ISSUE 14 / nov/dec 2006

Features

DJ SHadow
The Left Coast producer/DJ has dumped his trademark, crate-digging, sound for the ish of the moment, Hyphy. Will it help him garner mass appeal? -Brian Coleman

large professor
Without Extra P’s guidance the world would only know Nas as Kelis’ hubby. The Harlem-born Queens-reared hip-hop don keeps a low profile these days but continues to be a main source of unadulterated New York rap. -Jesús Triviño Alarcón

Miami sound
Aside from having some of the finest Latinas this side of South America, Miami has become hip-hop’s breakout city of 2006. Let MIA’s ubiquitous beatmaking duo, Cool & Dre, its paramount DJ, Khaled, and hustler-turned-MC, Rick Ross show you the side Jeb Bush doesn’t want you to see. -Alvin Blanco

Talib kweli
With his destiny in his own hands the Brooklyn MC is also shaping the careers of some of the underground’s brightest stars. While his Blacksmith label lifts off with his third opus, Ear Drum, Kwe makes sure we all ride his new train of thought. -Jerry L. Barrow

Hi-tek
He backs some of the most commercial artists of the day, but Hi-Tek has been saving his best work for Hi-Teknology 2. But the question still remains; will Tekzilla and Talib Kweli ever reflect on past times again? -Sean Lewis Sharp

organized noize
If not for Organized Noize, Andre 3000 would still be rocking oversized Atlanta Braves jerseys. Noize provided OutKast the perfect soundscapes for artistic growth and experimentation. Checkthe real kings of the South. -N. Ali Early

 

 

Departments

the loop
The Clipse have been through the storm with their second opus, Hell Hath No Fury, in “Play by Play,” Uncle Luke talks dirty in “Tales from the Booth” and Timbaland’s protégé Danjahandz says he’s bringing sexy back in “Background Noise.” While Kanye West and Pharrell duke it out to see whose shirt is tighter in “Twinz,” Pitbull gets his Stan on in “Testify.”

boiling point
Soundtrakk, Exile, Nitti, Omen, and Chaos & Order keep your systems boomin’.

lab
Dan the Automator abandons the MPC in “Formula,” and engineer extraordinaire Alexis Seton shows us how to keep our home studios on the up-and-up in “Knowledge.” Amadeus drops the skinny on his bangers for 50 Cent and Foxy Brown while superproducer-turned-music exec, Rodney Jerkins knows how to make millions in “Grind.”

the corner
Tonedeff gives a bird’s-eye view of Lollapalooza in “All City,” Boola finds some gems in “The Breaks” and go from old to the new in “Dipped.”

blokhedz
King Vulture goes jackin’ for more than beats.