Hip Hop Music

Melvin Bliss Has Passed Away

My condolences to the Bliss family as a great musical legend has passed away. Immense respect and honor goes out to Melvin Bliss and for shaping not only my life, but the lives of many other hip-hop and overall music fans. It’s a shame that very little is known about the man behind one of … Read more

Ayatollah – Live From The MPC 60

Instrumental fans take not. Ayatollah soon to be released multidisc album entitled Live From The MPC 60 is almost here. The 3 Disc collection features 66 tracks of original instrumentals spun from Ayatollah’s own Akai MPC 60. I’ve been sitting on a lot of material. I wanted to get it out at all costs. — … Read more

DJ Premier: Sampling, Recording Budgets, DJ Heroes

During and appearance on Grind Music Radio with Sean C & LV, DJ Premier gives his take on the practice of sampling in hip-hop and lists his personal heroes of DJ’ing, and the role that they played in inspiring his signature melodic scratching. Just what’s your whole take on the climate with sampling and sampling producers … Read more

XXL Magazine’s 100 Best Hip-Hop Web Sites

It seems as though Crate Kings has a fan or two over at XXL Magazine since we’ve made its list of The 100 Best Hip-Hop Web Sites, appearing in the December/January print issue. Many thanks to folks over at XXL for the acknowledgement and, most importantly, all Crate Kings readers for your continued support.  Also, huge congratulations … Read more

Brandon Allday – Zip Disks Break Preview

Brandon Allday offers a quick breakdown of a track from the upcoming Big Quarters album Zip Disks Break, which feature 25 handcrafted instrumentals. Hit up the release party featuring live beatmaking and performances. All attendees of the Zip Disks Break release party will receive a free copy of the album. Zip Disks Break 2009 Saturday, … Read more

Record Store Day Offers Another Excuse To Buy Vinyl

Some will have you believe that music retail is dead, but crate diggers, thorough music lovers, and Crate Kings readers know better and are always looking for an excuse to add something new to their collections. For those that absolutely can’t wait for August’s Vinyl Record Day, a slightly more general version, Record Store Day … Read more