News

A Tribe Called Quest was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday, recognizing one of hip-hop’s most influential groups after a nearly decade-long wait since they first became eligible in 2015.

Tribe was inducted after getting passed on the ballot in 2022 and 2023, now joining a slowly growing list of rap legends in the hall, including Jay-Z, Eminem, Public Enemy, and Nwa. Their exclusion — reflecting the Hall’s wider historic issues with recognizing hip-hop — had caused some controversy among Tribe’s contemporaries, with Consequence calling the...

Dozens of people gathered at City Hall in New York City on Monday as part of a demonstration calling for Rocky Bucano to step down as Executive Director, President and Chairman of the Universal Hip-Hop Museum (or Uhhm) because of his alleged ties with the Universal Zulu Nation. Journalist Leila Wills, who co-founded the advocacy organization Hip-Hop Stands With Survivors, organized the demonstration to advocate for survivors of child sexual abuse, including the alleged survivors of The Universal Zulu Nation founder Afrika Bambaataa. “[We want] Rocky Bucano to step down, because if...

For production designer Karen Murphy and composer Elliott Wheeler, “The Get Down” was a far cry from the fantastical liberties taken with “The Great Gatsby.” Fulfilling Baz Luhrmann’s ambitious vision — recreating the rise of hip-hop in the burned-out wasteland of the late ’70s South Bronx — required a special authenticity. They had to immerse themselves in the revolutionary time and place before mastering “The Get Down,” inspired by hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing legend Grandmaster Flash.

The expensive musical extravaganza (cancelled by Netflix after its first season) was a wild convergence of music, politics, and rebellion. The series not only focused on teens from the South Bronx with larger aspirations than graffiti art, who become “The Get Down Brothers,” but complicated their lives with an unrequited love story, hampered by disapproving parents.

A Bronx Tale

Murphy first took inspiration from the South Bronx photo exhibit, “Seis Del Sur: Dispatches from Home,...

Nas has been one of rap music's pre-eminent old-school diplomats and cinéastes since he opened his 1994 debut, Illmatic, with a clip of hip-hop flick Wild Style. The multi-platinum rapper has combined his twin passions as executive producer of The Get Down, Baz Luhrmann's visually arresting look at the birth of hip-hop culture in New York City. A mix of painstakingly accurate historical details and explosive fantasy, the Netflix series brings the Bronx in 1977 to a life thanks to a group of expert consultants, including Grandmaster Flash, Kurtis Blow, Kool Herc,...

At the moment, Baz Luhrmann is working on his take of New York City in the 1970s in the upcoming Netflix series "The Get Down," but the story of what really went down, told by the people who were there, is on the way with "Rubble Kings." And today we have the exclusive trailer and poster for the documentary. Directed by Shan Nicholson, narrated by John Leguizamo, and produced by folks including Dito Montiel and Jim Carrey, the movie tracks the dangerous years of 1968 to 1975, in which the city's gang war reached devastating and bloody heights. But from within that scene also came peace, and the flourishing of hip-hop culture that would define a generation. Featuring Yellow” Benji Melendez, Afrika Bambaataa, Blackie, Carlos “Karate Charlie”Suarez, D.S.R, Ed Koch, Felipe Luciano, Harlem Cody, Jazzy Jay, Jee Sanchez, Joe Conzo, Kool Herc, Lorine, Marshall Berman, Nono, Red Alert, Rolando Ruiz,...

Coming off its 30th anniversary showcase at SXSW, Def Jam continues to celebrate its milestone year by releasing four reissues this month: Kanye West’s “808s & Heartbreak”; Public Enemy’s “Icon”; Ludacris’ “Back For The First Time” and T La Rock/Jazzy Jay’s “It’s Yours.” Check out the details below. Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons started Def Jam in a New York University dorm room and went on to release some of the most significant albums in hip-hop. The label’s current roster includes 2 Chainz, Frank Ocean, Big Sean and Jhene Aiko. “We have seen this homegrown American music grow from a local underground scene to a worldwide phenomenon,” Rubin and Simmons said in a statement. “Today Def Jam remains the gold standard for taste, culture, and revolutionary thought. To quote the Chuck D line: 'Def Jam tells you who I am…'" Here’s the complete list...

In anticipation for my trip to New York City I will be counting down with some of my NYC movies (and even some that I don't like just for a change of pace). Hope you all enjoy.

I have a deep affinity for movies that get forced into ghettos, but which - I feel - have far more going on than many would give them credit for, especially when it comes to movies aimed at teenagers. I am not a teenager anymore, but I still remember what it was like to be one and since they get so many downright awful movies aimed at them I feel like whenever one comes along that I think is striving for something (even if it's just a little bit) extra then I have to give it props. For reasons that I have never quite explained I thought Step Up 2 the Streets had it...