Words by John Morrison. Originally released on August 22, 1995 on the small independent start-up Up Above Records, Key Kool and Rhettmatic’s debut album Kozmonautz is a snapshot of Los Angeles’ historically rich and diverse underground Hip Hop scene. Two southern California kids, Kikuo Nishi (Key) and Nazereth Nirza (Rhettmatic) were among the first generation … Continue reading Key Kool & Rhettmatic’s ‘Kozmonautz’: An Oral History
Best known as a member of legendary hip-hop group Jurassic 5, Soup (who also goes by the name Zaakir) has returned with a new album recorded under the name Fullee Love. We recently spoke to him about Free, White & 21, positivity in music, and the obligatory question around the current status of J5. [This interview has been lightly edited … Continue reading Exclusive Interview: Fullee Love (Soup of Jurassic 5)
Long-time collaborators Damu The Fudgemunk and Raw Poetic talk to us about their new album, The Reflecting Sea: Welcome to a New Philosophy, which includes the Master Plan single we premiered last week. They also discuss Redefinition Records, Panacea and more. Read on, stream the new album in full below, and watch the video for the single … Continue reading Interview: Damu The Fudgemunk & Raw Poetic + Album Stream
Stones Throw Records followers and liner note junkies will probably recognize the name Dave Cooley from albums like Donuts, Madvillainy, Champion Sound, The Further Adventures of Lord Quas, and Ruff Draft. Cooley is a world-renowned and well sought after mixing and mastering engineer, audio restoration specialist, and producer at Los Angeles-based mastering studio, Elysian Masters. … Continue reading Interview: Dave Cooley
Fresh off the release of his excellent new album, Small World, we talk to Def3 about the Canadian rap scene, the benefits and downsides of guest features, and working with one of the greatest emcees of all time, Masta Ace. An artist should be judged by their work, not where they are from. But inevitably, … Continue reading Interview – Def3
Career Crooks is made up of emcee/beatmaker/writer Zilla Rocca, and producer Small Professor. They’ve been making music for years (check their respective Bandcamp pages here and here), but are now reaching a wider audience on the strength of their excellent new album, Good Luck With That, and the warm-up EP, Take What’s Coming. Grown Up … Continue reading Premiere: Career Crooks – 'Steve Martin' (video) + Interview
Just when we thought the hype around Run the Jewels 2 couldn’t get any hyper, a special press conference in New York City last night took the situation into overdrive. El-P and Killer Mike were joined on stage by none other than Nas, who seems to be taking his role as Mass Appeal boss seriously. … Continue reading Nas previews new J Dilla track at Run the Jewels press event
That old line about how movie sequels rarely live up to the original has always applied to music too. The so-called sophomore jinx has ruined the career of many an artist, never quite hitting the same heights as a classic debut. With Run the Jewels 2, El-P and Killer Mike have gone and pulled a … Continue reading Album Review: Why RTJ2 is the Godfather Part II of hip-hop
