Common "Resurrection" (HHC, October 1994)

"Not heard much of Common Sense? Apart from having the same name as a brand of breakfast cereal that is supposed to do you good, this Chicago rapper gets on where Ahmad left things in his exaltations of true values. This isn't a hip-hop working of that old Tory back-to-basics bollocks, but a call from the shadows to let the blunts and beer bandwagon career by, and choose an older vehicle. The opening title of this, Common's second album, will introduce the first-timer to a real talent. Vocally, Common Sense treads common ground with the likes of CL Smooth and Souls of Mischief's Tajai; a freestyle flavor cantering along easily punctuated by the odd burst of pace. The single, " I Used to Love H.E.R.," highlights the individual nature of Common's lyrics. The rap takes a woman as an analogy for hip-hop, a woman that Common looked-up to when he was a kid, but now sees adulterated by pastimes...."She's just not the same with all these goofs doing her..." Cont'd...

"Throughout the lyrical subjects waver from the norm. Could you ever imagine a straight-up hip-hop track called 'Communism'? Common's done it and it works, while the beats of deejays No ID and YNOT keep everything in check, tight and phat, as if making sure Common doesn't stray too far off the hip-hop highway. There really is so much on this album that even an English lecturer would applaud - the plethora of metaphors, similes and allegories employed in particular. It just goes to show a little bit of Common Sense can go a long way." - Hip-Hop Connection, October 1994.

Add-2 "Prey For The Poor" (Album Stream)

Good news folks, Add-2‘s Prey For The Poor has officially arrived! And although it might not get as much press as some of today’s other releases, the Chicago emcee’s JAMLA debut deserves your attention. It’s crazy to think, but I’ve been supporting Add for damn near ten years now. We first connected during my days at HipHopDX, after he dropped his debut mixtape, Tale Of Two’s City, in 2005. From there, I ended up handling the artwork for Vol. 2: The Return Of the Menace in 2007, the DopeHouse (and Okayplayer) helped present Vol. 3 & Vol. 4 in the following years, and we’ve been backing every release – One Missed Call, Save.Our.Souls, More Missed Calls, and Between Heaven & Hell with Khrysis – ever since. Today is about Prey For The Poor though, and as expected, the Windy City spitter doesn’t disappoint. At 14 tracks – lead by the 9th Wonder-produced “Set It Off” and “Stop Play Rewind” with Rapsody – the LP also features Raheem DeVaughn, Sam Trump, Heather Victoria, and Jamla Woods – over amazing production from 9th Wonder, Khrysis, Nottz, Amp, Kash, and FC the Truth. - via 2DBZ. Listen to Add-2's Prey For The Poor below... (and HBD to me!)

A Tribe Called Quest "Excursions" (Live)

"Back in the days when I was a teenager

Before I had status and before I had a pager

You could find the Abstract listening to hip hop

My pops used to say, it reminded him of be-bop

I said, well daddy don't you know that things go in cycles..."

Performed and later discussed briefly by Q-Tip on the A Tribe Called Quest documentary, Beats, Rhymes and Life, "Excursions" is arguably one of the greatest opening tracks to an album. In this case, "The Low End Theory," which is also undeniably one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all-time. Seeing it live adds a layer of build-up and excitement to the record that is incredible to see, and I've had the pleasure of seeing Q-Tip solo and with A Tribe Called Quest on multiple occasions over the years. From smaller stages to performing on an island, the energy is always insanity, especially if they add Busta Rhymes to the mix for Scenario. On top of "Scenario" and "Excursions," I think Tip takes it up a notch on "Award Tour," as well. To the Queens kid inside me, it's pure nostalgia. 

Westside Gunn & Conway "Griselda Ghost" (Free Download)

"Cats always talmbout they tryna bring the 90s back…n then literally try n make 90s soundin type shit. The Westside Gunn x Conway approach always been more bout bringin the ESSENCE of 90s/classic hip hop back. This EP aint no different from that namsayin. All production was handled by Big Ghost Ltd so you already kno the shit gon be endless fire emojis. This is pure grimy NY hip hop in its purest form. Fxck all the stupid shit. Put down the room temperature soy milk rap n get blessed by the flyness." Stream the EP below, much props to Big Ghost. You can download it HERE.

Mixography "Death Row vs. Bad Boy" (Mix)

The Collectives' Raydar Ellis put this nice mix together, featuring cuts from the East vs West Coast camps, Bad Boy Entertainment and Death Row Records. The 26-track mix runs through joints from Craig Mack, P Diddy, Blackstreet, Biggie, Mase, Les McCann, Mase, 112, Snoop, 2Pac, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, N.W.A., and even more ... it even touches Mtume, so you know what to do ... stream it below. 

The Halftime Show "Stretch & Bobbito" (9/23/15)

To kick off their promotional campaign for their upcoming movie "Stretch & Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives", the duo came by The Halftime Show to talk about the documentary and everything KCR related. As soon as the two of them were in the place together and we turned on the mics it was 1994 all over again. Jokes were flying, phone calls were taken and info was shared about the history of their come up. Even after Bobbito left, Stretch stayed and we had another discussion about his career as a DJ and the decline of his interest in the music that was being made in the late 90s, early 2000s. I also played all 90s Hip Hop on vinyl and incorporated another WKCR alum, DJ Homicide aka Hungry Jack to help out with the instrumentals. The documentary is amazing and for information on it's release as well as anything Stretch & Bob related you can go to HERE. - Eclipse.

Apollo Brown "Grandeur" (Album Stream)

In recent years, Apollo Brown has become an institution of Detroit hiphop. Through skillful collaborations and refining his own recognizable style, Brown has moved to the forefront of the underground scene. For his newest album, "Grandeur," Apollo Brown has assembled an all-star cast of MCs like Evidence, Rasheed Chappell, Chino XL, Finale, Ras Kass, M.O.P., Vinnie Paz, O.C., Eternia, Westside Gunn, Masta Ace, Sean Price, Reks & more to join the stage with him as he displays his signature brand of hard hitting production. My favorite tracks are M.O.P.'s "Detonate," Vinnie Paz's "Walk With Me," and I'm bias, but much love to my artist, Eternia, on the track, "Each Other." Dig in...

Kool G Rap "4, 5, 6" (Vibe Review, 9/95)

"Lately gangsta rap has been in the curious spot of being simultaneously declared played out, commercially unviable, and - no news here - threatening to the morals of the young. The murderously cool G-Rap of Kool G Rap's new album, 4,5,6 doesn't so much counter those complaints as ignore them. Over the course of 10 tales of lives on the line, street loyalty, desperate criminal ambition, unsentimental remorse, and vicious capitalist ethics, 4,5,6 approaches thug life the right way: as if it had never been written about before. For his first album without longstanding partner DJ Polo, Kool G Rap retreated to the rural wilds of Bearsville, NY and captured an ambience of deep urban dread. The tracks are determinedly New York old-school, with few concessions to contemporary fashion: an atonal piano sample here, a mournful keyboard line there, the odd sung chorus." Peep the Buckwild-produced smash with Nas, "Fast Life," the article continues below...

"The stark elements of '80s style eerily evoke that decade's reactionary politics - the greedy, ruthless, white-collar, white-boy governmental savagery that generated its black, underground mirror-image gangsta rap... What the corny politicians who denounce rap never get is how much they have in common with the entrepreneurial characters in these songs - "A team from outta Queens with the American dream," as "Fast Life" puts it. Unlike their free-enterprising counterparts in real life, though, the high rollers in Kool G Rap's world occasionally admit to moments of regret. As the chorus of "It's a Shame" puts it, "It's a damn shame what I gotta do just to make a dollar / Livin' in this game, sometimes it makes me wanna holler," echoing Marvin Gaye's plaint from the early '70s. As 4,5,6 grippingly demonstrates, not much as been done to ease the inner-city blues for the past quarter century. No amount of official hypocrisy can disguise that neglect. Or diminish the art - whether it's Marvin Gaye, Run DMC, or Kool G Rap - that rises up in response to it." - Vibe 9/95