The search for a Dalai Lama is an exacting task. In the event that this highest of Buddhist leaders dies, the High Lamas search far and wide for a young boy who they believe to be Dalai Lama’s reincarnation. This boy must pass several tests—one of which involves correctly choosing the late Dalai Lama’s belongings out of series of similar artifacts—to confirm that he is indeed the Dalai Lama reborn.

Throughout history there have been some label/artist pairings that may not have seemed natural or even possible, but have turned out to be great; L.A. Reid and Pink, Usher and Justin Beiber… and Baby and Slim (Cash Money) and Teena Marie – Sike! Ok I was only playing on that last one.

Just as El-P took a seat at the ground-level bar of Johnny Brenda’s, a cozy three-story tavern and music space in Philadelphia, Audio Two’s “Top Billin’” began to blare over the sound system, like a ghoulish salute to the Brooklyn native. What began as small talk upstairs, where the band Chin Chin prepared for sound check, turned into karaoke – two guys at a bar mimicking Milk Dee’s staccato shrill. The indie-rap icon explained that he was in town for a final tune-up before Pitchfork Music Festival. And he was genuinely happy to return. “[Philly] cats know their hip-hop,” he said over a drink. “They don’t fuck around.”

It’s the mid 80s, and Mike Tyson is back in Brooklyn. Yet to fight Trevor Berbick and win the WBC Title, the fighter is taking some time out, kicking it with his boys outside a building in the spot where he grew up, Brownsville. He’s perched on a parked car when he’s approached by a scruffy kid.

“Yo, you gotta get off my mom’s car!” says the kid to the one of the scariest fighters on earth.

Janelle Monae‘s been touted as the second coming of James Brown and Erykah Badu all in one. She flies across stages in her black and white tux like an Energizer Bunny on uppers sporting a pompadour that puts Conan O’Brien’s to shame. Her voice soars on optimistic ballads and rocks out on frenetic pop tunes. Then she stops singing and starts talking about androids, robot brains and future realities and suddenly this new dance funk diva hero raises eyebrows. ‘What on Mars is she talking about?’

Announcement: Good morning, kids. This is your principal here at Okayplayer Academy. Your poetry teacher, Mr. Che Smith affectionately known as Rhymefest, is moving to Houston and will no longer be working in Chicago. I know you’re all sad, but we all gotta move on at some point, right? Anyway, as a special homework assignment, I want you to listen to Mr. Smith’s sophomore album El Che, especially, the mellifluous “Say Wassup,” “Truth on You” with the dope 3D video, or the hard-hitting “Talk My Shit” (it’s all right to curse just this once) and analyze the craft of true lyricism. Meanwhile, as a tribute to Mr. Smith, we will have a Q&A in which our beloved Rhymefest tells us why the kids are so important.

Eric Krasno gets around. The image on the cover of Reminisce, Krasno’s rock-infused solo album on Royal Family Records, captures the roving music maker in mid-stride, walking before a backdrop of abstracted city textures with his guitar and amp in hand. It’s the perfect portrait of the in-demand musician, producer and beat maker. Best known for his guitar work with jazz-funk trio Soulive, Krasno also jams with funk collective Lettuce and teams up with Adam Deitch to form production team The Fyre Dept, with credits as diverse as 50 Cent and Ledisi. (The duo is finishing up production on the debut album of Sierra Leone’s Bajah and the Dry Eye Crew, who performed recently at The Roots Picnic.) Okayplayer caught up with Kraz to talk about Reminisce, his band Chapter 2, a couple “lost” J Dilla tracks, and why he’d like to work with D’Angelo.

Whoever up and decides to theme a whole Hip Hop album after the 2000 film High Fidelity has to have a “Laura” in his life. I don’t care what anyone says. After all, Donwill of Tanya Morgan is all but a shoe-in for the backpack version of John Cusack. Both are unapologetic audiophiles and more so, unapologetic romantics.

If someone told you that a 23 year-old Canadian rapper and Big Boi from Outkast would make their solo debut in the same summer of 2010, would you believe him? I wouldn’t (or maybe I would be more bugged out about the whole Canadian rapper business, but that’s a discussion for a whole ‘nother day). The fact is Big Boi’s solo album Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty has been turning, for a few years now, into a perfectly padded snowball ready to hit that monotonous, nursery rhyme chanting, school bus of an industry. Splat! iTunes warned us with a single a week countdown that started with the pulsating “Shutterbug” and by the time you read this, Big Boi might be in some phone booth changing into Sir Lucious Left Foot himself, ready to fly to Egypt, the Philippines, Finland, and every other stop on his purple ribboned world tour.

Kaleidoscopic, the debut album from singer/songwriter (and ?uesto sibling), Donn T, hits shelves July 12th. The silky energy of the electronic dance album belies the giddy energy of this kinetic, creative being who at once channels the futuristic sounds of London house with her homegrown Philly soul roots. The daughter of performers Lee Andrews and dancer Jaquelin Thompson, Donn T made a name for herself as a songwriter (on Common‘s “I Am Music”) and supporting vocalist to artists such as Nelly Furtado and Zap Mama. Now that she is center stage, she plans on adding ‘headliner’ to her lengthy resume. The flirty first single, “Look At (What U Startin’),” is out now and to reflect its singer’s mixture of influences, already has 5 different remixes from producers Toddla T, Altered Natives, Zed Bias, Extra Break and Matthew Bandy. Donn T combines a genuine free spirit – the kind who speaks of her musical concepts as ‘thoughts’ (the next of which she wouldn’t mind having Mark Ronson and Pharrell Williams help her complete) – with the know-how of a ‘seen it and beat it’ veteran.

Homeboy Sandman’s highly anticipated commercial debut The Good Sun hits stores this month. Last week, the champ lyricist took a break from his pad & pen in order to share some words with Okayplayer. The resulting interview was so dope, we had to break it into two parts. Make sure you catch Chapter 2 in a few weeks in order to hear an audio epilogue that Boy Sands recorded exclusively for this interview series.

Let me take you back to Amsterdam, December 2006. Ty is preparing to play the smaller room of the Melkweg, while Mobb Deep headline next door. It’s a situation our hero is intimately familiar with; preaching to a small bunch of the converted while the masses flock to see US heavyweights. Except The Infamous have neglected to catch their flight, so Ty is promoted to the main stage where he’s faced with the herculean task of placating a thousand very angry, very disappointed people.