Stylistically, Melanie Fiona is like that cool friend you have who is well-rounded, cultured but has never forgotten where she came from -- and you don't want to cross her. Her latest release, The MF Life, is good as a...
Esperanza Spalding's Radio Music Society is not a pop record. There are no collabos with Lil Wayne or Nicki Minaj, she hasn't straightened her 'fro, and there's no Auto-Tune to be found here. I felt the need to reassure all...
Public Enemy was and is a force of nature, forever emblazoned in the minds of hip hop fans of all generations. Even younger rap enthusiasts can rattle off the iconic sound bites PE created: "Public Enemy #1." "Prophets of Rage."...
For a brief blissful time, DJ Quik's platinum-selling album, Quik is the Name, was the soundtrack for Friday night bid whist and chicken wing parties with my college friends. To this day, when I hear the bass line drop for...
Generally, your first album is considered the starting point of what could be a great career. However, we've seen many careers that didn't pop until after their second outing -- most notably Nirvana and Public Enemy. Gang Starr also proved...
My first reaction when I heard "How I Could Just Kill a Man" the first single from Cypress Hill's self-titled debut album, on Yo! MTV Raps was one of shock and awe. Instantly, I knew it was like nothing the world...
Main Source's Breaking Atoms has always had a mystique among hip hop connoisseurs that I've never completely understood. Since Main Source only released one album I always questioned whether it was more coveted than classic. During the '90s, when it...
What do you do for an encore? Queen Latifah's second album, Nature of a Sista, begs that question like no other. I mean how do you top a classic debut album like All Hail the Queen, which produced four hit...
De La Soul's 1991 album, De La Soul Is Dead, does three things that have become a lost art in hip hop: takes a stand, tells stories, and has fun. It is remarkable that this album was born out of...
This week I watched the documentary Marathon Boy, about a six-year-old distance running prodigy in India named Bhudia Singh. I couldn't help but see the corollary between the life of this boy and that of Tupac Shakur. Initially, there is...
Gloria Estefan's Miss Little Havana is a fun, sweet-but-street album that I challenge anybody not to get up and dance to. One thing I've always respected Gloria for is how she embraces all of Cuban music, specifically the African components....
Remember a time when albums had a fast side and a slow side? Rapper Stimulus and producer/drummer Chris "Daddy" Dave (Maxwell, Robert Glasper) bring back the fast side/slow side concept with their mixtape, 3rd 1st Impression. Chris Dave's production is...
Paris 96 by Theophilus London and Jesse Boykins III is one of those mixtapes I wouldn't like if I'd just listened to it on my laptop or if someone played it for me. But if I was at say, the...
"One day, I'm gonna say something really impressive." -- Asher Roth When someone is getting a lot of underground buzz, I like to wait awhile before listening to them--let them marinate a little and see if they stay afloat or...
Being a Sade fan is the worst kind of addiction. Because she performs and records so rarely, you'll jump at the first hint of a new track or a live performance or an anything. So, when I saw there was...
