What more can I say to you? You heard it all. Hov already told you it’s his “album” of the year. (At least before BP3 dropped. Ha.) Okay, you love to hear the story again and again so here goes. Aubrey Graham was a child actor who became a rap star with the right music at the right time. The masses made “Best I Ever Had” and “Successful” hits before anyone got Drizzy’s name on the dotted line. But it […]

The Grammy Committee will disagree, but The-Dream’s Love vs. Money was the best Rhythm and Blues album of 2009. On his sophomore disc, Dream lived up to his Radio Killa alias with “Rockin That Shit” and then showed no mercy by “Walkin’ On The Moon” with Kanye West. Next, Mr. Nash showcased his slow groove majestry on “Put It Down” and “Sweat It Out”. But it’s on the dramatic “Fancy” where Dream truly proves his excellence. For a steady six […]

The Grammy Committee will disagree, but The-Dream

Don’t front you know Ed got you open this past year, coining one of hip-hop’s strongest new catchphrases. It’s a daily operation of today’s stars doin’ dumb shit and now two words sum up our collective feelings: C’mon son. Here’s a salute to the dubious ones who kept us chitter-chattering about them in the last year of the past decade. Watch the video and then get your vote on here.

Before coming off Roc Nation’s bench, J.Cole runs practice drills on, The Warm Up. From the opening whistle, Cole declares he was ready for the big leagues on “Grown Simba” and proves he can handle his own over daunting tracks (“Dead Presidents II”). Elsewhere, he gives direction to black girls lost on “Light’s Please” while looking for the perfect match on “Dreams”. Then, over a calm horns, Cole lets hope float on “I Get Up” and “Dollar & A Dream […]

Ri Ri’s next single is her potty mouth track, “Rude Boy” and she bares everything minus the boots and hat for the single cover. YK2 Sidebar: This is not Ri-Ri’s new boy toy rude boy.

You gotta hand it to Alicia. Unlike pretty much every other artist on the planet, she doesn’t oversaturate herself to stay hot. She does it the old school way. Takes a significant hiatus in between albums and comes back with nothing but her finest material. The single choices have been rock-solid so far. “Doesn’t Mean Anything” is dandy. “Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart” is thrilling. And while I appreciate her trying to make a Beyonce collabo work (“Put It […]

You gotta hand it to Alicia. Unlike pretty much every other artist on the planet, she doesn’t oversaturate herself to stay hot. She does it the old school way. Takes a significant hiatus in between albums and comes back with nothing but her finest material. The single choices have been rock-solid so far. “Doesn’t Mean Anything” is dandy. “Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart” is thrilling. And while I appreciate her trying to make a Beyonce collabo work (“Put It […]

How bout a old school break? Been meaning to put this up but as you can see it’s been a pretty busy week. Anyways, a couple of days ago on his SwiftFM channel, Q-Tip shared an early Brand Nubian demo recorded about 20 years ago. As you’ll hear the content was probably a lil too strong for some and didn’t make their classic All For One. Ironically, Grand Puba would take plenty of his rhymes here and make a song […]

Jeezy and DJ Folk hugged the block last summer with Trappin’ Aint Dead. A hustler at heart, Da Snowman stashed the Recession leftover “Done It” and helped Lil Boosie get on his feet with “Better Believe It”. Back on the strip, Jeez clocks his paper with “My Money” then squanders it on “Dead Or Alive”. Of course, all work and no play makes Jeezy a dull boy. Sitting in the director’s chair, he and U.S.D.A. make the “Biggest Movie Ever”. […]