Max Bell wrote his own eulogy with cocaine hands. While the attacks of 9/11 aren’t mentioned explicitly, El-P’s Fantastic Damage might be the only N.Y. hip-hop album from 2002 that sonically captures the horror of the terror alert era.  Though there’s really not much competition. Cam’ron’s Come Home With Me dropped the same day (May […]

Slava P wrote this while wearing Coolwater Cologne. You’re sitting in the passenger seat of a car. It’s a hot, muggy Los Angeles afternoon and you’re with your friend in his low-riding convertible, cruising down the boulevard as the wind gently pushes upon your jehri curl. The soundtrack for your excursion consists of melodic synthesizers, […]

Abe Beame wants you to consider to “The Infamous Prelude” before reading this. It’s incredible that this was my first time going through Kool Keith’s 96 classic, Dr. Octagonecologyst. It arrived smack in the middle of my burgeoning love of underground hip hop. Sure, there was Biggie, Jay-Z, Nas, P.E., all the obvious cultural touchstones […]