There’s a couple of things we know about California native Ty Dolla $ign from his DJ Mustard produced smash “Paranoid” feat. B.o.B. You know that…

The music listening public first got a taste of the collaborative chemistry between De La Soul and the late James “J-Dilla” Yancey in 1996 for…

Every hero needs theme music and Michael Jai White’s karate-chopping brainchild  “Black Dynamite” is no exception. In “A Tribute To Black Dynamite” producer and Music…

In 1993 Fredro Starr’s group Onyx pissed off reverends,  barbershop owners and bootleggers with their NRA friendly debut album “Bacdafucup.” More than twenty years later…

There are few hip-hop culture commentators more compelling than Young Guru.  The engineer, DJ and now college instructor brings passion, experience and a colorful perspective…

Black Music Is...

This morning, the three DJs who changed the face of the southern mixtape game more than ten years ago, hosted a press conference revealing the lineup…

The term “living legend” gets thrown around a lot in Hip-Hop, but only a handful of people can actually fit those kicks.  One of those…

Kanye West may be spending time praising Mannie Fresh but Wutang Clan’s The RZA has some kind words for Yeezy. During one of those extensive Red Bull Music Academy lectures The RZA discussed his work with Kanye West on My Dark Twisted Fantasy and what he observed about his work ethic. “I spent two weeks […]

Multi-platinum producer Bernard “Focus…” Edwards, Jr. spent seven years working with Dr. Dre as an in-house producer for Aftermath Entertainment. The son of late CHIC bassist Bernard Edwards, Focus… has made ear candy for Busta Rhymes (“Respect My Conglomerate“) The Game (“Where I’m From” ) and Marsha Ambrosius (Yours Truly mixtape), just to name a […]

Shondrae “Mr. Bangladesh” Crawford has been putting in work as a producer for well over a decade. After helping put Ludacris and Shawnna on the map with “What’s Your Fantasy” the Grammy Award-winning producer has been lacing Lil Wayne (“A Milli”, “Six Ft 7”), Rihanna (“Cockiness”) , and Nicki Minaj with chart topping hits and […]

Several weeks ago I had the privilege of interviewing Jay-Z’s engineer and DJ, Young Guru, as part of iStandard’s “Beast Of The Beats” producer showcase. On this particular night Hov and Yeezy were making their Jersey stop of the Watch The Throne tour, so I asked Guru what it was like being a fly on […]

Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino, is releasing his fourth (!) album, Camp, on Glassnote Records today. The rapper/actor/comedian, who many know for his role as Troy on NBC’s  “Community,” has been rapping for almost as long as he’s been in front of the camera, and it shows. On the reflective “Hold You Down” he spits, […]