Category: Features
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Marsha Ambrosius: From Grind To Glory
On a Wednesday night in Philly, Marsha Ambrosius is clunking around her living room with one high heel pump on and the other in her hand. Dressed in a loose-fitting striped blouse, leather shorts and lace leggings, Ambrosius is statuesque, preparing to hop in the blacked-out SUV waiting in front and be whisked away on…
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Mac Miller: Pittsburgh Emcee Kicking Incredibly Dope Sh**
Emerging Pittsburgh Hip Hop artist and the newest signee to the house that homes Wiz Khalifa (Rostrum Records), 19-year old Mac Miller has been on a steady rise over the last few years; from doling out mixtapes whilst in high school – the first of which was released at the early age of 15 back…
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Star Slinger: One of UK Hip Hop’s best kept secrets?
Any fans of UK dance music might recognise this burgeoning producer and beatsmith by his Government name – Darren Williams – because Mr. Williams, although now known amongst the cool kids as Star Slinger, had released two dance 12” vinyl records as at 2007 to relative success. Thankfully, dance music became quite limited and constraining…
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Aaliyah – Aaliyah (2001)
In 2001, a month before her untimely and tragic death, Aaliyah blessed us with her self-titled third studio album. Arguably her best album, Aaliyah was a perfect marriage of the R&B princess’ ever-understated vocals and her musical relationship with Timbaland and Missy Elliott, producing classics songs with great crossover appeal. Timbaland in particular steered the…
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SWV ‘It’s About Time’ exec. producer Brian Alexander Morgan reflects on the classic LP
It’s About Time was released on October 27, 1992 to a voluminous R&B fan base and it was fully embraced upon its release. At a time where female groups were in relative obscurity, SWV arrived on the scene around the same as their other competition, mainly TLC, Jade and En Vogue. Their debut album was…
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Legend Teena Marie dies at 54; Rest In Peace Lady T
Mary Christine Brockert known to the world as Teena Marie passed away earlier today at the age of 54. News of her passing has been confirmed by major news outlets in the United States such as the Huffington Post, CNN and the first to report her death was RadioFacts.com. Brockert’s long time manager Mike Gardner…
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10 Classic Songs of Christmas Past: A Seasonal Soundtrack
At this wondrous time of the year, many of us worldwide become nostalgic about our youth when we looked forward to everything Santa would deliver underneath our respective Christmas trees. If you were like me, I’d leave cookies out on my living room table next to the wood stove and getting up every couple of…
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Mary J. Blige – What’s the 411?
What’s the 411? was released on July 28, 1992 during a time where New Jack Swing production was dominating the urban radio airwaves. It was hailed as a success by many of the culture writers of the early 1990s for its pioneering combination of Hip Hop and soul music alongside the soulful vocals of Mary…
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Babyface – Tender Lover | Return To The Classics
Tender Lover was released on July 30, 1989 and it was the second studio album released by Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds. Some would argue this was his debut project due to the fact his first studio album, Lovers, was released in 1986 while he was only taking a break from his group, The Deele. Nonetheless, a…
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Rest In Peace Ol’ Dirty Bastard (Nov 15, 1968 – Nov 13, 2004)
“Its sad that I had to think about it after he perished, Dirty was the life of all of us” – Raekwon (taken from his The Next 48 Hours: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt II series) Today marks the sixth anniversary of the death of one of Hip Hop’s greatest personalities, Ol’ Dirty Bastard.…