When Hip-Hop’s the LOX Reclaimed Their Power and Respect
Looking back on when Jadakiss, Styles P, and Sheek Louch took matters into their own hands as the Lox to reestablish themselves as the voice of the people.
gangsta rap
When the Satire Works and When it Doesn’t in Geto Boys Bio ‘Why Bushwick Bill Matters’
For a Geto Boys biography so concerned with Bushwick Bill’s status as a short person, Hughes’ book sure skirts the issue of embodiment.
Vince Staples Is in Beautiful, Dark Limbo on New LP
With his latest album, Vince Staples mines an artistic, existential, and notably fertile limbo. It’s his most reflective and sober perspective to date.
Contemporary Urbanity and Blackness in ‘New Jack City’
Hood films are a jarring eviction notice for traditional Civil Rights rhetoric and, possibly, leadership -- in other words, "What has the Civil Rights movement done for me lately?"
Ice Cube’s ‘Death Certificate’ Soundtracked the Rodney King Era
It was during the period between the Rodney King beating and subsequent court verdict that Ice Cube cut Death Certificate, a chilling glimpse into the anger and frustration South Central Los Angelinos were feeling.
Freddie Gibbs and Madlib: Piñata
Madlib and Freddie Gibbs drop one of the best hip-hop albums in recent memory.
The Game’s ‘Purp & Patron’ Is Hazy
It seems the Game is making a point with Purp & Patron, but his precise flow married to such imprecise lyricism causes everything to run together in a haze of words that mean nothing.
E-40: My Ghetto Report Card
E-40 has been in the rap game long enough to know what his audience wants, and he delivers it like a mailman.