"WE MEAN BUSINESS" EMPD @ NOKIA THEATER IN NYC

Taken from The Smoking Section

EPMD’s goodwill tour finally touched down at a sold-out Nokia Theater in New York City. Much like the Super Bowl-winning Giants, the legendary duo of Parrish Smith and Erick Sermon received a heroes’ welcome in their home city. But before EPMD stormed the stage, the fired-up crowd was treated to performances by the members of the D.I.T.C. crew (Lord Finesse, O.C., Showbiz & A.G.), Lords of the Underground and a kinetic set courtesy of Naughty By Nature. Each act had hits aplenty and the packed house seemingly knew every classic record line for line.

By now, we’re all familiar with Nas’ hotly-debated proclamation “Hip-Hop Is Dead.” The Hip-Hop fans who packed the Assembly Hall of Hunter College on May 2nd, however, may think otherwise. That’s because they were treated to a great concert headlined by Brooklyn’s outstanding wordsmith, Talib Kweli.

BIG NOYD RETURNS WITH ”ILLUSTRIOUS” NEW ALBUM

Although he’s a seasoned veteran in the hip-hop game, rapper Big Noyd is just as driven now as he was when he debuted on Mobb Deep’s classic album, “The Infamous”, in 1995 (actually, he was also on their very first LP, “Juvenille Hell”, in ‘93.  But “Infamous” was Mobb’s true breakout album).  Noyd’s memorable verse on the song “Give Up The Goods” catapulted the Queensbridge rapper into stardom and earned him his first solo record deal.  He would go on to release three well-received solo albums and contribute verses to all but one of Mobb Deep’s LPs.  Noyd’s latest album, “Illustrious”, is in stores right now, courtesy of Koch Records.  The album is executive-produced by Lil’ Fame (of everyone’s favorite Brownsville duo, M.O.P.) and features fierce lyricist Joell Ortiz, R&B siren Kira and reggae artist Serani.      

15 MINUTES WITH GRANDMASTER FLASH

It’s long been established that pioneering DJ Grandmaster Flash, along with his seminal rap group The Furious Five, is a living legend. Not only did Flash invent the art of turntable manipulation known as “cutting” (thereby placing a heavy cornerstone in hip-hop), he and The Furious Five were the first hip-hop group ever inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in March 2007. The group’s classic debut record, Superrappin’, was released in 1979 and their most significant record, “The Message”, went platinum soon after its release in 1982. The Grandmaster himself has received numerous accolades including the RIAA’s Lifetime Achievement Award, BET’s Icon Award, VH1’s Hip Hop Honors and Bill Gates’ Vanguard Award.

WITH A FRESH START, STYLES P  READIES “SUPER” NEW ALBUM

When I first interviewed Styles P, around this same time last year coincidentally, the self-proclaimed “hardest rapper out” wasn’t in the best of moods.  Although Styles’ sophomore album, “Time is Money”, was set to be released on Interscope Records, the moment was bittersweet.  That’s because his excellent solo debut album, “A Gangster and a Gentleman”, had been released four years earlier in 2002.  With the airtight singles like “Good Times” and “The Life” (featuring Pharaoh Monch) getting burn on the airwaves, Styles P literally struck gold with “Gentleman”.  However, when it was time to follow up that commercially (and critically) successful work of art with another album, Styles’ record label failed him miserably.  When it came to releasing “Time is Money”, Interscope dropped the ball more than a NY Jets wide receiver.  When the album finally hit the stores in 2006, after numerous delays, the label treated it as an afterthought; promotions for the outdated project were slim-to-none and “Time is Money”, as decent as it was, slipped under the radar.