There’s a lot of talk about ‘Old Man Rap’, ‘Old Moufs’ and ‘Grown Man Rap’ in recent times, which is hardly a shock since hip-hop has been here for 36 years already. Relax, this isn’t another article about Jay-Z or any of our ‘youth-impaired’ MC’s. My question for today is – does too much rap…
Category: Features
In-depth coverage
Prince Po – The Unkut Interview
Having set new standards for heavy lyrical techniques during his time as a member of the influential Organized Konfusion crew, Prince Po has continued to drop his own brand of Southside science through his solo work, working with everyone from Raekwon and Large Pro to DOOM, J-Zone and Madlib. But even beyond records, Po has…
The Kool G Rap Album Analysis
We’ve already put the Nas and Ghostface discography’s under the microscope, so it’s only right that the legendary Kool G Rap gets a turn, right?
Five Reasons Why Rap Can’t Mourn The Dearly Departed
Phillip ‘Prime Minister’ Mlynar explains why Rest In Peace is not the word to play. Mourn you ’til I join you? Not in the spit-on-the-grave world of rap. Guru‘s passing has shown once more than when it comes to death, hip-hop has no idea how to handle itself with dignity and grace. Being a legendary…
Supply And Demand – Scholarwise Interview
Photo: Alexander Richter Here’s another sure-shot from Phillip ‘Half-A-Mil’ Mlynar, who has managed to track down someone so obscure that even Lace Da Booms was like, ‘Oh, snap!’. Over a decade on from its 1998 release, Scaramanga‘s Seven Eyes, Seven Horns album now sounds like one of the purest statements from the mid-to-late-’90s indie rap…
Roc Marciano – The Unkut Interview, Volume 2
Photo: Alexander Richter The first time I spoke to Marciano, his UN crew had paired down to him two members and he had just landed a solo deal with SRC, with plans to put together a project for early 2008 release. Since then, he was pretty much MIA for a couple of years with the…
Kill That Noise – Rap Rumors That Don’t Matter
You could be excused for believing that I spend every waking hour obsessing over rap trivia while preparing for my next interview with an obscure hip-hop character, but that’s not really the case. Admittedly, a lifetime of perusing linear notes and thumbing through old rap magazines can tend to have some unwanted side-effects, but beyond…
Diary of a Mad Print Writer – 10 Depressingly Annoying Things About Modern Rap
Phillip Mlynar isn’t Australian, doesn’t roam a post-apocalyptic wasteland searching for fuel and may not even own a dog. But ask him the timeless question, ‘U mad, doggie?’ and he’ll reply, ‘Yes, I am.’ Fresh from his stint of yelling ‘Eff you and Your Heroes‘ like this was a listening session for the first Lench…
Producer, Engineer or Beatmaker?
Some things are hard to define. What exactly is the role of the ‘Executive Producer’ on an album? Is it the guy who paid for the record to be made? The dude who decided which beats to use and which guests to invite? Or the character who sat up the back and simply nodded his…
Rick Rubin – The Man, The Myth
When Rick Rubin is written about in the media, he is either portrayed as “the most important producer of the last 20 years” or as the shaggy ‘Wolfboy’ guru who carries lapis lazuli Buddhist prayer beads and dislikes footwear. While many of the startlingly broad range of musicians that have worked with Rick gush his…
Five Zealously Overrated (And Often Dead) Hip-Hop Artists
Here’s a guest drop from Phillip Mlynar, who was the Deputy Editor at Hip Hop Connection magazine before people stopped buying rap magazines. Talking about rappers whose fanatical fan worship bore no relation to their actual talent or recorded output used to be easy. Someone would say that 2 Pac was the greatest ever rapper….
Counter Strike Spotlight – Thorotracks Interview
Queens-bred production duo Thorotracks (Sam & Jay) have been putting it down as a crew since 2002, and have delivered dope beats for everyone from Sean Price to NYG’z, Casual to Killah Priest, Krumbsnatcha to Skyzoo. With two compilations under their belt (The Saga Begins and The Saga Continues) and the dope new mixtape from…