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War: A consequence of our natural tendency to dominate. A physical manifestation of our innate desire to crush the competition. An evolutionary examination intended to single out “The Best”. On June 9th 2012 war will be waged and history will be made. In the Hip-Hop world, battling is perceived to be the rawest form of the culture; after all, it is one of the foundations on which the art was formed. Two rappers go head to head with each other and come up with their best insults, while flexing their lyrical, rhythmic, and artistic muscles in an attempt to discredit the artist opposing them. Over the years, battling has moved away from the streets into the mainstream; moving to larger venues with larger crowds packed around the "ring" to see their favorite artists perform. The atmos

"Pass Dat" featuring King Sun is the second official single off of Fokis' upcoming "Vintage Album", Produced by HipHipHeredia (Fokis' Older Brother). King Sun was one of the first and most successful Afrocentric hip-hop artists in the early 90's, he was a force on and off the mic. His Gold Selling album Righteous But Ruthless featured the smash single "Be Black" which solidified his place in Hip-Hop history. The Vintage Album is scheduled for release this summer and features Hip-Hop legends Kurtis Blow, DMC, Grandmaster Caz, Brand Nubian, Kool G. Rap, Spoonie Gee, King T, MC Eiht, Mic Geronimo, N.O.R.E. and more. Created with two purposes in mind, "The Vintage Album" was intended not only to salute Hip-Hop’s pioneers but also to re-create the sound and feel of the early 80’s thr

RAPSTATION/HIPHOPGODS: You've got such a distinct style and are always pushing the boundaries of what a DJ can and should be.  When you were coming up and building your skills, who did you look to for inspiration? DJ NU-MARK: Thank you, for production I really looked up to Marley Marl, Full Force, Prince Paul, Uncle Jams Army etc... DJ's that inspired me were Mix Master Ice, Howie Tee, Bambaataa, DJ Aladdin, Steve D....list goes on. RAPSTATION/HIPHOPGODS: You've been on both sides of the fence, dealing with major labels, indy labels, and now being completely independent for your Broken Sunlight series.  In 2012, what are some of the pro's and con's of being independent as an artist? DJ NU-MARK: Well for the first time I'm a completely indie artist.  In the past I was labeled a

In commemoration of the 20-year-anniversary of the Los Angeles riots, journalist turned filmmaker, Mark Ford, recaptures the events, as seen through the eyes of those who lived it. Uprising: Hip Hop & The LA Riots chronicles how a simmering beef with police reached its boiling point. Ford screened the film at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles Thursday (April 26) night, followed by a panel discussion with Kurupt, Too Short, John Singleton, Arsenio Hall, Henry Watson, Mathew McDaniel, and Cheo Hodari Coker; all of whom were featured in the documentary. Narrated and executive produced by Snoop Dogg, Uprising takes a look at Hip-Hop's role in foreseeing and encouraging the riots that cost the city of Los Angeles $1 billion, and took 53 lives. Notable rap records like N.W.A.'s "F**k tha Po

DJShadow.com are very excited to announce a major new archival release exposing Shadow’s early production on the Akai MPC. Containing entirely unreleased material spanning from 1992 to 1996, the project is entitled, "Total Breakdown: Hidden Transmissions From The MPC Era, 1992-1996." Included among the highlights are instrumental tracks from an aborted 1994 EP planned with The Gift Of Gab, which includes the original demo of what would eventually become "Six Days." The new collection of "MPC Era" tracks follows on from the much-loved "4-Track Era" releases from 2008 and 2009, and establishes a pattern which should be familiar to Shadow fans. "I like to follow up new material (such as the recent 'The Less You Know, The Better' LP) with a tastefully-done archival project," Shado

Raps United Nation is the door opener for artists, building an international crew with their 1 plan 1 movement motto giving all the artists a louder voice and greater visibility. The mixtapes are designed to keep "RUN" in the peoples faces as this large group of worthy artists will not take no for an answer. They have connections in every country in the world so every song will be serviced to dh's around the world. In addition, each mixtape will been sent to A&Rs, CEOs and Presidents of major and indie record companies. The people involved with We Build Hits and Raps United Nation have an obligation to help artists like yourself. They would like to have every artist representing "RUN" as "RUN" will represent every artist, with a constant release of "RUN" projects, your voice will b