Business as usual for AZ, with Statik Selectah on the track. Taken from Doe Or Die 2.

Having come-up as T La Rock‘s Human Beat-Box and graduated to be half of Nice & Smooth, one of hip-hop’s greatest duos, the mighty Greg N-I-C-E has also put together some great music on the solo tip, as both a producer and an MC. Here are ten of his finest efforts:
(more…)

Tragedy has teamed up with Tragic Allies (Purpose, Estee Nack and Code Nine) to form 7 G.E.M.S. The Golden Era Music Sciences album is out now through Ill Adrenaline Records with vinyl due next month.

Here’s the video for the new Grand Daddy I.U. song with Sadat X. Rap veterans stand up.

Posting this just because Havoc used a loop instead of those keyboard beats he was stuck on for a while, not to mention it fills the Hoody Rap quota for the month with the Raekwon and Styles P spots. Hav’s new solo LP, 13, is out tomorrow on Nature Sounds.

Chairman Mao recently spoke with Rakim for almost two hours at the Red Bull Music Academy in New York. Here’s video of the whole thing…

Grand Daddy I.U. is back with a new track featuring Sadat X, taken from his new album, P.I.M.P. (Paper is My Priority), due late June.

A trio of Hoody Rap veterans – Hannibal Stax, Big Noyd and Panchi of NYGz – join forces for this track from DJ Skizz‘s forthcoming B.Q.E. (Brooklyn-Queens Experience) project.

Holy fuck. R.A. just took Fast Rap to the next level.

Trying to interview R.A. The Rugged Man without treading over the well-worn ground of his expulsion from Jive Records and working with Biggie Smalls was challenge I was more than willing to meet. Having experienced the major label glory days, the independent vinyl boom and having managed to not only survive but actually thrive in the YouTube era, R.A. is a perfect example of how to adapt to the ever-changing landscape that is the Rap Game. As usual, Rugged Man was able to combine hilarious stories with serious rap trivia obsessiveness and actual facts, which is a good combination, as Pos K once told us. His new album, Legends Never Die, is out now through Nature Sounds.

Robbie: What made you start rapping?

R.A. Rugged The Man: I met my boy Bub, who was a neighborhood beat boxer – Human Beatbox Bub. He was like fifteen, sixteen and I was like eleven. He was in a shopping center and I seen this kid blowing-up a shopping center window with an M-80. He was like, “C’mere kid, watch this!”. He blew off the window and we were friends ever since. He’d say, “Yo, check out this tape! It’s Whodini ‘Escape’, it’s the best album ever!” Then there’d be firehouse dances and he’d start beatboxing and those bitches would be on his dick, and I’d be like, “Yo, I can rap and you beatbox!” I was terrible, but by the time I was thirteen, I got really good and started battling a lotta kids in the neighborhood.
(more…)

This is good news, it sounds like NORE’s What What is actually going to drop.

Flushing and Japan connect for this new Live Guy With Glasses joint.

Following on from Part 1, Pudgee explains his involvement with Main Source‘s “Live At The BBQ”, his shelved second solo LP, the importance of The Bronx and dealing with the deaths of Tupac, Biggie and Left Eye.

Robbie: On the intro to your album, the Trackmasterz seemed to include a larger crew than just Poke and Tone. What happened there?

Pudgee The Phat Bastard: In all these years, no one’s ever asked that question. That’s dope. Alex Richberg kinda handles all of the business. It was Alex, Poke and Tone, and Frank Nitty. Musically, they were connected, but as people? There was always a separation. Alex Richberg was more of a family man, he had his wife and kids, he wasn’t really a hang out in the club kinda person. Frankie was really into making his tracks and being in the lab and not running around doing too much of anything else. Poke and Tone were more of the playboy/front men. I don’t think they ended up hating each other. Oddly enough, Frank Nitty, who did my album, his cousin is now my mailman! Tone was responsible for finding Foxy Brown, she lived right next to him, she was like a little sister to all of us. She was in the studio sessions for the Give ‘Em The Finger album as a 12 year-old girl.

Did they introduce you to Kool G Rap?

No. At a party for Salt ‘N Pepa that they had downtown at this billiard room, Tragedy was there and his DJ. I became real close with Tragedy and his DJ.
(more…)

Marco Polo combines minds with Tragedy for this remix of Adrian Younge and The Delfonics “Stand Up”, with Fizzy Wo on the hook. Newport Authority 2 drops soon.

Debut of The Combat Jack Show on Complex TV, where Dallas Penn, Combat Jack, Premium Pete and Just Blaze deliver that same type of in-depth interview technique with rap legends as they do on the podcast, only with less booze and better lighting. To set things off, Black Thought from The Roots talks about the time they had that issue with Nas following their involvement with Spike Lee‘s Bamboozled. Chea!