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Vic Mensa Decides on New Direction for Debut Album

Last month, Vic Mensa released the There's A Lot Going On EP, and it seems that the personal tone of that EP will also be reflected in his upcoming album. The 23 year old Chicago-based rapper was planning on calling his debut album Traffic, however, in a recent interview with AllHipHop, Vic Mensa mentioned that he discarded that album title and content and decided to take things in a much more personal direction.

“I made an album and then I didn’t feel like it was the right representation. So I started making a new album. That’s where the songs from There’s Alot Going On came out of. I would say it’s about 75% done.” Vic Mensa said of new album which he's making inst

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Hip hop dominates MTV VMA's with Beyonce, Kanye, & Drake nominations

MTV has announced the nominees for their upcoming Video Music Awards, and the show looks like it'll be dominated by hip hop artists, with Kanye and Drake competing for video of the year alongside Beyonce, who is nominated for a record 11 awards this year.

Beyonce's unique visual album Lemonade earned her 11 nominations this year, a personal record. Singer Adele trails Bey with 8 nominations, while Drake is up for a respectable four awards.

Kanye West's controversial "Famous" video, which depicts the Chicago rapper in bed with a number of other celebrities, including Taylor Swift, was nominated for video of the year. West will compete against Beyonce's "Formation," Drake's "Hotline Bling," Adele'

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MF Doom's Operational Doomsday Receiving Vinyl Reissue

Back in 1999, the rapper formerly known as Zev Love X of KMD proceeded to reinvent himself as an enigmatic, metal-faced supervillain named MF Doom, and this alter ego would go on to leave an indelible mark on the world of hip hop. It was that year that MF Doom released his debut album, the now-classic Operation Doomsday.

The album fused left-field production sensibilities - 80's soul and smooth jazz samples layered over drum breaks – with MF Doom's off-kilter, dexterous rapping, and the result was nothing less than astounding. Though the album had a definite recorded-in-the-basement vibe, that only added to its infectious charm, and it was clear that MF Doom's sheer creative chops were indisputable. Doom would go on to forge a successful career

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Kosha Dillz - What I Do All Day and Pickle

Rapper Kosha Dillz is worldwide. From Poland and the Netherlands to France and Israel, the Los Angeles-based artist shares his Jewish-infused brand of hip-hop everywhere he goes. His latest album, What I Do All Day and Pickle, offers a peek into his psyche. It covers his struggles with addiction, relationship drama, his Jewish religion, discrimination, and political unrest, shining a spotlight on who Kosha Dillz truly is. "With a name like Kosha Dillz, you can’t take yourself too seriously,” Kosha says. “It’s a blessing in disguise.” 

Served up with a healthy side dish of humor, the 11-track album boasts beats by Jesse “Belief” Shatkin (Sia and One Direction), 19-year-old newbie YUC Beats, Nate Greenberg, Ski Be

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Prince Paul to Form Supergroup with Ladybug Mecca and Others

Prince Paul is certainly no stranger to collaborative hip hop work. His production on the early De La Soul albums cemented his position as one of hip hop's eminent producers. After that, he went on to do a complete stylistic about-face as he helped pioneer the macabre, horrorcore sound by assembling the Gravediggaz with RZA, Frukwan, and Poetic. Not one to be confined to any one sound, however, Prince Paul continued to demonstrate the breadth of his sonic palette by forming the Handsome Boy Modeling School project with Dan the Automator and working with musical visionaries such as Bernie Worrell and David Byrne.

It was announced recently that Prince Paul would be forming another supergroup, this time with Ladybug Mecca from the Digable Planets, voice-over legend Don Newkir

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BLAK MADEEN: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

The Hip Hop collective group Blak Madeen with Yusuf Abdul-Mateen and Al-J, came together on an exclusive RAPstation.com interview to discuss their careers and their latest project Supreme Aftermath. They talk about their struggles and highlights of being in Hip Hop and insight into their music that tackles issues in today's society. Among many of the issues people face, they discuss the prejudice and hate that come with Islamophobia and use music as a platform to open up about it to “add something positive to the conversation.” 

 

RAPstation (Kianna Woods) Tell me about your journey in the Rap industry.

YUSUF ABDUL-MATEEN: It's been interesting. I first got

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