A New York union is complete. NYC-bred Hopps Skateboards is gracing the face of two photo-printed decks with the work of Ricky Powell, a man celebrated as one of New York’s top street photographers (and alleged Beastie Boys towel-thrower). Of course Powell is no novice to the world of collaborations, as you may recall his awesome Rakim, Public Enemy and […]

Ha ha — do y’all remember when people used to lament the corporatization of hip-hop? Like, when it first started to go mainstream and everyone was up in arms because N.W.A. and Body Count were being banned from record stores (Google “Tower Records” kids), and Public Enemy had middle America experiencing Tea Party-like fainting spells […]

M.I.A. rarely disappoints with her videos, ranging from the future retro of “XXXO” to the ultra violence of “Born Free” to the sheer awesomemess of “Bad Girls”. Now the Sri Lankan-via-London pop star posts her latest visual expression for “Bring The Noize”, the first single from her upcoming 4th studio album Matangi, unfortunately without the guiding […]

One of the most important musical acts across genres to come out of the 1980s — and the second greatest hip-hop band of all time (Wu) — Public Enemy is finally getting its just deserved day in the sun. The oft slept-on group bombshell that is P.E. not only militarized the face of hip-hop, but […]

DJ Food, who we’ve interviewed in these pages before (e.g. DJ Food Interview: Recording “The Search Engine”, Rolling Cigarettes with Herbaliser & Designing the Coolest Label Logo Ever), has put together a special mixtape in honor of Free Comicbook Day. We love us some DJ Food, who also did an amazing Tribute to the Beastie […]

World-renowned music photographer Lawrence Watson has captured some of the most legendary hip-hop artists alive. And dead. So, it’s no surprise that streetwear pioneers XLarge chose his iconic snapshots of Run-DMC, Public Enemy, and LL Cool J for their special capsule collection. The capsule is part of the brand’s larger “Golden Age of Hip-Hop” collection, […]

Mash-ups are fun pretty much no matter what. This rap-punk mash-up is no exception. Mixing the messages of rap — and the parties — with the parties — and message — of Punk, Max Tannone releases his newest genre animorphing, Mic Check 1234. Tannone, formerly known as Minty Fresh Beats, really understands the mash-up. “I chop up […]

Before his fashion career took off, Takeshi Osumi (founder of PHENOMENON) was a successful and influential rapper in his native Japan. Given his knowledge and proficiency in both fields, it was only natural that Osumi teamed up with venerable street photographer (and Beastie Boys punchline) Ricky Powell, selecting three of his photos of hip hop […]