Rakim

July 7, 1987. Eric B. and Rakim released what would eventually be one of hip-hop's most classic works to date. The duo's Paid in Full LP was a 10-track opus that defined the climate of hip-hop at the time. The late '80s still possessed some growing pains for rap...

Mobb Deep's Prodigy celebrates Black Music Month 365 days a year. The veteran rapper has roots deeply embedded in music, which go way beyond hip-hop -- from his grandmother's legendary dance academy to learning about new singers from his father when he was a kid...

When Rakim took the stage at New York City's Blue Note Jazz Club on Wednesday night (June 22), to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his masterful 1986 album 'Paid in Full,' he brought the Roots along for the ride, tapping the esteemed band to assist him in taking a trip back to the golden age of hip-hop...

In a recent interview, G-Unit rapper Tony Yayo discussed the early days of the group's career, and how two of rap's greatest couldn't touch Fiddy. "Kanye West was in the studio, I remember that. He was trying to like sing in Sha Money 's ear...

Golden age rap group Eric B. & Rakim will be inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame next month, an honor which they will share with fellow inductees LL Cool J, Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Steve Martin, Lou Reid, Barbra Streisand and many more. ...

When Jay Electronica spit rhymes like "N---- I was homeless/ Fightin', shootin' dice, smokin weed on the corners/ Tryna find the meaning of life in a Corona" on the lauded track 'Exhibit C,' listeners felt the pain of his past ills. They quickly propelled the track to the Top 10 of the iTunes Hip-Hop chart when it was released in 2009...

In the '90s, every hip-hop-themed movie had its own original soundtrack. Classics like 'Colors,' 'Boyz N the Hood' and 'Menace II Society' came strapped with sound pieces that matched the tone of the films perfectly. Though they ranged in quality from life-changing to "say what...

As has been the tradition for the previous two years, Rock the Bells organizers Guerilla Union and this year's headliners gathered at Los Angeles' Key Club to unfurl plans for hip-hop's biggest festival. The 2010 press conference, followed as always by a live show with several of the acts, found Guerilla Union head Chang Wesiberg flanked at a podium by the Wu-Tang Clan's GZA and RZA, DJ Muggs, and

Who's the best of the best? Over the past few months, Touré, host of Fuse's 'Hip-Hop Shop,' has given us his top five Southern MCs, West Coast MCs and female MCs. But this week he tosses aside gender, genre, region and everything else and simply asks, who are the five best MCs... eve...

Eric B. & Rakim were rap legends both on and off the record. While Eric B. was best known for his street rep, Rakim was well-respected for his handwork, in his own right. Unfortunately, according to a recent interview with Rakim, Kool G Rap, perhaps the greatest gangster rapper of all time, did not always fare so well in the streets. ...