Hip-hop at it's core is lyrics on a beat, with both being vital for the final product. Throughout the genre's history, there have been some truly incredible beats that turned producers into stars, and ...

When you think about love in rap, Common's "The Light" is an essential example. From his album "Like Water for Chocolate", Common raps heartfelt lines of devotion over a mesmerizing J Dilla beat, ...

Hip-hop beat-makers are usually unseen. Not all sample-based producers are as reclusive as the torch-bearing loop artist Madlib, but even the most prominent among them are part of the backdrop. After ...

NEW ORLEANS -- For the first few moments onstage, young Govenor Reiss -- his stage identity is simply Govenor -- looks like many a rapper grown too hard, too fast on the streets of New Orleans. His ...