Posted on 11/13/2008
Last Tuesday, Q-Tip not only released a sigh of relief, but also his second solo album. The Renaissance, an album proclaiming a re-birth of hip-hop, could not have come on a better day. November 4, 2008 will go down in history as a day on which hope triumphed over fear. Sure, this triumph has some interesting parallels in music, but more importantly, it renews our privilege to squander so many thoughts on music in the first place. Thanks to Obama’s victory, we’ve earned a little breathing room; our musical escapism is no longer in such stark contrast to more important issues. In that regard, it might have taken nine years to arrive, but The Renaissance is right on time.

Posted on 11/10/2008
As the brother of one of the greatest musicians in the hip-hop history, Illa J’s career could potentially go one of two ways. The easiest option would be to follow his brother--the late, great J Dilla, if you didn’t already guess (which maybe you should have)--into producing and use Dilla’s style and established name to build his own resume. The other would be to consciously avoid his brother’s long shadow and place himself in a completely different lane where he wouldn’t be constantly judged against Dilla’s considerable achievements.

Posted on 11/06/2008
There’s not much that Diamond D hasn’t done over the course of his 20+ year career. As a founding member of legendary New York crew Diggin’ In The Crates (D.I.T.C.), the producer/emcee’s name garners instant respect; he’s worked behind the boards for classics by fellow DITC members Showbiz and A.G., Lord Finesse, and Fat Joe, and he’s lent his talents to a slew of hip-hop heavyweights including Mos Def, Busta Rhymes, Rass Kass, and Pharoahe Monch.

Posted on 10/14/2008
As the nation prepares for the upcoming election, AM talk shows across the country are becoming fervent battlegrounds in the war for undecided voters. Your FM dial, however, is entrenched in a battle of its own: the battle for artists with substance over those with mere marketability. Now, with the most important election of our lives less than a month away, the state of commercial hip-hop may seem more frivolous than ever, but this airwave showdown mustn’t be dismissed at such a dire time. You may find the decisions to be laborious, but be it Obama vs. McCain, or real hip-hop vs. the proverbial studio-gangsta, we all must cast our vote this fall. My fellow Americas, I know what you’re thinking: the last thing you want to have to do is make two decisions in the same year. Well, rest assured, that won’t be necessary. You see, in a twist of timesaving fate, it turns out that the Presidential race and the fight for Urban radio are nearly identical: In both contests, we have on one hand, those currently in control. They’re only on top thanks to money from big corporations. They love guns. They’re all rich. They flaunt their time as prisoners for career advancement. They spent a lot of our money on Hummers. They promote murderous turf wars. They don’t respect women. They can’t rap. They’ve built enormous personal fortunes by exploiting the public. They learned how to sell crack during the Reagan administration. Um, there’s the Polo connection. Basically, on one hand we have more of what got us into this mess.