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The Abstract

Q-Tip

 Modern hip-hop and R&B music can both arguably be divided into pre- and post-A Tribe Called Quest, and the musical efforts of its lead MC and producer Kamaal Ibn John Fareed-better known to the world as Q-Tip. Consider the jazzy sampling, laid-back tempos and boho-chic vibe he introduced, then mull over the bohemian posturing and sounds of the neo-soul movement, plus any rap music that shies away from hardcore posturing. All roads lead back to ATCQ and the beats, rhymes and life of one man: Q-Tip. And now the time is ripe for The Renaissance, the Abstract MC's first solo album in nine years. Read more...

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Evidence: When Best Comes to Best
Posted on 12/01/2008
Evidence, the microphone proselytizer of Dilated Peoples (alongside Rakaa Iriscience), has dropped his own EP, The Layover, and it’s doper than rainbow sprinkled crack. The ten-track release, produced by Khrysis and a slew of fine gentlemen like Alchemist, Sid Roams (2 gentlemen to be exact), Babu, and the Cali bred emcee himself, broadcasts Evidence at his most astute. The EP represents a pad of cerebral rhymes and budding artists like...
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Ursula Rucker: Artist, Activist, Mother.
Posted on 11/23/2008
Artist. Activist. Mother. Though not necessarily in that order, Ursula Rucker embodies all of those titles with a level of class not seen among most rebels. But she’ll be the first to tell you that juggling all those monikers is a daily grind, yet a welcome yoke she hoists upon her shoulders in order to teach her kids left from right and sleep at night knowing she’s fulfilling her purpose...
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Spotlight On The D: Black Milk's Tronic
Posted on 11/17/2008
Detroit producer and MC Black Milk recently emerged as one of Hip-Hop’s bright young talents. In his short career, Milk has worked alongside Slum Village, Royce the 5’9, Elzhi and talented artists from various regions all while maintaining a core sound. Chopped loops, hard drums and steady rhymes were the typical order of the day with the prodigious producer. With his latest release, Tronic, Black Milk talks with Okayplayer’s D.L....
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Q-Tip: "No Time For Hibernation, Only Elation"
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...
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Illa J, The Yancey Boy
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...
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