title: The Vatican MixtapeRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Bill “Low-Key” Heinzelman It’s very rare that an artist can go back and recapture the essence of their debut album, no matter how skilled they are. For Raekwon, this has been the demon he has struggled to exorcise for the […]

Home Grown! The Beginner’s Guide to Understanding The Roots Vol. 1 & 2

Artist: The RootsTitle: Home Grown! The Beginner’s Guide to Understanding The Roots Vol. 1 & 2Rating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Jason Newman The Roots have never been one to pander to traditional ideas of making and selling music. So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Home Grown! The Beginner’s Guide to Understanding The Roots (Geffen) isn’t […]

Solid Gold Hits

Artist: Beastie BoysTitle: Solid Gold HitsRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: K.O. SlowThe ever-irreverent Beastie Boys have finally grown-up, they have released their first greatest hits collection. Unlike their anthology, Sounds of Science, Solid Gold Hits (Capitol) is pretty much what the name implies – nothing but the hits. While Sounds of Science had most of […]

Signature of the Ill

Artist: A.D.O.R.Title: Signature of the IllRating: 3 StarsReviewed by: Bill “Low-Key” HeinzelmanHip-Hop heads in tune with the early 90’s will most likely remember A.D.O.R. for his Pete Rock produced underground classic “Let It All Hang Out.” The song put A.D.O.R. on the Hip-Hop map and helped earn him a deal with Atlantic Records. But things […]

New Whirl Odor

Artist: Public EnemyTitle: New Whirl OdorRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Paine Many social commentators are claiming that America is mimicking itself 15 years ago: a Bush in office, a war going on, and starving in the streets. Whether true or not, it seems that the times have put up a proverbial cross-hair spotlight in the […]

Tha Carter II

Artist: Lil WayneTitle: Tha Carter IIRating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Bill “Low-Key” Heinzelman Lil’ Wayne has come a long way since his humble beginnings as a member of Cash Money’s Hot Boyz. As the youngest solider in the group, Weezy always stood out from his companions due to his intriguing voice and rebellious persona. However, the […]

Run the Road Vol. 2

Artist: Various ArtistsTitle: Run the Road Vol. 2Rating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Jason Newman When the original Run the Road compilation was released earlier this year, it was many Americans’ first taste of grime, the British Hip-Hop subgenre marrying ultra-fast, hyper flows with 2-step and jungle beats that owed more to Atari than to classic […]

The Good Money EP

Artist: Move.meantTitle: The Good Money EPRating: 3 StarsReviewed by: Paine In the late 1990’s, DJ and MC cliques out of Los Angeles like Dilated Peoples, Jurassic 5, and Ugly Duckling were the talk of the industry. Five years later, everybody is trying to climb back to that former plateau. Move.meant is a group made of […]

Impulsive!: Revolutionary Jazz Reworked

Artist: Various ArtistsTitle: Impulsive!: Revolutionary Jazz ReworkedRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Orisanmi Burton For the uninitiated, the name “Impulse!” may not solicit a particular response. For all others this declaration, when set against orange and black packaging and adorned with converse exclamation points brings to mind many of jazz music’s most legendary figures. From 1961 […]

Feast or Famine

Artist: Reef the Lost CauzeTitle: Feast or FamineRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Max Herman Reef The Lost Cauze is one heated MC. While his voice is not quite as intense as his JuJu Mob crewmate, Chief Kamachi’s, this Philly-native proves to be a true Master of Ceremony on his new album, Feast or Famine (Good […]

Right About Now

Artist: Talib KweliTitle: Right About NowRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Angus Crawford Since and even before the debut of Black Star, Talib Kweli and Mos Def have been considered Hip-Hop saviors. While The Mighty Mos has made rapping his part time job, Kweli has been trying to rescue Hip-Hop and achieve fans’ unrealistic expectations for […]