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Pierre HamiltonFeatures
Citizen Wilson: An Interview with the Editor of XXL'I'm concerned with selling my magazine and doing it with integrity.' Elliott Wilson, editor-in-chief of XXL Magazine, wants his props for rising to the top of the music publishing world, and oh yeah, please buy the compilation CD. [1 January 1995] Coming of Age Part TwoMemphis Bleek's back for the throne that was meant to be his. The Gospel According to K-OsThe rapper takes on critics, genre distinctions, and vapid MCs. The New Violence: An Interview with Death From Above 1979Sure, they're aggressive and look dangerous, but they're just writing pleasant little pop songs. Offending Two Camps: An Interview with Controller.ControllerThe X remains a mysterious placeholder for a band that won't stay still. Resurrection: Common WalksCommon's returned, and he's not being backed into the Corner. Music by the Living Dead?Athlete's music might challenge you, but you'll have to decide if that's good or bad. The New Violence: An Interview with Death From Above 1979Sure, they're aggressive and look dangerous, but they're just writing pleasant little pop songs. Reviews
Basic Vocab: The General DynamicThree brothers from Miami ditch crunk, haul that golden-age boom-bap to the present and wind up with a solid debut album. [25 September 2006] 
DJ Logic: Zen of LogicDJ Logic returns to the instrumental turntablism game with an album that is stubbornly eclectic, tough to feel and even harder to comprehend. [17 July 2006] 
Pretty Girls Make Graves: Élan VitalWith stretch marks out in full display, Pretty Girls Make Graves hit puberty and deliver Élan Vital, an album shaped by the band's growing pains. [23 May 2006] 
jdwalker: them get you… them got youGrab your mind machete because this album forces you to hack your way to the fringes of hip-hop and, once there, the environment ain't so accommodating. [23 March 2006] 
Cypress Hill: Greatest Hits From The BongYou can't call it Greatest Hits From The Bong and forget all the songs that introduced me and my generation to joys of smoking pot. [13 March 2006] 
Black Wire: Black WireThe band whose performance inspired the Kaiser Chiefs' "I Predict a Riot" look to carve out their own success, but are less successful at it. [14 February 2006] 
Various: The In-Kraut: Hip Shaking Grooves Made in Germany 1966-1974Marina Records reaches into the vaults of time to offer up 20 kraut-a-delic ditties from Germany's dalliance with British mod and American counterculture. [25 January 2006] 
Buckshot and 9th Wonder: ChemistryBlack Moon's commander-in-chief, Buckshot, makes a close-to-classic return to prominence with the help of Little Brother producer 9th Wonder. [16 December 2005] 
Esthero: Wikked Lil GrrrlsSeven years after her debut, Esthero returns to ignite a musical revolution and spark a long-forgotten musical affair. [20 October 2005] 
Little Brother: The Chittlin Circuit 1.5 - The Official Mixtape: Unreleased Tracks, B-Sides and RemTake a tour of Little Brother's soul-stirring unreleased material, b-sides, and remixes on the legendary chitlin circuit. [22 August 2005] 
I Self Divine: Self DestructionI Self Divine spits consciousness, updates the state of race relations, and documents life from the Minneapolis perspective. [25 July 2005] 
Prefuse 73: Surrounded by SilencePrefuse 73 loses the magical touch, filling out this album's incoherent and gaping holes with guest appearances. [22 July 2005] 
Daniel Lanois: BelladonnaDaniel Lanois' instrumental voyage willingly pitches us into an ocean made turbulent by conflicting emotions. [21 July 2005] 
Annie: AnniemalAnniemal is one sugary sweet delight that you'll want to indulge in regardless of its cavity-causing qualities. [22 June 2005] 
Various Artists: Verve Remixed, Vol. 3Three discs into the Verve Remixed series, jazz goes careening into the ghetto. [23 May 2005] 
Busdriver: Fear of a Black TangentYou're standing at a bus stop. The bus is late, and when it pulls up, the driver looks a little freaked-out and is blasting some bastardized, neo-prog rap. Question: Are you on or off?" [12 May 2005] 
Louis XIV: The Best Little Secrets Are KeptWith Louis XIV glam rock is back in big way. This time it's tame and unbelievable, but occasionally sexy, even if it is in a creepy way. [3 May 2005] 
Various Artists: Run the RoadDisorderly and defiant, grime is an unfamiliar, yet intoxicating narrative that washes up on North American shores from the ghettoes of London. Savage and brutal it is the sound of hip-hop's new wave, the sound of tomorrow... today. [25 March 2005] 
2pac: Loyal to the GameUnlike Biggie, 2Pac refuses to stay dead. With every posthumous release, overzealous producers try and capitalize on his cult-like status, succeeding only in besmirching the discography of a great ghetto warrior. [15 March 2005] The Comas + VietnamLike it or not, the torch burns on: Vietnam is the new Phish and proud of it. [22 February 2005] 
The Game: The DocumentaryThere is a saying in the hip-hop community that goes 'game recognizes game'. Backed by all-star rap cast, it's easy to see why he was handpicked to be the west coast's new Nigga Wit Attitude by the only man with the right to -- Dr. Dre. [15 February 2005] 
Various Artists: What is Hip? Remix Project 1Warner Bros. hires a team of scientists to revive 14 classics tracks and make them hip again. Sometimes it works, but more often than not, the tracks gets the best of their masters, run amok, and leave the listener wishing they'd stayed buried. [14 February 2005] 
Nas: Street’s DiscipleWith middle age rapidly approaching, ghetto poet/prophet Nasir Jones settles in for the long haul. Of all his peers, he ages gracefully, although Street's Disciple two discs reflect the less-focused Nas of the past, a Nas that's ready to hand off the baton, but unsure what to do next. [7 January 2005] 
Kamal: SuburbiaKamal fills the void of any discernible talent by puffing out his chest and fabricating a P.I.M.P image. Even then, Suburbia is a fabrication and fails to impress. [1 January 1995] |
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