After much anticipation and two years of working on separate projects and new music, underground legends EYEDEA & ABILITIES will play 17 shows together on their upcoming “Appetite for Distraction” tour.

This will be the first time Eyedea and DJ Abilities have played the majority of these cities since their “E&A” album in 2004, so be sure to check them out when they come to your area. (more…)

Pimpin’ ain’t easy? Nah, organizing ain’t easy. Just ask the people behind the annual Twin Cities Celebration of Hip-hop, which mixes youth-outreach events with three days of hip-hop music at First Avenue.

Now in its sixth year, the festival is still a beast to pull off for Yo! The Movement, a community-based nonprofit that puts it all together. The youth-run group struggled more than ever to get funding this year, resulting in a slightly scaled-down line-up. But it was still able to get two great headliners in Naughty by Nature and a reunited Eyedea & Abilities. (more…)

After a year off the road, Atmosphere will perform twenty seven shows in the U.S from September 14 - October 16, 2007 with fellow Rhymesayers label mates Grayskul and Mac Lethal, and special guest Luckyiam of Living Legends.

Bringing over four hours of music with four independent Hip Hop artists, “Everybody Loves A Clown” is sure to be fun for the whole family! (more…)

Peep the video for Brother Ali’s “Uncle Sam Goddamn” of his new album “The Undisputed Truth.”

The Undisputed Truth tour featuring Brother Ali, Psalm One, OneBeLo and Toki Wright is now in full effect. I had the chance to see them perform last night at the Knitting Factory in NYC, and the show was off the hook!

Toki Wright did a great job as host, keeping the crowd in the show with his between-act performances and later as hype man for Brother Ali. OneBeLo got the crow started with a combination of new tracks from his highly-anticipated upcoming album and old tracks from the highly-respected “Sonogram” album. Psalm One set the stage perfectly for the head act with a bunch of hard-banging, crowd bumping tunes. And Brother Ali ripped it y’all, featuring songs from “The Undisputed Truth” and “Shadows On the Sun.” (more…)

  Rating:
  Review Date: April 29, 2007
  Website: Brother Ali Website
  Label: Rhymesayers

Brother Ali “The Undisputed Truth” Album Review 
About two months ago, shortly after the 400th anniversary celebration of the city of Jamestown, one of the first slave ports of the American colonies, the Virginia General Assembly passed a joint resolution apologizing for its part in the American slave trade. Now as honorable as this act was, it actually kinda angered me because neither any other states nor the federal government of the United States followed up with an apology of their own. It appears that the majority of this country either does not believe that slavery continues to affect us today, or does not think that we should apologize for the effects it has had. (more…)

  Rating:
  Release Date: April 4, 2006
  Website: Soul Position Website
  Label: Rhymesayers

Soul Position “Things Go Better With RJ and Al” Album Review
I had a recent run in with my cell phone company, Cingular. My bill for the month of March was a little under $300! See, once I go over my minutes, these punks charge me forty cents a minute for the rest of the billing cycle. Therefore, I decided to try to cut back on my calls. For the entire month of April, I screened every call I took and was confident that I did not exceed my limits. When the bill arrived, Cingular claimed that I owed them $180 for that month. Damn, man … does anyone else think this is a ridiculous price to pay for a measly 600 minutes of airtime? (more…)

  Rating:
  Release Date: October 4, 2005
  Website: Atmosphere Website
  Label: Rhymesayers

Atmosphere “You Can’t Imagine …” Album Review
Slug got me laid this weekend (Slug is the MC in the group Atmosphere, pictured on your top right … no, your other right). Or perhaps I should say, Slug helped get me laid this weekend. I know this may not be the most intelligent backdrop within which to review an album, but it’s true. An important aspect of Hip Hop Linguistics is the acknowledgement of how hip-hop plays a part in my everyday life, which it definitely did this weekend. (more…)