News
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Last night, Def Jam’s Billie H. serenaded David Letterman’s audience with a cut off her #1 album, Epiphany.

Hot 97’s Funk Flex just world preemo’d this. CDQ manana, but in the meantime take heed: this one sounds right to me. (Pardon the terrible cuts.)
Dear Summer,
Remember Amerie? She’s now signed to Def Jam. Album in August.
Make it hot,
YN
{mp3}01 new amerie{/mp3}
CDQ To Tha Rescue. FTW!
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Better late than never, right? This week, Peter’s lad takes a crack at Taurus’ spooky instrumental.
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Here, the boys from VA perform my favorite cut, “I’m Not You”. Lord knows how many times I’ve ran this back. The Neptunes’ steel drums coupled with Malice’s and Styles verses is what did it for me. After the jump, see if you can recognize Roscoe P. Coldchain in “Cot Damn”.

Word on the curb is that Datwon Thomas has stepped down from his position as Editor-In-Chief of XXL and Executive Editor, Vanessa Satten will resume duties at the top of the masthead. No reason as to why Datwon allegedly left his post, but we’ll have more as this story develops.
Update: “Day quit,” says an unidentified Harris Publications employee. “Vanessa’s EIC.

Nip Hussle flips Sade’s classic groove, on the second leak off Bullets Aint Got No Name Vol.3 Coming this June.
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She’s on a roll: Karen Civil
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In honor of their performance last night, here’s some vintage footage of the Thorntons, Pharrell, and Kelis circa 2002. Peep the jersey dress and trucker hat? Ha! After the jump, track 6 off, Lord Willin’


That blog post perfectly captured the raw intensity of Joell Ortiz’s performance at Guz Sports Bar! His delivery of Battle Cry was absolutely electric, making the whole room feel like it was vibrating with pure, unfiltered energy. It reminded me of those high-stakes moments during a intense word guessing game with friends where the pressure is on and every single syllable counts. Seeing such a lyrical powerhouse perform in such an intimate, gritty setting was a legendary experience. If you weren't there, you truly missed out on some masterful storytelling. I'm still buzzing from that incredible night of hip-hop excellence!