B-Real has undoubtedly made his mark upon hip-hop in his two decades with Cypress Hill. Whether it was his stoney wailings on "I Wanna Get High" or nasally chorus hooks on "Insane in the Brain," B-Real's vocals are both positively infectious and memorable.  For his debut solo album, Smoke and Mirrors, B-Real continues with tradition in excellence. Smoke and Mirrors at Amazon More after the jump. (more…)

I personally believe that Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur are still alive, AND hang out with Kurt Cobain all day, AND that together the three of them are the masterminds behind the Jonas Brothers.  However, the Notorious biopic, which comes out tomorrow on DVD, refutes that claim.

Featuring a performance from Wallace’s real-life son, Christopher Jordan Wallace, NOTORIOUS also uncovers the complicated relationships in the rapper’s life, including protégé Kimberly “Lil’ Kim” Jones, wife-and-R&B singer Faith Evans and long-time friend-turned-rival Tupac Shakur, examining the struggle, music and triumph of game-changer Christopher Wallace, who became one of the most celebrated hip-hop icons in history.

Find out more about Notorious here and here.

The other day, after reading up on and writing about Sebastien Grainger, I made an assumption that the other dude, Jesse Keeler, was also creating throbbing rock. Thankfully, some fuck reminded me that he’s in MSTRKRFT, who have a new album out.

From Dim Mak:

MSTRKRFT “FIST OF GOD” ALBUM OUT NOW!!!
“We tried to make ‘festival weapons,’ so when we play them, it’s like throwing a million hatchets in to the audience,” explains Jesse F. Keeler, on half of DJ/production duo MSTRKRFT, describing the song from the long-awaited sophomore album from MSTRKRFT, “Fist Of God”. The album is out on CD/ Vinyl/ Digitally in the States on Dim Mak/ Downtown beginning this Tuesday, March 24th. The Toronto-based duo of Keeler and production partner AL-P won fans worldwide with its 2008 debut, “The Looks” (Last Gang), a bombastic blend of electro, pop, and high-energy noise. MSTRKRFT’s first single, “Bounce” featuring Hip Hop superstar (N.O.R.E.), definitely set the standard for the full length. The album’s other guests include GHOSTFACE KILLAH, E-40, FREEWAY, LIL MO’, and JOHN LEGEND. As such, “Fist Of God” creates a new lane, per standard practice. “MSTRKRFT” isn’t defined by form, but by substance,” Jesse concludes.

You wouldn’t be reading this if it weren’t true. Whitney Houston’s crack addiction which was reported by the credible National Enquirer in 2006 is certainly old news. This was when Whitney’s sister lovingly sent in photographs of a crack-cocaine and paraphernalia litted bathroom.

Sorry to mislead you, this post isn’t about her in the slightest. So Whitney, call off your lawyer and put down the pipe. This post is inspired by a super-honky who goes by Tracky Birthday, a mostly unknown hobby-rapper whom I came across accidentally in a drug induced rage.

His creations are full of satire, catchy beats, smooth lyrics and a killer Mr T impersonation (because he doesn’t afraid of anything). Sure, he can get a bit annoying after a while, but for 20 minutes or so you may feel like you have been touched by Jesus himself. Check out Tracky’s homepage for more satirical non-sense and confirmation of his awesomeness.

Yeah, I know since Corey took off this blog has been missing a lot of vital hip-hop. Here’s a quick shot in the arm to remedy the situation. Zion I’s “The Take Over” comes out January 27th on K7 Records. Check the first single right…here.

Though The Maine’s is definitely cornier than both sides of Interstate 80 through Iowa, the band is basically blowing the fuck up: currently on tour with Boys Like Girls and Good Charlotte, the band’s debut full length, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop scanned over 12,000 records in its first week to land the band a spot in the top 40 on the Billboard charts and thats just the start: its a proven fact that once Video Matt interviews a band their weekly scans increase by 2349%, so expect next week’s numbers to be on Diamond status. Add to that, the fact that the band is now employing the Cadillac of Minivans of Tour Managers, Peter Digby Sellers, shit is coming together like fucking Voltron for these AZ kids. Check out the interview above then put your stunna shades on and get hyphy only without the whole hip-hop part.