In collaboration with adidas, Jay-Z ‘s culture site Life + Times premiers a new mixtape created by hip-hop beat veteran DJ Neil Armstrong. Mixing for eclectic hip-hop legends like The Roots, De La Soul, Kanye West and even formerly the Jigga himself, the Adidas Global Ambassador carries a deep knowledge of musical history and impeccable turntable skills. With a musicologist’s touch, Armstrong has [...]

The once great Slum Village return with The Dirty Slums mixtape, their first piece of original music since Village Manifesto in 2010. After losing the legendary Jay Dilla (aka Dilla, aka Jay Donuts, aka Jay Dee) to blood disease, and then later original member Baatin, the Detroit rap heroes return to the plate for another [...]

UPDATE: Dan Black’s album ((un)) drops today, available from iTunes or Amazon for $8. Moreover, today he also released his video for “Symphonies” with Kid Cudi, so we’re re-posting his Q&A from a couple weeks back along with the new video… After years of languishing around in London cover bands, Dan Black dumped the slackers [...]

Using kid’s television theme songs, games, nursery rhymes, playground chants and, yes, actual children’s choruses has been a staple in hip-hop for almost as long as the genre has existed. Whether it’s Method Man proclaiming he’s “rubber” and “whatever you say rubs off me sticks to you” on “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthin to F**k Wit”, [...]

Copyright Criminals is a full-length documentary investigating the breadth of the controversial culture of sampling — which is a complex issue to say the least. Sure, I want the Beastie Boys to be able to sample 1,387 records to create the sublime Paul’s Boutique (actually, better make that the Dust Bros), but I also think [...]