There’s nothing that the public adores more than a wedding, especially when it comes to celebrities. Because after the orchids, lace, Bentleys, paparazzi and champagne are gone the bushwhacked reality of celebrity is always spawned out of recently wedded bliss. Divorce, custody battles, cheating, strippers, spending sprees, bankruptcy, Celebrity Rehab, babies and more were born and bred out of the (mostly) half-thought machinations of the celebrity mind for the general public’s delight and total consumption.

All that being said, what if for one night only in a perfect universe, we could play cupid to our favorite rap and R&B artists? They’d be the Pinocchio to our Geppetto, minus the growing nose and Jonahesque adventures in the gastrointestinal workings of a whale. We’d get to play matchmaker – and the result? Some of the coolest fictional babies ever thunk up. Pop the lid to witness the diaper changing, baby food feeding, breast pumping madness that we call Hip-Hop Babies.

[Raise some Henny and a copy of Photoshop to Ivan at HHIR for helping with the photos.]

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Sometimes the only thing separating a Fif from a Ja is one smart move.

Pesky decisions swarm us daily in life, like a troop of blind killer bees. Most of us just swat them with the slipshod petulance of a dog’s tail. But our hip-hop heroes know better, because when it comes to running a career into the ground or digging a hole bigger than the U.S. deficit, no one knows better than rappers. Here are 13 hip-hop artists to meditate on next time you run into an occupational obstacle, for they are the ones who made modern rap’s worst career moves. (– Rizoh)

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People that follow me on Twitter (shameless plug) might already know how I caught myself singing Big’s hook to Puffy’s ‘Been Around The World’ when I heard Lisa Stansfield on the radio a few days ago. This got me suddenly reminiscing about the ‘No Way Out‘ album and the stupid reason I sold it years ago when I hadn’t yet become the level-headed fellow I now am. History is written down to let humanity learn from past mistakes so follow me after the jump for the top 5 stupid things I did as an adolescent HipHop head. Read the rest of this entry »

Now that we’ve acknowledged the 10 Biggest Hip-Hop Acts of 1999: Then and Now, it’s only appropriate that we break out the crystal ball to see which of today’s top rappers will be flipping burgers in 10 years. Grab a seat and join us as we explore the class of 2009 and predict their future. Read the rest of this entry »

Ladies and Gentlemen of TRU, welcome to the 10/10 Club, where Rap’s 10 Biggest Acts of 1999 meets Rap’s 10 Biggest Acts of 2009. Today’s menu features an incisive analysis of yesteryear’s chart-toppers and their current status. We also invite you to check out our tasty VIP special, Where 2009’s Biggest Rap Acts Will Be in 10 Years. Together, we’ll explore the concept of longevity and see how many artists’ careers actually span a decade or fall short of it. Now, if you’ll hand over your coat to Andrew and proceed to The 10/10 Club. Enjoy your stay.

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Dr. Dre put it perfectly on “The Watcher” when he said, “Things just ain’t the same for gangstas/times is changing, young ni**as is aging/becoming old G’s in the game and changing/to make way for these new names and faces…” As the music industry evolves, and the old guard gets replaced by the new, we sometimes find that the quality of music takes a nosedive. Sometimes the old guard needs to go out to make room for the new. In the spirit of talent-over-ignorance, we’ve compiled a short list of artists who need to switch careers. Below are 15 artists who need to stop polluting our ears and put the mic down.
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So, let’s get this out the way right now: Detox is NOT No.1 on 2009’s most anticipated rap albums list, because we’ve been waiting for 2 million years to no avail. Thanks to the Legion of Procrastinators at Shady/Aftermath, Detox has graciously evolved into a cultural myth. Folklore. Legend. The greatest story never told. Banished from mortals, never to be heard except by supernatural beings powerful enough to morph into a fly. (Man, what I’d give to be a fly on Dre’s wall.) That’s the bad news. Now here’s the good news: 3 of the remaining 19 albums on this list are probably real. Read the rest of this entry »

After months of planning, we’re finally ready to unveil the 2008 Rap Critics Poll winners. For the uninitiated, every year I ask hip-hop bloggers, journalists, critics, etc, to send me their respective Best of Hip-Hop lists, which we then tally up (using a 1-10 point system) to determine the year’s best hip-hop music. Now in its 3rd year, the Rappity Rap list received a unique birthday gift — its very own website! My boy Ivan had the awesome responsibility of counting and re-counting all the ballots, while the homey Zilla, who’s been killing the web design game for a minute, was kind enough to build the site during the holiday break.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the 2008 Rap Critics Poll:

• HIPHOPCRITIC.com.