Nov 17, 2021LL Cool J — Radio: A 35th Anniversary Retrospective35 years ago, a teenager from Farmers Blvd. in Queens pulled Excalibur from The Rock and earned the title of The Prince Of Rap. Young James Todd Smith — yes, the future LL Cool J — was so enamored with Rap music growing up that he’d play his favorite songs…Dart Adams12 min read
Nov 7, 2021GZA — Liquid Swords: A 25th Anniversary RetrospectiveDecomposing an undisputed classic Rap LP that also happens to be the perfect Winter album… When the Wu Tang Clan was formed in 1992, it was a direct result of the bad experiences both RZA (formerly Prince Rakeem) and GZA (formerly The Genius) accumulated while being signed to record label…10 min read
Jan 11, 2021EPMD’s “Business As Usual”: A 30th Anniversary RetrospectiveErick Sermon, Parrish Smith and DJ Scratch get called up to the majors and release their first LP on Def Jam with their new protegé Redman in tow. The end result was one of the first classic Rap albums of 1991, the first being Main Source’s Breaking Atoms. EPMD, the…Epmd7 min read
Aug 7, 2020Member-onlyBoogie Down Productions “Edutainment”: A 30th Anniversary RetrospectiveRap’s self proclaimed “Teacher” was at a career crossroads after the release of “Self Destruction” and his successful album “Ghetto Music: The Blueprint Of Hip Hop”. Where could he possibly go from here? How about the world of academia? In February 1989, Jive/RCA released the Stop The Violence Movement’s “Self…Boogie Down Productions15 min read
Published in LEVEL·Jul 28, 2020Member-onlyThe 20 Best Rap Albums by Artists Over 40Hot lines < hot songs < hot albums. Here are the best of the best. — Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com. Summer 1977: The art of emceeing begins. …Culture11 min read
May 15, 2020Ice Cube’s “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted”: A 30th Anniversary RetrospectiveN.W.A.’s former front man left one of Rap’s most controversial groups at their peak to go solo without any production from Dr. Dre. He then headed to New York to find a new producer, resulting in one of the greatest debut albums in Rap history. N.W.A. was formed back between…Ice Cube12 min read
Apr 25, 2020Mobb Deep’s “The Infamous”: A 25th Anniversary RetrospectiveMobb Deep’s sophomore LP serves as the breakthrough album for one of Rap’s all time great duos in the midst of a Golden Era The now legendary duo Mobb Deep were originally known as the Poetical Prophets. They were both 16 year old Rap wunderkinds discovered by Matty C of…Mobb Deep12 min read
Dec 24, 2019Tetsuo & Adulthood: The Influence Of “Akira” 30 Years Later30 years ago this holiday season, the animated film feature “Akira” became the catalyst that sparked the modern American anime subculture The ambitious anime film “Akira” first opened in Japan on July 16, 1988. At the time its 1.1 billon Yen ($8.5 million USD in 1988) budget was the largest…Anime13 min read
Dec 19, 2019Independent As Fuck 3: 32 Essential Underground Hip Hop Releases From 1999After the Jiggy Era took over the mainstream Rap world and commercial radio, the kind of Rap that once thrived on major labels was progressively forced underground like the Morlocks. …Underground Hip Hop16 min read
Apr 20, 2019MF DOOM “Operation: Doomsday”: A 20th Anniversary RetrospectiveZev Love X of KMD ceased to exist after his brother Subroc died in a tragic accident shortly after their group was dropped from Elektra before their sophomore album could be released. …Mf Doom6 min read