EPMD|We Mean Business

No group has ever meant business like EPMD. Parrish Smith and Erick Sermon are the epitome of business. Erick and Parrish have been makin’ dollars for over 20 years now. They released their first album in ‘88 (Strictly Business) and have been East Coast legends since. As a group they have faced a fair share of turmoil. They separated in ‘93 and re-united four years later. Read more

Ludacris|Theater Of The Mind

How do you label Ludacris? Is he a southern rapper? Is he a Hip-Hop mogul? Is he a rapper-turned actor? To me Luda is all of these, and none of these. When you think southern rap, you think of guys like Shawty LO, Soulja Boy, & Gucci Mane. I hope everyone can agree that Ludacris is on another level compared to those dudes. When I think of the word mogul, I imagine Russell Simmons, Jay-Z, & Suge Knight. These are people Read more

88-Keys|The Death Of Adam

The biggest thing that distinguishes rapper/sanger/producer 88-Keys is his willingness to experiment with different genres of music. To tell the truth, at first I thought this would be a very strange review to do on nappyafro given 88-Keys’ lack of a friendly label (Hip-Hop, Rap, soul, R&B…). But 88 has produced for Mos Def, Consequence, Talib Kweli and The Pharcyde. He also has features from Kanye, Kid Cudi, Phonte, and Redman. Read more

Ill Bill|The Hour of Reprisal

I was reading comments people posted, and it seemed like a large number of people actually were interested in an review of this album. I am a huge fan of Ill Bill and Non Phixion Records in general, so I thought why not?I can’t front and pretend I know all about Ill Bill so this summary will be fairly short. Started off rhyming with his brother, Necro, someone you should definitely check out if you haven’t already. Read more

Heltah Skeltah|D.I.R.T.

Yeah, I know the album cover is just fucking ridiculous. But name one Hip-Hop head who hasn’t been waiting for this album to drop. Forscore and 12 years ago, Heltah Skeltah released an equally goofy album cover, both rappers hanging from the sky… in Twista Kamikaze fashion. As goofy as that album cover was, the music inside was gritty as hell…if you haven’t yet heard Nocturnal, it should definitely be on your to-do list of Golden Age Hip-Hop. Read more

Large Professor|Main Source

I remember when I was 8 years old walking home from school, and I’d hear Large Professor’s voice booming over a car stereo as I walked by. To this day, I won’t forget that Main Source brought me into Hip-Hop, real Hip-Hop nonetheless. I grew up in Toronto, Canada and probably because of the lack of homegrown cats we had, everyone Read more

Public Enemy|It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back [1988]

Before Lupe Fiasco & Kanye West, before The Coup & Immortal Technique, and even before Common & Nas, Public Enemy was the first group to mix political/socially conscious lyrics with instrumentals full of samples and heavy bass. To have an Ice Cube, or a Paris, first you need a Chuck D, to have Just Blaze or Timbaland you need The Bomb Squad, and lastly Public Enemy would never be the group it is today without Flavor Flav, useless or not, he partly creates the unique sound that made PE relevant today. Read more