Thomas Golianopoulos

A child turning down a college scholarship to pursue a career in rap sounds like most mothers' worst nightmare. Luckily for the Detroit rapper Big…

Hip-hop's greatest new MC gives his music away, tweets his baby's birth, and rhymes his name with Hanukkah. Is this guy for real? [Magazine excerpt]…

Nicki Minaj is the rare rapper without a chip on her shoulder. She's not even bitter about her time as an unsigned artist, when she…

These days, Snoop Dogg is as much a multiplatform brand as a rapper, so it's no surprise that his tenth solo album doesn't try to…

Being every rap blogger's favorite group isn't all that it's cracked up to be: Just ask Clipse, Virginia's bards of high-end coke rap. Their brilliant…

On his first album since his infamous altercation with then-girlfriend Rihanna, Chris Brown sounds genuinely remorseful. He pleads for forgiveness, understanding, and some time off.

As shameless cash-in compilations go, this latest set of unreleased Snoop outtakes (from his 1992–96 tenure at Suge Knight's label) is remarkably egregious. There are…

In 2005, Saigon was the most buzzed-about rapper since 50 Cent. But despite a supporting role on Entourage and a Just Blaze co-sign, his proper…

Though not a Christian rapper, Kid Cudi found Jesus in a Virgin Megastore. "I was looking at CDs, saw the gleam of a Jesus piece…

One morning in 2004, Chris Palko woke up in Middletown, New York's Elizabeth A. Horton Memorial Hospital, terrified that he would be committed again. Six…

This raspy East Coast vet, who's feuded with Diddy, 50 Cent, Bill O'Reilly, and Jay-Z wingman Beanie Sigel, will always be a mix-tape rapper. And…

UGK 4 Life is a fitting capper to this Texas duo's storied career -- nothing groundbreaking, just funky, rough-hewn, celebratory tracks. On the best, "Purse…

Flash's first studio album in more than two decades isn't for wallflowers."Tribute to the Breakdancer" and "Here Comes My DJ" (with the effusive DJ Kool…

EPMD are back together again, more than a decadeafter the Long Island duo'sinitial 1997 reunion. Despite some truly awful lyrics -- "Don't make me get…

The debut album from G-Unit producer Jacob "Jake One" Dutton plays like a crowd- pleasing beat reel for future employers. Instead of showcasing a signature…