Tony Montana wasn't the only iconic "Scarface" who enthralled a generation of MCs. Despite his overlooked status as a gangsta rap...

The Gheto Boys originated at Harvey's Barbershop in 5th Ward when a man with a hole in his throat introduced Willie D then an ex-boxer...

Miami's synthetic beats originated with the homemade drumbox soul of Timmy Thomas in the late '60s. "Why Can't We Live Together" was both...

America likes its artists the way it likes its superheroes: violent, tortured, and ripe for cinematic adaptation. It craves figures that...

The West continued to rise way out in California with N.W.A., Ice-T, $hort, MC Hammer, and others starting to steal New York's thunder in...

Hip Hop had been no stranger to street moguls before Suge Knight founded Death Row in 1991. Luther Campbell of The 2 Live Crew and Luke...

Gangsta rap had no superstars before Snoop Doggy Dogg. At least not in the sense of someone whose popularity extended to a non-Hip-Hop...

Like Malcolm X staring out the window, Ice Cube was aiming fiery words at everyone in his way. No ifs, ands, or buts Ice Cube was an...

Never underestimate the power of the force. After all, Star Wars and The Chronic invented the blockbuster in their respective mediums....

When Eric "Eazy-E" Wright, a drug dealer-turned-aspiring music mogul, had begun scouting talent at Eve's After Dark, a nightclub in South...

He's a godfather, a freedom fighter, a hustler turned hardcore Hip Hop writer. He's MC Ice-T, the man who showed us all how to change and...

Sister Souljah, activist, emcee, and author, is a Hip Hop icon and archetype. The publication of No Disrespect in 1995 marked a shift in...

When the bling era was beginning, and female MCs who lacked sex appeal were relegated to the sidelines. For rap to be a serious...

How does a female MC operate in the 21st century? With social networking, severely reduced sales and Hip Hop culture's midlife crisis,...

By '94 white rappers were no longer getting deals. The East Coast belonged to Wu-Tang, Nas and the Notorious B.I.G. Death Row ran the...

Frederick Jay Rubin wasn't some rock-snob who'd thumb his nose at any sound not making the rounds at contempo hotspots like Peppermint...

3rd Bass, the only other white MC's of Hip Hop to achieve props from both Hip Hop heads and critics, replaced the Beastie Boys at Def...

For many years now, the media, it seems, has imposed a narrow, black-or-white, racial categorization system on Hip Hop artists, denying...

Though many consider Big Pun the most pivotal figure in the history of Latino MC's, his accomplishments and those of the rappers and...

You can never tell if Reggie Noble, aka Redman, is crazy or just playing a role. Oozing personality and quirk, the Newark, New Jersey, MC...