When North meets South, the best of both cultures rise to the surface. At least, that's the result local MC Prof got when he teamed up with a Southern production team to create his first album, "Project...

Some people are just totally in love with love. Apparently, R&B pop diva Alicia Keys is one of those people. On her fourth album, "As I Am," Keys is about as gaga over love as a 13-year-old girl is...

It has been three years since Eyedea and Abilities released their underground classic, "E&A." Eyedea, who gained recognition for his skills as a battle MC - most notably for winning Blaze Battle in...

As the traditional holiday song goes, "This Christmas will be a very special Christmas for me." Apparently "special" has a lot of meanings in the new light-hearted drama, "This Christmas," where a large,...

As one of the most well-respected indie producers in hip-hop, Peanut Butter Wolf has quite an impressive roster of rappers and beat-makers to hit up when he wants something done. As a result, he didn't...

What we're gonna do right here is take it back. Way back. We're taking it all the way back to 1957, a pivotal year for the United States. Artsy Canadian rapper Buck 65 builds a time machine on his new...

Two men, parallel lives, different outcomes. Sort of. "American Gangster" Directed By: Ridley Scott Starring: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe Rated: R Showing at: Area Theaters Director Ridley Scott...

The fruits of southern hip-hop sounds spoiled long ago, when crunk first hit the radio waves and slowly rotted into the generic, sure-hit version of hip-hop duplicated over and over again today. Little...

How do you remember loved ones who have died? Do you set aside a day to remember them? A time to visit their graves? Do you sift through old photographs or make their favorite dishes? Leave their favorite...

How did a smooth, sultry crooner like Keyshia Cole beat out the (now proven) king of hip-hop Kanye West on the Billboard Charts last week? After spending three weeks on the charts with her second album,...

Anyone who has met Zach "New MC" from local hip-hop staple Kanser knows he likes to tell stories. He tells them through his lyrics, in between songs and in the crowd after his set. Those who know Zach's...

The story of how it all started starts much like the story itself. It was a hot, humid, heavy day in July. The area around the Black Dog Café in St. Paul's Lowertown district teemed with sweaty,...

Since Mac Lethal's new album is the Kansas City, Mo., native's first under the Rhymesayers stamp, I figured it would be heavy on the socio-political commentary and conspiracy theories, a reoccurring theme...

To be politically correct, the Homorevolution Tour involves a group of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender hip-hop artists who travel the country spreading their message of equality and reality. "Homorevolution...

When Tony met Rosabella in a San Francisco café, it wasn't exactly love at first sight. At least not for Rosabella, who didn't even notice Tony, a stout, heavy-set Italian immigrant. "The Most...

Quick, name the members of the Black Eyed Peas. Fergie Ö um Ö Fergie. Who are those men backing Fergie up, anyway? Frontman and producer, will.i.am, who created such wonderful cultural gems as "My Humps"...

Percee P may go down on the record as being the MC who waited the longest between gaining attention on the national scene and putting out his debut album. Percee has been rapping since 1979, the same year...

Ahoy, homeboys and b-girls, and welcome aboard the S.S. Hip-Hop. For all those rap scene aficionados who are through with spending every Friday at a house party or in a downtown Minneapolis venue, every...

Six months ago, when Ice Rod returned to the hip-hop stage, he said he was going to make an album. Now, with that newly pressed first full-length in hand, Ice Rod is hitting the road to give west-coasters...

.M.anifest, a rapper and Twin Cities transplant from Ghana, released his first album Sept. 11. "Manifestations" might prove to be one of the best local hip-hop releases of 2007, with a strong vocal presence,...

How many inflated, hip-hop egos can you fit into one release date? Apparently more than one, but less than two of the biggest heads in hip-hop. Things got cozy Sept. 11 when 50 Cent (a.k.a. "Fiddy") and...

When DJ Verb X started up Vinyl Lounge, a dance night featuring local DJs and hip-hop music, he thought it was a sure success. After all, the 30-something pointed out, the biweekly event had a lot in common...

Seven years passed between the time bicoastal production powerhouse Sa-Ra formed and the release of its first full-length album. What took so long? Maybe it was the countless hours the trio spent crate...

I would like to extend an invitation to St. Paul Pioneer Press columnist Joe Soucheray to join me at the Dinkytowner Café any given Saturday night for The Hook-up hip-hop night. After reading Soucheray's...

When Bianca Casady showed up on the Parisian doorstep of her older sister Sierra in 2003, her plan was to visit the sister she hadn't seen in nearly a decade, and then continue to travel the world. Instead,...

After 15 minutes of "In the Land of Women," a couple of things are blatantly apparent: First, leading man Carter (Adam Brody, "The OC") lives his life surrounded only by women. Second, "In the Land of...

The return of Nas was long awaited by classic hip-hop fans, especially those growing tired of radio rap. It was refreshing and even comforting when he boldly announced in the title of his return album...

When politically-minded rapper Talib Kweli and laid-back producer Madlib team up for their first project as a duo, the better parts of both their talents come together like a beautiful landscape to a skilled...

In the infamous words of Jay-Z, the sophomore album by Minneapolis' own Brother Ali is "so motherfuckin' soulful." From the first note to the last, "The Undisputed Truth" proves two things: Brother Ali...

Finally, someone's making beats dedicated to all the skinny, pimply, white nerds out there. White (as in skin color) boys have long had a place up on hip-hop stages, but hip-hop has never really rolled...

You might recognize the lead singer of Carbon Carousel, but like that long-lost childhood friend you bump into at the show, you won't be able to place him. Maybe it's because Michael Larsen used to run...

J Dilla is your favorite producer's favorite producer. The re-release of his well-known but minimally distributed "Ruff Draft" shows why artists like Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and Just Blaze all point...

When R&B artist Musiq Soulchild dropped the "Soulchild" from his name with the release of his sophomore album, "JUSLISEN," he said it was because he had not yet mastered the craft of music making and...

Inside a sparsely decorated Mexican restaurant on East Lake Street, brothers Brandon and Zach Bagaason of local hip-hop group Big Quarters chow down on authentic burritos with slowly cooked meats and homemade...

Imagine the puzzled look on the faces of record store workers around the country when they received the ambiguous fifth album from underground weirdo-rapper Busdriver. The album, "RoadKillOvercoat," shifts...

Unlike a lot of hip-hop breakup stories, this one does not involve a beef or a feud or drama. Times change, people grow and artists, like Joe Collins and Allen Chocolate of The NU, go their separate ways. The...

When Jon Goodman stumbled upon an online how-to-custom-paint-your-shoes site as a high school sophomore, he saw it as an opportunity to make his own sneakers stand out from the crowd. Less than five years...

Wu-Tang Clan has, over the past two decades, carved out their niche in the hip-hop market. The martial-arts-inspired collaborative used the Eastern idea of balance to create their unique sound and wooed...

It was a fateful night at the Fine Line Music Café in November 2004 when eccentric, rat-tailed rapper Ice Rod stepped off the stage, unsure of when, or if, he would return. That night, as the story...

Despite what their name may sound like, Mel Gibson and the Pants is rarely as comical or light-hearted (or anti-Semitic) as their title may imply. On their third album, the Twin Cities group delves further...

Allison Quinnell, a clothing design senior, has waited for more than a decade to see her ideas become a reality. When her clothing line debuts during the fashion show for design seniors Saturday, it will...

."Afro Samurai," a new animé miniseries featuring the voice of Samuel L. Jackson, plays muse for RZA's new album. "Afro Samurai" follows Afro Samurai, Jackson's character, in his quest to regain...

DJ Craze is used to warm weather. For the long-time Miami resident who was born in Nicaragua, the news of Minnesota's recent cold weather was a chilling surprise. "I like the sun, but I like seeing the...

."Stomp the Yard" opens in a crowded, dark, strange club focused on two opposing teams in the center of the chaos. They are preparing for battle, but no, there's no need for armor. It might look like punches...

It was easy to miss the release of Mos Def's fourth album, "True Magic," because it dropped in stores during the abyss of New Year's weekend. But the bigger reason might have to do with the album cover...

Baillie Parker, one of the eight co-owners of Anticon Records, chatted with A&E about business, history and Minnesota. Anticon, with artists such as Martin Dosh, Doseone and Sole, is considered by...

Local rap group Abzorbr, which blends live instruments with laptop noise and spoken word with singing and rapping, is on the frontier of hip-hop sounds. The title of the group's first full-length album,...

>The Game lends an unpolished edge to the album that so-called gangster rap has been missing in recent years. His lyrics are true and raw, the beats are dark and hard and the album gets down and dirty...

The larger woman stands alone on the stage; everyone else has left her. She belts out the last furious and sorrowful lines in her thick, deep voice. She is utterly and unjustly alone; her friends have...

In the Main Room of First Avenue on Thursday nights, the dance floor slowly fills with close-moving couples doing striking, emotional and intricate steps to a spicy salsa beat. From the windows in the...