hip-hop
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30 Days of Musical Blackness With VSB, Day 6: Oddisee, 'That's Love'
Oddisee is one of the hardest working artists in music. And I say music, and not just hip-hop, because his catalog is so expansive that it’s unfair to limit him to the genre he’s most well known for. And that’s if you’re familiar at all. Oddisee seems to live in that interesting space of being…
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'Exhibit C' Is Almost 10 Years Old. Jay Electronica Has Completely Squandered His Career
Illmatic, my all-time favorite debut album and one of my top-five favorite hip-hop albums of all time, celebrated its 25th anniversary April 19. Whether or not Nas ever released another classic album has been the subject of an interminable debate among hip-hop nerds; what isn’t up for debate is that Nas had a largely respectable…
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I Don't Ever Want to Try Whatever Kool-Aid Kanye West Keeps Drinking
Radical acceptance. The Serenity Prayer. “It is what it is.” That’s just a few of the myriad methods many of us employ when trying to come to grips with shit we don’t like. You didn’t get that Chrimmuh bonus you just knew you deserved? It sucks, but being unwilling to accept it isn’t going to…
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The 10 Best Hip-Hop Tracks of 2018
Just about every hip-hop critic and cognoscenti has had the same response about the amount of new music released in 2018: Too damn much. As the genre continues its dominance on streaming services, it seems like artists are in overdrive to capitalize on the moment. If you’ve been a rap fan at any point between…
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Ebro Vs. Kodak Black: Talking About Sexual Assault Is Worse Than Actually Being Charged With It, Apparently
It’s been a hell of a week to talk about male artists, sexual assault and the courtesies and praise they do or do not deserve from the media—and the public at large. It began with a debate over the “King of R&B”—a conversation which successfully highlighted how far out of their depth male R&B artists…
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Cam'ron Disses Kanye West on New Diplomats Single
Cam’ron is a lot of things. He’s a polarizing rapper, a top-flight interior decorator, and the proud owner of real estate in Bill O’Reilly’s head. Though he’s taken some Ls in his day, one thing Cam’ron rarely is? Entirely off-base. Case in point: the first verse from Dipset’s new single, “Stay Down.” Coming from Cam’ron,…
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Some Asshole Tried to Rewrite Hip-Hop History and Alleged That Outkast Was ‘Dressed So Fresh, So Clean’
Like many a southern rap fan, I grew up on André and Antwan, better known as André 3000 and Big Boi, and even better known as Outkast. When all the players came from far and wide, I too wanted to attend the “Player’s Ball.” What’s the funkiest kind of music for my soul? Southernplayalistickcadillackmuzik, of…
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So Black Thought, Phonte and Rhymefest Are Forming a SuperGroup. I Really Hope This Ends Up Dope
The rap world was enraptured for various reasons with the out-of-the-blue release of Eminem’s latest coaster, Kamikaze, for most of this past week. I gave it a few listens and deleted it from my phone library. Eminem is one of those rappers who on technical merits alone is one of the best, if not the…
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Childish Gambino Drops Animated Video for 'Feels Like Summer,' Featuring Our Hip-Hop Faves Hanging Out in the Coolest Neighborhood Ever
As we head towards Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer and cookout season, Childish Gambino has dropped an animated video for “Feels Like Summer,” featuring cameos from some of our hip-hop and R&B favorites. As Gambino casually strolls down the street in what has to be the coolest neighborhood ever, we catch a glimpse…