The finest in ripped and creased rap mag memories.
Eric B. is not one of the most talkative characters I’ve encountered in my days as a bloke who rings up rap music legends. Considering that I was unable to verify anything he told me, the whole thing was an exercise in frustration and bewilderment. Our conversation in 2009 included a declaration that Queens invented…
Everyone who put their own album on their list needs to take a long, hard look at themselves, with the exception of Greg Nice who took it to another level. If I’d been asked to list my own Five Favourite Albums of 1991 in January of 1992, based on what I listened to the most…
Since this was published in 2004, at least half of these have been re-issued in 2LP format – but with mixed results. Sometimes the labels will just dump the CD master onto two platters, rather than mastering it properly, if the comment section of train-spotting, audiophile sickos on Discogs is to be believed. The real…
The highlight of getting my book out this year has been getting back in contact with The Rap Bandit, who was pleased as punch to get a mention in the Bonus Beats section at the end. As a result, I’m happy to be able to share this section from the long-lost, fabled Rap Bandit book…
Not sure if this was just a trial run or the actual inspiration for the book, but seeing as though Elliott Wilson was the Music Editor and Chairman Mao was a contributor when The Source‘s 100th issue was published in January 1998, it’s interesting to see how some of these made it to the retail…
Tarrie B was signed to Eazy-E’s Comptown Records imprint, where she was marketed as the Madonna of Rap and recorded ‘Ruthless Bitch’, where she calls out Dr. Dre for punching her in the face at the Grammys (?!). After the standard stuff about his old Wrecking Cru outfits, Tarrie delivered the hardest diss Andre ever…
Hip Hop Connection magazine, August ’90, proving once again why it was Rap’s Greatest Magazine via the Hall of Fame column with reader’s pics of them mugging with rappers.
This gave me a good chuckle when this copy of Hip Hop Connection magazine arrived in the mailbox, with Kanye West paying respects to Pete Rock while getting shat on in the paragraph beside the sidebar. Truly the salad days. Click for the full size scan
Steve Powers and Max Glazer kicked it with Havoc, Prodigy, Big Noyd, Godfather Part III and a dude named Money No. Important topics covered include shouting out Bob from Queensbridge, the Mobb Bunnies and whether or not you should tip your bar tender.
Here’s an interesting snapshot of how some rap fanatics reacted to the first Nas album (myself included) – it delivered nine amazing rap songs, featuring state-of-the-art rhymes over the some of the finest producers to ever do it. And yet…it just didn’t deliver the knock-out blow that Criminal Minded, It Takes A Nation Of Millions…
One of the staples in the increasingly competitive world of music magazines was sticking some extra crap on the cover – be it a CD, mixtape or a min-mag supplement. In 1999, Jeremy Miller assembled ’32 of Hip-Hop’s Best Verses’ as a pocket-sized pal, perfect for train rides, BBQ’s and…rap karaoke? While you might be…
You know you’ve made it when you can afford to pay the best rappers of the era to make songs advertising your shit. There was that Biggie verse which later turned up as a song with Black Rob with the store name references muted (‘Jeans and Sneakers’), and of course this pristine snippet of prime-time…