http://www.hardknock.tv In part one of our in-depth our interview with Young Guru, he talks with Nick Huff Baril about making the transition from being Jay Z engineer to teaching at USC. Along with talking about Hip Hop in academia, Guru addresses “Curators” in Hip Hop who don’t know the roots of the culture and haven’t…

Mariah Carey’s album Me. I Am Mariah…The Elusive Chanteuse debuted at No. 3 last month, selling 58,000 copies. While the first-week sales were the lowest of her career (for a non-holiday album), Jermaine Dupri is not sweating it. The So So Def mogul, who manages the pop diva and executive produced Chanteuse, is confident that…

This video captures a hour+ discussion at CCRMA by author Marc Weidenbaum on Two Decades of Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works Volume II. Weidenbaum’s discussion focuses on the “cultural afterlife” that the album has experienced in the two decades since its initial release on the Warp and Sire labels in 1994. The discussion is based…

YN caught up with Common in the streets of New York to discuss his upcoming album Nobody Smiling, new deal, giving back to Chicago and more. Read a brief synopsis below. Elliott Wilson catches up with Common on his new album Nobody’s Smiling. Common speaks on adapting to the changing times, inspiring change in the…

“42” Director Brian Helgeland about getting the project from SoundWorks Collection on Vimeo. Brian Thomas Helgeland is an American screenwriter, film producer and director. He is most known for writing the screenplays for L.A. Confidential (for which he received an Academy Award), Mystic River, and A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. [SoundWorks…

Video: Kevin Gates – Posed To Be In Love Shady Films Presents: Road to Total Slaughter Ep. 4 of 4 MUSIC Common ft Big Sean � Diamonds BEEF Meek Mill Calls Out Wale NEWS Stop The Madness – Pranks In The Hood MUSIC Jeezy ft. Jay Z � Seen It All Video: 50 Cent Reflects…

We had lonely hours, turned blue and felt like outsiders while listening to our favorite albums of the year so far. From heartbreaking R&B to swaggering psychedelic to blunted rap to all-encompassing country, 2014 has already contained an amazingly diverse array of full-length statements. After many repeated listens and an argument (or two), the Billboard…

  Producer, engineer and composer Bob Power says that he had a clear directive when working on A Tribe Called Quest’s 1991 album, The Low End Theory. “It was very clear,” Power says during an interview with Red Bull Music Academy. “It was the name itself. The bass and bottom was so important to the…

After being accused by Jay Z of stealing master recordings of seminal work, Chauncey Mahan has responded with a provocative lawsuit against the hip-hop star and Roc Nation. Although the dispute was born in somewhat of a bizarre fashion, the litigation has the potential of developing into something of consequence to the music industry. Mahan…

Busta Rhymes says he feels there’s something missing in Rap today. “I just feel like balance is always necessary and I think that’s part of the reason why a lot of the way the climate shift happens,” Busta says in an interview with XXL. “I think there’s balance that is needed. If we had a…