As I spent the weekend revisiting Company Flow’s Funcrusher Plus — an album I once had on constant rotation — I began to wonder…what other records did I spin as an amateur DJ in 1997?
View More A Company Flow Fan’s DJ Bag in 1997
Category: Scenes Lists & Things
1996: The Year of the Sista
In an essay originally written for Maura magazine, the 1996 renaissance of female rappers resonates as a time of missed opportunity.
View More 1996: The Year of the SistaTen Posse Tracks by Female Rappers
Apani B – “Estragen” Bahamadia – “Three the Hard Way” Big Kap – “Da Ladies in the House” Brandy – “I Wanna Be Down (Remix)”…
View More Ten Posse Tracks by Female RappersTop 10 Songs About H.E.R. (Hip-hop in its Essence is Real)
Common, “I Used to Love H.E.R.” Teriyaki Boyz, “I Still Love H.E.R .” The Roots, “Act Too (Love of My Life)” Erykah Badu, “Love of My…
View More Top 10 Songs About H.E.R. (Hip-hop in its Essence is Real)Early Rap Full-Lengths (1980-1982)
Various – The Big Break Rapper Party (1980) Sugarhill Gang – Sugarhill Gang (1980) Kurtis Blow – Kurtis Blow (1980) Various – The Great Rap…
View More Early Rap Full-Lengths (1980-1982)Ten Great Rap Album Openers
Nas, “N.Y. State of Mind” (from Illmatic) Meek Mill, “Dreams and Nightmares” (from Dreams and Nightmares) Lil B, “B.O.R. (Birth of Rap)” (from 6 Kiss)…
View More Ten Great Rap Album OpenersTop 10 Wu-Tang Albums: Second Wave (1997-2000)
Ghostface Killah, Supreme Clientele Ol’ Dirty Bastard, N***a Please Wu-Tang Clan, The W The RZA as Bobby Digital, In Stereo Method Man & Redman, Blackout!…
View More Top 10 Wu-Tang Albums: Second Wave (1997-2000)
Anti-Crack Raps
This chapter from a 2014-2015 series on early rap music focuses on how artists responded to the crack plague of the mid-to-late 1980s. It’s an example of how the culture has always illustrated current events throughout its history.
View More Anti-Crack Raps
2020 Protest Raps: Music for the American Spring
The start of June brought a new groundswell of songs generated by widespread protest against police brutality and racist violence. It fulfills a tradition that dates back to the earliest days of recorded rap: when a crisis hits the black community, the musicians shift to address it.
View More 2020 Protest Raps: Music for the American Spring
Rap Songs for Home
As the coronavirus epidemic continues to roil the globe, home has taken on a new urgency. This playlist assembled around a word is fraught with meaning.
View More Rap Songs for Home