Imade Nibokun

SZA has long outgrown the need to be introduced as Kendrick Lamar's TDE labelmate. Her evolution from metaphorical songwriter to blunt wordsmith thrust her into the mainstream. Ctrl, SZA's debut album, released in June, soared to the third position on Billboard's album chart. She jolts the listener on the very......

Myka 9 remembers frantically trying to finish Freestyle Fellowship's second album, "Innercity Griots," as his neighborhood went up in flames....

Hosted by Volume 10 and Medusa, this Friday's show at the Airliner features both veterans of the legendary Crenshaw open mic and a new generation of rappers....

And thanks to rappers like Kid Cudi, Chance the Rapper, Ill Camille, Big Sean and Isaiah Rashad, mental health is becoming less of a taboo subject in the black community....

The Chicago rapper's Grammy wins and mainstream success have many in the Christian hip-hop scene feeling jealous — and doing some soul-searching....

The title of the rapper/singer's latest album, "Good Sinner," may seem like a dig at the Christian hip-hop scene he came up in. But it's more complicated than that....

Inglewood’s Sir Darryl Farris didn’t choose music. Music chose him. The singer, songwriter, producer and engineer, know professionally as SiR, has worked with Anita Baker, Jill Scott, Robert Glasper and Tyrese — even though he didn't start taking music seriously until he was 22. SiR showcased his innate ability to......

Compton-raised artist Justified could be called a Christian rapper, but he grew up on Ice Cube and Tupac. Now living in Victorville, the 35-year-old emcee has released thirteen independent albums, containing tracks that vary from inspirational (“Hey Young World”) to socially conscious (“America”) to sexual (“Grind On Me”). He faced the greatest challenge of life......