The conversation about black lives “mattering” has once again entered the public discourse through the door of police brutality. Only this time, it was through the schoolhouse door. Earlier this week, Ben Fields, a sheriff’s deputy and school resource officer at Spring Valley High School in South Carolina, dragged an African-American teen from her desk…

If you’re like me, listening to rap music in 2014 was like eating fast food on a daily basis. And just as no good comes from chowing down on sugar, carbs and processed foods every day, a steady diet of unhealthy rap can just leave the mind feeling empty. Thankfully, 2015 will offer some healthier…

Founded 16 years ago by Lawrence Krisna Parker, aka KRS-One, National Hip-Hop Appreciation Week (May 19-25) seeks to recognize the original elements of the culture—rapping, deejaying, break dancing and graffiti—and to renew the consciousness of the art form. This year’s theme is heritage. Artists, activists, entertainers and scholars around the world participated in a variety…

Next week VH1 is set to air The Tanning of America: One Nation Under Hip Hop, a four-part documentary series based on Steve Stoute’s similarly titled book, The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy. It was a fascinating read and remix of hip-hop’s history and…

Around the family dinner table over Christmas, the conversation turned to the recently announced Outkast performance at Coachella 2014—the event that pretty much all hip-hop heads are looking forward to—and the overall state of hip-hop going into 2014, which has decidedly more mixed reviews. Was 2013 a good year for the music we love, or…

(The Root) — While the federal government hangs by the hair of its chinny chin chin, hip-hop MC Kendrick Lamar is playing the big, bad wolf, challenging rappers during Tuesday night’s broadcast of the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards cypher to step up their art and performance in respect for the culture’s battle tradition. Surrounded…

(The Root) — Drake’s new album, Nothing Was the Same, sold more than 658,000 units in its first week, with the single “Hold On, We’re Going Home” demoting Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” from the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The Toronto-born-and-bred MC’s personal best week ever puts him in second place…

(The Root) — In hip-hop, the DJ has always been heralded as the most important member of a rap group. For years, artists have written odes to their mix masters, whether it was Run-DMC showering Jam Master Jay with praise or Rakim proclaiming that “Eric B Is President.” But recently a group of Atlanta-based DJs…

(The Root) — For as long as Africans in America have been producing music for the recording industry, there’s remained a tension between black performance styles and the mainstream society that benefits. This hasn’t always been a bad thing. There are times when the use of black style and form has moved pop culture to…

(The Root) — “Gimme dem beats fool/It’s a full-time jack move.” —Ice Cube, “Jackin’ for Beats” (Kill at Will) In their 40 years of creating classic beats and rhymes, rap- and hip-hop-influenced R&B producers have always found inspiration from soul, funk and rock-and-roll musicians. Whether it is Ice Cube’s sampling of James Brown’s “Funky Drummer”…